Alcohols, secondary, conversion into complex

A Co(II) Schiff-base complex converts 1- and 2-alkenes into methyl ketones and the corresponding secondary alcohols in the presence of oxygen or H2O2 in primary alcohol solvent.543 A radical oxidation with cobalt hydroperoxide through the formation and subsequent decomposition of alkyl hydroperoxide was suggested.543 An efficient conversion of alkenylarenes to ketones was achieved by the use of molecular oxygen and EtjSiH in the presence of a catalytic amount of Co(II) porphyrin in 2-propanol.544... 

Under these conditions saturated primary and secondary aliphatic and alicyclic alcohols are recovered essentially unchanged. This selectivity was illustrated impressively by conversion of Z-3-methyl-2-pentene-l,5-diol (4) by treatment with the complex (I) in methylene chloride briefly at - 20° and then at 0° for 1 hr. into the allylic monochloride (5), isolated in 87% yield. 

The combination of triphenylphosphine with esters of trihaloacetic acids provides a reagent system for the stereo- and regio-selective conversion of alcohols into alkyl halides.The bromine-triphenylphosphine adduct has been used at low temperatures (-50 C in dichloromethane) for the removal of the tetrahydropyranyl protecting group from tetrahydropyranyl ethers derived from secondary and tertiary alcohols.The reactions of tertiary phosphines (and other trivalent phosphorus compounds) with iodine in aprotic solvents have received further study, a range of species being identified.The first reported study of the reactions of trivalent phosphorus compounds with monopositive astatine has led to the identification of stable complexes with triphenylphosphine, trioctylphosphine, and triethylphosphite. 

Several biochemical oxidations can be applied to the conversions of secondary alcohols into ketones. In a complex system containing horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, ( )-trans-3-methylcyclohexanol and ( )-cis-2-methylcyclopentanol are dehydrogenated to (-)-(5)-3-methylcyclohex-anone (yield 50% ee 100%) and to (+ )-(5)-2-methylcyclopentanone (yield 55% ee 96%), respectively [1036]. 

Use of polymer-bound chlorite 11 was shown to be more efficient for the oxidation of secondary alcohols to the corresponding ketone [23c]. The method was applied to a series of complex synthetic intermediates and gave excellent results. Immobilized chlorite was shown to be also a very efficient co-oxidant in the conversion of primary alcohols into the corresponding carboxylic acid [24]. This method is particularly attractive due to the ease of purification, the excellent yields and purity obtained also on more complex structures. What makes these techniques particularly interesting is that they have found applications in the synthesis of complex molecules. It was the method of choice for the synthesis of intermediate 13, the core of azadirachtin, in studies towards the synthesis of this natural product by the Nicolaou group [25]. This bicyclic aldehyde was obtained very cleanly using this method (Scheme 4.2). 

Today, dynamic kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols by combination of enzymes with transition metal catalysts, originally developed by Williams and Backvall, are perhaps the best developed methods (33-36). Hitherto the most successful catalyst designs have been based on half-sandwich ruthenium complexes, of which the pentaphenylcyclopentadienyl ruthenium complex has been claimed as the currently best racemization catalyst. Racemization is then based on reversible conversion of the alcohol into the corresponding ketone (Fig. 21, A). The dynamic kinetic resolution of 1-phenylethanol with isopropenyl acetate in toluene in the presence of Novozym 435, performed in preparative scale, is a good example of the use of ruthenium complexes (35). Another thoroughly studied racemization method (Fig. 21, B) is based on the use of acidic resins or zeolites. Here the racemization takes place through prochiral sp car-benium ion by simultaneous elimination and addition of water (37). The use of... 

Tab. 4.10 Conversion of secondary alcohols into their corresponding ketones using a Pd"-batho-phenanthroline-complex in a two-phase system ...

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