Cesium Ion Pair Acidities of some N,N-Dialkylacetamides and Aggregation of Their Cesium Enolates in Tetrahydrofuran

Cesium ion pair acidities are reported of some N,N-dialkylacetamides at 25 degrees C in tetrahydrofuran. The cesium enolates of alpha-arylacetamides are essentially monomeric at concentrations of about 10(-)(4) M, but small amounts of dimers are present for the enolates of N,N-dimethyl- and N,N-diethyl(4-biphenylyl)acetamide (K(dimer) is approximately 400 M(-)(1)). The cesium enolate of N,N-dimethyldiphenylacetamide forms small amounts of dimers, but the dimerization constant of <100 M(-)(1) is near the limit of detection of our methods. The enolate of N,N-diethylacetamide has an average aggregation number of 3.3, consistent with a mixture of dimers and tetramers. The cesium ion pair pKs of the alpha-arylacetamides are about 25-26, and that of N,N-diethylacetamide is greater than 33.7. The acidity data are in good agreement with measurements that have been reported in the literature for similar systems.     

Lithium and Cesium Ion-Pair Acidities of Some Terminal Acetylenes and Aggregation in Tetrahydrofuran(1)

The equilibrium lithium acidities in THF have been determined for 4-ethynylbiphenyl, EB (pK 21.5-22.3), 3,3,3-triphenylpropyne, TPP (pK 22.3-22.7), and 1-ethynyladamantane, EA (pK 23.7). Ion pairs of (4-ethynylbiphenylyl)lithium are aggregated in the concentration range from 10(-)(4) to 10(-)(3) M, with an average aggregation number of 2.5. (3,3,3-Triphenylpropynyl)lithium ion pairs are partially aggregated at concentrations from 10(-)(5) to 10(-)(3) M; the average aggregation number is 1.2. Cesium acidities in THF have been determined for 3,3,3-triphenylpropyne (pK 29.1-29.9) and 1-ethynyladamantane (pK 31.56). The average aggregation number of (3,3,3-triphenylpropynyl)cesium ion pairs is 6.2 at concentrations of 10(-)(4)-10(-)(3) M.     

Aggregation and reactivity of the cesium enolate of 6-phenyl-alpha-tetralone: comparison with the lithium enolate

The cesium enolate of 6-phenyl-alpha-tetralone (CsPAT) has a lambda(max) in THF at about 387 nm, but the variation with concentration is too small for application of singular value decomposition. Proton-transfer studies with several indicators show that CsPAT forms monomer-tetramer mixtures with a tetramerization equilibrium constant, K(1,4) = 2.3 x 10(11) M(-3). The pK of the monomer is 23.39 on a scale where fluorene is assigned 22.9 (per hydrogen). For comparison, the lithium enolate, LiPAT, is also a monomer-tetramer with K(1,4) = 4.7 x 10(10) M(-3) and a monomer pK = 14.22. HMPA in large amounts promotes dissociation to monomer with both enolates. Ion-pair S(N)2 initial rates were measured for CsPAT with several alkyl halides and with methyl tosylate and compared with other rates with LiPAT. In all cases, the enolate monomers are much more reactive than the aggregates. Reaction of CsPAT with alkyl halides is generally C-alkylation but HMPA promotes increasing amounts of O-alkylation. A new indicator, 11-methyl-11H-benzo[b]fluorene, has a pK on the cesium scale of 23.39.     

Equilibrium Ion Pair Acidities of Polyhalogenated Benzenes in THF. Extrapolation to Benzene(1)

The equilibrium cesium ion pair acidities of six polyfluorobenzenes at 25 degrees C and six polychlorobenzenes at -20 degrees C were determined in THF. For fluorinated benzenes the additive (negative) effects of fluorine on pK (partial equilibrium factors) are o = 5.2, m = 3.0, and p = 1.4. From these the cesium ion pair pK (per H) of benzene is extrapolated to be 44.8 at 25 degrees C. For chlorobenzenes the additive contributions for o-, m-, and p-chlorine are 4.2, 2.7, and 2.1, respectively. The corresponding pK of benzene is 47.0 at -20 degrees C. Aggregation studies show that in the concentration range 10(-)(3)-10(-)(4) M the cesium salt of 1,2,4,5-tetrachlorobenzene and the cesium and lithium salts of 1,2,4,5-tetrafluorobenzene are monomeric. The pK of benzene on the Li scale is extrapolated to be 39.5.     

