Metal enolates chemical reactions

Metal enolates have played a Umited role in the metal-catalyzed isomerization of al-kenes . As illustrated in a comprehensive review by Bouwman and coworkers, ruthenium complex Ru(acac)3 (51) has been used to isomerize a wide range of substituted double bonds, including aUylic alcohols (131), to the corresponding ketones (132) (equation 38) . The isomerization of aUylic alcohols affords products that have useful applications in natural product synthesis and in bulk chemical processes. An elegant review by Fogg and dos Santos shows how these complexes can be used in tandem catalysis, where an alkene is subjected to an initial isomerization followed by a hydroformylation reaction ... 

The sol-gel process is a versatile solution process for making ceramic and glass materials involving the transition of a system from a colloidal suspension (sol) into a solid phase (gel) ". The resulting porous gel can be chemically purified and consolidated at high temperatures. In the classical sol-gel process, the precursor (e.g. a metal enolate or a metal aUcoxide) is exposed to a series of hydrolysis and polymerization reactions to form... 

BINAP/R3SiOTf/2,6-ludidine. Such a reaction allows for the preparation of a-fluorocarboxyhc acid derivatives that have not been as thoroughly explored as activated p-keto esters because of the difficulty in generating metal enolates in situ under catalytic conditions. In this reaction, a substoi-chiometric amount of Et3SiOTf and a stoichiometric amount of the base were required for a high chemical yield. 

Potassium Hydride. Potassium hydride [7693-26-7] KH, made from reaction of molten potassium metal with hydrogen at ca 200°C, is suppHed in an oil dispersion. Pressure Chemical Company (U.S.) is a principal suppHer. KH is much more effective than NaH or LiH for enolization reactions (63,64). Use of KH as a base and nucleophile has been reviewed (65). 

Lewis acids as water-stable catalysts have been developed. Metal salts, such as rare earth metal triflates, can be used in aldol reactions of aldehydes with silyl enolates in aqueous media. These salts can be recovered after the reactions and reused. Furthermore, surfactant-aided Lewis acid catalysis, which can be used for aldol reactions in water without using any organic solvents, has been also developed. These reaction systems have been applied successfully to catalytic asymmetric aldol reactions in aqueous media. In addition, the surfactant-aided Lewis acid catalysis for Mannich-type reactions in water has been disclosed. These investigations are expected to contribute to the decrease of the use of harmful organic solvents in chemical processes, leading to environmentally friendly green chemistry. 

The oxidative method is often conducted on enol (or enolate) derivatives and a simplified mechanism is shown in Scheme 71. Initial chemical or electrochemical oxidation gives an electrophilic radical (68 that may be free or metal-complexed) that is relatively resistant to further oxidation. Addition to an alkene now gives an adduct radical (69) that is more susceptible to oxidation. Products are often derived from the resulting intermediate cation (70) by inter- or intra-molecular nucleophilic capture or by loss of a proton to form an alkene. The concentration and oxidizing potential of the reagent help to determine the selectivity in such reactions. 

The mechanism of the chemical reduction of enones with metal (Li, Na, etc.) in liquid ammonia can be described by the following equation in which the substrate 212 receives two electrons from the metal to give the dianion intermediate 213. This intermediate is then successively transformed into the enolate salt 214 and the ketone 2T5 with an appropriate proton donor source. It can readily be seen that the stereochemical outcome of this reaction depends on the stereochemistry of the protonation step 213 - 214. An excellent review on this topic has been recently written by Caine (60). This subject will be only briefly discussed here. 

Figure 2.9. Glucose can enolize and reduce transition metals thereby generating superoxide free radicals (02" ), hydroxyl radicals ( OH), hydrogen peroxide (H202) and reactive dicarbonyl compounds. Adapted with permission from Wolff, S. P. (1996). Free radicals and glycation theory. In The Maillard Reaction. Consequences for the Chemical and Life Sciences, Ikan, R., ed., John Wiley Sons, Chichester, UK, 73-88.

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