Radical Birch reduction

In the presence of a proton source, the radical anion is protonated and further reduction occurs (the Birch reduction Part B, Section 5.5.1). In general, when no proton source is present, it is relatively difficult to add a second electron. Solutions of the radical anions of aromatic hydrocarbons can be maintained for relatively long periods in the absence of oxygen or protons. 

Various other observations of Krapcho and Bothner-By are accommodated by the radical-anion reduction mechanism. Thus, the position of the initial equilibrium [Eq. (3g)] would be expected to be determined by the reduction potential of the metal and the oxidation potential of the aromatic compound. In spite of small differences in their reduction potentials, lithium, sodium, potassium and calcium afford sufficiently high concentrations of the radical-anion so that all four metals can effect Birch reductions. The few compounds for which comparative data are available are reduced in nearly identical yields by the four metals. However, lithium ion can coordinate strongly with the radical-anion, unlike sodium and potassium ions, and consequently equilibrium (3g) for lithium is shifted considerably... 

Obviously the structures and yields of Birch reduction products are determined at the two protonation stages. The ring positions at which both protonations occur are determined kinetically the first protonation or 7t-complex collapse is rate determining and irreversible, and the second protonation normally is irreversible under the reaction conditions. In theory, the radical-anion could protonate at any one of the six carbon atoms of the ring and each of the possible cyclohexadienyl carbanions formed subsequently could protonate at any one of three positions. Undoubtedly the steric and electronic factors discussed above determine the kinetically favored positions of protonation, but at present it is difficult to evaluate the importance of each factor in specific cases. A brief summary of some empirical and theoretical data regarding the favored positions of protonation follows. 

Reduction of a conjugated enone to a saturated ketone requires the addition of two electrons and two protons. As in the case of the Birch reduction of aromatic compounds, the exact order of these additions has been the subject of study and speculation. Barton proposed that two electrons add initially giving a dicarbanion of the structure (49) which then is protonated rapidly at the / -position by ammonia, forming the enolate salt (50) of the saturated ketone. Stork later suggested that the radical-anion (51), a one electron... 

Reaction No. 5 (Table 11) is part of a synthetically useful method for the alkylation of aromatic compounds. At first the aromatic carboxylic acid is reductively alkylated by way of a Birch reduction in the presence of alkyl halides, this is then followed by an eliminative decarboxylation. In reaction No. 9 decarboxylation occurs probably by oxidation at the nitrogen to the radical cation that undergoes decarboxylation (see... 

When double bonds are reduced by lithium in ammonia or amines, the mechanism is similar to that of the Birch reduction (15-14). ° The reduction with trifluoro-acetic acid and EtsSiH has an ionic mechanism, with H coming in from the acid and H from the silane. In accord with this mechanism, the reaction can be applied only to those alkenes that when protonated can form a tertiary carbocation or one stabilized in some other way (e.g., by a OR substitution). It has been shown, by the detection of CIDNP, that reduction of a-methylstyrene by hydridopenta-carbonylmanganese(I) HMn(CO)5 involves free-radical addition. ... 

Direct Electron Transfer. We have already met some reactions in which the reduction is a direct gain of electrons or the oxidation a direct loss of them. An example is the Birch reduction (15-14), where sodium directly transfers an electron to an aromatic ring. An example from this chapter is found in the bimolecular reduction of ketones (19-55), where again it is a metal that supplies the electrons. This kind of mechanism is found largely in three types of reaction, (a) the oxidation or reduction of a free radical (oxidation to a positive or reduction to a negative ion), (b) the oxidation of a negative ion or the reduction of a positive ion to a comparatively stable free radical, and (c) electrolytic oxidations or reductions (an example is the Kolbe reaction, 14-36). An important example of (b) is oxidation of amines and phenolate ions ... 

Silylated 1,4-cyclohexadienes, such as 58, are accessible by the Birch reduction of resorcin dimethyl ether and subsequent one-pot silylation-methylation. The reduction of bromo adamantane with 58, occurs readily in the presence of the radical initiator AIBN, with the driving force being the aromatization leading to 59 (Scheme 14). 

The Birch reduction has been used by several generations of synthetic organic chemists for the conversion of readily available aromatic compounds to alicyclic synthetic intermediates. Birch reductions are carried out with an alkali metal in liquid NH3 solution usually with a co-solvent such as THF and always with an alcohol or related acid to protonate intermediate radical anions or related species. One of the most important applications of the Birch reduction is the conversion of aryl alkyl ethers to l-alkoxycyclohexa-l,4-dienes. These extremely valuable dienol ethers provide cyclohex-3-en-l-ones by mild acid hydrolysis or cyclohex-2-en-l-ones when stronger acids are used (Scheme 1). 

Birch reduction-alkylation of 5 with 2-bromoethyl acetate was carried out with complete facial selectivity to give 57. This tetrafunctional intermediate was converted to the bicyclic iodolactone 58 ( > 99% ee) from which the radical cyclization substrate 59 was prepared. The key radical cyclization occurred with complete regio- and facial-selectivity and subsequent stereoselective reduction of the resulting tertiary radical gave 60 with the required trans BC ring fusion.The allylic alcohol rmit of (+)-lycorine was obtained by a photochemical radical decarboxylation, 62 63. 

It was realized that the mechanism of Birch reduction involves protonation of the anion-radical formed by the addition of one electron to the reacting aromatic compound. This is followed by rapid addition of a second electron and protonation of the forming carbanion to yield nonconjugated alicyclic products. Protonation of the anion-radical by added alcohol is the rate-limiting stage. Recent calculations show that the ortho and meta positions in anisole are most enhanced in density by electron introduction. The para position is not appreciably affected (Zimmerman and Alabugin 2001 Scheme 7.9). 

Reactions with Protic, ionic, Poiar Reagents. The reactions of radical anions with proton donors include the reduction of arenes, the well-known Birch reduction, as well as alkynes by alkali metals in liquid ammonia. Both reactions have synthetic utility and belong to the few radical ion reactions included in elementary textbooks. 

RADICAL IONS FROM ARENES BIRCH REDUCTION AND ARENE OXIDATION... 

Perhaps it should be mentioned also the orientation of the Birch reduction which is strongly dependent on the nature of the aromatic substituents. Donor-substituted benzenes furnish predominantly 1-substituted 1,4-cyclohexadienes while acceptor-substituted analogues give 3-substituted 1,4-cyclohexadienes. The regioselectivities can be explained by the destabilizing d-d pairing in the intermediates from d-substi-tuted cyclohexadienyl radical anions leading to the 3-substituted products, and the... 

The initial step of the Birch reduction is an electron transfer to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of the benzene tt system (see Figure 21-5) to form a radical anion ... 

The two free hydroxy groups are First protected with acetic anhydride. In a second step the acetyl group is reductively cleaved by a Birch reduction with lithium in liquid ammonia.19 Lithium dissolves in the ammonia with the formation of solvated electrons. Stepwise electron transfer to the aromatic species (a SET process) leads first to a radical anion, which stabilizes itself as benzylic radical 38 with loss of the oxygen substituent. A second SET process generates a benzylic anion, which is neutralized with ammonium chloride acting as a proton source (see Chapter 12). 

It was realized that the mechanism of the Birch reduction involves protonation of the anion radical formed by addition of one electron to the reacting aromatic compound. This... 

---