Acetylacetone

Acetylacetone is an organic compound with the formula CH3COCH2COCH3. It is a colorless liquid, classified as a 1,3-diketone. It exists in equilibrium with a tautomer CH3C(O)CH=C(OH)CH3. These tautomers interconvert so rapidly under most conditions that they are treated as a single compound in most applications. It is a colorless liquid that is a precursor to acetylacetonate anion (commonly abbreviated acac−), a bidentate ligand. It is also a building block for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. Acetylacetone is an organic compound with the formula CH3COCH2COCH3. It is a colorless liquid, classified as a 1,3-diketone. It exists in equilibrium with a tautomer CH3C(O)CH=C(OH)CH3. These tautomers interconvert so rapidly under most conditions that they are treated as a single compound in most applications. It is a colorless liquid that is a precursor to acetylacetonate anion (commonly abbreviated acac−), a bidentate ligand. It is also a building block for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. The keto and enol tautomers of acetylacetone coexist in solution. The enol form has C2v symmetry, meaning the hydrogen atom is shared equally between the two oxygen atoms. In the gas phase, the equilibrium constant, Kketo→enol, is 11.7, favoring the enol form. The two tautomeric forms can be distinguished by NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and other methods. The equilibrium constant tends to be high in nonpolar solvents; the keto form becomes more favorable in polar, hydrogen-bonding solvents, such as water. The enol form is a vinylogous analogue of a carboxylic acid. Acetylacetone is a weak acid: IUPAC recommended pKa values for this equilibrium in aqueous solution at 25 °C are 8.99 ± 0.04 (I = 0), 8.83 ± 0.02 (I = 0.1 M NaClO4) and 9.00 ± 0.03 (I = 1.0 M NaClO4; I = Ionic strength). Values for mixed solvents are available. Very strong bases, such as organolithium compounds, will deprotonate acetylacetone twice. The resulting dilithio species can then be alkylated at C-1. Acetylacetone is prepared industrially by the thermal rearrangement of isopropenyl acetate. Laboratory routes to acetylacetone begin also with acetone. Acetone and acetic anhydride upon the addition of boron trifluoride (BF3) catalyst: A second synthesis involves the base-catalyzed condensation of acetone and ethyl acetate, followed by acidification: Because of the ease of these syntheses, many analogues of acetylacetonates are known. Some examples include C6H5C(O)CH2C(O)C6H5 (dbaH) and (CH3)3CC(O)CH2C(O)CC(CH3)3. Hexafluoroacetylacetonate is also widely used to generate volatile metal complexes.