Carboxylic acids reductive halogenation

The mildness of the procedure provides the selective reduction of unsaturated carbonyl groups in the presence of almost any other functional groups such as ester, amide, carboxylic acid, nitro, halogen, nitrile, etc. It is evident that this reagent is far superior in purity and yield of products as compared to the conventional reagents, without any observable 1,4-reduction. 

Alane (AIH3) and its derivatives have also been utilized in the reduction of carboxylic acids to primary alcohols. It rapidly reduces aldehydes, ketones, acid chlorides, lactones, esters, carboxylic acids and salts, tertiary amides, nitriles and epoxides. In contrast, nitro compounds and alkenes are slow to react. AIH3 is particularly useful for the chemoselective reduction of carboxylic acids containing halogen or nitro substituents, to produce the corresponding primary alcohols. DIBAL-H reduces aliphatic or aromatic carboxylic acids to produce either aldehydes (-75 °C) or primary alcohols (25 C) Aminoalu-minum hydrides are less reactive reagents and are superior for aldehyde synthesis. ... 

Acid halides are among the most reactive of carboxylic acid derivatives and can be converted into many other kinds of compounds by nucleophilic acyl substitution mechanisms. The halogen can be replaced by -OH to yield an acid, by —OCOR to yield an anhydride, by -OR to yield an ester, or by -NH2 to yield an amide. In addition, the reduction of an acid halide yields a primary alcohol, and reaction with a Grignard reagent yields a tertiary alcohol. Although the reactions we ll be discussing in this section are illustrated only for acid chlorides, similar processes take place with other acid halides. 

CHEC-II(1996) <1996CHEC-II(8)345> covered a range of reactions of substituents, including hydrolyses of esters to carboxylic acids and geminal dihalides to aldehydes, reduction of aldehydes and halogens directly attached to the ring, O-methylation with diazomethane, and reduction of nitroso compounds. A selection of reactions which have... 

Reduction of carboxylic acids and esters, aldehydes, and nitriles, and the hydro-boration of alkenes with diborane in non-ethereal solvents is highly effective (Table 11.8), but reduction of nitro groups or cleavage of arena-halogen bonds does not occur [1]. However, in spite of the potential advantages, very little use appears to have been made of the procedure. 

Hydriodic acid is a reagent of choice for reduction of alcohols [225], some phenols [225], some ketones [227, 228], quinones [222], halogen derivatives [22S, 229], sulfonyl chlorides [230], diazo ketones [231], azides [232], and even some carbon-carbon double bonds [233]. Under very drastic conditions at high temperatmes even polynuclear aromatics and carboxylic acids can be reduced to saturated hydrocarbons but such reactions are hardly ever used nowadays. 

Reductions of halogen, nitro, diazo and azido derivatives of esters resemble closely those of the corresponding derivatives of carboxylic acids (p. 141). 

Types of compounds are arranged according to the following system hydrocarbons and basic heterocycles hydroxy compounds and their ethers mercapto compounds, sulfides, disulfides, sulfoxides and sulfones, sulfenic, sulfinic and sulfonic acids and their derivatives amines, hydroxylamines, hydrazines, hydrazo and azo compounds carbonyl compounds and their functional derivatives carboxylic acids and their functional derivatives and organometallics. In each chapter, halogen, nitroso, nitro, diazo and azido compounds follow the parent compounds as their substitution derivatives. More detail is indicated in the table of contents. In polyfunctional derivatives reduction of a particular function is mentioned in the place of the highest functionality. Reduction of acrylic acid, for example, is described in the chapter on acids rather than functionalized ethylene, and reduction of ethyl acetoacetate is discussed in the chapter on esters rather than in the chapter on ketones. 

The addition of carbanions, generated electrochemically by reduction of the carbon-halogen bond, to carbon dioxide has been examined under a variety of experimental conditions. Direct electrosynthesis of carboxylic acids in a divided cell using an aprotic solvent and a tetraalkylammonium salt as electrolyte is most sue-... 

Formation of carboxylic acids by reduction in dimethylformamide of the carbon-halogen bond in die presence of carbon dioxide and using sacrificial anodes. 

The synthesis of a triptan with a chiral side chain begins by reduction of the carboxylic acid in chiral 4-nitrophenylalanine (15-1). The two-step procedure involves conversion of the acid to its ester by the acid chloride by successive reaction with thionyl chloride and then methanol. Treatment of the ester with sodium borohy-dride then afford the alanilol (15-2). Reaction of this last intermediate with phosgene closes the ring to afford the oxazolidone (15-3) the nitro group is then reduced to the aniline (15-4). The newly obtained amine is then converted to the hydrazine (15-5). Reaction of this product with the acetal from 3-chloropropionaldehyde followed by treatment of the hydrazone with acid affords the indole (15-6). The terminal halogen on the side chain is then replaced by an amine by successive displacement by means of sodium azide followed by catalytic reduction of the azide. The newly formed amine is then methylated by reductive alkylation with formaldehyde in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride to afford zolmitriptan (15-7) [15]. 

Adipic acid undergoes the usual reactions of carboxylic acids, including esterification, amidation, reduction, halogenation, salt formation, and dehydration. Because of its bifunclionai nature, il also undergoes several industrially significant polymerization reactions. 

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