Gennadiy Ilyashenko et al.
COMMUNICATIONS
In summary, the addition of thioacetic acid 1 to un- General Procedure for the Addition Reactions
saturated aldehydes clearly does not proceed through Carried Out in the Thermos Flask
a simple, direct addition mechanism involving a thio-
Michael addition and as revealed by both adiabatic
All adiabatic reactions were carried out using a Thermos
Model 32-34-50 flask, Filler 32-50F with a 0.5 L capacity
and reaction calorimetry, it appears to be a two-step,
autocatalytic process. Whilst in Figure 1, two-step be-
haviour is clearly visible for toluene and chloroform,
close examination of the transients for petroleum
ether, DMF and THF also show an inflection in the
curve, although to a lesser extent. Propionitrile, how-
ever, shows a single linear response during its temper-
ature rise and acetonitrile shows only a single curve
achieving a considerably lower final temperature.
Indeed, it is clear that the system under study forms a
complex network of reactions each of which may well
proceed at different rates depending on the solvent. If
the rates involved in the first step in the reaction are
reduced by these solvents, only a single curve would
result.
and equipped with magnetic stirring. All temperature read-
ings were made using a Testo 946 digital thermometer with
a Testo Type T temperature probe linked to a PC via an
RS232/USB connector. Data were logged every 2 seconds
and stored directly on the PC using the Testo Comfort soft-
ware and exported to MS Excel for data processing. The
Dewar flask, fitted with its temperature probe was closed
with a cotton wool plug to reduce evaporative heat loss.
Solvent Screening
Solvent (100 mL), trans-2-hexenal 2a (11.0 mL, 0.094 mol)
and thioacetic acid 1 (6.6 mL, 0.094 mol) were added to the
Thermos flask and the temperature change was recorded
over time. Solvents employed were: 1) petroleum ether (80/
100); 2) THF; 3) chloroform; 4) toluene; 5) DMF; 6) pro-
piononitrile; 7) acetonitrile (see Figure 1).
Examination of the corresponding addition reaction
of thioacetic acid to an allylic acetal system uncovers
an intriguing rapid acetal exchange process, which
precedes a slower addition to the olefin. Using this as
a model, a mechanistic model as outlined in Scheme 2
can be proposed to explain the observed addition
compounds, and the important finding that aldehyde
addition precedes a formal thio-Michael addition re-
action to derive adduct 3. The exact basis of how the
formal Michael addition proceeds, i.e., via a direct
slow, 1,4-addition or a fragmentation–recombination
is not clear, however, the fact that there is an autoca-
talytic process associated with dithioacetate adduct 5
strongly indicates an assisted process such as de-
scribed by 15. It is likely that these observations will
not only have repercussions upon asymmetric SH ad-
ditions[5] since the conversion of species 4 or 6 to 3
does not appear to be a simple process, but may also
have an impact on the development of new catalytic
asymmetric Michael additions in general. Indeed, it
may be that other types of Michael reactions also pro-
ceed through similar mechanisms. Further studies to
elucidate the mechanistic, kinetic and autocatalytic
details of these processes are underway and will be
reported in due course.
General Experimental Procedure for the Reaction of
Thioacetic Acid 1 with Crotonaldehyde 2b
A solution of crotonaldehyde 2b (62 mL, 0.75 mmol) and
DCM (48 mL, 0.75 mmol) in toluene-d8 (586 mL) was pre-
pared and analysed by 1H NMR spectroscopy. Thioacetic
acid 1 (54 mL, 0.75 mmol) was then added to the reaction so-
1
lution and sample was monitored by H NMR spectroscopy
for up to 9.5 h. Once the data were assigned to correspond-
ing species, the reaction concentration profiles were ob-
tained.
Reaction of Thioacetic Acid 1 with trans-2-Butenal
Diethyl Acetal 6
A
solution of trans-2-butenal diethyl acetal 6 (20 mL,
0.14 mmol) in toluene-d8 (550 mL) was prepared and ana-
lysed by 1H NMR spectroscopy. Thioacetic acid 1 (10 mL,
0.14 mmol) was then added to the reaction solution and
1
sample was monitored by H NMR spectroscopy initially for
a period of 12 h. During that time all of the starting material
1
6 was converted to intermediate 7 (as assigned by H NMR
spectroscopy). The reaction was left for a further 48 h
during which all of the intermediate 7 was converted to
product 8. The mixture was then diluted with toluene
(3 mL), washed with saturated solution of K2CO3 (2ꢁ5 mL),
dried over MgSO4 and concentrated under vacuum to give
the product as pale yellow oil; yield: 17 mg (57%). The final
product contained traces of residual toluene and thioadduct
3b which arises from slow decomposition of 8.
Experimental Section
Synthesis of 3-Acetylthiohexenal (3a)
A mixture of chloroform (15mL), and trans-2-hexenal Acknowledgements
2a (1.64mL, 0.014 mol) was treated with thioacetic
We thank the EPSRC for a grant (GR/S85368/01) and Mr S.
Walton for technical support.
acid 1 (1mL, 0.014 mol). After 12h, the mixture was
evaporated and purified by silica gel chromatography
(hexane:ethyl acetate, 9:1, as eluent) to give 3a as a
yellow oil; yield: 2.19g (90%). All spectroscopic and
analytical data were identical to those reported.[29]
1824
ꢀ 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Adv. Synth. Catal. 2010, 352, 1818 – 1825