Process for preparing 2-cyanobiphenyl compound

Abstract: A process for preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound represented by the formula (II): wherein R 1 is an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or hydrogen atom, from a phenylmagnesium chloride compound represented by the formula (I): wherein R 1 is as defined above. According to the process, a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound represented by the formula (II) can be economically, simply, industrially and advantageously prepared.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process for preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound. More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound, which is useful as an intermediate of pharmaceuticals such as antihypertensives. Discussion of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been known processes for preparing 2-cyanobiphenyl compounds, including (A) a method of reacting a phenylmagnesium halide compound with a 2-halobenzonitrile in the presence of a manganese(II) halide (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 6-9536); and (B) a method of reacting a phenylmagnesium halide compound with a 2-halobenzonitrile in the presence of a metal manganese and trimethylchlorosilane (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-109143). In the process (A), however, since the manganese(II) halide has hygroscopic property, there arises such a problem that much care is necessitated in handling. In the process (B), since it is necessary to add an equimolar amount of a metal manganese to the 2-halobenzonitrile, the metal manganese has to be treated after terminating the reaction, thereby industrial wastes are generated. Therefore, this method is not industrially advantageous. In addition, there have been known processes for preparing 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl, which is one of the 2-cyanobiphenyl compounds, including (C) a process for preparing 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl comprising treating a 4-methylphenylmagnesium halide and a 2-halobenzonitrile with a Ni catalyst in the presence of a zinc halide and an amine compound (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-231454); and (D) a process for preparing 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl comprising reacting a phenylmagnesium halide with a zinc halide, and treating the resulting product with 4-bromobenzonitrile in the presence of a Ni catalyst (J. Org. Chem. 42. 1821, (1977)). However, in the process (C), an expensive tertiary amine has to be used as an amine compound in order to give a reaction yield of at least 80%, and thereby there arise economical disadvantages. In addition, in the process (D), an expensive bromide or iodide has to be used as a halide, which is a reaction substrate, and thereby there arise economical disadvantages as in the process (C). In view of the problems in the prior art mentioned above, an object of the present invention is to provide method for economically, advantageously, simply and industrially preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound. These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In sum, the present invention pertains to the following: A process for preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound represented by the formula (II): wherein R 1 is an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or hydrogen atom, comprising the steps of: reacting a phenylmagnesium chloride compound represented by the formula (I): wherein R 1 is as defined above, with ZnCl 2 ; and reacting the resulting product with o-chlorobenzonitrile in the presence of both an aprotic polar solvent selected from the group consisting of dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethylsulfoxide and mixtures thereof and an Ni catalyst wherein the amount of aprotic polar solvent is from 0.1 to 3 mol per mol of o-chlorobenzonitrile. In the process according to the invention, the phenylmagnesium chloride compound represented by the formula (I) is used as a starting material. R 1 in the above formula (I) is an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or hydrogen atom. The alkyl groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms mentioned above include, for instance, linear or branched alkyl groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms. Concrete examples of the alkly groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms include methyl group, ethyl group, n-propyl group, isopropyl group, n-butyl group, isobutyl group, sec-butyl group, tert-butyl group, pentyl group, hexyl group, and the like. When R 1 is methyl group, 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl, which is useful as an intermediate for pharmaceuticals such as antihypertensives, can be prepared. Concrete examples of the alkoxy groups having 1 to 6 carbon atoms include, for instance, methoxy group, ethoxy group, n-propoxy group, isopropoxy group, n-butoxy group, isobutoxy group, sec-butoxy group, tert-butoxy group, pentyloxy group, hexyloxy group, and the like. Concrete examples of the phenylmagnesium chloride compound represented by the