Common carbonyl protecting groups

Carbonyls can be protected as acyclic or cyclic acetals, 5,S -dialkyl acetals, oxathiolanes, 1,1-diacetates and nitrogenous derivatives. 

3-Dithio ane 1,3-Dithiane 1,3-Oxathiolane Acyclic and cyclic acetals are stable to base but removed with acid. Aliphatic aldehydes are more reactive than aromatic aldehydes, which in turn are more reactive than ketones. 

Dimethyl acetals can be prepared under different conditions from aldehydes and ketones as shown below  

Formation of cyclic acetals of a 3-unsaturated carbonyls is usually slower than for the saturated carbonyls. Thus, saturated ketones can be selectively protected in the presence of 

However, aP-unsaturated ketones are also selectively protected as shown below  

---

The most commonly used protected derivatives of aldehydes and ketones are 1,3-dioxolanes and 1,3-oxathiolanes. They are obtained from the carbonyl compounds and 1,2-ethanediol or 2-mercaptoethanol, respectively, in aprotic solvents and in the presence of catalysts, e.g. BF, (L.F. Fieser, 1954 G.E. Wilson, Jr., 1968), and water scavengers, e.g. orthoesters (P. Doyle. 1965). Acid-catalyzed exchange dioxolanation with dioxolanes of low boiling ketones, e.g. acetone, which are distilled during the reaction, can also be applied (H. J. Dauben, Jr., 1954). Selective monoketalization of diketones is often used with good success (C. Mercier, 1973). Even from diketones with two keto groups of very similar reactivity monoketals may be obtained by repeated acid-catalyzed equilibration (W.S. Johnson, 1962 A.G. Hortmann, 1969). Most aldehydes are easily converted into acetals. The ketalization of ketones is more difficult for sterical reasons and often requires long reaction times at elevated temperatures. a, -Unsaturated ketones react more slowly than saturated ketones. 2-Mercaptoethanol is more reactive than 1,2-ethanediol (J. Romo, 1951 C. Djerassi, 1952 G.E. Wilson, Jr., 1968). 

Cyclic acetals are useful and common protecting groups for aldehydes and ketones, especially during the course of a total synthesis [8]. The successful synthesis of acetals frequently relies on the removal of water, a by-product of the reaction between the carbonyl compound and the corresponding diol. A Dean-Stark trap is often used for the removal of water as an azeotrope with benzene, but this method is not suitable for small-scale reactions. In addition, the highly carcinogenic nature of benzene makes it an undesirable solvent. Many of the reported catalysts for acetal synthesis such as p-toluenesulfonic acid and boron trifluoride etherate are toxic and corrosive. 

One of the most common photochemical reaction pathways of carbonyl compounds is the formation of a diradicaloid excited state which is able to abstract a hydrogen atom at the y (or, more rarely, e) position, followed by either fragmentation or recombination. This process, which is known as the Norrish type II reaction, has a parallel in the photochemistry of nitro groups the intramolecular hydrogen abstraction of excited ortho-nitrotoluene is actually one of the very early synthetic photochemical transformations [9]. It has been exploited in a family of photolabile protecting groups, most prominent among which are derivatives of ortho-nitrobcnzyl alcohol, as introduced in 1966 by Barltrop et al. (Scheme 13.1) [10, 11],... 

Keto aldehyde 191 (Scheme 2.87) was prepared as a common precursor in the synthesis of a series of isoprenoid pheromones. One of the synthetic options required the selective reduction of a ketone carbonyl in this compound. Under mild conditions of acetalization (weak acid, methanol), only the aldehydic function of 191 was affected to form a mono-protected derivative, 192. Reduction of the keto group in the derivative with sodium borohydride and subsequent removal of the acetal protecting group gave the desired hydroxy aldehyde 193. ... 

---