Alkane from Grignards

The Grignard reaction is often one of the first reactions encountered for the preparation of organometallic compounds. As such it provides a method for the conversion of an alkyl bromide to an alkane. From the example shown below it is seen that the overall oxidation level change from the organic reactants to the products is from 0 to —2, so a reduction has occurred. Magnesium is the reductant and is itself oxidized from 0 to +2 oxidation state. The actual reduction takes place in the first step of the process in which the C-Br bond is converted to a C-Mg-Br bond. The reaction with water is merely a hydrolysis that does not change the oxidation state of carbon. 

Hydroperoxides have been obtained from the autoxidation of alkanes, aralkanes, alkenes, ketones, enols, hydrazones, aromatic amines, amides, ethers, acetals, alcohols, and organomineral compounds, eg, Grignard reagents (10,45). In autoxidations involving hydrazones, double-bond migration occurs with the formation of hydroperoxy—azo compounds via free-radical chain processes (10,59) (eq. 20). 

The carbanion equivalent from a Grignard reagent is also a strong base. pATa values for alkanes are typically about 50, and for aromatics about 44. Not surprisingly, a Grignard reagent reacts readily with... 

Alkanes can also be prepared from alkyl halides by reduction, directly with Zn and acetic acid (AcOH) (see Section 5.7.14) or via the Grignard reagent formation followed by hydrolytic work-up (see Section 5.7.15). The coupling reaction of alkyl halides with Gilman reagent (R 2CuLi, lithium organocuprates) also produces alkanes (see Section 5.5.2). 

Considering the problem retrosynthetically, we can see that a key intermediate having the carbon skeleton of the desired product is 3-methyl-3-pentanol. This becomes apparent from the fact that alkanes may be prepared from alkenes, which in turn are available from alcohols. The desired alcohol may be prepared from reaction of an acetate ester with a Grignard reagent, ethylmagnesium bromide. 

Alkanes, RH (Sec. 7.7) (Sec. 10.7) (Sec. 10.8) (Sec. 19.9) from alkenes by catalytic hydrogenation from alkyl halides by protonolysis of Grignard reagents from alkyl halides by coupling with Gilman reagents from ketones and aldehydes by Wolff-Kishner reaction... 

Because organolithium and Grignard reagents are themselves prepared from alkyl halides, a two-step method converts an alkyl halide into an alkane (or another hydrocarbon). 

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