2-hydroxy ketone

A comparison of the V(V) oxidations of acetoin, CH3CH(OH)COCH3, and 3-hydroxy-3-methylbutan-2-one, (CH3)2C(OH)COCH3, shows that whilst both rate laws include first-order terms in substrate and oxidant, the acidity dependence for the former compound is purely ho but that for the latter is a+bho). The C-methyl compound consumes only 2 equivalents of V(V) to give acetone and a mechanism similar to that for the oxidation of pinacol is proposed , viz. 

Acetoin consumes 4 equivalents of V(V) to produce some biacetyl via C-H fission however, this cleavage is not accompanied by a hydronium-ion concentration dependence of the rate thereby differing from a secondary alcohol oxidation. The mechanism of breakdown of the complex is depicted as follows 

It is noteworthy that while V(V) attacks a-hydroxy ketones faster than unsubstituted ketones by two orders of magnitude , Mn(III) pyrophosphate oxidises a-hydroxycyclohexanone more slowly than cyclohexanone.  

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Hoesch synthesis A variation of the Gattermann synthesis of hydroxy-aldehydes, this reaction has been widely applied to the synthesis of anthocyanidins. It consists of the condensation of polyhydric phenols with nitriles by the action of hydrochloric acid (with or without ZnCl2 as a catalyst). This gives an iminehydrochloride which on hydrolysis with water gives the hydroxy-ketone. 

The ester and catalj st are usually employed in equimoleciilar amounts. With R =CjHs (phenyl propionate), the products are o- and p-propiophenol with R = CH3 (phenyl acetate), o- and p-hydroxyacetophenone are formed. The nature of the product is influenced by the structure of the ester, by the temperature, the solvent and the amount of aluminium chloride used generally, low reaction temperatures favour the formation of p-hydroxy ketones. It is usually possible to separate the two hydroxy ketones by fractional distillation under diminished pressure through an efficient fractionating column or by steam distillation the ortho compounds, being chelated, are more volatile in steam It may be mentioned that Clemmensen reduction (compare Section IV,6) of the hj droxy ketones affords an excellent route to the substituted phenols. 

The above appears to be a general reaction for converting a-hydroxy ketones into diketones in excellent yield thus furoin and anisoin give furil and anisil respectively. The reaction is probably ... 

Both aldoses and ketoses reduce Fehling s solution (for details, see under 4). This fact may appear surprising when it is remembered that Fehling s solution is one of the reagents for distinguishing between aldehydes and ketones (see 4). The explanation lies in the fact that a-hydroxyketones are much more readily oxidised than simple ketones, perhaps because the hydroxy ketone allows its isomerisation, in the presence of alkali, into an aldehyde. For example, fructose, a keto-hexose, might Isomerlse thus ... 

Dehydration of the intermediate p-alkoxy- or p-hydroxy ketone can also serve to drive the reaction to the right. 

AJdoJ Condensation -Aldol condensation Initially give p-hydroxy ketones which under certain conditions readily eliminated to give a,p-unsaturated carbonyls. 

Strangely enough, cyanide ion is also involved in one special reaction giving an a-hydroxy-ketone. Can you show how the adduct A of benzaldehyde and cyanide ion can give a stable carbanion ... 

This anion now reacts with another molecule of benzaldehyde to give eventually the a-hydroxy-ketone 141 A. Draw mechanisms for these steps ... 

The rt,/3-unsaturated linear carbonyl compound 39 is obtained by the decomposition of the cyclic hydroperoxide 38 with PdCl2,[35]. The a, 0-epoxy ketone 40 is isomerized to the /3-diketone 41 with Pd(0) catalyst[36]. The 1,4-epiperoxide 42 is converted into the /3-hydroxy ketone 43 and other products[37]. 

Formaldehyde condenses with itself in an aldol-type reaction to yield lower hydroxy aldehydes, hydroxy ketones, and other hydroxy compounds the reaction is autocatalytic and is favored by alkaline conditions. Condensation with various compounds gives methylol (—CH2OH) and methylene (=CH2) derivatives. The former are usually produced under alkaline or neutral conditions, the latter under acidic conditions or in the vapor phase. In the presence of alkahes, aldehydes and ketones containing a-hydrogen atoms undergo aldol reactions with formaldehyde to form mono- and polymethylol derivatives. Acetaldehyde and 4 moles of formaldehyde give pentaerythritol (PE) ... 

Addition of hydrogen cyanide to an aldose to form a cyanohydrin is the first step in the Kiliani-Fischer method for increasing the carbon chain of aldoses by one unit. Cyanohydrins react with Grignard reagents (see Grignard reaction) to give a-hydroxy ketones. 

