Oxidative addition from carbonyl compounds

The oxidation of oximes offers an attractively simple route to nitroalkanes from carbonyl compounds. The most effective reagent is pertrifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile in the presence of sodium hydrogen carbonate as a buffer. Yields are improved by the addition of small quantities of urea to remove oxides of nitrogen. The reaction is illustrated by the conversion of dipropyl ketoxime into 4-nitroheptane (Expt 5.190). 

The mechanism of the Ley oxidation is complex and the exact nature of the species involved in the catalytic cycle is unknown. The difficulty in establishing an exact mechanism arises from the fact that the complexes of Ru ", Ru ", Ru , Ru and Ru are all capable of stoichiometrically oxidizing alcohols to carbonyl compounds. The TRAP reagent can oxidize alcohols stoichiometrically as a three-electron oxidant and can also be used as a catalyst when a co-oxidant is present (e.g., NMO, TMAO, or hydroperoxides). Data suggests that the oxidation proceeds via the formation of a complex between the alcohol and TRAP (ruthenate ester). It was also found that the stoichiometric oxidation of isopropyl alcohol with TRAP is autocatalytic and the catalyst is suspected to be colloidal RUO2. Small amounts of water decrease the degree of autocatalysis. This observation is supported by the finding that the addition of molecular sieves improves the efficiency of the reaction. 

Krief et al. have shown that selenium ylides behave as their sulfur analogues and convert a variety of carbonyl compounds to oxiranes <89H(28)1203>. The latter compounds can be directly obtained by using R2Se=CHR /i-hydroxyalkylselenides (available from carbonyl compounds by addition of RSeCH2Li) may serve as suitable precursors as well, either in a two-step protocol, via the selenonium salt by alkylation with magic methyl (MeS03F), or directly by treatment with thallous ethoxide in chloroform. Oxidation of the /t-hydroxyalkylselenides with peracid, followed by treatment of the resulting selenone with base, results in oxirane formation (Scheme 60). 

Generation of a-Acyl Radicals. As a one-electron oxidant, Ce can promote the formation of radicals from carbonyl compounds. In the presence of interceptors such as butadiene and alkenyl acetates, the a-acyl radicals undergo addition. The carbonyl compounds may be introduced as enol silyl ethers, and the oxidative coupling of two such ethers may be accomplished. Some differences in the efficiency for oxidative cyclization of, s-, and ,f-unsaturated enol silyl ethers using CAN and other oxidants have been noted (eq 14). ... 

Miscellaneous Reactions. In addition to the key reactions above, DDQ has been used for the oxidative removal of chromium, iron, and manganese from their complexes with arenes and for the oxidative formation of imidazoles and thiadia-zoles from acyclic precursors. Catal)ftic amounts of DDQ also offer a mild method for the oxidative regeneration of carbonyl compounds from acetals, which contrasts with their formation from diazo compounds on treatment with DDQ and methanol in nonpolar solvents. DDQ also provides effective catalysis for the tetrahydropyranylation of alcohols. Furthermore, the oxidation of chiral esters or amides of arylacetic acid by DDQ in acetic acid provides a mild procedure for the synthesis of chiral a-acetoxy derivatives, although the diastereoselectivity achieved so far is only 65-67%. ... 

Alkenes are reduced by addition of H2 in the presence of a catalyst such as platinum or palladium to yield alkanes, a process called catalytic hydrogenation. Alkenes are also oxidized by reaction with a peroxyacid to give epoxides, which can be converted into lTans-l,2-diols by acid-catalyzed epoxide hydrolysis. The corresponding cis-l,2-diols can be made directly from alkenes by hydroxylation with 0s04. Alkenes can also be cleaved to produce carbonyl compounds by reaction with ozone, followed by reduction with zinc metal. 

Since double bonds may be considered as masked carbonyl, carboxyl or hydroxymethylene groups, depending on whether oxidative or reductive methods are applied after cleavage of the double bond, the addition products from (E)-2 and carbonyl compounds can be further transformed into a variety of chiral compounds. Thus, performing a second bromine/lithium exchange on compound 4, and subsequent protonation, afforded the olefin 5. Ozonolysis followed by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride gave (S)-l-phenyl-l,2-ethanediol in >98% ee. 

Another factor complicating the situation in composition of peroxyl radicals propagating chain oxidation of alcohol is the production of carbonyl compounds due to alcohol oxidation. As a result of alcohol oxidation, ketones are formed from the secondary alcohol oxidation and aldehydes from the primary alcohols [8,9], Hydroperoxide radicals are added to carbonyl compounds with the formation of alkylhydroxyperoxyl radical. This addition is reversible. 

Vardanyan [65,66] discovered the phenomenon of CL in the reaction of peroxyl radicals with the aminyl radical. In the process of liquid-phase oxidation, CL results from the disproportionation reactions of primary and secondary peroxyl radicals, giving rise to trip-let-excited carbonyl compounds (see Chapter 2). The addition of an inhibitor reduces the concentration of peroxyl radicals and, hence, the rate of R02 disproportionation and the intensity of CL. As the inhibitor is consumed in the oxidized hydrocarbon the initial level of CL is recovered. On the other hand, the addition of primary and secondary aromatic amines to chlorobenzene containing some amounts of alcohols, esters, ethers, or water enhances the CL by 1.5 to 7 times [66]. This effect is probably due to the reaction of peroxyl radicals with the aminyl radical, since the addition of phenol to the reaction mixture under these conditions must extinguish CL. Indeed, the fast exchange reaction... 

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