The stereochemistry and mechanisms of the alkoxide substitution reactions of O-methylbenzohydroximoyl chlorides (1 and 2) and alkyl O-methylbenzohydroximates (3 and 4) have been investigated. The reactions of the (Z)-hydroximoyl chlorides 1 with alkoxides in 10% methanol-90 % Me2SO proceed with >95% retention of configuration to give the (Z)-hydroximates 3. The alkoxide reactions of the (£)-hydroximoyl chlorides 2 are usually less stereoepecific and give >77% of the substitution product (4), corresponding to retention of configuration. The reactions of the hydroximoyl chlorides la and 2a with methoxide ion follow second-order kinetics and have approximately the same rate constants. The reaction of the hydroximoyl bromide lh with methoxide is only 2.2 times faster than that of the chloride la. The methoxide substitution rates of five (Z)-hydroximoyl chlorides (la, ld-g) give a Hammett correlation with with a p value of 1.90. These observations are consistent with a mechanism in which a hydroximoyl chloride (1) undergoes rate-determining nucleophilic attack by methoxide to form a tetrahedral intermediate which rapidly loses chloride ion to give the hydroximate 3. The (Z)-hydroximate 3e undergoes a methoxide substitution reaction to give 4e but at a considerably slower rate than the (Z)-hydroximoyl chloride la (fe(la)/fc(3e) = 53). The second-order rate constant for the reaction of the (Z)-hydroximate 3e with methoxide is about 300 times greater than the rate constant for the reaction of the (E)-hydroximate 4e with methoxide. The reaction of methoxide with the (E)-hydroximate 4e initially produces mainly the Z product 3a, but the product distribution changes with time, and eventually the E isomer 4a predominates. The change in product distribution during the course of this reaction is due to a methoxide-catalyzed isomerization of 3a to 4a. The stereochemistry and relative rates of the reactions of 1-4 with methoxide ion are interpreted in terms of Deslongchamp's theory of stereoelectronic control. It is suggested that stereoelectronically controlled loss of chloride ion from the tetrahedral intermediate 12 (from the reaction of la with methoxide ion) is faster than either loss of methoxide ion to give starting material or stereomutation. In the tetrahedral intermediate 13 (from 2a), stereomutation to 12 and 14 and stereoelectronically controlled loss of chloride ion from 12 and 14 are faster processes than loss of methoxide ion from 13. The tetrahedral intermediate 15 (from 3e) undergoes stereoelectronically controlled loss of methoxide or ethoxide ion faster than it undergoes stereomutation. In the case of the intermediate 17 (from 4e), stereoelectronically controlled loss of methoxide ion to give starting material is faster than stereomutation.In 1973 we communicated the first examples of stereospecific nucleophilic substitution at the carbon-nitrogen double bond.3 The reaction of methoxide ion with the Z and E isomers of O-methylbenzohydroximoyl chlorides
Reaction of sec-Butyllithium with Triene 1. This reaction was carried out in similar fashion to those using n-butyllithium and ieri-butyllithium. Thus sec-butyllithium (2.3 mL, 4.08 M, 9.48 mmol) in cyclopentane was reacted at 0 °C for 30 min with a solution of triene 1 (1.52 g, 8.02 mmol) in 3 g of dry THE. Quenching with degassed water and separation of products by gas chromatography gave 0.31 g of triene 1 (20.6%), 0.56 g of 5c (37%), 0.4 g of 6c (26.2%), and 0.25 g of 4c (16.2%). Crude samples were purified by high-pressure LC (see above). NMR spectra are summarized in Table I. Mass spectral data: 4c, m/e
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