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A. V. Orlinkov et al. / Tetrahedron Letters 51 (2010) 259–263
homologue n-octyl acetate occur with good regioselectivity, while
under the action of superacids, the corresponding C6 and C8 n-al-
kanes produced a mixture of isomers as well as products of their
degradative carbonylation, resulting in compounds with smaller
or larger numbers of C-atoms in the alkyl group at the carbonyl
than in the initial alkanes.7 The degradative carbonylation of C6 al-
kanes and their higher homologues C7–C10 does not occur in reac-
tions initiated by polyhalomethane-based superelectrophiles.8 In
this case, even at À40 °C, carbonylation of C6–C10 alkanes affords
exclusively, carbonyl-containing products with neo-alkyl substitu-
ents, that is, with a quaternary carbon atom at the carbonyl group.
These products were always represented by two dominating iso-
mers, AlkC(Me)2COOR and AlkC(Me)(Et)COOR.8
References and notes
1. Akhrem, I. S.; Orlinkov, A. V.; Vol’pin, M. E. J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. 1993,
671.
2. Akhrem, I. S.; Orlinkov, A. V. Chem. Rev. 2007, 107, 2037. and references therein.
3. (a) Hogeveen, H.; Lukas, J.; Roobeck, C. F. J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun. 1969,
920; (b) Sommer, J.; Bukala, J. Acc. Chem. Res. 1993, 26, 370.
4. (a) Olah, G. A. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. Engl. 1993, 32, 767; (b) Olah, G. A.; Klumpp,
D. A. Acc. Chem. Res. 2004, 37, 211; (c) Olah, G. A.; Hartz, N.; Rasul, G.;
Burrichter, A.; Prakash, G. K. S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1995, 117, 6421.
5. (a) Olah, G. A.; Yoneda, N.; Ohnishi, R. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1976, 98, 7341; (b)
Yoneda, N.; Sato, H.; Fukuhara, T.; Takahashi, Y.; Suzuki, A. Chem. Lett. 1983, 19.
6. Fatty Acids in Industry; Johnson, R. W., Fritz, E., Eds.; Marcel Dekker: New York,
Basel, 1989; p 233. Chapter 11.
7. (a) Yoneda, N.; Fukuhara, T.; Takahashi, Y.; Suzuki, A. Chem. Lett. 1983, 17; (b)
Yoneda, N.; Takahashi, Y.; Fukuhara, T.; Suzuki, A. Bull. Soc. Chem. Jpn. 1986, 59,
2819.
As demonstrated in the present work, the aforementioned iso-
mers are produced in comparable amounts under conditions sim-
ilar to those for n-octyl acetate alkoxycarbonylation. Therefore, it
does not appear to be possible to obtain individual carbonyl-con-
taining products starting from C6–C10 alkanes.
8. Akhrem, I.; Afanas’eva, L.; Vitt, S.; Petrovskii, P. Mendeleev Commun. 2002, 180.
9. Rodd’s Chemistry of Carbon Compounds, Ansell, M. F.; Ed.; Amsterdam, 1973;
Vol. 1.
10. General procedure for compounds 1–4 and 6–8: At À20 °C, under atmospheric
CO pressure, n-alkyl acetate (1.6–1.9 mmol) was added to a stirred solution of
CBr4Á2AlBr3, freshly prepared from AlBr3 (6.50 mmol) and CBr4 (3.24 mmol) in
anhydrous CH2Br2 (2.5 mL) at room temperature. After stirring for 2.5 h at
The results of this work show that in the presence of the
acetoxy group, a single carbocation is generated selectively in
each case. Therefore, the corresponding acylium cation accumu-
lates in the reaction medium, allowing for regioselective func-
tionalization of the n-alkyl acetates. We believe that the site
for hydride abstraction from the alkyl acetate molecule is dic-
tated by two factors: (i) its remoteness from the already existing
functional group, and (ii) the stability of the carbocation to be
generated. For n-octyl acetate, the two requirements lead to a
compromise resulting in the formation of the most stable ter-
tiary cation separated from the functional group by five methyl-
enes. In the case of n-hexyl acetate, at a lower temperature
(À20 °C) the most distal yet less stable secondary cation is
formed, whereas at a higher temperature that favors isomeriz-
aton of the cations (0 °C), it is the more stable tertiary cation
that is produced, even though this cationic center is in proximity
to the functional group. The difference in the selectivities of the
carbonylation of n-octane and n-octyl acetate stems from the
fact that the former gives two cations that are rather similar
in stability, whereas the latter is transformed into an intermedi-
ate bearing the cationic center in the position that is most re-
mote from the ester group, Me2C+(C5H11).
