Palladium-catalyzed Benzylic Oxidations

It has long been known that Pd(OAc)2 catalyzes the benzylic oxidation of toluene in acetic acid [18,19]. The catalyst was more active when reactions were performed in the presence of active charcoal [19] and low oxidation-state palladium was implicated in benzylic oxidations [20]. Optimum results were obtained in the presence of active charcoal and Sn(OAc)2 as cocatalyst [19]. Similarly, Lyons [4] reported that Pd/C is an effective catalyst for benzylic oxidations under mild conditions, with little or no competing ring oxidation (Eqs. 3 and 4). 

Tanielyan and Augustine [21] showed that a silica-supported Pd-Sn catalyst was effective in the aerobic oxidation of toluene in acetic acid, affording a mixture of benzyl acetate and benzylidene acetate (Eq. 5) at 98 % conversion. 

Interestingly, the authors reported that benzyl acetate was not further oxidized under the reaction conditions, suggesting that benzylidene diacetate is formed in a parallel rather than consecutive reaction. 

As with the allylic oxidation of olefins (see above) the giant Pd-561 cluster was also found to catalyze benzylic acetoxylation under mild conditions in acetic acid [10]. 

Few investigations have been devoted to the scope of palladium-catalyzed benzylic oxidation. Electron-donating substituents, e.g. MeO, in the aromatic ring have a promoting effect no reaction was observed with /7-nitrotoluene 

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Oxygen Nucleophiles. A reagent such as permanganate oxidizes toluene to benzoic acid, whereas benzylic oxidation by palladium acetate results in benzyl alcohol derivatives. The oxidation is favored by electron-releasing substituents in the phenyl ring. Catalytic amounts of palladium acetate and tin diacetate, in combination with air, effects an efficient palladium-catalyzed benzylic oxidation of toluene and xylenes. For the latter substrates, the Q, Q -diacetate is the main product.A mixed palladium diacetate-copper diacetate catalyst has also been found to selectively catalyze the benzylic acyloxylation of toluene (eq 64). ... 

Grunwaldt et al. (2003b) reported XAFS measurements recorded during palladium-catalyzed alcohol oxidation in supercritical CO2. A commercial shell-impregnated catalyst consisting of 0.5 wt% Pd on alumina was used for benzyl alcohol oxidation (to benzaldehyde) in supercritical CO2 with pure O2 as oxidant. The conditions were 353 K and 150 bar. The results are summarized in Table 8. The authors reported only Pd XANES data, not EXAFS data, and thus the analysis is limited to information about the average oxidation state of the palladium. 

Much effort has been devoted to finding synthetically useful methods for the palladium-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of alcohols. For a detailed overview the reader is referred to several excellent reviews [163]. The first synthetically useful system was reported in 1998, when Peterson and Larock showed that simple Pd(OAc)2 in combination with NaHC03 as a base in DMSO as solvent catalyzed the aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary allylic and benzylic alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones, respectively, in fairly good yields [164, 165]. Recently, it was shown that replacing the non-green DMSO by an ionic liquid (imidazole-type) resulted in a three times higher activity of the Pd-catalyst [166]. 

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). 

Palladium-catalyzed directed intramolecular activations of aryl C-H bonds have been reported, as in the phenyla-tion of heterocycle analogs. Palladacycles are proposed intermediates, acting as effective catalysts, and the mechanism is likely to proceed via oxidation of Pd(ll) to Pd(iv) by the iodonium salt, as for the Equation (57), which described the activation of benzylic i/-CH bonds (Equations (121)—(123).109... 

The palladium-catalyzed reaction of benzol]quinoline in the presence of PhI(OAc)2 as an oxidant in MeCN gives an 11 1 mixture of 10-acetoxy- and 10-hydroxybenzo[ ]quinolines in 86% yield (Equation (98)).135 This chelation-directed oxidation can be extended to the benzylic C-H bond of 8-methylquinoline. The inactivated sp3 C-H bonds of oximes and pyridines undergo the same palladium-catalyzed oxidation with PhI(OAc)2 (Equation (99)).1... 

Secondary phosphine oxides are known to be excellent ligands in palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions and platinum-catalyzed nitrile hydrolysis. A series of chiral enantiopure secondary phosphine oxides 49 and 50 has been prepared and studied in the iridium-catalyzed enantioselective hydrogenation of imines [48] and in the rhodium- and iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation functionalized olefins [86]. Especially in benzyl substituted imine-hydrogenation, 49a ranks among the best ligands available in terms of ex. 

Other Alkyl Ethers. Sucrose has been selectively etherified by electrochemical means to generate a sucrose anion followed by reaction with an alkyl halide (21,22). The benzylation of sucrose using this technique gives 2-O-benzyl- (49%), T-O-benzyl- (41%), and 3 -O-benzyl- (10%) sucrose (22). The benzylation of sucrose with benzyl bromide and silver oxide in DMF also produces the 2-O-benzyl ether as the principal product, but smaller proportions of T- and 3 -ethers (23). Octadienyl ether derivatives of sucrose, intermediates for polymers, have been prepared by a palladium-catalyzed telomerization reaction with butadiene in 2-propanol—water (24). 

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.

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