Carboxylic acid amides compds

Synthesis of oxo compds. from carboxylic acid amides... 

When an amide of a hydroxy aliphatic mono-carboxylic acid of the general formula HOCHj. CONRH(where R is an alkyl radical) is treated with nitric acid, nitric esters (OjNO. CHa. CO. NHR) are usually obtained. However, in some cases NO groups are also introduced yielding compds of the general formula O%N0. CHa. CO. N(NO,)R... 

Alcohols from oxo compds. 20 eqs. NaBH4 added to a soln. of 5 eqs. ZrC in THF at room temp, under N2, a soln. of 4 eqs. acetophenone in the same solvent added, and the mixture stirred at room temp, for 5 h - 1-phenylethanol. Y 96%. ZrCl4 is inexpensive, easy to use, and does not affect ar. nitro compds. and bromides. F.e., also reduction of carboxylic acids, esters and halides to prim, alcohols, and amides, oximes, alkoximes, nitriles, and imines to amines, s. S. Itsuno et al.. Synthesis 1988, 995-6. 

Lower valent tungsten halides are a new class of deoxygenation agents, e.g. for the conversion of carbonyl or epoxy compounds into olefins . A new reagent, generated in situ from iron pentacarbonyl and a small amount of base in moist solvents, selectively and efficiently hydrogenates the ethylenic portion of a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compounds, such as ketones or lactones, under mild conditions. Aliphatic tert. amides can be easily reduced to alcohols by alkali metals in hexa-methylphosphoramide and a protic cosolvent such as tert-butanol. Aldehydes can be obtained from acids by catalytic reduction of intermediate carboxylic alkoxyformic anhydrides . Sec. nitro compds. are converted into ketones by the joint action of a nitrite ester and NaNOg under mild, non-acidic conditions . 

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