M. Fujita, Y. Furusho / Tetrahedron xxx (2018) 1e4
3
Table 3
bases, although the reason is not clear at present.
Effect of base on guanylation using PyzCA at 25 ꢀC.a
We next examined effect of temperature on the guanylations of
aniline and dibutylamine, which did not proceed very much at
25 ꢀC (Table 2). Aniline gave improved yields at an elevated tem-
perature of 40 ꢀC, where ultrasound acceleration was observed
(entries 1e3). Similarly, guanylation of dibutylamine reached 94%
yield 2 h after low frequency ultrasound irradiation at 50 ꢀC, while
it remained 71% without ultrasound (entries 4e6). It should be
noted here that aniline was guanylated in 48% yield by the con-
ventional method (in refluxing nitrobenzene for 5 h) [23], unlike
the ultrasound method which achieved 84% yield just by elevating
the reaction temperature up to 40 ꢀC.
We also examined the effect of base on the guanylation
employing aniline and dibutylamine (Table 3). 50 mol% of Na2CO3
was added to the mixture of aniline and PyzCA, to which ultrasound
was irradiated for 1 h. The guanylated aniline was obtained in 81%
and 72% yields with low frequency and high frequency irradiations,
respectively, and ultrasound acceleration was thus observed (entry
2). Addition of diisopropylethylamine (DIEA) also enhanced the
yield, and ultrasound acceleration was observed (entry 4). How-
ever, the reaction in the presence of 50 mol% of K2CO3 resulted in
low yields (entry 3). In contrast to aniline, guanylation of dibutyl-
amine did not show ultrasound acceleration either in the presence
or in the absence of Na2CO3 (entries 5 and 6).
c
Entry
Amine
Base
Time (h)
USLF
Yield (%)b
USHF
Stirringe
d
1
2
3
4
5
6
Aniline
none
Na2CO3
2
1
1
1
3
2
4
81
7
21
53
33
48
21
10
f
72
25
72
17
g
K2CO3
DIEAh
none
69
14
17
Dibutylamine
c
Na2CO3
a
Amine (1.0 mmol); PyzCA (1.05 mmol).
b
c
Estimated by GC based on the formation of 1H-pyrazole.
Ultrasound with a low frequency of 36.6 kHz was applied.
Ultrasound with a high frequency of 480 kHz was applied.
Reaction mixture was magnetically stirred.
Na2CO3 (0.5 mmol).
d
e
f
g
h
K2CO3 (0.5 mmol).
DIEA (0.05 mL ¼ 0.3 mmol).
PyzCA or MeITU is promoted by ultrasound sonication and pro-
ceeds under solvent-free conditions. It is of particular interest that
the guanylation does not require bases in most cases. This facile and
efficient method represents an alternative to the conventional
methods using solvent and base with heating. We believe that this
method will find use in the development of guanidine-based ma-
terials, and studies toward this end are ongoing in our group.
Finally, we investigated the guanylation using S-methyl-
isothiouronium sulfate (MeITU) by employing a couple of amines
(Table 4). Guanylation of 1-octanamine at 25 ꢀC with MeIU showed
ultrasound acceleration, although the yields remained low (entries
1 and 2). Elevating the temperature to 40 ꢀC, the yields increased
very much, especially when the high-frequency ultrasound was
applied (entries 3 and 4). The results are really remarkable when
considering that, in conventional methods, the guanylation using
MeITU is generally carried out in an alcoholic solvent for more than
10 h to complete the reaction. For example, it was reported that
heating a solution of 1-octanamine and MeITU in EtOH at 100 ꢀC for
18 h gave N-octylguanidinium sulfate in 35% yield [16]. Similarly,
cyclohexylamine exhibited ultrasound acceleration, and the yield
rose to 88% when the low-frequency ultrasound was irradiated
(entries 5 and 6). Guanylation of piperidine, a secondary amine, was
also accelerated by ultrasound (entries 7 and 8). However, the yield
remained low under the conditions, and was less than that of the
conventional method (68% yield, in refluxing water for 2 h) [20].
Thus, the guanylation using MeITU was accelerated by ultrasound
irradiation, although the reaction rates were not as high as that of
guanylation using PyzCA.
4. Experimental section
4.1. General procedures
All chemicals are commercially available and used as received.
Bath type sonochemical reactors having a 36.6 kHz or 480 kHz
frequency (Honda electrics, Japan) were used. The bath tempera-
ture was maintained by circulating thermo-controlled water
[45e47] and the water level inside the bath was kept constant.
Power of ultrasound introduced into
a reaction vessel was
measured by calorimetrically and was adjusted to 5 W unless
otherwise noted. Yields were determined by GC or 1H NMR (JEOL
ECZ-400S). The GC analysis was performed on a Shimadzu GC-2014
with a flame ionization detector and a capillary column Restek
Rtx®-1 (30 m ꢂ 0.25 mm ꢂ 0.25
mm). The column temperature was
first held at 80 ꢀC for 2 min, and then elevated to 230 ꢀC with an
increasing rate of 5 ꢀC/min. The temperatures of the injector and
the detector were kept constant at 230 ꢀC and 250 ꢀC, respectively.
4.2. General procedure of ultrasound-assisted guanylation of
amines with 1H-pyrazole-1-carboxamidine hydrochloride
3. Conclusions
In a cylindrical reaction flask with a flat bottom, the amine
(1.0 mmol) and 1H-pyrazole-1-carboxamidine hydrochloride
(1.05 mmol) were placed. The mixture was subjected to ultrasound
in a 36.6 or 480 kHz thermo-controlled ultrasonic bath. Control
experiments without ultrasound irradiation were carried out with
magnetic stirring of ca. 840 rpm. After the reaction, the mixture was
dissolved in ethanol (1/1 (v/v), 5 mL). The resultant ethanolic so-
lution was subjected to GC analysis to estimate the yield of the
guanidine.
In summary, we have found that guanylation of amine with
Table 2
Effect of temperature on guanylation using PyzCA.a
Entry Amine
Temp. (ꢀC) Time (h) USLF
Yield (%)b Stirringe
USHF
c
d
1
2
3
4
5
6
Aniline
25
40
40
2
1
2
3
3
2
4
7
21
77
84
14
58
94
69
77
17
72
49
21
Dibutylamine 25
4.3. General procedure of ultrasound-assisted guanylation of
amines with S-methylisothiouronium sulfate
40
50
71
a
b
c
Amine (1.0 mmol); PyzCA (1.05 mmol).
In a cylindrical reaction flask with a flat bottom, the amine
(1.0 mmol) and 1H-pyrazole-1-carboxamidine hydrochloride
(1.0 mmol) were placed. The mixture was subjected to ultrasound
in a 36.6 or 480 kHz thermo-controlled ultrasonic bath. Control
Estimated by GC based on the formation of 1H-pyrazole.
Ultrasound with a low frequency of 36.6 kHz was applied.
Ultrasound with a high frequency of 480 kHz was applied.
Reaction mixture was magnetically stirred.
d
e
Please cite this article in press as: M. Fujita, Y. Furusho, Ultrasound-assisted synthesis of substituted guanidines using 1H-pyrazole-1-
j.tet.2018.06.057