José G. Santos

Experimental and theoretical studies on the nucleofugality patterns in the aminolysis and phenolysis of S-aryl O-aryl thiocarbonates.

The reactions of S-phenyl, S-(4-chlorophenyl), and S-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl) 4-nitrophenyl thiocarbonates (9, 11, and 16, respectively) with a series of secondary alicyclic (SA) amines and those of S-(4-methylphenyl) 4-nitrophenyl thiocarbonate (8) and compounds 9 and 11 with a series of phenols are subjected to a kinetic investigation in 44 wt % ethanol-water, at 25.0 degrees C and an ionic strength of 0.2 M. The reactions were followed spectrophotometrically. Under nucleophile excess, pseudo-first-order rate coefficients (k(obsd)) were found. For all these reactions, plots of k(obsd) vs. free amine or phenoxide anion concentration at constant pH are linear, the slope (k(N)) being independent of pH. The Brønsted-type plots (log k(N) vs. pK(a) of the conjugate acids of the nucleophiles) for the aminolysis of 9, 11, and 16 are linear with slopes beta = 0.85, 0.90, and 0.67, respectively. The two former slopes are consistent with a stepwise mechanism, through a zwitterionic tetrahedral intermediate, which breaking to products is rate determining. The latter beta value is consistent with a concerted mechanism. The Brønsted-type plots for the phenolysis of thiocarbonates 8, 9, and 11 are linear with slopes beta = 0.62, 0.70, and 0.69, respectively. These beta values and the absence of curvature at pK(a) = 7.5 confirm a concerted mechanism. In all these reactions, except those of 16, the main nucleofuge is 4-nitrophenoxide, being the thio benzenethiolate the minor nucleofuge. For the reactions of thiocarbonate 16 the main nucleofuge is pentafluorobenzenethiolate whereas little 4-nitrophenoxide was found. The reactions of two SA amines with S-(3-chlorophenyl) 4-nitrophenyl thiocarbonate (10) were subjected to product analysis, showing 60% 4-nitrophenoxide and 40% 3-chlorobenzenethiolate. The study is completed with a theoretical analysis based on the group electrophilicity index, a reactivity descriptor that may be taken as a measure of the ability of a group or fragment to depart from a molecule with the bonding electron pair. The theoretical analysis is in accordance with the experimental results obtained and predicts relative nucleofugalities of O-aryl vs. S-aryl groups in a series of diaryl thiocarbonates not experimentally evaluated to date.

Concerted Pyridinolysis of Aryl 2,4,6-Trinitrophenyl Carbonates

The Brønsted plots for the title reactions are linear with slopes of 0.53-0.56. The magnitude of the slopes and the fact that there are no breaks at the predicted pK(a) for stepwise mechanisms indicate that these reactions are concerted. This finding is in great contrast to the stepwise mechanisms found for the pyridinolysis of other carbonates. The concerted mechanism is attributed to the fact that the title carbonates possess two O-aryl groups, one of them being an exceptionally good nucleofuge.

