Hofmann rearrangement

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Hofmann rearrangement
Named after August Wilhelm von Hofmann
Reaction type Rearrangement reaction
Identifiers
RSC ontology ID RXNO:0000410

The Hofmann rearrangement (Hofmann degradation) is the organic reaction of a primary amide to a primary amine with one less carbon atom. [1] [2] [3] The reaction involves oxidation of the nitrogen followed by rearrangement of the carbonyl and nitrogen to give an isocyanate intermediate. The reaction can form a wide range of products, including alkyl and aryl amines.

Contents

The Hofmann rearrangement Hofmann Rearrangement Scheme.png
The Hofmann rearrangement

The reaction is named after its discoverer, August Wilhelm von Hofmann, and should not be confused with the Hofmann elimination, another name reaction for which he is eponymous.

Mechanism

The reaction of bromine with sodium hydroxide forms sodium hypobromite in situ , which transforms the primary amide into an intermediate isocyanate. The formation of an intermediate nitrene is not possible because it implies also the formation of a hydroxamic acid as a byproduct, which has never been observed. The intermediate isocyanate is hydrolyzed to a primary amine, giving off carbon dioxide. [2]

Hoffman rearrangement.png

  1. Base abstracts an acidic N-H proton, yielding an anion.
  2. The anion reacts with bromine in an α-substitution reaction to give an N-bromoamide.
  3. Base abstraction of the remaining amide proton gives a bromoamide anion.
  4. The bromoamide anion rearranges as the R group attached to the carbonyl carbon migrates to nitrogen at the same time the bromide ion leaves, giving an isocyanate.
  5. The isocyanate adds water in a nucleophilic addition step to yield a carbamic acid (aka urethane).
  6. The carbamic acid spontaneously loses CO2, yielding the amine product.

Variations

Several reagents can be substituted for bromine. Sodium hypochlorite, [4] lead tetraacetate, [5] N-bromosuccinimide, and (bis(trifluoroacetoxy)iodo)benzene [6] can affect a Hofmann rearrangement.

The intermediate isocyanate can be trapped with various nucleophiles to form stable carbamates or other products rather than undergoing decarboxylation. In the following example, the intermediate isocyanate is trapped by methanol. [7]

The Hofmann rearrangement using NBS. Hoffmann Rearrangement NBS.png
The Hofmann rearrangement using NBS.

In a similar fashion, the intermediate isocyanate can be trapped by tert-butyl alcohol, yielding the tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc)-protected amine.

The Hofmann Rearrangement also can be used to yield carbamates from α,β-unsaturated or α-hydroxy amides [2] [8] or nitriles from α,β-acetylenic amides [2] [9] in good yields (≈70%).

Applications

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amide</span> Organic compounds of the form RC(=O)NR′R″

In organic chemistry, an amide, also known as an organic amide or a carboxamide, is a compound with the general formula R−C(=O)−NR′R″, where R, R', and R″ represent any group, typically organyl groups or hydrogen atoms. The amide group is called a peptide bond when it is part of the main chain of a protein, and an isopeptide bond when it occurs in a side chain, as in asparagine and glutamine. It can be viewed as a derivative of a carboxylic acid with the hydroxyl group replaced by an amine group ; or, equivalently, an acyl (alkanoyl) group joined to an amine group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imine</span> Organic compound or functional group containing a C=N bond

In organic chemistry, an imine is a functional group or organic compound containing a carbon–nitrogen double bond. The nitrogen atom can be attached to a hydrogen or an organic group (R). The carbon atom has two additional single bonds. Imines are common in synthetic and naturally occurring compounds and they participate in many reactions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbamate</span> Chemical group (>N–C(=O)–O–)

In organic chemistry, a carbamate is a category of organic compounds with the general formula R2NC(O)OR and structure >N−C(=O)−O−, which are formally derived from carbamic acid. The term includes organic compounds, formally obtained by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms by other organic functional groups; as well as salts with the carbamate anion H2NCOO.