À20 °C under
a CO atmosphere the nucleophile (iso-PrOH, morpholine,
piperidine, or anisole) was added to the in situ prepared carbonylation
intermediate strictly under CO. The mixture was stirred additionally for 10–
15 min at À20 °C and then left to warm to 0 °C over 20–30 min. Next, water
(10 mL) and CHCl3 (30 mL) were carefully added with stirring. The organic
layer was separated and the remaining aqueous layer was extracted with
CHCl3 (2 Â 20 mL). The combined organic extracts were dried over Na2SO4. The
structures of the products were established by 1H, 13C NMR11,12 and from GC–
MS spectra;13 conversions and isomeric ratios were determined by GC. The
yields of the obtained compounds were determined by 1H NMR11,12 with 1,3,5-
tribromobenzene as an internal standard.
Conditions and selected spectral data. All runs were carried out with 3.24 mmol
of CBr4Á2AlBr3.
Compound (1): 1.6 mmol of AcO-n-hexyl, 2.5 mL of iso-PrOH; yield 72% (86% as
an isomeric mixture); 1H NMR (400 MHz; CDCl3): d 1.19 (3H, d, JHH 9.1 Hz)
3
3
(see Ref. 11); 1.28 (6H, d, JHH 8.2 Hz); 1.35–1.75 (6H, m); 2.09 (3H, s); 2.50
(1H, m); 4.10 (2H, t, JHH 8.8 Hz); 5.06 (1H, sept, JHH 8.2 Hz). 13C NMR
(100 MHz, CDCl3): d 16.95; 21.62; 21.68; 24.19; 28.35; 33.20; 39.45; 64.18;
67.14; 171.05; 176.01. MS, m/z, (Irel, %): 230, M+ (0.5) (see Ref. 10); 171,
3
3
MÀOCOMe+ (14); 170, MÀAcOH+ (5); 129, PrOCOCH(Me)CH2 (96); 128 (65);
+
116, PrOC(OH)CHMe+ (64); 87 (27); 83 (44); 74 (79); 43 (100).
Compound (2): 1.6 mmol of AcO-n-hexyl, 6.5 mmol of morpholine; yield 85%
(90% as an isomeric mixture); 1H NMR (400 MHz; CDCl3): d 1.17 (3H, d, JHH
3
9.1 Hz); 1.30–1.80 (6H, m); 2.10 (3H, s); 2.69 (1H, m); 3.72 (8H, m); 4.10
3
(2H, t, JHH 8.8 Hz). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): d 17.31; 20.66; 23.54; 28.39;
33.27; 34.75; 41.79; 45.74; 63.96; 66.52; 66.72; 170.77; 174.62.. MS, m/z, (Irel
,
%): 257, M+ (3); 242, (2); 214, MÀAc+ (17); 198, MÀOAc+ (26); 156,
morpholylCOCH(Me)CH2 (52); 143, morpholylC(OH)CHMe+ (100); 129 (27);
+
128 (28); 114, morpholylCO+ (22); 100 (21); 88 (72).
In contrast to
a-, b-, c-, or d-hydroxy acids and some of their
derivatives,9 whose syntheses, properties, applications in chemical
transformations, and practical use are well known, their long-
chained homologues and, in particular, compounds with branched
and neo-alkyl chains, are unavailable. Aromatic long-chain branched
and neo-ketoacetates have not been described earlier either.
In summary, an ‘alkane-like’ strategy has been used successfully
for the direct and simple one-pot functionalization of monofunc-
tional aliphatic compounds, namely n-hexyl and n-octyl acetates.
This approach has provided access to new, difficult to access
bifunctional aliphatic compounds with an acetate group, which
are of interest for the synthesis of biologically active compounds
and materials for industrial use. We believe that the field of ‘al-
kane-like’ reactions of monofunctional aliphatic compounds may
be expanded beyond the scope of alkyl acetates.
