来源:Vy M. Dong 和 Faben Cruz,加利福尼亚大学欧文分校化学系,加利福尼亚州,美国
本实验将演示如何正确进行格氏反应。通过使用镁和烷基卤化物合成格氏试剂,将展示有机金属试剂的制备方法。为了展示格氏试剂的一种常见用途,将进行亲核进攻羰基的反应,通过形成新的碳-碳键来生成仲醇。

1. 格氏试剂的制备
2. 亲核加成
格氏反应是有机合成中形成碳-碳键的有效工具。
该反应由一位名叫维克多·格氏的法国化学家在一百多年前发现,他因此于1912年获得诺贝尔奖。
格氏反应包含两个步骤。第一步是将有机卤化物与金属镁反应,金属镁通常以镁屑的形式存在。该步骤可原位生成有机卤化镁,即格氏试剂。
第二步是该试剂与含羰基的化合物(如醛、酮或酯)发生反应,根据所用化合物的不同,生成由试剂和含羰基化合物的有机部分共同组成的仲醇或叔醇。
在本视频中,我们将展示制备烯丙基溴化镁的逐步实验方案,这是一种化学实验室中常用的格氏试剂。随后,我们将介绍该试剂与反式肉桂醛反应生成仲醇的实验步骤。最后,我们将探讨该反应的若干应用。
在加入试剂之前,用火焰干燥一个50 mL的烧瓶和搅拌子以去除所有残留水分,然后在氮气氛围下冷却至室温。此步骤至关重要,因为格氏试剂对水分非常敏感。
接下来,加入经烘箱干燥的镁屑和少量碘晶体,碘可去除金属表面的氧化镁涂层,从而促进反应的启动。随后,加入 24 mL 无水 THF。
将烧瓶置于冰水浴中以减缓反应产生的热量,并在搅拌下用注射器缓慢加入烯丙基溴。随后将烧瓶从冰水浴中取出,使反应混合物升至室温。为确保反应完全,采用气相色谱法监测烯丙基溴的消耗情况。
当格氏反应试剂准备好后,开始准备反应的下一步操作。将反式肉桂醛和30 mL无水四氢呋喃加入一个经火焰干燥的200 mL圆底烧瓶中,并放入搅拌子,在氮气氛围下搅拌。此步骤至关重要,因为若存在水分,格氏试剂会被破坏,无法与含羰基的化合物发生反应。
将反式肉桂醛溶液在 0 摄氏度下搅拌,并将双头针插入其顶空中,另一端插入含有格氏试剂的烧瓶顶空中。从肉桂醛溶液中移除充满氮气的气球,并向格氏试剂烧瓶中接入氮气管线。
使用氮气管线施加正压,将格氏试剂转移至肉桂醛中。加料完成后,将双尖针替换为气球装置,撤去冷浴,并在室温下搅拌反应。为判断反应是否完成,采用薄层色谱法监测反式肉桂醛的消耗情况。
确定反应完成后,将混合物冷却至0摄氏度,在搅拌下小心加入30 mL饱和水相氯化铵溶液和50 mL乙酸乙酯。使用分液漏斗分离液层,并用三份各50 mL的乙酸乙酯萃取水相。将有机萃取液合并至分液漏斗中,用50 mL饱和水相氯化钠溶液洗涤。
向合并的有机相中加入约 500 mg 无水硫酸镁以除去水分,过滤除去固体,并用额外的乙酸乙酯洗涤。在减压条件下浓缩混合物,并通过快速柱色谱法纯化粗产物。
为验证产物结构,将2 mg干燥样品溶于0.5 mL氘代溶剂中,进行核磁共振氢谱分析。
现在我们已经了解了一个实验室操作的示例,接下来让我们看看格氏反应的一些有用应用。
Phorboxazole A 是一种天然产物,具有强效的抗菌、抗真菌和抗增殖特性,因而推动了其合成制备方法的开发研究。在该合成过程的一个关键步骤中应用了格氏反应,其中氧化唑基甲基溴化镁进攻内酯的羰基,生成半缩酮中间体。尽管格氏反应应用广泛,但其副反应的发生与底物的性质密切相关,在设计新合成路线时需充分考虑这些副反应的可能性。
例如,如果底物是位阻较大的羰基化合物,格氏试剂可作为碱发生反应,使底物去质子化,生成烯醇盐。经过后处理后,会重新得到起始原料。或者,可能发生β-氢消除反应,导致羰基被还原为醇。
为了抑制这些副反应,向反应中加入氯化铈(III)等镧系金属盐,这些盐可与羰基氧原子配位,从而增强羰基的亲电性。这进而促使格氏试剂加成到羰基上,生成目标产物,并降低副产物的生成速率。
例如,在环戊基氯化镁与环己烯酮的反应中,若不添加三氯化铈,主要生成β-氢消除产物。然而,当在三氯化铈盐存在下进行相同反应时,可高收率地得到目标加成产物。
您刚刚观看了 JoVE 关于格氏反应的介绍。现在,您应该理解了格氏反应的基本原理、实验操作方法以及它的一些应用。感谢观看!
