Alkenes, oxymercuration

Of the methods we have seen for Markovnikov hydration of alkenes, oxymercuration-demercuration is most commonly used in the laboratory. It gives better yields than direct acid-catalyzed hydration, it avoids the possibility of rearrangements, and it does not involve harsh conditions. There are also disadvantages, however. Organomercurial compounds are highly toxic. They must be used with great care and then must be disposed of properly. 

Alkene oxymercuration is closely analogous to halohydrin formation. The reaction is initiated by electrophilic addition of (mercuric) ion to the alkene to give an intermediate mercurinium ion, whose structure resembles that of a bromonium ion (Figure 7.5). Nucleophilic attack of water, followed by loss of a proton, then yields a stable organomercury addition product. The final step, reaction of the organomercury compound with sodium boro-hydride, is not fully understood but appears to involve radicals. Note that... 

The mechanism of the mercurydD-catalyzed alkyne hydration reactioi is analogous to the oxymercuration reaction of alkenes (Section 7.4). Elec trophilic addition of mercury(II) ion to the alkyne gives a vinylic cation which reacts with water and loses a proton to yield a mercury-containii enol intermediate. In contrast to alkene oxymercuration, no treatment widi NaBH4 is necessary to remove the mercury the acidic reaction conditions alone are sufficient to effect replacement of mercury by hydrogen (Figure 8.3). 

The mercuric ion-catalyzed hydration of alkynes probably proceeds in a similar manner to the oxymercuration of alkenes (see Section 5.1). Electrophilic addition of Hg to the triple bond leads to a vinylic cation, which is trapped by water to give an vinylic organomercury intermediate. Unlike the alkene oxymercuration, which requires reductive removal of the mercury by NaBH4, the vinylic mercury intermediate is cleaved under the acidic reaction conditions to give the enol, which tautomerizes to the ketone. Hydration of terminal alkynes follows the Mai kovnikov rule to furnish methyl ketones. ° ... 

Addition of Water to Alkenes Oxymercuration 239 Addition of Water to Alkenes Hydroboration 242 Addition of Carbenes to Alkenes Cyclopropane Synthesis Reduction of Alkenes Hydrogenation 249... 

We have already studied the acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes, oxymercuration-demer-curation, and hydroboralion-oxidation as methods for the synthesis of alcohols from alkenes (see Sections 8.5,8.6, and 8.7, respectively). Below, we briefly summarize these methods. 

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