4-Methylmorpholine N-oxide

LEY - GRIFFITH Oxidation reagent Oxidation ol alcotwls to caitxnyl compounds with a pemjthenate catalyst and N-methylmorpholine - N-oxIde (NMO), In the presence of other functional gmups... 

Ley et al. reported oxidation of alcohols catalyzed by an ammonium perruthenate catalyst dissolved in [NEtJBr and [EMIM][PFg] [60]. Oxygen or N-methylmorpholine N-oxide is used as the oxidant and the authors describe easy product recovery by solvent extraction and mention the possibility of reusing the ionic catalyst solution. 

Unfortunately, a serious problem with the osmium tetroxide reaction is that Os04 is both very expensive and very toxic. As a result, the reaction is usually carried out using only a small, catalytic amount of OsO, in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of a safe and inexpensive co-oxidant such as A -methylmorpholine N-oxide, abbreviated NMO. The initially formed osmate intermediate reacts rapidly with NMO to yield the product diol plus... 

As demonstrated by Hoffmann and coworkers, hydroformylation can also be combined with an allylboration and a second hydroformylation, which allows the formation of carbocycles and also heterocycles [213]. A good regioselectivity in favor of the linear aldehyde was obtained by use of the biphephos ligand [214]. Reaction of the allylboronate 6/2-76 having an B-configuration with CO/H2 in the presence of catalytic amounts of Rh(CO)2(acac) and biphephos led to the lactol 6/2-80 via 6/2-77-79 (Scheme 6/2.17). In a separate operation, 6/2-80 was oxidized to give the lactone 6/2-81 using tetrabutyl ammonium perruthenate/N-methylmorpholine N-oxide. 

The osmium-catalyzed dihydroxylation reaction, that is, the addition of osmium tetr-oxide to alkenes producing a vicinal diol, is one of the most selective and reliable of organic transformations. Work by Sharpless, Fokin, and coworkers has revealed that electron-deficient alkenes can be converted to the corresponding diols much more efficiently when the pH of the reaction medium is maintained on the acidic side [199]. One of the most useful additives in this context has proved to be citric acid (2 equivalents), which, in combination with 4-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMO) as a reoxidant for osmium(VI) and potassium osmate [K20s02(0H)4] (0.2 mol%) as a stable, non-volatile substitute for osmium tetroxide, allows the conversion of many olefinic substrates to their corresponding diols at ambient temperatures. In specific cases, such as with extremely electron-deficient alkenes (Scheme 6.96), the reaction has to be carried out under microwave irradiation at 120 °C, to produce in the illustrated case an 81% isolated yield of the pure diol [199]. 

Nitrile oxides are oxidized by tertiary amine N-oxides, for example, N-methylmorpholine N-oxide, in various solvents at room temperature to unstable nitrosocarbonyl compounds. In the presence of dienes, such as 1,3-cyclo-hexadiene, they afford Diels-Alder adducts, e.g., 372 fromPhCNO, in fair yields. The mild conditions used in oxidizing a variety of nitrile oxides promise a wide application of this method in synthetic processes (420). 

Dihydroxylation. The key step in the synthesis of a natural mycotoxin from the dehydropentacyclic precursor 1 requires dihydroxylation of the nuclear double bond. Direct osmylation with catalytic 0s04 and N-methylmorpholine N-oxide... 

Catalytic oxidant.1 In combination with N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (7,244) as the stoichiometric oxidant, this ruthenium compound can be used as a catalytic oxidant for oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes or ketones in high yield in CH2C12 at 25°. Addition of 4A molecular sieves is generally beneficial. Racemization is not a problem in oxidation of alcohols with an adjacent chiral center. Tetrabutylammonium perruthenate can also be used as a catalytic oxidant, but the preparation is less convenient. 

Sharpless stoichiometric asymmetric dihydroxylation of alkenes (AD) was converted into a catalytic reaction several years later when it was combined with the procedure of Upjohn involving reoxidation of the metal catalyst with the use of N-oxides [24] (N-methylmorpholine N-oxide). Reported turnover numbers were in the order of 200 (but can be raised to 50,000) and the e.e. for /rara-stilbene exceeded 95% (after isolation 88%). When dihydriquinidine (vide infra) was used the opposite enantiomer was obtained, again showing that quinine and quinidine react like a pair of enantiomers, rather than diastereomers. 

Other transition metals were also examined, but with marginal success for example, 23 was obtained in poor yield from 22, and a mixture of 25 and 26 from 24, using Co2(CO)g/N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (Eq. 5) [21]. When the Fe(CO)4(NMe3) catalyst was examined for the PK reaction of an allenyne, the requisite bicyclo[5.3.0]dec-l,7-dien-9-one derivative was formed, albeit in low yield [22]. 

N-Methylmorpholine N-oxide (1) can also be purchased from Eastman Organic Chemicals or Fluka A G. 

The very sensitive ether peroxide test strips (Merckoquant, Art. No. 10011), available from E. Merck, Darmstadt, are used. If the test is still positive at this point, an additional 0.2 ml. of N-methyl morpholine is added. Stirring and heating at 75° are continued for another 5 hours. Remaining peroxide renders the work-up and drying of the product potentially hazardous. N-Methylmorpholine N-oxide (1) and hydrogen peroxide form a strong 1 1 complex. In the reaction with osmium tetroxide, this complex produces conditions similar to those of the Milas reaction,7 and some ketol formation may result. 

In this report we describe the conversion of cyclohexene to cis-diol 2 in 90% yield in a catalytic osmylation using 1 mole equivalent of N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (1) to regenerate the less than 1 mole % of osmium tetroxide catalyst. This procedure avoids the a-ketol by-products encountered with the presently available catalytic processes, and provides the high yields of the stoichiometric reaction without the expense and work-up problems. 

Other simple aliphatic amine oxides can be used as the oxidant in this reaction, but N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (1) is preferred because it generally gives a faster reaction rate and is easily prepared. The reaction can also be used to convert aliphatic amine oxides into amines... 

N-Methylmorpholine N-oxide monohydrate Morpholine, 4-methyl-, 4-oxide, monohydrate (8,9), ( —)... 

Osmium tetroxide-N-Methylmorpholine N-oxide, 0s04-NMM0, 7, 256-257 9, 334. 

Scheme 10. i, allyltrimethylsilane-trimethylsilyltriflate ii, Hg(0Ac)2, acetone-water then 12, THF iii, PCC, CH2C12 iv, Ph3P, then NaHC03 v, MeCN vi, 0s04 cat, N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide, acetone-water vii, deprotection... 

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