Tautomeric nitroso/oxime

Nitroso-oxime tautomerism was reported to occur in compounds 266-268 [76AHC(S1), pp. 436,443,452],... 

Nitroso-Oxime Tautomerism. This equilibrium lies far to the right, and as a rule nitroso compounds are stable only when there is not a hydrogen. 

The nitro form is much more stable than the aci form in sharp contrast to the parallel case of nitroso-oxime tautomerism, undoubtedly because the nitro form has resonance not found in the nitroso case. Aci forms of nitro compounds are also called nitronic acids and azinic acids. 

Nitroso compounds (e.g. 116, equation 85) that are unable to tautomerize to oximes undergo an ene reaction with aikenes 117 giving Af-aUylhydroxylamines 118 (equation 85). Both trifluoromethyl and aryl nitroso compounds react with aikenes although in many cases the resulting Af-allylhydroxylamines are prone to subsequent chemical transformations. If allylzinc compounds are used as the aikene components, the chemos-electivity of the reaction is reversed and O-allylation products are preferably formed . 

The diastereomeric ratio is high only for ( )-disubstituted alkenes and norbornene, but low for cyclic and (Z)-alkenes, reflecting the order of stability of the intermediate complexes. The loss of stereochemical purity is probably due to base-catalyzed nitroso-oxime tautomerization during the reduction. However, the use of diisobutylaluminum hydride, before adding lithium aluminum hydride, allows (3/ , 4S )-3,4-hexanediamine to be obtained from (Z)-3-hexene with d.r. [(3R, 4S )IQR AR )] 90 10. 

Aliphatic primary and secondary nitroso compounds are not stable but tautomerize to oximes. In nitrosocyclohexane the special steric conditions favor a dimerization rather than a tautomerization. The dimer is reduced polarographically in a six-electron reaction to A, A -dicyclohexylhydrazine [71]. Aliphatic Miitro compounds are dimers in the solid state, but dissociates in solution to a degree depending on the solvent the monomer is easier reducible than the dimer [72]. Only the monomer reacts as a spin trap the rate constant for the dissociation in MeCN is 1.5 x 10" s" [72a]. 

Oximes are reduced in benzene solution to hydroxylamines by sodium borohydride adsorbed on silica gel. In turn, silver carbonate on Celite cleanly oxidizes hydroxylamines to C-nitroso-compounds, isolate as nitroso-dimers no oximes are formed. Such dimers can be thermally dissociated to the more reactive monomers, whichare tautomerized to oximes on thermal or red-light treatment. ... 

Mechanism The reaction of and A -steroids with nitrosyl fluoride to form ni trimines is best discussed in conjunction with the nitrosyl chloride reaction leading tothe5a-chloro-6 -nitro steroids (33). Since nitroso alkanes are oxidized with nitrosyl chloride to nitro alkanes it is believed that 5a-chloro-6j5-nitro steroids are formed in this way from an initially formed 5a-chloro-6 -nitroso adduct. The same is true for nitrosyl fluoride up to the stage of the nitroso fluoride (56). Since NOF is a weaker oxidizing agent than NOCl the nitroso fluoride tautomerizes to the fluoro oxime (57) at a rate... 

There are three possible products when NOCl is added to alkenes. The initial product is always the [3-halo nitroso compound, but these are stable only if the carbon bearing the nitrogen has no hydrogen. If it has, the nitroso compound tautomerizes to the oxime ... 

After the formation of tautomeric anions A=A. the anion A a rearranges to give the anion B, which reacts with the second nitroso acetal molecule to form a mixture of stereoisomers of silyl derivative 509a. After desilylation of 509a, oxime 510a is isolated. The reaction with the fluoride anion proceeds at low temperature, whereas the use of triethylamine is efficient only at room temperature. The yield of oxime (510a) is virtually independent of the reaction conditions, whereas the diastereomeric ratio varies substantially. 

