Additions to Carbonyl Groups

Although the present chapter includes the usual collection of topics designed to acquaint us with a particular class of compounds its central theme is a fundamental reaction type nucleophilic addition to carbonyl groups The principles of nucleophilic addition to aide hydes and ketones developed here will be seen to have broad applicability m later chap ters when transformations of various derivatives of carboxylic acids are discussed... 

Cyanohydrin formation is reversible and the position of equilibrium depends on the steric and electronic factors governing nucleophilic addition to carbonyl groups described m the preceding section Aldehydes and unhindered ketones give good yields of cyanohydrins... 

Nucleophilic addition to carbonyl groups sometimes leads to a mixture of stereoisomeric products The direction of attack is often controlled by stenc factors with the nude ophile approaching the carbonyl group at its less hindered face Sodium borohydride reduction of 7 7 dimethylbicyclo[2 2 IJheptan 2 one illustrates this point... 

Similarly, the two faces at a trigonal earbon in a molecule containing a stereogenic center are diastereotopie. Both ehiral and achiral reactants can distinguish between these diastereotopie faces. Many examples of diastereotopie transformations of sueh eompounds are known. One of the cases that has been examined elosely is addition reactions at a trigonal center adjacent to an asymmetric carbon. Particular attention has been given to the case of nucleophilie addition to carbonyl groups. 

D.1.3. Formation of C —C Bonds by Addition to Carbonyl Groups Houben-Weyl... 

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