Benzyl alcohols transfer hydrogenation

Palladium-car bon benzyl alcohol Transfer hydrogenation Preferential and selective hydrogenation of carbon-carbon multiple bonds... 

Dehydrogenation. Under an ethylene atmosphere, allylic and benzylic alcohols undergo hydrogen transfer and are thereby transformed into ketones. ... 

Finally, allene derivatives were also convenient unsaturated substrates allowing carbon-carbon bond formation from benzylic alcohol via hydrogen transfer processes. With these substrates, the best catalytic systems were based on RuHCl (CO)(PPh3)3 in the presence of an equimolar amount of phosphine ligand such as bis(diisopropylphosphino)ferrocene (dippf) [63], bis(dicyclohexyphosphino) ferrocene or PCyPh2 [64], Some examples of selective formation of homoallylic alcohols using this reaction are reported in Scheme 59. 

Internal hydrogen bonding promotes imidazole transfer in the reaction of primary and secondary benzyl alcohols with CDI (A) or ImSOIm (B) [15],[16]... 

The last reaction we consider here, hydrogenolysis, is the most simple and straightforward but at the same time it is the most difficult to control, because the high hydrogen transfer rate adversely affects every step of the sequence. Although many hydrogen donors are available the one that led to the most satisfactory results was benzyl alcohol (29). 

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. 

Hydride transfer reactions from [Cp2MoH2] were discussed above in studies by Ito et al. [38], where this molybdenum dihydride was used in conjunction with acids for stoichiometric ionic hydrogenations of ketones. Tyler and coworkers have extensively developed the chemistry of related molybdenocene complexes in aqueous solution [52-54]. The dimeric bis-hydroxide bridged dication dissolves in water to produce the monomeric complex shown in Eq. (32) [53]. In D20 solution at 80 °C, this bimetallic complex catalyzes the H/D exchange of the a-protons of alcohols such as benzyl alcohol and ethanol [52, 54]. 

Complexation of [Cp IrCl2]2 with iV-heterocyclic carbenes has led to complexes such as 25, developed by Peris and coworkers [107, 108], and 133, developed by Crabtree and coworkers [12]. Complex 24 is activated by the addition of silver triflate and is effective for the iV-alkylation of amines with alcohols and for the iV-alkylation of anilines with primary amines. Complex 25 has also been shown to couple benzyl alcohol 15 with a range of alcohols, including ethanol 134, to give ether products such as ether 135 (Scheme 31). Complex 133 was an active hydrogen transfer catalyst for the reduction of ketones and imines, using 2-propanol as the hydrogen source. It was also an effective catalyst for the iV-alkylation of amines... 

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. 

Benzyl -o-xylopyranoside was converted into the alcohol 54 (a somewhat capricious isopropylidenation) [39] and a Mitsunobu inversion with N-hydroxyphthalimide, followed by protecting group removal, gave the hydro-xylamine 55. Transfer-hydrogenation (ammonium formate and palladium-on-charcoal in refluxing methanol) [40] then gave, on a small scale and in almost a quantitative yield, the enantiomer of the desired tetrahydro-l,2-oxazine 52. We have never been able to repeat this result since Figure 4 shows the NMR spectra acquired at the time [41]. 

In the artificial system Figure 4b, a polymerized surfactant vesicle is substituted for the thylakoid membrane. Energy is harvested by semiconductors, rather than by PSI and PSII. Electron transfer is rather simple. Water (rather than C02) is reduced in the reduction half cycle to hydrogen, at the expense of benzyl alcohol. In spite of these differences, the basic principles in plant and mimetic photosyntheses are similar. Components of both are compartmentalized. The sequence of events is identical in both systems energy harvesting, vectorial charge separation, and reduction. 

Carbonyl)chlorohydridotris(triphenylphosphine)ruthenium(II) was used as a catalyst in the transfer hydrogenation of benzaldehyde with formic acid as a hydrogen source. Under these conditions, the reduction ofbenzaldehyde to benzyl alcohol is accompanied by esterification of the alcohol with the excess of formic acid to provide benzyl formate (Scheme 4.16). In this microwave-assisted reaction, the catalyst displayed improved turnover rates compared to the thermal reaction (280 vs. 6700 turnovers/h), thus leading to shorter reaction times36. 

Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of benzaldehyde-l-d with (R,R)-28 and (CH3)3COK in 2-propanol gave (R)-benzyl-l-d alcohol quantitatively in 98% ee (Scheme 41) [114], Introduction of electron-donating and electron-accepting groups at the 4 position had little effect on the enantioselectivity. Catalytic deuteration of benzaldehydes was achieved by use of the same complex (R,R)-28 and a 1 1 mixture of formic acid-2-d and triethylamine to give the S deuter-io alcohols in up to 99% ee (Scheme 42) [114], The dt content in the product alcohol was >99%. Only a stoichiometric amount of deuterium source is required to complete the reaction. 

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