Hydride ions

If triphenylmethyl chloride in ether is treated with sodium, a yellow colour is produced due to the presence of the anionic spiecies PhsC". Alternatively, if triphenylmethyl chloride is treated with silver perchlorate in a solvent such as THF, the triphenylmethyl cation is obtained. More conveniently, triphenylmethyl salts, PhsC X", can be obtained as orange-red crystalline solids from the action of the appropriate strong acid on triphenylcarbinol in ethanoic or propanoic anhydride solution. The perchlorate, fluoroborate and hexafluoro-phosphate salts are most commonly used for hydride ion abstraction from organic compounds (e.g. cycloheptatriene gives tropylium salts). The salts are rather easily hydrolysed to triphenylcarbinol. 

As an example of a really strong base, the hydride ion H (for example in NaH) is unique it has one lone pair, a negative charge and a very small size. Like O , it is too strong a base to exist in water ... 

Since, generally, any base stronger than OH will react with water to produce OH we must use another solvent to observe very strong bases. The high base strengths of the hydride ion and the oxide ion can best be observed in molten salts as solvents, since hydrides and ionic oxides are either insoluble in ordinary solvents or attack them. 

These solid ionic hydrides (having an ionic lattice and containing the hydride ion H ) react with water, for example... 

The existence of the hydride ion is shown by electrolysis of the fused salt when hydrogen is evolved at the anode. If calcium hydride is dissolved in another fused salt as solvent, the amount of hydrogen evolved at the anode on electrolysis is 1 g for each Faraday of current (mole of electrons) passed, as required by the laws of electrolysis. 

The structure of diborane B2H6 is considered later (p. 145). Here we may note that "BHj and "AlHj will be acceptor molecules since there are only six valency electrons around the B or A1 atom and a vacant orbital exists. Both in fact can accept the electron pair from a hydride ion thus ... 

This reaction is due to the very strong basic property of the hydride ion H" which behaves as a powerful proton acceptor and is therefore strongly basic, i.e. 

It has been suggested that the Sommelet reaction proceeds by a hydride ion transfer, the acceptor being the conjugate acid of a Schiff base ... 

The mechanism of the reaction probably involves the production, by into -action of the aldehyde with hydroxide ions, of two reducing anions, the first (I) more easily than the second (II). Either of these anions may transfer a hydride ion to a carbonyl carbon atom in another aldehyde molecule ... 

The compound is generally employed in solution in dry ether this solution is conducting and the reduction may be due to the transfer of a hydride ion ... 

The following mechanism of the reaction has been suggested it includes the coordination of the carbonyl compound with the aluminium atom in aluminium sopropoxide and the transfer of a hydride Ion ... 

The following mechanism appears reasonable (compare Section VI, 12), It assumes that the function of the aluminium ieri.-butoxide, or other alkoxide. is to provide a source of aluminium ions and that the aluminium salt of the secondary alcohol is the actual reactant. Aluminium with its sextet of electrons has a pronounced tendency to accept a pair of electrons, thus facilitating the initial coordination and the subsequent transfer of a hydride ion ... 

The hydrogenolyaia of cyclopropane rings (C—C bond cleavage) has been described on p, 105. In syntheses of complex molecules reductive cleavage of alcohols, epoxides, and enol ethers of 5-keto esters are the most important examples, and some selectivity rules will be given. Primary alcohols are converted into tosylates much faster than secondary alcohols. The tosylate group is substituted by hydrogen upon treatment with LiAlH (W. Zorbach, 1961). Epoxides are also easily opened by LiAlH. The hydride ion attacks the less hindered carbon atom of the epoxide (H.B. Henhest, 1956). The reduction of sterically hindered enol ethers of 9-keto esters with lithium in ammonia leads to the a,/S-unsaturated ester and subsequently to the saturated ester in reasonable yields (R.M. Coates, 1970). Tributyltin hydride reduces halides to hydrocarbons stereoselectively in a free-radical chain reaction (L.W. Menapace, 1964) and reacts only slowly with C 0 and C—C double bonds (W.T. Brady, 1970 H.G. Kuivila, 1968). 

Potassium hydride (KH) is a source of the strongly basic hydride ion ( H ) Using curved arrows to track electron movement write an equation for the reaction of hydride ion with water What is the conjugate acid of hydride lon ... 

All lation with Alkanes. Superacids such as HF-SbF abstract hydride ion from alkanes to form carbocations at low temperatures. The... 

Bonding of Hydrogen to Other Atoms. The hydrogen atom can either lose the 1 valence electron when bonding to other atoms, to form the ion, or conversely, it can gain an electron in the valence shell to form the hydride ion, (see Hydrides). The formation of the ion is a very endothermic process ... 

