Aryl alkyl alcohols

Benzyl alcohols Aryl alkyl carbinols (11) can be oxidized to ketones (12) by the direct electrochemical method (Eq. 4) since they possess their oxidation potentials at around 2.0 V versus SCE (saturated calomel electrode) however, cleavage products decrease the selectivity [14]. 

The Aggarwal group has used chiral sulfide 7, derived from camphorsulfonyl chloride, in asymmetric epoxidation [4]. Firstly, they prefonned the salt 8 from either the bromide or the alcohol, and then formed the ylide in the presence of a range of carbonyl compounds. This process proved effective for the synthesis of aryl-aryl, aryl-heteroaryl, aryl-alkyl, and aryl-vinyl epoxides (Table 1.2, Entries 1-5). 

Either or both of the R groups may be aryl. In general, dialkyl ketones and cyclic ketones react more rapidly than alkyl aryl ketones, and these more rapidly than diaryl ketones. The latter require sulfuric acid and do not react in concentrated HCl, which is strong enough for dialkyl ketones. Dialkyl and cyclic ketones react sufficiently faster than diaryl or aryl alkyl ketones or carboxylic acids or alcohols that these functions may be present in the same molecule without interference. Cyclic ketones give lactams. 

The dimerization of ketones to 1,2-diols can also be accomplished photochemi-cally indeed, this is one of the most common photochemical reactions. The substrate, which is usually a diaryl or aryl alkyl ketone (though a few aromatic aldehydes and dialkyl ketones have been dimerized), is irradiated with UV light in the presence of a hydrogen donor such as isopropyl alcohol, toluene, or an amine. In the case of benzophenone, irradiated in the presence of 2-propanol, the ketone molecule initially undergoes n — k excitation, and the singlet species thus formed crosses to the T, state with a very high efficiency. 

With 1-2 mol% of 64b, racemic mixtures of aryl-alkyl carbinols 86 [103], propargylic [104] and allylic alcohol [105] 88 and 87, respectively, were resolved (Fig. 43). The best selectivities were attained for aryl-alkyl-carbinols 86, where the unreacted isomer was obtained with excellent ees after 55% conversion, while propargyl alcohols 88 required clearly higher conversions for high ees in the remaining starting material [106]. 

Organophosphate Ester Hydraulic Fluids. Organophosphate esters are made by condensing an alcohol (aryl or alkyl) with phosphorus oxychloride in the presence of a metal catalyst (Muir 1984) to produce trialkyl, tri(alkyl/aryl), or triaryl phosphates. For the aryl phosphates, phenol or mixtures of alkylated phenols (e.g., isobutylated phenol, a mixture of several /-butylphenols) are used as the starting alcohols to produce potentially very complex mixtures of organophosphate esters. Some phosphate esters (e.g., tricresyl and trixylyl phosphates) are made from phenolic mixtures such as cresylic acid, which is a complex mixture of many phenolic compounds. The composition of these phenols varies with the source of the cresylic acid, as does the resultant phosphate ester. The phosphate esters manufactured from alkylated phenylated phenols are expected to have less batch-to-batch variations than the cresylic acid derived phosphate esters. The differences in physical properties between different manufacturers of the same phosphate ester are expected to be larger than batch-to-batch variations within one manufacturer. 

The first palladium-catalyzed formation of aryl alkyl ethers in an intermolecular fashion occurred between activated aryl halides and alkoxides (Equation (28)), and the first formation of vinyl ethers occurred between activated vinyl halides and tin alkoxides (Equation (29)). Reactions of activated chloro- and bromoarenes with NaO-Z-Bu to form /-butyl aryl ethers occurred in the presence of palladium and DPPF as catalyst,107 while reactions of activated aryl halides with alcohols that could undergo /3-hydrogen elimination occurred in the presence of palladium and BINAP as catalyst.110 Reactions of NaO-/-Bu with unactivated aryl halides gave only modest yields of ether when catalyzed by aromatic bisphosphines.110 Similar chemistry occurred in the presence of nickel catalysts. In fact, nickel catalysts produced higher yields of silyl aryl ethers than palladium catalysts.108 The formation of diaryl ethers from activated aryl halides in the presence of palladium catalysts bearing DPPF or a CF3-subsituted DPPF was also reported 109... 

Certain catalysts promote the reduction of ketones with organosilanes. The reduction of acetophenone with Et3SiH is catalyzed by the diphosphine 65 and gives only a small amount of overreduction to ethylbenzene.377 Aryl alkyl enones and ynones are reduced to the corresponding alcohols with triethoxysilane and the titanium-based catalyst 66.378 Trichlorosilane reduces acetophenone in 90% yield with /V-formylpyrrolidinc catalysis.379... 

