Alkenes by oxidation

The obvious Vfittig disconnection gives stabilised ylid (5fi) and keto-aldehyde (57). We have used many such long-chain dicarbonyl compounds in this Chapter and they are mostly produced from available alkenes by oxidative cleavage (e.g. ozonolysis). In this case, cyclic alkene (58) is the right starting material, and this can be made from alcohol (59) by elimination,... 

By converting the primary alcohol group to an alkene by oxidation and a Wittig reaction, the reaction can be carried out in iterative fashion to introduce several methyl groups.226... 

Diols are prepared from alkenes by oxidation with reagents such as osmium tetroxide, potassium permanganate, or hydrogen peroxide (Section 11-7C). However, ethylene glycol is made on a commercial scale from oxacy-clopropane, which in turn is made by air oxidation of ethene at high temperatures over a silver oxide catalyst (Section 11-7D). 

Aldehydes and ketones are among the most important of all compounds, both in biochemistry and in the chemical industry. Aldehydes arc normally prepared in the laboratory by oxidative cleavage of alkenes, by oxidation of primary alcohols, or by partial reduction of esters. Ketones are similarly prepared by oxidative cleavage of alkenes, by oxidation of secondary alcohols, or by addition of diorganocopper reagents to acid chlorides. 

Sulfones may also be converted directly into alkenes by oxidation of their a,a -dianions with cop-per(II) chloride the intermediate thiirane 1,1-dioxides extrude SO2 under the reaction conditions (equation 11 compare equation 47). ... 

A method for the preparation of symmetrical alkenes by oxidation of resonance-stabilized alkylidenephosphoranes with hydroperoxides has been extended to the preparation of symmetrical carotenoids. Thus treatment of the triphenylphosphonium bromide (60) with hydrogen peroxide and sodium carbonate in aqueous propan-2-ol gave the C24 ester (61) in 33% yield. /S-Carotene. 

Metallacyclopentane syntheses proceed from alkenes, by oxidative additions of fluoroolefins, from olefins activated by polar groups such as acrylic esters, from strained alkenes, and from unactivated alkenes ... 

I-Alkenes. Reaction of a Grignard reagent or an alkyllithium in ether (refluxing) with dimelhyl(methylene)ammonium iodide results in formation of an alkyldimethylamine, which can be isolated as the methyl iodide salt. The amine is converted into a 1-alkene by oxidation to the oxide followed by pyrolysis at 160°. Examples ... 

ANSWER Carboxylic acids can be made from oxidative ozonolysis of alkenes, by oxidation of primary alcohols using dichromate under aqueous conditions, and by oxidation of aldehydes. 

For the same reasons as described for the ozonolysis of alkenes, the oxidative cleavage of vicinal diols by periodate is hmited as a synthetic method. The vicinal diol is seldom directly available, and it must be prepared from an aUtene. We also recall that the hydroxyl groups must be located in a cis configuration, or the molecule must have sufficient conformational freedom to bring the two hydroxyl groups into a gauche conformation. The vicinal diol is prepared from an alkene by oxidation with osmium tetroxide. 

The final step can involve introduction of the amino group or of the carbonyl group. o-Nitrobenzyl aldehydes and ketones are useful intermediates which undergo cyclization and aromatization upon reduction. The carbonyl group can also be introduced by oxidation of alcohols or alkenes or by ozonolysis. There are also examples of preparing indoles from o-aminophcnyl-acetonitriles by partial reduction of the cyano group. 

The best procedures for 3-vinylation or 3-arylation of the indole ring involve palladium intermediates. Vinylations can be done by Heck reactions starting with 3-halo or 3-sulfonyloxyindoles. Under the standard conditions the active catalyst is a Pd(0) species which reacts with the indole by oxidative addition. A major con.sideration is the stability of the 3-halo or 3-sulfonyloxyindoles and usually an EW substituent is required on nitrogen. The range of alkenes which have been used successfully is quite broad and includes examples with both ER and EW substituents. Examples are given in Table 11.3. An alkene which has received special attention is methyl a-acetamidoacrylate which is useful for introduction of the tryptophan side-chain. This reaction will be discussed further in Chapter 13. 

Electron-deficient alkenes add stereospecifically to 4-hydroxy-THISs with formation of endo-cycloadducts. Only with methylvinyl-ketone considerable amounts of the exo isomer are produced (Scheme 8) (16). The adducts (6) may extrude hydrogen sulfide on heating with methoxide producing 2-pyridones. The base is unnecessary with fumaronitrile adducts. The alternative elimination of isocyanate Or sulfur may be controlled using 7 as the dipolarenOphile. The cycloaddition produces two products, 8a (R = H, R = COOMe) and 8b (R = COOMe, R =H) (Scheme 9) (17). Pyrolysis of 8b leads to extrusion of furan and isocyanate to give a thiophene. The alternative S-elimi-nation can be effected by oxidation of the adduct and subsequent pyrolysis. 

Usually, organoboranes are sensitive to oxygen. Simple trialkylboranes are spontaneously flammable in contact with air. Nevertheless, under carefully controlled conditions the reaction of organoboranes with oxygen can be used for the preparation of alcohols or alkyl hydroperoxides (228,229). Aldehydes are produced by oxidation of primary alkylboranes with pyridinium chi orochrom ate (188). Chromic acid at pH < 3 transforms secondary alkyl and cycloalkylboranes into ketones pyridinium chi orochrom ate can also be used (230,231). A convenient procedure for the direct conversion of terminal alkenes into carboxyUc acids employs hydroboration with dibromoborane—dimethyl sulfide and oxidation of the intermediate alkyldibromoborane with chromium trioxide in 90% aqueous acetic acid (232,233). 

