Reducing complex metal hydrides

Oxygen-containing azoles are readily reduced, usually with ring scission. Only acyclic products have been reported from the reductions with complex metal hydrides of oxazoles (e.g. 209 210), isoxazoles (e.g. 211 212), benzoxazoles (e.g. 213 214) and benzoxazolinones (e.g. 215, 216->214). Reductions of 1,2,4-oxadiazoles always involve ring scission. Lithium aluminum hydride breaks the C—O bond in the ring Scheme 19) 76AHC(20)65>. 

The main methods of reducing ketones to alcohols are (a) use of complex metal hydrides (b) use of alkali metals in alcohols or liquid ammonia or... 

The alkali metal halides, particularly NaCl and KCl, find extensive application in industry (pp. 71 and 73). The hydrides are frequently used as reducing agents, the product being a hydride or complex metal hydride depending on the conditions used, or the free element if the hydride is unstable. Illustrative examples using NaH are ... 

Although estrone and estradiol (26) have both been isolated from human urine, it has recently been shown that it is the latter that is the active compound that binds to the so-called estrogen receptor protein. Reduction of estrone with any of a large number of reducing agents (for example, any of the complex metal hydrides) leads cleanly to estradiol. This high degree of stereoselectivity to afford the product of attack at the alpha side of the molecule is characteristic of many reactions of steroids. 

A less powerful complex metal hydride is Na BH4 which will reduce aldehydes and ketones only, and does not attack carboxylic acid derivatives nor does it—as Li AlH4 does—attack NO2 or C=N present in the same compound. It has the great advantage of being usable in hydroxylic solvents. A wide variety of other reagents of the MH4 , MH3OR , MHjfORlj type have been developed their relative effectiveness is related to both the nucleophilicity and size of MH4 , etc. 

This complex can also transfer hydride to another molecule of the carbonyl compound in a similar manner, and the process continues until all four hydrides have been delivered. Since all four hydrogens in the complex metal hydride are capable of being used in the reduction process, 1 mol of reducing agent reduces 4 mol of aldehyde or ketone. Finally, the last complex is decomposed by the addition of water as a proton source. 

A combined reductive amination sequence has been developed as a useful way of synthesizing amines, with sodium cyanoborohydride as the reducing agent of choice. This complex metal hydride is a less reactive version of sodium... 

The combined reaction thus involves initial formation of the iminium ion from the carbonyl compound and amine at pH 6, and this intermediate is then reduced by the complex metal hydride to give the amine. This can also he a way of making methyl-suhstituted amines via intermediate imines with formaldehyde. 

We have already noted the ability of complex metal hydrides like lithium aluminium hydride and sodium borohydride to reduce the carbonyl group of aldehydes and ketones, giving alcohols (see Section 7.5). These reagents deliver hydride in such a manner that it appears to act as a nucleophile. However, as we have seen, the aluminium hydride anion is responsible for transfer of the hydride and... 

It is quite difficult to reduce benzene or pyridine, because these are aromatic stmctures. However, partial reduction of the pyridine ring is possible by using complex metal hydrides on pyridinium salts. Hydride transfer from lithium aluminium hydride gives the 1,2-dihydro derivative, as predictable from the above comments. Sodium borohydride under aqueous conditions achieves a double reduction, giving the 1,2,5,6-tetrahydro derivative, because protonation through the unsaturated system is possible. The final reduction step requires catalytic hydrogenation (see Section 9.4.3). The reduction of pyridinium salts is of considerable biological importance (see Box 11.2). 

The reverse reaction, i.e. reduction, is also indicated in the scheme, and may be compared with the chemical reduction process using complex metal hydrides, e.g. LiAlPLj or NaBH4, namely nucleophilic addition of hydride and subsequent protonation (see Section 7.5). The reduced forms NADH and NADPH are conveniently regarded as hydride-donating reducing agents (see Box 7.6). We also noted that there were stereochemical features associated with these coenzymes (see Box 3.14). During a reduction... 

The main methods of reducing ketones to alcohols are (a) use of complex metal hydrides (b) use of alkali metals in alcohols or liquid ammonia or amines 221 (c) catalytic hydrogenation 14,217 (d) Meerwein-Ponndorf reduction.169,249 The reduction of organic compounds by complex metal hydrides, first reported in 1947,174 is a widely used technique. This chapter reviews first the main metal hydride reagents, their reactivities towards various functional groups and the conditions under which they are used to reduce ketones. The reduction of ketones by hydrides is then discussed under the headings of mechanism and stereochemistry, reduction of unsaturated ketones, and stereochemistry and selectivity of reduction of steroidal ketones. Finally reductions with the mixed hydride reagent of lithium aluminum hydride and aluminum chloride, with diborane and with iridium complexes, are briefly described. 

Catalytic reduction of steroid epoxides received considerable attention before the development of complex metal hydride reducing agents. Hydrogenation of 3 ,4a-epoxy steroids over platinum in acetic acid (Eq. 360), for example, gives rise to a mixture of 3 -hydroxy and 3 -acetoxy steroids.Reductive cleavage thus occur in the same direction as with lithium aluminium hydride in this particular instance —t.r. it gives an axis alcohol. 

In these formulas, the R or R group may be either an aliphatic or aromatic group. In a ketone, the R and R groups may represent the same group or different groups. These types of compounds are best reduced by complex metal hydrides, such as lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH) or sodium borohydride (NaBU). 

The reactions of complex metal hydrides occur by an attack of the nucleophilic hydride ion on an electrophilic center.1 Aromatic nitrogen heterocycles in which the nitrogen has contributed only one electron to the -system (1) are electrophilic as compared with benzene, and have been shown to undergo reduction by the active reducing agent, lithium aluminum hydride. The nitrogen heterocycles in which the heteroatom has contributed two electrons to the 77-system (2) are electron-rich as compared with benzene and usually do not undergo reaction by reduction with complex metal hydrides.2 A combination of these two structural features, as in oxazoles (3), usually induces sufficient electrophilicity to allow attack by the hydride ion and reduction. 

Nitrogen heterocycles more electrophilic than benzene are susceptible to attack by hydride ion from a complex metal hydride anion. In protic solvents the intermediate cyclic enamines can undergo further reduction. The proper choice of reducing agent and reaction conditions thus allows the preparation of many partially reduced nitrogen heterocycles unavailable by other routes. These reduction procedures provide a valuable adjunct to catalytic hydrogenation155 for the syntheses of saturated nitrogen heterocycles. 

A. Hajos, Reduction with Inorganic Reducing Agents - Metal Hydrides and Complex Hydrides, in Methoden Org. Chem. (Houben-Weyl) 4th ed., 1952-, Reduction Part II (H. Kropf, Ed.), Bd. 4/ld, 1, Georg Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart, 1981. 

Carboxylic esters also can be reduced with dissolving sodium (Figure 14.51). Very different products are obtained depending on whether the reduction is carried out in ethanol or xylene. The reaction of esters with sodium in ethanol is referred to as the Bouveault-Blanc reaction. Prior to the discovery of complex metal hydrides, this reaction was the only method for the reduction of esters to alcohols. The diester shown in Figure 14.51 produces a diol in this way. 

Few reactions with complex metal hydrides have been reported, but the dioxazoline (157 Ar = R1 = R2 = Ph) is reduced by LAH in THF to Ph2CHOH and BzNH2 (56MI43400). 

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