Aldehydes hydroxyalkylation

Trimethylsilylation with trimethylchlorosilane affords the corresponding allene derivative, hydroxyalkylation with aldehydes and ketones gives mixtures of comparable amounts of acetylenic and allenic carbinols. 

Lithiated indoles can be alkylated with primary or allylic halides and they react with aldehydes and ketones by addition to give hydroxyalkyl derivatives. Table 10.1 gives some examples of such reactions. Entry 13 is an example of a reaction with ethylene oxide which introduces a 2-(2-hydroxyethyl) substituent. Entries 14 and 15 illustrate cases of addition to aromatic ketones in which dehydration occurs during the course of the reaction. It is likely that this process occurs through intramolecular transfer of the phenylsulfonyl group. 

Hydroxyall l Hydroperoxides. These compounds, represented by (1, X = OH, R = H), may be isolated as discreet compounds only with certain stmctural restrictions, eg, that one or both of R and R are hydrogen, ie, they are derived from aldehydes, or that R or R contain electron-withdrawing substituents, ie, they are derived from ketones bearing a-halogen substituents. Other hydroxyalkyl hydroperoxides may exist in equihbrium mixtures of ketone and hydrogen peroxide. 

Hydroxyalkyl hydroperoxides having at least one a-hydrogen ie, (7, X = OH, R = alkyll, R = R = H), ie, those derived from aldehydes, lose hydrogen peroxide and form dialkyl peroxides (2, X = Y = OH), especially in the presence of water ... 

Acidic hydrolysis of these hydroxyaLkyl hydroperoxides yields carboxyUc acids, whereas basic hydrolysis regenerates the parent aldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and often other products. When derived from either aldehydes or cycHc ketones, peroxides (1, X = OH, = H, R, = alkylene or... 

Hydroxyalkyl Alkyl Peroxides and Hydroxyalkyl Peroxyesters. The same stmctural restrictions discussed for the hydroxyhydroperoxides apply for the hydroxyalkyl alkyl peroxides, and those that exist are derived from aldehydes and certain ketones having electron-withdrawing groups, eg, polyfluorinated a,P-unsaturated ketones (136). 

Hydroxyalkyl peroxyesters also have been isolated from the autoxidation products of aldehydes and by esterification of hydroxyhydroperoxides (44). 

In the presence of strong acid catalysts such as sulfuric acid, aUphatic (R CHO) aldehydes react with alkyl hydroperoxides, eg, tert-55ky hydroperoxides, to form hydroxyalkyl alkyl peroxides (1), where X = OH R, = hydrogen, alkyl and = tert — alkyl. 

Polymeric OC-Oxygen-Substituted Peroxides. Polymeric peroxides (3) are formed from the following reactions ketone and aldehydes with hydrogen peroxide, ozonization of unsaturated compounds, and dehydration of a-hydroxyalkyl hydroperoxides consequendy, a variety of polymeric peroxides of this type exist. Polymeric peroxides are generally viscous Hquids or amorphous soHds, are difficult to characterize, and are prone to explosive decomp o sition. 

The amide nitrogen readily adds across the carbonyl group of an aldehyde yielding N-hydroxyalkyl-substituted pyrrohdinones (68), eg, A/-methylol-2-pyrrohdinone [15438-71-8] (34). In the presence of secondary amines or alcohols, the hydroxyl groups are replaced (69), eg, if diethylamine is present the product is A/-diethylaminomethyl-2-pyrrohdinone [66297-50-5] (35). 

Other modifications of the polyamines include limited addition of alkylene oxide to yield the corresponding hydroxyalkyl derivatives (225) and cyanoethylation of DETA or TETA, usuaHy by reaction with acrylonitrile [107-13-1/, to give derivatives providing longer pot Hfe and better wetting of glass (226). Also included are ketimines, made by the reaction of EDA with acetone for example. These derivatives can also be hydrogenated, as in the case of the equimolar adducts of DETA and methyl isobutyl ketone [108-10-1] or methyl isoamyl ketone [110-12-3] (221 or used as is to provide moisture cure performance. Mannich bases prepared from a phenol, formaldehyde and a polyamine are also used, such as the hardener prepared from cresol, DETA, and formaldehyde (228). Other modifications of polyamines for use as epoxy hardeners include reaction with aldehydes (229), epoxidized fatty nitriles (230), aromatic monoisocyanates (231), or propylene sulfide [1072-43-1] (232). 

A-Substituted pyrroles, furans and dialkylthiophenes undergo photosensitized [2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions with carbonyl compounds to give oxetanes. This is illustrated by the addition of furan and benzophenone to give the oxetane (138). The photochemical reaction of pyrroles with aliphatic aldehydes and ketones results in the regiospecific formation of 3-(l-hydroxyalkyl)pyrroles (e.g. 139). The intermediate oxetane undergoes rearrangement under the reaction conditions (79JOC2949). 

Photochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition is a powerful way to produce cyclobutanes, which, in turn, are reactive synthesis intermediates. N-Methylpyrrole adds aldehydes via [2 -I- 2] photocycloaddition to give transient oxetanes with high regioselectivity Ring-opening produces 3-(oi-hydroxyalkyl)pyrroles which are oxidized easily to 3-arylpyrroles, such as 3-BUTYROYL-l-METHYL-PYRROLE. With a special apparatus, ethylene is conveniently added to 3-methyl-... 

An alkene activated by an electron-withdrawing group—often an acrylic ester 2 is used—can react with an aldehyde or ketone 1 in the presence of catalytic amounts of a tertiary amine, to yield an a-hydroxyalkylated product. This reaction, known as the Baylis-Hillman reaction, leads to the formation of useful multifunctional products, e.g. o -methylene-/3-hydroxy carbonyl compounds 3 with a chiral carbon center and various options for consecutive reactions. 

The condensation of 2,5-diunsubstituted pyrroles with formic acid20 is a viable method to produce porphyrins. However, the most common procedure21 22 involves the heating of the corresponding pyrroles 1 with aldehydes and aldehyde derivatives like imines or a Mannich reagent in the presence of acid. The reaction is initiated by electrophilic attack of the aldehyde (or aldehyde derivative) to the pyrrole 1. The formed (hydroxyalkyl)pyrrole 3 then undergoes electrophilic substitution with another pyrrole to form a dipyrrylmethane 4. Repeated addition of aldehyde and pyrrole finally forms a tetrameric (hydroxyalkyl)bilane 5. 

Metalation of 4,5-dihydro-2-[(7 )-sulfinylmethyl]oxazoles (e.g., 2) with butyllithium at -90 C and reaction of the chiral azaenolates with aldehydes furnishes the hydroxyalkylated sulfinylox-azole derivatives 3 which are desulfurized to give the 4,5-dihydro-2-(2-hydroxyalkyl)oxazoles 4. The corresponding 3-hydroxy acids 5 are obtained by acidic hydrolysis in 60-85% overall yield and 26-53% ee31. 

Both of the 4,5-tran.v-diaslereomers of 4,5-dihydro-4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methyl-3-[(7 )-(4-methylphenylsulfinyl)methyl]isoxazole (24) show excellent stereoselection in reactions with aldehydes. Despite the bulky substituents at the 4,5-dihydroisoxazole nucleus, the stereochemical outcome of the reaction is controlled by the sulfoxide stereogenicity. The pairs of 4,5-dihydro-3-(2-hydroxyalkyl)-4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5-methylisoxazoles, obtained by desulfurization of the corresponding aldol adducts, have the same configuration at the hydroxy-substituted carbon (C-2 ) and opposite configuration in the 4- and 5-positions of the dihydroisoxazole ring24. 

Aluminum oxide catalyzed addition of ethyl nitroacetate to racemic 2,3-cpoxy aldehydes 7 affords substituted 4,5-dihydroisoxazole 2-oxides through a regio- and stereospecific tandem nitroaldol cyclization process. High diastereoselectivities are observed in the reaction of cis-epoxyaldehydes to yield the ethyl, vi7 -4.5-dihydro-4-hydroxy-5-( I -hydroxyalkyl)-3-isoxazole-carboxylate 2-oxides, with tram configuration at the ring positions, whereas reactions of trans-and 3,3-disubstituted 2,3-epoxyaldehydes proceed with lower selectivities28. 

The anions of 2-(arylsulfinylmethyl)oxazoles can be added to aldehydes to give 2-(l-aryl-sulfinyl-2-hydroxyalkyl)oxazoles which have been transformed into /1-hydroxy acids. With lithium bases, the enantioseleetivity could be increased to 50%. The use of a more chelating counter ion, such as magnesium, lowered the optical yields44. 

Table 7. Optically Active 4,5-Dihydro-4,4-dimethyl-2-(2-hydroxyalkyl)oxa7oles pre. pared from 4,5-Dihydro-4,4-dimetliyl-2-(4-melhylphenylsulfinyl)methyloxazoles and Aldehydes...

The most straightforward preparation of A-(l-hydroxyalkyl)amides (or carbamates) involves addition of primary or secondary amides (carbamates) to aldehydes or ketones. This is an equilibrium process in which formation of the adduct is usually disfavored, except for two special cases ... 

The Stiles-Sisti reaction (Scheme 12-17) is an azo coupling reaction in which an a-hydroxyalkyl residue is the electrofugic leaving group (Stiles and Sisti, 1960 Sisti et al., 1962). The reaction is used to prepare aldehydes and ketones (e. g., 2-methoxy-... 

