Organic Syntheses, CV 8, 93
Submitted by E. J. Corey and Andrew W. Gross
1.
Checked by Axel H. K. Paul and Clayton H. Heathcock.
1. Procedure
A.
Nitroso-tert-octane.
2 To a
1-L, three-necked flask equipped with an
addition funnel, a
mechanical stirrer, and a
thermometer are added
120 mL of methanol,
51.7 g of tert-octylamine (0.4 mol), and 90 mL of water containing
1.2 g (0.0028 mol) of the tetrasodium salt of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and
2.52 g (0.0076 mol) of sodium tungstate dihydrate. The solution is cooled to 15°C in an
ice bath and
hydrogen peroxide (361 mL of a 16% solution, 1.7 mol) (Note
1) and (Note
2) is added over 5 hr. The blue reaction mixture is stirred for an additional 16 hr and the product is extracted with
petroleum ether (3 × 50 mL). Unreacted
amine is removed by washing twice with 2
N hydrochloric acid. After the blue organic layer is washed with
brine, it is dried over MgSO
4.
Petroleum ether is removed by distillation at atmospheric pressure. Continued distillation of the product affords
29.7 g of nitroso-tert-octane (
52%), bp
45–55°C, 18 mm. On standing, the product crystallizes as the colorless dimer, mp
63–65°C. For use in the subsequent reaction the required amount of the dimer is stirred for 1 hr in
hexane to establish monomer–dimer equilibrium (Note
3) and (Note
4).
B.
N-tert-Butyl-N-tert-octyl-O-tert-butylhydroxylamine. Into a 1-L, three-necked flask equipped with a
dropping funnel, a mechanical stirrer, and a gas inlet tube is placed a solution of
22.8 g (0.16 mol of monomer) of nitroso-tert-octane in
500 mL of hexane. After the mixture is stirred for 1 hr,
lead dioxide (132 g, 0.55 mol) (Note
5) is added. To the rapidly stirring mixture is added
48.8 g (0.55 mol) of tert-butylhydrazine (Note
6) dropwise at such a rate as to give brisk but controlled
nitrogen evolution (approximately 30 min). Cooling is provided by an ice bath so as to maintain the reaction temperature between 15 and 25°C. Progress of the reaction is monitored visually by the disappearance of the blue nitroso monomer color (Note
7). After the blue color has disappeared (about 1.5 hr), the lead oxides are removed by filtration through a
pad of Celite and the residue is washed with
ether/
hexane (1 : 1). The filtrate and washes are combined and the solvents are removed at reduced pressure with a
rotary evaporator to give a 6 : 1 mixture of
N-tert-butyl-N-tert-octyl-O-tert-butylhydroxylamine and
N-tert-octyl-O-tert-butylhydroxylamine (Note
8) and (Note
9).
C.
tert-Butyl-tert-octylamine. In a dry,
500-mL, three-necked flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer, an addition funnel, and a
nitrogen inlet are placed
25.6 g (0.20 mol) of naphthalene,
250 mL of dry tetrahydrofuran (THF), and
10.8 g (0.47 mol) of sodium pieces. The mixture is stirred at room temperature for 30 min. To the blue-green
sodium naphthalenide solution is added the hydroxylamine mixture (Note
10) in
50 mL of THF over 20 min.
(Caution! Exothermic reaction.) The mixture is stirred for 2.5 hr at room temperature (Note
11). The reaction mixture is carefully decanted from excess
sodium and the excess reducing agent is cautiously quenched with
isopropyl alcohol. After dilution with
150 mL of hexane, the mixture is acidified with 300 mL of ice-cold 2
N hydrochloric acid, the aqueous layer is separated, and the organic layer extracted twice more with
100-mL portions of 2 N hydrochloric acid. The combined acidic extracts are washed with
80 mL of petroleum ether (Note
12), neutralized with 4
N sodium hydroxide, and extracted with
ether (3 × 100 mL). The
ether extract is dried over MgSO
4 and the solvent is removed with a rotary evaporator. Distillation of the residue gives a small forerun, followed by
18–19 g of
tert-butyl-tert-octylamine, bp
79°C (17 mm). The yield is
60–64% based on
nitroso-tert-octane (Note
13).