formula (I) include, for instance, phenylmagnesium chloride, o-methylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-methylphenylmagnesium chloride, p-methylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-ethylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-ethylphenylmagnesium chloride, p-ethylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-n-propylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-n-propylphenylmagnesium chloride, p-n-propylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-isopropylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-isopropylphenylmagnesium chloride, p-isopropylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-n-butylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-n-butylphenylmagnesium chloride, p-n-butylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-isobutylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-isobutylphenylmagnesium chloride, p-isobutylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-sec-butylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-sec-butylphenylmagnesium chloride, p-sec-butylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-tert-butylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-tert-butylphenylmagnesium chloride; p-tert-butylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-pentylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-pentylphenylmagnesium chloride, p-pentylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-hexylphenylmagnesium chloride, m-hexylphenylmagnesium chloride, p-hexylphenylmagnesium chloride, o-methoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-methoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-methoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, o-ethoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-ethoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-ethoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, o-n-propoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-n-propoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-n-propoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, o-isopropoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-isopropoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-isopropoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, o-n-butoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-n-butoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-n-butoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, o-isobutoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-isobutoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-isobutoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, o-sec-butoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-sec-butoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-sec-butoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, o-tert-butoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-tert-butoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-tert-butoxyphenylmagnesium chloride, o-pentyloxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-pentyloxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-pentyloxyphenylmagnesium chloride, o-hexyloxyphenylmagnesium chloride, m-hexyloxyphenylmagnesium chloride, p-hexylphenylmagnesium chloride, and the like. Among the above phenylmagnesium chloride compounds, when the p-methylphenylmagnesium chloride is used, 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl, which is useful as an intermediate for pharmaceuticals such as antihypertensives, can be prepared. Therefore, the p-methylphenylmagnesium chloride can be particularly advantageously used. In the process according to the invention, the phenylmagnesium chloride represented by the formula (I) is used as a starting material, to give a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound represented by the formula (II). In the process according to the invention, since the phenylmagnesium chloride compound represented by the formula (I) is reacted with ZnCl 2 , and the resulting product is then reacted with o-chlorobenzonitrile in the presence of both an aprotic polar solvent selected from the group consisting of dimethylformamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethylsulfoxide, and mixtures thereof and an Ni catalyst wherein the amount of aprotic polar solvent is from 0.1 to 3 mol per mol of o-chlorobenzonitrile, excellent effects that the 2-cyanobiphenyl compound represented by the formula (II) can be unexpectedly obtained in a very high efficiency. In the process according to the invention, the phenylmagnesium chloride compound represented by the formula (I) is firstly reacted with ZnCl 2 . When the reaction of the phenylmagnesium chloride compound with ZnCl 2 is carried out, an ether-based organic solvent can be used as a solvent. The ether-based organic solvent may be an ether alone or a mixed solvent composed of an ether and other organic solvents. Desirably the ether-based organic solvent is substantially composed of the ether. Other organic solvents may be added in an amount which is such as not to impair the object of the present invention. Examples of ethers include tetrahydrofuran, diisopropyl