20 4 Carbonyls as Electrophiles What makes the

20. 4 Carbonyls as Electrophiles • What makes the carbonyl carbon electrophilic? 1. RESONANCE: What would the resonance hybrid look like? 2. INDUCTION: The carbonyl carbon is bonded to a very electronegative oxygen. 3. STERICS: How does an sp 2 carbon compare to an sp 3 carbon in terms of the steric hindrance that an attacking nucleophile will feel? Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -1 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 4 Nucleophilic attack at carbonyl versus on sp 3 carbon Copyright 2012 John

20. 4 Carbonyls as Electrophiles • • • Consider the factors: resonance, induction, and sterics. Which should be more reactive as an electrophile, aldehydes or ketones? Why? Example comparison: Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -3 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

• 20. 4 Nucleophilic Attack on a Carbonyl Why do some nucleophiles react with aldehydes and ketones and some not react? – • Example nucleophilic attack: If the nucleophile is weak, or if the attacking nucleophile is a good leaving group (e. g. , iodide ion), the reverse reaction will dominate. – Reverse reaction: Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -4 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 4 Nucleophilic Attack on a Carbonyl • Show the nucleophilic attack for some other nucleophiles. Nucleophiles to consider include OH–, CN –, H–, R–, H O. 2 • When the nucleophile attacks, is the resulting intermediate relatively stable or unstable? Why? • If a nucleophile is also a good leaving group, is it likely to react with a carbonyl? Why? Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -5 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 4 Nucleophilic Attack on a Carbonyl • Answer to the first example from previous slide: • When the nucleophile attacks, is the resulting intermediate relatively stable or unstable? Why? The intermediate is relatively unstable because of the negative charge on oxygen. However, also notice that the nucleophile is similarly unstable. • If a nucleophile is also a good leaving group, is it likely to react with a carbonyl? Why? In this case the nucleophile, hydroxide, is not normally considered a good leaving group. However, in the reverse reaction here it is leaving from an alkoxide intermediate that is similarly unstable. The reverse reaction dominates and no overall reaction is observed. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -6 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 4 Nucleophilic Attack on a Carbonyl – Nucleophilic Addition • If the nucleophile is strong and NOT a good leaving group, then an addition reaction is observed: • Which of these nucleophiles do the above reaction? OH–, CN–, H–, R–, H 2 O. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -7 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 4 Nucleophilic Attack on a Carbonyl • • If the nucleophile is weak and reluctant to attack the carbonyl, how could we improve its ability to attack? We can make the carbonyl more electrophilic: – • Adding an acid will help. HOW? Consider the factors that make it electrophilic in the first place (resonance, induction, and sterics). Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -8 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 4 Nucleophilic Attack on a Carbonyl – Nucleophilic Addition • With a weak nucleophile, the presence of an acid will make the carbonyl more attractive to the nucleophile so an overall addition reaction is observed. Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -9 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 5 Water as a Nucleophile • Is water generally a strong or weak nucleophile? • Show a generic mechanism for water attacking an aldehyde or ketone. • Would the presence of an acid improve the reaction? Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -10 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 5 Water as a Nucleophile Acetone Formaldehyde Hexafluoroacetone • The products are called gem-diols or “hydrates” and are usually unable to be isolated. Why? • How do the following factors affect the equilibria: entropy, induction, sterics? Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e 20 -11 Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

20. 5 Water as a Nucleophile • The addition of water to an aldehyde

20. 5 Acetals – Formation • An alcohol acts as the nucleophile instead of water. • Notice that the reaction is under equilibrium and that it is acid catalyzed. Analyze the complete mechanism (Mechanism 20. 5) on the next slide. Analyze how the acid allows the reaction to proceed through lower energy intermediates. • • Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -13 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 5 Acetals – Formation Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -14

20. 5 Acetals – Formation Product favored Reactant favored 5 and 6 -membered cyclic acetals are generally product favored • How do entropy, induction, sterics, and Le Châtelier’s principle affect the equilibrium? Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -15 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e

20. 5 Acetals – Equilibrium Control • • Acetals can be attached and removed fairly easily. Example: • Both the forward and reverse reactions are acid catalyzed. How does the presence of water affect which side the equilibrium will favor? • Copyright 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 20 -16 Klein, Organic Chemistry 1 e