Supercritical fluid extraction and characterisation of oil from hazelnut

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) oil was extracted with compressed carbon dioxide in the temperature range of 308—321 K and in the pressure range of 18—23.4 MPa. In addition the influence of the superficial velocity, within a tubular extractor was studied. Physical and chemical characteristics of the oil were obtained. The results including contents of free fatty acids, sterols, triacylglycerols and tocopherols were compared with those obtained when n-hexane was used as solvent. No significant differences were found when the oils extracted by both methods were analysed. The main fatty acid was the oleic acid (83—85%), followed by linoleic acid (6—8%) and palmitic acid (5—6%). The main triglyceride found in hazelnut oils was the trioleylglycerol (OOO) (63.4—69.6%), followed by the linoleyl-dioleylglycerol (LOO) (11.6—15.5%) and palmitoyl-dioleylglycerol (POO) (9.9—10.4%). In terms of sterols, the main component was β-sitos-terol (∼83%) followed by campesterol (∼6%). The amount of cholesterol was very low (∼0.2%). The CO2 extracted oil contained about 17% more tocopherols (458.7 μg/g oil) than the oil extracted by n-hexane (382.8 μg/g). Oxidative stability was studied by using the induction time determined by the Rancimat method. The oil obtained by supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was slightly more protected against oxidation (8.7 h for SFE extracted oil and 6.7 h for the hazelnut oil extracted with n-hexane). Both oils presented high stability index values (7.81 for the oil extracted by n-hexane and 8.7 for the oil extracted with supercritical CO2). Oil extracted by supercritical CO2 was clearer than the one extracted by n-hexane, showing some refining. Besides, the acidity index was 1.6 for the n-hexane extracted oil and 0.9 for the oil extracted with supercritical carbon dioxide. The central composite non-factorial design was used to optimise the extraction conditions, using the Statistica, version 5 software (Statsoft). The best results, in terms of recoveries of hazelnut oil by SFE, were found at 22.5 MPa, 308 K and superficial velocity of 6.0 × 10—4 ms—1.

Mechanisms of Degradation of Paraoxon in Different Ionic Liquids

Herein, the reactivity and selectivity of the reaction of O,O-diethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate triester (Paraxon, 1) with piperidine in ionic liquids (ILs), three conventional organic solvents (COS), and water is studied by (31)P NMR, UV-vis, and GC/MS. Three phosphorylated products are identified as follows: O,O-diethyl piperidinophosphate diester (2), O,O-diethyl phosphate (3), and O-ethyl 4-nitrophenyl phosphate diester (4). Compound 4 also reacts with piperidine to yield O-ethyl piperidinophosphate monoester (5). The results show that both the rate and products distribution of this reaction depend on peculiar features of ILs as reaction media and the polarity of COS.

Toward a pKa Scale of N-base Amines in Ionic Liquids

An electrochemical technique was used to investigate pKa values of some substituted secondary alicyclic (SA) amines, pyridines (py), anilines (AN), and triethylamine (Et3N) in different ionic liquids. The method involves cyclic voltammetry at a platinized Pt electrode. The experimental data were correlated with pKa values reported previously in aqueous solution, and Hammett parameters were correlated with pKa values in ionic liquids to determine ρ values in these media.

Concerted mechanisms of the reactions of methyl aryl carbonates with substituted phenoxide ions.

The reactions of 4-nitrophenyl, 2,4-dinitrophenyl, and 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl methyl carbonates (NPC, DNPC, and TNPC, respectively) with substituted phenoxide ions are subjected to a kinetic study in water at 25.0 degrees C, ionic strength 0.2 M (KCl). Production of the leaving groups (the nitro derivatives) is followed spectrophotometrically. Under excess of the phenoxide ions pseudo-first-order rate coefficients (k(obsd)) are found throughout. Plots of k(obsd) vs substituted phenoxide concentration at constant pH are linear, with the slope (k(N)) independent of pH. The Brönsted-type plots (log k(N) vs pK(a) of the phenols) are linear with slopes beta = 0.67, 0.48, and 0.52 for the phenolysis of NPC, DNPC, and TNPC, respectively. The magnitudes of these Brönsted slopes are consistent with a concerted mechanism. In the particular case of the phenolysis of NPC the expected hypothetical curvature center of the Brönsted plot for a stepwise mechanism should be pK(a)(0) = 7.1 (the pK(a) of 4-nitrophenol). This curvature does not appear within the pK(a) range of the substituted phenols studied (5.3--10.3), indicating that these reactions are concerted. The phenolysis of DNPC and TNPC should also be concerted in view of the even more unstable tetrahedral intermediates that would be formed if the reactions were stepwise. The reactions of the same substrates with pyridines are stepwise, which means that substitution of a pyridine moiety in a tetrahedral intermediate by a phenoxy group destabilizes the intermediate perhaps to the point of nonexistence. The k(N) values for the title reactions are larger than those for the concerted phenolysis of the corresponding ethyl S-aryl thiolcarbonates. The k(N) values found in the present reactions are subjected to a dual regression analysis as a function of the pK(a), of both the nucleophile and leaving group, the coefficients being beta(N) = 0.5 and beta(lg) = -0.3, respectively. These coefficients are consistent with a concerted mechanism.

