Aldehydes, aliphatic, olefinic reduction

Aliphatic amines are among the most important bulk and fine chemicals in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry [12]. Hydroaminomethylation of olefins to amines presents an atom-economic, efficient and elegant synthetic pathway toward this class of compounds. In hydroaminomethylation a reaction sequence of hydroformylatioti of an olefin to an aldehyde with subsequent reductive amination proceeds in a domino reaction [Eq. (4)] [13]. 

Chromium(II) sulfate is a versatile reagent for the mild reduction of a variety of bonds. Thus aqueous dimethylformamide solutions of this reagent at room temperature couple benzylic halides, reduce aliphatic monohalides to alkanes, convert vicinal dihalides to olefins, convert geminal halides to carben-oids, reduce acetylenes to /raw5-olefins, and reduce a,j3-unsatu-rated esters, acids, and nitriles to the corresponding saturated derivatives. These conditions also reduce aldehydes to alcohols. The reduction of diethyl fumarate described in this preparation illustrates the mildness of the reaction conditions for the reduction of acetylenes and o ,j8-unsaturated esters, acids, and nitriles. 

The dibromoalkene S-40 can be prepared from S-ethyl lactate by introduction of the MEM (methoxyethoxymethyl) protecting group, reduction to the O-protected lactaldehyde and Corey-Fuchs carbonyl olefination (Scheme 19). The l -enantiomer of 40 is available analogously from f -isobutyl lactate and serves as the reagent in the enantiomeric series. The lithium carbenoid S-41 is generated from S-40 by treatment with n-butyllithium in diethyl ether and reacted with aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes in tetrahydrofuran. High diastereoselectivities are reached, as shown in Scheme 19 . ... 

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 1,1-difluoro olefins (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 l,3-dichloro-2-propanol derivative and ethyl-... 

Tetraalkyl- and tetraatyl-ethylene glycols (pinacols) are made by reduction of ketones with active metals such as sodium, magnesium, and aluminum. The reaction is only fair for aliphatic and alicyclic ketones. Acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, cyclopentanone, and cyclohexanone all give less than 0% yields of pinacols. Mixtures of ketones are reduced to unsymmetrical pinacols. An active zinc-copper couple has been employed in the reduction of several simple olefinic aldehydes to dieodiols, e.g., crotonaldehyde to dipropenyl glycol,... 

Still another scheme is concerned with the zinc-acetic acid reduction of an aliphatic nitro olefin, which is readily prepared by the condensation of an aldehyde with the nitroparaffin (method 37). ... 

Hydrocarbon oxidations are also possible at Pt electrodes at elevated temperatures, for example, 250°C in phosphoric acid (92). For aliphatic hydrocarbons it is of some special interest that electrochemical oxidations all the way to CO2 and H2O or H can be achieved at Pt (61). Oxidation of olefins is also possible, but under some conditions, for example, at Pd, aldehydes are a product (62, 93). The fact that aliphatic hydrocarbons can be oxidized largely to CO2 plus H2O indicates that the intermediate stages in such multielectron oxidations must proceed successively on the electrode surface with a series of intermediates remaining chemisorbed, as otherwise aldehydes or carboxylic acids would appear in solution, which is not normally observed. Interesting attempts were made by Bruckenstein (94) to identify some of the intermediates by reductive desorption from porous electrodes into a mass spectrometer. 

Ruthenium catalysts on carriers are specific for the hydrogenation of the carbonyl group in aliphatic aldehydes and ketones at atmospheric conditions. They reduce preferentially the carbonyl group first in the presence of an olefinic linkage in the compound so that in certain instances the olefinic bond can be preserved. Ruthenium is specifically active for the reduction of sugars to polyhydroxy alcohols. 

In summary, the reactivity of various functional groups toward Li 9-BBNH is classified into four broad categories [18] (1) rapid- or fast-reduction aldehyde, ketone, ester, lactone, acylchloride, acid anhydride, epoxide, disulfide, -alkyli-odide, and tosylate (2) slow-reduction tertiary amide, alkylbromide, and aromatic nitrile (3) sluggish-reduction carboxylic acid, aliphatic nitrile, primary amide, nitro and azoxy compounds, and secondary alkylbromide and tosylate (4) inert olefin, oxime, alkylchloride, sulfoxide, azo-compound, sulfide, sulfone, and sulfonic acid. 

Lower valent tungsten halides are a new class of deoxygenation agents, e.g. for the conversion of carbonyl or epoxy compounds into olefins . A new reagent, generated in situ from iron pentacarbonyl and a small amount of base in moist solvents, selectively and efficiently hydrogenates the ethylenic portion of a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compounds, such as ketones or lactones, under mild conditions. Aliphatic tert. amides can be easily reduced to alcohols by alkali metals in hexa-methylphosphoramide and a protic cosolvent such as tert-butanol. Aldehydes can be obtained from acids by catalytic reduction of intermediate carboxylic alkoxyformic anhydrides . Sec. nitro compds. are converted into ketones by the joint action of a nitrite ester and NaNOg under mild, non-acidic conditions . 

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