ether, and tert-butyl methyl ether used alone or in combination. Preferably the ether is tetrahydrofuran. The amount of the ether-based organic solvent is not particularly limited, and it is desired that the amount of the ether-based organic solvent us from 100 to 1000 parts by weight or so, based on 100 parts by weight of the phenylmagnesium chloride compound. Incidentally, the phenylmagnesium chloride compound may be previously dissolved in the ether-based organic solvent. It is desired that the amount of ZnCl 2 is from 0.9 to 1.2 mol or so per mol of the phenylmagnesium chloride compound from the aspects of economical advantages and reactivity. Incidentally, it is desired that the atmosphere during the reaction of the phenylmagnesium chloride compound with ZnCl 2 is an inert gas, such as nitrogen gas, or argon gas. In addition, the pressure of the atmosphere is not particularly limited, and it is desired that the pressure is usually an atmospheric pressure. In addition, it is desired that the reaction temperature is from 0° to 70°C or so. The reaction time cannot be absolutely determined because the reaction time can differ depending upon the reaction temperature, and the like. The reaction time is usually from 0.5 to 10 hours or so. In the process according to the invention, after the reaction is terminated, the reaction mixture can be directly used to react with the o-chlorobenzonitrile without taking out the resulting reaction product from the reaction mixture. One of the large features of the process according to the invention resides in the use of an aprotic polar solvent during the reaction of the above reaction product with o-chlorobenzonitrile. The aprotic polar solvent, which is used is an extremely inexpensive, easily available compound. Moreover, when the aprotic polar solvent is used, the 2-cyanobiphenyl compound, which is a desired compound in the present invention, can be advantageously obtained in a high yield. The aprotic polar solvents include dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethylsulfoxide. Those aprotic polar solvents can be used alone or in admixture thereof. From the aspects of high yields and economical advantages, it is desired that the amount of the aprotic polar solvent is from 0.1 to 3 mol, preferably from 0.5 to 2 mol, per mol of o-chlorobenzonitrile. Another feature of the process according to the invention resides in the use of an Ni catalyst. Concrete examples of the Ni catalysts include, for instance, nickel(II) dichlorobis(triphenylphosphine), nickel(II) dibromobis(triphenylphosphine) and the like. It is desired that the amount of the Ni catalyst is from 0.01 to 0.3 mol, preferably from 0.02 to 0.2 mol, per mol of o-chlorobenzonitrile. In this case, the amount of the ether-based organic solvent is not particularly limited, and it is desired that the amount of the ether-based organic solvent is at least 100 parts by weight, preferably from 200 to 2500 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of o-chlorobenzonitrile. In addition to o-chlorobenzonitrile, the aprotic polar solvent and the Ni catalyst can also be dissolved in the ether-based organic solvent prior to the reaction. The reaction of the resulting reaction product with o-chlorobenzonitrile can be carried out, for instance, by a process comprising, dissolving o-chlorobenzonitrile, an aprotic polar solvent and an Ni catalyst in an ether-based organic solvent to give a mixture, and adding dropwise the reaction mixture containing the above reaction product to the resulting mixture. It is desired that the amount of the phenylmagnesium chloride compound, which is a starting material of the reaction product, is from 1 to 3 mol or so, preferably from 1 to 2 mol or so, per mol of o-chlorobenzonitrile. Incidentally, it is desired that the atmosphere during the reaction is an inert gas, such as nitrogen gas, or argon gas. In addition, the pressure of the atmosphere is not particularly limited, and it is desired that the pressure is usually an atmospheric pressure. It is desired that the lower limit of the reaction temperature during the reaction of the phenylmagnesium chloride compound with o-chlorobenzonitrile is at least -5°C, preferably at least 20°C, more preferably at least 40°C, and the upper limit of the reaction temperature is at most 80°C, preferably at most 60°C. The reaction time cannot be absolutely determined because the reaction time can differ depending upon the reaction temperature, and the like. The reaction time is usually from 0.5 to 10 hours or so. Thus, the 2-cyanobiphenyl compound represented by the formula (II), which is a desired compound in the present invention, can be obtained. In order to increase the purity of the 2-cyanobiphenyl compound, the organic layer can be separated from the reaction mixture using hydrochloric acid and the like and washed with brine. Thereafter, the resulting organic layer can be isolated by distillation to purify. Also, the 2-cyanobiphenyl compound purified by distillation can be further treated with activated carbon, silica gel, or alumina, to further increase its purity. The 2-cyanobiphenyl compound prepared by the process according to the invention can be used in the