Synthesis of aromatic carboxylic acids

Most of the aromatic C—carbonylations have been performed under mild conditions using stoichiometric amounts of palladium(II) salts (Table 

XVIII) these salts act as both the carbonylation catalyst and the oxidant inactive palladium(O) is recovered at the end of the reaction  

Few attempts have been made to render the reaction truly catalytic in palladium by adding some external oxidants such as CUCI2, FeClj, O2. 

This difficulty can be obviated starting from organometallic derivatives of the initial aromatic compounds. For example [148, 149] aromatic organothallium compoimds, which are readily obtained from Ar—H and thallium salts, are smoothly carbonylated to give aromatic esters using catalytic quantities of palladium (Table XVIII). 

Phenol substrates allow completely different reaction conditions (Table XVni) organometalhc catalysts are not necessary and the reactions can be directly performed using sodium or potassium carbonates  

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The synthesis of 2-methylbutanoic acid (Expt 5.129) is illustrative of the method. Other organometallic reagents undergo a similar carboxylation reaction, and examples of the use of organolithium and organosodium reagents are included in the section on the synthesis of aromatic carboxylic acids (Section 6.13.3, p. 1069). 

The hydrolysis of nitriles under either acidic or basic conditions, which has already been discussed in Section 5.11.2, p. 671, for alkyl and aralkyl nitriles, is equally applicable to the synthesis of aromatic carboxylic acids (Expt 6.153). The aromatic nitriles are readily obtained by the Sandmeyer reaction (see Section 6.7.1, p. 923). 

Schorigin P. A new synthesis of aromatic carboxylic acid from hydrocarbons. II. Annoimcement. Ber Dtsch Chem Ges. 1910 43 1938-1942. 

A powerful and efficient method for the preparation of poly(ketone)s is the direct polycondensation of dicarboxylic acids with aromatic compounds or of aromatic carboxylic acids using phosphorus pentoxide/methanesulfonic acid (PPMA)16 or polyphosphoric acid (PPA)17 as the condensing agent and solvent. By applying both of these reagents to the synthesis of hexafluoroisopropylidene-unit-containing aromatic poly(ketone)s, various types of poly(ketone)s such as poly(ether ketone) (11), poly(ketone) (12), poly(sulfide ketone) (13), and poly-... 

Formation of Aromatic Carboxylic Acids The Kolbe-Schmitt Synthesis... 

Lane CF, Myatt HL, Daniels J, Hopps HB (1974) Organic synthesis using borane-methyl sulfide II Reduction of aromatic carboxylic acids in the presence of tnmethyl borate J Org Chem 39 3052-3054... 

Cesium phenolates were introduced by Kellogg [16] for the synthesis of crown compounds, after crown ether diesters had been obtained in good yields from the cesium salts of aromatic carboxylic acids and oligoethylene glycol dihalides... 

There has been considerable research into the electrolytic reduction of aromatic carboxylic acids to the corresponding aldehydes. A general procedure has been described in which key elements are the use of the ammonium salt of the acid, careful control of the pH and the presence of an organic phase (benzene) to extract the aldehyde and thus minimize overreduction. The method appears to work best for relatively acidic substrates for example, salicylaldehyde was obtained in 80% yield. Danish workers have shown that, under acidic conditions, controlled electrolytic reductions are possible for certain pyridine-, imidazole- and thiazole-carboxylic acids. In these cases, it is thought that the product aldehydes are protected by geminal diol formation. A chemical method which is closely related to electrolysis is the use of sodium amalgam as reductant. Although not widely used, it was successfully employed in the synthesis of a fluorinated salicylaldehyde. ... 

Phenolic esters (1) of aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids, when treated with a Lewis acid as catalyst, do undergo a rearrangement reaction to yield ortho- and para-acylphenols 2 and 4 respectively. This Fries rearrangement reaction is an important method for the synthesis of hydroxyaryl ketones. 

Notable examples of general synthetic procedures in Volume 47 include the synthesis of aromatic aldehydes (from dichloro-methyl methyl ether), aliphatic aldehydes (from alkyl halides and trimethylamine oxide and by oxidation of alcohols using dimethyl sulfoxide, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and pyridinum trifluoro-acetate the latter method is particularly useful since the conditions are so mild), carbethoxycycloalkanones (from sodium hydride, diethyl carbonate, and the cycloalkanone), m-dialkylbenzenes (from the />-isomer by isomerization with hydrogen fluoride and boron trifluoride), and the deamination of amines (by conversion to the nitrosoamide and thermolysis to the ester). Other general methods are represented by the synthesis of 1 J-difluoroolefins (from sodium chlorodifluoroacetate, triphenyl phosphine, and an aldehyde or ketone), the nitration of aromatic rings (with ni-tronium tetrafluoroborate), the reductive methylation of aromatic nitro compounds (with formaldehyde and hydrogen), the synthesis of dialkyl ketones (from carboxylic acids and iron powder), and the preparation of 1-substituted cyclopropanols (from the condensation of a 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol derivative and ethyl-... 

