Carboxylate

Last updated
Carboxylate ion Carboxylate-resonance-hybrid.png
Carboxylate ion
Acrylate ion Acrylate-ion-3D-balls.png
Acrylate ion

In organic chemistry, a carboxylate is the conjugate base of a carboxylic acid, RCOO (or RCO2). It is an ion with negative charge.

Contents

Carboxylate salts are salts that have the general formula M(RCOO)n, where M is a metal and n is 1, 2,.... Carboxylate esters have the general formula RCOOR′ (also written as RCO2R′), where R and R′ are organic groups.

Synthesis

Carboxylate ions can be formed by deprotonation of carboxylic acids. Such acids typically have pKa of less than 5, meaning that they can be deprotonated by many bases, such as sodium hydroxide or sodium bicarbonate. [1] :271–2

Resonance stabilization of the carboxylate ion

Carboxylic acids easily dissociate into a carboxylate anion and a positively charged hydrogen ion (proton), much more readily than alcohols do (into an alkoxide ion and a proton), because the carboxylate ion is stabilized by resonance. The negative charge that is left after deprotonation of the carboxyl group is delocalized between the two electronegative oxygen atoms in a resonance structure. If the R group is an electron-withdrawing group (such as –CF3), the basicity of the carboxylate will be further weakened. [1] :264–5

Carboxylate-resonance-2D.png

This delocalization of the electron means that both of the oxygen atoms are less strongly negatively charged: the positive proton is therefore less strongly attracted back to the carboxylate group once it has left; hence, the carboxylate ion is more stable and less basic as a result of resonance stabilization of the negative charge. In contrast, an alkoxide ion, once formed, would have a strong negative charge localized on its lone oxygen atom, which would strongly attract any nearby protons (indeed, alkoxides are very strong bases). Because of resonance stabilization, carboxylic acids have much lower pKa values (and are therefore stronger acids) than alcohols. For example, the pKa value of acetic acid is 4.8, while ethanol has a pKa of 16. Hence acetic acid is a much stronger acid than ethanol. This in turn means that for equimolar solutions of a carboxylic acid or an alcohol in water, the carboxylic acid would have a much lower pH. [1] :263–7

Reactions

Alkyation

Carboxylic acid salts with a hydrogen atom in the alpha position next to the carboxylate group can be converted to dianions with strong bases like lithium diisopropylamide. These react with alkyl halides to give derivatives: [1] :474

RCH2COO + Li+[N(CH(CH3)2)2] → RCHCOO
RCHCOO + R'X → RR'CHCOO + X

Nucleophilic substitution

Carboxylate ions are good nucleophiles. They react with alkyl halides to form esters. The following reaction shows the reaction mechanism. [1] :398–9

The SN2 reaction between sodium acetate and bromoethane. The products are ethyl acetate and sodium bromide. Ester-from-carboxylate-and-alkyl-halide-2D-skeletal.png
The SN2 reaction between sodium acetate and bromoethane. The products are ethyl acetate and sodium bromide.

The nucleophilicity of carboxylate ions is much weaker than that of hydroxide and alkoxide ions, but stronger than that of halide anions (in a polar aprotic solvent, though there are other effects such as solubility of the ion).

Reduction

Unlike the reduction of ester, the reduction of carboxylate is different, due to the lack of the leaving group and the relatively electron-rich carbon atom (due to the negative charge on the oxygen atoms). With a small amount of acid, the reaction occurs with lithium aluminium hydride by changing the LAH into the Lewis acid AlH3 in the process, converting the oxyanion to 4 Al–O bonds. [1] :1212

Reaction of carboxylic acids reduction - part two.svg Reaction of carboxylic acids reduction - part three.svg

Examples

This list is for cases where there is a separate article for the anion or its derivatives. All other organic acids should be found at their parent carboxylic acid.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acid</span> Chemical compound giving a proton or accepting an electron pair

An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen ion, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amide</span> Organic compounds of the form RC(=O)NR′R″

In organic chemistry, an amide, also known as an organic amide or a carboxamide, is a compound with the general formula R−C(=O)−NR′R″, where R, R', and R″ represent any group, typically organyl groups or hydrogen atoms. The amide group is called a peptide bond when it is part of the main chain of a protein, and an isopeptide bond when it occurs in a side chain, as in asparagine and glutamine. It can be viewed as a derivative of a carboxylic acid with the hydroxyl group replaced by an amine group ; or, equivalently, an acyl (alkanoyl) group joined to an amine group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carboxylic acid</span> Organic compound containing a –C(=O)OH group

In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group attached to an R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is often written as R−COOH or R−CO2H, sometimes as R−C(O)OH with R referring to an organyl group, or hydrogen, or other groups. Carboxylic acids occur widely. Important examples include the amino acids and fatty acids. Deprotonation of a carboxylic acid gives a carboxylate anion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ester</span> Compound derived from an acid

In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group of that acid is replaced by an organyl group. Analogues derived from oxygen replaced by other chalcogens belong to the ester category as well. According to some authors, organyl derivatives of acidic hydrogen of other acids are esters as well, but not according to the IUPAC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aldehyde</span> Organic compound containing the functional group R−CH=O

In organic chemistry, an aldehyde is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure R−CH=O. The functional group itself can be referred to as an aldehyde but can also be classified as a formyl group. Aldehydes are a common motif in many chemicals important in technology and biology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leaving group</span> Atom(s) which detach from the substrate during a chemical reaction

In chemistry, a leaving group is defined by the IUPAC as an atom or group of atoms that detaches from the main or residual part of a substrate during a reaction or elementary step of a reaction. However, in common usage, the term is often limited to a fragment that departs with a pair of electrons in heterolytic bond cleavage. In this usage, a leaving group is a less formal but more commonly used synonym of the term nucleofuge. In this context, leaving groups are generally anions or neutral species, departing from neutral or cationic substrates, respectively, though in rare cases, cations leaving from a dicationic substrate are also known.

