Raney nickel nitriles

Adiponitrile undergoes the typical nitrile reactions, eg, hydrolysis to adipamide and adipic acid and alcoholysis to substituted amides and esters. The most important industrial reaction is the catalytic hydrogenation to hexamethylenediarnine. A variety of catalysts are used for this reduction including cobalt—nickel (46), cobalt manganese (47), cobalt boride (48), copper cobalt (49), and iron oxide (50), and Raney nickel (51). An extensive review on the hydrogenation of nitriles has been recendy pubUshed (10). 

The zwitterion (6) can react with protic solvents to produce a variety of products. Reaction with water yields a transient hydroperoxy alcohol (10) that can dehydrate to a carboxyUc acid or spHt out H2O2 to form a carbonyl compound (aldehyde or ketone, R2CO). In alcohoHc media, the product is an isolable hydroperoxy ether (11) that can be hydrolyzed or reduced (with (CH O) or (CH2)2S) to a carbonyl compound. Reductive amination of (11) over Raney nickel produces amides and amines (64). Reaction of the zwitterion with a carboxyUc acid to form a hydroperoxy ester (12) is commercially important because it can be oxidized to other acids, RCOOH and R COOH. Reaction of zwitterion with HCN produces a-hydroxy nitriles that can be hydrolyzed to a-hydroxy carboxyUc acids. Carboxylates are obtained with H2O2/OH (65). The zwitterion can be reduced during the course of the reaction by tetracyanoethylene to produce its epoxide (66). 

Conversion of the nitrile to the amide has been achieved by both chemical and biological means. Several patents have described the use of modified Raney nickel catalysts ia this appHcation (25,26). Also, alkaH metal perborates have demonstrated their utiHty (27). Typically, the hydrolysis is conducted ia the presence of sodium hydroxide (28—31). Owiag to the fact that the rate of hydrolysis of the nitrile to the amide is fast as compared to the hydrolysis of the amide to the acid, good yields of the amide are obtained. Other catalysts such as magnesium oxide (32), ammonia (28,29,33), and manganese dioxide (34) have also been employed. 

ANILINES, BENZYL AMINES, AND ANALOGUES An orally active local anesthetic agent that can be used as an (intiarrhythmic agent is meobenti ne (57). Its patented synthesis starts with -hydroxyphenyl nitrile and proceeds by dimethyl sulfate etherification and Raney nickel reduction to Alkylation of -methyl-dimethylthiourea with completes l.he synthesis of meobenti ne (57). ... 

Nickel in the presence of ammonia is often used for reduction of nitriles to primary amines. The reaction is done at elevated temperatures and pressures ( 100 C, 1000 psig) unless massive amounts of nickel are used. Cobalt is used similarly but mainly under even more vigorous conditions. Nitriles containing a benzylamine can be reduced over Raney nickel to an amine without hydrogenolysis of the benzyl group (7). A solution of butoxycarbonyl)-3-aminopropyl]-N-<3-cyanopropyl)benzylamine (13.6 g) in 100 ml of ethanol containing 4 g. NaOH was reduced over 3.0 g Raney nickel at 40 psig for 28 h. The yield of A/ -benzyl-Air -(f-butoxycarbonyl)s >ermidine was 95% (7). 

Transformation of the amino nitriles to the corresponding amino acids, with removal of the dioxane ring, is carried out in two steps. Treatment with concentrated hydrochloric acid results in the hydrolysis of both the nitrile and the acetal group, and in cyclization to the corresponding 3-substituted 5-hydroxyniethyl-3-methyl-2-oxo-6-phenylmorpholinc hydrochlorides. Oxidative cleavage with 2 N sodium hydroxide solution, air and Raney nickel at 120 CC (ca. 30 h) delivers the hydrochlorides of the free a-methylamino acids in high yield. 

Supported Co, Ni, Ru, Rh, Pd and Pt as well as Raney Ni and Co catalysts were used for the hydrogenation of dodecanenitrile to amines in stirred SS autoclaves both in cyclohexane and without a solvent. The reaction temperature and the hydrogen pressure were varied between 90-140 °C and 10-80 bar, respectively. Over Ni catalysts NH3 and/or a base modifier suppressed the formation of secondary amine. High selectivity (93-98 %) to primary amine was obtained on Raney nickel, Ni/Al203 and Ru/A1203 catalysts at complete nitrile conversion. With respect to the effect of metal supported on alumina the selectivity of dodecylamine decreased in the order Co Ni Ru>Rh>Pd>Pt. The difference between Group VIII metals in selectivity can be explained by the electronic properties of d-band of metals. High selectivity to primary amine was achieved on base modified Raney Ni even in the absence of NH3. 

