Aldehyde reduction, catalytic

By catalytic reduction of a p-unsaturated ketones, prepared from aldehydes by the Claisen - Schmidt reaction (see under Aromatic Aldehydes), for example ... 

As mentioned previously, aldehydes can be prepared by Stephen s method of reduction of nitriles by stannous chloride (37, 91). Polaro-graphic reduction of thiazolecarboxylic acids and their derivatives gives lower yields of aldehydes (58). Ozonolysis of styrylthiazoles, for example, 2-styryl-4-methylthiazole, followed by catalytic reduction gives aldehyde with 47% yield of crude product (30). 

The yield of the more active RRR-a-tocopherol can be improved by selective methylation of the other tocopherol isomers or by hydrogenation of a-tocotrienol (25,26). Methylation can be accompHshed by several processes, such as simultaneous halo alkylation and reduction with an aldehyde and a hydrogen haUde in the presence of staimous chloride (27), amino alkylation with ammonia or amines and an aldehyde such as paraformaldehyde followed by catalytic reduction (28), or via formylation with formaldehyde followed by catalytic reduction (29). 

Further reduction of 3,4-dihydroquinazoline to l,2,3,Jt-tetTahydro-quinazoline is more difficult, but it can be accomplished with sodium amalgam or by catalytic reduction with palladium-charcoal. 1,2,3,4-Tetrahydroquinazolines have also been prepared by condensing o-aminobenzylamines with various aldehydes and with formaldehyde or methylenediamines (see 3b). 

Catalytic reduction of the nitrile 79 in the presence of semicarbazide affords initially the semicarbazone of 80. Hydrolysis-interchange, for example in the presence of pyruvic acid, gives the aldehyde 80. Condensation with the half ester of malonic acid leads to the acrylic ester 81 the double bond is then removed by means of catalytic reduction (82). Base catalyzed reaction of the... 

The mechanism of [3 + 2] reductive cycloadditions clearly is more complex than other aldehyde/alkyne couplings since additional bonds are formed in the process. The catalytic reductive [3 + 2] cycloaddition process likely proceeds via the intermediacy of metallacycle 29, followed by enolate protonation to afford vinyl nickel species 30, alkenyl addition to the aldehyde to afford nickel alkoxide 31, and reduction of the Ni(II) alkoxide 31 back to the catalytically active Ni(0) species by Et3B (Scheme 23). In an intramolecular case, metallacycle 29 was isolated, fully characterized, and illustrated to undergo [3 + 2] reductive cycloaddition upon exposure to methanol [45]. Related pathways have recently been described involving cobalt-catalyzed reductive cyclo additions of enones and allenes [46], suggesting that this novel mechanism may be general for a variety of metals and substrate combinations. 

A variety of aldehyde/alkyne reductive couplings involving the stoichiometric use of early transition metals (Ti and Zr) have been developed (Scheme 27) [68-70]. The low cost and ease of handling of titanium alkox-ides render these stoichiometric processes very practical despite the lack of catalytic turnover. Recent variants of stoichiometric processes involving titanium alkoxides have demonstrated impressive scope in relatively complex applications [71-73]. 

Although the titanium-based methods are typically stoichiometric, catalytic turnover was achieved in one isolated example with trialkoxysilane reducing agents with titanocene catalysts (Scheme 28) [74], This example (as part of a broader study of enal cyclizations [74,75]) was indeed the first process to demonstrate catalysis in a silane-based aldehyde/alkyne reductive coupling and provided important guidance in the development of the nickel-catalyzed processes that are generally more tolerant of functionality and broader in scope. 

Though several intermolecular catalytic reductive aldol additions are reported, corresponding reductive cyclizations have received less attention. The first reported reductive aldol cyclization involves use of a (diketonato)cobalt(ll) precatalyst in conjunction with PhSiHj as terminal reductant.48,486 The reductive cyclization is applicable to aromatic and heteroaromatic enone partners to form five- and six-membered rings. As demonstrated by the reductive cyclization of mono-enone mono-aldehyde 65a to afford aldol 65b, exceptionally high levels of ty -diastereoselectivity are observed. Interestingly, exposure of the substrate 65a to low-valent nickel in the presence of excess Et2Zn provides the isomeric homoaldol cyclization product 65c via reductive coupling to the enone /3-position (Scheme 43).47a... 

