Oxymercuration A Convenient Route to Markovnikov Hydration of Olefins

Oxymercuration A Convenient Route to Markovnikov Hydration of Olefins 

The acid catalyzed hydration of olefins is frequently attended by decomposition or rearrangement of the acid-sensitive substrate. A simple and mild procedure for the Markovnikov hydration of double bonds has recently been devised by Brown and co-workers 13). This reaction, which appears to be remarkably free of rearrangements, initially involves the addition of mercuric acetate to the double bond to give the 1,2- 

Olefin Reaction time for addition (minutes) Product bp of product (1 atm) (X) 

The procedure given above is applied to norbornene. However, the formation of the alcohol is accompanied by formation of moderate amounts of the acetate. Therefore, the dried tetrahydrofuran solution of the alcohol-acetate mixture is treated with 0.4 g (O.OI mole) of lithium aluminum hydride dissolved in 10 ml ofTHF. The excess hydride is decomposed by careful addition of water, followed by filtration, drying of the organic solution, and evaporation of the solvent. The residue is almost pure ( 99.8%) exo-1-norborneol. It may be purified by direct distillation, bp 178-17971 atm, crystallizing slowly on cooling, mp 127-128°. 

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