Equatorial alcohols

Bu3Sn)20, toluene, reflux BnBr, A-methylimidazole, 95% yield." Equatorial alcohols are benzylated in preference to axial alcohols in diol-con-taining substrates. 

Extensive research has established that axial cyclohexanols are more reactive than equatorial alcohols toward chromic acid oxidation. The basis for this effect can be seen... 

The reduction of an asymmetric cyclohexanone (e.g. a steroidal ketone) can lead to two epimeric alcohols. Usually one of these products predominates. The experimental results for the reduction of steroidal ketones with metal hydrides have been well summarized by Barton and are discussed in some detail in a later section (page 76) unhindered ketones are reduced by hydrides to give mainly equatorial alcohols hindered ketones (more accurately ketones for which axial approach of the reagent is hindered " ) are reduced to give mainly axial alcohols. 

A number of groups have criticized the ideas of Dauben and Noyce, especially the concept of PDC. Kamernitzsky and Akhrem, " in a thorough survey of the stereochemistry of addition reactions to carbonyl groups, accepted the existence of SAC but not of PDC. They point out that the reactions involve low energies of activation (10-13 kcal/mole) and suggest that differences in stereochemistry involve differences in entropies of activation. The effect favoring the equatorial alcohols is attributed to an electrostatic or polar factor (see also ref. 189) which may be determined by a difference in the electrostatic fields on the upper and lower sides of the carbonyl double bond, connected, for example, with the uncompensated dipole moments of the C—H bonds. The way this polar effect is supposed to influence the attack of the hydride is not made clear. 

By a suitable choice of conditions (metal hydrides or metal/ammonia) ketones at the 1-, 2-, 4-, 6-, 7-, 11-, 12- and 20-positions in 5a-H steroids can be reduced to give each of the possible epimeric alcohols in reasonable yield. Hov/ever, the 3- and 17-ketones are normally reduced to give predominantly their -(equatorial) alcohols. Use of an iridium complex as catalyst leads to a high yield of 3a-alcohol, but the 17a-ol still remains elusive by direct reduction. 

These mechanistic interpretations can also be applied to the hydrogenation of cyclohexanones. In acid, the carbonium ion (19) is formed and adsorbed on the catalyst from the least hindered side. Hydride ion transfer from the catalyst gives the axial alcohol (20). " In base, the enolate anion (21) is also adsorbed from the least hindered side. Hydride ion transfer from the catalyst followed by protonation from the solution gives the equatorial alcohol (22). 

Because of the presence of alkali in Raney nickel, ketones are hydrogenated over this catalyst to yield the more stable, equatorial alcohol e.g. 59) as the predominant product, Similar results can be expected with platinum in basic media or with platinum oxide in an alcoholic solvent since this catalyst also contains basic impurities. 

Axial alcohols e.g. 60) are formed predominantly when platinum is used in moderately acidic media. The use of acetic acid alone as solvent affords the equatorial alcohol as the main product from both and 7-keto compounds. Addition of 2-10% of a strong acid e.g. hydrochloric acid) to this solvent leads to the axial alcohol as the primary, if not the exclusive, product. Primary and secondary alcohols may be converted in part to the corresponding acetates under these conditions. 

The chemical reduction of enamines by hydride again depends upon the prior generation of an imonium salt (111,225). Thus an equivalent of acid, such as perchloric acid, must be added to the enamine in reductions with lithium aluminum hydride. Studies of the steric course (537) of lithium aluminum hydride reductions of imonium salts indicate less stereoselectivity in comparison with the analogous carbonyl compounds, where an equatorial alcohol usually predominates in the reduction products of six-membered ring ketones. 

BzCl or BZ2O, Pyr, 0°. Benzoyl chloride is the most common reagent for the introduction of the benzoate group. Reaction conditions vary, depending on the nature of the alcohol to be protected. Cosolvents such as CH2CI2 are often used with pyridine. Benzoylation in a polyhydroxylated system is much more selective than acetylation. A primary alcohol is selectively protected over a secondary allylic alcohol, and an equatorial alcohol can... 

As a rule, axial alcohols oxidize somewhat faster than equatorial alcohols. Which would you expect to oxidize faster, ch-4-te/t-butylcyclohexanol or t/m/.v-4-teh-buiylcyclohexanol Draw the more stable chair conformation of each molecule. 

As a general rule, equatorial alcohols are esterified more readily than axial alcohols. What product would you expect to obtain from reaction of the following two compounds with 1 equivalent of acetic anhydride ... 

