Ketones deoxygenation

Titanium in a low valence state, as prepared by treatment of solutions of titanium trichloride with potassium [206] or magnesium [207] in tetrahydro-furan or with lithium in dimethoxyethane [206], deoxygenates ketones and effects coupling of two molecules at the carbonyl carbon to form alkenes, usually a mixture of both stereoisomers. If a mixture of acetone with other ketones is treated with titanium trichloride and lithium, the alkene formed by combination of acetone with the other ketone predominates over the symmetrical alkene produced from the other ketone [20(5] Procedure 39, p.215). 

Thiols and sulphides quench triplet carbonyl compounds. Evidence (including that from CIDNP studies) indicates that these reactions occur by a radical rather than an electron-transfer pathway (Cohen et al., 1979 Ver-meesch et al., 1978). It is interesting to note that sulphides will deoxygenate ketones producing sulphoxides, sulphones and presumably carbenes (Fox et al., 1979). Phosphines quench triplet carbonyl compounds (Davidson and Lambeth, 1969). They also deoxygenate carbonyl compounds to produce phosphine oxides and carbenes, and in this case, the reaction was proposed as occurring by an electron-transfer process (Fox, 1979). 

Finally, nitriles undergo addition with several different diaryl ketone dianions, affording a-hydroxy ketones after hydrolysis of the reaction mixture (equation lOS). In some cases, deoxygenated ketones appear as minor by-products of the reaction. 

This method of directly reducing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine to meth or benzedrine uses hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent. The Wolff-Kishner reduction is generally used to deoxygenate ketones to the corresponding hydrocarbon, but in this case, it can be used on these particular substances to reduce them. No doubt, this is because the benzyl alcohol grouping has a ketone nature due to tautomerism. 

An aldehyde or ketone 1 can react with hydrazine to give a hydrazone 2. The latter can be converted to a hydrocarbon—the methylene derivative 3—by loss of Na upon heating in the presence of base. This deoxygenation method is called the Wolff-Kishner reduction. ... 

Hydrogenation of epoxides lends itself well to both synthetic applications and mechanistic studies. The reaction is complex, for either carbon-oxygen bond may break with or without inversion of configuration, and the product may contain deoxygenated products (92,93) as well as ketones derived by isomerization (26). The reaction is especially sensitive to both catalyst and environment (74). 

Unsymmetrical alkenes can be prepared from a mixture of two ketones, if one is in excess. " The mechanism consists of initial coupling of two radical species to give a 1,2-dioxygen compound (a titanium pinacolate), which is then deoxygenated. " ... 

Paulsen and his coworkers first synthesized (-f-)-203 from L-quebrachitol (286) by a 21-step reaction as follows. The di-O-isopropylidene derivative was oxidized to the ketone (287), and then epoxidized with dimethyl sulfox-onium-methylide to give 288, which was subjected to benzoylation, mesyla-tion, and demethylation, followed by benzylation, to afford 289. Introduction of unsaturation was accomplished by epoxidation of 289 with sodium methoxide to 290 and 291, and deoxygenation to 292. The azido group was introduced with azobis(dicarboxylate) to give 293, which was hydrogeno-lyzed, followed by deprotection to afford 203. 

The deoxygenation of aldehydes and ketones to the corresponding hydrocarbons via the hydrazones is known as the Wolff-Kishner reduction.28 Various modifications of the original protocols have been suggested. One of the most useful is the Huang-Minlon modification, which substituted hydrazine hydrate as a safer and less expensive replacement of anhydrous hydrazine. In addition, diethylene glycol together with sodium hydroxide was used to increase the reaction... 

The keto function is frequently deoxygenated via Ra-Ni-mediated desulfurization of thioacetals 412 14 That is, the ketone group can be removed from compound (36) by thioketalization followed by desulfurization with Ra-Ni (81 mmol Ni/mmol) in MeOH for 20 minutes (Scheme 4.118).415... 

Chloroethyl)-4-nitrobenzene, ketone deoxygenative chlorination, 134 Chromium complexes ... 

Solutions of low-valence titanium chloride (titanium dichloride) are prepared in situ by reduction of solutions of titanium trichloride in tetrahydrofuran or 1,2-dimethoxyethane with lithium aluminum hydride [204, 205], with lithium or potassium [206], with magnesium [207, 208] or with a zinc-copper couple [209,210]. Such solutions effect hydrogenolysis of halogens [208], deoxygenation of epoxides [204] and reduction of aldehydes and ketones to alkenes [205,... 

In addition to deoxygenation sulfoxides undergo reductive cleavage at the carbon-sulfur bond when heated in tetrahydrofuran with aluminum amalgam. Keto sulfoxides were thus converted to ketones in usually quantitative yields (the keto group remained intact) [141]. 

An interesting deoxygenation of ketones takes place on treatment with low valence state titanium. Reagents prepared by treatment of titanium trichloride in tetrahydrofuran with lithium aluminum hydride [205], with potassium [206], with magnesium [207], or in dimethoxyethane with lithium [206] or zinc-copper couple [206,209] convert ketones to alkenes formed by coupling of the ketone carbon skeleton at the carbonyl carbon. Diisopropyl ketone thus gave tetraisopropylethylene (yield 37%) [206], and cyclic and aromatic ketones afforded much better yields of symmetrical or mixed coupled products [206,207,209]. The formation of the alkene may be preceded by pinacol coupling. In some cases a pinacol was actually isolated and reduced by low valence state titanium to the alkene [206] (p. 118). 

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