The inter- and intramolecular catalytic reductive couplings of alkynes and aldehydes recently have experienced rapid growth and are the topic of several recent reviews.5 h-8k 107 With respect to early transition metal catalysts, there exists a single example of the catalytic reductive cyclization of an acetylenic aldehyde, which involves the titanocene-catalyzed conversion of 77a to ethylidene cyclopentane 77b mediated by (EtO)3SiH.80 This process is restricted to terminally substituted alkyne partners (Scheme 53). 

The very first example of the catalytic reductive cyclization of an acetylenic aldehyde involves the use of a late transition metal catalyst. Exposure of alkynal 78a to a catalytic amount of Rh2Co2(CO)12 in the presence of Et3SiH induces highly stereoselective hydrosilylation-cyclization to provide the allylic alcohol 78b.1 8 This rhodium-based catalytic system is applicable to the cyclization of terminal alkynes to form five-membered rings, thus complementing the scope of the titanocene-catalyzed reaction (Scheme 54). 

KW Rosenmund, F Heise. Oxidative catalytic dehydrogenation of alcohols. V. Catalytic reduction of esters and aldehydes. Ber 54B 2038, 1921. 

Usually alcohols accompany aldehydes in reductions with lithium aluminum hydride [1104] or sodium bis 2-methoxyethoxy)aluminum hydride [544], or in hydrogenolytic cleavage of trifluoroacetylated amines [7772]. Thus terr-butyl ester of. -(. -trifluoroacetylprolyl)leucine was cleaved on treatment with sodium borohydride in ethanol to rerr-butyl ester of A7-prolylleucine (92% yield) and trifluoroethanol [7772]. During catalytic hydrogenations over copper chromite, alcohols sometimes accompany amines that are the main products [7775]. 

N-Alkylated derivatives could be obtained by catalytic reductive amination from a mixture of D-fagomine, or its linear precursor, and the corresponding aldehyde. 

The medicinal chemistry of Alzheimers is complicated by the fact that the etiology of this disease is still far from clear. Evidence points to an association with decreased levels of acetyl choline in the brain. Many of the drugs that have been introduced to date for treating this disease thus comprise agents intended to raise the deficient levels of that neurotransmitter by inhibiting the loss of existing acetylcholine due to the action of cholinesterase. A compound based on an indene that, perhaps surprisingly, inhibits that enzyme has been proposed for the treatment of Alzheimer s. Aldol condensation of piperidine aldehyde (4-2) with the indanone (4-1) from cyclization of 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid leads to the olefin (4-3). Catalytic reduction removes the double bond to afford donepezil (4-4) [3]. 

A structurally unusual 3-blocker that uses a second molecule of itself as the substituent on nitrogen is included here in spite of the ubiquity of this class of compounds. Exhaustive hydrogenation of the chromone (13-1) leads to a reduction of both the double bond and the carbonyl group, as in the case of (11-2). The car-boxyhc acid is then reduced to an aldehyde (13-2) by means of diisobutylaluminum hydride. Reaction of that intermediate with the ylide from trimethylsulfonium iodide gives the oxirane (13-3) via the addition-displacement process discussed earlier (see Chapters 3 and 8). Treatment of an excess of that epoxide with benzylamine leads to the addition of two equivalents of that compound with each basic nitrogen (13-4). The product is then debenzylated by catalytic reduction over palladium to afford nebivolol (13-5) [16]. The presence of four chiral centers in the product predicts the existence of 16 chiral pairs. 

The ortho ester function is quite stable under neutral and basic conditions and is resistant to catalytic reduction [141]. However, acyl substituents with acid chloride [142] are reduced to aldehyde, and unsaturated centers [143-145] are saturated. The acyl side chain can also undergo the usual addition and substitution reactions without affecting the ortho ester function [145-147]. (See Eqs. 40, 45-47, and Table VII.)... 

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