<i>N</i>-Bromosuccinimide Molecule

N-Bromosuccinimide or NBS is a chemical reagent used in radical substitution, electrophilic addition, and electrophilic substitution reactions in organic chemistry. NBS can be a convenient source of Br, the bromine radical.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Curtius rearrangement</span> Chemical reaction

The Curtius rearrangement, first defined by Theodor Curtius in 1885, is the thermal decomposition of an acyl azide to an isocyanate with loss of nitrogen gas. The isocyanate then undergoes attack by a variety of nucleophiles such as water, alcohols and amines, to yield a primary amine, carbamate or urea derivative respectively. Several reviews have been published.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Favorskii rearrangement</span> Chemical reaction

The Favorskii rearrangement is principally a rearrangement of cyclopropanones and α-halo ketones that leads to carboxylic acid derivatives. In the case of cyclic α-halo ketones, the Favorskii rearrangement constitutes a ring contraction. This rearrangement takes place in the presence of a base, sometimes hydroxide, to yield a carboxylic acid, but usually either an alkoxide base or an amine to yield an ester or an amide, respectively. α,α'-Dihaloketones eliminate HX under the reaction conditions to give α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Note that trihalomethyl ketone substrates will result in haloform and carboxylate formation via the haloform reaction instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">(Bis(trifluoroacetoxy)iodo)benzene</span> Chemical compound

(Bis iodo)benzene, C
6
H
5
I(OCOCF
3
)
2
, is a hypervalent iodine compound used as a reagent in organic chemistry. It can be used to carry out the Hofmann rearrangement under acidic conditions.

α-Halo ketone

In organic chemistry, an α-halo ketone is a functional group consisting of a ketone group or more generally a carbonyl group with an α-halogen substituent. α-Halo ketones are alkylating agents. Prominent α-halo ketones include phenacyl bromide and chloroacetone.

Di-<i>tert</i>-butyl dicarbonate Chemical compound

Di-tert-butyl dicarbonate is a reagent widely used in organic synthesis. Since this compound can be regarded formally as the acid anhydride derived from a tert-butoxycarbonyl (Boc) group, it is commonly referred to as Boc anhydride. This pyrocarbonate reacts with amines to give N-tert-butoxycarbonyl or so-called Boc derivatives. These carbamate derivatives do not behave as amines, which allows certain subsequent transformations to occur that would be incompatible with the amine functional group. The Boc group can later be removed from the amine using moderately strong acids. Thus, Boc serves as a protective group, for instance in solid phase peptide synthesis. Boc-protected amines are unreactive to most bases and nucleophiles, allowing for the use of the fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl group (Fmoc) as an orthogonal protecting group.

The Lossen rearrangement is the conversion of a hydroxamate ester to an isocyanate. Typically O-acyl, sulfonyl, or phosphoryl O-derivative are employed. The isocyanate can be used further to generate ureas in the presence of amines or generate amines in the presence of H2O.

<i>tert</i>-Butyloxycarbonyl protecting group Protecting group used in organic synthesis

The tert-butyloxycarbonyl protecting group or tert-butoxycarbonyl protecting group is an acid-labile protecting group used in organic synthesis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lead(IV) acetate</span> Organometallic compound (Pb(C2H3O2)4)

Lead(IV) acetate or lead tetraacetate is an metalorganic compound with chemical formula Pb(C2H3O2)4. It is a colorless solid that is soluble in nonpolar, organic solvents, indicating that it is not a salt. It is degraded by moisture and is typically stored with additional acetic acid. The compound is used in organic synthesis.

Carbamic acid, which might also be called aminoformic acid or aminocarboxylic acid, is the chemical compound with the formula H2NCOOH. It can be obtained by the reaction of ammonia NH3 and carbon dioxide CO2 at very low temperatures, which also yields ammonium carbamate [NH4]+[NH2CO2]. The compound is stable only up to about 250 K (−23 °C); at higher temperatures it decomposes into those two gases. The solid apparently consists of dimers, with the two molecules connected by hydrogen bonds between the two carboxyl groups –COOH.

Weerman degradation, also named Weerman reaction, is a name reaction in organic chemistry. It is named after Rudolf Adrian Weerman, who discovered it in 1910. In general, it is an organic reaction in carbohydrate chemistry in which amides are degraded by sodium hypochlorite, forming an aldehyde with one less carbon. Some have regarded it as an extension of the Hofmann rearrangement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schmidt reaction</span> Chemical reaction between an azide and a carbonyl derivative

