Hydration oxymercuration methods

Methyl ketones are important intermediates for the synthesis of methyl alkyl carbinols, annulation reagents, and cyclic compounds. A common synthetic method for the preparation of methyl ketones is the alkylation of acetone derivatives, but the method suffers limitations such as low yields and lack of regioselectivity. Preparation of methyl ketones from olefins and acetylenes using mercury compounds is a better method. For example, hydration of terminal acetylenes using HgSO gives methyl ketones cleanly. Oxymercuration of 1-olefins and subsequent oxidation with chromic oxide is... 

Hydration of an alkene—the addition of water—is carried out by either of two procedures, depending on the product desired. Oxymercuration involves electrophilic addition of Hg2+ to an alkene, followed by trapping of the cation intermediate with water and subsequent treatment with NaBH4. Hydroboration involves addition of borane (BH3) followed by oxidation of the intermediate organoborane with alkaline H202- The two hydration methods are complementary oxymercuration gives the product of Markovnikov addition, whereas hydroboration/oxidation gives the product with non-Markovnikov syn stereochemistry. 

Oxymercuration (Section 7.4) A method for double-bond hydration using aqueous mercuric acetate as the reagent. 

Oxymercuration-demercuration is a useful laboratory method for the synthesis of small quantities of alcohol. Like the catalytic hydration reaction, this process is an example of Markovnikov addition. It s a useful procedure because it tends to result in high yields and rearrangements rarely occur. 

Various allylic amines and protected allylic alcohols were tested using different cyclodextrins. Although only low to moderate enantioselectivity was obtained, the method demonstrated for the first time an enantioselective inverse phase-transfer catalysis hydration reaction via an oxymercuration-demercuration process. 

Oxymercuration-demercuration is another method for converting alkenes to alcohols with Markovnikov orientation. Oxymercuration-demercuration works with many alkenes that do not easily undergo direct hydration, and it takes place under milder conditions. No free carbocation is formed, so there is no opportunity for rearrangements or polymerization. 

Of the methods we have seen for Markovnikov hydration of alkenes, oxymercuration-demercuration is most commonly used in the laboratory. It gives better yields than direct acid-catalyzed hydration, it avoids the possibility of rearrangements, and it does not involve harsh conditions. There are also disadvantages, however. Organomercurial compounds are highly toxic. They must be used with great care and then must be disposed of properly. 

Alcohols can be prepared by hydration of alkenes. Because the dii hydration of alkenes with aqueous acid is generally a poor ruacuoo in the laboratury. tvw> indirect methods are commonly uaed Hydro-borationfmtidation yields the product of sy , r on-Morkovnikov hydr, tion iSection 7.5). whereas oxymercuration/reduction yields the p od-1 urt of Markovnikow hydration (Section 7,4). Both reactions are generally applicable to most alkenes. 

When predicting the product of a reaction, you have to recall what you know about the kind of reaction being carried out and then apply that knowledge to the specific case you re dealing with. In the present instance, recall that the two methods of hydration—hydroboration/oxidation and oxymercura-tion—give complementary products. Hydroboration/oxidation occurs with syn stereochemi. itiy and gives the non-Markovnikov addition product oxymercuration gives the Markovnikov product. 

As a consequence, hydroboration-oxidation gives us a method for the preparation of alcohols that cannot normally be obtained through the acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes or by oxymercuration—demercuration. 

When the alcohol reactant is also the solvent, the method is called solvomercuration-demercuration. This method directly parallels hydration by oxymercuration-demercuration (Section 8.5) ... 

In both SnI and Sn2 reactions, the leaving group is the halogen of an alkyl halide or the sulfonate group of a sulfonate ester. Both alkyl halides and sulfonate esters are prepared from alcohols. In Chapter 10, alcohols were prepared by the hydration reaction of alkenes, by oxymercuration-demercuration of alk-enes, or by hydroboration of alkenes. Other methods can be used to prepare alcohols, and they will be discussed at a later time. This section will describe several of the reactions used to convert alcohols to halides or sulfonate esters. 

In cases where protonation of the alkene ultimately leads to carbocation rearrangements, acid-catalyzed hydration is an inefficient method for adding water across the alkene. Many other methods can achieve a Markovnikov addition of water across an alkene without carbocation rearrangements. One of the oldest and perhaps best known methods is called oxymercuration-demercuration ... 

The previous sections covered two different methods for achieving a Markovnikov addition of water across a it bond (1) acid-catalyzed hydration and (2) oxymercuration-demercuration. In this section, we will explore a method for achieving an ij wri-Markovnikov addition of water. This process, called hydroboration-oxidation, places the OH group at the less substituted carbon ... 

Acid-catalyzed hydration proceeds with Markovnikov addition (Section 9.4). That is, the hydroxyl group is positioned at the more substituted carbon. It is a useful method if the substrate is not susceptible to carbocation rearrangements (Section 6.11). In a case where the substrate can possibly rearrange, oxymercuration-demercuration can be employed. This approach also proceeds via Markovnikov addition, but it does not involve carbocation rearrangements. Hydroboration-oxidation is used to achieve an Markovnikov addition of water. 

We have already studied the acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes, oxymercuration-demer-curation, and hydroboralion-oxidation as methods for the synthesis of alcohols from alkenes (see Sections 8.5,8.6, and 8.7, respectively). Below, we briefly summarize these methods. 

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