The method is useful in the preparation of other equatorial alcohols.2,8... 

Epoxides from aldehydes, 46, 44 Equatorial alcohols, preparation by use of the lithium aluminum hydride-aluminum chloride reagent, 47, 19... 

In the case of substituted cyclic ketones, particularly cyclohexanones, the stereochemical outcome of an addition reaction is determined by the predominance of either equatorial or axial attack of the nucleophile, leading to axial or equatorial alcohols, respectively 25 -27 (Figure 8). 

The stereochemical outcome of nucleophilic addition reactions to cyclic ketones is the subject of numerous experimental and theoretical studies, with substituted cyclohexanones and cy-clopcntanones having been intensively studied. In addition reactions to substituted cyclohexanones 1 the problem of simple diastereoselectivity is manifested in the predominance of cither axial attack of a nucleophile, leading to the equatorial alcohol 2 A. or equatorial attack of the nucleophile which leads to the axial alcohol 2B. 

As observed with cyclohexanones, the diastereoselectivity of the addition reaction of trimeth-ylaluminum to 2-methylcyclopentanone depends on the stoichiometry of the reactants. Thus, addition of one equivalent of trimcthylaluminum proceeds via preferential tram attack whereas, due to the "compression effect , addition of an excess of the reagent leads to the formation of the equatorial alcohol via predominant attack from the cis side (Table 3)6. In contrast to the addition reactions with trimethylaluniinum, no reversal of the diastereoselectivity upon change of reagent stoichiometry was observed in the addition of triphenylaluminum to 2-methylcyclopentanone6. Even with an excess of the aluminum reagent trans attack predominates. However, the diastereoselectivity is lower than with the use of an equimolar amount of the reactants. 

Precomplexation of 2-butylcyclopentanone with methylaluminum bis(2,6-di-hrt-butyI-4-methylphenoxide) (MAD), prior to the addition of methyllithium, leads to the exclusive formation of the equatorial alcohol via cis attack3 4. However, this methodology is apparently not applicable to 3-substituted cyclopentanones. Thus, addition of propylmagnesium bromide to... 

Chemo- and stereoselective reduction of (56) to (55) is achieved In highest yield by sodium borohydride in ethanol. The isolated ketone is reduced more rapidly than the enone and (55) is the equatorial alcohol. Protection moves the double bond out of conjugation and even the distant OH group in (54) successfully controls the stereochemistry of the Simmons-Smith reaction. No cyclopropanation occurred unless the OH group was there. Synthesis ... 

With less hindered hydride donors, particularly NaBH4 and LiAlH4, confor-mationally biased cyclohexanones give predominantly the equatorial alcohol, which is normally the more stable of the two isomers. However, hydride reductions are exothermic reactions with low activation energies. The TS should resemble starting ketone, so product stability should not control the stereoselectivity. A major factor in the preference for the equatorial isomer is the torsional strain that develops in the formation of the axial alcohol.117... 

Results are reported in Table 1 and Figure 2. The pure oxide shows in fact activity, but it is much lower than that observed over Cu/MgO. On the other hand the presence of CuO inhibits greatly the transfer reaction, as shown by very low activity of the unreduced CuO/MgO catalyst. Moreover the equatorial alcohol is almost exclusively formed, suggesting that the basicity of MgO is mainly responsible for the stereochemistry of the product. 

Coleman, Kobylecki, and Utley studied the electrochemical reduction of the conformationally fixed ketones 4-tert-butylcyclohexanone and 3,3,5-tri-methylcyclohexanone 82>. Stereochemically, the cleanest reductions took place at a platinum cathode in a mixture of hexamethylphosphoramide and ethanol containing lithium chloride. Under these conditions the equatorial alcohol predominated heavily (95% from 4-fer/-butylcyclohexane and 91% from 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexanone).In acidic media roughly equal quantities of axial and equatorial alcohol were produced. It was suggested that organo-lead intermediates are involved in the reductions in aqueous media. This is reasonable, based upon the probable mechanism of reduction in acid 83F Reductions in acid at mercury cathodes in fact do result in the formation of... 

Catalytic hydrogenation in neutral medium gives an axial alcohol from sterically hindered ketone and an equatorial alcohol from sterically unhindered ketones. 

Since the equatorial substituents are more stable than axial substituent, the product development control gives mainly the equatorial alcohol unless the steric hindrance to the approach of the reagent is very severe. 

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