Nitro-hydrocarbons reduction

In general, nitro-hydrocarbons are most readily identified by reduction to the corresponding amine (above), which is then identified as its benzoyl or other derivative (p. 374). (M.ps., pp. 550-551.)... 

They include aromatic hydroxylation, hydrocarbon and alcohol oxidation, alkene epoxidation, nitro-aromatic reduction, dehydrogenation, carbonylation, cyclization, heterocycle functionalization, etc. 

The reduction of aliphatic nitro-hydrocarbons in dilute alcoholic sulphuric-acid solution has been accomplished by Pierron.2 The /5-alkyl-hydroxylamines are obtained at platinum anodes and at a temperature of 15°-20° ... 

Straub attains this end by subjecting the nitro-hydrocarbons to electrolytic reduction in a solvent made a conductor by the addition of potassium hydroxide, The quantity of the liquid used must be sufficient to keep in solution the azo- and azoxy-com-pounds corresponding to the nitro-hydrocarbon. 

Alkali metal reduction is a widely employed method for the preparation of radicals derived from various classes of conjugated compounds such as hydrocarbons, heterocycles, nitro compounds, quinones, and nitriles. For... 

Li, H. and Westerholm, R., Determination of mono- and di-nitro polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by on-line reduction and high-performance liquid chromatography with chemiluminescence detection, /. Chromatogr. A, 664,177, 1994. 

A variety of para-substituted 2-phenyl-2-butanols undergo quick and efficient reductions to the corresponding 2-phenylbutanes when they are dissolved in dichloromethane and a 2-10% excess of phenylmethylneopentylsilane and boron trifluoride is introduced at 0° (Eq. 30).126 Several reactions deserve mention. For example, when R = CF3, use of trifluoroacetic acid produces no hydrocarbon product, even after two hours of reaction time. In contrast, addition of boron trifluoride catalyst provides an 80% yield of product after only two minutes. When R = MeO, both trifluoroacetic acid and boron trifluoride produce a quantitative yield of the hydrocarbon within two minutes. However, when R = NO2, attempts to promote the reduction with either trifluoroacetic acid or even methanesulfonic acid fail even after reaction periods of up to eight hours, only recovered starting alcohol is obtained. Use of boron trifluoride provides a quantitative conversion into 2-(/ -nitrophenyl)butane after only ten minutes. It is significant that the normally easily reducible nitro group survives these conditions entirely intact.126129 Triethylsilane may be used as the silane.143... 

The reduction of aromatic nitro-compounds is of exceptionally great interest, not only scientifically, hut also technically. The conversion of the hydrocarbons of coal tar into useful products began with the discovery of the nitration process the conversion, on the technical scale, of the nitro-group of nitrobenzene into the amino-group gave aniline, the starting material for the preparation of innumerable dyes and pharmaceutical products to aniline were added the homologous toluidines, xylidines, naphthylamines, and so on. 

The bis-hydroxylamine adduct [Fe (tpp)(NH20H)2] is stable at low temperatures, but decomposes to [Fe(tpp)(NO)] at room temperature. [Fe(porphyrin)(NO)] complexes can undergo one-and two-electron reduction the nature of the one-electron reduction product has been established by visible and resonance Raman spectroscopy. Reduction of [Fe(porphyrin)(NO)] complexes in the presence of phenols provides model systems for nitrite reductase conversion of coordinated nitrosyl to ammonia (assimilatory nitrite reduction), while further relevant information is available from the chemistry of [Fe (porphyrin)(N03)]. Iron porphyrin complexes with up to eight nitro substituents have been prepared and shown to catalyze oxidation of hydrocarbons by hydrogen peroxide and the hydroxylation of alkoxybenzenes. ... 

REDUCTION OF NITRO, NITROSO, DIAZO AND AZIDO DERIVATIVES OF HYDROCARBONS AND BASIC HETEROCYCLES... 

Types of compounds are arranged according to the following system hydrocarbons and basic heterocycles hydroxy compounds and their ethers mercapto compounds, sulfides, disulfides, sulfoxides and sulfones, sulfenic, sulfinic and sulfonic acids and their derivatives amines, hydroxylamines, hydrazines, hydrazo and azo compounds carbonyl compounds and their functional derivatives carboxylic acids and their functional derivatives and organometallics. In each chapter, halogen, nitroso, nitro, diazo and azido compounds follow the parent compounds as their substitution derivatives. More detail is indicated in the table of contents. In polyfunctional derivatives reduction of a particular function is mentioned in the place of the highest functionality. Reduction of acrylic acid, for example, is described in the chapter on acids rather than functionalized ethylene, and reduction of ethyl acetoacetate is discussed in the chapter on esters rather than in the chapter on ketones. 

Jung, H., A. U. Shaikh, R. H. Heflich, and P. P. Fu, Nitro Group Orientation, Reduction Potential, and Direct-Acting Mutagenicity of Nitro-Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Environ. Mol. Mutagen., 17, 169-180 (1991). 

Kolbe electrolysis is generally useful for the formation of hydrocarbons from monocarboxylic acids and for the preparation of many difunctional compounds as well. A specific illustration is the synthesis of esters of long-chain dicarboxylic adds from monoesters of appropriate dicarboxylic acids (see p. 33). A number of these syntheses are discussed by Fichter.4 In the present preparation, a two-compartment cell is employed to avoid, or at least greatly reduce, undesired reduction of the nitro group at the cathode. It seems likely that the procedure could be adapted to the preparation of other difunctional compounds containing groups that are easily reduced. 

The lower members of the homologous series of 1. Alcohols 2. Aldehydes 3. Ketones 4. Acids 5. Esters 6. Phenols 7. Anhydrides 8. Amines 9. Nitriles 10. Polyhydroxy phenols 1. Polybasic acids and hydro-oxy acids. 2. Glycols, poly-hydric alcohols, polyhydroxy aldehydes and ketones (sugars) 3. Some amides, ammo acids, di-and polyamino compounds, amino alcohols 4. Sulphonic acids 5. Sulphinic acids 6. Salts 1. Acids 2. Phenols 3. Imides 4. Some primary and secondary nitro compounds oximes 5. Mercaptans and thiophenols 6. Sulphonic acids, sulphinic acids, sulphuric acids, and sul-phonamides 7. Some diketones and (3-keto esters 1. Primary amines 2. Secondary aliphatic and aryl-alkyl amines 3. Aliphatic and some aryl-alkyl tertiary amines 4. Hydrazines 1. Unsaturated hydrocarbons 2. Some poly-alkylated aromatic hydrocarbons 3. Alcohols 4. Aldehydes 5. Ketones 6. Esters 7. Anhydrides 8. Ethers and acetals 9. Lactones 10. Acyl halides 1. Saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons Cyclic paraffin hydrocarbons 3. Aromatic hydrocarbons 4. Halogen derivatives of 1, 2 and 3 5. Diaryl ethers 1. Nitro compounds (tertiary) 2. Amides and derivatives of aldehydes and ketones 3. Nitriles 4. Negatively substituted amines 5. Nitroso, azo, hy-drazo, and other intermediate reduction products of nitro com-pounds 6. Sulphones, sul-phonamides of secondary amines, sulphides, sulphates and other Sulphur compounds... 

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