Thallation reactions

Preparation of bromoindoles by replacement of metallic substituents have included oxidation of indolylmagnesium bromide by p-nitrobenzoic acid to give 3-bromoindole (67BSF1294), thallation procedures (illustrated in Scheme 18 also applied to the synthesis of chloroindoles) [85H(23)3113 86H(24)3065 87CPB3146, 87H(26)2817 89H(29)1163], and the use of lithium derivatives. The thallation reactions provide access particularly to 4- and 7-bromoindoles. Quenching the protected 2-lithium derivative of indole with 1,2-dibromotetrachloroethane gave an 87% yield of 2-bromoindole (92JOC2495). 

TFA. Electrophilic aromatic thallation with TTFA therefore constitutes a simple and general procedure for the preparation of monoarylthallium(III) derivatives and has been the subject of detailed kinetic, mechanistic, and synthetic investigations. These aspects of the thallation reaction are discussed at length below. 

Various iodinated pyiToles have been prepared by direct iodination [19,24] or via thallation [25]. For example, 3-iodo-V-TIPS-pyrrole is prepared in 61% yield from 6 [19], and 3,4-diiodo-2-formyl-l-methylpyrrole is available in 54% yield via a bis-thallation reaction [25]. 

Thallium (III) Compounds. Thallium (ITT) derivatives have been used extensively as oxidants in oiganic synthesis. In particular, thallic acetate and trifluoroacetate are extremely effective as electrophiles in oxythallation and thallation reactions. For example, ketones can be prepared from terminal acetylenes by means of Tl(OOCCH3)3 in acetic acid (oxythallation) (30) ... 

Arythallium bis(trifluoroacetates) (prepared by 2-22) can be converted to phenols by treatment with lead tetraacetate followed by triphenylphosphine and then dilute NaOH.3"5 The entire process, including the thallation reaction, can be carried out in a single reaction vessel without isolation of any of the intermediate products, so that this is a method of accomplishing the conversion ArH — ArOH. Diarylthallium trifluoroacetates undergo the same reaction.3"6... 

Methoxy phthalide is available from w-methoxy benzyl alcohol via organo thallation reaction. 6-Methoxy phthalide is also available via organothallation reaction, despite the lack of activation at the aromatic position. 

The formation of iodobenzene by treatment of phenylthallium(III) compounds with potassium iodide was reported, without experimental details, by Challenger et al in the 1930 s. 2,113 jhe potential and synthetic interest of this iododethallation reaction was extensively studied by McKillop and Taylor in the early 1970 s.8 7-89 Although arylthallium(III) compounds prepared by reaction of the arenes with thallium tris(trifluoroacetate) (84) can be isolated, they can also be directly converted into aryl iodides by addition of aqueous potassium iodide to the thallation reaction mixture. An intermediate arylthallium(III) diiodide (91) was suggested to be formed and to decompose intramolecularly to lead to the aryl iodide. ... 

Conventional palladium(II)-catalyzed coupling methodology allowed the formation of a number of oligo 2-thienyl or selenienyls <90H(30)645>. The thallation reaction of selenophene affords the 2-thallated species which give 2-iodoselenophene upon iodination <90MI 213-06). 

Thallation reactions are potentially useful, but organothallium compounds are highly... 

Thallation of aromatic compounds with thallium tris(trifluoroacetate) proceeds more easily than mercuration. Transmetallation of organothallium compounds with Pd(II) is used for synthetic purposes. The reaction of alkenes with arylthallium compounds in the presence of Pd(Il) salt gives styrene derivatives (433). The reaction can be made catalytic by use of CuCl7[393,394], The aryla-tion of methyl vinyl ketone was carried out with the arylthallium compound 434[395]. The /9-alkoxythallium compound 435, obtained by oxythallation of styrene, is converted into acetophenone by the treatment with PdCh[396]. 

A simple, high-yield procedure for the conversion of ArTlXj into ArjTlX compounds has recently been described 90). This symmetrization reaction, the mechanism of which is not known, can be effected by treatment of the ArTlX2 compound either with triethyl phosphite or with hot aqueous acetone. As a wide variety of ArTlXj compounds can now be easily prepared by electrophilic thallation of aromatic substrates with thallium(III) trifluoroacetate (q. v.), symmetrization represents the method of choice for the preparation of the majority of ArjTlX compounds. Only about twenty mixed compounds, RR TIX, have been prepared so far, and the only general synthetic procedure available consists of a disproportionation reaction between an RTIX2 species and another organometallic reagent [e.g., Eqs. (5)-(7)]. 

With the ArH ArTlX2 Arl reaction sequence available as a rapid and reliable probe for aromatic thallation, a detailed study was undertaken of the various factors affecting orientation in this electrophilic metallation process (153). The results, which are summarized below, demonstrate that aromatic thallation is subject to an almost unprecedented degree of orientation control coupled with the ease with which thallium can then be displaced by other substitutent groups (this aspect of the synthetic exploitation of aromatic thallation is discussed in detail below), the sequential processes of thallation followed by displacement represent a new and versatile method for aromatic substitution which both rivals and complements the classic Sandmeyer reaction. 

Aromatic thallation has been shown to be a reversible electrophilic substitution reaction with an energy of activation of approximately 27 kcal/mole and an extremely large steric requirement 153). The consequence of the latter feature of aromatic thallation is that there is a significant preference for para substitution in thallation of simple monosubstituted benzeno id compounds. It will be seen by examination of Table VI that the amount of para substitution increases as the size of the substituent increases (for... 