The intermediate formed in the oxidation of alkenes by permanganate ion is considered a cycHc manganate(V) ester (92). Investigations have suggested that manganate(V) intermediates play a significant role in virtually all permanganate oxidation reactions. It is therefore the further reactions of the... 

N- Aminoaziridines have been converted to alkenes by reaction with a variety of oxidizing agents (70JA1784). Usually, the deamination reaction is stereospecific. The oxidation of l-amino-2,3-diphenylaziridines with manganese dioxide, however, was not stereospecific. The trans compound gives entirely frans-stilbene, whereas the cfs-aziridine forms a mixture of 85% trans- and 15% c -aikene. cw-Stilbene is not isomerized to trans under the reaction conditions, and the results are explained in terms of an azamine intermediate which can isomerize through a tautomeric equilibrium. 

Alkylaziridines can be stereospecifically deaminated to alkenes by reaction with m-chioroperbenzoic acid (70AG(E)374). The reaction and work-up are carried out in the dark to avoid isomerization of the cw-alkene, and the mechanism is thought to involve an initial oxidation to an amine oxide followed by a concerted elimination. Aziridine oxides have been generated by treating aziridines with ozone at low temperatures (71JA4082). Two... 

The molybdenum-catalyzed oxidation of alkynes by /-butyl hydroperoxide has been investigated 73JCS(P1)2851) (the epoxidation of alkenes by this system has become an important reaction Section 5.05.4.2.2(i)) but the formation of oxirenes was excluded. 

Radical cations can be derived from aromatic hydrocarbons or alkenes by one-electron oxidation. Antimony trichloride and pentachloride are among the chemical oxidants that have been used. Photodissociation or y-radiation can generate radical cations from aromatic hydrocarbons. Most radical cations derived from hydrocarbons have limited stability, but EPR spectral parameters have permitted structural characterization. The radical cations can be generated electrochemically, and some oxidation potentials are included in Table 12.1. The potentials correlate with the HOMO levels of the hydrocarbons. The higher the HOMO, the more easily oxidized is the hydrocarbon. 

Chlorohydnns and 1,2-dichloro denvatives are obtamed by oxidation of alkenes with fert-butyl hypochlorite when the reaction is performed in acetic acid instead of water, chlorohydrm acetate is formed [Ji] (equation 25)... 

The products formed by oxidative deavage of an alkene depend on the alkene structure and the agent used Acid fluorides are formed by ozonization of per-fluoroalkenes in tnfluoroacetic acid [3t5] (equation 28)... 

Hydration of an alkene—the addition of water—is carried out by either of two procedures, depending on the product desired. Oxymercuration involves electrophilic addition of Hg2+ to an alkene, followed by trapping of the cation intermediate with water and subsequent treatment with NaBH4. Hydroboration involves addition of borane (BH3) followed by oxidation of the intermediate organoborane with alkaline H202- The two hydration methods are complementary oxymercuration gives the product of Markovnikov addition, whereas hydroboration/oxidation gives the product with non-Markovnikov syn stereochemistry. 

Alkenes are reduced by addition of H2 in the presence of a catalyst such as platinum or palladium to yield alkanes, a process called catalytic hydrogenation. Alkenes are also oxidized by reaction with a peroxyacid to give epoxides, which can be converted into lTans-l,2-diols by acid-catalyzed epoxide hydrolysis. The corresponding cis-l,2-diols can be made directly from alkenes by hydroxylation with 0s04. Alkenes can also be cleaved to produce carbonyl compounds by reaction with ozone, followed by reduction with zinc metal. 

Strategy What is an immediate precursor of a primary alcohol " Perhaps a terminal alkene, which could be hydrated with non-Markovnikov regiochemistiy by reaction with borane Followed by oxidation with H2O2-... 

Amines are converted into alkenes by a two-step process called the Iiofnunn elimination. SN2 reaction of the amine with an excess of CH3I in the first stej yields an intermediate that undergoes E2 reaction when treated with silvei oxide as base. Pentylamine, for example, yields 1-pentene. Propose a structim for the intermediate, and explain why it undergoes ready elimination. 

The benzylic position of an alkylbcnzene can be brominated by reaction with jV-bromosuccinimide, and the entire side chain can be degraded to a carboxyl group by oxidation with aqueous KMnCfy Although aromatic rings are less reactive than isolated alkene double bonds, they can be reduced to cyclohexanes by hydrogenation over a platinum or rhodium catalyst. In addition, aryl alkyl ketones are reduced to alkylbenzenes by hydrogenation over a platinum catalyst. 

Our recent studies on effective bromination and oxidation using benzyltrimethylammonium tribromide (BTMA Br3), stable solid, are described. Those involve electrophilic bromination of aromatic compounds such as phenols, aromatic amines, aromatic ethers, acetanilides, arenes, and thiophene, a-bromination of arenes and acetophenones, and also bromo-addition to alkenes by the use of BTMA Br3. Furthermore, oxidation of alcohols, ethers, 1,4-benzenediols, hindered phenols, primary amines, hydrazo compounds, sulfides, and thiols, haloform reaction of methylketones, N-bromination of amides, Hofmann degradation of amides, and preparation of acylureas and carbamates by the use of BTMA Br3 are also presented. 

Triple bonds can be monohydroborated to give vinylic boranes, which can be reduced with carboxylic acids to cis alkenes or oxidized and hydrolyzed to aldehydes or ketones. Terminal alkynes give aldehydes by this method, in contrast to the mercuric or acid-catalyzed addition of water discussed at 15-4. However, terminal alkynes give vinylic boranes (and hence aldehydes) only when treated with a hindered borane such as 47, 48, or catecholborane (p. 798)," or with BHBr2—SMe2. The reaction between terminal alkynes and BH3 produces 1,1-... 

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