Imidazolides of aromatic sulfonic acids react much more slowly in alcoholysis reactions than the carboxylic acid imidazolides. Although the reaction with phenols is quantitative when a melt is heated to 100 °C for several hours, with alcohols under these conditions only very slight alcoholysis is observed. In the presence of 0.05 equivalents (catalytic amount) of sodium ethoxide, imidazole sodium, of NaNH2, however, imidazolides of sulfonic acids react with alcohols almost quantitatively and exothermically at room temperature in a very short time to form sulfonic acid esters (sulfonates). (If the ratio of sulfonic acid imidazolide to alcoholate is 1 2, ethers are formed see Chapter 17). The mechanism of catalysis by base corresponds to that operative in the synthesis of carboxylic esters by the imidazolide method. Because of the more pronounced nucleophilic character of alkoxide ions, sulfonates can also be prepared in good yield by alcoholysis of their imidazolides in the presence of hydroxide ions i.e., with alcoholic sodium hydroxide. 45 Examples of syntheses of sulfonates are presented below. 

Although the ability of microwaves (MW) to heat water and other polar materials has been known for half a century or more, it was not until 1986 that two groups of researchers independently reported the application of MW heating to organic synthesis. Gedye et al. [1] found that several organic reactions in polar solvents could be performed rapidly and conveniently in closed Teflon vessels in a domestic MW oven. These reactions included the hydrolysis of amides and esters to carboxylic acids, esterification of carboxylic acids with alcohols, oxidation of alkyl benzenes to aromatic carboxylic acids and the conversion of alkyl halides to ethers. 

Kwakman et al. [65] described the synthesis of a new dansyl derivative for carboxylic acids. The label, N- (bromoacetyl)-A -[5-(dimethylamino)naphthalene-l-sulfonyl]-piperazine, reacted with both aliphatic and aromatic carboxylic acids in less than 30 min. Excess reagent was converted to a relatively polar compound and subsequently separated from the derivatives on a silica cartridge. A separation of carboxylic acid enantiomers was performed after labeling with either of three chiral labels and the applicability of the method was demonstrated by determinations of racemic ibuprofen in rat plasma and human urine [66], Other examples of labels used to derivatize carboxylic acids are 3-aminoperylene [67], various coumarin compounds [68], 9-anthracenemethanol [69], 6,7-dimethoxy-l-methyl-2(lH)-quinoxalinone-3-propionylcarboxylic acid hydrazide (quinoxalinone) [70], and a quinolizinocoumarin derivative termed Lumarin 4 [71],... 

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). 

Alkylation of the enolate of a carboxylic acid, formed as an intermediate in the Birch reduction of an aromatic acid, has been successfully exploited in synthesis, e.g., in the synthesis of gibberellic acid. A model compound 24 was reduced with sodium in diethyl ether-liquid ammonia and the resulting carbanion was alkylated with iodomethane to give 25 in ca. 80% yield87. 

In addition to the synthesis of saccharin, also a number of other side-chain oxidations have been studied leading to aromatic carboxylic acids by indirect electrochemical oxidation using chromic acid as oxidizing agent. They include the oxidation of p-nitrotoluene 2,4-dinitrotoluene toluene, p-xylene, and p-tolualdehyde... 

Carboxylic acids can be alkylated in the a position by conversion of their salts to dianions [which actually have the enolate structures RCH=C(0 )21497] by treatment with a strong base such as lithium diisopropylamide.1498 The use of Li as the counterion is important, because it increases the solubility of the dianionic salt. The reaction has been applied1499 to primary alkyl, allylic, and benzylic halides, and to carboxylic acids of the form RCHjCOOH and RR"CHCOOH.1454 This method, which is an example of the alkylation of a dianion at its more nucleophilic position (see p. 368), is an alternative to the malonic ester synthesis (0-94) as a means of preparing carboxylic acids and has the advantage that acids of the form RR R"CCOOH can also be prepared. In a related reaction, methylated aromatic acids can be alkylated at the methyl group by a similar procedure.1500... 

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