Silver reaction with alkyl halides

Silver cyanide, reaction with alkyl halides in synthesis of iso-cyamdes, 46, 77... 

Silicon tetraisothiocyanate, reaction with 2,6-dimethylaniline to yield 2,6-diraethylphenyl thiourea, 46, 70 Silver cyanide, reaction with alkyl halides in synthesis of isocyanides, 46, 77... 

D. C. The mechanism of the reaction of silver nitrite with alkyl halides. The contrasting reactions of silver and alkali metal salts with alkyl halides. The alkylation of ambldent anions. J. Am. Chem. Soc.. 1955, 77, 6269-6280. 

Reaction of silver carbamate with alkyl halides [45]. 

The reaction of silver nitrite with secondary halides gives yields of nitroparaffins in the vicinity of 15%, while with tertiary halides the yields are even lower (0-5%). There is no question that the reaction of silver nitrite with alkyl halides is useful only for the synthesis of primary nitroparaffins. 

The nitrate esters are formed with retention of configuration in contrast to the reaction of silver nitrate with alkyl halides. Furthermore, the reac-tion of benzyl alcohol shows that 0-nitration of alkylary] alcohols in transfer nitration is preferred to aromatic Onitration. 

Alkyl fluorides have been prepared by reaction between elementary fluorine and the paraffins, by the addition of hydrogen fluoride to olefins, by the reaction of alkyl halides with mercurous fluoride, with mercuric fluoride, with silver fluoride, or with potassium fluoride under pressure. The procedure used is based on that of Hoffmann involving interaction at atmospheric pressure of anhydrous potassium fluoride with an alkyl halide in the presence of ethylene glycol as a solvent for the inorganic fluoride a small amount of olefin accompanies the alkyl fluoride produced and is readily removed by treatment with bromine-potassium bromide solution. Methods for the preparation of alkyl monofluorides have been reviewed. ... 

Many of the reactions of amines are familiar from past chapters. Thus, amines react with alkyl halides in S 2 reactions and with acid chlorides in nucleophilic acyl substitution reactions. Amines also undergo E2 elimination to yield alkenes if they are first qualernized by treatment with iodomethane and then heated with silver oxide, a process called the Hofmann elimination. 

The reaction of alkyl halides with metal nitrites is one of the most important methods for the preparation of nitroalkanes. As a metal nitrite, silver nitrite (Victor-Meyer reaction), potassium nitrite, or sodium nitrite (Kornblum reaction) have been frequently used. The products are usually a mixture of nitroalkanes and alkyl nitrites, which are readily separated by distillation (Eq. 2.47). The synthesis of nitro compounds by this process is well documented in the reviews, and some typical cases are listed in Table 2.3.92a Primary and secondary alkyl iodides and bromides as well as sulfonate esters give the corresponding nitro compounds in 50-70% yields on treatment with NaN02 in DMF or DMSO. Some of them are described precisely in vol 4 of Organic Synthesis. For example, 1,4-dinitrobutane is prepared in 41 -46% yield by the reaction of 1,4-diiodobutane with silver nitrite in diethyl ether.92b 1-Nitrooctane is prepared by the reaction with silver nitrite in 75-80% yield. The reaction of silver nitrite with secondary halides gives yields of nitroalkanes of about 15%, whereas with tertiary halides the yields are 0-5%.92c Ethyl a-nitrobutyrate is prepared by the reaction of ethyl a-bromobutyrate in 68-75% yield with sodium nitrite in DMF.92d Sodium nitrite is considerably more soluble in DMSO than in DMF as a consequence, with DMSO, much more concentrated solutions can be employed and this makes shorter reaction times possible.926... 

As esters the alkyl halides are hydrolysed by alkalis to alcohols and salts of halogen acids. They are converted by nascent hydrogen into hydrocarbons, by ammonia into amines, by alkoxides into ethers, by alkali hydrogen sulphides into mercaptans, by potassium cyanide into nitriles, and by sodium acetate into acetic esters. (Formulate these reactions.) The alkyl halides are practically insoluble in water but are, on the other hand, miscible with organic solvents. As a consequence of the great affinity of iodine for silver, the alkyl iodides are almost instantaneously decomposed by aqueous-alcoholic silver nitrate solution, and so yield silver iodide and alcohol. The important method of Ziesel for the quantitative determination of alkyl groups combined in the form of ethers, depends on this property (cf. p. 80). 

Synthesis of nitroalkanes and their derivatives from the reaction of alkyl halides with silver nitrite under the Victor Meyer conditions... 

The reactions of alkyl halides with the silver salt of dinitroacetonitrile have been shown to be of limited use for the synthesis of polynitroaliphatic compounds. These reactions give a mixture of C-, N- and O-alkylation products with product distribution highly dependent on the nature of the substrate. ... 

The reaction of alkyl halides with silver nitrate constitutes an extremely useful method for the synthesis of high purity nitrate esters on a laboratory scale. ° The driving force for these reactions is the formation of the insoluble silver halide. Reactions have been conducted under homogenous and heterogeneous conditions. For the latter a solution of the alkyl halide in an inert solvent like benzene or ether is stirred with finely powdered silver nitrate. However, this method has been outdated and reactions are now commonly conducted under homogeneous conditions using acetonitrile as solvent. 

The alkylation of primary nitramines with alkyl halides is of little preparative value for the synthesis of secondary nitramines. Such reactions often result in a mixture of N- and 0-alkylated products. The product distribution appears to be very dependent on the nature of the cation of the nitramine used, with silver salts ° favouring 0-alkylation and alkali metal salts usually giving A-alkylation as the predominant product. However, this is not always the case. 

Reactions at o -Position. Many studies have been concerned with the reactions of alkyl halides with cyanide in the presence of various metal ions, and with the direct alkylation of cyanide complexes. The classic synthesis of isonitriles was accomplished by the use of silver cyanide, whereas the corresponding reaction of organic halogen compounds with alkali cyanides yields nitriles (Equations 40 and 41) (34,36). 

Typical synthetic procedures include the reaction of alkyl halides with the silver salts of carboxylic acids, the reaction of carboxylate anions in alkali with an excess of a dialkyl sulphate, (especially dimethyl sulphate), and heating tertiary184 or quaternary ammonium salts of carboxylic acids. These routes are particularly valuable for the preparation of esters of seriously sterically hindered acids. For example, Fuson et al.iK made the methyl ester of 2,4,6-triethylbenzoic acid by heating the tetramethyl ammonium salt to 200-250°C, viz. 

Heavy-metal salts, particularly those of silver, mercury, and copper, catalyze SX1 reactions of alkyl halides in much the same way that acids catalyze the SN reactions of alcohols. A heavy-metal ion functions by com-plexing with the unshared electrons of the halide, thereby making the leaving group a metal halide rather than a halide ion. This acceleration of the rates of halide reactions is the basis for a qualitative test for alkyl halides with silver nitrate in ethanol solution ... 

Tamura and Kochi studied the cross-coupling reactions of alkyl halides with alkyl Grignard reagents catalyzed by silver compounds first [422, 426, 427]. The coupling of primary alkyl halides with primary Grignard reagents resulted in a mixture... 

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