Organic Syntheses, CV 3, 28
ACID ANHYDRIDES
Submitted by C. F. H. Allen, C. J. Kibler, D. M. McLachlin, and C. V. Wilson.
Checked by Cliff S. Hamilton, Dexter Sharp, and R. Kretzinger.
1. Procedure
A.
Heptoic anhydride (enanthic anhydride). In a
250-ml. round-bottomed three-necked flask, equipped with a stirrer, dropping funnel, and thermometer, are placed
15.8 g. (16.1 ml., 0.2 mole) of dry pyridine (Note
1) and
25 ml. of dry benzene (Note
2). Then
14.8 g. (15.5 ml., 0.1 mole) of heptoyl chloride (Note
3) is added rapidly to the stirred solution. The temperature rises only slightly, and a pyridinium complex separates. While stirring is continued,
13.0 g. (14.1 ml., 0.1 mole) of heptoic acid (Note
3) is added from the dropping funnel over a period of 5 minutes. The temperature rises rapidly to 60–65° (Note
4), and
pyridine hydrochloride is formed. After stirring for 10 minutes, the solid is collected on a
chilled Büchner funnel and washed twice with
25-ml. portions of dry benzene (Note
5).
The filtrate is concentrated under reduced pressure on the
steam bath, and the residue is distilled using a
200-ml. modified Claisen flask.
1 The fraction boiling up to 155°/12 mm. is discarded; the anhydride is collected at
155–162°/12 mm. (
170–173°/15 mm.). It amounts to
19–20 g. (
78–83%).
B.
p-Chlorobenzoic anhydride (benzoic anhydride, p,p'-dichloro-). A mixture of
17.5 g. (0.1 mole) of p-chlorobenzoyl chloride (Note
6) and
50 ml. (0.6 mole) of pyridine in a
loosely stoppered 200-ml. flask is warmed on the
steam bath for 5 minutes and poured upon 100 g. of cracked ice and
50 ml. of concentrated hydrochloric acid (sp. gr. 1.18). The anhydride separates at once; as soon as the ice has melted sufficiently the mixture is filtered by suction. The solid is washed once with
15 ml. of methanol, then with
15 ml. of dry benzene. The yield is
14.2–14.6 g. (
96–98%). Though suitable for most purposes, the crude product can be purified by recrystallization from
250 ml. of dry benzene; the recovery is
90%; it melts at
192–193°.
2. Notes
1. The
pyridine was Eastman grade which was dried by long standing over
potassium hydroxide for A but used without further drying in B. Adkins' studies on the mechanism of this reaction indicate that the intermediate complex may react with water or with a molar quantity of the acid to form an anhydride.
2
2. The
benzene is dried by distilling the fist 10% and using the residue directly.
3. The
heptoyl chloride, b.p. 173–175°, and the heptoic acid, b.p. 108–109°/9 mm., were obtained from the Eastman Kodak Company.
4. When preparing larger amounts, it would probably be better to control the temperature by external cooling as well as by the rate of addition of the acid.
6.
p-Chlorobenzoyl chloride (m.p.
14–15°) is readily obtained by refluxing and stirring
156 g. (1.0 mole) of p-chlorobenzoic acid (obtained by the procedure for the
o-isomer
3) and
200 g. (1.7 moles) of thionyl chloride until solution is complete. The unused
thionyl chloride is distilled, under slightly reduced pressure, and the product at 10 to 25 mm.; the yield of
p-chlorobenzoyl chloride, b.p.
119–120°/22 mm., is
131–142 g. (
75–81%). An additional amount can be secured by working up the fore-run and residue.
3. Discussion
These procedures are generally applicable to both aliphatic and aromatic compounds. They are reported to fail for
furoic anhydride and to give poor results for
p-nitrobenzoic anhydride (W. W. Prichard, private communication). They are superior to the common interchange method
4 in that they avoid the fractional distillation which is very troublesome in the aliphatic series. They have been used in numerous instances
2,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 and can be adapted to give mixed anhydrides.
13 Benzoic anhydride has been obtained, by closely related procedures, from
benzoic acid and
benzoyl chloride by heating under reduced pressure
14 or in the presence of
zinc chloride.
15 Benzoic, acetic, and propionic anhydrides have been conveniently prepared by the action of
bromine on the sodium salts of the acids in the presence of
sulfur.
16
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