Ethyl cinnamate transfer hydrogenation

The benzylic free radical produced by the addition of the carbamoyl radical to the ethyl cinnamate molecule is more stable than the alternative radical alpha to the ester group. With such an orientation of addition to the a,p-unsaturated ester, this reaction should lead to derivatives of malonic acid. However, it has been found that the intermediate radical, being a stable benzylic free radical, fails to perform the subsequent abstraction of a hydrogen atom from formamide, and thus no chain-transfer step takes place. Instead of performing this step it favours the combination with a semi-pinacol radical, which is present in solution, to yield the hydroxy ester which subsequently lactonizes to give the major product of the reaction (67). 

High catalytic activities, with turnovers of up to 9(X) cycles min , is displayed in the transfer hydrogenation of a,p-unsaturated ketones, such as benzylideneacetone and chalcone, using 2-propanol and catalytic amounts of [Ir(3,4,7,8-Me4-phen)COD]Cl (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline COD = 1,5-cyclo-octadiene) in a weakly alkaline medium. Other Ir-chelated complexes are also active catalysts in this reaction, with over 95% selectivity for the 1,4-reduction mode. Divalent lanthanide derivatives, such as Sml2 or Ybh in stoichiometric quantities, in THF and t-butyl alcohol or methanol reduce ethyl cinnamate and cinnamic acid to give the saturated derivatives. " Similarly, 3-methylcyclohexenone is reduced to 3-methylcyclohexen-l-ol in 67% yield, but a,p-unsaturated aldehydes are nonselectively reduced with these systems. 

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