Lewis acid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction using carboxylic acids as acylating agents

Rare-earth metal Lewis acids, in particular Eu(NTf₂)₃, were found to be efficient catalysts for Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction using aliphatic as well as aromatic carboxylic acids as acylating agents at high temperature.     

Meldrum's acids as acylating agents in the catalytic intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reaction

[reaction: see text] The intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatics with Meldrum's acid derivatives catalyzed by metal trifluoromethanesulfonates is reported. Meldrum's acids are easily prepared, functionalized, handled, and purified. The synthesis of polysubstituted 1-indanones from benzyl Meldrum's acids was investigated thoroughly, and it was shown that a variety of catalysts were effective, while accommodating a diversity of functional groups under mild conditions. The scope, limitations, and functional group tolerance (terminal alkene and alkyne, ketal, dialkyl ether, dialkyl thioether, aryl methyl ether, aryl TIPS and TBDPS ethers, nitrile- and nitro-substituted aryls, alkyl and aryl halides) for a variety of 5-benzyl (enolizable Meldrum's acids) and 5-benzyl-5-substituted Meldrum's acids (quaternized Meldrum's acids), forming 1-indanones and 2-substituted-1-indanones, respectively, are delineated. This method was further applied to the synthesis of 1-tetralones, 1-benzosuberones, and the potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donepezil. Rate of cyclization as a function of ring size was established for various benzocyclic ketones via competition experiments: 1-tetralones form faster than both 1-indanones and 1-benzosuberones, and 1-benzosuberones cyclize faster than 1-indanones.     

Synthesis of various acylating agents directly from carboxylic acids

Abstract

A straightforward synthesis of acylating reagents such as Weinreb and MAP amides from aromatic, aliphatic carboxylic acids, and amino acids using PPh₃/NBS combination is described. A chemo-selective modification of the carboxylic acid group into Weinreb amide in the presence of more reactive aldehydes and ketones is presented. All reactions were performed at ambient temperature under air using undried commercial grade solvent. Furthermore, the present methodology could be performed at a gram scale under inert-free reaction conditions. In addition, 7-azaindoline amide auxiliary (used for catalytic asymmetric aldol- and Mannich-type reactions), which behaves like Weinreb amide is also synthesized under similar reaction conditions.     

Active esters as acylating reagents in the Friedel-Crafts reaction: trifluoromethanesulfonic acid catalyzed acylation of ferrocene and pyrene

The Friedel-Crafts acylation of electron-rich arenes (ferrocene and pyrene) with N-hydroxysuccinimidyl, 2,3,5,6-tetrafluorophenyl and phenyl esters of benzoic and p-methoxybenzoic acid, activated by superacidic trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is reported. The reactive acylating intermediate in this system is presumably an acyl triflate or its protonated form.     

Amino acids as selective sulfonamide acylating agents

Acylation of antimalarial and bacteriostatic sulfonamides with N-protected amino acids and peptides was carried out using standard peptide coupling methods. These acylation reactions are regioselective for the N⁴ nitrogen atom of diazine-containing sulfonamides. In contrast, only N¹ coupling was found for sulfisoxazole, an isoxazole-based sulfonamide. Computational studies suggest that a combination of geometrical, thermodynamic and electronic factors are responsible for the different reactivities reported.     

Friedel-Crafts acylation of ferrocene with alkynoic acids

Ferrocene reacts with alkynoic acids (conjugated or nonconjugated terminal), trifluoroacetic anhydride and triflic acid (or boron trifluoride etherate) to afford the corresponding ferrocenyl ynones in good yields. Only in the case of propynoic- and 3-butynoic acid complex, untreatable reaction mixtures were obtained. However, propynoilferrocene was obtained by desilylation of (trimethylsilyl)propynoilferrocene with KF/18-crown-6. Reaction with nonconjugated terminal alkynoic acids, carried out in the presence of a large excess of triflic acid (4 equiv.) results in formation of complex mixtures of products (in the reaction with 4-pentynoic acid enol triflate of ferrocenyl 1,4-diketone and 2-ferrocenyl-5-methylfuran were isolated). Ferrocenyl ynones obtained in this work can be used for synthesis of more complex ferrocenyl systems by “click” chemistry.     

Tf2O as a rapid and efficient promoter for the dehydrative Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds with carboxylic acids

The Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds with carboxylic acids was investigated in the presence of Tf₂O. The reaction was carried out efficiently and very rapidly under mild reaction conditions without the need of any catalyst.     

Solvent-free Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds with carboxylic acids in the presence of trifluoroacetic anhydride and aluminum dodecatungstophosphate

The stable and non-hygroscopic aluminum dodecatungstophosphate (AlPW₁₂O₄₀), was found to be an effective catalyst (3 mol%) for the solvent-free Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds with carboxylic acids in the presence of trifluoroacetic anhydride under mild reaction conditions.     

N-methoxy-n-methylamides as effective acylating agents

Readily preparable N-methoxy-N-methylamides couple in good yields with Grignard and organolithium reagents to produce ketones, and are reduced with hydrides to afford aldehydes.     

Friedel-Crafts acylation with amides

Friedel-Crafts acylation has been known since the 1870s, and it is an important organic synthetic reaction leading to aromatic ketone products. Friedel-Crafts acylation is usually performed with carboxylic acid chlorides or anhydrides, while amides are generally not useful substrates in these reactions. Despite being the least reactive carboxylic acid derivative, we have found a series of amides capable of providing aromatic ketones in good yields (55-96%, 17 examples). We propose a mechanism involving diminished C-N resonance through superelectrophilic activation and subsequent cleavage to acyl cations.     

