Elemental fluorine. Part 19: Electrophilic fluorination of hexyl derivatives bearing electron withdrawing groups

Reaction of a series of model hexyl derivatives of the form C₆H₁₃-X (X=Cl, Br, I, CO₂Me, COMe, CHO) with both elemental fluorine and Selectfluor™ was studied in order to assess the impact of electron withdrawing functional groups upon fluorination of an alkyl chain. Fluorination generally occurs at secondary sites, with a slight preference for those that are furthest removed from the electron withdrawing group, consistent with an electrophilic substitution process, although mixtures of fluorinated products are obtained in most cases.     

Elemental fluorine: Part 22. Fluorination of 3β-acetoxy-5α-androstan-17-one using fluorine and Selectfluor

Reactions of 3β-acetoxy-5α-androstan-17-one with elemental fluorine and Selectfluor^® are reported and give contrasting results. Fluorine gives a mixture of mono-fluorinated steroids in which fluorine atoms are attached to tertiary carbon sites whereas Selectfluor^® gives fluoro-steroid systems arising from electrophilic aliphatic substitution of the most sterically accessible secondary saturated positions. The identities of the fluoro-steroid products were determined by NMR analysis and X-ray crystallography.     

Selectfluor: Mechanistic Insight and Applications

The replacement of hydrogen atoms with fluorine substituents in organic substrates is of great interest in synthetic chemistry because of the strong electronegativity of fluorine and relatively small steric footprint of fluorine atoms. Many sources of nucleophilic fluorine are available for the derivatization of organic molecules under acidic, basic, and neutral conditions. However, electrophilic fluorination has historically required molecular fluorine, whose notorious toxicity and explosive tendencies limit its application in research. The necessity for an electrophilic fluorination reagent that is safe, stable, highly reactive, and amenable to industrial production as an alternative to very hazardous molecular fluorine was the inspiration for the discovery of selectfluor. This reagent is not only one of the most reactive electrophilic fluorinating reagents available, but it is also safe, nontoxic, and easy to handle. In this Review we document the many applications of selectfluor and discuss possible mechanistic pathways for its reaction.     

Elemental fluorine : Part 15. Selective direct fluorination of quinoline derivatives

Direct fluorination of various quinoline derivatives in acidic reaction media gives fluorinated quinoline products arising from electrophilic substitution processes.     

Enantioselective and diastereoselective synthesis of fluorinated dipeptides by late electrophilic fluorination

A series of optically enriched monofluorinated dipeptides incorporating an α-fluoro-α-amino acid were prepared by enantio- and diastereoselective electrophilic fluorination. This previously unsuccessful approach to fluorinated dipeptides can now be achieved with up to 73:27 enantiomeric ratio and high >98:2 diastereomeric ratio.     

Nucleophilic displacement in polyhalogenoaromatic compounds. Part 12.[1] Additivity of fluorine substituent effects in methoxydefluorination

The rates of methoxydefluorination of all twelve polyfluorobenzenes in dimethyl sulphoxide-methanol mixtures (DMSO-MeOH; 9:1, v/v; 298.2 K) have been measured. Three substituent rate factors (f_o, 60; f_m, 180; f_p, 0.75) are sufficient to reproduce the effect of the fluorine substituent in this reaction upon each member of the series. The solvent effect, comparing these results with an earlier and more limited study in methanol is predominantly a simple acceleration. The effects of substituents upon the rate of methoxydefluorination of fluorobenzene itself are slightly greater (?^?, 6.9) than in the corresponding reaction of pentafluorobenzene derivatives (?^?, 5.8), but the change in sensitivity is much less than that found with nitrobenzene derivatives.     

Elemental fluorine : Part 20. Direct fluorination of deactivated aromatic systems using microreactor techniques

Continuous flow microreactor technology has been used for the direct fluorination of a range of deactivated di- and tri-substituted aromatic systems.     

Selectfluor and NFSI exo‐Glycal Fluorination Strategies Applied to the Enhancement of the Binding Affinity of Galactofuranosyltransferase GlfT2 Inhibitors

Two complementary methods for the synthesis of fluorinated exo‐glycals have been developed, for which previously no general reaction had been available. First, a Selectfluor‐mediated fluorination was optimized after detailed analysis of all the reaction parameters. A dramatic effect of molecular sieves on the course of the reaction was observed. The reaction was generalized with a set of biologically relevant furanosides and pyranosides. A second direct approach involving carbanionic chemistry and the use of N‐fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) was performed and this method gave better diastereoselectivities. Assignment of the Z/E configuration of all the fluorinated exo‐glycals was achieved based on the results of HOESY experiments. Furthermore, fluorinated exo‐glycal analogues of UDP‐galactofuranose were prepared and assayed against GlfT2, which is a key enzyme involved in the cell‐wall biosynthesis of major pathogens. The fluorinated exo‐glycals proved to be potent inhibitors as compared with a series of C‐glycosidic analogues of UDP‐Galf, thus demonstrating the double beneficial effect of the exocyclic enol ether functionality and the fluorine atom.     

