Probing Reactivity with External Forces: The Case of Nitroacetamides in Water

Many computational methods have been applied to interpret and predict changes in reactivity by slight modifications of a given molecular scaffold. We describe a novel and simple method based on approximate density-functional theory of valence electrons that can be applied within a large high-performance computational infrastructure to probe such changes using a statistical sample of molecular configurations, including the solvent. All the used computational tools are fully open-source. Following our previous application, we are able to explain the high acidity of C-H bond at α position in nitro compounds when the amide linkage an ammonium group is inserted into the α substituent.

Understanding the Exceptional Properties of Nitroacetamides in Water: A Computational Model Including the Solvent

Proton transfer in water involving C–H bonds is a challenge and nitro compounds have been studied for many years as good examples. The effect of substituents on acidity of protons geminal to the nitro group is exploited here with new pKa measurements and electronic structure models, the latter including explicit water environment. Substituents with the amide moiety display an exceptional combination of acidity and solubility in water. In order to find a rationale for the unexpected pKa changes in the (ZZ′)NCO- substituents, we measured and modeled the pKa with Z=Z′=H and Z=Z′=methyl. The dominant contribution to the observed pKa can be understood with advanced computational experiments, where the geminal proton is smoothly moved to the solvent bath. These models, mostly based on density-functional theory (DFT), include the explicit solvent (water) and statistical thermal fluctuations. As a first approximation, the change of pKa can be correlated with the average energy difference between the two tautomeric forms (aci and nitro, respectively). The contribution of the solvent molecules interacting with the solute to the proton transfer mechanism is made evident.

Cascade nitrosation and addition-elimination of nitroacetanilides for the highly efficient synthesis of 1,4,2,5-dioxadiazine derivatives

A domino nitrosation and addition-elimination of nitroacetanilides with NaNO2 and H2SO4 has been developed to synthesize a variety of 1,4,2,5-dioxadiazine-3,6-dicarboxamides in excellent yields. The substrate scope can be extended to aryl nitromethyl ketones. A cascade reaction mechanism is proposed and the conjugated aryl moiety is considered to help stabilize the aci-nitroso species, the key intermediates in the cascade reaction. The methodology is practical and efficient because it avoids the purification of the intermediates. The nitroacetanilides were prepared from nitroacetic acid and various anilines employing DCC-DMAP as coupling reagents, and this protocol also possesses advantages like easy handling and high yields.