Ring opening solvent effects

The ring opening of 3-substituted isoxazoles proceeds differently, and the reaction can take various courses depending on the nature of the substituent. The reaction has been effected by sodium hydroxide and sodium ethoxide in alcoholic or aqueous media and by sodium amide and also n-butyllithium in inert solvents. 

A decisive solvent effect is also observed with other a,/ -epoxy ketones. Specifically, 3jS-hydroxy-16a,17a-epoxypregn-5-en-20-one and its acetate do not react with thiocyanic acid in ether or chloroform. However, the corresponding thiocyanatohydrins are formed by heating an acetic acid solution of the epoxide and potassium thiocyanate. As expected, the ring opening reaction is subject to steric hindrance. For example, 3j6-acetoxy-14f ,15f5-epoxy-5) -card-20(22)-enoIide is inert to thiocyanic acid in chloroform, whereas the 14a,15a-epoxide reacts readily under these conditions.Reactions of 14a,15a-epoxides in the cardenolide series yields isothiocyanatohydrins, e.g., (135), in addition to the normal thiocyanatohydrin, e.g., (134). 

A number of reaction variables or parameters have been examined. Catalyst solutions should not be prepared and stored since the resting catalyst is not stable to long term storage. However, the catalyst solution must be aged prior to the addition of allylic alcohol or TBHP. Diethyl tartrate and diisopropyl tartrate are the ligands of choice for most allylic alcohols. TBHP and cumene hydroperoxide are the most commonly used terminal oxidant and are both extremely effective. Methylene chloride is the solvent of choice and Ti(i-OPr)4 is the titanium precatalyst of choice. Titanium (IV) t-butoxide is recommended for those reactions in which the product epoxide is particularly sensitive to ring opening from alkoxide nucleophiles. ... 

A direct application of the ring-opening reaction of an epoxide by a metal enolate amide for the synthesis of a complex molecule can be found in the synthesis of the trisubstituted cyclopentane core of brefeldin A (Scheme 8.35) [68a]. For this purpose, treatment of epoxy amide 137 with excess KH in THF gave a smooth cyclization to amide 138, which was subsequently converted into the natural product. No base/solvent combination that would effect cyclization of the corresponding aldehyde or ester could be found. 

We have reported the first example of a ring-opening metathesis polymerization in C02 [144,145]. In this work, bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene (norbornene) was polymerized in C02 and C02/methanol mixtures using a Ru(H20)6(tos)2 initiator (see Scheme 6). These reactions were carried out at 65 °C and pressure was varied from 60 to 345 bar they resulted in poly(norbornene) with similar conversions and molecular weights as those obtained in other solvent systems. JH NMR spectroscopy of the poly(norbornene) showed that the product from a polymerization in pure methanol had the same structure as the product from the polymerization in pure C02. More interestingly, it was shown that the cis/trans ratio of the polymer microstructure can be controlled by the addition of a methanol cosolvent to the polymerization medium (see Fig. 12). The poly(norbornene) prepared in pure methanol or in methanol/C02 mixtures had a very high trans-vinylene content, while the polymer prepared in pure C02 had very high ds-vinylene content. These results can be explained by the solvent effects on relative populations of the two different possible metal... 

A mechanistic study of acid and metal ion (Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+) promoted hydrolysis of [N-(2-carboxyphenyl)iminodiacetate](picolinato)chromate (III) indicated parallel H+- or M2+-dependent and -independent pathways. Solvent isotope effects indicate that the H+-dependent path involves rapid pre-equilibrium protonation followed by rate-limiting ring opening. Similarly, the M2+-dependent path involves rate-determining Cr-0 bond breaking in a rapidly formed binuclear intermediate. The relative catalytic efficiencies of the three metal ions reflect the Irving-Williams stability order (88). 

Model computational studies aimed at understanding structure-reactivity relationships and substituent effects on carbocation stability for aza-PAHs derivatives were performed by density functional theory (DFT). Comparisons were made with the biological activity data when available. Protonation of the epoxides and diol epoxides, and subsequent epoxide ring opening reactions were analyzed for several families of compounds. Bay-region carbocations were formed via the O-protonated epoxides in barrierless processes. Relative carbocation stabilities were determined in the gas phase and in water as solvent (by the PCM method). 

Semiempirical calculations have been used to study the mechanism of the ring opening of cyclopropanone and substituted analogues in a range of solvents of varying polarity. Transition states and oxyallyl intermediates have been characterized, as have the effects of solvents on their stability. The results are also compared with kinetic data in the literature. 

Solvent effects have been investigated in isatin (193) hydrolysis. Results from ethanol-water and acetonitrile-water mixtures revealed that for alkaline hydrolysis log k was correlated with the reciprocal of the dielectric constant. A tetrahedral intermediate (194) is involved, which breaks down to yield the ring-opened amino acid (195). A comparison has been made of the lability of isatin (193) towards diethyl-amine and hydroxide ion, the latter showing the greater effect. ... 

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