Amides as Nucleophiles: Reaction of Alkyl Halides with Amides or with Amides and Water. A New Look at an Old Reaction

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00059a035

Heating of formamide with an alkyl halide (with or without water) affords a mild, nonhydrolytic, high-yield synthesis of alcohols and formate esters.Yet the way in which substitution on the alkyl halide actually occurs remains obscure.To explore this question, thermal reaction of 1-bromooctane (1a) with formamides (HC(O)NHR, R=H, Me; 2a, 2b) was studied quantitatively.Major products are 1-octanol (3) and n-octyl formate (5); minor products are 1-octene (4), di-n-octyl ether (6), and N-octylformamide (7, from 2a, only).Solid coproduct is HC(=NR)NHR + Br(1-) (e.g., 8a, R=H, methanimidamide hydrobromide).Analogously, 1a and N-methylformamide (2b) give alkylated products 3,5, and 6 along with 8b (R=Me). 1-Iodooctane (1b) reacts similarly.Probe samples show that 1-octanol (3) is first formed, followed by 5 and 6.Occurence of 8a-c is key to a mechanistic interpretation of the reaction.An imidate ("salt I"), e.g., from 1a and 2b, is first formed and reacts with amide 2b to give and 3.Now alcohol 3 is converted to ester 5 and 8b by reaction with this same formylamidine.Water, if present, adds to the imidate and gives a new tetrahedral intermediate that cleaves to ester 5 and amide salt, RNH3X.Analogous reaction steps are proposed to generate side products 4, 6, and 7.Alkylation of formamide by C6F13CH2CH2I (1c) is considerably slower and less efficient than alkylation by 1-bromooctane.This result stands in sharp contrast to fast, efficient reaction of 1c with N-methylformamide or with DMF and water.