N-Arylhydroxamic Acids: Reaction of Nitroso Aromatics with α-Oxo Acids

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00279a039

A practical and high-yielding route to N-arylhydroxamic acids from nitroso aromatics and α-oxo acids 1a-d is desctibed.In aqueous and acetic acid containing media, the reactions exhibit second-order reaction kinetics overall.In the aqueous medium, the rate constant (k_obsd) for N-phenylacetohydroxamic acid (8b) formation increased with increasing +>, though there were some side pathways involving azoxybenzene formation.In general, k_obsd for the reaction in the acetic acid containing medium was about one-tenth of that in HCl at pH 0.6.On a preparative scale, acetic acid is better than HCl, in that both reactants showed sufficient solubilities in acetic acid for a high reaction velocity and no side reaction was detected.With this method, the proximate carcinogens, N-(4-biphenylyl)acetohydroxamic acid (12b) and N-(2-fluorenyl)acetohydroxamic acid (13b), could be easily prepared.Under both conditions, the order of k_obsd for the reactions of nitrosobenzene (2) with α-oxo acids 1a-d was glyoxylic (1a) > pyruvic (1b) <*> 2-oxobutyric (1c) > benzoylformic (1d) acid.For the reactions of substituted nitrosobenzenes 3-6 with pyruvic acid (1b), the order of k_obsd was p-phenyl (6) > unsubstituted (2) > p-chloro (5) > m-chloro (4) >> o-chloro (3) nitrosobenzene.The negative Hammett reaction constant value obtained indicates that an electron-donating substituent is preferable for the reaction.The reaction mechanism and other factors affecting N-arylhydroxamic acid formation are also descussed.