Oxidation activated methylene

Several chromium oxidants, including PCC, will oxidize activated methylene groups to carboi l compounds, but much stronger conditions are usually required than for alcohol oxidation. 

Selenium dioxide as an oxidizer in organic chemistry. Selenium dioxide is a specific agent for oxidizing activated methylene groups to CO groups. ... 

Sol 4. (i) Se02 oxidizes active methylene or methyl group present adjacent to the carbonyl group to give 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds. This reaction is called Riley oxidation. 

Out first example is 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-3-octanone. 3-Octanone can be purchased, but it would be difficult to differentiate the two activated methylene groups in alkylation and oxidation reactions. Usual syntheses of acyloins are based upon addition of terminal alkynes to ketones (disconnection 1 see p. 52). For syntheses of unsymmetrical 1,2-difunctional compounds it is often advisable to look also for reactive starting materials, which do already contain the right substitution pattern. In the present case it turns out that 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-butanone is an inexpensive commercial product. This molecule dictates disconnection 3. Another practical synthesis starts with acetone cyanohydrin and pentylmagnesium bromide (disconnection 2). Many 1,2-difunctional compounds are accessible via oxidation of C—C multiple bonds. In this case the target molecule may be obtained by simple permanganate oxidation of 2-methyl-2-octene, which may be synthesized by Wittig reaction (disconnection 1). 

Typical nucleophiles known to react with coordinated alkenes are water, alcohols, carboxylic acids, ammonia, amines, enamines, and active methylene compounds 11.12]. The intramolecular version is particularly useful for syntheses of various heterocyclic compounds[l 3,14]. CO and aromatics also react with alkenes. The oxidation reactions of alkenes can be classified further based on these attacking species. Under certain conditions, especially in the presence of bases, the rr-alkene complex 4 is converted into the 7r-allylic complex 5. Various stoichiometric reactions of alkenes via 7r-allylic complex 5 are treated in Section 4. 

Wylation under neutral conditions. Reactions which proceed under neutral conditions are highly desirable, Allylation with allylic acetates and phosphates is carried out under basic conditions. Almost no reaction of these allylic Compounds takes place in the absence of bases. The useful allylation under neutral conditions is possible with some allylic compounds. Among them, allylic carbonates 218 are the most reactive and their reactions proceed under neutral conditions[13,14,134], In the mechanism shown, the oxidative addition of the allyl carbonates 218 is followed by decarboxylation as an irreversible process to afford the 7r-allylpalladium alkoxide 219. and the generated alkoxide is sufficiently basic to pick up a proton from active methylene compounds, yielding 220. This in situ formation of the alkoxide. which is a... 

Apparently the alkoxy radical, R O , abstracts a hydrogen from the substrate, H, and the resulting radical, R" , is oxidized by Cu " (one-electron transfer) to form a carbonium ion that reacts with the carboxylate ion, RCO - The overall process is a chain reaction in which copper ion cycles between + 1 and +2 oxidation states. Suitable substrates include olefins, alcohols, mercaptans, ethers, dienes, sulfides, amines, amides, and various active methylene compounds (44). This reaction can also be used with tert-huty peroxycarbamates to introduce carbamoyloxy groups to these substrates (243). 

Isatin (190) is a compound with interesting chemistry. It can be iV-acetylated with acetic anhydride, iV-methylated via its sodium or potassium salt and O-methylated via its silver salt. Oxidation of isatins with hydrogen peroxide in methanolic sodium methoxide yields methyl anthranilates (81AG(E)882>. In moist air, O-methylisatin (191) forms methylisatoid (192). Isatin forms normal carbonyl derivatives (193) with ketonic reagents such as hydroxylamine and phenylhydrazine and the reactive 3-carbonyl group also undergoes aldol condensation with active methylene compounds. Isatin forms a complex derivative, isamic acid (194), with ammonia (76JCS(P1)2004). 

Active methylene compounds can add to 1,3-dithiolylium ions to give 2-substituted 1,2-dihydro-1,3-dithioles (206). Again, addition is often followed by oxidation (to 207). Alternatively, further addition can occur (to 208) (80AHC(27)151). In this reaction, (205) can be CH2(CN)2, CH2(COMe)2 or even MeCOMe. Somewhat similar reactions are shown by 1,3-diarylimidazolium ions. 

This variation provides a regiospecific synthesis of isoxazoles with a great variety of substituents. The nitrile A-oxide does not react with the doubly activated methylene group in neutral or acidic medium, but under alkaline conditions the reaction proceeds exother-... 

Table 15 Isoxazoles from Nitrile iV-Oxides and Doubly Activated Methylene Compounds...

Chloroquinoline (401) reacts well with potassium fluoride in dimethylsulfone while its monocyclic analog 2-chloropyridine does not. Greater reactivity of derivatives of the bicyclic azine is evident also from the kinetic data (Table X, p. 336). 2-Chloroquinoline is alkoxylated by brief heating with methanolic methoxide or ethano-lic potassium hydroxide and is converted in very high yield into the thioether by trituration with thiocresol (20°, few hrs). It also reacts with active methylene carbanions (45-100% yield). The less reactive 3-halogen can be replaced under vigorous conditions (160°, aqueous ammonia-copper sulfate), as used for 3-bromoquino-line or its iV-oxide. 4-Chloroquinoline (406) is substituted by alcoholic hydrazine hydrate (80°, < 8 hr, 20% yield) and by methanolic methoxide (140°, < 3 hr, > 90% yield). This apparent reversal of the relative reactivity does not appear to be reliable in the face of the kinetic data (Tables X and XI, pp. 336 and 338) and the other qualitative comparisons presented here. 