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Q1: What is a Grignard reagent and how is it formed?
A Grignard reagent, or organomagnesium halide, forms when an organohalide reacts with magnesium metal turnings. This organometallic reagent is created in situ and serves as a nucleophile in subsequent reactions. The formation requires anhydrous conditions and an inert atmosphere since Grignard reagents are extremely sensitive to moisture and will be destroyed in its presence.
Q2: Why must glassware be flame-dried before preparing a Grignard reaction?
Flame-drying removes all traces of water from the flask and stir bar, which is critical because Grignard reagents are highly sensitive to moisture. Any residual water would destroy the reagent and prevent it from reacting with the carbonyl-containing compound. An inert nitrogen atmosphere must also be maintained throughout the procedure to protect the reagent.
Q3: What is the role of iodine in initiating a Grignard reaction?
Iodine crystals facilitate initiation of the Grignard reaction by removing the magnesium oxide coating from the metal surface. This oxide layer can inhibit the reaction between magnesium and the organohalide. By removing this coating, iodine enables efficient contact between the magnesium metal and the alkyl halide, allowing the reaction to proceed smoothly.
Q4: How does the Grignard reagent react with carbonyl compounds to form alcohols?
The Grignard reagent acts as a nucleophile and attacks the electrophilic carbonyl carbon in aldehydes, ketones, or esters. This nucleophilic attack forms a new carbon-carbon bond, creating an intermediate that yields a secondary or tertiary alcohol upon workup. The alcohol product contains organic portions from both the Grignard reagent and the carbonyl compound.
Q5: What side reactions can occur with hindered carbonyl substrates in Grignard reactions?
With hindered carbonyls, the Grignard reagent can act as a base, deprotonating the substrate to form an enolate and recovering starting material. Alternatively, beta-hydride elimination can occur, reducing the carbonyl to an alcohol instead of producing the desired addition product. Lanthanide salts like cerium(III) chloride suppress these side reactions by coordinating with the carbonyl oxygen and enhancing its electrophilicity.
Q6: How are Grignard reaction products purified and characterized?
After workup with ammonium chloride and ethyl acetate, the organic layers are washed with saturated sodium chloride solution and dried with magnesium sulfate. The crude material is purified using flash column chromatography. Product structure is verified by dissolving the dried material in deuterated solvent and analyzing by proton NMR to confirm the desired carbon-carbon bond formation.
Q7: What are practical applications of the Grignard reaction in organic synthesis?
The Grignard reaction is used in synthesizing complex natural products like phorboxazole A, which exhibits antibacterial, antifungal, and antiproliferative properties. In this synthesis, an oxazolyl-methylmagnesium bromide attacks a lactone carbonyl to form a hemiketal intermediate. The reaction's ability to form new carbon-carbon bonds makes it invaluable for constructing complex organic molecules in pharmaceutical and materials research.