Ion pair first and second acidities of some beta-diketones and aggregation of their lithium and cesium enediolates in THF

Ion pair pK values were measured for three beta-diketones in THF, 1-3, with lithium and cesium counterions. The results showed variations with concentration indicative of aggregation of the metal enolates to dimers. Similarly, ion pair pK values could be determined for some of these metal enolates going to the corresponding dimetal dienediolates which were also found to form dimers. These equilibria are more complicated to analyze because aggregation affects both sides of the proton transfer equilibria. The results show that all of the species measured exist mostly as dimers at concentrations >0.01 M typical of most organic synthesis reactions and physical measurements. NMR measurements show that the enols of 1 and 2, which can undergo intramolecular hydrogen bonding, predominate in both THF and DMSO solutions, whereas 3, whose enols cannot be so stabilized, is mostly keto in THF but approximately equimolar enol and keto in DMSO. Dimerization of the monolithium salts is rapid on the NMR time scale but that of the dilithium salts is slow.     

Mechanistic studies of the lithium enolate of 4-fluoroacetophenone: rapid-injection NMR study of enolate formation, dynamics, and aldol reactivity

Lithium enolates are widely used nucleophiles with a complicated and only partially understood solution chemistry. Deprotonation of 4-fluoroacetophenone in THF with lithium diisopropylamide occurs through direct reaction of the amide dimer to yield a mixed enolate-amide dimer (3), then an enolate homodimer (1-Li)(2), and finally an enolate tetramer (1-Li)(4), the equilibrium structure. Aldol reactions of both the metastable dimer and the stable tetramer of the enolate were investigated. Each reacted directly with the aldehyde to give a mixed enolate-aldolate aggregate, with the dimer only about 20 times as reactive as the tetramer at -120 °C.     

Why is alkylation of an enolate accompanied by so much polyalkylation?

[reaction: see text] The lithium enolate 1-Li of 6-phenyl-alpha-tetralone forms a monomer-tetramer equilibrium in THF at 25 degrees C with K(1,4) = 4.7E+10 M(-3). The lithium enolate 2-Li, however, forms a monomer-dimer equilibrium with K(1,2) = 3800 M(-1). In both cases reaction with benzyl bromide is dominantly with the monomer. The results support an earlier conjecture of House that alkylation of an enolate is frequently accompanied by extensive polyalkylation because the less substituted enolates are more aggregated.     

Role of aggregates in Claisen acylation reactions of imidazole, pyrazole, and thioesters with lithium enolates in THF

[formula: see text] Although phenyl esters react with both monomers and dimers or tetramers of two lithium enolates in THF, the reactions of phenyl thiobenzoates are relatively much faster with the monomers. Similarly, imidazole esters react primarily with the monomers but pyrazole esters react with monomers and aggregates. The results are rationalized by a mechanism in which coordination with two lithium cations within an enolate aggregate is required for the reaction of aggregates to compete with monomers.     

Computational SN2‐Type Mechanism for the Difluoromethylation of Lithium Enolate with Fluoroform through Bimetallic C−F Bond Dual Activation

The reaction mechanism for difluoromethylation of lithium enolates with fluoroform was analyzed computationally (DFT calculations with the artificial force induced reaction (AFIR) method and solvation model based on density (SMD) solvation model (THF)), showing an S_N2‐type carbon–carbon bond formation; the “bimetallic” lithium enolate and lithium trifluoromethyl carbenoid exert the C?F bond “dual” activation, in contrast to the monometallic butterfly‐shaped carbenoid in the Simmons–Smith reaction. Lithium enolates, generated by the reaction of 2 equiv. of lithium hexamethyldisilazide (rather than 1 or 3 equiv.) with the cheap difluoromethylating species fluoroform, are the most useful alkali metal intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceutically important α‐difluoromethylated carbonyl products.     

Ion pair pKs of some amines: extension of the computed lithium pK scale

The pK of p-(methylamino)biphenyl, 1, on our Li scale, pK(Li) = 22.09, compared to the cesium scale, pK(Cs) = 28.60. For hexamethyldisilazane, HMDS, pK(Li) = 23.05, pK(Cs) = 29.26. These results are those for the monomers in THF; corrections were made for dimers present in some cases. The pK(Li) of these two amines fit well the previously found correlation with Hartree-Fock calculations at 6-31+g(d) using RLi coordinated with three dimethyl ethers as a computational model for RLi in THF. The results are also compared with earlier pK(Li)s reported from equilibria with lithium amides in which aggregation was not considered.     

