Orthoformate

In organic chemistry, an ortho ester is a functional group containing three alkoxy groups attached to one carbon atom, i.e. with the general formula . Orthoesters may be considered as products of exhaustive alkylation of unstable orthocarboxylic acids and it is from these that the name 'ortho ester' is derived. An example is ethyl orthoacetate, , more correctly known as 1,1,1-triethoxyethane.

Synthesis

Ortho esters can be prepared by the Pinner reaction, in which nitriles react with alcohols in the presence of one equivalent of hydrogen chloride. The reaction proceeds by formation of imido ester hydrochloride:
:RCN + OH + HCl → C(O)=NH₂sup>+Cl⁻
Upon standing in the presence of excess alcohol, this intermediate converts to the ortho ester:
: C(O)=NH₂sup>+Cl⁻ + 2OH → RC(O)₃ + NH₄Cl
The reaction requires anhydrous conditions, and ideally a nonpolar solvent.

Acid chlorides can also drive the reaction from the corresponding amide, e.g.:
:HCONH₂ + BzCl → HC(OBz)NH₂Cl
:HC(OBz)NH₂Cl + ROH → HC(OR)₃ + NH₄Cl + BzOH.

Although a less common method, ortho esters were first produced by reaction of 1,1,1-trichloroalkanes with sodium alkoxide:
:RCCl₃ + 3NaO → RC(O)₃ + 3NaCl
Compounds with an adjacent hydrogen atom on R tend to undergo elimination instead. Traditional esters can be converted to α,αdichloro ethers with phosphorus pentachloride. The resulting halogenated compounds undergo ether synthesis like the trichloroalkanes.

Carboxylic acids naturally form a trithio ortho ester when heated with a mercaptan of appropriate stoichiometry. The resulting compound undergoes transesterification to a traditional orthoester in the presence of zinc chloride. Traditional transesterification from a cheaper ortho ester is also possible.

Reactions

Hydrolysis

Ortho esters are readily hydrolyzed in mild aqueous acid to form esters:
: RC(O)₃ + H₂O → RCO₂ + 2 OH

For example, trimethyl orthoformate CH(OCH₃)₃ may be hydrolyzed (under acidic conditions) to methyl formate and methanol; and may be further hydrolyzed (under alkaline conditions) to salts of formic acid and methanol.

:

Johnson–Claisen rearrangement

The Johnson–Claisen rearrangement is the reaction of an allylic alcohol with an ortho ester containing a deprotonatable alpha carbon (e.g. triethyl orthoacetate) to give a ester.
:

Bodroux–Chichibabin aldehyde synthesis

In the Bodroux–Chichibabin aldehyde synthesis an ortho ester reacts with a Grignard reagent to form an aldehyde; this is an example of a formylation reaction.
:

Examples

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Examples of orthoesters include the reagents trimethyl orthoformate and triethylorthoacetate. Another example is the bicyclic OBO protecting group (4-methyl-2,6,7-trioxa-bicyclo[2.2.2]octan-1-yl) which is formed by the action of (3-methyloxetan-3-yl)methanol on activated carboxylic acids in the presence of Lewis acids. The group is base stable and can be cleaved in two steps under mild conditions, mildly acidic hydrolysis yields the ester of tris(hydroxymethyl)ethane which is then cleaved using e.g. an aqueous carbonate solution.

The threefold symmetry of the cyclohexanehexol isomer ''scyllo''-inositol (scyllitol) yields the triply-bridged orthoformate esters scyllitol orthoformate with an adamantane-like skeleton, and scyllitol bis-orthoformate with two fused adamantane-like skeletons.
Hyo Won Lee and Yoshito Kishi (1985): "Synthesis of mono- and unsymmetrical bis-orthoesters of ''scyllo''-inositol". ''Journal of Organic Chemistry'', volume 50, issue 22, pages 4402–4404

See also

* Acetal, C(OR)₂R₂
* Orthocarbonate, C(OR)₄.

References

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Functional groups