Compound (3): 1.6 mmol of AcO-n-hexyl, 6.5 mmol of piperidine; yield 42%
(85% as an isomeric mixture); 1H NMR (400 MHz; CDCl3): d 1.16 (3H, d, JHH
3
9.1 Hz); 1.30–1.40 (6H, br m); 1.60–1.75 (6H, m); 2.10 (3H, s); 2.73 (1H, m);
3.55 (4H, m); 4.10 (2H, t, JHH 8.8 Hz). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): d 17.53;
3
20.75; 23.67; 24.44; 25.51; 28.48; 33.44; 34.91; 42.62; 46.32; 64.13; 170.78;
174.45. MS, m/z, (Irel, %): 255, M+ (3); 240, (2); 212, MÀAc+ (7); 196, MÀOAc+
(27); 154, piperidylCOCH(Me)CH2 (66); 141, piperidylCOCH(Me)+ (100).
+
Compound (4): 1.6 mmol of AcO-n-hexyl, 1.6 mmol of anisole; yield 73% (90%
as an isomeric mixture); 1H NMR (400 MHz; CDCl3): d 1.25 (3H, d, 3JHH 8.8 Hz);
3
1.3–1.9 (6H, m); 2.08 (3H, s); 3.48 (1H, m); 3.93 (3H, s); 4.09 (2H, t, JHH
8.8 Hz); 7.00 (2H, d, 3JHH 11.9 Hz); 8.00 (2H., d, 3JHH 11.9 Hz), (see Ref. 13). 13
C
NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): d 17.38; 20.69; 23.57; 28.46; 33.07; 39.74; 55.16;
64.05; 113.53; 132.70; 161.82; 170.90; 202.36. MS, m/z, (Irel, %): 164,
MeOC6H4COCHMe+ (18); 135, MeOC6H4CO+ (100).
Procedure for compound (5): At 0 °C, under atmospheric CO pressure, n-hexyl
acetate (0.31 g, 2.17 mmol) was added to CBr4Á2AlBr3 (2.91 g, 3.34 mmol) in
CH2Br2 (2.5 mL), and the mixture was stirred over 1.5 h. Next, frozen iso-PrOH
(2.5 mL), at À20 °C, was added to the reaction mixture. After standard
treatment, a mixture of isomers 5 and 1 was obtained in a 10:1 ratio and a
total yield of 60%, the conversion of n-hexyl acetate was close to 100%. The
yield of 5 and ratio of isomers were determined by 1H NMR with 1,3,5-
tribromobenzene as an internal standard and by GC, respectively.
All the obtained products are novel and their structures were
confirmed by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy and mass-spectral
analysis. Typical experiments and selected spectral characteristics
are given.10
1H NMR (400 MHz; CDCl3): d 1.17 (6H, s) (see Ref. 12); 1.24 (6H, d, 3JHH 8.2 Hz);
3
3
1.35–1.75 (4H, m); 2.09 (3H, s); 4.10 (2H, t, JHH 8.8 Hz); 5.06 (1H, sept, JHH
8.2 Hz). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): d 20.80; 21.56; 24.16; 24.88; 33.16; 36.48;
64.54; 67.23; 170.95; 176.86. MS, m/z, (Irel, %): 230, M+ (0.5); 171, MÀOAc+ (6);
170, MÀAcOH+ (19); 129, PrOCOCMe2+ (80); 128 (34); 83 (100); 55 (75); 43 (88).
Compound (6): 1.9 mmol of AcO-n-octyl, 2.0 mL of iso-PrOH; yield 77% (96% as an
isomeric mixture); 1H NMR (400 MHz; CDCl3): d 1.21 (6H, s) (see Ref. 12); 1.27
(6H, d, 3JHH 8.2 Hz); 1.50–1.75 (8H, m); 2.10 (3H, s); 4.10 (2H, t, 3JHH 8.8 Hz); 5.03
(1H, sept, 3JHH 8.2 Hz). 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3): d 20.71; 21.48; 24.26; 24.84;
26.12; 28.18; 41.70; 64.16; 66.84; 170.71; 176.95. MS, m/z, (Irel, %): 259, M++H
Acknowledgments
We thank the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project
No. 09-03-00110) and the RAS Presidium Fund (Program 18P) for
financial support.