Thallium salts alkyl halide coupling

The reaction between acyl halides and alcohols or phenols is the best general method for the preparation of carboxylic esters. It is believed to proceed by a 8 2 mechanism. As with 10-8, the mechanism can be S l or tetrahedral. Pyridine catalyzes the reaction by the nucleophilic catalysis route (see 10-9). The reaction is of wide scope, and many functional groups do not interfere. A base is frequently added to combine with the HX formed. When aqueous alkali is used, this is called the Schotten-Baumann procedure, but pyridine is also frequently used. Both R and R may be primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl or aryl. Enolic esters can also be prepared by this method, though C-acylation competes in these cases. In difficult cases, especially with hindered acids or tertiary R, the alkoxide can be used instead of the alcohol. Activated alumina has also been used as a catalyst, for tertiary R. Thallium salts of phenols give very high yields of phenolic esters. Phase-transfer catalysis has been used for hindered phenols. Zinc has been used to couple... 

The in situ synthesis of organoboranes via reaction of alkyl halides with magnesium in the presence of diborane can also be used to prepare coupled products (equations 20 and 21). Oxidation of the reaction mixture with alkaline silver nitrate leads to good yields of dimeric products. The reaction is successful for primary and secondary halides. A related reaction is the coupling of secondary alkyl halides in the presence of catalytic quantities of thallium salts. This procedure fails for primary alkyl halides and gives modest yields for secondary alkyl halides (equation 22). 

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