preparation of intermediates for pharmaceuticals such as antihypertensives. EXAMPLE The present invention will be more specifically described by the following example. Example A one-liter flask was charged with 65.4 g (0.48 mol) of ZnCl 2 and 325 g of tetrahydrofuran. Thereafter, 360 g of a tetrahydrofuran solution of p-methylphenylmagnesium chloride (concentration of the p-methylphenylmagnesium chloride: 20.1% by weight; and content of the p-methylphenylmagnesium chloride: 0.48 mol) was added dropwise to the flask at a temperature of 30° to 40°C over a period of 30 minutes, and the mixture was kept at that temperature for one hour, to give slurry of a p-methylphenylzinc compound in tetrahydrofuran. On the other hand, separately, a two-liter flask was charged with 7.85 g (0.012 mol) of nickel(II) dichlorobis(triphenylphosphine) as an Ni catalyst, 41.8 g (0.48 mol) of dimethylacetamide as an aprotic polar solvent, 206 g of tetrahydrofuran as an ether-based solvent, and 41.3 g (0.3 mol) of o-chlorobenzonitrile, and the resulting mixture was heated to a temperature of from 45° to 50°C. Next, the slurry of the p-methylphenylzinc compound in tetrahydrofuran prepared above was added dropwise to the two-liter flask at a temperature of 45° to 50°C over a period of three hours, and the mixture was kept at that temperature to be reacted. After the reaction was terminated, 400 ml of a 3% by weight-aqueous hydrochloric acid was poured into the flask, and the mixture was allowed to stand for 30 minutes. Thereafter, the organic layer was separated and washed with 400 ml of a 15% by weight brine. Next, the solvent contained in the resulting organic layer was distilled off, to give 70.8 g of crude 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl. The resulting crude 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl was subjected to HPLC analysis. As a result, it was found that the purity of the 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl was 69.5% by weight, and reaction yield was 84.9% by mol. Subsequently, 70.8 g of the resulting crude 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl was purified by distillation. As a result, 41.5 g of 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl having purity of 97.5% by weight was obtained. 41.5 g of the 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl purified by distillation was dissolved in 200 g of n-heptane. Two grams of alumina was added to the above mixture, and the resulting mixture was heated at 50° to 60°C for 30 minutes with stirring. Thereafter, the alumina was filtered off, and the crystals were then precipitated by cooling the mixture. The crystals were filtrated, and the obtained crystals were washed with n-heptane, to give 36.0 g of 4'-methyl-2-cyanobiphenyl having a purity of 99.8% by weight. The resulting product had a melting point of 52.9° to 53.5°C. As is clear from the above results, the 2-cyanobiphenyl compound can be prepared in a simple manner in high yields according to the processes described in the Example. According to the process of the present invention, the 2-cyanobiphenyl compound can be economically, simply, industrially and advantageously prepared.

Claims: A process for preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound represented by the formula (II): wherein R 1 is an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, or hydrogen atom, comprising the steps of: reacting a phenylmagnesium chloride compound represented by the formula (I): wherein R1 is as defined above, with ZnCl 2 ; and reacting the resulting product with o-chlorobenzonitrile in the present of both an aprotic polar solvent selected from the group consisting of dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, dimethylsulfoxide and mixtures thereof and an Ni catalyst wherein the amount of aprotic polar solvent is from 0.1 to 3 mol per mol of o-chlorobenzonitrile. The process for preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound according to Claim 1, wherein R 1 is methyl group. The process of preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound according to claim 1, wherein the amount of the phenylmagnesium chloride compound is from 1 to 3 mol per mol of o-chlorobenzonitrile. The process for preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound according to claim 1, wherein the amount of ZnCl 2 is from 0.9 to 1.2 mol per mol of the phenylmagnesium chloride compound. The process for preparing a 2-cyanobiphenyl compound according to Claim 1, wherein said Ni catalyst is nickel (II) dichlorobis(triphenylphosphine) or nickel(II) dibromobis (triphenylphosphine).

Inventors: ITAYA NOBUSHIGE, KATSURA TADASHI, SHIRATANI HIROSHI, SUGI KIYOSHI, ITAYA, NOBUSHIGE, KATSURA, TADASHI, SHIRATANI, HIROSHI, SUGI, KIYOSHI, Itaya, Nobushige, Sumika Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd., Katsura, Tadashi, Sumika Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd., Shiratani, Hiroshi, Sumika Fine Chem. Co., Ltd., Sugi, Kiyoshi, Sumika Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd.
Applicants: SUMIKA FINE CHEMICALS CO LTD, SUMIKA FINE CHEMICALS CO., LTD.
Application year: 1998
Main classification: C07C253
IPC codes: C07C255