Studies on the hydrocarboxylation of -acetylimines, enamines and allylamines

Selective and Catalytic Hydrocarboxylation of Enamides and Imines with CO2 to Generate α,α-Disubstituted α-Amino Acids

The first catalytic hydrocarboxylation of enamides and imines with CO₂ to generate valuable α,α-disubstituted α-amino acids is reported. Notably, excellent chemo- and regio-selectivity are achieved, significantly different from previous reports on β-carboxylation of enamides, homocoupling or reduction of imines. Moreover, this transition-metal-free procedure exhibits low loading of an inexpensive catalyst, easily available substrates, mild reaction conditions, high efficiency, facile scalability and easy product derivatization, providing great potential for application in organic synthesis, pharmaceutical chemistry, and biochemistry.

Amide directed hydrocarboxylation of N-allylacetamide catalyzed by the aqueous Pd - tppts - Brønsted acid system (tppts = P(C6H4-m-SO3Na)3)1

The Pd - tppts - HOTs (tppts = P(C6H4-m-SO3Na)3, HOTs = p-toluenesulfonic acid) catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of N-allylacetamide in an aqueous medium afforded 4-acetamidobutyric acid and 3-acetamido-2-methylpropanoic acid under mild conditions, with a high regioselectivity towards the linear isomer. During the hydrocarboxylation an acid catalyzed hydrolysis of the amide moieties of both the substrate and the products took place, as well as the formation of acetamide and propanal, presumably via a Pd-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction of N-allylacetamide. The hydrolysis reaction was suppressed by lowering the amount of Brønsted acid cocatalyst (HOTs) or by employing a weaker Brønsted acid such as propanoic acid. The allylic substitution reaction was minimized by increasing the CO pressure but unfortunately this caused a decrease in the regioselectivity. A sudden inhibition took place after ca. 70% conversion, presumably caused by one of the side products. By increasing the tppts concentration to 13.1 mmol L-1 (20 equiv per Pd) the inhibition was circumvented and a quantitative conversion of N-allylacetamide was achieved.Key words: aqueous media, olefins, palladium, hydrocarboxylation, N-allylacetamide.

Catalysis as a key technology for the environmentally benign synthesis of amines and amino acids

The rhodium-catalyzed amination of aromatic olefins and the palladium-catalyzed amidocarbonylation of aldehydes are presented as new atom-efficient methods to yield biologically interesting amines and N-acyl amino acids.

Preparation of d,l-Phenylalanine by Amidocarbonylation of Benzyl Chloride

The preparation of d,l-phenylalanine via amidocarbonylation of benzyl chloride with acetamide and CO/H(2) is described. The rate of the reaction is dependent upon the CO pressure below 250 bar, but independent of the hydrogen pressure. A reaction temperature of 100 degrees C gives optimum yields. A relatively large amount of the catalyst, Co(2)(CO)(8), is needed for complete conversion because of inhibition caused by hydrogen chloride which is formed during the reaction. Addition of NaHCO(3) removes HCl as insoluble NaCl, resulting in improved conversion and selectivity of the reaction. It also allows the use of a stoichiometric amount of acetamide, whereas a 2- to 3-fold excess of acetamide is needed for complete conversion of benzyl chloride without NaHCO(3). Amidocarbonylation of benzyl alcohol gave d,l-phenylalanine in only 8% yield.