IChO 1988 · Theory problem 5

Synthesis of a secondary alcohol G from phenol and the mass spectrum of D

A common compound A is prepared from phenol and oxidized to compound B. Dehydration of A with \(\ce{H2SO4}\) leads to compound C and treatment of A with \(\ce{PBr3}\) gives D. In the mass spectrum of D there is a very strong peak at \(m/e = 83\) (base peak) and two molecular ion peaks at \(m/e\) 162 and 164. The ratio of intensities of the peaks 162 and 164 is 1.02. Compound D can be converted to an organomagnesium compound E that reacts with a carbonyl compound F in dry ether to give G after hydrolysis. G is a secondary alcohol with the molecular formula \(\ce{C8H16O}\).

5.1 Outline all steps in the synthesis of G and draw the structural formulae of the compounds A – G.

5.2 Which of the products A – G consist of configurational stereoisomeric pairs?

5.3 Identify the three ions in the mass spectrum considering isotopic abundances given in the text.

Official English text of the problem.

Answers

  • 5.1 The compounds are:
Compound Name SMILES
A Cyclohexanol OC1CCCCC1
B Cyclohexanone O=C1CCCCC1
C Cyclohexene C1=CCCCC1
D Bromocyclohexane BrC1CCCCC1
E Cyclohexylmagnesium bromide Br[Mg]C1CCCCC1
F Ethanal (acetaldehyde) CC=O
G 1-Cyclohexylethan-1-ol CC(O)C1CCCCC1

The synthesis proceeds through phenol → A → D → E, followed by addition to F and hydrolysis to G. Oxidation and dehydration of A give B and C, respectively.

  • 5.2 Only G forms a configurational stereoisomeric pair. It is obtained as a racemic mixture of:

\((R)\)-1-cyclohexylethan-1-ol, C[C@@H](O)C1CCCCC1, and
\((S)\)-1-cyclohexylethan-1-ol, C[C@H](O)C1CCCCC1.

  • 5.3 The three ions are:
\(m/e\) Ion and name SMILES
83 \(\ce{C6H11+}\), cyclohexyl cation [CH+]1CCCCC1
162 \(\ce{[C6H11^{79}Br]^{+\bullet}}\), bromine-79-containing bromocyclohexane molecular radical cation [79Br+]C1CCCCC1
164 \(\ce{[C6H11^{81}Br]^{+\bullet}}\), bromine-81-containing bromocyclohexane molecular radical cation [81Br+]C1CCCCC1

The molecular-ion SMILES place the formal positive charge and radical on bromine; each molecular ion is an odd-electron species.

Solution

5.1

The molecular-ion peaks separated by two mass units, with almost equal intensities, indicate one bromine atom: the two isotopologues contain \(\ce{^{79}Br}\) and \(\ce{^{81}Br}\). Subtracting their nominal isotope masses gives the same remaining mass:

\[ 162-79=164-81=83. \]

A cyclohexyl group, \(\ce{C6H11}\), has nominal mass

\[ 6(12\,\mathrm{u})+11(1\,\mathrm{u})=83\,\mathrm{u}. \]

This assignment also explains the base peak through loss of a bromine atom. Together with preparation from phenol and conversion of an alcohol using \(\ce{PBr3}\), it identifies D as bromocyclohexane and A as cyclohexanol.

Oxidation of this secondary alcohol gives cyclohexanone B, while dehydration gives cyclohexene C. Magnesium insertion into the carbon–bromine bond gives cyclohexylmagnesium bromide E.

A Grignard reagent gives a secondary alcohol when it adds to an aldehyde other than methanal. Since E supplies six carbon atoms and G contains eight, F must be the two-carbon aldehyde ethanal. The product therefore has the connectivity

\[ \ce{C6H11-CH(OH)-CH3}, \]

which gives the required molecular formula \(\ce{C8H16O}\).

The requested structural drawings can be described precisely as follows: A–E each contain a six-membered carbon ring. A has a hydroxyl substituent; B has an oxygen double-bonded to one ring carbon; C has one double bond within the ring; D has a bromine substituent; and E has a ring carbon directly bonded to magnesium, which is also bonded to bromine. F is \(\ce{CH3-CHO}\). G has a cyclohexane ring bonded to the hydroxyl-bearing carbon of a \(\ce{-CH(OH)-CH3}\) side chain.

