Optically active compounds reduction with chiral hydrides

Chiral Ligand of L1A1H4 for the Enantioselective Reduction of Alkyl Phenyl Ketones. Optically active alcohols are important synthetic intermediates. There are two major chemical methods for synthesizing optically active alcohols from carbonyl compounds. One is asymmetric (enantioselective) reduction of ketones. The other is asymmetric (enantioselective) alkylation of aldehydes. Extensive attempts have been reported to modify Lithium Aluminum Hydride with chiral ligands in order to achieve enantioselective reduction of ketones. However, most of the chiral ligands used for the modification of LiAlHq are unidentate or bidentate, such as alcohol, phenol, amino alcohol, or amine derivatives. 

Synthesis of P-Keto Sulfoxides. Optically active p-keto sulfoxides are very useful building blocks (eq 4) because they can be stereoselectively reduced to afford either diastereomer of the corresponding p-hydroxy sulfoxide under appropriate conditions (Diisobutylaluminum Hydride or Zinc ChloridefDlBALf and thus give access to a wide variety of compounds chiral carbinols by desulfurization with Raney Nickel or LithiumJethyhmme ini the case of allylic alcohols epoxides via cyclization of the derived sulfonium salt butenolides by alkylation of the hydroxy sulfoxide 1,2-diols via a Pummerer rearrangement followed by reduction of the intermediate. ... 

Several functionalized trialkyltin hydrides have been prepared and used in organic synthesis. For example, an optically active organotin hydride with binaphthyl as chiral center underwent hydrostannylation with methyl methacrylate leading to a -stannyl ester diastereoselectivity, however, was not sufficient [234]. Although a bowl-shaped organotin hydride with bulky aromatic substituents was prepared, the structurally novel tin hydride resulted in quite high chemoselectivity. When tris(2,6-diphenylbenzyl)tin hydride (TDTH) was used for competitive reduction of carbonyls under the influence of a Lewis acid it was observed that unsaturated carbonyl compounds such as benzaldehyde and a,/ -enones are highly resistant to TDTH reduction (Scheme 12.131) [235]. 

Metzer et al. reported an enantioselective radical reduction of a-halo carboxylic acid with chiral alkyl-substituted binaphthyltin compounds namely, optically active a,a-disubstituted esters were obtained from the corresponding a-halo esters by the treatments with stoichiometric amounts of chiral Sn(IV) hydride and chiral Sn(IV) bromide as an additive (Scheme 10.45) [70]. 

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