Lithium magnesium aluminum hydride

LiMg(AlH4)3 lithium magnesium aluminum hydride... 

E.C. Ashby, R.D. Schwartz, B.D. James, Concerning the preparation of magnesium aluminum hydride. A study of the reactions of lithium and sodium aluminum hydrides with magnesium halides in ether solvents , Inorg. Chem. 9 (1970) 325-332. 

Complex aluminum and boron hydrides can contain other cations. The following compounds are prepared by metathetical reactions of lithium aluminum hydride or sodium borohydride with the appropriate salts of other metals sodium aluminum hydride [55], magnesium aluminum hydride [59], lithium borohydride [90], potassium borohydride [9i], calcium borohydride [92] and tetrabutylammonium borohydride [95]. 

Direct preparation of azo compounds in good yields is accomplished by treatment of nitro compounds with lithium aluminum hydride [576], with magnesium aluminum hydride [577], with sodium bis(2-methoxy ethoxy)aluminum hydride [575], with silicon in alcoholic alkali [331] or with zinc in strongly alkaline medium [578], Hydrazobenzene was obtained by controlled hydrogenation of nitrobenzene in alkaline medium (yield 80%) [572] and by reduction with sodium bis 2-methoxyethoxy)alumium hydride (yield 37%) [544],... 

Complex hydrides can be used for the selective reduction of the carbonyl group although some of them, especially lithium aluminum hydride, may reduce the a, -conjugated double bond as well. Crotonaldehyde was converted to crotyl alcohol by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride [55], magnesium aluminum hydride [577], lithium borohydride [750], sodium boro-hydride [751], sodium trimethoxyborohydride [99], diphenylstarmane [114] and 9-borabicyclo[3,3,l]nonane [764]. A dependable way to convert a, -un-saturated aldehydes to unsaturated alcohols is the Meerwein-Ponndorf reduction [765]. 

Transformation of ketones to alcohols has been accomplished by many hydrides and complex hydrides by lithium aluminum hydride [55], by magnesium aluminum hydride [89], by lithium tris tert-butoxy)aluminum hydride [575], by dichloroalane prepared from lithium aluminum hydride and aluminum chloride [816], by lithium borohydride [750], by lithium triethylboro-hydride [100], by sodium borohydride [751,817], by sodium trimethoxyborohy-dride [99], by tetrabutylammonium borohydride [771] and cyanoborohydride [757], by chiral diisopinocampheylborane (yields 72-78%, optical purity 13-37%) [575], by dibutyl- and diphenylstannane [114], tributylstanrume [756] and others Procedure 21, p. 209). 

Esters are also reduced by sodium aluminum hydride (yields 95-97%) [<9<9] and by lithium trimethoxyaluminum hydride (2 mol per mol of the ester) [94] but not by lithium tris tert-butoxy)aluminum hydride [96], Another complex hydride, sodium bis(2-methoxyethoxy)aluminum hydride, reduces esters in benzene or toluene solutions (1.1 -1.2 mol per ester group) at 80° in 15-90 minutes in 66-98% yields [969], Magnesium aluminum hydride (in the form of its tetrakistetrahydrofuranate) reduced methyl benzoate to benzyl alcohol in 58% yield on refluxing for 2 hours in tetrahydrofuran [59]. 

High yields of amines have also been obtained by reduction of amides with an excess of magnesium aluminum hydride (yield 100%) [577], with lithium trimethoxyaluminohydride at 25° (yield 83%) [94] with sodium bis(2-methoxy-ethoxy)aluminum hydride at 80° (yield 84.5%) [544], with alane in tetra-hydrofuran at 0-25° (isolated yields 46-93%) [994, 1117], with sodium boro-hydride and triethoxyoxonium fluoroborates at room temperature (yields 81-94%) [1121], with sodium borohydride in the presence of acetic or trifluoroacetic acid on refluxing (yields 20-92.5%) [1118], with borane in tetrahydrofuran on refluxing (isolated yields 79-84%) [1119], with borane-dimethyl sulflde complex (5 mol) in tetrahydrofuran on refluxing (isolated yields 37-89%) [1064], and by electrolysis in dilute sulfuric acid at 5° using a lead cathode (yields 63-76%) [1120]. 

Reduction, An original report by a Czechoslovak group indicated that organic compounds are reduced with difficulty and in poor yields by magnesium aluminum hydride. However, James has reported recently that the reagent (suspended in ether) reduces aldehydes, ketones, acids, and oximes in high yield in a reasonable time (4 12 hr.). The reagent thus rivals lithium aluminum hydride in efficiency, but not in convenience. 