Treatment of a-hydroxy-ketones or -aldehydes with ammonium acetate (65BSF3476, 68BSF4970) results in the formation of dihydropyrazines, presumably by direct amination of the hydroxyketone followed by self-condensation (79AJC1281). Low yields of pyrazines have been noted in the electrolysis of ketones in admixture with KI and ammonia, and again it appears probable that the a-aminoketone derived by way of the a-iodoketone is the intermediate (69CI(L)237>. 

Hydroxyethyl Undergo reverse Michael reaction readily (lose H2O) /3-Hydroxy ketones... 

LAPWORTH (BENZOIN) Condensation Condensation of two molecules of aryl aldehydes fo an alpha-hydroxy ketone catalysed by CN (via cyanohydnns). 

DMSO, molybdenum peroxide, benzene, reflux, 7-20 h, 60% yield. This method was used to m onoprotect 1,2-diols. The method is not general because oxidation to a-hydroxy ketones and diketones occurs with some substrates. On the basis of the mechanism and the results it would app>ear that overoxidation has a strong conformational dependence. 

The synthesis of hydroxy ketone A, via a different reduction process as shown below ... 

A solution of 1 g of the ethyleneketal of the trione in 40 ml of methanol is treated with 0.2 g of sodium borohydride and the mixture is stirred at 20° for 2 hr. Slow drop wise addition of water precipitates the reaction product as crystals. These are filtered, washed with water and dried, to give 1.02 g of hydroxy ketone, which after crystallization from methylene dichloride-hexane has mp 182-184° (reported 184-186°) -23° (CHCI3). 

A solution of this product in cyclohexane is chromatographed on alumina elution with benzene and benzene-25 % ether yields 2.29 g of material which on recrystallization from cyclohexane gives pure hydroxy ketone, mp 151-152°. 

The dehydration of -hydroxy ketones is a closely related reaction. In the case of 5,6-disubstituted 3-ketones, the 6-substituent usually remains in the less stable configuration. With acid catalyzed elimination, prolonged treatment or high concentration may cause epimerization ... 

Ehminations of HX to give double bonds offer considerable scope for selectivity and choice of reaction conditions. The dehydration of alcohols is the most common example of this class and may be achieved directly or through intermediate derivatives. In most cases, such derivatives are transient species formed in situ, but sometimes e.g. sulfonates, certain other esters and halides) they are isolated and characterized. Eliminations from jS-substituted ketones are very facile. The dehydration of jS-hydroxy ketones has been covered in section V. 

Borohydrides reduce a-substituted ketones to the corresponding a-substituted alcohols, and such products can be further reduced to olefins (see section VIII). Other reagents serve, through participation of the carbonyl group, to remove the substituent while leaving the ketone intact. The zinc or chromous ion reduction of a-halo ketones is an example of this second type, which is not normally useful for double bond introduction. However, when the derivative being reduced is an a,jS-epoxy ketone, the primary product is a -hydroxy ketone which readily dehydrates to the a,jS-unsaturated ketone. Since... 

The predominant, if not exclusive, formation of 5/7-fused hydroxy ketones was observed in the case of 4-alkylated dienones [(204) (205) (R = CH3) 6 1 from (201) (R = CH3)] ° and of prednisone 21-acetate [(206)-> (207)]. It appears therefore likely that intermediates which represent the conjugate acids of the postulated zwitterionic intermediates in the dienone photoisomerizations [c/. (202), (203)] participate both in the acid-catalyzed transformations of (200) and in the dienone photochemistry in protic solvents. 

In a typical Knof procedure, 3jS-hydroxyandrost-5-en-17-one acetate is epoxidized with perbenzoic acid (or m-chloroperbenzoic acid ) to a mixture of 5a,6a- and 5)5,6)5-epoxides (75) in 99 % yield. Subsequent oxidation with aqueous chromium trioxide in methyl ethyl ketone affords the 5a-hydroxy-6-ketone (76) in 89% yield. Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of the hydroxy ketone (76) with perbenzoic acid (or w-chloroperbenzoic acid ) gives keto acid (77) in 96% yield as a complex with benzoic acid. The benzoic acid can be removed by sublimation or, more conveniently, by treating the complex with benzoyl chloride and pyridine to give the easily isolated )5-lactone (70) in 40% yield. As described in section III-A, pyrolysis of j5-lactone (70) affords A -B-norsteroid (71). Knof used this reaction sequence to prepare 3)5-hydroxy-B-norandrost-5-en-17-one acetate, B-noran-... 

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