Water removing Lewis acids

In a second attempt to extend the scope of Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in water, we have used the Mannich reaction to convert a ketone-activated monodentate dienophile into a potentially chelating p-amino ketone. The Mannich reaction seemed ideally suited for the purpose of introducing a second coordination site on a temporary basis. This reaction adds a strongly Lewis-basic amino functionality on a position p to the ketone. Moreover, the Mannich reaction is usually a reversible process, which should allow removal of the auxiliary after the reaction. Furthermore, the reaction is compatible with the use of an aqueous medium. Some Mannich reactions have even been reported to benefit from the use of water ". Finally, Lewis-acid catalysis of Mannich-type reactions in mixtures of organic solvents and water has been reported ". Hence, if both addition of the auxiliary and the subsequent Diels-Alder reaction benefit from Lewis-acid catalysis, the possibility arises of merging these steps into a one-pot procedure. 

Removing dioxolane and oxathiolane-protecting groups using the CeCh H20/ Nal system as an efficient water-tolerant Lewis acid 03SL2101. 

To the best of our knowledge the data in Table 3.2 constitute the first example of enantio selectivity in a chiral Lewis-acid catalysed organic transformation in aqueous solution. Note that for the majority of enantioselective Lewis-acid catalysed reactions, all traces of water have to be removed from the... 

The cyanoacryhc esters are prepared via the Knoevenagel condensation reaction (5), in which the corresponding alkyl cyanoacetate reacts with formaldehyde in the presence of a basic catalyst to form a low molecular weight polymer. The polymer slurry is acidified and the water is removed. Subsequendy, the polymer is cracked and redistilled at a high temperature onto a suitable stabilizer combination to prevent premature repolymerization. Strong protonic or Lewis acids are normally used in combination with small amounts of a free-radical stabilizer. 

The ammonolysis of phenol (61—65) is a commercial process in Japan. Aristech Chemical Corporation (formerly USS Chemical Division of USX Corporation) currently operates a plant at Ha verb ill, Ohio to convert phenol to aniline. The plant s design is based on Halcon s process (66). In this process, phenol is vapori2ed, mixed with fresh and recycled ammonia, and fed to a reactor that contains a proprietary Lewis acid catalyst. The gas leaving the reactor is fed to a distillation column to recover ammonia overhead for recycle. Aniline, water, phenol, and a small quantity of by-product dipbenylamines are recovered from the bottom of the column and sent to the drying column, where water is removed. 

To overcome these problems with the first generation Brmsted acid-assisted chiral Lewis acid 7, Yamamoto and coworkers developed in 1996 a second-generation catalyst 8 containing the 3,5-bis-(trifluoromethyl)phenylboronic acid moiety [10b,d] (Scheme 1.15, 1.16, Table 1.4, 1.5). The catalyst was prepared from a chiral triol containing a chiral binaphthol moiety and 3,5-bis-(trifluoromethyl)phenylboronic acid, with removal of water. This is a practical Diels-Alder catalyst, effective in catalyzing the reaction not only of a-substituted a,/ -unsaturated aldehydes, but also of a-unsubstituted a,/ -unsaturated aldehydes. In each reaction, the adducts were formed in high yields and with excellent enantioselectivity. It also promotes the reaction with less reactive dienophiles such as crotonaldehyde. Less reactive dienes such as isoprene and cyclohexadiene can, moreover, also be successfully employed in reactions with bromoacrolein, methacrolein, and acrolein dienophiles. The chiral ligand was readily recovered (>90%). 

The biocatalyst may be supported on a Lewis acid. Elemental sulfur is removed from the liquid hydrocarbons and the recovered solvent is counter-currently washed with water in a separate unit. Prior to reuse, the solvent is distilled to decontaminate it from remaining water or sulfur slurry. The treated product not only has a reduced concentration of organic sulfur compounds, but also its viscosity is reduced. 

Given the prevalence of bis(oxazoline)-copper catalysts as chiral Lewis acids, it seems appropriate to comment briefly on catalyst preparations, since differences arise in the nature of the catalyst complex. Triflate-derived catalysts are formed simply by combining the ligand and Cu(OTf)2 in a given solvent and stirring for an appropriate length of time (typically >2 h) to achieve complete dissolution and complexation, Scheme 14. The hydrated version is formed by addition of 2 equiv of water to this catalyst solution, followed by removal of solvent after 15 min of stirring. The hydrated triflate catalyst is bench stable for months. 

The weak nucleophilic nature of polynitroaliphatic alcohols means that reactions often need to be catalyzed by Brpnsted acids or Lewis acids. The following methods are commonly used for the esterification of polynitroaliphatic alcohols (1) heating a solution of the alcohol and acid in the presence of sulfuric acid with Dean-Stark removal of water ° (2) using the acid chloride or anhydride in the presence of aluminium chloride " (3) reacting the acid and alcohol... 

Lewis bound form with a strong band at 1440 cm together with a weak 1490cm band. This implies that the Bronsted acidity is associated with the strongly bound water and as this water is removed the pyridine becomes coordinated to a Lewis bound site either nearby or at the undercoordinated A1 site produced by the removal of surface bound water. This transformation of Bronsted to Lewis acid centres is well established in catalyst chemistry as the sample... 

Lewis acidity, arising from electron deficient centers, does not exist in silica. In alumina this acidity is associated with surface aluminum ions which are coordinated in a tetrahedral manner. Such sites may be generated either by removal of water coordinated to an aluminum center or by dehydration of two adjacent hydroxyl groups above 500°C. 

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