Substituted aromatic nitriles

Veratronitrile has been obtained from 4-aminoveratrole by diazotization and treatment with cuprous cyanide1 and by heating veratrylglyoxylic acid with hydroxylamine.2 The general method employed above has been used for the preparation of a variety of substituted aromatic nitriles.3... 

Scheme 20.2 Substituted aromatic nitriles as intermediates for aromatic acids, amides, imines, aldehydes and amines. Elaborated from [82a].

In 1987, Toray Industries, Inc., announced the development of a new process for making aromatic nitriles which reportedly halved the production cost, reduced waste treatment requirements, and reduced production time by more than two-thirds, compared with the vapor-phase process used by most producers. The process iavolves the reaction of ben2oic acid (or substituted ben2oic acid) with urea at 220—240°C ia the presence of a metallic catalyst (78). 

Arylamines are converted by diazotization with nitrous acid into arenediazonium salts, ArN2+ X-. The diazonio group can then be replaced by many other substituents in the Sandmeyer reaction to give a wide variety of substituted aromatic compounds. Aryl chlorides, bromides, iodides, and nitriles can be prepared from arenediazonium salts, as can arenes and phenols. In addition to their reactivity toward substitution reactions, diazonium salts undergo coupling with phenols and arylamines to give brightly colored azo dyes. 

Cyano-de-diazoniations of the Sandmeyer type have been used for the synthesis of aromatic nitriles for many decades (example Clarke and Reed, 1964), as cyanide ions are comparable to bromide and iodide in many respects. A homolytic cyano-de-diazo-niation that does not use metal ions as reductant or ligand transfer reagent was described by Petrillo et al. (1987). They showed that substituted diazosulfides (XC6H4 — N2 — SC6H5), either isolated or generated in situ from arenediazonium tetrafluoroborates and sodium benzenethiolate, react with tetrabutylammonium cyanide in dimethylsulfoxide under photon stimulation, leading to nitriles (XC6H4CN). The method worked well with eleven benzenediazonium ions substituted in the 3- or 4-position, and was also used for the synthesis of phthalo-, isophthalo-, and tere-... 

From the point of view of the synthetic organic chemist, the importance of aromatic thallation, and the remarkable degree of orientation control which can be exercised over this process, lies in the ease with which the resulting ArTlXj compounds can be converted into substituted aromatic derivatives in which the new substituent group has entered the ring at the position to which thallium was originally attached. Syntheses of phenols, nitroso compounds, biaryls, aromatic nitriles, thiophenols, and deuterated aromatic compounds have all been achieved these results are summarized briefly below. 

Another important click reaction is the cycloaddition of azides. The addition of sodium azide to nitriles to give l//-tetrazoles is shown to proceed readily in water with zinc salts as catalysts (Eq. 11.71).122 The scope of the reaction is quite broad a variety of aromatic nitriles, activated and nonactivated alkyl nitriles, substituted vinyl nitriles, thiocyanates, and cyanamides have all been shown to be viable substrates for this reaction. The reaction of an arylacetylene with an azide in hot water gave 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles in high yields,123 while a similar reaction between a terminal aliphatic alkyne and an azide (except 111 - nitroazidobenzcnc) afforded a mixture of regioisomers with... 

Type G syntheses are typified by the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrile sulfides with nitriles. Nitrile sulfides are reactive 1,3-dipoles and they are prepared as intermediates by the thermolysis of 5-substituted-l,3,4-oxathiazol-2-ones 102. The use of nitriles as dipolarophiles has resulted in a general method for the synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted-l,2,4-thiadiazoles 103 (Scheme 11). The thermolysis is performed at 190°C with an excess of the nitrile. The yields are moderate, but are satisfactory when aromatic nitrile sulfides interact with electrophilic nitriles. A common side reaction results from the decomposition of the nitrile sulfide to give a nitrile and sulfur. This nitrile then reacts with the nitrile sulfide to yield symmetrical 1,2,4-thiadiazoles <2004HOU277>. Excellent yields have been obtained when tosyl cyanide has been used as the acceptor molecule <1993JHC357>. 

An unusual solvent effect was observed in cycloadditions of aromatic nitrile N-oxides with alkyl-substituted p-benzoquinones in ethanol-water (60 40) the reaction rates were 14-fold greater than those in chloroform (148). The use of ion pairs to control nitrile oxide cycloadditions was demonstrated. A chiral auxiliary bearing an ionic group and an associated counterion provides enhanced selectivity in the cycloaddition the intramolecular salt effect controls the orientation of the... 

Individual aspects of nitrile oxide cycloaddition reactions were the subjects of some reviews (161 — 164). These aspects are as follows preparation of 5-hetero-substituted 4-methylene-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles by nitrile oxide cycloadditions to properly chosen dipolarophiles and reactivity of these isoxazolines (161), 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of isothiazol-3(2//)-one 1,1-dioxides, 3-alkoxy- and 3-(dialkylamino)isothiazole 1,1-dioxides with nitrile oxides (162), preparation of 4,5-dihydroisoxazoles via cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides with alkenes and subsequent conversion to a, 3-unsaturated ketones (163), and [2 + 3] cycloaddition reactions of nitroalkenes with aromatic nitrile oxides (164). 

Cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides with 5-unsubstituted 1,4-dihydro-pyridine derivatives produced isoxazolo[5,4-Z>]pyridines in moderate to good yield. In each case examined, the reaction produced only a single isomer, the structure of which was assigned by NMR spectra and confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis of 102 (270). A study of the cycloaddition behavior of substituted pyridazin-3-ones with aromatic nitrile oxides was carried out (271). Nitrile oxides undergo position and regioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to the 4,5-double bond of pyridazinone to afford 3a,7a-diliydroisoxazolo 4,5-<7]pyridazin-4-ones, for example, 103. 

Surprisingly, aromatic nitriles were found not to yield 1-arylcyclopropylamines under these conditions. However, this deficit is compensated for by a complementary method developed by de Meijere et al. using diethylzinc in the presence of methyltitanium triiso-propoxide and lithium isopropoxide (Scheme 11.40). While aliphatic nitriles 152 gave primary cyclopropylamines 155 in only 12—16% yield with this reagent mixture, aromatic nitriles 156 and 158 furnished 1-arylcyclopropylamines 157 and 159 in moderate (28—40% for substituted benzonitriles 156) to good (70% for 3-cyanopyridine 158) yields (Scheme 11.40) [138],... 

Sandmeyer s synthesis of aromatic nitriles is far more elegant than the removal of water from the ammonium salts of carboxylic acids, which latter reaction is also applicable to benzene derivatives. In particular, the former synthesis permits of the preparation of carboxylic acids via the nitriles, and so provides a complete substitute for Kolbe s synthesis (alkyl halide and potassium cyanide), which is inapplicable to aromatic compounds. The simplest example is the conversion of aniline into benzoic add. The converse transformation is Hofmann s degradation (benzamide aniline, see p. 152). 

The addition of sodium azide to nitriles to give IH-tetrazoles is shown to proceed readily in water with zinc salts as catalysts. The scope of the reaction is quite broad a variety of aromatic nitriles, activated and unactivated alkyl nitriles, substituted vinyl nitriles, thiocyanates, and cyanamides have all been shown to be viable substrates for this reaction. 

As substitute for hydrogen cyanide, which does not add aromatic nitrile oxides, 1,3,5-triazine has been recommended for the preparation of 5-unsubstituted 1,2,4-oxadiazoles <78BCJ1484). 

A common and effective direct approach to unsubstituted or multiply substituted oxazolines is the Lewis acid catalyzed reaction of nitriles with amino alcohols in an alcoholic or aromatic solvent (chlorobenzene) at reflux. The most common Lewis acids employed include ZnCl2, ZnBr2, NiBr2, CuCl2, and kaolinitic clay. Microwave irradiation has also been reported to facilitate the transformation. Alternatively, the condensation can be carried out in the presence of catalytic amounts of potassium carbonate. The method works well for both aliphatic and aromatic nitriles, with retention of stereochemistry. Some representative examples from the recent literature are listed in Table 8.16 (Scheme 3 40),2 35.2oi-2i3... 

Aromatic nitriles were obtained in high yield when para and meta substituents were present on the aromatic nucleus. Among the para substituted aryl halides p-nitrochlorobenzene and p-bromoaniline did not... 

A similar rapid microwave one-pot synthesis of substituted quinazolin-4-ones was also reported, which involved cyclocondensation af anthranilic acid, formic acid (or an orthoester) and an amine under solvent-free conditions (Scheme 3.37)61. A complimentary approach was adopted to synthesise 4-aminoquinazolines in very good yields, involving the reaction of aromatic nitrile compounds with 2-aminobenzonitrile in the presence of a catalytic amount ofbase (Scheme 3.38)62. The reactions were performed in a domestic microwave oven and required only a very short heating time. A microwave-assisted synthesis of a variety of new 3-substituted-2-alkyl-4-(3H)-quinazolinones using isatoic anhydride, 2-aminobenzimidazole and orthoesters has also been described (Scheme 3.38)63. 

The reaction of 1-lithiobuta-l,3-dienes with aromatic nitriles produced substituted pyridines, pyrroles, and/or linear butadienylimines in good to excellent yields. The competition between 5-exo and 6-endo cyclization is responsible for the formation of either pyrroles or pyridines.2... 

Aromatic ketones arylations, 10, 140 asymmetric hydrogenation, 10, 50 G—H bond alkylation, 10, 214 dialkylzinc additions, 9, 114-115 Aromatic ligands mercuration, 2, 430 in mercury 7t-complexes, 2, 449 /13-77-Aromatic nitriles, preparation, 6, 265 Aromatic nucleophilic substitution reactions, arene chromium tricarbonyls, 5, 234... 

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