Benzylic halides Raney nickel

Minute amounts of halide have a powerful poisoning effect upon the catalyst it is advisable to distil the benzyl cyanide from Raney nickel. 

Benzyl cyanide, prepared according to Org. Syn. Coll. Vol. 1, 1941, 107, should be distilled from Raney nickel. Minute traces of halide ha - a strong poisoning effect on the catalyst. If the reduction does not occur within an hour, the contents of the bomb should be removed and filtered. New catalyst is then added and the process is repeated. 

Arene(tricarbonyl)chromium complexes, 19 Nickel boride, 197 to trans-alkenes Chromium(II) sulfate, 84 of anhydrides to lactones Tetrachlorotris[bis(l,4-diphenyl-phosphine)butane]diruthenium, 288 of aromatic rings Palladium catalysts, 230 Raney nickel, 265 Sodium borohydride-1,3-Dicyano-benzene, 279 of aryl halides to arenes Palladium on carbon, 230 of benzyl ethers to alcohols Palladium catalysts, 230 of carboxylic acids to aldehydes Vilsmeier reagent, 341 of epoxides to alcohols Samarium(II) iodide, 270 Sodium hydride-Sodium /-amyloxide-Nickel(II) chloride, 281 Sodium hydride-Sodium /-amyloxide-Zinc chloride, 281 of esters to alcohols Sodium borohydride, 278 of imines and related compounds Arene(tricarbonyl)chromium complexes, 19... 

The synthesis uses alkylation by a benzylic halide and the reduction of both nitro groups is done catalytically with Raney nickel in the same step.6... 

Selenides are also nucleophilic and produce isolable selenonium salts (9) when treated with alkyl halides. They are easily oxidized to selenoxides (10) and further to selenones (11) under more forcing conditions (see Section 4). Reduction of selenides to the corresponding hydrocarbons is most conveniently achieved with nickel boride,or with tri-n-butyl- or triphenyltin hydride under radical conditions. " Other reagents for reductive deselenization include Raney nickel, lithium triethylborohydride, and lithium in ethylamine (Scheme 4). Benzylic selenides undergo radical extrusion reactions under thermal or photolytic conditions to produce... 

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). ... 

The use of Raney nickel and of noble metals (palladium) may be singled out from the catalytic processes available in this field. For instance, Wessely and Sinwel434 hydrogenated substituted benzyl halides with a 20% Pd-BaS04 catalyst in alcohol in presence of dimethylaniline. Addition of a base is essential to bind the acid formed which would otherwise poison the catalyst. 

In the presence of a Lewis acid, silyl enol ethers can be alkylated with reactive secondary halides, such as substituted benzyl halides, and with chloromethylphenyl sulfide (ClCH2SPh), an activated primary halide. Thus, reaction of the benzyl chloride 10 in the presence of zinc bromide with the trimethylsilyl enol ether derived from mesityl oxide allowed a short and efficient route to the sesquiterpene ( )-ar-turmerone (1.22). Reaction of ClCH2SPh with the trimethylsilyl enol ethers of lactones in the presence of zinc bromide, followed by 5-oxidation and pyrolytic ehmination of the resulting sulfoxide (see Section 2.2), provides a good route to the a-methylene lactone unit common in many cytotoxic sesquiterpenes (1.23). Desulfurization with Raney nickel, instead of oxidation and elimination, affords the a-methyl (or a-alkyl starting with RCH(Cl)SPh) derivatives. ... 

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. 

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