Neopentyl alcohol has been made by lithium aluminum hydride reduction of trimethylacetic acid and by treating ferf-butyl-magnesium chloride with methyl formate. ... 

Lithium aluminum hydride Magnesium metal Nitric acid Oleum... 

Cyclooctane Sulfide To 12.5 g (0.06 mole) of the dichlorosulfide in 150 ml of ether is added 1.2 g (0.03 mole) of lithium aluminum hydride in 60 ml of ether at a rate so as to maintain a gentle reflux (about 20 minutes). The mixture is allowed to stand overnight and is then cautiously treated with water to decompose the excess hydride. The mixture is mixed with fuller s earth (Floridin) and is filtered, and the filtrate is dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. Filtration of the solution and evaporation of the solvent (rotary evaporator) gives about 7 g of the colorless crystalline solid, mp 170-171°. It may be recrystallized from aqueous methanol, mp 172-173°. 

Alternatively, 25.0 g of either 3j3,5a-dihydroxy-17a-methyl-17j3-carbomethoxyandrostan-6-one (Ilia) or 25.0 g of its 3)3-acetate (Hlb), are dissolved in dry tetrahydrofuran (1,250 ml, freshly distilled over lithium aluminum hydride) and dry benzene (2,000 ml) is added. Methyl magnesium bromide in ether solution (3 M, 750 ml) is added to the stirred solution and the resulting mixture is stirred at room temperature for 16 hours. An additional quantity of methyl magnesium bromide solution in ether (2M, 375 ml) is added, and 1,250 ml of the solvent mixture are distilled off. The resulting mixture is refluxed for 5 hours and worked up as described above, yielding compound (V) as a colorless oil. 

The mixture is cooled and the excess of lithium aluminum hydride is decomposed with cracked ice. The water layer is separated and washed with diethyl ether. The combined ether extracts are dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate and the solvent is removed by distillation under reduced pressure. Yield, 8.8 g boiling point, 160°C to 165°C/0.1 mm Hg. 

Lithium aluminum hydride and alanes are frequently used for the preparation of hydrides of other metals. Diethylmagnesium is converted to magnesium hydride [777], trialkylchlorosilanes are transformed to trialkylsilanes... 

Solutions of low-valence titanium chloride (titanium dichloride) are prepared in situ by reduction of solutions of titanium trichloride in tetrahydrofuran or 1,2-dimethoxyethane with lithium aluminum hydride [204, 205], with lithium or potassium [206], with magnesium [207, 208] or with a zinc-copper couple [209,210]. Such solutions effect hydrogenolysis of halogens [208], deoxygenation of epoxides [204] and reduction of aldehydes and ketones to alkenes [205,... 

Another hydride, magnesium hydride prepared in situ from lithium aluminum hydride and diethylmagnesium, reduced terminal alkynes to 1-alkenes in 78-98% yields in the presence of cuprous iodide or cuprous r rt-butoxide, and 2-hexyne to pure cij-2-hexene in 80-81% yields [///]. Reduction of alkynes by lithium aluminum hydride in the presence of transition metals gave alkenes with small amounts of alkanes. Internal acetylenes were reduced predominantly but not exclusively to cis alkenes [377,378]. 

An interesting deoxygenation of ketones takes place on treatment with low valence state titanium. Reagents prepared by treatment of titanium trichloride in tetrahydrofuran with lithium aluminum hydride [205], with potassium [206], with magnesium [207], or in dimethoxyethane with lithium [206] or zinc-copper couple [206,209] convert ketones to alkenes formed by coupling of the ketone carbon skeleton at the carbonyl carbon. Diisopropyl ketone thus gave tetraisopropylethylene (yield 37%) [206], and cyclic and aromatic ketones afforded much better yields of symmetrical or mixed coupled products [206,207,209]. The formation of the alkene may be preceded by pinacol coupling. In some cases a pinacol was actually isolated and reduced by low valence state titanium to the alkene [206] (p. 118). 

Since sodium borohydride usually does not reduce the nitrile function it may be used for selective reductions of conjugated double bonds in oc,/l-un-saturated nitriles in fair to good yields [7069,1070]. In addition some special reagents were found effective for reducing carbon-carbon double bonds preferentially copper hydride prepared from cuprous bromide and sodium bis(2-methoxyethoxy)aluminum hydride [7766], magnesium in methanol [7767], zinc and zinc chloride in ethanol or isopropyl alcohol [7765], and triethylam-monium formate in dimethyl formamide [317]. Lithium aluminum hydride reduced 1-cyanocyclohexene at —15° to cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde and under normal conditions to aminomethylcyclohexane, both in 60% yields [777]. 

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