Sulfonates preparation from alcohols

Sulfonate esters are especially useful substrates in nucleophilic substitution reactions used in synthesis. They have a high level of reactivity, and, unlike alkyl halides, they can be prepared from alcohols by reactions that do not directly involve bonds to the carbon atom imdeigoing substitution. The latter aspect is particularly important in cases in which the stereochemical and structural integrity of the reactant must be maintained. Sulfonate esters are usually prepared by reaction of an alcohol with a sulfonyl halide in the presence of pyridine ... 

An advantage that sulfonate esters have over alkyl halides is that their preparation from alcohols does not involve any of the bonds to carbon. The alcohol oxygen becomes the oxygen that connects the alkyl group to the sulfonyl group. Thus, the configuration of a sulfonate ester is exactly the same as that of the alcohol from which it was prepared. If we wish to study the stereochemistry of nucleophilic substitution in an optically active substrate, for example, we know that a tosylate ester will have the same configuration and the same optical purity as the alcohol from which it was prepared. 

Table 21-1. Halides prepared from alcohols via imidazole-V-carboxylates, -sulfonates and -sulfinates.

Section 7.8). Other classes of derivatives are thus most conveniently prepared from the sulfonyl chloride. Reaction with an alcohol leads to formation of a sulfonate ester. Two common sulfonyl chloride reagents employed to make sulfonate esters from alcohols arep-toluenesulfonyl chloride, known as tosyl chloride, and methanesulfonyl chloride, known as mesyl chloride (see Section 6.1.4). Note the nomenclature tosyl and mesyl for these groups, which may be abbreviated to Ts and Ms respectively. 

Sulfonates such as mesylates or tosylates are readily prepared from alcohols under mild conditions, and are therefore attractive alternatives to halides as electrophiles. Although sulfonates often undergo clean displacement by nucleophiles, alternative reaction pathways are accessible to these intermediates, which can lead to unexpected results. If the nucleophile used is strongly basic, metalation instead of displacement of the sulfonate can occur. Some potential reactions of such metalated sulfonates include fragmentation into sulfenes and alcoholates, or into sulfmates and carbonyl compounds, or self-alkylation (Scheme4.15). 

Vinyl sulfones were prepared from PhS02Na and vinyl iodinium salts C=C—I Ph BF4 Sulfinate esters (RS(=0)0R were prepared from alcohols and sulfinyl chlorides, in the presence of Proton Sponge . " ... 

Like alkyl halides, alkyl sulfonates are prepared from alcohols but, as we shall see in Sec. 16.7, the two syntheses differ in one very important way. 

Alkenes are prepared from alcohols either by direct dehydration or by de-hydrohalogenation of intermediate alkyl halides to avoid rearrangement we often select dehydrohalogenation of halides even though this route involves an extra step. (Or, sometimes better, we use elimination from alkyl sulfonates.)... 

In both SnI and Sn2 reactions, the leaving group is the halogen of an alkyl halide or the sulfonate group of a sulfonate ester. Both alkyl halides and sulfonate esters are prepared from alcohols. In Chapter 10, alcohols were prepared by the hydration reaction of alkenes, by oxymercuration-demercuration of alk-enes, or by hydroboration of alkenes. Other methods can be used to prepare alcohols, and they will be discussed at a later time. This section will describe several of the reactions used to convert alcohols to halides or sulfonate esters. 

An advantage that sulfonates have over alkyl halides is that their preparation from alcohols does not involve any of the bonds to carbon. The alcohol oxygen becomes the oxygen that coimects the alkyl group to the sulfonyl group. Thus, the configuration of a... 

Methanesulfonates. The most common use of methanesulfonyl chloride is for the synthesis of sulfonate esters from alcohols. This can be readily accomplished by treatment of an alcohol with mesyl chloride in the presence of a base (usually Triethy-lamine or Pyridine). The methanesulfonates formed are functional equivalents of halides. As such they are frequently employed as intermediates for reactions such as displacements, eliminations, reductions, and rearrangements. Selective mesylation of a vicinal diol is a common method of preparation of epoxides." Alkynyl mesylates can be used for the synthesis of trimethylsilyl allenes. Oxime mesylates undergo a Beckmann rearrangement upon treatment with a Lewis acid. Aromatic mesylates have been used as substrates for nucleophilic aromatic substitution. Mesylates are more reactive than tosylates toward nucleophilic substitution, but less reactive toward solvolysis. 

Direct, acid catalyzed esterification of acryhc acid is the main route for the manufacture of higher alkyl esters. The most important higher alkyl acrylate is 2-ethyIhexyi acrylate prepared from the available 0x0 alcohol 2-ethyl-1-hexanol (see Alcohols, higher aliphatic). The most common catalysts are sulfuric or toluenesulfonic acid and sulfonic acid functional cation-exchange resins. Solvents are used as entraining agents for the removal of water of reaction. The product is washed with base to remove unreacted acryhc acid and catalyst and then purified by distillation. The esters are obtained in 80—90% yield and in exceUent purity. 

Poly(vinyl nitrate) has been prepared and studied for use in explosives and rocket fuel (104,105). Poly(vinyl alcohol) and sulfur trioxide react to produce poly(vinyl sulfate) (106—111). Poly(vinyl alkane sulfonate)s have been prepared from poly(vinyl alcohol) and alkanesulfonyl chlorides (112—114). In the presence of urea, poly(vinyl alcohol) and phosphoms pentoxide (115) or phosphoric acid (116,117) yield poly(vinyl phosphate)s. 

Sulfinic esters, aromatic, by oxidation of disulfides in alcohols, 46, 64 Sulfonation ot d,l camphor to d,l-10-camphorsulfomc acid, 45,12 Sulfoxides, table of examples of preparation from sulfides with sodium metapenodate, 46,79 Sulfur dioxide, reaction with styrene phosphorus pentachlonde to give styrylphosphomc diclilonde, 46,... 

Desulfurization of fl, a-epoxy sulfones 239 prepared from allylic sulfones 238 and m-chloroperbenzoic acid with sodium amalgam leads to the formation of allyl alcohols (240) in good yields (equation 144)138. Allyl alcohols prepared by this method are listed in Table 16. 

Most of the technically produced a-sulfo fatty esters are prepared from unbranched saturated fatty acid esters that are derived from 8 22 carboxylic acids and Cj-C3 alcohols. In particular the C12 (lauric), C14 (myristic), C16 (palmitic), and C18 (stearic) acids are interesting because the ester sulfonates... 

---