A series of stable organosuperbases, N-alkyl- and N-aryl-1,3-dialkyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene amines, were efficiently synthesized from N,N'-dialkylthioureas and 3-hydroxy-2-butanone and their basicities were measured in acetonitrile. The derivatives with tert-alkyl groups on the imino nitrogen were found to be more basic than the tBuP(1) (pyrr) phosphazene base in acetonitrile. The origin of the high basicity of these compounds is discussed. In acetonitrile and in the gas phase, the basicity of the alkylimino derivatives depends on the size of the substituent at the imino group, which influences the degree of aromatization of the imidazole ring, as measured by (13)C NMR chemical shifts or by the calculated ΔNICS(1) aromaticity parameters, as well as on solvation effects. If a wider range of imino-substituents, including electron-acceptor substituents, is treated in the analysis then the influence of aromatization is less predominant and the gas-phase basicity becomes more dependent on the field-inductive effect, polarizability, and resonance effects of the substituent.

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Terminal and internal acetylenes were obtained in good to excellent isolated yields from carbonyl compounds by converting the carbonyl functionality into the enol nonaflate intermediate followed by elimination to give the C-C triple bond. The one-pot transformations were uniformly induced by phosphazene bases combined with mildly electrophilic nonafluorobutane-1-sulfonyl fluoride. The method is the most general among those reported to date as it applies to both acyclic ketones and aldehydes. Only moderate kinetic regioselectivity in favour of alk-1-yne achieved from methyl n-alkyl ketone represents a limitation of the method. In all the other instances, individual acetylenic products were obtained.

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Alkynes Q 0087Thieme Chemistry Journal Awardees -Where Are They Now? A General One-Step Synthesis of Alkynes from Enolizable Carbonyl Compounds. -The conversion of aldehydes and ketones into the corresponding terminal and internal alkynes proceeds via an enol nonaflate intermediate which undergoes elimination to form the triple bond. -(LYAPKALO*, I. M.; VOGEL, M. A. K.; BOLTUKHINA, E. V.; VAVRIK, J.; Synlett 2009, 4, 558-561; Inst. Org. Chem. Biochem., Acad. Sci. Czech Rep., CZ-166 10 Prague 6, Czech Republic; Eng.) -Mais 28-052