Mixed aldol condensation reactions

In this proper sense, aldol condensation includes reactions producing j3-hydroxyaldehydes or j3-hydroxyketones by self-condensation or mixed condensation of aldehydes and ketones these reactions are, in fact, additions of a C—H bond activated by the carbonyl to the C=0 bond of the other molecule, viz. 

Aldol condensation includes reactions of aldehydes or ketone producing /3-hydroxyaldehydes or /3-hydroxyketones by self-condensation (dimerization) or mixed condensation. A general formula of the reaction may be drawn as follows. 

Mixed aldol condensations can be effective only if we limit the number of reaction pos sibilities It would not be useful for example to treat a solution of acetaldehyde and propanal with base A mixture of four aldol addition products forms under these condi tions Two of the products are those of self addition... 

Claisen-Schmidt reaction (Section 18.10) A mixed aldol condensation in which an aromatic aldehyde reacts with an enolizable aldehyde or ketone. 

G If one of the carbonyl partners is much more acidic than the other and so is transformed into its enolate ion in preference to the other, then a mixed aldol reaction is likely to be successful. Ethyl acetoacetate, for instance, is completely converted into its enolate ion in preference to enolate ion formation from monocarbonyl partners. Thus, aldol condensations of monoketones with ethyl acetoacetate occur preferentially to give the mixed product. 

The mixed Claisen condensation of two different esters is similar to the mixed aldol condensation of two different aldehydes or ketones (Section 23.5). Mixed Claisen reactions are successful only when one of the two ester components has no a hydrogens and thus can t form an enolate ion. For example, ethyl benzoate and ethyl formate can t form enolate ions and thus can t serve as donors. They can, however, act as the electrophilic acceptor components in reactions with other ester anions to give mixed /3-keto ester products. 

The aldol reaction is a carbonyl condensation that occurs between two aldehyde or ketone molecules. Aldol reactions are reversible, leading first to a /3-hydroxy aldehyde or ketone and then to an cr,/6-unsaturated product. Mixed aldol condensations between two different aldehydes or ketones generally give a mixture of all four possible products. A mixed reaction can be successful, however, if one of the two partners is an unusually good donor (ethyl aceto-acetate, for instance) or if it can act only as an acceptor (formaldehyde and benzaldehyde, for instance). Intramolecular aldol condensations of 1,4- and 1,5-diketones are also successful and provide a good way to make five-and six-inembered rings. 

Cinnamaldehyde, the aromatic constituent of cinnamon oil, can be synthesized by a mixed aldol condensation. Show the starling materials you would use, and write the reaction. 

Scheme 7.5 gives some examples of the Reformatsky reaction. Zinc enolates prepared from a-haloketones can be used as nucleophiles in mixed aldol condensations (see Section 2.1.3). Entry 7 is an example. This type of reaction can be conducted in the presence of the Lewis acid diethylaluminum chloride, in which case addition occurs at -20° C.171... 

Aldol addition and condensation reactions involving two different carbonyl compounds are called mixed aldol reactions. For these reactions to be useful as a method for synthesis, there must be some basis for controlling which carbonyl component serves as the electrophile and which acts as the enolate precursor. One of the most general mixed aldol condensations involves the use of aromatic aldehydes with alkyl ketones or aldehydes. Aromatic aldehydes are incapable of enolization and cannot function as the nucleophilic component. Furthermore, dehydration is especially favorable because the resulting enone is conjugated with the aromatic ring. 

There are numerous examples of both acid- and base-catalyzed mixed aldol condensations involving aromatic aldehydes. The reaction is sometimes referred to as the Claisen-Schmidt condensation. Scheme 2.2 presents some representative examples. 

In general, the product ratio of a mixed aldol condensation will depend upon the individual reaction rates. Most ketones show a pattern similar to butanone in reactions with aromatic aldehydes. Base catalysis favors reaction at a methyl position over a methylene group, whereas acid catalysis gives the opposite preference. 

The enolates of other carbonyl compounds can be used in mixed aldol condensations. Extensive use has been made of the enolates of esters, thioesters, amides, nitriles, and nitroalkanes. Scheme 2.4 gives a selection of such reactions. 

The addition of the nucleophilic carbanion-enolate, usually of an aldehyde, to the C=0 group of its parent compound is called an aldol condensation. The product is a /3-hydroxycarbonyl compound. In a mixed aldol condensation the carbanion-enolate of an aldehyde or ketone adds to the 0=0 group of a molecule other than its parent. The more general condensation diagramed above is termed an aldol-type condensation. Since the C, not the O, is the more reactive site in the hybrid, the enolate contributing structure is usually omitted when writing equations for these reactions. This is done even though the enolate is the more stable and makes the major contribution. 

If the starting materials are not the same, the reaction is known as a "mixed" aldol condensation. 

Ethylhexanol is usually produced by subsequent aldolization of butyraldehyde produced in the oxo reaction followed by hydrogenation of the intermediate unsaturated aldehyde.89 In Esso s Aldox process, however, in situ aldol condensation is effected by suitable promoters.11 Magnesium ethoxide and soluble zinc compounds are recommended to promote controlled aldolization during the oxo reaction. The Shell variant uses potassium hydroxide. Serious disadvantages (mixed aldolization with the branched aldehyde, problems associated with recycling of the additives), however, prevented wider use of the Aldox process. 