Mild, efficient Friedel-Crafts acylations from carboxylic acids using cyanuric chloride and AlCl3

A mild method for Friedel-Crafts acylation with aromatic and aliphatic carboxylic acids using cyanuric chloride, pyridine, and AlCl(3) was developed. Both inter- and intramolecular acylations were achieved at room temperature in high yield and in very short reaction times.     

The Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds with carboxylic acids by the combined use of perfluoroalkanoic anhydride and bismuth or scandium triflate

Aromatic ketones were synthesized by solventless Friedel-Crafts acylation of anisole, mesitylene, xylenes, and toluene with acetic acid and benzoic acid in the presence of trifluoroacetic anhydride by use of bismuth or scandium triflate at 30 °C. Toluene, benzene, and even deactivated substrate such as chlorobenzene were benzoylated by the combined use of heptafluorobutyric anhydride and bismuth triflate at 75-100 °C. The catalyst could be easily recovered and reused repeatedly for the reaction.     

Niobium pentachloride-silver perchlorate as an efficient catalyst in the Friedel-Crafts acylation and Sakurai-Hosomi reaction of acetals

Friedel-Crafts acylation catalyzed by niobium pentachloride with silver salt is described. Aromatic compounds with Ac₂O or Bz₂O were smoothly converted into the corresponding ketones in good to excellent yields. This system was also applied to the Sakurai-Hosomi reaction using acetals. The reaction proceeded quite rapidly to give the desired products in excellent yields.     

Acylmethanesulfonamides as new acylating agents for primary amines

A new, simple and efficient procedure for the preparation of secondary amides through internal condensation of acylmethanesulfonamides ammonium salts is described. The selective acylation of mixed primary-secondary amines could be an attractive application of the new method.     

Scandium triflate-catalyzed intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation with Meldrum's acids: insight into the mechanism

The intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation of arenes with Meldrum's acid derivatives catalyzed by Sc(OTf)₃ was reported as a mild and general entry into functionalized 1-indanones. Mechanistic investigations were undertaken to determine the rate-determining step in the acylation sequence using Meldrum's acid, as well as to examine the role of the Lewis acid catalyst. Enolizable Meldrum's acid derivatives react via an acyl ketene intermediate under thermal conditions, while quaternized Meldrum's acid derivatives are thermally stable and only act as effective Friedel-Crafts acylating agents in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst. The acylation was postulated to proceed through direct acylation of a Lewis acid-activated carbonyl. In the catalytic Friedel-Crafts acylation of Meldrum's acids, triflic acid appeared to be the active catalytic species, with Sc(OTf)₃ serving as a very mild and convenient reagent for its delivery.     

Friedel-Crafts acylation of 5-hydroxybenzimidazole derivatives

The Friedel-Crafts acylation of 5-hydroxybenzimidazole and its 2-methyl and 1-ethyl-2-methyl derivatives proceeds exclusively at C⁴ and only with aliphatic acid derivatives.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 8, pp. 1928–1931, August, 1991.     

Studies of acylation kinetics of aspen wood with aromatic carboxylic acids

With the help of Erofeev-Kolmogorov and Eiring equations kinetic characteristics of acylation of the aspen wood with the aromatic carboxylic acids in presence of thionyl chloride in the trifluoroacetic acid medium were calculated and thermodynamic parameters of this process were established.     

Lanthanide triflate-catalyzed arene acylation. Relation to classical Friedel-Crafts acylation

Lanthanide trifluoromethanesulfonates, Ln(OTf) 3 (OTf (-) = trifluoromethanesulfonate), serve as effective precatalysts for the rapid, regioselective, intermolecular acylation of activated arenes. This contribution probes mechanism and metal ionic radius effects in the catalytic lanthanide triflate-mediated acylation of anisole with acetic anhydride. Kinetic studies of Ln(OTf) 3 (Ln = La, Eu, Yb, Lu)-mediated anisole acylation with acetic anhydride in nitromethane reveal the rate law nu approximately k 3 [Ln (3+)] (1)[acetic anhydride] (1)[anisole] (1). Eyring and Arrhenius analyses yield Delta H++ = 12.9 (4) kcal.mol (-1), Delta S++ = -44.8 (1.3) e.u., and E a = 13.1 (4) kcal.mol (-1) for Ln = Yb, with the negative Delta S++ implying a highly organized transition state. The observed primary kinetic isotope effect of k H/ k D = 2.6 +/- 0.15 is consistent with arene C-H bond scission in the turnover-limiting step. The proposed catalytic pathway involves precatalyst formation via interaction of Ln(OTf) 3 with acetic anhydride, followed by Ln (3+)-anisole pi-complexation, substrate-electrophile sigma-complex formation, and turnover-limiting C-H bond scission. Lanthanide size effects on turnover frequencies are consistent with a transition state lacking significant ionic radius-dependent steric constraints. Substrate-Ln (3+) interactions using paramagnetic Gd (3+) and Yb (3+) NMR probes and factors affecting reaction rates such as arene substituent and added LiClO 4 cocatalyst are also explored.     

Electrochemically promoted Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatic compounds

Friedel-Crafts acylation is carried out with several aromatic substrates in the presence of an electrochemically active aluminium anode to minimize the inorganic reagents. Only a catalytic amount of AlCl₃ (5 mol %) is required to enable the anodic polarization of the aluminium electrode to promote continuous acylation. This process typically gave products in good yields (70-96%).