(12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,359,162 B1 Wilms (45) Date of Patent: Mar
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USOO6359162B1 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 6,359,162 B1 Wilms (45) Date of Patent: Mar. 19, 2002 (54) METHOD FOR PRODUCING OTHER PUBLICATIONS GLUFOSINATES AND INTERMEDIATE Mundy, Bradford P.; Ellerd, Michael G. “Name Reactions PRODUCTS FOR THE SAME and Reagents in Organic Syntheses'; John Wiley and Sons: New York, 1988: p. 244.* (75) Inventor: Lothar Wilms, Hofheim (DE) Ivan A. Natchev, J. Chem. Soc. Perkin. Trans. 1, pp. (73) Assignee: Hoechst Schering AgrEvo GmbH, 125-131, 1989. Berlin (DE) * cited by examiner (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this Primary Examiner Fiona T. Powers patent is extended or adjusted under 35 (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Frommer Lawrence & U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days. Haug LLP (21) Appl. No.: 09/486,031 (57) ABSTRACT (22) PCT Filed: Aug. 8, 1998 Glufosinate and the 2-methyl analog thereof can be prepared in a multi-step Synthesis from methylphosphorus com (86) PCT No.: PCT/EP98/05053 pounds (II) with unsaturated keto compounds (III) via adducts (IV), Subsequent reaction under the conditions of a S371 Date: Feb. 17, 2000 Strecker synthesis and finally hydrolysis of the aminonitrile S 102(e) Date: Feb. 17, 2000 (V): (87) PCT Pub. No.: WO99/09039 Step 1: PCT Pub. Date: Feb. 25, 1999 (30) Foreign Application Priority Data HC-P -- 21 Aug. 20, 1997 (DE) ......................................... 19736 125 (51) Int. Cl." .............................. C07F 9/30; CO7F 9/32; (II) (III) (IV) CO7F 9/6571 (52) U.S. Cl. ......................... 558/82; 558/179; 558/346; 558/386; 562/11; 562/24 Step 2: (58) Field of Search .......................... 558/82, 179,346, 558/386; 562/11, 24 (56) References Cited Adduct IV - He-H3C P N U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS bi (s NH2 4.264,532 A * 4/1981 Tsuruoka et al. 4,521,348 A 6/1985 Finke et al. (IV) (V) 4,692,541 A 9/1987 Zeiss et al. FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS Step 3: Hydrolysis of (V) to give glufosinate DE 35 08573 A1 9/1986 Depending on proceSS conditions and Substrates, various EP O009 O22 A1 3/1980 compounds can be identified as adducts (IV). EP O O11 245 A1 5/1980 EP O 292 918 A1 11/1988 19 Claims, No Drawings US 6,359,162 B1 1 2 METHOD FOR PRODUCING process allowing the number of ester precursors to be GLUFOSINATES AND INTERMEDIATE reduced and being Suitable for preparing glufosinate and PRODUCTS FOR THE SAME related compounds. The invention relates to the technical field of the pro The invention provides a process for preparing com ceSSes for preparing biologically active compounds and precursors thereof, preferably of crop protection agents, in pounds of the formula (I), particular the herbicide glufosinate, also known as phosphi nothricin. (I) O Glufosinate (see formula (Ia)) is the common name for | R* the active compound (D.L)-2-amino-4-hydroxy(methyl) HC-P phosphinylbutanoic acid, which is commercially available as monoammonium Salt and is used as foliar herbicide (see OHS1(coon DE-A-2717440, U.S. Pat. No. 4,168.963). NH2 15 (Ia) O in which R* is hydrogen or (C-C)-alkyl, preferably H or | H methyl, or Salts thereof with acids or bases, which comprises HC-P OHN1)(-coon a) (Step 1) NH2 reacting a trivalent methylphosphorus compound of the formula (II) with an unsaturated derivative of the The herbicide can be employed for the non-selective formula (III), if appropriate in the presence of a control of weeds in fruit growing and Viticulture, in planta condensing agent or activator and, if appropriate, tion crops, in vegetable growing prior to Sowing or 25 alcohols, to give an adduct (IV), transplanting, prior to direct Sowing of maize or Soya beans, Step 1: and also on uncultivated land, Such as roadsides, industrial terrain and railroad tracks (cf. Z. PflKrankh. PflSchutz, Spe cial Edition IX,431-440, 1981). Also known is the selective use for controlling weeds in crops of useful plants, Such as, inter alia, maize and rapeseed, which have been made resistant by gene technology (cf. EP-A-0242246). A large number of processes for preparing glufosinate (II) (III) (IV) have been disclosed. According to the variant described in EP-A-001 1245 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,521,348), phosphorus 35 containing cyanohydrin derivatives of the formula where in the formulae R" and R independently of one another are halogen, O | R Such as, for example, fluorine, chlorine, bromine or P CN iodine, (C-C)alkoxy with or without Substitution, 40 benzyloxy or phenoxy, which may also be HC1 ORS-nk OR" substituted, or one of the radicals R and R is hydroxyl, and in which R is a hydrocarbon radical Such as alkyl, haloalkyl, R* is as defined in formula (I), cycloalkyl, phenyl or benzyl, with or without Substitution, R 45 b) (Step 2) is hydrogen, alkyl, phenyl or benzyl and R" is hydrogen, the adduct (IV) is, if appropriate after hydrolytic ring acyl, trialkylsilyl or alkylsulfonylalkyl, can be converted opening to aldehydes (R* =H) or ketones (R*=alkyl) into aminonitriles, which in turn can be hydrolyzed to give of the formula (IV) or salt thereof, glufosinate. According to EP-A-001 1245, the preparation of 50 the cyanohydrin derivatives is carried out by reaction of a (IV) monoalkyl methanephosphonate and an acroleincyanohy drin derivative of the formula HC-P O R 55 -k R* OR" in which Z is OH, R' or R, reacted under the in which R" and R" are as defined above. The described 60 conditions of a Strecker Synthesis with ammonia/ proceSS has the disadvantage that the phoshorus-containing ammonium chloride and Sodium cyanide or alterna derivative and its precursors have to be provided in the form tively with mixtures of ammonia and hydrocyanic of esters, whereas in the desired product glufosinate (Ia), the acid or with ammonia and a Salt of hydrocyanic acid, (hydroxy)(methyl)phosphinyl radical is present in hydro Such as, for example, ammonium cyanide or potas lyzed form. 65 sium cyanide, if appropriate in the presence of It is an object of the present invention to provide an ammonium chloride, to give the C-aminonitriles of alternative process to the proceSS described above, Said the formula (V) or a salt thereof, US 6,359,162 B1 4 one or more, preferably 1, 2 or 3, radicals Selected from the group consisting of halogen, alkoxy, haloalkoxy, alkylthio, hydroxyl, amino, nitro, cyano, azido, alkoxycarbonyl, alkylcarbonyl, formyl, carbamoyl, mono- and dialkyl aminocarbonyl, Substituted amino Such as acylamino, mono or dialkyl-amino, and alkylsulfinyl, haloalkylsulfinyl, alkylsulfonyl, haloalkylsulfonyl and, in the case of cyclic radicals, also alkyl and haloalkyl, and unsaturated aliphatic radicals corresponding to the abovementioned Saturated hydrocarbon-containing radicals, Such as alkenyl, alkynyl, where in the formulae (IV) and (V) the radical R* is as alkenyloxy, alkynyloxy etc. Preferred radicals having car defined in formula (I) and Z is as defined in formula bon atoms are those having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, in particular (IV) or is OH, and 1 or 2 carbon atoms. Preferred substituents are usually those c) (Step 3) from the group consisting of halogen, for example fluorine the compound of the formula (V) is hydrolyzed under 15 and chlorine, (C-C)alkyl, preferably methyl or ethyl, acidic or basic conditions to give the compound of (C-C)-haloalkyl, preferably trifluoromethyl, (C-C)- the formula (I) or the salt thereof. In the abovementioned formulae and in the formulae used alkoxy, preferably methoxy or ethoxy, (C-C)-haloalkoxy, hereinbelow, the radicals alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl, nitro and cyano. Particular preference is given to the Sub haloalkoxy, alkylamino and alkylthio, and also the corre Stituents methyl, methoxy and chlorine. sponding unsaturated radicals and/or radicals which are Phenyl with or without Substitution is preferably phenyl Substituted in the carbon Skeleton, may in each case be which is unsubstituted or mono- or poly Substituted, prefer Straight chain or branched. Unless Specifically indicated, ably up to trisubstituted, by identical or different radicals preference for these radicals is given to the lower carbon Selected from the group consisting of halogen, (C-C)- skeletons, for example those having 1 to 4 carbon atoms and, 25 alkyl, (C-C)-alkoxy, (C-C)-haloalkyl, (C-C)halo in the case of unsaturated groups, those having 2 to 4 carbon alkoxy and nitro, for example o-, m- and p-tolyl, atoms. Alkyl radicals, also in the composed meanings Such dimethylphenyls, 2-, 3- and 4-chlorophenyl, 2-, 3- and as alkoxy, haloalkyl, etc., are, for example, methyl, ethyl, n 4-trifluoro- and -trichlorophenyl, 2,4-, 3,5-, 2,5- and 2,3- or i-propyl, n-, i-, t- or 2-butyl, pentyls, heXyls, Such as dichlorophenyl, o-, m- and p-methoxyphenyl. n-hexyl, i-hexyl and 1,3-dimethylbutyl, heptyls, Such as n-heptyl, 1-methylhexyl and 1,4-dimethylpentyl, cycloalkyl An acyl radical is the radical of an organic acid, for is a carbocyclic Saturated ring System, for example having 3 example the radical of a carboxylic acid, and radicals of to 8 ring atoms, for example cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, acids derived therefrom, Such as the thiocarboxylic acid, cyclopentyl, cyclohexyl, etc.; alkenyl, alkynyl and cycloalk iminocarboxylic acids with or without N-substitution, or the enyl radicals have the meaning of the possible unsaturated 35 radical of carbonic acid monoesters, carbaminic acids with radicals which correspond to the alkyl or cycloalkyl radicals, or without N-Substitution, Sulfonic acids, Sulfinic acids, alkenyl is, for example, allyl, 1-methylprop-2-en-1-yl, phosphonic acids, phosphinic acids. Acyl is, for example, 2-methylprop-2-en-1-yl, but-2-en-1-yl, but-3-en-1-yl, formyl, alkylcarbonyl Such as (C-C-alkyl)-carbonyl, methylbut-3-en-1-yl and 1-methylbut-2-en-1-yl; cycloalk phenylcarbonyl, where the phenyl ring may be Substituted, enyl is, for example, cyclopentenyl or cyclohexenyl; alkynyl 40 for example as Shown above for phenyl, or is, for example, propargyl, but-2-yn-1-yl, but-3-yn-1-yl or alkyloxycarbonyl, phenyloxycarbonyl, benzyloxycarbonyl, 1-methylbut-3-yn-1-yl.