Benzaldehydes basicity

Alternatively, use the following procedure in which triethylamine replaces potassium acetate as the basic catalyst. Place 2 1 g. (2-0 ml.) of purified benzaldehyde, 2 0 ml. of anhydrous triethylamine and 5 0 ml. of A.R. acetic anhydride in a 200 ml. round-bottomed flask, equipped with a short reflux condenser and a calcium chloride drying tube. Boil the solution gently for 24 hours—heating may be interrupted. Incorporate a steam distillation apparatus in the flask and steam distil until the distillate is no longer cloudy (about 100 ml.) and then collect a further 50 ml. of the distillate di ard the steam distillate. Transfer the residue in the flask to a 400 ml. beaker, add water until the vplume is about 200 ml., then 0 2 g. of decolourising carbon, and boil for a few minutes. Filter the hot solution, and acidify the hot filtrate with 1 1 hydrochlorioiaoid... 

Chapters 1 and 2. Most C—H bonds are very weakly acidic and have no tendency to ionize spontaneously to form carbanions. Reactions that involve carbanion intermediates are therefore usually carried out in the presence of a base which can generate the reactive carbanion intermediate. Base-catalyzed condensation reactions of carbonyl compounds provide many examples of this type of reaction. The reaction between acetophenone and benzaldehyde, which was considered in Section 4.2, for example, requires a basic catalyst to proceed, and the kinetics of the reaction show that the rate is proportional to the catalyst concentration. This is because the neutral acetophenone molecule is not nucleophihc and does not react with benzaldehyde. The much more nucleophilic enolate (carbanion) formed by deprotonation is the reactive nucleophile. 

The Canni2zaro reaction is a disproportionation that takes place in strongly basic solution and converts benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol and sodium benzoate. 

Adolph Baeyer is credited with the first recognition of the general nature of the reaction between phenols and aldehydes in 1872 ([2,5-7] [18], Table 5.1). He reported formation of colorless resins when acidic solutions of pyrogallic acid or resorcinol were mixed with oil of bitter almonds, which consists primarily benzaldehyde. Baeyer also saw resin formation with acidic and basic solutions of phenol and acetaldehyde or chloral. Michael and Comey furthered Baeyer s work with additional studies on the behavior of benzaldehyde and phenols [2,19]. They studied a variety of acidic and basic catalysts and noted that reaction vigor followed the acid or base strength of the catalyst. Michael et al. also reported rapid oxidation and darkening of phenolic resins when catalyzed by alkaline materials. 

Further substitution of benzoic acid leads to a drug with antiemetic activity. Alkylation of the sodium salt of p-hydroxy-benzaldehyde (8) with 2-dimethylaminoethyl chloride affords the so-called basic ether (9). Reductive amination of the aldehyde in the presence of ammonia gives diamine, 10. Acylation of that product with 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoyl chloride affords trimetho-benzamide (11). ... 

Triamterene (31) is a diuretic that has found acceptance because it results in enhanced sodium ion excretion without serious loss of potassium ion or significant uric acid retention. Tautomerism of aminopyrimidines (e.g., 27a and 27b) serves to make the "nonenolized" amine at the 5 position more basic than the remaining amines. Thus, condensation of 27 with benzaldehyde goes at the most basic nitrogen to form 28. Addition of hydrogen cyanide gives the a-aminonitrile (29). Treatment of that intermediate with base leads to the eyelized dihydropirazine compound (30). This undergoes spontaneous air oxidation to afford triamterene (31). ... 

The 3-arylglutaric esters 3 required as substrates were obtained by condensation of 2 equiv. of ethyl acetylacetate with respective benzaldehydes, followed by hydrolysis and decarboxylation of the resulting product under basic conditions. After esterification, ester 3 was obtained in 75% overall yield (R = Cl, = Me) [10]. 

To evaluate properties of basic catalysts, the Knoevenagel condensation over aluminophosphate oxynitrides was investigated [13]. In this reaction usually catalysed by amines, the solid catalysts function by abstraction of a proton from an acid methylene group, which is followed by nucleophilic attack on the carbonyl by the resultant carbanion, re-protonation of oxygen and elimination of water. The condensation between benzaldehyde and malononitrile is presented below. 

The intrinsic conversion (%.m 2) of malononitrile and benzaldehyde versus time is shown in Figure 2. Commercial MgO (40 m. g-l) used in the same conditions as the "AlPONs" (i.e. without pretreatment) gives a low conversion [14]. Without pretreatment MgO is not an extremely basic compound but these results show that "AlPONs" are more active than MgO at the chosen conditions and such a character could be useful for industrial applications. 

