Diols carbonyl compounds

The addition of acetylides to oxiranes yields 3-alkyn-l-ols (F. Sondheimer, 1950 M.A. Adams, 1979 R.M. Carlson, 1974, 1975 K. Mori, 1976). The acetylene dianion and two a -synthons can also be used. 1,4-Diols with a carbon triple bond in between are formed from two carbonyl compounds (V. Jager, 1977, see p. 52). The triple bond can be either converted to a CIS- or frans-configurated double bond (M.A. Adams, 1979) or be hydrated to give a ketone (see pp. 52, 57, 131). 

Thallium(III) acetate reacts with alkenes to give 1,2-diol derivatives (see p. 128) while thallium(III) nitrate leads mostly to rearranged carbonyl compounds via organothallium compounds (E.C. Taylor, 1970, 1976 R.J. Ouelette, 1973 W. Rotermund, 1975 R. Criegee, 1979). Very useful reactions in complex syntheses have been those with olefins and ketones (see p. 136) containing conjugated aromatic substituents, e.g. porphyrins (G. W. Kenner, 1973 K.M. Smith, 1975). 

Periodic acid cleavage of vicinal diols is often used for analytical purposes as an aid m structure determination By identifying the carbonyl compounds produced the con stitution of the starting diol may be deduced This technique finds its widest application with carbohydrates and will be discussed more fully in Chapter 25... 

Periodic acid oxidation (Section 15 12) finds extensive use as an analytical method m carbohydrate chemistry Structural information is obtained by measuring the number of equivalents of periodic acid that react with a given compound and by identifying the reaction products A vicinal diol consumes one equivalent of penodate and is cleaved to two carbonyl compounds... 

Ethynylation. Base-catalyzed addition of acetylene to carbonyl compounds to form -yn-ols and -yn-glycols (see Acetylene-DERIVED chemicals) is a general and versatile reaction for the production of many commercially useful products. Finely divided KOH can be used in organic solvents or Hquid ammonia. The latter system is widely used for the production of pharmaceuticals and perfumes. The primary commercial appHcation of ethynylation is in the production of 2-butyne-l,4-diol from acetylene and formaldehyde using supported copper acetyHde as catalyst in an aqueous Hquid-fiHed system. 

Acetylene is condensed with carbonyl compounds to give a wide variety of products, some of which are the substrates for the preparation of families of derivatives. The most commercially significant reaction is the condensation of acetylene with formaldehyde. The reaction does not proceed well with base catalysis which works well with other carbonyl compounds and it was discovered by Reppe (33) that acetylene under pressure (304 kPa (3 atm), or above) reacts smoothly with formaldehyde at 100°C in the presence of a copper acetyUde complex catalyst. The reaction can be controlled to give either propargyl alcohol or butynediol (see Acetylene-DERIVED chemicals). 2-Butyne-l,4-diol, its hydroxyethyl ethers, and propargyl alcohol are used as corrosion inhibitors. 2,3-Dibromo-2-butene-l,4-diol is used as a flame retardant in polyurethane and other polymer systems (see Bromine compounds Elame retardants). 

Cyclic g-haloacetals and -ketals have been prepared by variations on two basic methods. The most frequently used method involves the combination of an a,B-unsaturated carbonyl compound (acrolein, methyl vinyl ketone, croton-aldehyde, etc.) a diol, and the anhydrous hydrogen halide. All possible sequences of combining these three have been used. In most cases the... 

The oxidative cleavage of the central carbon-carbon bond in a vicinal diol 1, by reaction with lead tetraacetate or periodic acid, yields two carbonyl compounds 2 and 3 as products. 

Alkenes are reduced by addition of H2 in the presence of a catalyst such as platinum or palladium to yield alkanes, a process called catalytic hydrogenation. Alkenes are also oxidized by reaction with a peroxyacid to give epoxides, which can be converted into lTans-l,2-diols by acid-catalyzed epoxide hydrolysis. The corresponding cis-l,2-diols can be made directly from alkenes by hydroxylation with 0s04. Alkenes can also be cleaved to produce carbonyl compounds by reaction with ozone, followed by reduction with zinc metal. 

