2-Propanol, hydrogen transfer

We recently reported that Cu/Si02 is an effective catalyst for the hydrogenation of cyclohexanones under very mild experimental conditions. Thus, a series of cyclohexanones with different substituents, including 3-oxo-steroids, could be reduced under 1 atm of H2 at 40-90°C, with excellent selectivity (5). The catalyst is non-toxic and reusable. This prompted us to investigate the reduction of cyclohexanones over a series of supported copper catalysts under hydrogen transfer (h.t.) conditions (2-propanol, N2, 83 °C) and to compare the results with those obtained under catalytic hydrogenation (n-heptane, 1 atm H2, 40-90°C) conditions. Here we report the results obtained in the hydrogenation of 4-tert-butyl-cyclohexanone, a molecule whose reduction,... 

Table 1 Hydrogen transfer from 2-propanol to 4-teri-butyl-cyclohexanone in the presence of different copper catalysts.

As far as the activity of this catalyst is concerned, the possible contribution of magnesia to the transfer reaction has to be considered. Thus, it is well known that MgO activated at 350°C can effectively catalyze the hydrogen transfer from 2-propanol to unsaturated compounds in the gas phase (7), although no reports are available on MgO activated when used under milder conditions. 

On the other hand a direct hydrogen transfer through a Meerwein-Ponndorf mechanism, involving coordination of both the donor alcohol and the ketone to the copper site may also be considered. In this case, by using alcohols other than 2-propanol, we could expect some difference in stereochemistry. This would also imply the possibility of carrying out the enantioselective reduction of a prochiral ketone with a chiral alcohol as donor. 

For the hydrogen transfer reactions, the substrate (0.100 g, 0.64 mmol) was dissolved in anhydrous n-heptane (8 mL) and the solution transferred under N2 into a glass reaction vessel where the catalyst (0.100 g) had been previously treated. Catalytic tests were carried out with magnetic stirring under N2 at boiling point temperature with 2-propanol and 90°C or 140°C with other donor alcohols. 

Scheme 3.7 Generation of the active hydride catalyst by hydrogen transfer from formic acid or iso-propanol via /5-hydride elimination from formate or alkoxide intermediates. The square represents a vacant site on ruthenium.

Sasson and Rempel [97] showed that the system [(PPh3)3RuCl2]/secondary alcohol is suitable for the selective transformation of 1,1,1,3-tetrachloro into 1,1,3-trichloro compounds. Similarly, Blum and coworkers [98, 99] employed [(PPh3)3RuCl2] as well as polystyrene-anchored Rh, Ru and Ir complexes for the hydrogen transfer from alcohols to trihalomethyl compounds, leading to dihalo-methyl derivatives. For example, one of the Cl atoms of 2,2,2-trichloro-l-phenyl-ethanol was displaced by H at 140-160 °C in 2-propanol. The polymer-anchored catalysts proved to be resistant to leaching [99]. 

The advantages of hydrogen transfer over other methods of hydrogenation comprise the use of readily available hydrogen donors such as 2-propanol, the very mild reaction conditions, and the high selectivity. High concentrations of the reductant can be applied and the hydrogen donor is often used as the solvent, which means that mass transfer limitations cannot occur in these reactions. The uncatalyzed reduction of ketones requires temperatures of 300 °C [29]. 

Henbest and Mitchell [78] have shown that water can be used as hydrogen source with chloroiridic acid (6) as the catalyst through oxidation of phosphorous acid (59) to phosphoric acid (60) in aqueous 2-propanol. Under these conditions, no hydrogen transfer occurs from 2-propanol. However, iridium complexes with sulfoxide or phosphine ligands show the usual transfer from 2-pro-panol [79-81]. 

Transition-metal catalysts are, in general, more active than the MPVO catalysts in the reduction of ketones via hydrogen transfer. Especially, upon the introduction of a small amount of base into the reaction mixture, TOFs of transition-metal catalysts are typically five- to 10-fold higher than those of MPVO catalysts (see Table 20.7, MPVO catalysts entries 1-20, transition-metal catalysts entries 21-53). The transition-metal catalysts are less sensitive to moisture than MPVO catalysts. Transition metal-catalyzed reactions are frequently carried out in 2-propanol/water mixtures. Successful transition-metal catalysts for transfer hydrogenations are based not only on iridium, rhodium or ruthenium ions but also on nickel [93], rhenium [94] and osmium [95]. It has been reported that... 

Increasing effort has been applied to develope asymmetric transfer hydrogenations for reducing ketones to alcohols because the reaction is simple to perform and does not require the use of reactive metal hydrides or hydrogen. Ruthenium-catalyzed hydrogen transfer from 2-propanol to ketones is an efficient method for the preparation of secondary alcohols. 