The effect of fluorine substitution on the structure of oxiranes and on the energetics of the oxiranylcarbinyl radical ring opening

Fluorine substituent effects on the structure of oxirane and on the kinetic behavior of oxiranylcarbinyl radicals, as determined by DFT calculations, have been found to be similar to those observed for the analogous fluorinated cyclopropylcarbinyl radical systems. A structural and energetic analysis showed that a stereoelectronic effect involving preferential interaction of the semi-occupied atomic orbital of the radical with the weaker ring bond is the major factor that contributes to the regiochemistry of the ring opening of fluorinated oxiranylcarbinyl radicals. With low and potentially zero activation barriers, 3,3-difluorooxiranylcarbinyl radical and cation undergo ring opening with CO bond cleavage and CC cleavage, respectively.     

Crystallinity and fluorine substitution effects on the proton conductivity of porous hydroxyapatites

Porous calcium hydroxyapatite (p-HAp) was prepared by wet chemical methods. The poorly crystalline structure and the high surface specific area (235 m²/g) of this hydroxyapatite have effects on the variation of the electrical properties. Good linearity of logarithm of conductivity versus the relative humidity in the range from 19% to 88% (RH) was observed using the complex impedance spectroscopy. The proton conduction was affected by the relative humidity related to H₂O adsorption on the material surfaces. The fluorine substitution in p-HAp also modifies the crystalline and the proton conduction properties.     

Synthesis and redox behavior of 1,2-dihydro-1-oxabenz[a]azulen-2-ones

Three new 1,2-dihydro-1-oxabenz[a]azulen-2-one derivatives, 1a (R¹=H, R²=Me), 1b (R¹=H, R²=Ph), and 1c (R¹=COOEt, R²=Me), have been synthesized by the reaction of 2-hydroxyazulene (2a) and its 1-ethoxycarbonyl derivative 2b with ethyl acetoacetate (3a) or ethyl benzoylacetate (3b) in the presence of aluminum chloride. To our knowledge, these are the first examples of this type of compound, although the yield of the products is low in some cases. Their electronic properties were studied in detail utilizing the analyses of 1,2-dihydro-1-oxabenz[a]azulen-2-one derivative 1a by the spectroscopic and voltammetric analyses. The analyses revealed that the fused α-pyrone system lowers both the HOMO and the LUMO energies, relative to those of parent azulene (10), but has much pronounced effect on the LUMO, consequently, leading to decrease in HOMO–LUMO gap, compared with those of 10. These results should be attracted to the development of amphoteric redox materials. Reactivity toward electrophilic reagents was also examined by bromination and Vilsmeier–Haack formylation reactions of 1a. To evaluate the scope of the reaction products we have examined Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction of the bromination products with trimethylsilylacetylene and conversion of the formylation product to dibromoolefin by the reaction with phosphorous ylide prepared with CBr₄ and Ph₃P. Effective extension of the π-electron system in the ethynyl products has been revealed by the spectroscopic analysis. These reaction products would be attracted to the application as a terminal group for electronic applications.     

Fluorination of single walled carbon nanotubes at low temperature: Towards the reversible fluorine storage into carbon nanotubes

Fluorination of single walled carbon nanotubes was carried out at low temperature in the −191/25 °C range under 1 atm pure fluorine gas. In such conditions, the resulting C–F bonding is significantly weaker than for samples fluorinated at 280 °C. If the fluorination is performed at low temperature, fluorine atoms can be then removed from the host structure by moderated heating until 300 °C or by vacuum without strong damage on the tubes. After thermal defluorination, the resulting sample can be refluorinated similarly than the pristine tubes.     

Ordering the relative power of electrophilic fluorinating,trifluoromethylating, and trifluoromethylthiolating reagents: A summary of recent efforts

Electrophilic fluorination and fluoroalkylation are one of the most promising and efficient strategies in the synthesis of organofluorine compounds. The rapid progress of this field has been made possible by the emergence of a wide variety of power-variable, readily prepared, and easy-to-handle electrophilic fluorinating and fluoroalkylating reagents. Understanding the relative power of these reagents is thus vital for their use in synthetic transformations. This digest will outline some recent efforts to quantitatively ordering the relative power of electrophilic fluorinating, trifluoromethylating, and trifluoromethylthiolating reagents.     