A more detailed study of the reaction with malonitrile revealed that the yields are dependent of the molar ratio malonitrile/quinazoline. The yield increases from 29 (ratio 1.0) to 81% (ratio 2.0), suggesting that the mechanism of the ring transformation involves the contribution of 2 mol of malonitrile. Reaction of quinazoline 3-oxide with the above-mentioned active methylene compounds gives about the same results, although the yields are poor (Scheme 12) (73CPB1943, 75CPB746). 

A solution of 3.5 g 4-(2,3-epoxypropoxy)carbazole in 50 ml absolute alcohol is mixed with 30 ml isopropylamine and heated for 3 hours under reflux. When the reaction is finished, the reaction mixture is evaporated to dryness. The residue obtained is taken up in methylene chloride and chromatographed over an aluminum oxide column (300 g basic aluminum oxide, activity stage IV eluent methylene chloride). The eluted fractions are evaporated and the residue is dissolved in methanol and acidified with 2N ethereal hydrochloric acid. 

The oxidation of active methylene groups by periodate both in acyclic... 

At elevated temperatures in the presence of oxygen the aluminium oxide layer catalyzes the formation of blue fluorescent aluminium oxide surface compounds with 4-hydroxy-3-oxo-A -steroid structures [4]. Aluminium oxide acts as an oxidation catalyst for an activated methylene group. 

The Wittig-Horner procedure, starting from bisphosphonate or aromatic bisphosphine oxide monomers, allows for AA/BB-coupling of the PO-activated bismethylene monomers, not only with aromatic dialdehydes but also with aromatic diketones to the corresponding PPV derivatives (76), and for the selfcondensation of AB-type aromatic starting compounds containing both alde-hyde/keto and PO-activated methylene functions [101]. 

Conventional conversion of amide, lactam, imide, and urea carbonyl groups into enaminones, enamino esters, or enamino nitriles requires prior activation of the carbonyl groups either by alkylation to imino ethers, followed by reaction with activated methylene groups, or by thiation, e.g. with P2S5, to thiocarbonyl groups followed by alkylation (and possibly also oxidation), and, again, subsequent reac-... 

The thiazine dyes used in the preparation of this type of leuco are obtained through oxidative coupling of phenothiazine with an active methylene compound or an aniline. The reduction of the dye 23 with zinc powder in acetic acid is straightforward.9 Treatment of the leuco 24 with acetic anhydride at 40°C yields a more air stable leuco 25.9 Addition of arylsulfinic acid to thiazine dyes such as 26 produces directly leuco dyes such as 27.Sb... 

Several phosphonodicarboxylates (59 R=Et X=H or Me) and the corresponding acids have been prepared by typical active methylene reactions during a study of the oxidation of... 

The oxidation of some anhydroaldopento-benzimidazoles13 was found to entail uptake of more than the calculated amount of oxidant per mole. This apparent anomaly was further explored by Huebner, Ames and Bubl,14 and their work culminated in the discovery that periodate, under the usual conditions, oxidizes certain methylene carbon atoms, namely, those activated by two flanking carbonyl groups. This type of oxidation (a-hydrogen oxidation) was simultaneously observed (by Fleury and Courtois16) to occur on the periodate oxidation of malonic acid. A satisfactory reaction was obtained under the following conditions. 

The oxidation of an activated methylene grouping is somewhat slower than the other periodate reactions.14 Sprinson and Chargaff89 found that... 

The early addition of Dimedon is reported234 to depress the formation of hexamethylenetetramine from formaldehyde in the presence of ammonia. O Dea282 found that the activated methylene center, sometimes formed in periodate oxidations of carbohydrates, reacts appreciably with the formaldehyde formed, thus giving low yields of apparent formaldehyde. He was able to depress this side reaction by the use of lowered temperatures and by the addition of benzaldehyde or of p-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The analyses for formaldehyde have often been more successful at a pH of 7.5 than at lower pH values.57, 68 59a 60 264... 

The most characteristic reaction of butadiene catalyzed by palladium catalysts is the dimerization with incorporation of various nucleophiles [Eq. (11)]. The main product of this telomerization reaction is the 8-substituted 1,6-octadiene, 17. Also, 3-substituted 1,7-octadiene, 18, is formed as a minor product. So far, the following nucleophiles are known to react with butadiene to form corresponding telomers water, carboxylic acids, primary and secondary alcohols, phenols, ammonia, primary and secondary amines, enamines, active methylene compounds activated by two electron-attracting groups, and nitroalkanes. Some of these nucleophiles are known to react oxidatively with simple olefins in the presence of Pd2+ salts. Carbon monoxide and hydrosilanes also take part in the telomerization. The telomerization reactions are surveyed based on the classification by the nucleophiles. 

Nickel halides and nickel complexes resulting from oxidative addition can also give rise to subsequent replacement and insertion reactions. Replacement reactions have been described mainly with arylnickel halide complexes (examples 23, 29, and 31, Table III). Carbanionic species replace halide ions and can undergo coupling or insertion reactions. An example of application of a carbanionic reaction to the synthesis of a natural product is the coupling step between an aromatic iodo-derivative and an active methylene group to form cephalotaxinone (example 23, Table III). 

Radialenes which are structurally related to 44, i.e. cyclopropanes bearing two quinoid and another acceptor-substituted methylene substituent, were obtained by condensation of bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)cyclopropenones with active methylene compounds, followed by oxidation (Scheme 6)19. Radialenes 45a-f are brilliantly colored solids that are blue or blue-violet in solution but appear metallic gold or red in reflected light. Instead... 

Addition of carbanions (which may be electrochemically generated), derived from active methylene compounds (such as fluorene or indene193), to nitrosobenzene produces the intermediate181 70, which is dehydrated to the azomethine 71 or may be oxidized to the nitrone derivative 72, as illustrated by Scheme 8. 

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