Alkenes, reductive reactions

The alkene reduction reactions most frequently observed are of a,3-unsaturated aldehydes, ketones, acids and esters. Examples of stereospecific reductions of acyclic substrates are given in Scheme 50.148.157-159 (j, (, e formation of (123), the double bond of (122) is reduced prior to the aldehyde function. The conversion of (124) to (125) involves oxidation of the intermediate alcohol to the carboxylic acid by bubbling air into the fermentation medium. Stereospecific reductions of a, 3-unsaturated ketones may be similarly effected (Scheme 61). The reduction of the chloro ketone (126) gives (127) initially. This epimerizes under the reaction conditions, and each enantiomer is then reduced further to (128) and (129), with the predominance of the (128) stereoisomer increasing with the size of the R-group. Reduction of ( )-(130) leads to (131) and (132). ... 

There is no clear reason to prefer either of these mechanisms, since stereochemical and kinetic data are lacking. Solvent effects also give no suggestion about the problem. It is possible that the carbon-carbon bond is weakened by an increasing number of phenyl substituents, resulting in more carbon-carbon bond cleavage products, as is indeed found experimentally. All these reductive reactions of thiirane dioxides with metal hydrides are accompanied by the formation of the corresponding alkenes via the usual elimination of sulfur dioxide. 

The most widely used method for adding the elements of hydrogen to carbon-carbon double bonds is catalytic hydrogenation. Except for very sterically hindered alkenes, this reaction usually proceeds rapidly and cleanly. The most common catalysts are various forms of transition metals, particularly platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, and nickel. Both the metals as finely dispersed solids or adsorbed on inert supports such as carbon or alumina (heterogeneous catalysts) and certain soluble complexes of these metals (homogeneous catalysts) exhibit catalytic activity. Depending upon conditions and catalyst, other functional groups are also subject to reduction under these conditions. 

Reduction of acetylenes can be done with sodium in ammonia,220 lithium in low molecular weight amines,221 or sodium in HMPA containing /-butanol as a proton source,222 all of which lead to the A-alkene. The reaction is assumed to involve successive electron transfer and protonation steps. 

The most common reaction conditions for alkene reductions use excess tri-fluoroacetic acid and triethylsilane either neat202 204 or in an inert solvent such as nitrobenzene,134 2-nitropropane,205 carbon tetrachloride,206 chloroform,207 or dichloromethane.127,164 Reaction temperatures from —78° to well over 100° are reported. Ambient or ice-bath temperatures are most commonly used, but variations of these conditions abound. 

Polyarenes, reduction reactions, 49 Polyenes, alkene to alkane reductions, 41-45... 

Like alkynes, a variety of mechanistic motifs are available for the transition metal-mediated etherification of alkenes. These reactions are typically initiated by the attack of an oxygen nucleophile onto an 72-metalloalkene that leads to the formation of a metal species. As described in the preceding section, the G-O bond formation event can be accompanied by a wide range of termination processes, such as fl-H elimination, carbonylation, insertion into another 7r-bond, protonolysis, or reductive elimination, thus giving rise to various ether linkages. 

The balance between biocatalytic and other, organometallic-based, methodology is heavily biased in favour of the latter section when considering reduction reactions of importance in synthetic organic chemistry. Two areas will be described to illustrate the point, namely the reduction of carbonyl groups and the reduction of alkenes, not least since these points of focus complement experimental work featured later in the book. 

In order to place later chapters in proper context, the first chapter offers a comprehensive overview of industrially important catalysts for oxidation and reduction reactions. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the preparation of chiral materials by way of the asymmetric reduction of alkenes and ketones respectively. These two areas have enjoyed a significant amount of attention in recent years. Optically active amines can be prepared by imine reduction using chiral catalysts, as featured in Chapter 4, which also discloses a novel reductive amination protocol. 

Addition of hydrogen atoms in the presence of a metal catalyst to double or triple bonds is known as hydrogenation or catalytic hydrogenation. Alkenes and alkynes are reduced to alkanes by the treatment with H2 over a finely divided metal catalyst such as platinum (Pt—C), palladium (Pd—C) or Raney nickel (Ni). The platinum catalyst is also frequently used in the form of Pt02, which is known as Adams s catalyst. The catalytic hydrogenation reaction is a reduction reaction. 

Nonstoichiometric metal oxides are effective catalysts for a variety of oxidation-reduction reactions (as might be expected) since the variable valence of the constituent ions enables the oxide to act as a sort of electron bank. Nonstoichiometric metal oxides resemble metals in that they can also catalyze hydrogenation and alkene isomerization reactions. However, on zinc oxide, for instance, these two processes are independent, whereas hydrogen must be present for isomerization to occur on metals. 

The electrochemical formation of ylides described in reactions 1 and 2 has been utilized for producing alkenes by reaction with aldehydes through reaction 3. The potential of the cathode is controlled at or near the cathodic reduction peak potential of the probase. The yields of the alkenes are given in Table 3. 

Alkenes from vie-diols (cf. 9, 507-508). Hexapyranosidc rc-diols arc converted into alkenes by reaction with this combination of reagents. The method is applicable to both cis- and trons-diols, but highest yields of alkenes arc usually obtained from diequatorial tra/is-diols. The reaction is believed to involve formation of a nrc-diiodide derivative (inversion), which then undergoes reductive elimination with imidazole. 

None of these difficulties arise when hydrosilylation is promoted by metal catalysts. The mechanism of the addition of silicon-hydrogen bond across carbon-carbon multiple bonds proposed by Chalk and Harrod408,409 includes two basic steps the oxidative addition of hydrosilane to the metal center and the cis insertion of the metal-bound alkene into the metal-hydrogen bond to form an alkylmetal complex (Scheme 6.7). Interaction with another alkene molecule induces the formation of the carbon-silicon bond (route a). This rate-determining reductive elimination completes the catalytic cycle. The addition proceeds with retention of configuration.410 An alternative mechanism, the insertion of alkene into the metal-silicon bond (route b), was later suggested to account for some side reactions (alkene reduction, vinyl substitution).411-414... 

In the case of the electron poor alkenes, results were more varied. Under all conditions examined, reactions with methyl vinyl ketone, acrylonitrile, methacrylonitrile and 4-vinyl pyridine afforded products with IR spectra equivalent to those obtained without the addition of the alkene (side reaction). In the cases of vinyl bromide and chloromethyl styrene, unreacted PCTFE was recovered unchanged. It is speculated that electron transfer to the alkene proceeded in each case. While the product of vinyl bromide reduction was not observed, perhaps because of volatility, one could isolate poly(chloromethylstyrene) in the latter case. 

Reductive silylation of a-diketones or quinones.1 a-Diketones are conveniently converted into l,2-bis(silyloxy)alkenes by reaction with ClSi(CH3)3 and zinc. Yields are increased by use of THF rather than ether as solvent and by ultrasonic irradiation. 

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