Reactions of ketones
1, nitromethane
2, and catalytic amount of piperidine
3 in the presence ofmercaptan
6 generate
-nitroalkyl sulfides
7-
9. At 0
C and by the use of dichloromethane assolvent,
-nitroalkyl sulfides
7-
9 can be oxidized by
m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (
m-CPBA)
10 togenerate
-nitroalkyl sulfoxides
11-
13 and undergo elimination in carbon tetrachloride solutionto produce medium to high yield of 2,2-disubstituted 1-nitroalkenes
5. The irreversibility of thesynthetic mechanism not only can overcome the reversibility of the Henry reaction in the synthesisof 2,2-disubstituted 1-nitroalkenes
5 but also can generate the major products "
exo-nitro olefins"
5c-
e when cyclic ketones
1c-
e were used. Under similar conditions, medium to high yield of5-substituted-2-nitromethyl-2-phenylthioadamantane
17 also can be prepared from the reactionof 5-substituted-2-adamantanones
15, nitromethane
2, piperidine
3, thiophenol
6a. The intermediate
17 can be oxidized by
m-CPBA
10 in dichloromethane solution and then undergo elimination atroom temperature or can be dissolved in solvent, coated on silica gel, and then heated at 90-100
C to generate 5-substituted-2-nitromethyleneadamantane
16.