In organic chemistry, the Schmidt reaction is an organic reaction in which an azide reacts with a carbonyl derivative, usually an aldehyde, ketone, or carboxylic acid, under acidic conditions to give an amine or amide, with expulsion of nitrogen. It is named after Karl Friedrich Schmidt (1887–1971), who first reported it in 1924 by successfully converting benzophenone and hydrazoic acid to benzanilide. The intramolecular reaction was not reported until 1991 but has become important in the synthesis of natural products. The reaction is effective with carboxylic acids to give amines (above), and with ketones to give amides (below).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3-Aminopyridine</span> Chemical compound

3-Aminopyridine is an aminopyridine. It is a colorless solid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benzyl carbamate</span> Chemical compound

Benzyl carbamate is the organic compound with the formula C6H5CH2OC(O)NH2. The compound can be viewed as the ester of carbamic acid (O=C(OH)(NH2)) and benzyl alcohol, although it is produced from benzyl chloroformate with ammonia. It is a white solid that is soluble in organic solvents and moderately soluble in water. Benzyl carbamate is used as a protected form of ammonia in the synthesis of primary amines. After N-alkylation, C6H5CH2OC(O) group is removable with Lewis acids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acyl azide</span> Carboxylic acid derivative

Acyl azides are carboxylic acid derivatives with the general formula RCON3. These compounds, which are a subclass of organic azides, are generally colorless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2-Bromopyridine</span> Chemical compound

2-Bromopyridine is an aryl bromide and isomer of bromopyridine with the formula BrC5H4N. It is a colorless liquid that is used as an intermediate in organic synthesis. It can be prepared from 2-aminopyridine via diazotization followed by bromination.

Sodium hypobromite is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaOBr. It is a sodium salt of hypobromous acid. It consists of sodium cations Na+ and hypobromite anions OBr. It is usually obtained as the pentahydrate, so the compound that is usually called sodium hypobromite actually has the formula NaBrO·5H2O. It is a yellow-orange solid that is soluble in water. It adopts a monoclinic crystal structure with a Br–O bond length of 1.820 Å. It is the bromine analogue of sodium hypochlorite, the active ingredient in common bleach. In practice the salt is usually encountered as an aqueous solution.

References

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  3. Shioiri, Takayuki (1991). "Degradation Reactions". Comprehensive Organic Synthesis. Vol. 6. pp. 795–828. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-052349-1.00172-4. ISBN   9780080359298.
  4. Mohan, Ram S.; Monk, Keith A. (1999). "The Hofmann Rearrangement Using Household Bleach: Synthesis of 3-Nitroaniline". Journal of Chemical Education. 76 (12): 1717. Bibcode:1999JChEd..76.1717M. doi:10.1021/ed076p1717.
  5. Baumgarten, Henry; Smith, Howard; Staklis, Andris (1975). "Reactions of amines. XVIII. Oxidative rearrangement of amides with lead tetraacetate". The Journal of Organic Chemistry. 40 (24): 3554–3561. doi:10.1021/jo00912a019.
  6. Almond, Merrick R.; Stimmel, Julie B.; Thompson, Alan; Loudon, Marc (1988). "Hofmann Rearrangement under Mildly Acidic Conditions using [I,I-Bis(Trifluoroacetoxy)]iodobenzene: Cyclobutylamine Hydrochloride from Cyclobutanecarboxamide". Organic Syntheses. 66: 132. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.066.0132.
  7. Keillor, Jeffrey W.; Huang, Xicai (2002). "Methyl Carbamate Formation via Modified Hofmann Rearrangement Reactions: Methyl N-(p-Methoxyphenyl)carbamate". Organic Syntheses. 78: 234. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.078.0234.
  8. Weerman, R.A. (1913). "Einwirkung von Natriumhypochlorit auf Amide ungesättigter Säuren". Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie. 401 (1): 1–20. doi:10.1002/jlac.19134010102.
  9. Rinkes, I. J. (1920). "De l'action de l'Hypochlorite de Sodium sur les Amides D'Acides". Recueil des Travaux Chimiques des Pays-Bas. 39 (12): 704–710. doi:10.1002/recl.19200391204.
  10. Maki, Takao; Takeda, Kazuo (2000). "Benzoic Acid and Derivatives". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. doi:10.1002/14356007.a03_555. ISBN   3527306730..
  11. Allen, C. F. H.; Wolf, Calvin N. (1950). "3-Aminopyridine". Organic Syntheses . 30: 3. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.030.0003 ; Collected Volumes, vol. 4, p. 45.
  12. US 20080103334,"Process For Synthesis Of Gabapentin"

Bibliography