Hydrogen Bond Contribution to Preferential Solvation in SNAr Reactions

Preferential solvation in aromatic nucleophilic substitution reactions is discussed using a kinetic study complemented with quantum chemical calculations. The model system is the reaction of a series of secondary alicyclic amines toward phenyl 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl ether in aqueous ethanol mixtures of different compositions. From solvent effect studies, it is found that only piperidine is sensitive to solvation effects, a result that may be traced to the polarity of the solvent composition in the ethanol/water mixture, which points to a specific electrophilic solvation in the aqueous phase.

Ionic liquids: anion effect on the reaction of O,O-diethyl O-(2,4-dinitrophenyl) phosphate triester with piperidine

The reactions of O,O-diethyl 2,4-dinitrophenylphosphate triester (1) with piperidine in ionic liquids and four conventional organic solvents (COS) were subjected to kinetic and product studies. Analytical techniques (UV-vis and NMR) identified two pathways: nucleophilic attack at the phosphoryl center and at the C-1 aromatic carbon. The nucleophilic rate constants (kTN) for these parallel reactions were separated into two terms: kPN and kArN for the corresponding electrophilic centers. Both the rate and the selectivities of the reactions are strongly dependent on the nature of the ionic liquid used, and a good correlation with the solvent acceptor capacity to form hydrogen bonds (β) was observed. Remarkably, an exclusive attack at the phosphoryl center was found using [Bmim]DCA, [Bmpyrr]DCA and [Bmpy]DCA as the reaction solvents. In contrast, with [Bmim]PF6 as the reaction solvent, attack at the C-1 aromatic was the main path (94%). These results suggest that ionic liquids can be considered to be designer solvents because by an appropriate choice of the anion it is possible to steer the selectivity of this reaction.

Concerted mechanism of the reactions of 2,4-dinitrophenyl 4-cyanobenzoate with secondary alicyclic amines in aqueous ethanol

The title reactions are subjected to a kinetic analysis in 44 wt% ethanol-water, at 25.0°C, ionic strength 0.2 (KCl). With a large excess of amine over the substrate, pseudo-first-order rate coefficients (kobs) are obtained, which are linearly dependent on the amine concentration. The nucleophilic rate constants (kN) are determined from plots of kobs vs. amine concentration. The Bronsted-type plot obtained with the kN values is linear, with slope β=0.63. The magnitude of this slope suggests that the mechanism is concerted, as opposed to a stepwise process with rate-determining breakdown of a zwitterionic tetrahedral intermediate (T±), in which the value of β is usually 0.8–1.0. The pyridinolysis of the same substrate in the same solvent is stepwise with the breakdown of T± as the rate-determining step. The change to a concerted mechanism for the title reactions is attributed to the superior nucleofugality of the alicyclic amines, compared to the isobasic pyridines, which destabilizes kinetically the “intermediate” T± in such a way that it does not exist, and the mechanism becomes enforced concerted.

Influence of the ionic liquid on the rate and the mechanism of reaction of p-nitrophenyl acetate with secondary alicyclic amines†

The reaction of p-nitrophenyl acetate (1) with piperidine was studied in nine organic solvents and in nine ionic liquids. The aminolysis of 1 by four different secondary amines was also studied in [Bmim]BF4 and their basicities were determined in this solvent using two different methods. Medium effects were analysed and interpreted by comparing the rate constants of aminolysis for the two sets of solvents.