Acetals reductive cleavage

Metal-ammonia solutions reduce conjugated enones to saturated ketones and reductively cleave a-acetoxy ketones i.e. ketol acetates) to the unsubstituted ketones. In both cases the actual reduction product is the enolate salt of a saturated ketone this salt resists further reduction. If an alcohol is present in the reaction mixture, the enolate salt protonates and the resulting ketone is reduced further to a saturated alcohol. Linearly or cross-conjugated dienones are reduced to enones in the absence of a proton donor other than ammonia. The Birch reduction of unsaturated ketones to saturated alcohols was first reported by Wilds and Nelson using lithium as the reducing agent. This metal has been used almost exclusively by subsequent workers for the reduction of both unsaturated and saturated ketones. Calcium has been preferred for the reductive cleavage of ketol acetates. 

The reductive cleavage of ketol acetates involves addition of two electrons to the system with fragmentation into an acetate ion and a ketone carbanion... 

Reductive cleavage of the acrolein acetal proceeds similarly to that of the benzylidene acetals. ... 

REDUCTIVE CLEAVAGE OF ALLYLIC ALCOHOLS, ETHERS, OR ACETATES TO OLEFINS 3-METHYLCYCLOHEXENE... 

Catalytic reduction (Raney-Ni, H2) of the nitroso acetal-mesylate 243 resulted in reductive cleavage of both N-O bonds followed by intramolecular reductive amination and finally intramolecular iV-alkylation providing the masked 7-epiaustraline alkaloid 244 (Scheme 65) <1998JA7357>. 

In the absence of ZnCl2, the system effects chemoselective reductive cleavage of ally lie acetates.2... 

M[pz(A4)] A = S2ML2. The octakis(.V-R)porphyra/,ines reported by Schramm and Hoffman (2), M[pz(S-R)8 (M = Ni, Cu), (60), can be converted to the octathiolate M[pz(S )g] (Scheme 11) via reductive cleavage of the sulfur-carbon bond when R = benzyl (Bn), and this tetra-bis(dithiolate) can then be peripherally capped with metal-ligand systems to yield peripherally tetrametalated star porphyrazines. The benzyl dinitrile 57 can be macrocyclized around magnesium butoxide to form [Mg[pz(S-Bn)8] (58) (35-40%), which can then be demetalated with trifluoroacetic acid to form 59 (90%), which is subsequently remetalated with nickel or copper acetate to form 60a (95%) and 60b (70%) (Scheme 11) (3, 23, 24). Deprotection of 60a or 60b with sodium in ammonia yields the Ni or Cu tetra-enedithiolates, 61a or 61b to which addition of di-ferf-butyl or n-butyl tin dinitrate produces the peripherally metalated star porphyrazines 62a (37%), 62b (80%), and 62c (41%). 

The Pd(0)-catalyzed displacement of allylic acetates (297) with various nucleophiles via the allylic Pd(II) complex (298) is a well-established procedure (Scheme 114). Through attack of electrons (+2e ) in place of nucleophiles, (298) is expected to undergo a reductive cleavage providing allylic carbanions (299) and the acetate anion along with Pd(0) complexes. The latter can then be captured by various electrophiles (polarity inversion. Scheme 114) leading to (300) [434]. This procedure is useful for the deprotection of allyl esters under neutral conditions. Recently, a mechanistic study of the Pd-catalyzed reaction of allylic acetate (297), using carbonyl compounds as an electrophile, has been reported [435]. 

Vinyl ethers were reductively cleaved by lithium, sodium or potassium in liquid ammonia especially in the absence of alcohols (except terf-butyl alcohol) A mixture of l-methoxy-1,3- and l-methoxy-l,4-cyclohexadiene gave in this way first methoxycyclohexene and, on further reduction, cyclohexene Reductive cleavage of a-alkoxytetrahydrofurans and pyrans will be discussed in the chapter on acetals (p. 104). 

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