Palladium benzyl alcohols

In the reaction of aryl and alkenyl halides with 1,3-pentadiene (248), amine and alcohol capture the 7r-allylpalladium intermediate to form 249. In the reactions of o-iodoaniline (250) and o-iodobenzyl alcohol (253) with 1,3-dienes, the amine and benzyl alcohol capture the Tr-allylpalladium intermediates 251 and 254 to give 252 and 255[173-175]. The reaction of o-iodoaniline (250) with 1,4-pen tadiene (256) affords the cyclized product 260 via arylpalladiuni formation, addition to the diene 256 to form 257. palladium migration (elimination of Pd—H and readdition to give 258) to form the Tr-allylpalladium 259, and intramolecular displacement of Tr-allylpalladium with the amine to form 260[176], o-Iodophenol reacts similarly. 

Hydrogenolysis of aromatic carbonyls occurs mainly by conversion to the benzyl alcohol and its subsequent loss. If hydrogenolysis is desired, the usual catalyst is palladium 38). Hydrogenolysis is facilitated by polar solvent and by acid (55). For instance, hydrogenation of 3,3-dicarbethoxy-5,8-dimethoxy-l-tetralone (5) over 5% Pd-on-C gave 6 quantitatively 54) when hydrogen absorption ceased spontaneously. 

An unusual by-product was obtained in small yield in palladium-catalyzed reduction of 2-amino-4,5-dimethoxyindanone hydrochloride, The reduction was done in two stages first, a rapid absorption of 1 mol of hydrogen at 38 C to give the amino alcohol, and then a much slower reduction in the presence of HCIO4 at 70 "C. The rearranged by-product was shown to arise from attack of acid on the amino alcohol (50), Resistance to hydrogenolysis is characteristic of / -amino aromatic alcohols (56), a fact that makes reduction of aromatic oximino ketones to amino benzyl alcohols a useful synthetic reaction. 

As part of the same study, the capacity of this novel resin to act as an allyl cation scavenger was demonstrated in a palladium-catalyzed O-alloc deprotection of O-alloc benzyl alcohol (Scheme 7.107) [125], Benzyl alcohol was obtained in high yield with only trace amounts of by-product, thereby eliminating the need for further purification. The resulting C-allylation of the resin was evident from the presence of C-allyl signals in the relevant MAS-probe 1H NMR spectrum. 

Scheme 7.107 Palladium-catalyzed deprotection of O-alloc benzyl alcohol employing the scavenging resin CHD-SR.

Lin and Yamamoto described a Pd-catalyzed carbonylation of benzyl alcohols [131]. Thus, under the agency of palladium catalysis and promotion by HI, 3-thiophenemethanol was carbonylated to give 3-thiopheneacetic acid as a major product along with methylthiophene as a minor one. 

The three-component synthesis of benzo and naphthofuran-2(3H)-ones from the corresponding aromatic alcohol (phenols or naphthols) with aldehydes and CO (5 bar) can be performed under palladium catalysis (Scheme 16) [59,60]. The mechanism involves consecutive Friedel-Crafts-type aromatic alkylation and carbonylation of an intermediate benzylpalla-dium species. The presence of acidic cocatalysts such as TFA and electron-donating substituents in ortho-position (no reaction with benzyl alcohol ) proved beneficial for both reaction steps. 

The Boots Hoechst Celanese (BHC) ibuprofen process involves palladium-catalyzed carbonylation of a benzylic alcohol (IBPE). More recently, we performed this reaction in an aqueous biphasic system using Pd/tppts as the catalyst (Figure 9.6 tppts = triphenylphosphinetrisulfonate). This process has the advantage of easy removal of the catalyst, resulting in less contamination of the product. 

In contrast to phenolic hydroxyl, benzylic hydroxyl is replaced by hydrogen very easily. In catalytic hydrogenation of aromatic aldehydes, ketones, acids and esters it is sometimes difficult to prevent the easy hydrogenolysis of the benzylic alcohols which result from the reduction of the above functions. A catalyst suitable for preventing hydrogenolysis of benzylic hydroxyl is platinized charcoal [28], Other catalysts, especially palladium on charcoal [619], palladium hydride [619], nickel [43], Raney nickel [619] and copper chromite [620], promote hydrogenolysis. In the case of chiral alcohols such as 2-phenyl-2-butanol hydrogenolysis took place with inversion over platinum and palladium, and with retention over Raney nickel (optical purities 59-66%) [619]. 

