Alcohols from ketones and aldehydes

Application of alumina-supported sodium borodeuteride under the reaction conditions described by Varma26 provided deuterated alcohols from aldehydes and ketones with a high degree of deuterium incorporation. The method is thus suitable for isotopic labelling procedures (Scheme 4.12)32. 

Synthetic and biological interest in highly functionalized acyclic and cyclic amines has contributed to the wealth of experimental methodology developed for the addition of carbanions to the caibon-mtrogen double bond of imines/imine derivatives (azomethines). While a variety of practical methods exist for the enantio- and stereo-selective syntheses of substituted alcohols from aldehyde and ketone precursors, related imine additions have inherent structural limitations. Nonetheless imines, by virtue of nitrogen substitution, add a synthetic dimension not available to ketones. In addition, improved procedures for the preparation and activation of imines/imine derivatives have increased the scope of the imine addition reaction. 

Phenylhydrazones (compare Section III,74,C). Dissolve 0-5 g, of colourless phenylhydrazine hydrochloride and 0 8 g. of sodium acetate in 5 ml. of water, and add a solution of 0-2-0-4 g. of the aldehyde (or ketone) in a little alcohol (free from aldehydes and ketones). Shake the mixture until a clear solution is obtained and add a little more alcohol, if necessary. Warm on a water bath for 10-15 minutes and cool. Filter ofiF the crystalline derivative, and recrystalhse it from dilute alcohol or water sometimes benzene or light petroleum (b.p. 60-80°) may be used. 

Vinyllithium [917-57-7] can be formed direcdy from vinyl chloride by means of a lithium [7439-93-2] dispersion containing 2 wt % sodium [7440-23-5] at 0—10°C. This compound is a reactive intermediate for the formation of vinyl alcohols from aldehydes, vinyl ketones from organic acids, vinyl sulfides from disulfides, and monosubstituted alkenes from organic halides. It can also be converted to vinylcopper [37616-22-1] or divinylcopper lithium [22903-99-7], which can then be used to introduce a vinyl group stereoselectively into a variety of a, P-unsaturated systems (26), or simply add a vinyl group to other a, P-unsaturated compounds to give y, 5-unsaturated compounds. Vinyllithium reagents can also be converted to secondary alcohols with trialkylb o r ane s. 

Selected examples of the oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones using complex salts from CrO, and h-Bu4N+X ... 

Some information about structure effects on the rate of dehydrogenation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones on metals is found in the older literature 129-132) from which it follows that secondary alcohols react more easily than the primary alcohols 129) and that the reactivity decreases with the length of the carbon chain 131). Some series can be correlated by the Taft equation using a constants (Ref. 131, series 103, Cu-Cr203 catalyst, 350°C, four points, slope 18 Ref 132, series 104, Cu catalyst, four points, slope 22). Linear relationships have been used in a systematic way by... 

So, at the beginning of the 25-year period here commemorated, alcohols, glycols, aldehydes, and ketones, chlorinated hydrocarbons, esters, and ethers—all so vital in their direct uses or as chemical building blocks—were beginning to be produced by synthesis from hydrocarbons provided by the already well-grown petroleum and natural gas industries. Subsequent developments came in rapid succession, with remarkably little in-... 

Eventually, cis-l,2-di-9-anthrylethylene was prepared, as originally planned, by catalytic hydrogenation of bis-9-anthrylacetylene 53 [148]. Also, thanks to the appearance of a suitable oxidant for the conversion of primary and secondary alcohols into aldehydes and ketones [149], the synthesis of l,2-di-9-anthrylethanol 127 has been accomplished [51]. Numerous other chromophorically substituted anthracenes discussed in Sections II and III then became available as a matter of consequence. In retrospect, I feel gratefully indebted not only to my co-workers for their collaboration, but also to those numerous authors from whose earlier published efforts in the area of anthracene chemistry we have benefitted in our photochemical... 

The electron transfer between NADH and the anode may be accelerated by the use of a mediator. Synthetic applications have been described for the oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones catalyzed by yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH) and the alcohol dehydrogenase from Thermoanaerobium brockii (TBADH) with indirect electrochemical regeneration of NAD+ and NADP+, respectively, using the tris(3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-l,10-phenanthroline) iron(II/III) complex as redox catalyst [59],... 

Metal acetylacetonates quench triplet species generated by flash photolysis of aromatic ketones and hydrocarbons.330-333 More recently, these reactions have been studied from a synthetic standpoint. Triplet state benzophenone sensitizes photoreduction of Cu(MeCOCHCOMe)2 by alcohols to give black, presumably polymeric, [Cu(MeCOCHCOMe)] . This reacts with Lewis bases to provide complexes of the type CuL2(MeCOCHCOMe) (L = bipyridyl/2, ethylenediamine/2, carbon monoxide, Ph3P). Disubstituted alkynes yield Cu(C2 R2 XMeCOCHCOMe) but terminal alkynes form CuQR acetylides.334 The bipyridyl complex of copper(I) acetylacetonate catalyzes the reduction of oxygen to water and the oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones.335... 

The Anelli oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones has been accomplished using polymer-supported nitroxyl radical catalysts. The practicality of removing polymer-supported reagents by filtration to simplify product purification is highlighted by these examples. Bolm and coworkers11 demonstrated that a silica-supported nitroxyl catalyst is easily filtrated after use from the reaction solution, recovered and recycled, and the residual inorganic salts present in the reaction mixture are separated from the organic product by aqueous extraction (Table II, entry 7). 

The oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds is one of the most relevant transformations in organic synthesis, due to the large diversity of products that can be obtained from aldehyde and ketone precursors. 

Despite their obvious economical and ecological importance, few catalytic systems are available for the transformation of alcohols into aldehydes and ketones, using molecular oxygen or air as the ultimate, stoichiometric oxidant (5). Moreover, most of the currently available catalytic oxidation processes suffer from severe limitations, being usually only effective with reactive alcohols, such as benzylic and allylic ones, or requiring high pressures, temperatures, and catalyst loading. 

Metal-catalyzed oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones is a subject that has received significant recent attention [21,56,57]. One such method that utilizes NHC ligands is an Oppenauer-type oxidation with an Ir or Ru catalyst [58-62]. These alcohol oxidation reactions consist of an equilibrium process involving hydrogen transfer from the alcohol substrate to a ketone, such as acetone (Eq. 5), or an alkene. Because these reactions avoid the use of a strong oxidant, the potential oxidative instability of NHC ligands is less problematic. Consequently, these reactions represent an important target for future research into the utility of NHCs. 

Hemiacetals from reaction of alcohols with aldehydes and ketones... 

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