2. Notes
1. Mallinckrodt 30% H
2O
2 was diluted with water to give a solution of 16% H
2O
2 in water.
2. Although it is used in excess, the amount of H
2O
2 used seems to be critical. The checkers found that the use of 2.1 mol of H
2O
2 results in considerable overoxidation to
nitro-tert-octane, resulting in a yield of
nitroso-tert-octane of only
40%.
3.
Nitroso-tert-octane may also be prepared by oxidation of
tert-octylamine with
peracetic acid in
ethyl acetate, obtained by the submitters from the Union Carbide Corporation.
3 To a
1-L, three-necked flask equipped with a mechanical stirrer and an addition funnel are added
51.7 g of tert-octylamine (0.4 mol), 50 mL of water, and
50 mL of ethyl acetate. The flask is placed in an ice bath and the contents are stirred until the temperature reaches 0–5°C. A solution of
peracetic acid in
ethyl acetate (3.15 M solution, 51 mL, 0.16 mol) is added dropwise over a 30-min period. The blue reaction mixture is stirred at 0°C until the absence of peroxy acid is indicated by starch–iodide test paper. The reaction mixture is transferred to a
separatory funnel and diluted with
200 mL of hexane. Unreacted
tert-octylamine is removed by washing with 4
N hydrochloric acid. The aqueous washes are backwashed until colorless with
50-mL portions of hexane. The combined, blue organic fractions are dried over
sodium sulfate and used directly in the next step. When the nitroso compound is prepared in this manner, isolation is unnecessary. The checkers did not employ this procedure because the
peracetic acid/
ethyl acetate solution is not commercially available.
4. Care should be taken in distilling the nitroso compound because it is thermally unstable; its half-life is less than 5 min at 150°C.
2
5. If
technical-grade lead dioxide (Fisher Scientific Company) is used, a somewhat greater amount must be added to compensate for the decreased Pb(IV) content.
6.
tert-Butylhydrazine is conveniently liberated from its hydrochloride (Aldrich Chemical Company, Inc.) by distillation from
40% KOH (bp 104–107°C). The distillate consists of a mixture of
tert-butylhydrazine and water. On addition of several grams of KOH pellets, the distillate separates into two layers. The upper layer, consisting of slightly wet
tert-butylhydrazine, is dried over KOH pellets.
8. The spectral properties are as follows.
N-tert-Butyl-
N-tert-octyl-
O-tert-butylhydroxylamine
1H NMR (CDCl
3) δ: 1.00 (s, 9 H), 1.26 (s, 12 H), 1.30 (s, 3 H), 1.31 (s, 9 H), 1.76 (s, 2 H);
N-tert-octyl-
O-tert-butylhydroxylamine
1H NMR (CDCl
3) δ: 1.01 (s, 9 H), 1.12 (s, 6 H), 1.15 (s, 9 H), 1.40 (s, 2 H), 4.44 (s, 1 H).
9. The trisubstituted hydroxylamine is sensitive to both acid and heat.
10. The yield of product is greatly reduced if the hydroxylamine mixture is not rigorously freed of solvent from the previous reaction.
11. The submitters report that the
sodium naphthalenide color is discharged on addition of the hydroxylamine mixture, and that completion of the reduction is indicated by reappearance of the characteristic blue-green color of the reagent. The checkers did not observe disappearance of the reagent color.
12. If the acidic solution is not extracted at this point, the final product will be contaminated with 2–3%
naphthalene.
13. The
1H NMR spectrum of
tert-butyl-
tert-octylamine is as follows (CDCl
3) δ: 1.02 (s, 9 H, CH
3), 1.19 (s, 9 H, CH
3), 1.24 (s, 6 H, CH
3), 1.44 (s, 2 H, CH
2).
3. Discussion
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