Study of the lithiated phenylacetonitrile monoanions and dianions formed according to the lithiated base used (LHMDS,LDA, or n-BuLi). 1. Evidence of heterodimer ("Quadac") or dianion formation by vibrational spectroscopy

It is evidenced through vibrational spectroscopy that a heterodimer or "Quadac" is formed when an excess of base (LHMDS, LDA, or n-BuLi) is added to PhCH(2)CN in THF, THF-hexane, or THF-toluene solution. The amount of heterodimer increases with the pK(H)(a) of the lithiated base. A dianionic species may be formed through decomposition of this heterodimer if the pK(H)(a) of the base is sufficiently high, as in the case of n-BuLi. With LDA, only a very small amount of dianion is observed, and with LHMDS, no dianion is detected. The predominant dianionic species observed are the linear and bridged separated ion pairs of the dilithiated dianion. The presence of the amine in the medium is of paramount importance. The PhCHCNLi monomer-dimer equilibrium is entropy driven toward the dimer solvated by the amine.     

DFT study of the effect of sigma-ligands on the structure of ester enolates in THF, as models of the active center in the anionic polymerization of methyl methacrylate.

A Density Functional Theory (DFT) study was carried out on structures of the lithium ester enolate of methyl isobutyrate (MIB-Li) in THF solution, in the presence of TMEDA, dimethoxyethane (DME), crown ether 12-crown-4, and cryptand-2,1,1, as electron donor ligands (sigma-ligands). Both specific solvation with THF and/or ligand molecules and nonspecific solvation by the solvent continuum were taken into account. The possibility of ligand-separated ion pair formation was analyzed for each of the ligands, including THF alone. In most cases peripherally solvated dimers are the most stable species. Only in the presence of cryptand-2,1,1 was a ligand-separated triple ion pair, (MIB-Li-MIB)(-)(THF)(2),Li(2,1,1)(1)(+), shown to be comparable in stability to the THF-solvated dimer, (MIB-Li)(2)(THF)(4). These results are in agreement with experimental NMR data on the structure of MIB-Li in the presence of DME, 12-crown-4, and cryptand-2,1,1. An upfield shift of the (13)C NMR signal of the alpha-carbon of MIB-Li observed in the presence of cryptand-2,1,1, originally attributed to a ligand-separated monomer, MIB(-),Li(2,1,1)(+), was well reproduced by Hartree--Fock calculated NMR shifts for the predicted ligand-separated triple ion pair.     

Effect of solvent on aggregation and reactivity of two lithium enolates(1)

Studies with two lithium enolates show that aggregation varies from comparable to lower in dimethoxyethane (DME) compared to tetrahydrofuran (THF) but that aggregation is much higher in methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). Alkylation reactions, which occur dominantly with the enolate monomers, are exceptionally slow in MTBE, but even acylation reactions that can occur with aggregates are orders of magnitude slower in MTBE. These reactions apparently require additional solvation of the lithium cation, and MTBE is ineffective at such solvation.     

Formation and stability of enolates of acetamide and acetate anion: an Eigen plot for proton transfer at alpha-carbonyl carbon

Second-order rate constants were determined in D(2)O for deprotonation of acetamide, N,N-dimethylacetamide, and acetate anion by deuterioxide ion and for deprotonation of acetamide by quinuclidine. The values of k(B) = 4.8 x 10(-8) M(-1) s(-1) for deprotonation of acetamide by quinuclidine (pK(BH) = 11.5) and k(BH) = 2-5 x 10(9) M(-1) s(-1) for the encounter-limited reverse protonation of the enolate by protonated quinuclidine give pK(a)(C) = 28.4 for ionization of acetamide as a carbon acid. The limiting value of k(HOH) = 1 x 10(11) s(-1) for protonation of the enolate of acetate anion by solvent water and k(HO) = 3.5 x 10(-9) M(-1) s(-1) for deprotonation of acetate anion by HO(-) give pK(a)(C) approximately 33.5 for acetate anion. The change in the rate-limiting step from chemical proton transfer to solvent reorganization results in a downward break in the slope of the plot of log k(HO) against carbon acid pK(a) for deprotonation of a wide range of neutral alpha-carbonyl carbon acids by hydroxide ion, from -0.40 to -1.0. Good estimates are reported for the stabilization of the carbonyl group relative to the enol tautomer by electron donation from alpha-SEt, alpha-OMe, alpha-NH(2), and alpha-O(-) substituents. The alpha-NH(2) and alpha-OMe groups show similar stabilizing interactions with the carbonyl group, while the interaction of alpha-O(-) is only 3.4 kcal/mol more stabilizing than for alpha-OH. We propose that destabilization of the enolate intermediates of enzymatic reactions results in an increasing recruitment of metal ions by the enzyme to provide electrophilic catalysis of enolate formation.     