Methoxybenzaldehyde, 54, 42 p-Methoxybenzaldehyde, by reduction of p-methoxybenzo-nitrile with Raney nickel alloy, 51, 22... 

Raney nickel alloy, reduction of aromatic nitriles to aldehydes, 51, 22 REACTION OF ARYL HALIDES WITH... 

Raney nickel hydrogenation of aromatic and aliphatic nitriles in ethanol containing 4 equivalents of phenyl hydrazine gives 90% of aldehydes. 

This reduction has also been achieved by treating the nitrile with sodium hypophosphite (NaH2P02 ) and Raney nickel in aqueous acetic acid - pyridine or formic acid. 

NAPHTHALENETHIOL, 51, 759 o-Tolualdehyde, by reduction of o-tolu-nitrile with Raney nickel alloy in formic acid, 51,25 p-Toluenesulfonyl azide, with 2-(hy-... 

An alternative method for the conversion of aromatic nitriles to aldehydes is their heating with Raney nickel and sodium hypophosphite in water-acetic acid-pyridine (1 1 2) at 40-45° for 1-1.5 hours (yields 40-90%) [1154], or heating with Raney nickel and formic acid at 75-80° for 30 minutes (yields 35-83%) [7/55], or even their refluxing for 30 minutes with Raney nickel alloy in 75% aqueous formic acid (yields 44-100%) [1156]. 

Excellent yields of primary amines were obtained by hydrogenation of nitriles over 5% rhodium on alumina in the presence of ammonia. The reaction was carried out at room temperature and at a pressure of 2-3 atm and was finished in 2 hours, giving 63-92.5% yields of primary amines. Under such conditions no hydrogenolysis of benzyl residues was noticed [1157]. Hydrogenation over Raney nickel at room temperature and atmospheric [1158] or slightly elevated pressures [45] also gave high yields of primary amines, especially in the presence of ammonia [7/55]. Comparable results... 

Trimetrexate (88) Is an antineoplastic agent related to the well-established folic acid antimeta-bolite methotrexate. It can be synthesized by selective diazotization of the most basic amino group of 2,4,6-triamino-5-methylquinazoline (85) followed by a Sandmeyer displacement with CuCN to give nitrile 86. Careful reduction asing Raney nickel produces the aminomethyl intermediate 87 or, if the reaction is carried out in the presence of 3,4,5-triniethoxyaniline, trimetrexate (88) [24]. One presumes that that outcome is a consequence of amine exchange at the partially reduced imine stage and further reduction. 

A number of organic species, including amides, oximes, and nitriles, undergo reductive amination, a variety of reduction reactions that produce cimines. In general, these processes involve imines, R=N-R, or related species. Reduction processes include hydrogenation using Raney nickel as the catalyst (for nitriles), the reaction with sodium/EtOH (for oximes), and the use of lithium aluminum hydride, LiAlH (for amides or nitriles). Figure 13-16 illustrates the preparation of amphetamine by reductive amination. 

A related method for the synthesis of aldehydes from nitriles has also been studied.8 This method, which has been found to be extremely effective for the reduction of hindered nitriles to aldehydes, uses moist, preformed Raney nickel catalyst in formic acid. Compounds synthesized by this method are illustrated in Table II. 

Aldehydes from Nitriles with Raney Nickel Catalyst in Formic Acid9... 

Talaromycin B is a spiro-acetal produced by the fungus Talaromyces stipitatus, the toxicity of which may be due to its ability to block outward potassium fluxes. In an elegant synthesis, the requisite open-chain polyol with hydroxy groups in the y-and y -positions was assembled from nitrile oxide and olefin building blocks 50 and 51, both of which carry a f>w(hydroxyethyl) moiety protected as a cyclohexanone acetal (284). Hydrogenolysis of the N O bond of isoxazoline 52 using Raney nickel, followed by treatment with aqueous acid, gave the spiroketal 53, which was further transformed into racemic talaromycin B (54) (Scheme 6.54) (284). 

Isoxazolines can be transformed into a,p-enones by several methods from the initial aldol product. This strategy was applied by Barco et al. (285) toward the synthesis of ( )-pyrenophorin (98), a macrocychc fow(enone-lactone) with antifungal properties. The hydroxy group was introduced from the nitrile oxide component (95), while the carboxy function was derived from the acrylate dipo-larophile. Thus, cycloaddition of the optically active nitropentyl acetate 94 to methyl acrylate 95 afforded isoxazoline 96 as a mixture of optically active diastereomers. Reductive hydrolysis using Raney nickel/acetic acid gave p-hydro-xyketone (97), which was subsequently utilized for the synthesis of (—)-pyreno-phorin (98) (Scheme 6.63) (285). 

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