Radical species metal reduction

Abstract Recent advances in the metal-catalyzed one-electron reduction reactions are described in this chapter. One-electron reduction induced by redox of early transition metals including titanium, vanadium, and lanthanide metals provides a variety of synthetic methods for carbon-carbon bond formation via radical species, as observed in the pinacol coupling, dehalogenation, and related radical-like reactions. The reversible catalytic cycle is achieved by a multi-component catalytic system in combination with a co-reductant and additives, which serve for the recycling, activation, and liberation of the real catalyst and the facilitation of the reaction steps. In the catalytic reductive transformations, the high stereoselectivity is attained by the design of the multi-component catalytic system. This article focuses mostly on the pinacol coupling reaction. 

Here, RH denotes the reducing agent, which yields the adsorbed radical species R and atomic H upon adsorption and dissociation the electron derived from the oxidation step (eqn. (18)) goes towards metal ion reduction. 

This difference of regioselectivity in alkylation of CHT is explained by the difference of the electrophile which reacts with the first active intermediate formed from CHT. Thus, the first active intermediate formed by one-electron transfer to CHT is an anion radical species (A) in both the electrochemical and the Li-metal reduction. 

Cyclizations of dihydroxystilbene 256 using 4 mol % of chiral ruthenium complexes under photolytic conditions were investigated by Katsuki et al. (Scheme 65) [167]. Coordination of alcohols/phenols to Ru(IV) species generates a cation radical with concomitant reduction of metal to Ru(III). Cycli-zation of this oxygen radical followed by another cyclization provides the product 257. Catalyst 259 provided 81% ee of the product in chlorobenzene solvent. Optimization of the solvent polarity led to a mixture of toluene and f-butanol in 2 3 ratio as the ideal solvent. Substituents on the phenyl rings led to a decrease in selectivity. Low yields were due to the by-product 258. 

Reactions of 1,2,4-thiadiazoles with radicals and electron-deficient species are virtually unknown. Catalytic and dissolving metal reductions usually cleave the nucleus at its N—S bond by a reaction that may be regarded as the reverse of its synthesis by the oxidative cyclization of amidinothiono structures (Section 4.08.9.4). For example, reduction of the diamino compound (37) gives the amidinothiourea (38) from which it may be prepared by oxidation (Equation (8)). 

A metal-induced one-electron reduction is frequently used to generate radical species. Termination of the radical reactions is due to a one-electron reduction process to give anions and therefore constitutes a non-chain process. As featured in Scheme 6.32, in many cases the multicomponent processes described here are a combination of radical and anionic bond-forming reactions. 

Iron and copper catalyse the formation of oxyradicals. Three reactions are relevant in this context (1) Autoxidation of metal complexes may yield the superoxide radical which by itself is not very reactive, but is a precursor of more reactive radical species. (2) The one-electron reduction of hydrogen peroxide -the Fenton reaction - results in hydroxyl radicals via a higher oxidation state of iron [2]. (3) A similar reaction with organic peroxides leads to alkoxyl radicals, although a recent report alleges that hydroxyl radicals are also formed [3]. There is a fourth radical, the formation of which does not require mediation by a metal complex. This is the alkyldioxyl radical, ROO , which is formed at a... 

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