Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. 42.(1) marked solvent effects on regioselective anodic monofluorination of 4-oxo-2-pyrimidyl sulfides

Regioselective anodic monofluorination of 4-oxo-2-pyrimidyl sulfides was investigated under various electrolytic conditions. Anodic fluorination was successfully carried out using Et(4)NF.4HF in dimethoxyethane (DME) to provide the corresponding alpha-fluorinated products in good yields. In contrast, acetonitrile (MeCN) was not suitable for the anodic fluorination due to the severe anode passivation during the electrolysis. A mixed solvent of DME and MeCN was found to be also effective for the fluorination, and the product yield increased with an increase of the ratio of DME to MeCN. The superiority of DME can be explained mainly in terms of the suppression of the anode passivation and enhancement of the nucleophilicity of the fluoride ions. Such marked solvent effects on the anodic fluorination were discussed in detail.     

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. 64.(1) Anodic mono- and difluorination of thiazolyl sulfides

The anodic fluorination of 2-thiazolyl methyl sulfide, 2-thiazolyl propargyl sulfide, and 2-thiazolyl acetonyl sulfide was successfully carried out to provide the corresponding 5-fluorothiazole and 2,5,5-trifluorothiazoline derivatives. The latter products were readily hydrolyzed to give isolable 5,5-difluoro-2-hydroxythiazoline derivatives. On the other hand, anodic fluorination of 2-thiazolyl cyanomethyl sulfide afforded 5-fluorothiazole and alpha-fluorinated thiazole derivatives. Thus, the product selectivity was found to be greatly changed by the electron-withdrawing ability of substituents at the side chain of the thiazole ring. This is the first report of a successful anodic fluorination of a thiazole ring.     

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds: 89: Regioselective anodic fluorination of tetrazolyl sulfides

Anodic fluorination of five-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclic sulfides like tetrazolyl sulfides was comparatively studied. The anodic fluorination of tetrazolyl sulfides having α-electron-withdrawing groups was successfully carried out to provide α-monofluorinated tetrazolyl derivatives in moderate yields. This is in sharp contrast to the low efficient anodic fluorination of triazolyl sulfides. Thus, it was found that the efficiency of anodic fluorination is greatly affected by the basicity of the heterocyclic groups of the starting heterocyclic sulfides.     

Electroytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. 52. Regio- and diastereoselective anodic fluorination of thiazolidines

Anodic fluorination of N-benzoyl, N-acethyl-, and N-formylthiazolidine derived from L-cysteine was carried out in dimethoxyethane (DME) and acetonitrile containing various supporting fluoride salts using an undivided cell. Highly regioselective fluorination proceeded to provide the corresponding 5-monofluorinated thiazolidine derivatives in good yields in DME, and the diastereoselectivitiy was moderate to high regardless of the supporting fluoride salts. The diastereoselectivitiy of the fluorination was greatly affected by the bulkyness of the subsitituent on the nitrogen atom, and N-benzoylthiazolidine gave much higher diastereoselectivity compared with N-formyl derivative. The fluorination of the thiazolidines was not achieved by commercially available fluorinating reagents such as N-fluoropyridinium salts.     

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds 84: Anodic mono- and difluorination of benzylphosphonate derivatives

Anodic fluorination of benzylphosphonate derivatives was carried out under various electrolytic conditions to provide the corresponding α-mono- and/or α,α-difluoro-products in moderate to good yields. It was found that the selectivity of fluorinated products was depending on the molecular structures of the starting substrates and the electrolytic conditions.     

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. Part 51: Electrochemical fluorination of 1-methylpyrroles having electron-withdrawing groups at the 2-position: Effect of supporting fluoride salts on the fluorinated product selectivity

Anodic fluorination of 1-methylpyrroles having electron-withdrawing groups at the 2-position was comparatively studied using Et₃N•3HF and Et₃N•2HF as a supporting electrolyte and a fluorine source. The use of Et₃N•3HF gave trifluorinated products predominantly or selectively depending on solvents used while the use of Et₃N•2HF provided the corresponding monofluorinated pyrrole derivatives in considerable amount along with the trifluorinated products regardless of the solvents. This is the first successful example of selective anodic fluorination of pyrroles. The effects of supporting electrolyte on product selectivity are discussed.     

