Direct condensation of carboxylic acids with alcohols catalyzed by Hafnium(IV) salts

Bulky diarylammonium arenesulfonates as selective esterification catalysts

More environmentally benign alternatives to current chemical processes, especially large-scale, fundamental reactions such as ester condensations, are highly desirable for many reactions. Bulky diarylammonium pentafluorobenzenesulfonates and tosylates serve as extremely active dehydration catalysts for the ester condensation reaction of carboxylic acids with equimolar amounts of sterically demanding alcohols and acid-sensitive alcohols. Typically, the esterification reaction is performed in heptane by heating at 80 degrees C in the presence of 1 mol % of the catalyst without removing water. Esterification with primary alcohols proceeds without solvents even at room temperature. Furthermore, 4-(N-mesitylamino)polystyrene resin-bound pentafluorobenzenesulfonate can be recycled more than 10 times without activity loss.

Nucleophilic Acyl Substitutions of Esters with Protic Nucleophiles Mediated by Amphoteric, Oxotitanium, and Vanadyl Species

[reaction: see text] A diverse array of oxometallic species were examined as catalysts in nucleophilic acyl substitution (NAS) reactions of methyl (or ethyl) esters with protic nucleophiles. Among them, oxotitanium acetylacetonate (TiO(acac)(2)) and vanadyl chloride (VOCl(2)-(THF)(x)()) served as the most efficient and water-tolerant catalysts. Transesterifications of methyl and/or ethyl esters with functionalized (including acid- or base-sensitive) 1 degrees and 2 degrees alcohols can be carried out chemoselectively in refluxed toluene or xylene in a 1:1 substrate stoichiometry using 1 mol % catalyst loading. The resultant products were furnished in 85-100% yields by simple aqueous workup to remove water-soluble catalysts. The new NAS protocol is also amenable to amines and thiols in 74-91% yields, albeit with higher loading (2.5 equiv) of protic nucleophiles. Representative examples of commercial interests such as Padimate O and antioxidant additives for plastics were also examined to demonstrate their practical applications. A 1:1 adduct between TiO(acac)(2) and a given 1-octadecanol was identified as (C(18)H(37)O)(2)Ti(acac)(2) and was responsible for its subsequent NAS of methyl esters.

One-Pot Synthesis of Benzo[e]1,4-oxathiepin-5-ones under Solvent-Free Condition via Self-Promoted Thiolysis of 1,2-Epoxides

Under solvent-free conditions, thiosalicylic acid (2) efficiently self-promotes the thiolysis of 1,2-epoxides 1, anti-stereoselectively and generally totally beta-regioselectively. The resulting beta-hydroxysulfide products 3 have been obtained in very good yields. Benzo[e]1,4-oxathiepin-5-ones 4 have been easily prepared in a regio- and diasteroselective manner and in satisfactory yields under SFC by a one-pot protocol including nucleophilic ring opening of 1,2-epoxides 1 by thiosalicylic acid (2) and thermally induced lactonization of beta-hydroxy arylsulfides 3. Solvent-free condition and the absence of any catalyst make this procedure atom-economical and environmentally friendly.

Catalytic Generation of Activated Carboxylates: Direct, Stereoselective Synthesis of β-Hydroxyesters from Epoxyaldehydes

The catalytic generation of activated carboxylates from epoxyaldehydes enables the direct, stereoselective synthesis of beta-hydroxyesters under mild, convenient reaction conditions. In addition to providing a new method for the synthesis of anti-aldol adducts, this chemistry unveils a mechanistically viable solution to the catalytic, waste-free synthesis of esters.

An effective use of benzoic anhydride and its derivatives for the synthesis of carboxylic esters and lactones: a powerful and convenient mixed anhydride method promoted by basic catalysts

Various carboxylic esters are obtained at room temperature in excellent yields with high chemoselectivities from nearly equimolar amounts of carboxylic acids and alcohols using 2-methyl-6-nitrobenzoic anhydride with triethylamine by the promotion of a basic catalyst such as 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine. A variety of lactones are also prepared in high yields at room temperature from the corresponding omega-hydroxycarboxylic acids with use of 2-methyl-6-nitrobenzoic anhydride in the presence of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine. A similar reaction occurs with triethylamine when using a catalytic amount of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine 1-oxide as an effective promoter for the intramolecular condensation reaction. These methods are successfully applied to the synthesis of erythro-aleuritic acid lactone and an eight-membered-ring lactone moiety of octalactins A and B. The efficiency of the cyclizations is compared to those of other reported lactonizations.