The asymmetric organosilane reduction of prochiral ketones has been studied as an alternative to the asymmetric hydrogenation approach. A wide variety of chiral ligand systems in combination with transition metals can be employed for this purpose. The majority of these result in good to excellent chemical yields of the corresponding alcohols along with a trend for better ee results with aryl alkyl ketones than with prochiral dialkyl ketones. 

Brook has effectively modified a procedure (introduced by Hosomi) which employs a trialkoxysilane as the stoichiometric reducing agent which, in the presence of amino acid anions reduces aryl alkyl ketones or diaryl ketones to the corresponding (A)-secondary alcohols, albeit in modest ee (generally 25 40%). ... 

On the basis of this empirical relationship, the absolute configuration of the dextrorotatory alcohols formed in the reduction of a series of aryl alkyl ketones (75) with (—)-quinine-LAH in ether was assigned as R (84). Reduction of a series of a,p-unsaturated ketones (76) with (- )-quinine-LAH gave a product mixture consisting mainly of dextrorotatory unsaturated alcohols (77) (85). The unsaturated alcohols 77 were shown to have the R configuration. 

Asymmetric Reduction of Aryl Alkyl Ketones with Amino Alcohol-LAH Reagents... 

The modification of lithium aluminum hydride with chiral auxiliary reagents has resulted in several highly effective reagents, particularly for the reduction of aryl alkyl ketones and a,0-acetylenic ketones. Applications of several of these reagents to key reduction steps in more complex syntheses have been highly successful. Chiral tricoordinate aluminum reagents have given lower enantiomeric excesses of alcohols. 

Similarly, the metal-catalyzed oxidation of aryl alkyl sulfides by t-butyl hydroperoxide carried out in a chiral alcohol gives rise to optically active sulfoxides of low optical purity (e.e., 0.6-9.8%) (57). 

The Birch reduction has been used by several generations of synthetic organic chemists for the conversion of readily available aromatic compounds to alicyclic synthetic intermediates. Birch reductions are carried out with an alkali metal in liquid NH3 solution usually with a co-solvent such as THF and always with an alcohol or related acid to protonate intermediate radical anions or related species. One of the most important applications of the Birch reduction is the conversion of aryl alkyl ethers to l-alkoxycyclohexa-l,4-dienes. These extremely valuable dienol ethers provide cyclohex-3-en-l-ones by mild acid hydrolysis or cyclohex-2-en-l-ones when stronger acids are used (Scheme 1). 

In contrast, the HRP-catalyzed kinetic resolution of racemic secondary hydroperoxides in the presence of guaiacol afford the hydroperoxides and their alcohols in high enantiomeric excesses (Eq. 3) [69]. In the case of the aryl alkyl-substituted hydroperoxides and cyclic derivatives (Table 4, entries 1 -3,6-10), HRP preferentially accepts the (R)-enantiomers as substrates with concurrent formation of the (R)-alcohols the (S)-hydroperoxides are left behind, further-... 

Sinou and coworkers evaluated a range of enantiopure amino alcohols derived from tartaric acid for the ATH reduction of prochiral ketones. Various (2R,iR)-i-amino- and (alkylamino)-l,4-bis(benzyloxy)butan-2-ol were obtained from readily available (-I-)-diethyl tartrate. These enantiopure amino alcohols have been used with Ru(p-cymene)Cl2 or Ir(l) precursors as ligands in the hydrogen transfer reduction of various aryl alkyl ketones ee-values of up to 80% have been obtained using the ruthenium complex [93]. Using (2R,3R)-3-amino-l,4-bis(benzyloxy)butan-2-ol and (2R,3R)-3-(benzylamino)-l,4-bis(benzyloxy)butan-2-ol with [lr(cod)Cl]2 as precursor, the ATH of acetophenone resulted in a maximum yield of 72%, 30% ee, 3h, 25 °C in PrOH/KOH with the former, and 88% yield, 28% ee, 120 h with the latter. 

Scheme 3 Vedejs first generation phosphine catalyzed KR of an aryl alkyl sec-alcohol [24]...

Table 1 Vedejs PBO catalyzed KR aryl alkyl iec-alcohols [16]...

Procedure for KR of an aryl alkyl iec-alcohol using catalyst 12 KR of( )-l-(2-methylphe-nyl)ethanol [16]... 

