Carbonyl compounds cleavage

Periodic acid cleavage of vicinal diols is often used for analytical purposes as an aid m structure determination By identifying the carbonyl compounds produced the con stitution of the starting diol may be deduced This technique finds its widest application with carbohydrates and will be discussed more fully in Chapter 25... 

Thermal decomposition of dihydroperoxides results in initial homolysis of an oxygen—oxygen bond foUowed by carbon—oxygen and carbon—carbon bond cleavages to yield mixtures of carbonyl compounds (ketones, aldehydes), esters, carboxyHc acids, hydrocarbons, and hydrogen peroxide. 

The absorption of uv light produces radicals by cleavage of hydroperoxides and carbonyl compounds (eqs. 10—12)... 

Practically all diaziridines (151) can be hydrolyzed by acids to a carbonyl compound and a hydrazine derivative. The only exceptions are diaziridines derived from formaldehyde, in which acid catalyzed N—N cleavage successfully competes with slow hydrolysis. Monoalkylhydrazines are formed in 80-95% yield, A/,A/ -dialkylhydrazines in 65-85% yield (B-67MI50800). 

A carbonyl group can be protected as a sulfur derivative—for example, a dithio acetal or ketal, 1,3-dithiane, or 1,3-dithiolane—by reaction of the carbonyl compound in the presence of an acid catalyst with a thiol or dithiol. The derivatives are in general cleaved by reaction with Hg(II) salts or oxidation acidic hydrolysis is unsatisfactory. The acyclic derivatives are formed and hydrolyzed much more readily than their cyclic counterparts. Representative examples of formation and cleavage are shown below. 

Another common fragmentation reaction is the cleavage of an alkoxy radical to an alkyl radical and a carbonyl compound ... 

As is clear from the preceding examples, there are a variety of overall reactions that can be initiated by photolysis of ketones. The course of photochemical reactions of ketones is veiy dependent on the structure of the reactant. Despite the variety of overall processes that can be observed, the number of individual steps involved is limited. For ketones, the most important are inter- and intramolecular hydrogen abstraction, cleavage a to the carbonyl group, and substituent migration to the -carbon atom of a,/S-unsaturated ketones. Reexamination of the mechanisms illustrated in this section will reveal that most of the reactions of carbonyl compounds that have been described involve combinations of these fundamental processes. The final products usually result from rebonding of reactive intermediates generated by these steps. 

Cleavage reactions of car bohydrates also occur on treatment with aqueous base for prolonged periods as a consequence of base-catalyzed retro-aldol reactions. As pointed out in Section 18.9, aldol addition is a reversible process, and (3-hydroxy carbonyl compounds can be cleaved to an enolate and either an aldehyde or a ketone. 

The oxidative cleavage of the central carbon-carbon bond in a vicinal diol 1, by reaction with lead tetraacetate or periodic acid, yields two carbonyl compounds 2 and 3 as products. 

Reductive cleavage of phenylhydrazones of carbonyl compounds provides a route to amines. The reduction is carried out conveniently in ethanol containing ammonia over palladium-on-carbon. Ammonia is used to minimize formation of secondary amines, derived by addition of the initially formed amine to the starting material (160). Alternatively, a two-phase system of benzene, cyclohexane, toluene, or dioxane and aqueous hydrochloric acid can be used. 

Since double bonds may be considered as masked carbonyl, carboxyl or hydroxymethylene groups, depending on whether oxidative or reductive methods are applied after cleavage of the double bond, the addition products from (E)-2 and carbonyl compounds can be further transformed into a variety of chiral compounds. Thus, performing a second bromine/lithium exchange on compound 4, and subsequent protonation, afforded the olefin 5. Ozonolysis followed by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride gave (S)-l-phenyl-l,2-ethanediol in >98% ee. 

Ceric ions react rapidly with 1,2-diols. There is evidence for chelation of cerium and these complexes are likely intermediates in radical generation10 106 The overall chemistry may be understood in terms of an intermediate alkoxy radical which undergoes p-scission to give a carbonyl compound and a hydroxyalkyl radical (Scheme 3.59). However, it is also possible that there is concerted electron transfer and bond-cleavage. There is little direct data on the chemical nature of the radical in termediates. 

The procedure involves C-alkylation of an a-sulfonyl carbanion derived from 245 with alkyl halides or carbonyl compounds, followed by cleavage of the cyclopropanols 247 produced by deprotection of the hydroxy group of 246 to give (E)-substituted aldehydes141. 

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