Toward ideal (trans)esterification by use of fluorous distannoxane catalysts

1,3-Disubstituted tetrakis(fluoroalkyl)distannoxanes, (XR(2)SnOSnR(2)Y)(2) (R = C(6)F(13)C(2)H(4) and C(4)F(9)C(2)H(4)), are highly fluorophilic and exhibit large partition coefficients in favor of fluorocarbon solvents over common organic solvents due to a double-layered structure where the stannoxane core is covered by fluoroalkyl groups. Under catalysis of these Lewis acids, fluorous technology allows novel transesterification and esterification in which a 100% yield of the desired esters is achievable with reactants in a strict 1:1 ratio. The catalysts are recovered from the fluorous phase quantitatively. More practically, the catalyst in fluorocarbon solution can be recycled for use in the next reaction repeatedly.

Boric Acid Catalyzed Chemoselective Esterification of α-Hydroxycarboxylic Acids

Boric acid catalyzes the selective esterification of alpha-hydroxycarboxylic acids without causing significant esterification to occur with other carboxylic acids. The procedure is simple, high-yielding, and applicable to the esterification of alpha-hydroxy carboxylates in the presence of other carboxylic acids including beta-hydroxyacids within the same molecule. [reaction: see text]

Convenient synthesis of aliphatic polyesters by distannoxane-catalyzed polycondensation

A convenient synthesis of aliphatic polyesters by the distannoxane-catalyzed polycondensation of aliphatic dicarboxylic acids and aliphatic diols in solvents under azeotropic conditions was developed. To determine the optimum conditions for polycondensation of succinic acid with 1,4-butandiol, the effect of various types of catalyst and their concentration was investigated. By choosing the appropriate solvent, the polymerization was made to proceed in a two-phase system of solvent and molten polymer, and in the presence of 0.001 mol % of 1-chloro-3-hydroxy-1,1,3,3-tetrabutyldistannoxane (CHTD), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) with a weight-average molecular weight of 277,000 was obtained. This method was then successfully applied to the synthesis of various aliphatic polyesters, such as poly(ethylene succinate), poly(1,4-cyclohexanedimethylene succinate), and poly(ethylene sebacate).

The crystallographic structure of a Lewis acid-assisted chiral Brønsted acid as an enantioselective protonation reagent for silyl enol ethers

It is difficult to control the enantioselectivity in the protonation of silyl enol ethers with simple chiral Brønsted acids, mainly due to bond flexibility between the proton and its chiral counterion, the orientational flexibility of the proton, and the fact that the proton sources available are limited to acidic compounds such as chiral carboxylic acids. To overcome these difficulties, we have developed a Lewis acid-assisted chiral Brønsted acid (LBA) system. The coordination of Lewis acids with Brønsted acids restricts the orientation of protons and increases their acidity. Optically active binaphthol (BINOL) derivative.SnCl4 complexes are very effective as enantioselective protonation reagents for silyl enol ethers. However, their exact structures have not yet been determined. We describe here optically active 1,2-diarylethane-1,2-diol derivative.SnCl4 as a new type of LBA for the enantioselective protonation as well as its crystallographic structure. A variety of optically active 1,2-diarylethane-1,2-diols could be readily prepared by asymmetric syn-dihydroxylation. This is a great advantage over BINOL for the flexible design of a new LBA. The most significant finding is that we were able to specify the conformational direction of the H-O bond of LBA, which has some asymmetric inductivity, by X-ray diffraction analysis. The stereochemical course in the enantioselective protonation of silyl enol ethers using LBA would be controlled by a linear OH/pi interaction with an initial step. The absolute stereopreference in enantioselective reactions using BINOL.SnCl4 can also be explained in terms of this uniformly mechanistic interpretation.

Dehydration reactions in water. Brønsted Acid-surfactant-combined catalyst for ester, ether, thioether, and dithioacetal formation in water

Dehydration reactions in water have been realized by a surfactant-type catalyst, dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA). These reactions include dehydrative esterification, etherification, thioetherification, and dithioacetalization. In these reactions, DBSA and substrates form emulsion droplets whose interior is hydrophobic enough to exclude water molecules generated during the reactions. Detailed studies on the esterification revealed that the yields of esters were affected by temperature, amounts of DBSA used, and the substrates. Esters were obtained in high yields for highly hydrophobic substrates. On the basis of the difference in hydrophobicity of the substrates, unique selective esterification and etherification in water were attained. Furthermore, chemospecific, three-component reactions under DBSA-catalyzed conditions were also found to proceed smoothly. This work not only may lead to environmentally benign systems but also will provide a new aspect of organic chemistry in water.