Benzylic halides hydrogenolysis

Water-soluble transition-metal complexes have been used recently for transfer hydrogenolysis of halocarbons. Paetzold and Oehme [110] have realized the reductive dehaiogenation of allyl or benzyl halides in the presence of [(phosphine) 2PdCl2] complexes with sulfonated phosphines as ligands (e.g., Ph2P(CH2)3S03K) by... 

This chapter surveys the reduction of saturated alkyl halides to alkanes. Reductive -eliminations of vicinal dihalides to alkenes are also described briefly. Reduction of vinyl and aryl halides is covered in this volume. Chapter 4.5 hydrogenolysis of allyl and benzyl halides is covered in this volume. Chapter 4.7, and reduction of a-halo-substituted carbonyl compounds CX—CO to carbonyl compounds CH—CO is covered in this volume. Chapter 4.8. 

Hydrogenolysis of Allyl and Benzyl Halides and Related Compounds... 

Benzylic halides have also been reduced to hydrocarbons by hydrogenolysis over Raney nickel (equation 31). Benzylic amines have been cleaved by hydrogenolysis over Raney nickel (equation 32) or by treatment of a methiodide salt with basic Raney nickel (equation 33). ... 

Amino acids can be synthesized via the coupling of Schiff bases with carbanions generated by reduction of benzyl halides [143,144]. Electrolysis of benzyl chloride at mercury in DMF containing TBABr, and in the presence of the Schiff base formed from benzylamine and benzyl pyruvate, affords or-methylphenylalanine in up to 86% yield (after hydrogenolysis over palladium-charcoal). An antihypertensive agent, or-methyl-j6-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)alanine, has been prepared by reductive coupling of the aforementioned Schiff base with 3,4-methylenedioxybenzyl chloride. 

Silyl and stannyl hydrides effect high yield reduction of aryl diazonium salts, and are compatible with a wider range of solvents than is HaP02. NaH prepared situ has been found to be much more active than the commercial product. Using the more active NaH, hydrogenolysis of benzylic halides is possible. Sodium borohydride has been reported to reduce nitriles to amines if Raney nickel is used as catalyst. 

Benzyl ethers are commonly used to protect hydroxyl groups in sugars. Benzyl halides are easily introduced because they are highly reactive in ivi2 reactions. Sodium or potassium hydride is typically used as the base in an aptotic solvent such as DMF or DMSO. The benzyl groups can later be easily removed by hydrogenolysis using a palladium catalyst. 

Historically, simple Vz-alkyl ethers formed from a phenol and a halide or sulfate were cleaved under rather drastic conditions (e.g., refluxing HBr). New ether protective groups have been developed that are removed under much milder conditions (e.g., via nucleophilic displacement, hydrogenolysis of benzyl ethers, and mild acid hydrolysis of acetal-type ethers) that seldom affect other functional groups in a molecule. 

The synthesis of a benzamide with a somewhat more complex side chain starts by condensation of acid 144 with racemic cis-aminopiperidine 152. Removal of the benzyl group of 153 by hydrogenolysis gives the secondary amine 154. Alkylation on nitrogen with the halide 155 gives finally the dopamine antagonist, cisapride (156) [38,39]. 

Palladium-catalyzed aminations of aryl halides is now a well-documented process [86-88], Heo et al. showed that amino-substituted 2-pyridones 54 and 55 can be prepared in a two-step procedure via a microwave-assisted Buchwald-Hartwig amination reaction of 5- or 6-bromo-2-benzyloxypyri-dines 50 and 51 followed by a hydrogenolysis of the benzyl ether 52 and 53, as outlined in Fig. 9 [89]. The actual microwave-assisted Buchwald-Hartwig coupling was not performed directly at the 2-pyridone scaffold, but instead at the intermediate pyridine. Initially, the reaction was performed at 150 °C for 10 min with Pd2(dba)3 as the palladium source, which provided both the desired amino-pyridines (65% yield) as well as the debrominated pyridine. After improving the conditions, the best temperature and time to use proved... 

Hydrogenolysis of halides and benzylic groups presumably involves intermediates formed by oxidative addition to the active metal catalyst to generate intermediates similar to those involved in hydrogenation. The hydrogenolysis is completed by reductive elimination.58 Many other examples of this pattern of reactivity are discussed in Chapter 8. 

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