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds.71. Highly diastereoselective anodic fluorination of sulfides having oxygen-containing heterocyclic groups

Diastereoselective anodic fluorination of sulfides having various oxygen-containing heterocyclic substituents such as 2-furanyl, 1,3-dioxolanyl, 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolanyl, 2-spirocyclohexyl-1,3-dioxolanyl, 2-spiroadamantyl-1,3-dixolanyl, and 1,3-dioxolanonyl groups at the beta-position was comparatively studied. Among the oxygen-containing heterocyclic substituents, the 2-spirocyclohexyl-1,3-dioxolanyl group gave the best diastereoselectivity (80% de). The diastereoselectivity was also affected by supporting fluoride salts and solvents. Chemical fluorination using selectfluor resulted in much lower diastereoselectivity and extremely poor yield. The fluorinated products were readily converted into the corresponding fluorinated diol in good yields by acidic hydrolysis.     

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. 55. Highly regio- and stereoselective anodic monofluorination of 2,3-dihydrochroman-4-one and chromone derivatives.

Anodic monofluorination at the position alpha to the oxygen atom of the (E)-3-benzylidene-2,3-dihydrochroman-4-one derivatives was successfully carried out to provide the corresponding 2-fluorochromanones selectively. This is the first regioselective electrochemical fluorination of fused-type, oxygen-containing heterocyclic compounds. Anodic fluorination of a chromone derivative also gave a similar fluorinated chromanone stereoselectively.     

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. 79. Anodic fluorination of spiropyrazoline-5,3'-chroman-4-ones and thiochromanone analogues. A route to aroyl fluoride derivatives

[reaction: see text] Anodic fluorination of spiropyrazole-5,3'-chroman-4-ones and their thiochromanone analogues in dimethoxyethane containing Et4NF x 4HF resulted in ring opening of spiroheterocycles, which led to the formation of (5-pyrazolyl)methyl o-carbomethoxyphenyl ethers and their thioether analogues via benzoyl fluoride derivatives.     

Electrosynthesis of ethyl α,α-difluoro-α-(phenylseleno)acetate and its photochemical synthetic application

Anodic fluorination of ethyl α-fluoro-α-(phenylseleno)acetate was successfully carried out to give ethyl α,α-difluoro-α-(phenylseleno)acetate in high yield. Photolysis of the difluorinated product in the presence of various olefins provided regioselective difluorometylene adducts in good to moderate total yields. The reaction involves phenylselenyl transfer at the early stage followed by the elimination of a phenylselenyl group from the adducts once formed to provide the unsaturated and saturated difluoromethylene products.     

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. Part 78: Regioselective anodic fluorination of 2-oxazolidinones

Various 2-oxazolidinones were galvanostatically electrooxidized in the presence of various fluoride salts. It was found that a fluorine atom was introduced to the α-position of the nitrogen atom of N-acyl- and N-alkoxycarbonyl-2-oxazolidinones to provide the corresponding α-fluorinated products in moderate to good yields. In the case of N-phenoxycarbonyl derivative, fluorination took place on the phenyl group selectively.     

Anodic benzylic fluorination of toluene,ethylbenzene, and cumene derivatives

Anodic fluorination of toluene, ethylbenzene, and cumene derivatives was comparatively studied using Et₄NF-4HF as a supporting electrolyte and a fluorine source. Anodic benzylic fluorination occurred except for some cumene derivatives and the yields of the fluorinated products greatly depended on the stability of benzylic cations.     

Electrochemical fluorination of methanedisulfonyl fluoride

The electrochemical fluorination of methanedisulfonyl fluoride in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride to produce difluoromethanedisulfonyl fluoride, a precursor of difluoromethane disulfonic acid, was investigated. This study was carried out in a microprocessor-aided modified Simons' reactor system at constant anodic potential using a Cu/CuF₂ reference electrode. Product yields of 75–82%, current efftciencies in excess of 66%, and electrical energy efficiencies of at least 33% were obtained for the electrochemical fluorination step.Experimental results of this investigation are presented and discussed.     

Electrochemical partial fluorination of organic compounds. 80. Synthesis of cyclic alpha-arylthio-alpha-monofluorophosphonate esters

[Reaction: see text]. Seven-membered cyclic alpha-monofluorophosphonate esters such as 2-allyloxy-3-fluoro-3-phenylthio-4,7-dihydro-[1, 2]-oxaphosphinine-2-oxide were successfully synthesized in moderate total yield as 41% from open-chain allyl phosphonates having an alpha-arylthio group as an electroauxiliary using an alternative sequence of anodic fluorination and ring-closing olefin metathesis (RCM). On the other hand, in an attempt to synthesize an eight-membered analogue, a different type of seven-membered fluorinated cyclic product was formed predominantly by the RCM reaction between the allyloxy groups.     

