Magnesium with carbonyl groups

Magnesium and an aryl bromide react to give a Grignard reagent this Is nucleophilic on carbon, and reacts with carbonyl groups In a nucleophilic addition reaction. 

Most organometallic compounds will react in some way with carbonyl groups, but in this section, we will confine the discussion to magnesium (Grignard reagents are very important), lithium, cadmium, zinc, and copper. 

We ve seen how Grignard reagents add to the carbonyl group of aldehydes ketones and esters Grignard reagents react m much the same way with carbon dioxide to yield mag nesium salts of carboxylic acids Acidification converts these magnesium salts to the desired carboxylic acids... 

A Grignard reaction begins with an acid-base complexation of Vfg2+ to the carbonyl oxygen atom of the aldehyde or ketone, thereby making the carbonyl group a better electrophile. Nucleophilic addition of R then produces a tetrahedral magnesium alkoxide intermediate, and protonation by addition of water... 

Generally, in the nucleophilic addition to carbonyl groups, either magnesium compounds or alkali metal compounds (such as the Li, Na and K derivatives) are used. In some cases even potassium carbonate or piperidine were used as the base for condensation with sulfones. Good results were obtained when concentrated aqueous NaOH was used under phase-transfer conditions288,297,333. 

The lobes of electron density outside the C-O vector thus offer cr-donor lone-pair character. Surprisingly, carbon monoxide does not form particularly stable complexes with BF3 or with main group metals such as potassium or magnesium. Yet transition-metal complexes with carbon monoxide are known by the thousand. In all cases, the CO ligands are bound to the metal through the carbon atom and the complexes are called carbonyls. Furthermore, the metals occur most usually in low formal oxidation states. Dewar, Chatt and Duncanson have described a bonding scheme for the metal - CO interaction that successfully accounts for the formation and properties of these transition-metal carbonyls. 

The methylene group of anthrone 64 is acidic by virtue of doubly vinylic activation by the carbonyl group. Thus, treatment with methyl iodide and base leads to the 9,9-dimethyl derivative 65. Grignard reaction with 6-dimethylaminopropyl magnesium chloride... 

A magnesium enolate of 99 is susceptible to aldol condensation with 4-pentenal, and the crude product can be directly protected to give its ethyl carbonate 100. a-Hydroxylation of the carbonyl group yields the hydroxyl carbonate 101. Reduction of the carbonyl group generates a triol, and this compound can be simultaneously converted to carbonate 102. Swern oxidation of 102 gives ketone 103, which can be rearranged25 to produce lactone product 104 (Scheme 7-32). 

In chlorophyll iron as complex-forming metal is replaced by magnesium (Willstatter). The structure of chlorophyll differs from that of haemin as follows. In chlorophyll one propionic acid chain (a) in oxidised form has condensed with a methine carbon atom to form a cyclopentane ring which takes the position at (c) of the vinyl ethyl. Further the two carbonyl groups are esterified and one of the four pyrrole rings is partially hydrogenated... 

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]. 

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