Radical addition of alcohols

The photochemically induced radical addition of alcohols to enones has been described by Fraser-Reid [104-109]. Here again, the sense of addition depends on the steric effects of substituents, attack anti to the C-5 substituent being preferred [108,110]. Other uses of sugar-derived enones to trap radicals have been reported [111]. Enolone 77 gave interesting results in terms of selectivity [112]. In this instance, radical addition occurs with an equatorial selectivity, whereas cuprate addition occurs with an axial selectivity [9,62]. 

Fig. 103 Radical additions of alcohols to styrenes catalyzed by the Wilkinson complex 438...

In contrast to nucleophilic additions of alcohols to fluorinated alkenes, where the reagent is alkoxide anion, in free-radical addition of alcohols the reacting species is a free radical generated by homolysis of the bond between hydrogen and the alkyl group. 

The use of benzophenone as a hydrogen-abstracting agent for the free-radical addition of alcohols or dioxolanes to delicate enones has been reported.56 Some examples of this are given in Scheme 11. 

A rather special procedure for the preparation of 21-hydroxy-20-ketopreg-nanes starts with the 17a-ethoxyethynyl-17 -hydroxy steroids described earlier. Free radical addition of ethanethiol to the triple bond, followed by acid-catalyzed hydrolysis and dehydration gives the 20-thioenol ether 21-aldehyde. This can be reduced with lithium aluminum hydride to the C-21 alcohol and then hydrolyzed to the C-20 ketone in the presence of mercuric chloride. The overall yield, without isolation of intermediates, is in the order of 50% ... 

CH Nj reactions, 382 COClj reactions, 383 free radical addition of hexafluoroacetone, 257 identification of oxidation products CHjNj to measure peracids as peresters, 385 extinction coefficients, 388-389/ iodometry to measure -OOH, 385 NO to measure alcohols and hydroperoxides, 386 residual, simplified carbonyl envelope which results from SF exposure, 386... 

The reverse micelles stabilized by SDS retard the autoxidation of ethylbenzene [27]. It was proved that the SDS micelles catalyze hydroperoxide decomposition without the formation of free radicals. The introduction of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone in the system decreases the rate of hydroperoxide decay (ethylbenzene, 363 K, [SDS] = 10 3mol L [cyclohexanol] =0.03 mol L-1, and [cyclohexanone] = 0.01 mol L 1 [27]). Such an effect proves that the decay of MePhCHOOH proceeds in the layer of polar molecules surrounding the micelle. The addition of alcohol or ketone lowers the hydroperoxide concentration in such a layer and, therefore, retards hydroperoxide decomposition. The surfactant AOT apparently creates such a layer around water moleculesthat is very thick and creates difficulties for the penetration of hydroperoxide molecules close to polar water. The phenomenology of micellar catalysis is close to that of heterogeneous catalysis and inhibition (see Chapters 10 and 20). 

In contrast, the reaction of acid-catalyzed nucleophilic addition of alcohols to derivatives of AH -imidazol-1 -oxide (219) and (224) leads only to nitronyl nitroxyl (221) and imino nitroxyl (274) radicals (518). 

The regiochemistry of nucleophilic addition to alkene radical cations is a function of the nucleophile and of the reaction conditions. Thus, water adds to the methoxyethene radical cation predominantly at the unsubstituted carbon (Scheme 3) to give the ff-hydroxy-a-methoxyethyl radical. This kinetic adduct is rearranged to the thermodynamic regioisomer under conditions of reversible addition [33]. The addition of alcohols, like that of water, is complicated by the reversible nature of the addition, unless the product dis-tonic radical cation is rapidly deprotonated. This feature of the addition of protic nucleophiles has been studied and discussed by Arnold [5] and Newcomb [84,86] and their coworkers. 

The 7-lactones described below can be prepared in good yield in a one-step process by radical addition of primary fatty alcohols to acrylic acid, using di-tert-butyl peroxide as a catalyst. A patent claims a high yield when the reaction is carried out in the presence of alkali phosphates or alkali sulfates [196]. 

Preparation by Ring Expansion of Cyclododecanone. Radical addition of allyl alcohol to cyclododecanone, for example, with di-/cr/-butyl peroxide as a radical initiator, yields 2-(7-hydroxypropyl)cyclododecanone. This is converted into 13-oxabicyclo[10.4.0]hexadec-l(12)-ene by acid-catalyzed dehydration [202], Addition of hydrogen peroxide, in the presence of sulfuric acid, gives 12-hydroperoxy-13-oxabicyclo[10.4.0]hexadecane. Cleavage of the peroxide by heating in xylene gives 15-pentadecanolide as well as a small amount of 15-pentadec-l l(and 12)-enolide and 12-hydroxy-15-penta-decanolide [203]. 