State in solution, structure, and regioselectivity of reactions of the lithium 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3,3-diphenylpropyne derivative

According to the spectrophotometric data, the lithium 1-(2-methoxyphenyl)-3,3-diphenylpropyne derivative in diethyl ether exists as contact ion pairs, while in THF, according to the spectrophotometric and¹³C NMR data, solvent-separated ion pairs are predominantly formed. According to the¹³C NMR data, the carbanion in the solventseparated ion pairs has a structure close to the propargylic type. The regioselectivity of reactions of the lithium derivative with ethyl halides in diethyl ether, THF, and hexamethyphosphoramide, with benzyl chloride in the first two solvents, and with methanol in THF were studied. The protonation with methanol proceeds exclusively at the allenylic center (C-1) while the ethylation and especially benzylation proceed predominantly at the propargylic center (C-3). The selectivity of ethylation of the propargylic center of both solvent-separated ion pairs in THF and contact ion pairs in diethyl ether increases as the hardness of the ethylating agent increases, and in the case of the same ethyl halide, the selectivity increases from the solvent-separated ion pairs to the contact ion pairs. The spectral data obtained and the data on changes in the regioselectivity do not allow one to believe that the contact ion pairs of the lithium derivative in ether exhibit the intramolecular coordination of the lithium cation to the methoxy group, which might lead to the allenylic structure of contact ion pairs of this derivative. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 11, pp. 2043–2051, November, 1997.     

Asymmetric synthesis of alpha-substituted beta-amino ketones from sulfinimines (N-sulfinyl imines). synthesis of the indolizidine alkaloid (-)-223A

Of the possible four stereoisomers, addition of the lithium enolate of 4-heptanone to sulfinimines resulted in only the syn- and anti-alpha-substituted beta-amino ketones. The formation of the major syn-beta-amino ketone was rationalized in terms of addition of the E-enolate to the C-N double bond of the sulfinimine via a six-member chelated chairlike transition state. The enolates of 4-heptanone were generated using LiHMDS in THF where a 1:2.5 E:Z enolate ratio was noted. In diethyl ether the E:Z ratio was 15:1 in favor of the E-enolate and explained in terms of Ireland's transition state model. Here increased steric interactions between the ethyl group and the carbonyl-LiN(TMS)(2) moiety destabilize the transition state leading to the Z-enolate in the poorly coordinating diethyl ether solvent. This new synthesis of syn-alpha-substituted-beta-amino ketones was applied to the concise enantioselective total synthesis of indolizidine (-)-223A, a 5,6,8-trisubstituted alkaloid isolated from the skin of the dendrobatide frog.     

Lithiation of (tBuNH)3PNSiMe3 and formation of tetraimidophosphate complexes containing M3O3 rings (M = Li, K): X-ray structure of the stable radical [(Me3SiN)P(mu3-N(t)Bu)3[mu3-Li(THF)]3(OtBu))

