Sulfur rearrangements

At this stage, no specificity of the sulfur rearrangement had yet been disclosed, except the easy cyclization of allyl thiophenols, the postulated intermediates. 

The balance of a reversible oxygen-sulfur rearrangement triggered on nucleophilic addition of thiocarbamate imidazolium ylide to benzaldehydes (Scheme 43) is sensitive to ortho substituents on the phenyl group. ° ... 

Two efficient syntheses of strained cyclophanes indicate the synthetic potential of allyl or benzyl sulfide intermediates, in which the combined nucleophilicity and redox activity of the sulfur atom can be used. The dibenzylic sulfides from xylylene dihalides and -dithiols can be methylated with dimethoxycarbenium tetrafiuoroborate (H. Meerwein, 1960 R.F. Borch, 1968, 1969 from trimethyl orthoformate and BFj, 3 4). The sulfonium salts are deprotonated and rearrange to methyl sulfides (Stevens rearrangement). Repeated methylation and Hofmann elimination yields double bonds (R.H. Mitchell, 1974). 

Diallylsulfonium salts undergo intramolecular allylic rearrangement with strong bases to yield 1,5-dienes after reductive desulfurization. The straight-chain 1,5-dienes may be obtained by double sulfur extrusion with concomitant allylic rearrangements from diallyl disulfides. The first step is achieved with phosphines or phosphites, the second with benzyne. This procedure is especially suitable for the synthesis of acid sensitive olefins and has been used in oligoisoprene synthesis (G.M. Blackburn, 1969). 

The high nucleophilicity of sulfur atoms is preserved, even if it is bound to electron withdrawing carbonyl groups. Thiocarboxylales, for example, substitute bromine, e.g. of a-bromo ketones. In the presence of bases the or-acylthio ketones deprotonate and rearrange to episulfides. After desulfurization with triphenylphosphine, 1,3-diketones are formed in good yield. Thiolactams react in the same way, and A. Eschenmoser (1970) has used this sequence in his vitamin B]2 synthesis (p. 261). 

When the 2-hydroxy group of a monosaccharide reacts with (diethylamino)sulfur trifluoride (DAST), quantitative and stereoselective rearrangements are observed (K.C Nico-laou, 1986). This reaction may simultaneously introduce fluorine to C-1 and a new oxygen, sulfur, or nitrogen residue to C-2 with inversion of configuration. 

Experimental requirements for the isolation of these nitramino derivatives are developed in Ref. 87. They rearrange easily to ring nitro-substituted isomers (see Section V.6). In the 2-aminothiazole series, nitration may proceed through direct electrophilic substitution competing with rearrangement of nitramino derivatives. Dickey et al. have shown that the rearrangement proceeds rapidly in 96% sulfuric acid at 2(fC, but in 85% sulfuric add it is very slow so. according the concentration of add various mechanisms can participate in the formation of the 5-nitro derivative. 

Nitraminothiazole. treated for 12 hr with 96% sulfuric acid, gives 2-amino-5-nitrothiazole (194). The mechanism of this rearrangement is not yet quite resolved even for nitraminobenzene derivatives (617). The series of kinetic determinations and appropriate labeling performed by Toth et al. provide, however, precious hints for this difficult problem (1578. 1579). 

The reaction of thioethers with ethyleneimine in the presence of acid yields sulfonium compounds. The reaction is reversible under alkaline conditions (125). Compounds in which double-bonded sulfur can exist in tautomerism with a form having a free SH group, such as thiourea (126,127), thiocarboxyhc acids (128), and thiophosphates (129), react to give aminoaLkylated products. The P-aminoethyl thiocarboxylate rearranges to give the amide. 

Sulfonation. Aniline reacts with sulfuric acid at high temperatures to form -aminoben2enesulfonic acid (sulfanilic acid [121 -57-3]). The initial product, aniline sulfate, rearranges to the ring-substituted sulfonic acid (40). If the para position is blocked, the (9-aminoben2enesulfonic acid derivative is isolated. Aminosulfonic acids of high purity have been prepared by sulfonating a mixture of the aromatic amine and sulfolane with sulfuric acid at 180-190°C (41). 

Acid. The reaction requires only enough acid to generate the ferrous ion which is needed to participate in the first step. Alternatively, a ferrous salt can be added directiy. Generally 0.05 to 0.2 equivalents of either hydrochloric or sulfuric acid is used, but both acids have their drawbacks. Hydrochloric acid can cause the formation of chlorinated amines and sulfuric acid can cause the rearrangement of intermediate aryUiydroxylamines to form hydroxyaryl amines. Occasionally an organic carboxyUc acid such as acetic or formic acid is used when there is a danger of hydrolysis products being formed. 