Figure 4.25. Hydrogen transfer reaction for 2-propanol and benzophenone...

Remarkably, complex 25 was also able to reduce CO2 by transfer hydrogenation in 2-propanol [28]. While there have been many reports using H2 to reduce CO2, the work of Peris and coworkers is the only example of a hydrogen transfer reaction to reduce CO2 with 2-propanol [29]. The reduction is run in the presence of KOH,... 

Complexation of [Cp IrCl2]2 with iV-heterocyclic carbenes has led to complexes such as 25, developed by Peris and coworkers [107, 108], and 133, developed by Crabtree and coworkers [12]. Complex 24 is activated by the addition of silver triflate and is effective for the iV-alkylation of amines with alcohols and for the iV-alkylation of anilines with primary amines. Complex 25 has also been shown to couple benzyl alcohol 15 with a range of alcohols, including ethanol 134, to give ether products such as ether 135 (Scheme 31). Complex 133 was an active hydrogen transfer catalyst for the reduction of ketones and imines, using 2-propanol as the hydrogen source. It was also an effective catalyst for the iV-alkylation of amines... 

Recently, the influence of the preparation method of various MgO samples on their catalytic activity in the MPV reaction of cyclohexanone with 2-propanol has been reported 202). The oxides were prepared by various synthetic procedures including calcination of commercially available magnesium hydroxide and magnesium carbonate calcination of magnesium hydroxides obtained from magnesium nitrate and magnesium sulfate sol-gel synthesis and precipitation by decomposition of urea. It was concluded that the efficiency of the catalytic hydrogen transfer process was directly related to the number of basic sites in the solid. Thus, the MgO (MgO-2 sample in Table IV) prepared by hydration and subsequent calcination of a MgO sample that had been obtained from commercially available Mg(OH)2 was the most basic and the most active for the MPV process, and the MgO samples with similar populations of basic sites exhibited similar activities (Table IV). 

In both light and high energy irradiation induced reactions, phenyl-thiol, 2-mercaptomesitylene, and their sulfides inhibit nonchain processes,201202 e.g., the light-induced conversion of benzophenone in 2-propanol to benzopinacol and acetone.99 217 The reaction converts compounds into radicals by removal or addition of hydrogen atoms. The sulfur compounds in rapid hydrogen transfer processes convert the free radicals to stable molecules and may do so repeatedly.46 46... 

Therefore we used 4-androsten-3,17-dione 1 and 5a-androstan-3,17-dione 2 as model substrates to investigate the chemo- regio- and stereoselectivity of hydrogen transfer from different secondary alcohols, 2-propanol, 2-octanol, cyclohexanol, 1-phenyl-ethanol and diphenylmethanol in the presence of CU/AI2O3. In particular, hydrogenation of 1 allowed to determine the selectivity towards 5p isomers, whereas the percent of axial alcohol was derived from the hydrogenation of 2. These results can be compared with those obtained with the same catalyst in the presence of molecular hydrogen. 

In the case of 2-propanol and 2-octanol a direct surface hydrogen transfer reaction may take place, as was demonstrated by Burwell for the reaction between 2-propanol and 2-butanone on copper oxide7. 

Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley-Type Reduction Reduction of ketones by 2-propanol or related alcohols, known as Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reduction, is promoted by various metal alkoxides, typically aluminum 2-propoxide [2a,d,281]. The C2 hydrogen of 2-propanol is transferred directly to the carbonyl carbon through a six-membered pericyclic transition state [284], Earlier, a stoichiometric quantity of a metal alkoxide was required for this purpose, but recently, lanthanide [285] and aluminum [286] complexes acting as excellent catalysts have been reported. 

Ketones are reduced by asymmetric hydrogen transfer from either HCO2H or 2-propanol as hydrogen sources, catalysed by chiral Ru complexes [66]. HCO2H is used... 

Asymmetric hydrogen transfer from 2-propanol to aromatic ketones such as acetophenone (99) has been achieved by using the same chiral Ru complex in 2-propanol containing KOH at room temperature, and (S)-1 -phenylethanol (100) with 98% ee was obtained [68,69]. Similarly, efficient Ru-catalysed transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones using the cyclic amino alcohol [(I. S, 3R,4i )-2-azanorbomylmetha-nol] (110) [70] and bis(oxazolinylmethyl) amine (111) [71] was reported. 

The influence of the preparation method of various MgO samples on their catalytic activity in the MPV reaction of cyclohexanone with 2-propanol has been recently reported.1861 It was concluded that the efficiency of the catalytic hydrogen transfer process was directly related to the number of basic sites in the solid. 

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