Alcohols General methods

Alcohols, General Methods of Preparation.—The general methods for the preparation of the alcohols, so far as they involve compounds which we have already studied, resolve into one method which has been discussed already in connection with the proof that alcohols are hydroxyl substitution products of the hydrocarbons. This is the synthesis from alkyl halides by means of water in the presence of alkalies or in excess with heat and by means of moist silver oxide, (AgOH). 

Dihydro- and 5,6-dihydro-2H-pyrans (266 and 267) continued to be substrates for sugar synthesis. These ring systems are readily available and can be functionalized in a number of ways. In consequence, as in the case of furfuryl alcohols, general methods for carbohydrate synthesis have been developed. 

Three general methods are available for the preparation of iodides from alcohols —... 

A mixture of 0.30 mol of the acetylenic tosylate (prepared according to the general method described in VlII-3, Exp. 3 from the corresponding acetylenic alcohol, which was prepared from HC=CHgBr and CgHi3CH=0 in THF, as described in Ref. l)and 100 ml of dry acetone was added to a solution of 0.40 mol of anhydrous... 

Reduction to alcohols (Section 15 2) Aide hydes are reduced to primary alcohols and ketones are reduced to secondary alcohols by a variety of reducing agents Catalytic hydrogenation over a metal catalyst and reduction with sodium borohydride or lithium aluminum hydride are general methods... 

Miscellaneous Reactions. Sodium bisulfite adds to acetaldehyde to form a white crystalline addition compound, insoluble in ethyl alcohol and ether. This bisulfite addition compound is frequendy used to isolate and purify acetaldehyde, which may be regenerated with dilute acid. Hydrocyanic acid adds to acetaldehyde in the presence of an alkaU catalyst to form cyanohydrin the cyanohydrin may also be prepared from sodium cyanide and the bisulfite addition compound. Acrylonittile [107-13-1] (qv) can be made from acetaldehyde and hydrocyanic acid by heating the cyanohydrin that is formed to 600—700°C (77). Alanine [302-72-7] can be prepared by the reaction of an ammonium salt and an alkaU metal cyanide with acetaldehyde this is a general method for the preparation of a-amino acids called the Strecker amino acids synthesis. Grignard reagents add readily to acetaldehyde, the final product being a secondary alcohol. Thioacetaldehyde [2765-04-0] is formed by reaction of acetaldehyde with hydrogen sulfide thioacetaldehyde polymerizes readily to the trimer. 

Diorgano Sulfates. Dialkyl sulfates up to octadecyl can be made from the alcohols by a general method involving the following reactions (90) ... 

Aromatic polysulfites can be produced if bisphenols, eg, bisphenol A, are heated with diphenyl sulfite in the presence of lithium hydride (112). Halosulfates and Halosulfites. A general method for the preparation of alkyl halosulfates and halosulfites is the treatment of the alcohol with sulfuryl or thionyl chloride at low temperatures while passing an inert gas through the mixture to remove hydrogen chloride (113). 

Oxidation of Straight-Chain Alcohols. Two methods have been developed. One uses an air oxidation catalyzed by a metal, eg, copper, platinum, etc, whereas the other is a caustic oxidation. Generally, however, fatty alcohols are priced higher on the world market than their corresponding fatty acids and, consequently, these conversions are uneconomical. 

This procedure illustrates a general method for the preparation of 2-hydroxybicyclo[3.2.0]heptanes by copper(I)-catalyzed photobicyclization of 3-hydroxy-1,6-heptadienes, and a general route to the requisite dienes from allyl alcohols by conversion to 4-pentenals and treatment of the latter with vinyl Grignard reagents. 

The present procedure was developed from those of Wallach and Freylon, based upon the general method discovered by Leuckart. a-Phenylethylamine also can be prepared satisfactorily by the reduction of acetophenone oxime with sodium and absolute alcohol or sodium amalgam, but the reagents are more expensive and the processes less convenient. The amine has been obtained by reducing acetophenone oxime electro-lytically, by reducing acetophenone phenylhydrazone with sodium amalgam and acetic acid, from a-phenylethyl bromide and hexamethylenetetramine, and by the action of methyl-magnesium iodide upon hydrobenzamide, as well as by other methods of no preparative value. 

There are three general methods of interest for the preparation of vinyl chloride, one for laboratory synthesis and the other two for commercial production. Vinyl chloride (a gas boiling at -14°C) is most conveniently prepared in the laboratory by the addition of ethylene dichloride (1,2-dichloroethane) in drops on to a warm 10% solution of sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide in a 1 1 ethyl alcohol-water mixture Figure 12.1). At one time this method was of commercial interest. It does, however, suffer from the disadvantage that half the chlorine of the ethylene dichloride is consumed in the manufacture of common salt. 

The Favorsky reaction should be considered a general method for producing pyrazolyl-Q -acetylenic alcohols because even the less reactive 4-ethynyl-l,3,5-trimethylpyrazole, additionally deactivated by three donor methyl groups, reacts with acetone (Scheme 61). 

The above series of alcohols are exceedingly difficult to manufacture, hence their expense. The general method of their preparation would theoretically be by distilling the calcium salts of the corresponding fatty acid with calcium formate, in vacuo. This would yield the corresponding aldehyde, which on reduction would yield the corresponding alcohol. In practice, however, many technical difficulties arise, and special processes have to be used which are kept carefully as trade secrets. 

