Saturated Acetylene

Alkynes (highly saturated acetylenes with triple bonds)... 

Without any inhibitor Saturated carbon monoxide Saturated ethylene 0.10 M Allyl alcohol Saturated acetylene 0.10 M Propargyl alcohol... 

Olefins are uncommon in crude oils due to the high chemical activity of these compounds which causes them to become saturated with hydrogen. Similarly, acetylene is virtually absent from crude oil, which tends to contain a large proportion of the saturated hydrocarbons, such as the alkanes. 

The high acidity of superacids makes them extremely effective pro-tonating agents and catalysts. They also can activate a wide variety of extremely weakly basic compounds (nucleophiles) that previously could not be considered reactive in any practical way. Superacids such as fluoroantimonic or magic acid are capable of protonating not only TT-donor systems (aromatics, olefins, and acetylenes) but also what are called (T-donors, such as saturated hydrocarbons, including methane (CH4), the simplest parent saturated hydrocarbon. 

A solution of (CH3)3C-CH=C=CLi, obtained by addition at -60°C of 0.20 mol of tert.-butylallene (see Chapter VI, Exp. 2) to a solution of 0.25 mol of ethyllithium in about 200 ml of diethyl ether (see Chapter II, Exp. 1) was warmed to 25°C and held at this temperature for 15 min. Subsequently the solution was cooled to below 0°C and 50 ml of saturated NH,C1 solution were added dropwise with vigorous stirring, keeping the temperature below 2o C. The upper layer v as separated off and the aqueous layer was extracted twice with 25-ml portions of diethyl ether. The combined solutions were dried over a small amount of magnesium sulfate. Slow distillation through a 40-cm Widmer column gave neopentyl acetylene (b.p. 76°C/750 mmHg, 20... 

To a suspension of a tinc-copper couple in 150 ml of 100 ethanol, prepared from 80 g of zinc powder (see Chapter II, Exp. 18), was added at room temperature 0.10 mol of the acetylenic chloride (see Chapter VIII-2, Exp. 7). After a few minutes an exothermic reaction started and the temperature rose to 45-50°C (note 1). When this reaction had subsided, the mixture was cooled to 35-40°C and 0,40 mol of the chloride was added over a period of 15 min, while maintaining the temperature around 40°C (occasional cooling). After the addition stirring was continued for 30 min at 55°C, then the mixture was cooled to room temperature and the upper layer was decanted off. The black slurry of zinc was rinsed five times with 50-ml portions of diethyl ether. The alcoholic solution and the extracts were combined and washed three times with 100-ml portions of 2 N HCl, saturated with ammonium chloride. 

Alkynyl anions are more stable = 22) than the more saturated alkyl or alkenyl anions (p/Tj = 40-45). They may be obtained directly from terminal acetylenes by treatment with strong base, e.g. sodium amide (pA, of NH 35). Frequently magnesium acetylides are made in proton-metal exchange reactions with more reactive Grignard reagents. Copper and mercury acetylides are formed directly from the corresponding metal acetates and acetylenes under neutral conditions (G.E. Coates, 1977 R.P. Houghton, 1979). 

In Group 14 (IV), carbon serves as a Lewis base in a few of its compounds. In general, saturated ahphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons are stable in the presence of BF, whereas unsaturated ahphatic hydrocarbons, such as propjdene or acetylene, are polymerized. However, some hydrocarbons and their derivatives have been reported to form adducts with BF. Typical examples of adducts with unsaturated hydrocarbons are 1 1 adducts with tetracene and 3,4-benzopyrene (39), and 1 2 BF adducts with a-carotene and lycopene (40). 

Aliphatic Chemicals. The primary aliphatic hydrocarbons used in chemical manufacture are ethylene (qv), propjiene (qv), butadiene (qv), acetylene, and / -paraffins (see Hydrocarbons, acetylene). In order to be useflil as an intermediate, a hydrocarbon must have some reactivity. In practice, this means that those paraffins lighter than hexane have Httle use as intermediates. Table 5 gives 1991 production and sales from petroleum and natural gas. Information on uses of the C —C saturated hydrocarbons are available in the Hterature (see Hydrocarbons, C —C ). 

The tare weight (sometimes called stencil weight because it is cut into the cylinder metal) is the total weight of the cylinder and contents, but does not include a removable valve protection cap, if such is used. The saturation gas part of the tare weight is a calculated number which allows for the 11.4 g of acetylene required to saturate each 453.6 g of contained acetone at atmospheric pressure. The correct tare weight is an absolute necessity to the safe charging of acetylene cylinders. 

Irradiation of ethyleneimine (341,342) with light of short wavelength ia the gas phase has been carried out direcdy and with sensitization (343—349). Photolysis products found were hydrogen, nitrogen, ethylene, ammonium, saturated hydrocarbons (methane, ethane, propane, / -butane), and the dimer of the ethyleneimino radical. The nature and the amount of the reaction products is highly dependent on the conditions used. For example, the photoproducts identified ia a fast flow photoreactor iacluded hydrocyanic acid and acetonitrile (345), ia addition to those found ia a steady state system. The reaction of hydrogen radicals with ethyleneimine results ia the formation of hydrocyanic acid ia addition to methane (350). Important processes ia the photolysis of ethyleneimine are nitrene extmsion and homolysis of the N—H bond, as suggested and simulated by ab initio SCF calculations (351). The occurrence of ethyleneimine as an iatermediate ia the photolytic formation of hydrocyanic acid from acetylene and ammonia ia the atmosphere of the planet Jupiter has been postulated (352), but is disputed (353). 

