Lithium carbonyl compound reduction

Synthetically useful stereoselective reductions have been possible with cyclic carbonyl compounds of rigid conformation. Reduction of substituted cyclohexanone and cyclopentan-one rings by hydrides of moderate activity, e.g. NaBH (J.-L. Luche, 1978), leads to alcohols via hydride addition to the less hindered side of the carbonyl group. Hydrides with bulky substituents 3IQ especially useful for such regio- and stereoselective reductions, e.g. lithium hydrotri-t-butoxyaluminate (C.H. Kuo, 1968) and lithium or potassium tri-sec-butylhydro-borates or hydrotri-sec-isoamylborates (=L-, K-, LS- and KS-Selectrides ) (H.C. Brown, 1972 B C.A. Brown, 1973 S. Krishnamurthy, 1976). 

Sodium borohydride and lithium aluminum hydride react with carbonyl compounds in much the same way that Grignard reagents do except that they function as hydride donors rather than as carbanion sources Figure 15 2 outlines the general mechanism for the sodium borohydride reduction of an aldehyde or ketone (R2C=0) Two points are especially important about this process... 

High yields of optically active cyanohydrins have been prepared from hydrogen cyanide and carbonyl compounds using an enzyme as catalyst. Reduction of these optically active cyanohydrins with lithium aluminum hydride in ether affords the corresponding substituted, optically active ethanolamine (5) (see Alkanolamines). 

The styrene double bond in 9(ll)-dehydroestradiol 3-methyI ether (1) or its 8-dehydro counterpart is reduced by potassium or lithium in ammonia without affecting the aromatic ring estradiol 3-methyl ether (2) is formed from both compounds. Reduction of the corresponding 17-ketones occurs with partial or complete reduction of the carbonyl group. Lithium... 

The chemical reduction of enamines by hydride again depends upon the prior generation of an imonium salt (111,225). Thus an equivalent of acid, such as perchloric acid, must be added to the enamine in reductions with lithium aluminum hydride. Studies of the steric course (537) of lithium aluminum hydride reductions of imonium salts indicate less stereoselectivity in comparison with the analogous carbonyl compounds, where an equatorial alcohol usually predominates in the reduction products of six-membered ring ketones. 

The tosylhydrazone is prepared from the carbonyl compound and then reduced with lithium aluminium hydride, sodium borohydride or potassium borohydride. In this way D-glucose tosylhydrazone was converted into crystalline 1-deoxyglucitol by reduction with potassium borohydride... 

The homology between 22 and 21 is obviously very close. After lithium aluminum hydride reduction of the ethoxycarbonyl function in 22, oxidation of the resultant primary alcohol with PCC furnishes aldehyde 34. Subjection of 34 to sequential carbonyl addition, oxidation, and deprotection reactions then provides ketone 21 (31% overall yield from (—)-33). By virtue of its symmetry, the dextrorotatory monobenzyl ether, (/ )-(+)-33, can also be converted to compound 21, with the same absolute configuration as that derived from (S)-(-)-33, by using a synthetic route that differs only slightly from the one already described. 

Since double bonds may be considered as masked carbonyl, carboxyl or hydroxymethylene groups, depending on whether oxidative or reductive methods are applied after cleavage of the double bond, the addition products from (E)-2 and carbonyl compounds can be further transformed into a variety of chiral compounds. Thus, performing a second bromine/lithium exchange on compound 4, and subsequent protonation, afforded the olefin 5. Ozonolysis followed by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride gave (S)-l-phenyl-l,2-ethanediol in >98% ee. 

In the reduction of acids there is a tendency for the lithium salt, RCO20Li to separate from the ethereal solution, and thus bring reduction to a halt this can be avoided by first converting the acid to a simple, e.g. Me or Et, ester. In the reduction of the latter, the initial nucleophilic attack by AIH4 results in an addition/elimination reaction—OR is a good leaving group in (40)—followed by normal attack, as above, on the resultant carbonyl compound (41) to yield the primary alcohol (42) ... 

