Aerobic secondary alcohol

Resting cell of G. candidum, as well as dried cell, has been shown to be an effective catalyst for the asymmetric reduction. Both enantiomers of secondary alcohols were prepared by reduction of the corresponding ketones with a single microbe [23]. Reduction of aromatic ketones with G. candidum IFO 5 767 afforded the corresponding (S)-alcohols in an excellent enantioselectivity when amberlite XAD-7, a hydro-phobic polymer, was added to the reaction system, and the reduction with the same microbe afforded (R)-alcohols, also in an excellent enantioselectivity, when the reaction was conducted under aerobic conditions (Figure 8.31). 

The complex Pd-(-)-sparteine was also used as catalyst in an important reaction. Two groups have simultaneously and independently reported a closely related aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols. The oxidation of secondary alcohols is one of the most common and well-studied reactions in chemistry. Although excellent catalytic enantioselective methods exist for a variety of oxidation processes, such as epoxidation, dihydroxy-lation, and aziridination, there are relatively few catalytic enantioselective examples of alcohol oxidation. The two research teams were interested in the metal-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones and became involved in extending the scopes of these oxidations to asymmetric catalysis. 

All the Ru-based racemization catalysts described earUer are air-sensitive and thus difficult to reuse. We found that a modified Ru complex 7 was air-stable and recyclable, in particular, in a polymer-supported form 8. The racemization of secondary alcohols with 7 took place equally well under both oxygen and argon atmospheres. The subsequent DKRs of several alcohols using 7 or 8 under aerobic... 

A breakthrough was reported by Stack and co-workers in 1998 (212) who reported the first biomimetic catalytic system for the oxidation of primary alcohols by air. Independently, in the same year Chaudhuri, et al. (216) reported efficient aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols by the dinuclear catalyst [Cu2 2(Ls )2]C12 (216). Next, we will briefly review the salient features of these two systems. 

Figure 9.4 Aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols catalyzed by RuCl2 (Ph3P)3/TEMPO in PhCl at 100°C.

The enantioselective oxidative coupling of 2-naphthol itself was achieved by the aerobic oxidative reaction catalyzed by the photoactivated chiral ruthenium(II)-salen complex 73. 2 it reported that the (/ ,/ )-chloronitrosyl(salen)ruthenium complex [(/ ,/ )-(NO)Ru(II)salen complex] effectively catalyzed the aerobic oxidation of racemic secondary alcohols in a kinetic resolution manner under visible-light irradiation. The reaction mechanism is not fully understood although the electron transfer process should be involved. The solution of 2-naphthol was stirred in air under irradiation by a halogen lamp at 25°C for 24 h to afford BINOL 66 as the sole product. The screening of various chiral diamines and binaphthyl chirality revealed that the binaphthyl unit influences the enantioselection in this coupling reaction. The combination of (/f,f )-cyclohexanediamine and the (R)-binaphthyl unit was found to construct the most matched hgand to obtain the optically active BINOL 66 in 65% ee. 

In the aerobic oxidation of the non-activated aliphatic primary and secondary alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones, co-catalysts or other additives are normally required 223-226). The catalytic aerobic oxidation of aromatic aldehydes to the corresponding carboxylic acids with Ni(acac)2 in ionic liquids was the first example of an aerobic oxidation in ionic liquids 227). 

Aerobic oxidation of primary alcohols to aldehydes and secondary alcohols to ketones was accomplished in ionic liquids (bmim, l-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium cation) as RuCl2(PPh3)j/(bmim)V80°C RuClj or [RuCl Cp-cymene)] were also used... 

The aerobic system TPAP/O /PMS/CH Cl was used to oxidise primary and secondary alcohols [28]. Oxidation of secondary alcohol functions in 3p-hydroxy-A-cholestenes,... 

The application of ionic liquids as a reaction medium for the copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of primary alcohols was reported recently by various groups, in attempts to recycle the relatively expensive oxidant TEMPO [150,151]. A TEMPO/CuCl-based system was employed using [bmim]PF6 (bmim = l-butyl-3-methylimodazolium) as the ionic liquid. At 65 °C a variety of allylic, benzylic, aliphatic primary and secondary alcohols were converted to the respective aldehydes or ketones, with good selectiv-ities [150]. A three-component catalytic system comprised of Cu(C104)2, dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) and acetamido-TEMPO in the ionic liquid [bmpy]Pp6 (bmpy = l-butyl-4-methylpyridinium) was also applied for the oxidation of benzylic and allylic alcohols as well as selected primary alcohols. Possible recycling of the catalyst system for up to five runs was demonstrated, albeit with significant loss of activity and yields. No reactivity was observed with 1-phenylethanol and cyclohexanol [151]. 