The first class of amine-based nucleophilic catalysts to give acceptable levels of selectivity in the KR of aryl alkyl. yec-alcohols was a series of planar chiral pyrrole derivatives 13 and 14, initially disclosed by Fu in 1996 [25, 26]. Fu and co-workers had set out to develop a class of robust and tuneable catalysts that could be used for the acylative KR of various classes of. yec-alcohols. Planar-chiral azaferrocenes 13 and 14 seemed to meet their criteria. These catalysts feature of a reasonably nucleophilic nitrogen and constitute 18-electron metal complexes which are highly stable [54-58]. Moreover, by modifying the substitution pattern on the heteroaromatic ring, the steric demand and hence potentially the selectivity of these catalysts could be modulated. 

For example, a range of aryl alkyl xec-alcohols could be resolved in a highly efficient way using pentaphenylcyclopentadienyl 4-DMAP catalyst 16 (1-2 mol%) in conjunction with Ac O (0.75 eq) as the acyl donor and EtjN (0.75 eq) as an auxiliary... 

The axially chiral biaryl 4-DMAP 32 developed by Spivey [117-127] is relatively readily prepared but only provides modest levels of selectivity for the KR of aryl alkyl ec-alcohols < 30 at -78 °C over 8-12 h or < 15 at room temperature in 20 min (Table 4) [119],... 

Scheme 14 Yamada s chiral conformation-switch catalyst applied to the KR of aryl alkyl sec-alcohols [136, 144]...

Connon and co-workers [137,147] also set out to develop a chiral catalyst which operates via an induced-fit mechanism. Derived from a 3-substituted 4-PPY and possessing a pendant aromatic group, this new catalyst (41, Fig. 7) allowed moderate to good selectivities to be achieved for a wide range of aryl alkyl i cc-alcohols. Connon [148] later showed that small improvements in selectivity could be obtained by introducing electron-deficient aryl groups. Finally, he was able to expand the substrate scope to include ec-alcohols obtained by Baylis-Hilhnan reaction [148]. 

In 2004, Birman and coworkers set out to develop an easily accessible and highly effective acylation catalyst based on the 2,3-dihydroimidazo[l,2-a]-pyridine (DHIP) core. The first chiral derivative to be prepared and tested was (R)-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydroimidazo[l,2-fl]-pyridine 44 (H-PIP) [152]. Derived from R)-2-phenylglycinol, this catalyst afforded the KR of ( )-phenylethylcarbinol in 49% ee at 21% conversion s = 3.3). In order to improve the reactivity of the catalyst, the authors decided to introduce an electron-withdrawing substituent on the pyridine ring that would increase the electrophilicity of the acylated intermediate. Hence, three new derivatives (Br-PIP, NO -PIP and CF3-PIP) were synthesised and tested under rigorously identical conditions [152]. One of these easily accessible compounds, 2-phenyl-6-trifluoromethyl-dihydroimidazo[l,2-a]pyridine (45, abbreviated as CF3-PIP), proved to be particularly effective as, when combined with (EtC0)20 and iPr NEt, it resolved a variety of aryl alkyl iec-alcohols with good to excellent selectivities s = 26-85) (Table 7) [152]. 

The 7-chloro derivative (Cl-PIQ) 46 was found to provide even better selectivity and reactivity than CF -PIP 45 for aryl alkyl iec-alcohols and, moreover, was effective for certain cinnamyl-based aUyUc xec-alcohol substrates s = 17-117, Scheme 15) [153, 154],... 

Unfortunately, none of these catalysts displayed practical levels of selectivity in the KR of aryl aUcyl yec-alcohols. Miller therefore embarked in the design of a third generation catalyst that could enable the KR of a larger number of substrates. In this context, he developed an elegant fluorescence-based activity assay which allowed rapid screening of a large number of structurally unique catalysts. This protocol based on proton-activated fluorescence led to the identification of octapeptide 52 as a highly selective catalyst for the KR of aryl alkyl. yec-alcohols but also alkyl yec-alcohols... 

As already reported in Section II.A.2, the enzymes chloroperoxidase (CPO) and Copri-nus peroxidase (CiP) catalyze the enantioselective oxidation of aryl alkyl sulfides. If a racemic mixture of a chiral secondary hydroperoxide is used as oxidant, kinetic resolution takes place and enantiomerically enriched hydroperoxides and the corresponding alcohols can be obtained together with the enantiomerically enriched sulfoxides. An overview of the results obtained in this reaction published by Wong and coworkers, Hoft and... 

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