In organic chemistry, a carbanion is an anion in which carbon is negatively charged.

In chemistry, an oxonium ion is any cation containing an oxygen atom that has three bonds and 1+ formal charge. The simplest oxonium ion is the hydronium ion.

Deprotonation (or dehydronation) is the removal (transfer) of a proton (or hydron, or hydrogen cation), (H+) from a Brønsted–Lowry acid in an acid–base reaction. The species formed is the conjugate base of that acid. The complementary process, when a proton is added (transferred) to a Brønsted–Lowry base, is protonation (or hydronation). The species formed is the conjugate acid of that base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fischer–Speier esterification</span> Type of chemical reaction

Fischer esterification or Fischer–Speier esterification is a special type of esterification by refluxing a carboxylic acid and an alcohol in the presence of an acid catalyst. The reaction was first described by Emil Fischer and Arthur Speier in 1895. Most carboxylic acids are suitable for the reaction, but the alcohol should generally be primary or secondary. Tertiary alcohols are prone to elimination. Contrary to common misconception found in organic chemistry textbooks, phenols can also be esterified to give good to near quantitative yield of products. Commonly used catalysts for a Fischer esterification include sulfuric acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, and Lewis acids such as scandium(III) triflate. For more valuable or sensitive substrates other, milder procedures such as Steglich esterification are used. The reaction is often carried out without a solvent or in a non-polar solvent to facilitate the Dean-Stark method. Typical reaction times vary from 1–10 hours at temperatures of 60-110 °C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enolate</span> Organic anion formed by deprotonating a carbonyl (>C=O) compound

In organic chemistry, enolates are organic anions derived from the deprotonation of carbonyl compounds. Rarely isolated, they are widely used as reagents in the synthesis of organic compounds.

The Cannizzaro reaction, named after its discoverer Stanislao Cannizzaro, is a chemical reaction which involves the base-induced disproportionation of two molecules of a non-enolizable aldehyde to give a primary alcohol and a carboxylic acid.

Nucleophilic acyl substitution (SNAcyl) describes a class of substitution reactions involving nucleophiles and acyl compounds. In this type of reaction, a nucleophile – such as an alcohol, amine, or enolate – displaces the leaving group of an acyl derivative – such as an acid halide, anhydride, or ester. The resulting product is a carbonyl-containing compound in which the nucleophile has taken the place of the leaving group present in the original acyl derivative. Because acyl derivatives react with a wide variety of nucleophiles, and because the product can depend on the particular type of acyl derivative and nucleophile involved, nucleophilic acyl substitution reactions can be used to synthesize a variety of different products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dakin oxidation</span> Organic redox reaction that converts hydroxyphenyl aldehydes or ketones into benzenediols

The Dakin oxidation (or Dakin reaction) is an organic redox reaction in which an ortho- or para-hydroxylated phenyl aldehyde (2-hydroxybenzaldehyde or 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde) or ketone reacts with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in base to form a benzenediol and a carboxylate. Overall, the carbonyl group is oxidised, whereas the H2O2 is reduced.

A carbon–oxygen bond is a polar covalent bond between atoms of carbon and oxygen. Carbon–oxygen bonds are found in many inorganic compounds such as carbon oxides and oxohalides, carbonates and metal carbonyls, and in organic compounds such as alcohols, ethers, carbonyl compounds and oxalates. Oxygen has 6 valence electrons of its own and tends to fill its outer shell with 8 electrons by sharing electrons with other atoms to form covalent bonds, accepting electrons to form an anion, or a combination of the two. In neutral compounds, an oxygen atom can form up to two single bonds or one double bond with carbon, while a carbon atom can form up to four single bonds or two double bonds with oxygen.

In chemistry, an ate complex is a salt formed by the reaction of a Lewis acid with a Lewis base whereby the central atom increases its valence and gains a negative formal charge..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinylogy</span> Transmission of electronic effects through a system of conjugated chemical bonds

In organic chemistry, vinylogy is the transmission of electronic effects through a conjugated organic bonding system. The concept was introduced in 1926 by Ludwig Claisen to explain the acidic properties of formylacetone and related ketoaldehydes. Formylacetone, technically CH3(C=O)CH2CH=O, only exists in the ionized form CH3(C−O)=CH−CH=O or CH3(C=O)−CH=CH−O. Its adjectival form, vinylogous, is used to describe functional groups in which the standard moieties of the group are separated by a carbon–carbon double bond.

Electrophilic aromatic substitution (SEAr) is an organic reaction in which an atom that is attached to an aromatic system is replaced by an electrophile. Some of the most important electrophilic aromatic substitutions are aromatic nitration, aromatic halogenation, aromatic sulfonation, alkylation Friedel–Crafts reaction and acylation Friedel–Crafts reaction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carbonyl α-substitution reactions</span>

Alpha-substitution reactions occur at the position next to the carbonyl group, the α-position, and involve the substitution of an α hydrogen atom by an electrophile, E, through either an enol or enolate ion intermediate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alkoxide</span> Conjugate base of an alcohol

In chemistry, an alkoxide is the conjugate base of an alcohol and therefore consists of an organic group bonded to a negatively charged oxygen atom. They are written as RO, where R is the organyl substituent. Alkoxides are strong bases and, when R is not bulky, good nucleophiles and good ligands. Alkoxides, although generally not stable in protic solvents such as water, occur widely as intermediates in various reactions, including the Williamson ether synthesis. Transition metal alkoxides are widely used for coatings and as catalysts.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 March, Jerry (1992), Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure (4th ed.), New York: Wiley, ISBN   0-471-60180-2