Discovery and Development of a Commercial Synthesis of Azafenidin

A commercial synthesis of the DuPont herbicide azafenidin is described. Discovery of a novel synthesis of the triazolinone ring system and a practical, environmentally benign process to 5-cyanovaleramide were critical breakthroughs in enabling azafenidin to be manufactured at an acceptable cost. The process began with the selective hydrolysis of DuPont's nylon intermediate, adiponitrile, to 5-cyanovaleramide. This was converted via Hofmann rearrangement and Pinner-type cyclization to afford the key amidine carboxylate intermediate containing both carbon atoms of the triazolinone ring. The preservation of all six carbon atoms of adiponitrile set up a 2 + 3 cyclocondensation with arylhydrazines, which replaced a costly 4 + 1 cyclocondensation of an amidrazone with phosgene or a phosgene surrogate used in the original route. This new triazolinone process was optimized to afford the commercial product in a highly efficient and economical fashion.