They offer the advantage that reductions can be effected under conditions that permit the conversion of substrates that may be adversely sensitive to the presence of strong Brpnsted acids. For example, in the presence of a 10% excess of triethylsilane, addition of one-half equivalent of boron trifluoride etherate to octanal results, within one hour, in the formation of a 66% yield of dioctyl ether after a basic hydrolytic workup. Benzaldehyde provides a 75% yield of dibenzyl ether under the same reaction conditions. The remainder of the mass is found as the respective alcohol.70 Zinc chloride is also capable of catalyzing this reaction. With its use, simple alkyl aldehydes are converted into the symmetrical ethers in about 50% yields.330... 

Stepwise utilization of both elements is achieved with a stannaboration product of isoprene (Scheme 61). Reaction of 15 with benzaldehyde in the presence of BF3-OEt2 occurs selectively at the allylstannane moiety to give 16. Oxidation of the resulting G-B bond with H202 under basic conditions affords diol 17 as a mixture of diastereomers. 

The first example of this type of transformation was reported in 1974 [76]. Three catalysts were investigated, namely [Co2(CO)8], [Co(CO)g/PBu ], and [Rh6(CO)i6]. The [Co OJg/PBu ] catalyst showed activity for reductive animation using ammonia and aromatic amines. The [Rh6(CO)16] catalyst could be used for reductive animation using the more basic aliphatic amines that were found to poison the cobalt catalyst. This early report pointed out that the successful reductive animation of iso-butanal (Me2CCHO) with piperidine involves selective enamine hydrogenation, that reductive animation of cyclohexanone with isopropylamine probably involves imine hydrogenation, and that reductive amination of benzaldehyde with piperidine would presumably involve the reduction of a carbinolamine. 

As noted in Section 2.2.5, the effect of dimerization may also be seen on the second wave, the wave that corresponds to the reduction of the radicals formed at the first wave. The example presented in Figure 2.35 shows the cyclic voltammetry of benzaldehyde in basic ethanol.26 The second wave represents the reduction of the benzaldehyde anion radicals formed at the first wave that have escaped dimerization. In other words, Scheme 2.29 should be completed by Scheme 2.30. 

FIGURE 2.35. Cyclic voltammetry of benzaldehyde (2mA/) in basic ethanol (pH 12). Adapted from Figure 1 of reference 26, with permission from Elsevier. 

Benzene-l,4-diols are oxidized to quinones by benzyltrimethylammonium tribromide under mild conditions in almost quantitative yields [6]. With an excess of the tribromide further reaction produces the 2-bromo-l, 4-quinones. This oxidation is in contrast to the analogous reaction of phenols, which produces bromophenols (see Section 2.3). Hindered 4-methyl-phenols are oxidized to the corresponding benzyl alcohols, benzaldehydes, bromomethyl derivatives and 4-bromo-4-methylcyclo-hexa-2,5-dien-l-ones [7]. Benzylic alcohols are oxidized under neutral or basic conditions to yield the corresponding aldehydes (>70%) oxidation with an excess of the reagent produces the benzoic acids (>90%) [8],... 

Asymmetric induction using catalytic amounts of quininium or A-methyl-ephedrinium salts for the Darzen s reaction of aldehydes and ketones with phenacyl halides and chloromethylsulphones produces oxiranes of low optical purity [3, 24, 25]. The chiral catalyst appears to have little more effect than non-chiral catalysts (Section 12.1). Similarly, the catalysed reaction of sodium cyanide with a-bromo-ketones produces epoxynitriles of only low optical purity [3]. The claimed 67% ee for the phenyloxirane derived from the reaction of benzaldehyde with trimethylsul-phonium iodide under basic conditions [26] in the presence of A,A-dimethyle-phedrinium chloride was later retracted [27] the product was contaminated with the 2-methyl-3-phenyloxirane from the degradation of the catalyst. 

Intermolecular coupling Many papers on hydrodimerization of aromatic carbonyl compounds have appeared indicating the importance of this reaction. The rac/meso ratio for the pinacolization of acetophenone in aqueous ethanol ranges between 0.9 and 1.4 in acidic medium and between 2.5 and 3.2 in basic medium. The diastereoselectivity is independent of the cathode material mercury, tin, or copper. Electrolysis conditions such as current density, potential, or current-controlled electrolysis also do not influence the diastereoselectivity. The same holds for propiophenone. For benzaldehyde, the rac/meso ratio is 1.1 to 1.2 in acidic as well as in basic media [283]. In the presence... 

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