2- benzyl alcohol reaction mechanism

The oxidation by strains of Pseudomonas putida of the methyl group in arenes containing a hydroxyl group in the para position is, however, carried out by a different mechanism. The initial step is dehydrogenation to a quinone methide followed by hydration (hydroxylation) to the benzyl alcohol (Hopper 1976) (Figure 3.7). The reaction with 4-ethylphenol is partially stereospecific (Mclntire et al. 1984), and the enzymes that catalyze the first two steps are flavocytochromes (Mclntire et al. 1985). The role of formal hydroxylation in the degradation of azaarenes is discussed in the section on oxidoreductases (hydroxylases). 

Reactions of diethylphosphinocarbonylimidazole with alcohols such as ethanol or benzyl alcohol are strongly exothermic, and lead to diethylphosphinocarboxylates. For the reaction with aniline, leading to diphenylurea, another mechanism seems to apply. 

Because of the complexity of the rhodium-catalyzed reduction of benzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol with CO and H20, it is not possible to fully elucidate the mechanism of catalytic reduction given the extent of the kinetic studies performed to date. However, the results do allow us to draw several important conclusions about the reaction mechanism for benzaldehyde hydrogenation and several related reactions. 

The pyridine-catalysed lead tetraacetate oxidation of benzyl alcohols shows a first-order dependence in Pb(OAc)4, pyridine and benzyl alcohol concentration. An even larger primary hydrogen kinetic isotope effect of 5.26 and a Hammett p value of —1.7 led Baneijee and Shanker187 to propose that benzaldehyde is formed by the two concurrent pathways shown in Schemes 40 and 41. Scheme 40 describes the hydride transfer mechanism consistent with the negative p value. In the slow step of the reaction, labilization of the Pb—O bond resulting from the coordination of pyridine occurs as the Ca—H bond is broken. The loss of Pb(OAc)2 completes the reaction with transfer of +OAc to an anion. 

The three-component synthesis of benzo and naphthofuran-2(3H)-ones from the corresponding aromatic alcohol (phenols or naphthols) with aldehydes and CO (5 bar) can be performed under palladium catalysis (Scheme 16) [59,60]. The mechanism involves consecutive Friedel-Crafts-type aromatic alkylation and carbonylation of an intermediate benzylpalla-dium species. The presence of acidic cocatalysts such as TFA and electron-donating substituents in ortho-position (no reaction with benzyl alcohol ) proved beneficial for both reaction steps. 

Oxidation of benzyl alcohol catalysed by chloroperoxidase exhibits a very high prochiral selectivity involving only the cleavage of the pro-S C-H bond. The reaction mechanism involved the transfer of a hydrogen atom to the ferryl oxygen of the iron-oxo complex. An a-hydroxy-carbon radical and the iron-hydroxy complex P-Fe -OH form. They may lead to the hydrated benzaldehyde or stepwise with the formation of the intermediate a-hydroxy cation. 

Kinetic studies of hexacyanoferrate(III) oxidations have included the much-studied reaction with iodide and oxidation of the TICI2 anion, of hydrazine and hydrazinium, and of phenylhydrazine and 4-bromophenylhydrazine. These last reactions proceed by outer-sphere mechanisms, and conform to Marcus s theory. Catalyzed [Fe(CN)g] oxidations have included chlororuthenium-catalyzed oxidation of cyclohexanol, ruthenium(III)-catalyzed oxidation of 2-aminoethanol and of 3-aminopropanol, ruthenium(VI)-catalyzed oxidation of lactate, tartrate, and glycolate, and osmium(VIII)-catalyzed oxidation of benzyl alcohol and benzylamine. ... 

Scheme 5 (a) Allylation of benzyl alcohols with a catalytic amount of BiCl3. (b) Proposed reaction mechanism including a bifunctional role of Bi(III)... 

It has been demonstrated that in Bi(OTf)3-catalyzed alkylation reactions the optical activity of enantiopure benzyl alcohols is lost and a racemic product is isolated. This can be explained by a SA-l-type reaction mechanism and the existence of a carbocationic intermediate. However, diastereoselective substitutions of benzyl alcohols with a chiral centre in close neighborhood to the electrophilic carbon should be feasible (Scheme 23). 

Recently, Behiman and coworkers discussed the mechanism of the Elbs oxidation reaction and explained why the para product predominates over the ortho product in this oxidation. According to the authors, semiempirical calculations show that the intermediate formed by the reaction between peroxydisulfate anion and the phenolate ion is the species resulting from reaction of the tautomeric carbanion of the latter rather than by the one resulting from the attack by the oxyanion. This is confirmed by the synthesis of the latter intermediate by the reaction between Caro s acid dianion and some nitro-substituted fluorobenzenes. An example of oxidative functionalization of an aromatic compound is the conversion of alkylated aromatic compound 17 to benzyl alcohols 20. The initial step in the mechanism of this reaction is the formation of a radical cation 18, which subsequently undergoes deprotonation. The fate of the resulting benzylic radical 19 depends on the conditions and additives. In aqueous solution, for example, further oxidation and trapping of the cationic intermediate by water lead to the formation of the benzyl alcohols 20 (equation 13) . ... 

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