Electrolytic reductions generally caimot compete economically with chemical reductions of nitro compounds to amines, but they have been appHed in some specific reactions, such as the preparation of aminophenols (qv) from aromatic nitro compounds. For example, in the presence of sulfuric acid, cathodic reduction of aromatic nitro compounds with a free para-position leads to -aminophenol [123-30-8] hy rearrangement of the intermediate N-phenyl-hydroxylamine [100-65-2] (61). 

Production is by the acetylation of 4-aminophenol. This can be achieved with acetic acid and acetic anhydride at 80°C (191), with acetic acid anhydride in pyridine at 100°C (192), with acetyl chloride and pyridine in toluene at 60°C (193), or by the action of ketene in alcohoHc suspension. 4-Hydroxyacetanihde also may be synthesized directiy from 4-nitrophenol The available reduction—acetylation systems include tin with acetic acid, hydrogenation over Pd—C in acetic anhydride, and hydrogenation over platinum in acetic acid (194,195). Other routes include rearrangement of 4-hydroxyacetophenone hydrazone with sodium nitrite in sulfuric acid and the electrolytic hydroxylation of acetanilide [103-84-4] (196). 

Reaction of acetic acid and a catalytic amount of sulfuric acid at reflux temperatures for 6—8 hours with dihydromyrcene can cause rearrangement of the dihydromyrcenyl acetate to give a mixture of the cycHc acetates analogous to the cycHc formate esters (108). The stereochemistry has also been explained for this rearrangement, depending on whether (+)- or (—)-dihydromyrcene is used (109). The cycHc acetates are also commercially avaUable products known as Rosamusk and CyclocitroneUene Acetate. 

The oxime is converted to caprolactam by Beckmann rearrangement neutralization with ammonia gives ca 1.8 kg ammonium sulfate per kilogram of caprolactam. Purification is by vacuum distillation. A no-sulfate, extraction process has been described, but incineration of the ammonium bisulfate recovers only sulfur values and it is not practiced commercially (14). 

The trans isomer is more reactive than the cis isomer ia 1,2-addition reactions (5). The cis and trans isomers also undergo ben2yne, C H, cycloaddition (6). The isomers dimerize to tetrachlorobutene ia the presence of organic peroxides. Photolysis of each isomer produces a different excited state (7,8). Oxidation of 1,2-dichloroethylene ia the presence of a free-radical iaitiator or concentrated sulfuric acid produces the corresponding epoxide [60336-63-2] which then rearranges to form chloroacetyl chloride [79-04-9] (9). 

Carbonylation, or the Koch reaction, can be represented by the same equation as for hydrocarboxylation. The catalyst is H2SO4. A mixture of C-19 dicarboxyhc acids results due to extensive isomerization of the double bond. Methyl-branched isomers are formed by rearrangement of the intermediate carbonium ions. Reaction of oleic acid with carbon monoxide at 4.6 MPa (45 atm) using 97% sulfuric acid gives an 83% yield of the C-19 dicarboxyhc acid (82). Further optimization of the reaction has been reported along with physical data of the various C-19 dibasic acids produced. The mixture of C-19 acids was found to contain approximately 25% secondary carboxyl and 75% tertiary carboxyl groups. As expected, the tertiary carboxyl was found to be very difficult to esterify (80,83). 

In the first case (22), almost stoichiometric amounts of sulfuric acid or chlorosulfonic acid are used. The amine sulfate or the amine chlorosulfate is, first, formed and heated to about 180 or 130°C, respectively, to rearrange the salt. The introduction of the sulfonic acid group occurs only in the ortho position, and an almost quantitative amount of l-aminoanthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid is obtained. On the other hand, the use of oleum (23) requires a large excess of SO to complete the reaction, and inevitably produces over-sulfonated compound such as l-amino-anthraquinone-2,4-disulfonic acid. Addition of sodium sulfate reduces the byproduct to a certain extent. Improved processes have been proposed to make the isolation of the intermediate (19) uimecessary (24,25). 

Besides displacement reactions, oxidations, rearrangements and cleavage of the sulfide linkage, the most important reactions take place at the sulfur atom. 

The converse situation in which ring closure is initiated by the attack of a carbon-based radical on the heteroatom has been employed only infrequently (Scheme 18c) (66JA4096). The example in Scheme 18d begins with an intramolecular carbene attack on sulfur followed by rearrangement (75BCJ1490). The formation of pyrrolidines by intramolecular attack of an amino radical on a carbon-carbon double bond is exemplified in Scheme 19. In the third example, where cyclization is catalyzed by a metal ion (Ti, Cu, Fe, Co " ), the stereospecificity of the reaction depends upon the choice of metal ion. 

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