Industrialized rose oxide synthesis

The anodic oxidation of olefins in the presence of nucleophiles, such as CH3OH or CHjCOOH, is in principle a reaction of very great industrial interest since it permits allyl oxidation as well as C—C coupling. Nevertheless, it is hardly used industrially today. This is essentially due to the fact that the selectivities are frequently poor. Over the past few years, the reaction principle has been used in synthesis problems in the area of fine chemicals. For example, the anodic methoxylation of citronellol is a key step in a new rose oxide synthesis by Sumitomo35). 

See Section 3 for a discussion of the photochemical synthesis of an endothelin receptor antagonist 199 using the Barton reaction and the synthesis of a precursor to (-)-rose oxide 200 which is of industrial interest to fragrance manufacturers. 

Photo-oxidation of citronellol in polystyrene beads [120]. A sample of 3.0 g of polystyrene beads (commercial, cross-polymerized with 1% of divinylbenzene) was treated with a solution of 2 mg of tetraphenylporphyrin and 780 mg (5 mmol) of citronellol in 20 mL of ethyl acetate in a petri-dish (30 cm diameter). After 2h in a ventilated hood, the solvent has evaporated and the petri-dish was covered with a glass plate and irradiated for 5 h with a 150 W halogen lamp. The solid support was then washed with 3 x 20 mL of ethanol, the combined ethanol fractions were rota-evaporated and 900 mg of the hydroperoxide mixture (96%) was isolated as a slightly yellow oil. The hydroperoxides were quantitatively reduced to the corresponding allylic alcohols by treatment with sodium sulfite. One of these products is used in the industrial synthesis of rose oxide. 

In this chapter, we first describe the peculiar electronic structure of 2 and its impact on its chemical reactivity that is opposite from that of ordinary oxygen 02-Then, we compare the respective advantages and limitations of photochemical and chemical methods to generate 2 in a context of industrial development. In particular, we detail the criteria for choosing a reaction medium compatible with both the organic substrate and water-soluble chemical sources of 02- Finally, the main reactions of 2 in organic chemistry are listed and illustrated with two industrially relevant examples recently developed in the fields of perfumery (synthesis of rose oxide) and pharmacy (synthesis of artemisinin). 

The oxidative dehydrogenation of alcohols represents key steps in the synthesis of aldehyde, ketone, ester, and acid intermediates employed within the fine chemical, pharmaceutical, and agrochemical sectors, with allylic aldehydes in particular high-value components used in the perfume and fiavoring industries [1]. For example, crotonaldehyde is an important agrochemical and a valuable precursor for the food preservative sorbic acid, while citronellyl acetate and cinnamaldehyde confer rose/fruity and cinnamon flavors and aromas, respectively. There is also considerable interest in the exploitation of biomass-derived feedstocks such as glycerol (a by-product of biodiesel synthesis from plant or... 

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