Synthetic reactions with alkyl

A Review of Radiation-Chemical Synthetic Reactions with Alkyl Halides... 

The synthetic utility of alkylation of enolates is utilized in the syntheses of malonic ester (3.3) and acetoacetic ester (3.2). For example, carbanion generated from malonic ester undergoes an Sn2 reaction with alkyl halide to yield alkyl-substituted malonic ester. The monosubstituted malonic ester still has an active hydrogen atom. The second alkyl group (same or different) can be introduced in a similar manner. Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis or base-catalyzed hydrolysis of mono- or disubstituted derivative of malonic ester followed by acidification gives the corresponding mono- or disubstituted malonic acid, which on decarboxylation yields the corresponding monocarboxylic acid (Scheme 3.3). 

From a synthetic point of view, bond forming steps are the most important reactions of radical ions [202]. Several principle possibilities have been described in Section 8.1 and are summarized in Scheme 52. Many carbo- and heterocyclic ring systems can be constructed by (inter- and intramolecular) radical addition to alkenes, alkynes, or arenes. Coupling of carbonyl radical anions leads to pinacols either intra-or inter-molecular which can be further modified to give 1,2-diols, acyloins or alkenes. Radical combination reactions with alkyl radicals afford the opportunity to synthesize macrocyclic rings. These radical ion-radical pairs can be generated most efficiently by inter- or intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer. 

Compared with other synthetic intermediates, enolates show a decreased reactivity. The differences in reactivity are most striking in reactions with alkylating agents [1] and epoxides [6]. The reactivities of the various types of enolates towards alkyl halides decrease in the order C=C(0 )NR2 (amide-enolate) C=C(0 )0R (ester enolate) C=CO (ketone-enolate). Metallated nitriles, imines, and S,S-acetals are, in general, much better nucleophiles than enolates in alkylations and ft-hydroxyalkylations [1], Furthermore, the alkylation of aldehyde and ketone enolates usually does not stop after the mono-functionalization [12]. The decreased reactivity of (especially) aldehyde and ketone enolates also appears in thiolations with disulfides [2]. A solution of lithiated cyclohexanone in THF does not react at 20°C with CH3SSCH3 [1,2]. 

There are two major reactions of organocuprates, and both give products reminiscent of a carbon nucleophile (1) reaction with alkyl halides and (2) conjugate addition with a,p-unsaturated ketones. Conjugate addition to a, 3-unsaturated ketones is promoted when ether is used as a solvent.381 The substitution reaction is promoted by the use of THF or ether-HMPA as a solvent. l As mentioned earlier, the mechanism of these reactions probably involves a one-electron transfer, although other mechanistic proposals are in the literature,but the synthetic result is that expected of a carbon nucleophile. 85 The general reactivity of organocuprates with electrophiles follows the order ... 

The use of quinoline bromides or iodides in reaction with alkyl boranes proceeds usually smoothly, under basic conditions in the presence of palladium catalyst. Hiyama and his group carried out a Suzuki reaction as part of their endeavor in the preparation of synthetic analogues of 3-hydroxy-3-... 

Homologation of All l Halides. Carbanion (1) serves as an acylsilane anion equivalent in reactions with alkyl halides. The alkylation proceeds smoothly at —40 °C in the presence of HMPA to provide 0,5-acetals which are easily transformed into acylsi-lanes via oxidation with sodium periodate in wet dioxane (eq 8). Acetalization of acylsilanes gives a-trimethylsUyl acetals, which are orthoester synthetic equivalents (eq 9). The synthesis of iso-carbacyclin was achieved by using this procedure. 

Since practically all syntheses of any complexity involve carbon-carbon bondforming steps as an essential feature, the availability of methods which allow two molecular fragments to be connected by the reaction of a nucleophilic carbon with an electrophilic one can be crucial to the success of a synthetic plan. The emphasis in this chapter is on enolate ions and enamines, two of the most useful kinds of carbon nucleophiles, their preparation, and their reactions with alkylating agents. Certain related nucleophilic carbon species will also be discussed. 

Because a T amine is a better nucleophile than a 1° amine, and a 1° amine is a better nucleophile than ammonia, the products of Rxns lA, IB and 1C on the previous page will compete with the starting material for reaction with alkyl halide (e.g., methyl bromide). ITie result is a mixture of all possible products, including the quaternary (4°) ammonium salt shown below. For this reason direct alkylation of an amine is not a synthetically useful option for making primary, secondary or tertiary amines. 

Alkyl halides and sulfonates are the most frequently used alkylating acceptor synthons. The carbonyl group is used as the classical a -synthon. O-Silylated hemithioacetals (T.H. Chan, 1976) and fomic acid orthoesters are examples for less common a -synthons. In most synthetic reactions carbon atoms with a partial positive charge (= positively polarized carbon) are involved. More reactive, "free carbocations as occurring in Friedel-Crafts type alkylations and acylations are of comparably limited synthetic value, because they tend to react non-selectively. 

In the synthesis of molecules without functional groups the application of the usual polar synthetic reactions may be cumbersome, since the final elimination of hetero atoms can be difficult. Two solutions for this problem have been given in the previous sections, namely alkylation with nucleophilic carbanions and alkenylation with ylides. Another direct approach is to combine radical synthons in a non-polar reaction. Carbon radicals are. however, inherently short-lived and tend to undergo complex secondary reactions. Escheirmoser s principle (p. 34f) again provides a way out. If one connects both carbon atoms via a metal atom which (i) forms and stabilizes the carbon radicals and (ii) can be easily eliminated, the intermolecular reaction is made intramolecular, and good yields may be obtained. 

The reaction of 2-aminothiazoles with alkyl isothiocyanates yields 2-thiazolylthioureas (30.3, 490), otherwise usually obtained by direct heterocyclization (Chapter II. Section II.4). Other synthetic methods... 

The large rate enhancements observed for bimolecular nucleophilic substitutions m polai aprotic solvents are used to advantage m synthetic applications An example can be seen m the preparation of alkyl cyanides (mtiiles) by the reaction of sodium cyanide with alkyl halides... 

Alkylation of benzene with alkyl halides m the presence of aluminum chloride was discovered by Charles Friedel and James M Crafts m 1877 Crafts who later became president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology collaborated with Friedel at the Sorbonne m Pans and together they developed what we now call the Friedel-Crafts reaction into one of the most useful synthetic methods m organic chemistry... 

The properties of organometallic compounds are much different from those of the other classes we have studied to this point Most important many organometallic com pounds are powerful sources of nucleophilic carbon something that makes them espe cially valuable to the synthetic organic chemist For example the preparation of alkynes by the reaction of sodium acetylide with alkyl halides (Section 9 6) depends on the presence of a negatively charged nucleophilic carbon m acetylide ion... 

The Fiiedel-Ciafts alkylation of aiomatics with the lesonance-stabihzed ttichloiocyclopiopenium ttiflate offers a synthetic pathway to ttiaiyl cyclopiopenium salts (26). The ttichloiocyclopiopenium ion has also been shown to undergo Friedel-Crafts reaction with alkenes and alkynes to give trivinyl and tri(halovinyl) cyclopiopenium ions. 

Alkyl hahdes in the presence of silver oxide react with alkyl malates to yield alkoxy derivatives of succinic acid, eg, 2-ethoxysuccinic acid, H00CCH2CH(0C2H )C00H (12,13). A synthetic approach to produce ethers of malic acid is the reaction of malic esters and sodium alkoxides which affords 2-alkoxysuccinic esters (14). 

---