Aldol condensations were originally carried out in the liquid phase and catalysed homogeneously by acids or bases this way of operation is still predominant. Solid-catalysed aldol reactions can also be performed in the liquid phase (in trickle or submerged beds of catalyst), but in many cases vapour phase systems are preferred the factors determining the choice are the boiling points and the stability of the reactants at elevated temperatures. At higher temperatures, the formation of a, j3-unsaturated aldehydes or ketones [reactions (B) and (C)] is preferred to aldol (ketol) formation [reaction (A)]. A side reaction, which may become important in some cases, is the self-condensation of the more reactive carbonyl compound if a mixed condensation of two different aldehydes or ketones is occurring. The Cannizzaro reaction of some aldehydes or polymerisation to polyols or other resin-like products can also accompany the main reaction. 

Mixed aldol reactions may be broadly classified as the reaction between two different aldehydes or ketones, or the reaction of an aldehyde with a ketone. Apart from the concomitant self-condensation, not less than two possible crossed products can be envisaged. Such reactions are therefore only prepara-tively useful either if appropriate structural conditions are present, or if certain experimental conditions are used to effect a directed aldol condensation. 

The first reaction is a mixed aldol condensation between the enolate of dibenzyl ketone and one of the carbonyl groups of the dione. 

In the aldol condensation, an enolate anion acts as a carbon nucleophile and adds to a carbonyl group to form a new carbon-carbon bond. Thus, the a-carbon of one aldehyde molecule becomes bonded to the carbonyl carbon of another aldehyde molecule to form an aldol (a 3-hydroxyaldehyde). In the mixed aldol condensation, the reactant with an a-hydrogen supplies the enolate anion, and the other reactant, usually without an a-hydrogen, supplies the carbonyl group to which the enolate ion adds. The aldol reaction is used commercially and also occurs in nature. 

Another example of cross-aldol condensation is the reaction between citral and acetone, which yields pseudoionone, an intermediate in the production of vitamin A. Noda et a/.[56] working at 398 K with a 1 1 molar ratio of reagents and 2 wt % of catalyst, obtained high conversions (98 %) with selectivities to pseudoionone close to 70 % with CaO and an Al-Mg mixed oxide catalyst these pseudoionone yields are greater than those reported for the homogeneous reaction. MgO exhibited poor activity, and under these conditions only 20 % citral conversion was obtained after 4 h in a batch reactor. Nevertheless, Climent et a/./571 working with 16 wt % MgO as a catalyst, a molar ratio of acetone to citral close to 3 and at 333 K, achieved 99 % conversion and 68 % selectivity to pseudoionone after 1 h. 

Cr3+ can also be integrated into the structures of layered double hydroxides. A mixed oxide, prepared by calcination of ZnCr-LDH-CCh, was used in combination with t-BuOOH for the ketonization of alkyl and of benzyl pyridines and for the oxidation of benzyl amines to give Schiff bases (67,68). In contrast to MgAl-LDHs, for example, these materials display hardly any basicity so that base-catalyzed side reactions such as aldol condensations are avoided. 

Crossed aldol condensations between aliphatic aldehydes on the one hand and benzaldehyde or cinnamic aldehyde or their derivatives on the other also are possible. The reaction components can even be mixed together. The aldol adducts are formed without chemo-... 

Often, it is desirable to conduct an aldol condensation in which the nucleophile and the electrophile are derived from different compounds. In general, such mixed aldol condensations, involving two different aldehydes, result in the formation of several products and for this reason are not useful. For example, the reaction of ethanal and propanal results in the formation of four products because there are two possible enolate nucleophiles and two carbonyl electrophiles ... 

Mixed aldol condensations can be employed if one of the aldehydes has no hydrogens on the a-carbon, so it cannot form an enolate ion and can only act as the electrophilic partner in the reaction. Aromatic aldehydes are especially useful in this role because the dehydration product has additional stabilization from the conjugation of the newly formed CC double bond with the aromatic ring. This stabilization makes the equilibrium for the formation of this product more favorable. 

Crossed aldol condensations between aliphatic aldehydes on the one hand and benzaldehyde or cinnamic aldehyde or their derivatives on the other also are possible. The reaction components can even be mixed together. The aldol adducts are formed without chemoselectivity, as a mixture of isomers, but their formations are reversible. The Elcb elimination to an a,/3-unsaturated carbonyl compound is fast only if the newly created C=C double bond is conjugated to an aromatic system or to another C=C double bond already present in the substrate. This effect is due to product-development control. All the starting materials thus react in this way via the most reactive aldol adduct. 

Mixed or crossed aldol condensation Aldol condensations between different carbonyl reactants are called crossed (or mixed) reactions. Crossed aldol condensation works well if one carbonyl compound has no a-hydrogen(s). For example, acetone reacts with furfural in a crossed-aldol reaction to give the corresponding a,P-unsaturated ketone 3.15. 

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