Lithium acetyhde also can be prepared directly in hquid ammonia from lithium metal or lithium amide and acetylene (134). In this form, the compound has been used in the preparation of -carotene and vitamin A (135), ethchlorvynol (136), and (7j--3-hexen-l-ol (leaf alcohol) (137). More recent synthetic processes involve preparing the lithium acetyhde in situ. Thus lithium diisopropylamide, prepared from //-butyUithium and the amine in THF at 0°C, is added to an acetylene-saturated solution of a ketosteroid to directly produce an ethynylated steroid (138). 

Pyrolysis. Vinyl chloride is more stable than saturated chloroalkanes to thermal pyrolysis, which is why nearly all vinyl chloride made commercially comes from thermal dehydrochlorination of EDC. When vinyl chloride is heated to 450°C, only small amounts of acetylene form. Litde conversion of vinyl chloride occurs, even at 525—575°C, and the main products are chloroprene [126-99-8] and acetylene. The presence of HCl lowers the amount of chloroprene formed. 

The isophytol side chain can be synthesized from pseudoionone (Fig. 5) using chemistry similar to that used in the vitamin A synthesis (9). Hydrogenation of pseudoionone (20) yields hexahydropseudoionone (21) which can be reacted with a metal acetyUde to give the acetylenic alcohol (22). Rearrangement of the adduct of (22) with isopropenyknethyl ether yields, initially, the aHenic ketone (23) which is further transformed to the C g-ketone (24). After reduction of (24), the saturated ketone (25) is treated with a second mole of metal acetyUde. The acetylenic alcohol (26) formed is then partially hydrogenated to give isophytol (14). 

Fig. 5. Synthesis ofisophytol (14) pseudoionone [141-10-6] (20), hexahydropseudoionone [1604-34-8] (21), C -acetylenic alcohol [1604-35-9] (22), C g-aUenic ketone [16647-10-2] (23), C g-diene ketone [1604-32-6] (24), C g-saturated ketone [16825-16-4] (25), and C2Q-acetylenic alcohol [29171-23-1] (26).

Significant quantities of Cj and C, acetylenes are produced in cracking. They can be converted to olefins and paraffins. For the production of high purity ethylene and propylene, the contained Cj and C3 acetylenes and dienes are catalytically hydrogenated leaving only parts per million of acetylenes in the products. Careful operation is required to selectively hydrogenate the small concentrations of acetylenes only, and not downgrade too much of the wanted olefin products to saturates. 

Olefins are normally hydrogenated more readily than any other functional group except acetylenes. However, because of steric differences, a considerable variation exists in the ease of saturation of steroidal double bonds. 

The partial hydrogenation of a 17-ethynyl group over deactivated palladium occurs more readily than the saturation of any other functional group. This is also true of 17-ethynyl carbinols and 17-acetylenic ethers (52). ... 

Epoxides are normally hydrogenated in preference to saturated ketones but double bonds are usually reduced under these conditions. It is possible in some cases to selectively cleave an epoxide without saturating double bonds by the use of the deactivated catalysts recommended for the partial reduction of acetylenes (see section IV) or by the addition of silver nitrate to the palladium-catalyzed reaction mixture. " ... 

Nickel peroxide is a solid, insoluble oxidant prepared by reaction of nickel (II) salts with hypochlorite or ozone in aqueous alkaline solution. This reagent when used in nonpolar medium is similar to, but more reactive than, activated manganese dioxide in selectively oxidizing allylic or acetylenic alcohols. It also reacts rapidly with amines, phenols, hydrazones and sulfides so that selective oxidation of allylic alcohols in the presence of these functionalities may not be possible. In basic media the oxidizing power of nickel peroxide is increased and saturated primary alcohols can be oxidized directly to carboxylic acids. In the presence of ammonia at —20°, primary allylic alcohols give amides while at elevated temperatures nitriles are formed. At elevated temperatures efficient cleavage of a-glycols, a-ketols... 

An ethynylation reagent obtained by decomposition of lithium aluminum hydride in ethers saturated with acetylene gives a satisfactory yield of (64), Best results are obtained with the lithium acetylide-ethylene diamine complex in dioxane-ethylenediamine-dimethylacetamide. Ethynylation of (63) with lithium acetylide in pure ethylenediamine gives (64) in 95% yield. 

Acetylene is passed for 1 hr through a mixture consisting of 0.5 g (72 mg-atoms) of lithium in 100 ml of ethylene-diamine. A solution prepared from 1 g (3.5 mmoles) of rac-3-methoxy-18-methylestra-l,3,5(10)-trien-I7-one and 30 ml of tetrahydrofuran is then added at room temperature with stirring over a period of 30 min. After an additional 2 hr during which time acetylene is passed through the solution the mixture is neutralized with 5 g of ammonium chloride, diluted with 50 ml water, and extracted with ether. The ether extracts are washed successively with 10% sulfuric acid, saturated sodium hydrogen carbonate and water. The extract is dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated to yield a solid crystalline material, which on recrystallization from methanol affords 0.95 g (87%) of rac-3-methoxy-18-methyl-17a-ethynyl-estra-l,3,5(10)-trien-17jB-ol as colorless needles mp 161°. 

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