In summary, then, the orientation of electrophilic thallation can be controlled by an appropriate manipulation of reaction conditions. Under conditions of kinetic control, ortho substitution results when chelation of the electrophilic reagent (TTFA in the studies described above) with the directing substituent permits intramolecular delivery of the electrophile, and para substitution results when such capabilities are absent this latter result is an expression of the very large steric requirements of the bulky thallium electrophile. Under conditions of thermodynamic control, however, meta substitution is observed. 

Yields in the above reactions can often be improved by the addition of 1 mole of triphenylphosphine directly to the trifluoroacetic acid solution of the reactants immediately before final work-up. It would appear that the triphenylphosphine functions as a scavenger for TTFA released in the metal-metal exchange reaction, thus protecting the final phenol from further electrophilic thallation and/or oxidation. Validation of the metal-metal exchange mechanism was obtained indirectly by isolation and characterization of an ArTlX2/LTTFA complex directly from the reaction mixture. NMR analysis revealed that this complex still possessed an intact aryl-thallium bond, indicating that it was probably the precursor to the transmetallation products, an aryllead tristrifluoroacetate and TTFA. 

The aryl-thallium bond is thus apparently capable of displacement either by electrophilic or by suitable nucleophilic reagents. Coupled with its propensity for homolytic cleavage (spontaneous in the case of ArTlIj compounds, and otherwise photochemically induced), ArTlXj compounds should be capable of reacting with a wide variety of reagents under a wide variety of conditions. Since the position of initial aromatic thallation can be controlled to a remarkable degree, the above reactions may be only representative of a remarkably versatile route to aromatic substitution reactions in which organothallium compounds play a unique and indispensable role. 

The recently reported (757) conversion of 5-pyrazolones directly to a,j8-acetylenic esters by treatment with TTN in methanol appears to be an example of thallation of a heterocyclic enamine the suggested mechanism involves initial electrophilic thallation of the 3-pyrazolin-5-one tautomer of the 5-pyrazolone to give an intermediate organothallium compound which undergoes a subsequent oxidation by a second equivalent of TTN to give a diazacyclopentadienone. Solvolysis by methanol, with concomitant elimination of nitrogen and thallium(I), yields the a,)S-acetylenic ester in excellent (78-95%) yield (Scheme 35). Since 5-pyrazolones may be prepared in quantitative yield by the reaction of /3-keto esters with hydrazine (168), this conversion represents in a formal sense the dehydration of /3-keto esters. In fact, the direct conversion of /3-keto esters to a,jS-acetylenic esters without isolation of the intermediate 5-pyrazolones can be achieved by treatment in methanol solution first with hydrazine and then with TTN. 

Under the same reaction conditions, -keto esters which have been alkylated on the a-carbon atom (thus leading to 3,4-disubstituted 5-pyrazolones upon treatment with hydrazine) give allenic esters in good (50-70%) yield (158). The mechanism (Scheme 36) again appears to involve thallation of the enamine tautomer of the 5 -pyrazolone, but deprotonation now takes place... 

Aryltrimethylsilanes has been found to be a useful complement to direct thallation in the preparation of arylthallium(III) intermediates. The thallium(III) replaces the silyl substituent and the scope of the reaction is expanded to include some EWGs, such as trifluoromethyl. How does the silyl group function in these systems ... 

Ethylbenzene, Thallium triacetate Ucmura, S. et al., Bull. Chem. Soc., Japan., 1971, 44, 2571 Application of a published method of thallation to ethylbenzene caused a violent explosion. A reaction mixture of thallium triacetate, acetic acid, perchloric acid and ethylbenzene was stirred at 65°C for 5 h, then filtered from thallous salts. Vacuum evaporation of the filtrate at 60°C gave a pasty residue which exploded. This preparation of ethylphenylthallic acetate perchlorate monohydrate had been done twice previously and uneventfully, as had been analogous preparations involving thallation of benzene, toluene, three isomeric xylenes and anisole in a total of 150 runs, where excessive evaporation had been avoided. 

Under mercuration conditions, pyrrole itself reacts with a mixture of Hg(OAc)2, PdCh, LiBr, CO, EtOH, and Cu(OAc)2 to give 2-(ethoxycarbonyl)pyrrole, but in only 4% yield [115]. In contrast, using the thallation-palladium modification of the Heck reaction, Monti and Sleiter have prepared pyrrole ester 159 in high yield [111]. 

Somei and co-workers made extensive use of the Heck reaction with haloindoles in their synthetic approaches to ergot and other alkaloids [26, 40, 41, 240-249]. Thus, 4-bromo-l-carbomethoxyindole (69%) [26], 7-iodoindole (91%) (but not 7-iodoindoline or l-acetyl-7-iodoindoline) [40, 41], and l-acetyl-5-iodoindoline (96%) [41] underwent coupling with methyl acrylate under standard conditions (PdlOAc /PhsP/EtjN/DMF/100 °C) to give the corresponding (E)-indolylacrylates in the yields indicated. The Heck coupling of methyl acrylate with thallated indoles and indolines is productive in some cases [41, 241, 246]. For example, reaction of (3-formylindol-4-yl)thallium bis-trifluoroacetate (186) affords acrylate 219 in excellent yield [241], Similarly, this one-pot thallation-palladation operation from 3-formylindole and methyl vinyl ketone was used to synthesize 4-(3-formylindol-4-yl)-3-buten-2-one (86% yield). 

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