The stereoselective 1,4-addition of lithium diorganocuprates (R2CuLi) to unsaturated carbonyl acceptors is a valuable synthetic tool for creating a new C—C bond.181 As early as in 1972, House and Umen noted that the reactivity of diorganocuprates directly correlates with the reduction potentials of a series of a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compounds.182 Moreover, the ESR detection of 9-fluorenone anion radical in the reaction with Me2CuLi, coupled with the observation of pinacols as byproducts in equation (40) provides the experimental evidence for an electron-transfer mechanism of the reaction between carbonyl acceptors and organocuprates.183... 

Sodium borohydride is a much milder reducing agent than lithium aluminium hydride and like the latter is used for the reduction of carbonyl compounds like aldehydes and ketones. However, under normal conditions it does not readily reduce epoxides, esters, lactones, acids, nitriles or nitro groups. 

Solid lithium aluminium hydride can be solublized in non-polar organic solvents with benzyltriethylammonium chloride. Initially, the catalytic effect of the lithium cation in the reduction of carbonyl compounds was emphasized [l-3], but this has since been refuted. A more recent evaluation of the use of quaternary ammonium aluminium hydrides shows that the purity of the lithium aluminium hydride and the dryness of the solvent are critical, but it has also been noted that trace amounts of water in the solid liquid system are beneficial to the reaction [4]. The quaternary ammonium aluminium hydrides have greater hydrolytic stability than the lithium salt the tetramethylammonium aluminium hydride is hydrolysed slowly in dilute aqueous acid and more lipophilic ammonium salts are more stable [4, 5]. 

The reaction of complex hydrides with carbonyl compounds can be exemplified by the reduction of an aldehyde with lithium aluminum hydride. The reduction is assumed to involve a hydride transfer from a nucleophile -tetrahydroaluminate ion onto the carbonyl carbon as a place of the lowest electron density. The alkoxide ion thus generated complexes the remaining aluminum hydride and forms an alkoxytrihydroaluminate ion. This intermediate reacts with a second molecule of the aldehyde and forms a dialkoxy-dihydroaluminate ion which reacts with the third molecule of the aldehyde and forms a trialkoxyhydroaluminate ion. Finally the fourth molecule of the aldehyde converts the aluminate to the ultimate stage of tetraalkoxyaluminate ion that on contact with water liberates four molecules of an alcohol, aluminum hydroxide and lithium hydroxide. Four molecules of water are needed to hydrolyze the tetraalkoxyaluminate. The individual intermediates really exist and can also be prepared by a reaction of lithium aluminum hydride... 

The present preparation illustrates a general and convenient method for a two-step deoxygenation of carbonyl compounds to olefins. Related procedures comprise the basic decomposition of p-toluenesulfonylhydrazones, the hydride reduction of enol ethers, enol acetates, enamines, the reduction of enol phosphates (and/or enol phosphorodiamidates) by lithium metal in ethylamine (or liquid ammonia),the reduction of enol phosphates by titanium metal... 

Nitroolefins are excellent Michael acceptors which react with a broad range of nucleophiles in a Michael fashion. The resulting functionalized nitroalkanes can be readily converted into amines by reduction reactions or to carbonyl compounds by a Nef reaction . The addition of nucleophiles to nitroolefins is complicated by the subsequent addition of the resulting nitronate to remaining nitroolefin. Whereas such a side-reaction is quite fast for lithium and magnesium nitronates. it is slow for zinc... 

In recent years, inorganic hydrides such as lithium aluminum hydride, LiAlH4, and sodium borohydride, NaBH4, have become extremely important as reducing agents of carbonyl compounds. These reagents have considerable utility, especially with sensitive and expensive carbonyl compounds. The reduction of cyclobutanone to cyclobutanol is a good example, and you will... 

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