Scheme 16 Aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols...

Very recently, Hu et al. claimed to have discovered a convenient procedure for the aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols utilizing a TEMPO based catalyst system free of any transition metal co-catalyst (21). These authors employed a mixture of TEMPO (1 mol%), sodium nitrite (4-8 mol%) and bromine (4 mol%) as an active catalyst system. The oxidation took place at temperatures between 80-100 °C and at air pressure of 4 bars. However, this process was only successful with activated alcohols. With benzyl alcohol, quantitative conversion to benzaldehyde was achieved after a 1-2 hour reaction. With non-activated aliphatic alcohols (such as 1-octanol) or cyclic alcohols (cyclohexanol), the air pressure needed to be raised to 9 bar and a 4-5 hour of reaction was necessary to reach complete conversion. Unfortunately, this new oxidation procedure also depends on the use of dichloromethane as a solvent. In addition, the elemental bromine used as a cocatalyst is rather difficult to handle on a technical scale because of its high vapor pressure, toxicity and severe corrosion problems. Other disadvantages of this system are the rather low substrate concentration in the solvent and the observed formation of bromination by-products. 

A limitation on resolution is that the desired enantiomer is only half of the racemic starting material. Kurt Faber of the University of Graz has reported (Org. Lett. 2004,6,5009) a clever solution to this problem. On exposure of the sulfate 1 of a secondary alcohol to aerobically grown whole cells of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius DSM 639, one enantiomer of the sulfate was smoothly converted into the other enantiomer of the starting alcohol. The enzyme consumed the more reactive enantiomer > 200 times more rapidly than the less reactive enantiomer. For the last bit of conversion, the of the product alcohol will of course fall. One solution to this would be to run the reaction near 50% conversion, then hydrolyze the mixture to give high product alcohol 2. Exposure of the mixture to a lipase that selectively acetylated the minor enantiomer would then polish the of 2. 

Similarly, a water-soluble palladium complex of a sulfonated phenanthroline ligand catalyzed the highly selective aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols in an aqueous biphasic system in the absence of any organic solvent (Figure 1.8) [40]. The liquid product could be recovered by simple phase separation, and the aqueous phase, containing the catalyst, used with a fresh batch of alcohol substrate, affording a truly green method for the oxidation of alcohols. 

Chiral A-salicylidene vanadyl carboxylates are efficient catalysts for asymmetric aerobic oxidation of a-hydoxy esters and amides with divergent substituents. These catalysts have been explored for the kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols also. The stereochemical origin of the almost total asymmetric control has been probed.262... 

He J, Wu T, Jiang T et al (2008) Aerobic oxidation of secondary alcohols to ketones catalyzed by cobalt(II)/ZnO in poly(ethylene glycol)/C02 system. Catal Commun 9(13) 2239-2243... 

Pd(II) catalysts have been widely used for aerobic oxidation of alcohols. The catalytic systems Pd(OAc)2-(CH3)2SO [14] and Pd(OAc)2-pyridine [15] oxidize allylic and benzylic alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones. Secondary aliphatic alcohols, with relatively high water solubility, have been oxidized to the corresponding ketones by air at high pressure, at 100 °C in water, by using a water-soluble bathophenanthroline disulfonate palladium complex [PhenS Pd(OAc)2] [5d]. The Pd catalyst has also been successfully used for aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols, using (-)-sparteine [16]. 

The oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones is one of the most common and well-studied reactions in organic chemistry [1], Many of these processes require organic or metal oxidants. It is much more desirable to find systems that utilize oxygen and a catalyst to perform alcohol oxidation, because of the environmental and economic benefits. A number of important advances have been made in this area, as described in the preceding section (IV.1.1.6). Recently, several groups have developed enantioselective aerobic alcohol oxidations, enabling kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols [2]. 

Several other systems have been discovered for the aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols. Katsuki has shown that (nitroso)Ru-salen complexes such as 1 can successfully resolve alcohols under photolytic conditions in the presence of dry air (Scheme 4) [9]. A related Ru complex was also able to achieve... 

