Alcoholate, aluminium sodium

Industrially, chlorine is obtained as a by-product in the electrolytic conversion of salt to sodium hydroxide. Hazardous reactions have occuned between chlorine and a variety of chemicals including acetylene, alcohols, aluminium, ammonia, benzene, carbon disulphide, diethyl ether, diethyl zinc, fluorine, hydrocarbons, hydrogen, ferric chloride, metal hydrides, non-metals such as boron and phosphorus, rubber, and steel. 

Louis Bouveault (Nevers, ii February 1864-Paris, 6 September 1909), assistant professor in the Paris Faculty of Sciences, worked out methods for the conversion of nitriles or amides to acids, the synthesis of aromatic aldehydes and acids by the use of aluminium chloride, the synthesis of aldehydes from nitro-olefins, and the reduction of aldehydes, ketones, and esters to alcohols by boiling with alcohol and sodium. ... 

Trimethylene dibromide (Section 111,35) is easily prepared from commercial trimethj lene glycol, whilst hexamethylene dibromide (1 O dibromohexane) is obtained by the red P - Br reaction upon the glycol 1 6-hexanediol is prepared by the reduction of diethyl adipate (sodium and alcohol lithium aluminium hydride or copper-chromium oxide and hydrogen under pressure). Penta-methylene dibromide (1 5-dibromopentane) is readily produced by the red P-Brj method from the commercially available 1 5 pentanediol or tetra-hydropyran (Section 111,37). Pentamethylene dibromide is also formed by the action of phosphorus pentabromide upon benzoyl piperidine (I) (from benzoyl chloride and piperidine) ... 

Potassium and sodium borohydride show greater selectivity in action than lithium aluminium hydride thus ketones or aldehydes may be reduced to alcohols whilst the cyano, nitro, amido and carbalkoxy groups remain unaffected. Furthermore, the reagent may be used in aqueous or aqueous-alcoholic solution. One simple application of its use will be described, viz., the reduction of m-nitrobenzaldehyde to m-nitrobenzyl alcohol ... 

Reduction with sodium in alcohol was unsuccessful (54). The introduction of lithium aluminium hydride has provided an elegant method for the reduction of thiazole esters to hydroxythiazoles for example, ethyl 2-methyl-4-thiazolecarboxylate (11 with lithium aluminium hydride in diethyl ether gives 2-methyl-4-(hydroxymethyl)thiazole (12) in 66 to 69% yield (Scheme 7) (53),... 

The purification of diethyl ether (see Chapter 4) is typical of liquid ethers. The most common contaminants are the alcohols or hydroxy compounds from which the ethers are prepared, their oxidation products (e.g. aldehydes), peroxides and water. Peroxides, aldehydes and alcohols can be removed by shaking with alkaline potassium permanganate solution for several hours, followed by washing with water, concentrated sulfuric acid [CARE], then water. After drying with calcium chloride, the ether is distilled. It is then dried with sodium or with lithium aluminium hydride, redistilled and given a final fractional distillation. The drying process should be repeated if necessary. 

Tetrachromate electrolytes The alkaline tetrachromate baths are used to a small extent chiefly for the direct chromium plating of zinc die-castings, brass or aluminium, since the solutions do not attack these metals . The original bath was developed by Bornhauser (German Pat. 608 757) and contained 300 g/1 of chromic acid, 60g/l of sodium hydroxide, 0-6-0-8g/l of sulphuric acid and 1 ml/l of alcohol. 

Benzohydrol has been obtained by reducing benzophenone with sodium amalgam,1 with metallic calcium and alcohol,2 with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst,3 with zinc, aluminium or sodium in strongly alkaline solutions,4 with zinc dust and alcoholic potassium hydroxide solution,5 and electrolytically.6... 

The Mitsunobu reaction was also applied to the synthesis of [ 1,2,4]triaz-ino[4,5-n]indoles (84AG517). Thus, reaction of the 2-acylindoles 127 with sodium borohydride in methanol or with lithium aluminium hydride in tetrahydrofuran gave the corresponding alcohols 128. Their cyclization with diethyl azodicarboxylate in the presence of triphenyl-phosphine gave the triazinoindoles 129. Acid treatment of the latter afforded 130 (Scheme 30). 

Reduction of 124, 125, and 126 with either sodium borohydride or lithium aluminium hydride followed by methylation of the unstable alcohol obtained gave the methyl ethers 130,131, and 132 respectively. Comparisons between the NMR spectra of the methyl ethers 130 and 131 and the homoannulenes 127 and 128 indicated that 130 and 131 are paratropic like the 16 7r-electron methyl ether 114. The methyl ether 132 is atropic. 

Numerous preparative methods have been reported for these acids and their salts and ester derivatives.1 4 Dithiophosphoric acids are accessible from the reaction of phosphorus pentasulfide with alcohols or phenols (Equation 18). Dithiophosphinic acids can be prepared from thiophosphinic chlorides and sodium hydrosulfide (Equation 19), although the phenyl derivative is better prepared using a modified Friedel-Crafts reaction in which phosphorus pentasulfide is reacted with benzene in the presence of anhydrous aluminium trichloride (Equation 20). 

Nonmetallic systems (Chapter 11) are efficient for catalytic reduction and are complementary to the metallic catalytic methods. For example lithium aluminium hydride, sodium borohydride and borane-tetrahydrofuran have been modified with enantiomerically pure ligands161. Among those catalysts, the chirally modified boron complexes have received increased interest. Several ligands, such as amino alcohols[7], phosphino alcohols18 91 and hydroxysulfoximines[10], com-plexed with the borane, have been found to be selective reducing agents. 

By reduction of aldehydes and ketones Aldehydes and ketones are reduced to the corresponding alcohols by addition of hydrogen in the presence of catalysts (catalytic hydrogenation). The usual catalyst is a finely divided metal such as platinum, palladium or nickel. It is also prepared by treating aldehydes and ketones with sodium borohydride (NaBH4) or lithium aluminium hydride (LLAIH4). Aldehydes yield primary alcohols whereas ketones give secondary alcohols. 

We have already noted the ability of complex metal hydrides like lithium aluminium hydride and sodium borohydride to reduce the carbonyl group of aldehydes and ketones, giving alcohols (see Section 7.5). These reagents deliver hydride in such a manner that it appears to act as a nucleophile. However, as we have seen, the aluminium hydride anion is responsible for transfer of the hydride and... 

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