Chemistry:Sulfonate ester

From HandWiki

A sulfonic ester is an organic compound with the general formula RSO
2
OR'
. They are also called sulfonic esters. Individual members of the category are named analogously to how ordinary carboxyl esters are named. Many sulfonate esters are known.[1]

Preparation

Propane-1,3-sultone

A common industrial route to sulfonate esters involves the addition of sulfur trioxide to alkenes. This reaction generally affords cyclic sulfonic esters are called sultones.[2] Two examples are propane-1,3-sultone and 1,4-butane sultone. Some sultones are short-lived intermediates, used as strong alkylating agents to introduce a negatively charged sulfonate group. In the presence of water, they slowly hydrolyze to the hydroxy sulfonic acids. Sultone oximes are key intermediates in the synthesis of the anti-convulsant drug zonisamide.[3] Cyclic sulfonate esters arise as intermediates in the production of surfactants obtained by the addition of sulfur trioxide to terminal alkenes. Hydrolysis of these sultones gives hydroxysulfonates.

File:HydroxylalkylsulfonatePrep.svg
Sulfonate ester intermediate in the production of surfactants.

In the laboratory, a common method is by the condensation of a sulfonyl halide with an alcohol:[4]

RSO
2
Cl + R'OH → RSO
3
R' + HCl

Equivalently the anhydrides of sulfonic acids can be used in place of the sulfonyl chloride.[5]

Sulfonate esters can also be prepared by alkylation of sulfonate anions or sulfonic acids. Diazomethane converts sulfonic acids to their methyl esters:[1]

RSO
3
H + CH
2
N
2
→ RSO
3
CH
3
+ N
2

Uses

Sulfonic esters are used as reagents in organic synthesis, chiefly because the RSO
3
group is a good leaving group, especially when R is electron-withdrawing. Methyl triflate, for example, is a strong methylating reagent.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Sulphonic Acids, Esters and their Derivatives. John Wiley & Sons. 1991. doi:10.1002/0470034394. ISBN 978-0-470-03439-2. 
  2. R. J. Cremlyn “An Introduction to Organosulfur Chemistry” John Wiley and Sons: Chichester (1996) ISBN 0-471-95512-4
  3. Mondal, Shovan (2012). "Recent Developments in the Synthesis and Application of Sultones". Chem. Rev. 112 (10): 5339–5355. doi:10.1021/cr2003294. PMID 22742473. 
  4. Carey, Francis A.; Sundberg, Richard J. (2007). Advanced Organic Chemistry. A: Structure and Mechanisms (5th ed.). Springer. p. 414. ISBN 978-0-387-44899-2. 
  5. Shin-ichiro Tsujiyama, Keisuke Suzuki (2007). "Preparation of Benzocyclobutenone Derivatives Based on an Efficient Generation of Benzynes". Organic Syntheses 84: 272. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.084.0272.