The balanced reactions are:

  1. Hydrogenation of phenol to A. Phenol Oc1ccccc1 is hydrogenated with hydrogen [H][H] over nickel [Ni], with heat and pressure:

\[ \ce{C6H5OH + 3H2 -> C6H11OH}. \]

  1. Oxidation of A to B. One suitable oxidant is heated copper(II) oxide [Cu+2].[O-2]:

\[ \ce{C6H11OH + CuO -> C6H10O + Cu + H2O}. \]

The other products are copper [Cu] and water O.

  1. Dehydration of A to C. Heating with concentrated sulfuric acid O=S(=O)(O)O eliminates water:

\[ \ce{C6H11OH -> C6H10 + H2O}. \]

  1. Conversion of A to D. Phosphorus tribromide BrP(Br)Br replaces the hydroxyl group by bromine:

\[ \ce{3C6H11OH + PBr3 -> 3C6H11Br + H3PO3}. \]

The phosphorus-containing product is phosphorous acid O=[PH](O)O.

  1. Formation of E. Treat D with magnesium [Mg] in dry diethyl ether CCOCC:

\[ \ce{C6H11Br + Mg -> C6H11MgBr}. \]

The SMILES for E represents its formal carbon–magnesium–bromine connectivity. Ether coordination and aggregation of the Grignard reagent are not specified by that representation.

  1. Addition of E to F. In dry ether, the cyclohexyl group bonds to the carbonyl carbon of ethanal, and the carbonyl oxygen becomes an alkoxide:

\[ \ce{C6H11MgBr + CH3CHO -> C6H11CH(OMgBr)CH3}. \]

The intermediate is 1-cyclohexylethoxymagnesium bromide, CC(O[Mg]Br)C1CCCCC1.

  1. Hydrolysis to G. An aqueous acidic work-up protonates the alkoxide. A balanced net ionic equation is:

\[ \ce{C6H11CH(OMgBr)CH3 + H3O+ -> C6H11CH(OH)CH3 + Mg^{2+} + Br- + H2O}. \]

Here hydronium is [OH3+], the magnesium(II) ion is [Mg+2], and bromide is [Br-].

5.2

Only G has a stereogenic carbon atom. Its hydroxyl-bearing carbon is attached to four different substituents: hydroxyl, cyclohexyl, methyl, and hydrogen. Their CIP priority order is

\[ \ce{OH}>\ce{C6H11}>\ce{CH3}>\ce{H}. \]

Consequently, G has the two enantiomers specified in the Answers section. The planar carbonyl group of F can be attacked from either face. With achiral reagents and conditions, the two enantiomers form in equal amounts.

The substituted ring carbons of A, D, and E are not stereogenic because the two directions around each ring are equivalent. Axial and equatorial forms are interconverting conformations, not configurational stereoisomers. B and F have no stereogenic elements, and ordinary cyclohexene C does not furnish a configurational pair under these conditions.

5.3

All three assigned ions are singly charged. Their nominal masses are

\[ \begin{aligned} m_{\mathrm{nom}}(\ce{C6H11+}) &=6(12\,\mathrm{u})+11(1\,\mathrm{u}) =83\,\mathrm{u},\\ m_{\mathrm{nom}}(\ce{[C6H11^{79}Br]^{+\bullet}}) &=83\,\mathrm{u}+79\,\mathrm{u} =162\,\mathrm{u},\\ m_{\mathrm{nom}}(\ce{[C6H11^{81}Br]^{+\bullet}}) &=83\,\mathrm{u}+81\,\mathrm{u} =164\,\mathrm{u}. \end{aligned} \]

The base peak is assigned to the cyclohexyl cation produced by carbon–bromine bond cleavage:

\[ \ce{[C6H11Br]^{+\bullet} -> C6H11+ + Br^{\bullet}}. \]

The expelled neutral radicals are bromine-79 atoms [79Br] or bromine-81 atoms [81Br]. Both molecular isotopologues therefore produce the same fragment at \(m/e=83\).

Using the stated intensity ratio as the bromine isotope-abundance ratio,

\[ \frac{x_{79}}{x_{81}}=1.02, \qquad x_{79}+x_{81}=1, \]

gives

\[ x_{79}=\frac{1.02}{2.02}\approx 50.5\%, \qquad x_{81}=\frac{1}{2.02}\approx 49.5\%. \]

Thus the slightly stronger molecular-ion peak at 162 contains \(\ce{^{79}Br}\), and the peak at 164 contains \(\ce{^{81}Br}\).

The solution was checked against the official solution.