Electrochemical fluorination of aromatic compounds in anhydrous HF

Electrochemical fluorination of anisole furnished 2-and 4-fluoroanisoles in a 3:1 ratio, guaiacol, and 4,4′-dimethoxydiphenyl ether. Phenylacetonitrile alongside the fluorination in the ring suffered the transformation of the cyano group into a trifluoromethyl. 4-Bromobenzamide was fluorinated to a high conversion mostly in the ring to afford predominantly 4-bromo-3,3,6,6-tetrafluoro-1,4-cyclohexadienecarboxamide. 4-Bromonitrobenzene in a low yield gave 4-bromofluoronitrobenzene and 3,4-dibromofluoronitrobenzene. 3-Bromo-nitrobenzene and 1,4-dichlorobenzene lid not undergo fluorination. In the course of the electrolysis of the 4-bromobenzamide and 4-bromonitrobenzene in anhydrous HF apart the fluorination occurred also the bromination of the substrates.     

Effects of additives on anodic fluorination in ionic liquid hydrogen fluoride salts

Anodic fluorination of ethyl α-(2-pyrimidylthio)acetate in neat ionic liquid hydrogen fluoride salts (Et₃N–3HF, Et₄NF–4HF, Et₄NF–5HF) was investigated to avoid an anode passivation, which sometimes occurs during anodic fluorination in organic solvent. In order to improve the yield of fluorinated product, polyether having coordination ability to cation and anodic stability was introduced to the reaction system as additives (3%). Furthermore, such additives were found to be also effective for anodic fluorodesulfurization of 4-phenylthio-1,3-dioxolan-2-one in neat ionic liquid system.     

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. 54. Anodic mono- and trifluorination of thiochroman-4-one derivatives and the factors affecting product selectivity

Anodic fluorination of (E)-3-benzylidene-2,3-dihydrothiochroman-4-one and 3-benzyl-1-thiochromone derivatives under a variety of electrolytic conditions was found to provide selectively or exclusively the same fluorinated products: (E)-3-benzylidene-2,3-dihydro-2-fluorothiochroman-4-ones. In addition, di- and trifluorinated derivatives were also obtained depending on the starting heterocycles and electrolytic conditions. The factors affecting the product selectivity were also examined.     

Selective fluorination of adamantanes by an electrochemical method

Selective fluorination of adamantanes was achieved by the electrochemical fluorination method, using Et 3N-5HF as electrolyte and a fluorine source. Mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrafluoroadamantanes were selectively prepared from adamantanes by controlling the oxidation potential, and the fluorine atoms were introduced selectively at the tertiary carbons. Adamantanes that have functional groups such as ester, cyano, and acetoxymethyl were also fluorinated selectively.     

The electrochemical fluorination of acetyl fluoride

The electrochemical fluorination of acetyl fluoride in anhydrous hydrogen fluoride to produce trifluoroacetyl fluoride was investigated in a microprocessor-aided modified Simons' reactor. The product was recovered in acetic acid as trifluoroacetic acid. The experiments were carried out at a controlled anodic potential using a Cu/CuF₂ reference electrode. Product yields of 36 - 45%, current efficiencies of 30 to 50% and energy efficiencies of 11 – 23% were obtained.Experimental results of this investigation are presented and discussed.     

Liquid-phase fluorination of aromatic compounds by elemental fluorine

The fluorination of aromatic compounds (benzene, toluene, phenol and benzoic acid) by elemental fluorine diluted with nitrogen has been investigated in various solvents (Freon 11, chloroform, methanol, trifluoroacetic acid, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, water) in order to define the influence of the experimental conditions on the reaction. Experiments have been carried out by varying the temperature, the substrate concentration in solution, the molar ratio of fluorine to substrate, and the concentration of fluorine in the fluorine/nitrogen mixture. In all cases, the effects on the yield of fluorinated products were studied. Monofluorinated compounds were mainly found in the reaction mixture, the isomers formed being in accord with the mechanism for electrophilic substitution. The highest yield of monofluorinated products was obtained with polar solvents and the following order was found: CFCl₃ < CHCl₃ < CH₃OH < CF₃CH₂OH < CF₃COOH. Interesting results were also found using particular additives (for instance, KOH or C₄F₉SO₃Na in methanol) or water as the solvent. A direct relationship was observed between the yield of monofluorinated compounds and the molar ratio of fluorine to substrate, which has to be less than one in order to obtain high yields. In contrast, low selectivity, expressed as the yield ratio of ortho to para (or meta) isomers, was found.