Corey and Chaykovsky were the first to investigate the reaction of dimethyl sulphoxide anion (dimsyl anion) with aldehydes and ketones400,401. They found that the reaction with non-enolizable carbonyl compounds results in the formation of /1-hydroxyalkyl sulphoxides in good yields (e.g. Ph2CO—86%, PhCHO—50%). However, with enolizable carbonyl compounds, particularly with cycloalkanones, poor yields of hydroxyalkyl products are observed (e.g. camphor—28%, cyclohexanone—17%, but... 

Papageorgiou and Benezra204 treated chiral r-butyl (-)-(S)- and ( + )-(R)-2-(p-tolylsulfinyl)propionate with an aldehyde, then pyrolyzed the mixture and obtained chiral a-(hydroxyalkyl)acrylate in 75% e.e. Similarly, condensation of the anion of ( + )-(R)-3-(p-tolylsulfinyl)propionic acid 159 with aldehydes was found to give the diastereomeric [i-sulfinyl-y-lactones, (+)-(Sc4,Rc5,Ps)-160a and ( + )-( c4,Sc5,l s)-160b in an approximate ratio of 60 40205. 

Apparently, the initial step involves reaction of the aromatic compound with the aldehyde to form the hydroxyalkyl compound, exactly as in 11-22, and then the HCl converts this to the chloroalkyl compound. The acceleration of the reaction by ZnCl2 has been attributed to the raising of the acidity of the medium, causing an increase in the concentration of HOCHj ions. 

Reaction of the carbanion of chloromethyl phenyl sulphoxide 409 with carbonyl compounds yields the corresponding 0-hydroxy adducts 410 in 68-79% yield. Each of these compounds appears to be a single isomer (equation 242). Treatment of adducts 410 with dilute potassium hydroxide in methanol at room temperature gives the epoxy sulphoxides 411 (equation 243). The ease of this intramolecular displacement of chloride ion contrasts with a great difficulty in displacing chloride ion from chloromethyl phenyl sulphoxide by external nucleophiles . When chloromethyl methyl sulphoxide 412 is reacted with unsymmetrical ketones in the presence of potassium tcrt-butoxide in tert-butanol oxiranes are directly formed as a mixture of diastereoisomers (equation 244). a-Sulphinyl epoxides 413 rearrange to a-sulphinyl aldehydes 414 or ketones, which can be transformed by elimination of sulphenic acid into a, 8-unsaturated aldehydes or ketones (equation 245). The lithium salts (410a) of a-chloro-/ -hydroxyalkyl... 

The relatively basic (hydroxyalkyl)phosphines act toward LMCs as reductants and, compatible with this, also as strong nucleophiles. We have studied such reactions in aqueous and D2O solutions by P-, H-, and C-NMR spectroscopies (including 2D correlation methods), product isolation and, when possible, X-ray analysis of isolated compounds or their derivatives. Thus, aromatic aldehyde moieties present in lignin (e.g., 3) are reduced to the corresponding alcohols (see 4) with co-production of the phosphine oxide in D2O, -CH(D)OD is formed selectively (36). The mechanism proceeds via a phosphonium species formed by initial nucleophilic attack of the P-atom at the carbonyl C-atom, i.e., via ArCH(OH)P%, where Ar is the aromatic residue and R is the hydroxyalkyl substituent (36). When the aldehyde contains a 4-OH substituent, the alcohol product... 

In a similar way, Carreaux and coworkers [53] used 1-oxa-l,3-butadienes 4-155 carrying a boronic acid ester moiety as heterodienes [54], enol ethers and saturated as well as aromatic aldehydes. Thus, reaction of 4-155 and ethyl vinyl ether was carried out for 24 h in the presence of catalytic amounts of the Lewis acid Yb(fod)3 (Scheme 4.33). Without work-up, the mixture was treated with an excess of an aldehyde 4-156 to give the desired a-hydroxyalkyl dihydropyran 4-157. Although this is not a domino reaction, it is nonetheless a simple and useful one-pot procedure. 

Samarium(II) iodide also allows the reductive coupling of sulfur-substituted aromatic lactams such as 7-166 with carbonyl compounds to afford a-hydroxyalkylated lactams 7-167 with a high anti-selectivity [74]. The substituted lactams can easily be prepared from imides 7-165. The reaction is initiated by a reductive desulfuration with samarium(ll) iodide to give a radical, which can be intercepted by the added aldehyde to give the desired products 7-167. Ketones can be used as the carbonyl moiety instead of aldehydes, with good - albeit slightly lower - yields. 

The interaction of carboxyalkylphosphines with aldehydes belongs to the same type of reactions reported above. The phenyl-(a-hydroxyalkyl)-carboxyalkylphosphine products transform into phosphorus-containing lactones (10) and water [Eq. (8)] [72JPR66 73ZC(13)310]. 

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