Hydride ions only form when hydrogen reacts with very electropositive materials. 

All sihcon hahdes are readily reduced by hydride ions or complex hydrides (qv) to siUcon hydrides (16—18). 

The so-called ionic method for hydrogenating thiophenes (78T1703) is a further illustration of the chemical consequences of protonation. Protonation of the thiophene ring renders the ring susceptible to hydride ion attack, conveniently derived from triethylsilane (Scheme 12). 

Cationic rings are readily reduced by complex hydrides under relatively mild conditions. Thus isoxazolium salts with sodium borohydride give the 2,5-dihydro derivatives (217) in ethanol, but yield the 2,3-dihydro compound (218) in MeCN/H20 (74CPB70). Pyrazolyl anions are reduced by borohydride to pyrazolines and pyrazolidines. Thiazolyl ions are reduced to 1,2-dihydrothiazoles by lithium aluminum hydride and to tetrahydrothiazoles by sodium borohydride. The tetrahydro compound is probably formed via (219), which results from proton addition to the dihydro derivative (220) containing an enamine function. 1,3-Dithiolylium salts easily add hydride ion from sodium borohydride (Scheme 20) (80AHC(27)151). 

A mechanism has been proposed to rationalize the results shown in Figure 23. The relative proportion of the A -pyrazolines obtained by the reduction of pyrazolium salts depends on steric and electronic effects. When all the substituents are alkyl groups, the hydride ion attacks the less hindered carbon atom for example when = Bu only C-5 is attacked. The smaller deuterohydride ion is less sensitive to steric effects and consequently the reaction is less selective (73BSF288). Phenyl substituents, both on the nitrogen atom and on the carbon atoms, direct the hydride attack selectively to one carbon atom and the isolated A -pyrazoline has the C—C double bond conjugated with the phenyl (328 R or R = Ph). Open-chain compounds are always formed during the reduction of pyrazolium salts, becoming predominant in the reduction of amino substituted pyrazoliums. 

The 3-substituents in 3-nitro- and 3-phenylsulfonyl-2-isoxazolines were displaced by a variety of nucleophiles including thiolate, cyanide and azide ions, ammonia, hydride ions and alkoxides. The reaction is pictured as an addition-elimination sequence (Scheme 54) (72MI41605, 79JA1319, 78JOC2020). 

Treatment of thiiranes with lithium aluminum hydride gives a thiolate ion formed by attack of hydride ion on the least hindered carbon atoms (76RCR25), The mechanism is 5n2, inversion occurring at the site of attack. Polymerization initiated by the thiolate ion is a side reaction and may even be the predominant reaction, e.g. with 2-phenoxymethylthiirane. Use of THF instead of ether as solvent is said to favor polymerization. Tetrahydroborates do not reduce the thiirane ring under mild conditions and can be used to reduce other functional groups in the presence of the episulfide. Sodium in ammonia reduces norbornene episulfide to the exo thiol. 

KURSANOV PARNES Ionic Hydrogenation A non-calalytK hydrogenation of C C. C O, C N bonds and hydrogenotysis of C-OH, C Hal etc, under the action of an acid and a hydride ion donor... 

Several mechanisms have been postulated, all of which propose a hydride ion transfer as a key step. On the basis of the following results, postulate one or more mechanisms that are consistent with all the data provided. Indicate the significance of each observation with respect to the mechanism(s) you postulate. 

Addition of hydride ion from the catalyst gives the adsorbed dianion (15). The reaction is completed and product stereochemistry determined by protonation of these species from the solution prior to or concurrent with desorption. With the heteroannular enolate, (13a), both cis and trans adsorption can occur with nearly equal facility. When an angular methyl group is present trans adsorption (14b) predominates. Protonation of the latter species from the solution gives the cis product. Since the heteroannular enolate is formed by the reaction of A" -3-keto steroids with strong base " this mechanism satisfactorily accounts for the almost exclusive formation of the isomer on hydrogenation of these steroids in basic media. The optimum concentration of hydroxide ion in this reaction is about two to three times that of the substrate. 

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). 

The formation of 88 is postulated to be occurring by the nucleophilic attack of a hydride ion (47), abstracted from the secondary amine, on the a-carbon atom of the iminium salt (89). The resulting carbonium ion (90) then loses a proton to give the imine (91), which could not be separated because of its instability (4H). In the case of 2-methyIhexamethylenimine, however, the corresponding dehydro compound /l -2-methylazacyclo-heptene (92) was isolated. The hydride addition to the iminium ion occurs from the less hindered exo side. 

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