The voltammetric response of curcumin and carthamin must, in principle, be dominated by the oxidation of the phenol and/or methoxyphenol groups (see Scheme 2.2). The electrochemistry of methoxyphenols has claimed considerable attention because of their applications in organic synthesis [159-163]. As studied by Quideau et al., in aprotic media, 2-methoxyphenols are oxidized in two successive steps into cyclohexadienone derivatives [163], whereas a-(2)- and a-(4-methoxyphenoxy) alkanoic acids undergo electrochemically induced spirolac-tonization to develop synthetically useful orthoquinone bis- and monoketals. In the presence of methanol, the electrochemical pathway involves an initial one-electron loss, followed by proton loss, to form a monoketal radical. This undergoes a subsequent electron and proton loss coupled with the addition of alcohol to form an orthoquinone monoketal. The formal electrode potential for the second electron transfer... 

Free radical addition of trifluoroiodomethane with propargyl alcohols... 

These include thiobenzoates, thiocarbonylimidazolides, and phenyl thionocarbonate esters.6 The S-methyl xanthate ester is a particularly convenient intermediate to prepare because of its ease of formation and the low cost of the reagents. Its use is precluded, however, by the presence of base-labile protecting groups and, in such cases, the thiocarbonylimidazolide or phenyl thionocarbonate ester will generally prove satisfactory. Additional methods for the radical deoxygenation of alcohols are described in a review by Hartwig.7... 

Oxalo-niobates or niobo-oxalates correspond to the vanado-oxalates, and contain both oxalic acid and niobic add radicals in the complex anion. The only known series possesses the general formula 3R aO. Nb 205.6C203.a H20, where R stands for an alkali metal. The sodium, potassium and rubidium salts are prepared by fusing one molecular proportion of niobium pentoxide with three molecular proportions of the alkali carbonate in a platinum crucible. The aqueous extract of the melt jjs poured into hot oxalic add solution concentration and cooling, or addition of alcohol or acetone, then brings about precipitation of the complex salt. Comparison of the dectrical conductivity measurements of solutions of the alkali oxalo-niobates with those of the alkali hydrogen oxalates determined under the same conditions indicates that the oxalo-niobates are hydrolysed in aqueous solution, and that their anions contain a complex oxalo-niobic acid radical.6... 

Some strategies used for the preparation of support-bound thiols are listed in Table 8.1. Oxidative thiolation of lithiated polystyrene has been used to prepare polymeric thiophenol (Entry 1, Table 8.1). Polystyrene functionalized with 2-mercaptoethyl groups has been prepared by radical addition of thioacetic acid to cross-linked vinyl-polystyrene followed by hydrolysis of the intermediate thiol ester (Entry 2, Table 8.1). A more controllable introduction of thiol groups, suitable also for the selective transformation of support-bound substrates, is based on nucleophilic substitution with thiourea or potassium thioacetate. The resulting isothiouronium salts and thiol acetates can be saponified, preferably under reductive conditions, to yield thiols (Table 8.1). Thiol acetates have been saponified on insoluble supports with mercaptoethanol [1], propylamine [2], lithium aluminum hydride [3], sodium or lithium borohydride, alcoholates, or hydrochloric acid (Table 8.1). 

Scheme 52 provides a sample of the types of reactions that have recently been conducted under a variety of different conditions. Example (1) illustrates the classical conditions,163 while example (2) shows that modified initiators that permit low temperature reactions may prove beneficial.29 Finally, example (3) illustrates that the photochemical addition of alcohols (and also acetals) to enones in the presence of benzophenone is a very useful preparative procedure.164 Here, the carbinyl hydrogen is abstracted by an excited state benzophenone molecule rather than a peroxy radical.163... 

The photosensitized 1-4 addition of alcohols to hexenopyranosuloses first reported by B. Fraser Reid and coworkers [58 a] has been developed with other studies on photoadditions of oxycarbinyl species such as polyols, acetals, dioxolanes, aldehydes. A mechanistic study on this photoaddition has been recently detailed [58 b] showing that the important photochemical event is hydrogen abstraction from methanol, for example, to form the hydroxymethyl radical. 

Time resolved laser flash photolysis and electric spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopic investigations were used to get further insight to the reaction mechanism. Both methods demonstrate the formation of do using PET conditions [175,214,215], Upon addition of H donors the signal of do is quenched [214], The oxidation of do is followed by H abstraction from the H donor as shown in Scheme 9. Nucleophilic addition can be excluded because no alkoxyfullerenes were detected at all [173], After reduction of H-do, e.g., by electron transfer from the reduced sensitizer molecule H-do might recombine with R" to the final product. Decay experiments of do by the addition of alcohols support the proposed mechanism of H abstraction as a first step. The involved radical products reveal do as an electrophilic radical. 

Borate esters of fluorinated alcohols, simply prepared by the free-radical addition of trialkyl borates to fluorinated alkenes, are cleaved by chlorine to yield fluorinated acid chlorides (equation 141)949. 

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