There appears to be little reported work on S-nitrosation reactions of simple thioke-tones. Thiocamphor when treated with /50-amyl nitrite in fact gives the oxime58 (formerly called a isonitroso compounds), presumably via the tautomeric form of the thione, i.e. the enethiol. In this respect the reaction is very similar to the reactions of ketones59 which give oximes or C-nitroso compounds via the enol intermediates60. 

Aliphatic nitro compounds exhibit rather different behavior from nitroaromatic compounds. Secondary and primary nitro compounds tend to produce oximes because the intermediate nitroso compound quickly tautomerizes to the oxime (equation 1). Under aprotic conditions the radical anions of primary and secondary nitro compounds are relatively stable those derived from tertiary nitro compounds, on the other hand, eject nitrite ion relatively readily (equation 2)8. 

Primary and secondary nitroso compounds tautomerize to isonitroso compounds - oximes of aldehydes and ketones, respectively. Their reductions are dealt with in the sections on derivatives of carbonyl compounds (pp. 106,132). 

The reduction of aliphatic nitrocompounds in acid solution proceeds in two steps. First the nitrosocompound is formed. A low steady state concen ation of 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane has been detected during the reduction of 2-methyl-2-nitropropane [13]. At the cathode potential necessary to attach the first electron to a nitro group, the nitroso intermediate undergoes further reduction to the hydroxyla-mine. When the nitrocompound has one a-hydrogen substituent, tautomerism of the nitroso intermediate to an oxime is in competition with further reduction. Both temperature and proton availability affect the rate of this isomerisation. Reduction of aliphatic nitrocompounds to the hydroxylamine is usually carried out in acid solution at 0-5° C to minimise oxime formation [14, 15], The hydroxylamine is stable towards further reduction in acid solution. Oximes in acid solution are reduced... 

Meldmm s acid 5-oxime, prepared by reaction of Meldrum s acid and NO followed by tautomerism of the nitroso group, thermolyzes at elevated temperatures analogously to give the highly reactive nitrosoketene <1997H(46)503, 1998H(47)383>, which has been characterized spectroscopically (Equation 15) <2002JRS443>. 

Since the question of the necessary conditions for isomerization of nitroso-cyclohexane to cyclohexanone oxime is of considerable commercial importance, it has been shown that this tautomerization is favored by the presence of gaseous hydrogen chloride, particularly at a wavelength of 300 mp. [57]. When cyclohexane is saturated with hydrogen chloride, treated with nitric oxide, and exposed to a source of ultraviolet radiation, the oxime forms along with a trace of 1-chloro-l-nitrosocyclohexane [58]. Cyclooctane seems to form the corresponding oxime and the chloronitroso compound, but under no circumstances nitrosocyclooctane [58]. 

The nitrosation of aliphatic carbon atoms, particularly of carbon atoms activated by adjacent carbonyl, carboxyl, nitrile, or nitro groups, has been reviewed in great detail [2]. Judging from this review, with few exceptions, nitrosation of active methylene compounds leads to the formation of oximes (unfortunately termed isonitroso compounds in the older literature). The few exceptional cases cited in which true nitroso compounds (or their dimers) were formed involved tertiary carbon atoms in which no hydrogen atoms were available to permit tautomerism to the oxime or involved a reaction which was carried out under neither acidic nor basic conditions. 

Upon reaction with nitrous acid, indole produces a complex mixture of products. In addition to 3-oximino-3H -indole (16), which is the stable tautomeric form of 3-nitrosoindole (17), dimeric products of the type (18) and (19) are also formed. In contrast, (16) appears to be the sole product of the nitrosation of indole with amyl nitrite and sodium ethoxide (72HC(25-2)537). Studies of the nitrosation of pyrrole are somewhat indecisive. The mononitrosopyrrole, obtained from the reaction of pyrrole with nitrous acid, has not been fully characterized, but there is some evidence that nitrosation of pyrrole with amyl nitrite and sodium ethoxide leads to the sodium salt of the 3-nitroso derivative. However, upon the addition of acid, the product rearranges to give the oxime of 3-formylisoxazole (20) (B-77MI30502). 

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