Aldehyde oxidations occur through intermediate l/l-diols, or hydrates, which are formed by a reversible nucleophilic addition of water to the carbonyl group. Even though formed to only a small extent at equilibrium, the hydrate reacts like any typical primary or secondary alcohol and is oxidized to a carbonyl compound (Section 17.7). 

The position of the equilibrium between a gem diol and an aldehyde or ketone depends on the structure of the carbonyl compound. The equilibrium generally favors the carbonyl compound for steric reasons, but the gem diol is favored for a few simple aldehydes. For example, an aqueous solution of formaldehyde consists of 99.9% gem diol and 0.1% aldehyde, whereas an aqueous solution of acetone consists of only about 0.1% gem diol and 99.9% ketone. 

Addition of water to the protonated carbonyl compound gives a protonated gem diol intermediate. 

Nucleophilic addition of an alcohol to the carbonyl group initially yields a hydroxy ether called a hemiacetal, analogous to the gem diol formed by addition of water. HcmiacetaJs are formed reversibly, with the equilibrium normally favoring the carbonyl compound. In the presence of acid, however, a further reaction occurs. Protonation of the -OH group, followed by an El-like loss of water, leads to an oxonium ion, R2C=OR+, which undergoes a second nucleophilic addition of alcohol to yield the acetal. The mechanism is shown in Figure 19.12. 

Ceric ions react rapidly with 1,2-diols. There is evidence for chelation of cerium and these complexes are likely intermediates in radical generation10 106 The overall chemistry may be understood in terms of an intermediate alkoxy radical which undergoes p-scission to give a carbonyl compound and a hydroxyalkyl radical (Scheme 3.59). However, it is also possible that there is concerted electron transfer and bond-cleavage. There is little direct data on the chemical nature of the radical in termediates. 

Metal-induced reductive dimerization of carbonyl compounds is a useful synthetic method for the formation of vicinally functionalized carbon-carbon bonds. For stoichiometric reductive dimerizations, low-valent metals such as aluminum amalgam, titanium, vanadium, zinc, and samarium have been employed. Alternatively, ternary systems consisting of catalytic amounts of a metal salt or metal complex, a chlorosilane, and a stoichiometric co-reductant provide a catalytic method for the formation of pinacols based on reversible redox couples.2 The homocoupling of aldehydes is effected by vanadium or titanium catalysts in the presence of Me3SiCl and Zn or A1 to give the 1,2-diol derivatives high selectivity for the /-isomer is observed in the case of secondary aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes. 

An alternative strategy for promoting Diels-Alder reaction by proton involves the activation of dienophile by hydrogen bonding [93]. Biphenylene diol 143 (Scheme 4.26) forms doubly hydrogen-bonded complexes with a,j]-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, which strongly accelerate the Diels-Alder... 

Both unsymmetrical alkenes and diols can be prepared by applying these methods to mixtures of two different carbonyl compounds. An excess of one component can be used to achieve a high conversion of the more valuable reactant. A mixed reductive... 

Ballini and coworkers have developed a new strategy for alkenylation of carbonyl compounds based on the Michael addition followed by elimination of HN02 (see Section 7.3). A variety of 2-alkylidene 1,4-dioles have been conveniently prepared, in two steps, by the Michael addition of a nitroalkane to the appropriate enedione derivatives under basic conditions, followed by chemoselective reduction with LiAlH4 (Eq. 4.123).170... 

The utility of oc-alkoxyorganostannanes as precursors to a-alkoxyorganolithiums has been demonstrated by several groups.2 Primary a-alkoxyorganostannanes2d-a have been used as hydroxymethyl anion equivalents.3 Direct hydroxymethylation of carbonyl compounds was achieved by Seebach and Meyers,4 who treated tributylstannylmethanol with two equivalents of butyllithium (BuLi) to produce the dianion df methanol. The dianion added to carbonyl compounds to give diols directly. 

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