Vinylogs of benzylic alcohols, e.g. cinnamyl alcohol, undergo easy saturation of the double bond by catalytic hydrogenation over platinum, rhodium-platinum and palladium oxides [39] or by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride [609]. In the presence of acids, catalytic hydrogenolysis of the allylic hydroxyl takes place, especially over platinum oxide in acetic acid and hydrochloric acid [39]. 

AUylic ethers were reduced by treatment with lithium in ethylamine to alkenes [636]. Benzyl ethers are hydrogenolyzed easily, even more readily than benzyl alcohols [637], 3,5-Bis(benzyloxy)benzyl alcohol gave 3,5-dihydroxy-benzyl alcohol on hydrogenation over palladium on carbon at room temperature and atmospheric pressure in quantitative yield [638. Hydrogenolysis of benzylic ethers can also be achieved by refluxing the ether with cyclohexene (as a source of hydrogen) in the presence of 10% palladium on carbon in the presence of aluminum chloride [639]. 

Recently, the electrochemical behavior saturated alcohols, that is, propargyl alcohol (HCSCCH2OH, PA) [145], benzyl alcohol (C6H5CH2OH, BA) [146] andallylalcohol [147], has been studied at Pd electrodes in an acid medium by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and on-line mass spectrometry. For BA, it was observed that the fragmentation of the molecules occurs at potentials in the hydrogen ad-sorption/absorption region of palladium, whereas for PA the adsorbates maintain the C3-chain. On the other hand, the yields of the electroreduction and electrooxidation products for both PA and BA differ from those obtained at Pt [146,148,149]. 

Fig. 35. Effect of phase behavior on palladium-catalyzed oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde in supercritical CO2 characterized by transmission- and ATR-IR spectroscopy combined with video monitoring of the reaction mixture (102). The figure at the top shows the pressure dependence of the reaction rate. Note the strong increase of the oxidation rate between 140 and 150 bar. The in situ ATR spectra (middle) taken at 145 and 150 bar, respectively, indicate that a change from a biphasic (region A) to a monophasic (B) reaction mixture occurred in the catalyst surface region in this pressure range. This change in the phase behavior was corroborated by the simultaneous video monitoring, as shown at the bottom of the figure.

Benzyl alcohol linkers, such as those described in Section 3.1.1.1, can also be cleaved by palladium-catalyzed hydrogenolysis. Carboxylic acids have, for example, been obtained by hydrogenolysis of insoluble benzyl esters with Pd(OAc)2/DMF/H2 [89,161]. Resin-bound benzylic carbamates [162,163] and amides [164] can also be released by treatment with Pd(OAc)2 in DMF in the presence of a hydrogen source, such as 1,4-cyclohexadiene or ammonium formate. These reactions are quite surprising, because they require the formation of metallic palladium within the gelated beads. 

The partial oxidation of alcohols, to afford carbonyl or carboxylic compounds, is another synthetic route of high industrial interest For this, scC02 was investigated as a reaction medium for the aerobic oxidation of aliphatic, unsaturated, aromatic and benzylic acids with different catalytic systems, mainly based on the use of noble metals, both in batch [58-64] and in continuous fixed-bed reactors [65-70]. In this context, very promising results have been obtained when studying the catalytic activity of supported palladium and gold nanoparticles in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde these allowed conversions and selectivities in excess of 90% to be achieved [71-73]. 

Pd(II) catalysts have been widely used for aerobic oxidation of alcohols. The catalytic systems Pd(OAc)2-(CH3)2SO [14] and Pd(OAc)2-pyridine [15] oxidize allylic and benzylic alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones. Secondary aliphatic alcohols, with relatively high water solubility, have been oxidized to the corresponding ketones by air at high pressure, at 100 °C in water, by using a water-soluble bathophenanthroline disulfonate palladium complex [PhenS Pd(OAc)2] [5d]. The Pd catalyst has also been successfully used for aerobic oxidative kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols, using (-)-sparteine [16]. 

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