The reaction of ((t)BuNH)(3)PNSiMe(3) (1) with 1 equiv of (n)BuLi results in the formation of Li[P(NH(t)Bu)(2)(N(t)Bu)(NSiMe(3))] (2); treatment of 2 with a second equivalent of (n)BuLi produces the dilithium salt Li(2)[P(NH(t)Bu)(N(t)Bu)(2)(NSiMe(3))] (3). Similarly, the reaction of 1 and (n)BuLi in a 1:3 stoichiometry produces the trilithiated species Li(3)[P(N(t)Bu)(3)(NSiMe(3))] (4). These three complexes represent imido analogues of dihydrogen phosphate [H(2)PO(4)](-), hydrogen phosphate [HPO(4)](2)(-), and orthophosphate [PO(4)](3)(-), respectively. Reaction of 4 with alkali metal alkoxides MOR (M = Li, R = SiMe(3); M = K, R = (t)Bu) generates the imido-alkoxy complexes [Li(3)[P(N(t)Bu)(3)(NSiMe(3))](MOR)(3)] (8, M = Li; 9, M = K). These compounds were characterized by multinuclear ((1)H, (7)Li, (13)C, and (31)P) NMR spectroscopy and, in the cases of 2, 8, and 9.3THF, by X-ray crystallography. In the solid state, 2 exists as a dimer with Li-N contacts serving to link the two Li[P(NH(t)Bu)(2)(N(t)Bu)(NSiMe(3))] units. The monomeric compounds 8 and 9.3THF consist of a rare M(3)O(3) ring coordinated to the (LiN)(3) unit of 4. The unexpected formation of the stable radical [(Me(3)SiN)P(mu(3)-N(t)Bu)(3)[mu(3)-Li(THF)](3)(O(t)Bu)] (10) is also reported. X-ray crystallography indicated that 10 has a distorted cubic structure consisting of the radical dianion [P(N(t)Bu)(3)(NSiMe(3))](.2)(-), two lithium cations, and a molecule of LiO(t)Bu in the solid state. In dilute THF solution, the cube is disrupted to give the radical monoanion [(Me(3)SiN)((t)BuN)P(mu-N(t)Bu)(2)Li(THF)(2)](.-), which was identified by EPR spectroscopy.     

Mixed aggregates of dilithiodiamines with alkyllithiums and lithium enolates

The formation of mixed aggregates of N,N′-dilithiodiamines with alkyllithiums and lithium enolates was investigated. Enolization of 3-pentanone with the dilithium salt of N,N′-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine generated both the E and Z enolates and the E/Z ratio changed in the presence of a lithium enolate or excess butyllithium. The formation of mixed aggregates was modeled with the B3LYP DFT method and it was found that mixed aggregate formation is energetically favorable. The infrared spectra of dilithio-N,N′-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine in the presence of excess butyllithium or lithium enolate are consistent with the formation of mixed aggregates.     

Effects of Strong Ion‐Pairing on the Electrochemical Reduction of Cyclooctatetraene in Tetrahydrofuran in the Presence of Lithium Ion. Peak Coalescence Does Not Imply Potential Inversion

The first study of the voltammetric reduction of cyclooctatetraene (COT) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) in the presence of lithium ion is reported. A single wave is observed at ?2.23 V vs. Ag/0.1 M AgNO₃. Density functional calculations have been carried out on a variety of COT/Li/THF species in order to clarify the nature and role of ion pairing in this system. The dominant species in solution are the COT/Li/(THF)₂ anion radical and the COT/Li₂/(THF)₄ dianion. Computer simulations have been carried out to further understand the effects of ion pairing on the reduction. The simulations show that coalescence of two waves into one can occur in the presence of strong ion pairing even when the second reduction potential is negative of the first.     

Study of valsartan interaction with micelles as a model system for biomembranes

In this study, the interaction of valsartan (VAL), an angiotensin II receptor antagonist, with cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was investigated. The effect of cationic micelles on spectroscopic and acid-base properties of VAL was carried out using UV spectrophotometry at physiological conditions (pH 7.4). The binding of VAL to CTAB micelles implied a shift in drug acidity constant (pK(a)(water)-pK(a)(micelle)=1.69) proving the great affinity of VAL dianion for the positively charged CTAB micelle surface. To quantify the degree of VAL/CTAB interaction, two constants were calculated by using mathematical models: micelle/water partition coefficient (K(x)) and drug/micelle binding constant (K(b)). The decrease of K(x) with VAL concentration, obtained by using pseudo-phase model, is consistent with an adsorption-like phenomenon. From the dependence of differential absorbance at lambda=295 nm on CTAB concentration, by using mathematical model that treats the solubilization of VAL dianion as its binding to specific sites in the micelles (Langmuir adsorption isotherm), the binding constant (K(b)=(2.50+/-0.49)x10(4)M(-1)) was obtained. Binding constant VAL/CTAB was also calculated using micellar liquid chromatography (MLC).