Carbonyl compounds, condensation reactions Horner-Emmons reaction

The synthetic method (a) is the regioselective reduction of an a,/ -unsaturated aldehyde or ketone (Section 5.18.2, p. 798), which is most conveniently effected by the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley procedure (Section 5.4.1, p. 520). The further disconnection shown of the a, -carbonyl compound is a retro-aldol condensation (Section 5.18.2, p. 799) however it should be emphasised that other routes to the unsaturated carbonyl compound, such as the Horner-Emmons reaction (Section 5.18.2, p. 799), may also be feasible. 

Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reactions are C—C-forming condensation reactions between the Li, Na, or K salt of a /J-keto- or an -(alkoxycarbonyl)phosphonic acid dialkyl ester and a carbonyl compound (cf. Figure 4.41). These reactions furnish a,f)-unsaturated ketones or a j8-unsaturated esters, respectively, as the desired products and a phosphoric acid diester anion as a water-soluble by-product. In general, starting from aldehydes, the desired compounds are produced fraus-selectively or in the case of olefins with trisubstituted C—C double bonds -selectively. 

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