Notable examples of general synthetic procedures in Volume 47 include the synthesis of aromatic aldehydes (from dichloro-methyl methyl ether), aliphatic aldehydes (from alkyl halides and trimethylamine oxide and by oxidation of alcohols using dimethyl sulfoxide, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and pyridinum trifluoro-acetate the latter method is particularly useful since the conditions are so mild), carbethoxycycloalkanones (from sodium hydride, diethyl carbonate, and the cycloalkanone), m-dialkylbenzenes (from the />-isomer by isomerization with hydrogen fluoride and boron trifluoride), and the deamination of amines (by conversion to the nitrosoamide and thermolysis to the ester). Other general methods are represented by the synthesis of 1 J-difluoroolefins (from sodium chlorodifluoroacetate, triphenyl phosphine, and an aldehyde or ketone), the nitration of aromatic rings (with ni-tronium tetrafluoroborate), the reductive methylation of aromatic nitro compounds (with formaldehyde and hydrogen), the synthesis of dialkyl ketones (from carboxylic acids and iron powder), and the preparation of 1-substituted cyclopropanols (from the condensation of a 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol derivative and ethyl-... 

The development of Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation (SAE) of allylic alcohols in 1980 constitutes a breakthrough in asymmetric synthesis, and to date this method remains the most widely applied asymmetric epoxidation technique [34, 44]. A wide range of substrates can be used in the reaction ( ) -allylic alcohols generally give high enantioselectivity, whereas the reaction is more substrate-dependent with (Z)-allylic alcohols [34]. 

The present procedure was adapted from a general method of preparing aromatic alcohols recently described.5... 

This procedure illustrates a general method for the stereoselective synthesis of ( P)-disubstitnted alkenyl alcohols. The reductive elimination of cyclic /3-halo-ethers with metals was first introduced by Paul3 and one example, the conversion of tetrahydrofurfuryl chloride [2-(chloromethyl)tetrahydrofuran] to 4-penten-l-ol, is described in an earlier volume of this series.4 In 1947 Paul and Riobe5 prepared 4-nonen-l-ol by this method, and the general method has subsequently been applied to obtain alkenyl alcohols with other substitution patterns.2,6-8 (I )-4-Hexen-l-ol has been prepared by this method9 and in lower yield by an analogous reaction with 3-bromo-2-methyltetra-hydropyran.10... 

The reaction between acyl halides and alcohols or phenols is the best general method for the preparation of carboxylic esters. It is believed to proceed by a 8 2 mechanism. As with 10-8, the mechanism can be S l or tetrahedral. Pyridine catalyzes the reaction by the nucleophilic catalysis route (see 10-9). The reaction is of wide scope, and many functional groups do not interfere. A base is frequently added to combine with the HX formed. When aqueous alkali is used, this is called the Schotten-Baumann procedure, but pyridine is also frequently used. Both R and R may be primary, secondary, or tertiary alkyl or aryl. Enolic esters can also be prepared by this method, though C-acylation competes in these cases. In difficult cases, especially with hindered acids or tertiary R, the alkoxide can be used instead of the alcohol. Activated alumina has also been used as a catalyst, for tertiary R. Thallium salts of phenols give very high yields of phenolic esters. Phase-transfer catalysis has been used for hindered phenols. Zinc has been used to couple... 

This dry ozonation procedure is a general method for hydrox-ylation of tertiary carbon atoms in saturated compounds (Table 1). The substitution reaction occurs with predominant retention of configuration. Thus cis-decalin gives the cis-l-decalol, whereas cis- and frans-l,4-dimethylcyclohexane afford cis- and trans-1,4-dimethylcyclohexanol, respectively. The amount of epimeric alcohol formed in these ozonation reactions is usually less than 1%. The tertiary alcohols may be further oxidized to diols by repeating the ozonation however, the yields in these reactions are poorer. For instance, 1-adamantanol is oxidized to 1,3-adamantane-diol in 43% yield. Secondary alcohols are converted to the corresponding ketone. This method has been employed for the hydroxylation of tertiary positions in saturated acetates and bromides. 

Bonded phases have been prepared by other general methods besides those indicated so far [64-66]. Reaction of silica with an alcohol or isocyanate resulted in the formation of silicate esters (estersils), but these phases were too hydrolytically unstable to be generally useful. Bonded phases with an Sl-R or Sl-NHR structure are more hydrolytically stable than the estersils but... 

Another general method for converting alcohols to halides involves reactions with halides of certain nonmetallic elements. Thionyl chloride, phosphorus trichloride, and phosphorus tribromide are the most common examples of this group of reagents. These reagents are suitable for alcohols that are neither acid sensitive nor prone to structural rearrangement. The reaction of alcohols with thionyl chloride initially results in the formation of a chlorosulfite ester. There are two mechanisms by which the chlorosulfite can be converted to a chloride. In aprotic nucleophilic solvents, such as dioxane, solvent participation can lead to overall retention of configuration.7... 

As noted in the preceding section, one of the most general methods of synthesis of esters is by reaction of alcohols with an acyl chloride or other activated carboxylic acid derivative. Section 3.2.5 dealt with two other important methods, namely, reactions with diazoalkanes and reactions of carboxylate salts with alkyl halides or sulfonate esters. There is also the acid-catalyzed reaction of carboxylic acids with alcohols, which is called the Fischer esterification. 

Dissolving-Metal Reduction of Aromatic Compounds and Alkynes. Dissolving-metal systems constitute the most general method for partial reduction of aromatic rings. The reaction is called the Birch reduction,214 and the usual reducing medium is lithium or sodium in liquid ammonia. An alcohol is usually added to serve as a proton source. The reaction occurs by two successive electron transfer/proto-nation steps. 

The DIBAL reduction of esters to aldehydes in the presence of phosphonate anions appears to solve problems of overreduction to alcohol and provides a good general method of 2-carbon homologation... 

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