Reactions of methyl(pentafluorophenyl)- and methyl(pentafluorophenyl)phenylsilanes with electrophiles. A convenient preparative route to halogeno(methyl)pentafluorophenylsilanes C6F5SiMe2X and C6F5SiMeX2 (X=F, Cl and Br)

Halogeno(methyl)pentafluorophenylsilanes C₆F₅SiMe_nX_3−n (n=1, 2) (X=F, Cl, Br) were prepared in good yields from the corresponding phenylsilanes C₆F₅SiMe_nPh_3−n by reactions with the electrophiles aHF, HCl–AlCl₃, Br₂–AlBr₃ or AlX₃ (X=Cl, Br) halogenated hydrocarbons. Additionally, reactions of C₆F₅SiMe₃ and (C₆F₅)₂SiMe₂ with selected electrophiles were studied.     

Innovative Syntheses of Cyano(fluoro)borates: Catalytic Cyanation,Electrochemical and Electrophilic Fluorination

Different types of high-yield, easily scalable syntheses for cyano(fluoro)borates Kt[BF_n(CN)_4−n] (n=0–2) (Kt=cation), which are versatile building blocks for materials applications and chemical synthesis, have been developed. Tetrafluoroborates react with trimethylsilyl cyanide in the presence of metal-free Brønsted or Lewis acid catalysts under unprecedentedly mild conditions to give tricyanofluoroborates or tetracyanoborates. Analogously, pentafluoroethyltrifluoroborates are converted into pentafluoroethyltricyanoborates. Boron trifluoride etherate, alkali metal salts, and trimethylsilyl cyanide selectively yield dicyanodifluoroborates or tricyanofluoroborates. Fluorination of cyanohydridoborates is the third reaction type that includes direct fluorination with, for example, elemental fluorine, stepwise halogenation/fluorination reactions, and electrochemical fluorination (ECF) according to the Simons process. In addition, fluorination of [BH(CN)₂{OC(O)Et}]⁻ to result in [BF(CN)₂{OC(O)Et}]⁻ is described.     

Simultaneous Fluorination and Oxidation of Iridium by Metal Tetrafluorobromates

Iridium is one of the most important platinum group metals and is used in several alloys and in the automotive industry for the purposes of making catalysts. Therefore, its recycling is a very actual challenge for researchers working in the field of urban mining. Reactions of various tetrafluorobromates MBrF₄ (M = K, Rb, Cs) and M’(BrF₄)₂ (M’ = Ba) with Ir metal have been investigated. Compositions of the obtained products have been determined, corresponding reaction schemes have been suggested, and proper conditions for the reactions have been established.     

p-Phenylene sulfide oligomers and their properties. Ar-S couplings mediated by copper or by fluorine substitutions

A series of monodisperse p-phenylene sulfide oligomers were efficiently synthesized by using a bidirectional growth. A strategy combining Cu-catalyzed Ar-S couplings for small oligomers and fluorine aromatic substitutions by aryl thiolates for longer ones was put forward. The latter method is superior to Cu-catalyzed reactions for longer oligomers. Fluorine chemistry brings some new advantages such as solubility and reactivity. Qualitative crystallinity studies were reported according to the oligomer size and the functional series, by using a microscope equipped with a heating stage and a camera.     

Reductive opening of 1H,3H-benzo[de]isochromene: synthesis of 1,8-difunctionalised naphthalenes

The lithiation of 1H,3H-benzo[de]isochromene (6) with lithium and a catalytic amount of 4,4′-di-tert-butylbiphenyl (DTBB, 5% molar) in THF at −50 °C gives dianionic intermediate 7, which by reaction with different electrophiles {H₂O, D₂O, ^tBuCHO, PhCHO, Me₂CO, (CH₃CH₂)₂CO, [CH₃(CH₂)₄]₂CO, (CH₂)₅CO, (CH₂)₇CO, (−)-menthone} at the same temperature followed by hydrolysis leads to functionalised alcohols 8. If after addition of a carbonyl compound as the first electrophile [^tBuCHO, (CH₂)₅CO, (−)-menthone], the resulting dialcoholate 9 is allowed to react at 0 °C, a second lithiation takes place to give intermediate 10 which by reaction with a second electrophile [H₂O, ^tBuCHO, (CH₂)₅CO, CO₂], yields, after hydrolysis, 1,8-difunctionalised naphthalenes 11. Cyclization under acidic conditions of diols 8e-i gives oxygen-containing eight-membered heterocycles, which are homologous to the starting material 6.