Silver carboxylates reaction with halogens

The reaction of sulfenyl chlorides, CFwCl3 m SCI (n = 1, 2, 3) with silver trifluoroacetate furnishes stable halogenated sulfenyl carboxylates of the general formula... 

The Hunsdiecker reaction is a free-radical reaction for the synthesis of an alkyl halide. The starting material comes from the reaction of a silver carboxylate with a solution of a halogen in a solvent such as carbon tetrachloride (see Figure 12-44). The overall free-radical mechanism is shown in Figure 12-45. 

The silver(I) salts of carboxylic acids react with halogens to give unstable intermediates which readily decarboxylate thermally to yield alkyl halides. The reaction is believed to involve homolysis of the C-C bond and a radical chain mechanism. 

C. V Wilson, The Reaction of Halogens with Silver Salts of Carboxylic Acids, Org. React. 1957, 9, 332-387. 

Acyl hypohalites are usually prepared in situ by reaction of a metal salt of die carboxylic acid widi a halogen (equation 3). Classically the silver salt is used, but problems associated widi die preparation of dry silver carboxylates, as well as the more obvious economic factor, have led to the development of methods using mercury and thallium salts. Evidently, those functional groups which react readily widi halogens are not compatible with this approach. A major limitation of the acyl hypohalites is the readiness with which they transfer halogen atoms to alkyl radicals this property essend ly limits their use to decarboxylative halogenation reactions. 

The classical Hunsdiecker reaction (equation 18), involving the reaction of silver carboxylates with halogens, and the various associated side reactions, has been reviewed several times. Optimum yields are obtained with bromine, followed by chlorine. Iodine gives acceptable yields provid that the correct stoichiometry of 1 1 is used. The reaction is most frequently carried out in tetrachloromethane at reflux. From a practical point of view, one drawback is the difficulty encountered in the preparation of dry silver carboxylates the reaction of silver oxide on the acyl chloride in tetrachloromeAane at reflux has been employed to circumvent this problem. Evidently the use of molecular bromine limits the range of functional groups compatible with the reaction the different reaction pathways followed by the silver salts of electron poor (equation 19) and electron rich (equation 20) aryl carboxylates illustrate this point well. 

The degradation of carboxylic acids to alkyl halides using mercuric oxide and halogens involves the initial formation of the mercuric salt of the acid, followed by a normal Hunsdiecker reaction of the salt with halogen. The relative insensitivity of the reaction to water is a consequence of the solubility of the mercury salts in the solvent (CC14). There are two limitations tertiary acids are not degraded, and use of iodine as the halogen frequently leads to the ester RCOOR as the major product. The yields in the modified reaction are usually lower than those obtained with the silver salt method.2... 

Decarboxylation of an aliphatic acid to the hydrocarbon is best effected by the so-called salt degradation method. That method is to treat the silver or mercury salt of, preferably, an aliphatic or alicyclic carboxylic acid with bromine in an inert solvent a halogenated hydrocarbon is then formed, together with carbon dioxide and the metal bromide, usually in an exothermic reaction, and the bromine can then usually be readily removed either cata-lytically or by means of a Grignard reagent (the Hunsdiecker reaction) ... 

The Borodin-Hunsdiecker reaction consists of the reaction of a silver salt of a carboxylic acid with a molecular halogen to give a chain-shortened alkyl halide. 

Treatment of Silver Salts with Halogens. Silver salts of carboxylic acids lose carbon dioxide when treated with chlorine or bromine, and alkyl halides are produced in good yield. Although this reaction... 

A number of compounds of the types RBiY2 or R2BiY, where Y is an anionic group other than halogen, have been prepared by the reaction of a dihalo- or halobismuthine with a lithium, sodium, potassium, ammonium, silver, or lead alkoxide (120,121), amide (122,123), a2ide (124,125), carboxylate (121,126), cyanide (125,127), dithiocarbamate (128,129), mercaptide (130,131), nitrate (108), phenoxide (120), selenocyanate (125), silanolate (132), thiocyanate (125,127), or xanthate (133). Dialkyl- and diaryUialobismuthines can also be readily converted to secondary bismuthides by treatment with an alkali metal (50,105,134) ... 

Mercury(II) oxide together with a halogen is an early development of the classic Hunsdiecker reaction (bromodecarboxylation of a carboxylic acid silver salt, see below) which is still in use.20 22 A double Hunsdiecker reaction of cyclobutane-1,1-dicarboxylic acid with red mer-cury(ll) oxide in the presence of bromine gave 1,1-dibromocyclobutane (2) in 46% yield.21 However, a similar reaction performed on spiro[3.3]heptane-2-carboxylic acid afforded 2-bro-mospiro[3.3]heptane (3) in only 16% yield.22... 

In contrast with the relatively facile nucleophilic substitution reactions at the 2-position of the indole system, only 3-iodoindole has been reported to react with silver acetate in acetic acid to yield 3-acetoxyindole (59JOC117). This reaction is of added interest as 3-iodo-2-methylindole fails to react with moist silver oxide (72HC(25-2)127). It is also noteworthy that the activated halogen of ethyl 3-bromo-4-ethyl-2-formylpyrrole-5-carboxylate is not displaced during the silver oxide oxidation of the formyl group to the carboxylic acid (57AC(R)167>. 

Of lesser relevance to this discussion are halogenation methods involving the modification of the carbon skeleton (synthesis and degradation). The Hunsdiecker reaction, as applied to certain heterocyclic acids, has had limited application for the synthesis of halogen derivatives. The preparation of 3-bromo-4,6-dimethyl-2-pyridone from the silver salt of the respective 3-carboxylic acid by treatment with bromine in carbon tetrachloride is a rare example of success.13 The interaction of carbenes with heterocycles also has been employed infrequently, but recent advances in carbene generation may reactivate this approach.14 The Ciamician-Dennstedt ring expansion of pyrrole to / -halopyridines is a case in point18 [Eq. (4)] ... 

Silver-mediated C—X bond formation was known for many years as the Hunsdiecker reaction, in which substrates bearing carboxylic acids are oxidatively decarboxylated to give alkyl halides in the presence of halogens (142). If olefins are used with silver benzoate and I2, the Prevost reaction occurs to yield diols (143). 

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