Palladium benzylation

Carbene Insertion into the Palladium-Benzyl Bond... 

The benzyl group has been widely used for the protection of hydroxyl functions in carbohydrate and nucleotide chemistry (C.M. McCloskey, 1957 C.B. Reese, 1965 B.E. Griffin, 1966). A common benzylation procedure involves heating with neat benzyl chloride and strong bases. A milder procedure is the reaction in DMF solution at room temperatiue with the aid of silver oxide (E. Reinefeld, 1971). Benzyl ethers are not affected by hydroxides and are stable towards oxidants (e.g. periodate, lead tetraacetate), LiAIH, amd weak acids. They are, however, readily cleaved in neutral solution at room temperature by palladium-catalyzed bydrogenolysis (S. Tejima, 1963) or by sodium in liquid ammonia or alcohols (E.J. Rcist, 1964). 

Addition of several organomercury compounds (methyl, aryl, and benzyl) to conjugated dienes in the presence of Pd(II) salts generates the ir-allylpalladium complex 422, which is subjected to further transformations. A secondary amine reacts to give the tertiary allylic amine 423 in a modest yield along with diene 424 and reduced product 425[382,383]. Even the unconjugated diene 426 is converted into the 7r-allyllic palladium complex 427 by the reaction of PhHgCI via the elimination and reverse readdition of H—Pd—Cl[383]. 

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. 

Lithiation at C2 can also be the starting point for 2-arylatioii or vinylation. The lithiated indoles can be converted to stannanes or zinc reagents which can undergo Pd-catalysed coupling with aryl, vinyl, benzyl and allyl halides or sulfonates. The mechanism of the coupling reaction involves formation of a disubstituted palladium intermediate by a combination of ligand exchange and oxidative addition. Phosphine catalysts and salts are often important reaction components. 

Pd-C, 1,4-cyclohexadiene, 25°, 1.5 h, 95-100% yield.Palladium black, a more reactive catalyst than Pd-C, must be used to cleave the more stable aliphatic benzyl ethers. 

Esters and amides are quite resistant to hydrogenation under almost all conditions so their presence is not expected to cause difficulties. Alkyl ethers and ketals are generally resistant to hydrogenolysis but benzyl ethers are readily cleaved, particularly over palladium or Raney nickel catalysts. ... 

Five to ten grams of the benzyl ether is hydrogenolyzed over 1-1.5 g of 5% palladium-on-charcoal in 75-100 ml of ethanol at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Filtration and evaporation of the filtrate to dryness gives very good yields of the alcohol. ... 

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. 

Platinum may be more useful than palladium in reduction of nitro compounds containing functions easily reduced by palladium. Hydrogenation of I over 5% Pd-on-C was nonselective with hydrogenolysis of the benzyl ethers competing with nitro hydrog ation, but over PtO in ethanol 2 was obtained in 96% yield (4). 

Extreme differences between 5% palladium-on-carbon and platinum oxide were found on reduction of the 5-aryl substituted oxazole 14. Over palladium, 15 was formed in quantitative yield by hydrogenolysis of the benzyl hydroxyl, whereas over Pt, scission of the oxazole occurred to give 13 quantitatively (48). Hydrogenation of 15 over platinum oxide gave the phenethylamide 16. 

A more expected difference between platinum oxide and palladium-on-carbon was found in the hydrogenolysis of 5-phenyI-2-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyI)-2-oxazoline. Cleavage occurred at the benzyl-oxygen bond over both catalysts, but over platinum, the less substituted phenyl group was saturated as well (78). 

Benzylamines tend to undergo hydrogenolysis with inversion over both Raney nickel and palladium, unlike benzyl-oxygen compounds I2Ia,I67o). 

To a solution of 180 parts of -benzyl N-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-aspartvI-L-phenylalanine methyl ester in 3,000 parts by volume of 75% acetic acid is added 18 parts of palladium black metal catalyst, and the resulting mixture is shaken with hydrogen at atmospheric pressure and room temperature for about 12 hours. The catalyst is removed by filtration, and the solvent is distilled under reduced pressure to afford a solid residue, which is purified by re-crystallization from aqueous ethanol to yield L-aspartyl-L-phenylalanine methyl ester. It displays a double melting point at about 190°C and 245°-247°C. 

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