One rare exception appears to be KOBu8. For example, the aerobic oxidation of 2-undecanol (5 mol% CuCl Phen, 5 mol% KOBu8, toluene, 80-90°C) afforded 2-unde-canone in almost quantitative yields. However, this system appears, so far, to be limited to secondary alcohol oxidations. 

Chiral N-arylated imidazolinylidene ligands have been employed in the palladium(II) catalyzed aerobic oxidation of secondary alcohols to the corresponding ketones [55]. The chiral variant of this reaction, which does not generate a new element of chirality, is again based on the kinetic resolution of racemic mixtures. The active catalyst is formed in situ by a combination of two precursors, a dinuclear NHC-palladium(II) complex and an achiral (acetate) or chiral base ((-)-sparteine) (Scheme 18). 

Scheme 18 Kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols by aerobic oxidation...

A combination of RuCl2(Ph3P)3 and the stable nitroxyl radical, 2,2, 6,6 -tetra-methylpiperidine-N-oxyl (TEMPO) is a remarkably effective catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of a variety of primary and secondary alcohols, giving the corresponding aldehydes and ketones, respectively, with above 99% selectivity [87]. The best results were obtained using 1 mol % of RuCl,(Ph3P)3 and 3 mol % of TEMPO (Eq. 21). 

Examples illustrating the scope of TPAP-catalysed aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes are shown in Table 3. 

Other ruthenium-based catalysts for the aerobic oxidation of alcohols have been described where it is not clear if they involve oxidative dehydrogenation by low-valent ruthenium, to give hydridoruthenium intermediates, or by high-valent oxoruthenium. Masutani et al. [107] described (nitrosyl)Ru(salen) complexes, which can be activated by illumination to release the NO ligand. These complexes demonstrated selectivity for oxidation of the alcoholic group versus epoxidation, which was regarded as evidence for the intermediacy of Ru-oxo moieties. Their excellent alcohol coordination properties led to a good enantiomer differentation in the aerobic oxidation of racemic secondary alcohols (Fig. 19) and to a selective oxidation of primary alcohols in the presence of secondary alcohols [108]. 

Vocanson et al. [ 111 ] have described the use of ruthenium supported on ceria, Ce02, as a catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of alcohols. Primary and secondary alcohols are oxidized to the corresponding aldehydes (carboxylic acids) and ketones, respectively, at elevated temperatures (above 140 °C). Surprisingly, allylic... 

Another improvement is the use of a Ru/TEMPO catalyst combination for the selective aerobic oxidations of primary and secondary alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones, respectively (Fig. 1.22) [72]. The method is effective (>99% selectivity) with a broad range of primary and secondary aliphatic, allylic and benzylic alcohols. The overoxidation of aldehydes to the corresponding carboxylic acids is suppressed by the TEMPO which acts as a radical scavenger in preventing autoxidation. 

Ruthenium compounds are widely used as catalysts for hydrogen transfer reactions. These systems can be readily adapted to the aerobic oxidation of alcohols by employing dioxygen, in combination with a hydrogen acceptor as a cocatalyst, in a multistep process. These systems demonstrate high activity. For example, Backvall and coworkers [146] used low-valent ruthenium complexes in combination with a benzoquinone and a cobalt-Schiffs base complex. Optimization of the electron-rich quinone, combined with the so-called Shvo Ru-cata-lyst, led to one of the fastest catalytic systems reported for the oxidation of secondary alcohols (Fig. 4.59). 

Co(acac)3 in combination with N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) as cocatalyst mediates the aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols, to the corresponding carboxylic acids and ketones, respectively, e.g. Fig. 4.71 [205]. By analogy with other oxidations mediated by the Co/NHPI catalyst studied by Ishii and coworkers [206, 207], Fig. 4.71 probably involves a free radical mechanism. We attribute the promoting effect of NHPI to its ability to efficiently scavenge alkylperoxy radicals, suppressing the rate of termination by combination of al-kylperoxy radicals (see above for alkane oxidation). 

The palladium(II) complex of sulfonated bathophenanthroline was used in a highly effective aqueous biphasic aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes or carboxylic acids and ketones respectively (Fig. 7.15) [52, 53]. No organic solvent was necessary, unless the substrate was a solid, and turnover frequencies of the order of 100 h-1 were observed. The catalyst could be recovered and recycled by simple phase separation (the aqueous phase is the bottom layer and can be left in the reactor for the next batch). The method constitutes an excellent example of a green catalytic oxidation with oxygen (air) as the oxidant, no organic solvent and a stable recyclable catalyst. 

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