Reduction, acid chlorides ketones

The acylpalladium complex formed from acyl halides undergoes intramolecular alkene insertion. 2,5-Hexadienoyl chloride (894) is converted into phenol in its attempted Rosenmund reduction[759]. The reaction is explained by the oxidative addition, intramolecular alkene insertion to generate 895, and / -elimination. Chloroformate will be a useful compound for the preparation of a, /3-unsaturated esters if its oxidative addition and alkene insertion are possible. An intramolecular version is known, namely homoallylic chloroformates are converted into a-methylene-7-butyrolactones in moderate yields[760]. As another example, the homoallylic chloroformamide 896 is converted into the q-methylene- -butyrolactams 897 and 898[761]. An intermolecular version of alkene insertion into acyl chlorides is known only with bridgehead acid chlorides. Adamantanecarbonyl chloride (899) reacts with acrylonitrile to give the unsaturated ketone 900[762],... 

A particularly useful reaction has been the selective 1,2-reduction of a, P-unsaturated carbonyl compounds to aHyUc alcohols, accompHshed by NaBH ia the presence of lanthanide haUdes, especially cerium chloride. Initially appHed to ketones (33), it has been broadened to aldehydes (34) and acid chlorides (35). NaBH by itself gives mixtures of the saturated and unsaturated alcohols. 

By application of the Clemmensen reduction,aldehydes and ketones 1 can be converted into the corresponding hydrocarbons 2. As the reducing agent zinc amalgam, together with concentrated hydrochloric acid or gaseous hydrogen chloride, is used. 

A thioamide of isonicotinic acid has also shown tuberculostatic activity in the clinic. The additional substitution on the pyridine ring precludes its preparation from simple starting materials. Reaction of ethyl methyl ketone with ethyl oxalate leads to the ester-diketone, 12 (shown as its enol). Condensation of this with cyanoacetamide gives the substituted pyridone, 13, which contains both the ethyl and carboxyl groups in the desired position. The nitrile group is then excised by means of decarboxylative hydrolysis. Treatment of the pyridone (14) with phosphorus oxychloride converts that compound (after exposure to ethanol to take the acid chloride to the ester) to the chloro-pyridine, 15. The halogen is then removed by catalytic reduction (16). The ester at the 4 position is converted to the desired functionality by successive conversion to the amide (17), dehydration to the nitrile (18), and finally addition of hydrogen sulfide. There is thus obtained ethionamide (19)... 

Anhydrides are reduced with relative ease. McAlees and McCrindle 20) established the following increasing order of difficulty for various carbonyls acid chlorides > aldehydes, ketones > anhydrides > esters > carboxylic acids > amides. Reduction may proceed by 1,2-addilion of hydrogen or by cleavage of an oxygen-carbonyl bond. If 1,2-addition to the carbonyl occurs, as in the presence of strong protic acids over palladium, 1,1-diesters are formed by acylation 26). 

Aldehydes and ketones are among the most important of ail compounds, both in biochemistry and in the chemical industry. AUdehydes are normally prepared in the laboratory by oxidation of primary alcohols or by partial reduction of esters. Ketones are similarly prepared by oxidation of secondary alcohols or by addition of diorganocopper reagents to acid chlorides. 

The mechanism of this Grignard reaction is similar to that of L1AIH4 reduction. The first equivalent of Grignard reagent adds to the acid chloride, loss of (T from the tetrahedral intermediate yields a ketone, and a second equivalent of Grignard reagent immediately adds to the ketone to produce an alcohol. 

Aldehydes and ketones can be converted to ethers by treatment with an alcohol and triethylsilane in the presence of a strong acid or by hydrogenation in alcoholic acid in the presence of platinum oxide. The process can formally be regarded as addition of ROH to give a hemiacetal RR C(OH)OR", followed by reduction of the OH. In this respect, it is similar to 16-14. In a similar reaction, ketones can be converted to carboxylic esters (reductive acylation of ketones) by treatment with an acyl chloride and triphenyltin hydride. " ... 

Kinetic studies established that tetra-n-butylammonium borohydride in dichloromethane was a very effective reducing agent and that, by using stoichiometric amounts of the ammonium salt under homogeneous conditions, the relative case of reduction of various classes of carbonyl compounds was the same as that recorded for the sodium salt in a hydroxylic solvent, i.e. acid chlorides aldehydes > ketones esters. However, the reactivities, ranging from rapid reduction of acid chlorides at -780 C to incomplete reduction of esters at four days at 250 C, indicated the greater selectivity of the ammonium salts, compared with sodium borohydride [9], particularly as, under these conditions, conjugated C=C double bonds are not reduced. 

The acid chlorides have served as useful synthetic intermediates leading to ketones via the malonic acid synthesis and Friedel rafts reaction, thiadiazole acetic acid derivatives, and halo ketones via the Arndt Eistert synthesis and carbinols by hydride reduction <68AHC(9)107>. The dialkylcadmium conversion of acid chlorides into ketones fails in the 1,2,5-thiadiazole series. The major product is either a tertiary carbinol or the corresponding dehydration product, by virtue of the high reactivity of the intermediate ketone. 

The hrst step in the preparation of the antidepressant maprotiline (33-5) takes advantage of the acidity of anthrone protons for incorporation of the side chain. Thus treatment of (30-1) with ethyl acrylate and a relatively mild base leads to the Michael adduct saponihcation of the ester group gives the corresponding acid (33-1). The ketone group is then reduced by means of zinc and ammonium hydroxide. Dehydration of the hrst-formed alcohol under acidic conditions leads to the formation of fully aromatic anthracene (33-2). Diels-Alder addition of ethylene under high pressure leads to the addition across the 9,10 positions and the formation of the central 2,2,2-bicyclooctyl moiety (33-3). The hnal steps involve the construction of the typical antidepressant side chain. The acid in (33-3) is thus converted to an acid chloride and that function reacted with methylamine to form the amide (33-4). Reduction to a secondary amine completes the synthesis of (33-5) [33]. 

However, the most important methods for preparing alcohols are catalytic hydrogenation (H2/Pd-C) or metal hydride (NaBH4 or LiAlH4) reduction of aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, acid chlorides and esters (see Sections 5.7.15 and 5.7.16), and nucleophilic addition of organometalhc reagents (RLi and RMgX) to aldehydes, ketones, acid chlorides and esters (see Sections 5.3.2 and 5.5.5). 

Carboxylic acids are considerably less reactive than acid chlorides, aldehydes and ketones towards reduction. They cannot be reduced by catalytic hydrogenation or sodium borohydride (NaBH4) reduction. They require the use of a powerful reducing agent, e.g. LiAlH4. The reaction needs two hydrides (H ) from LiAlITj, since the reaction proceeds through an aldehyde, but it cannot be stopped at that stage. Aldehydes are more easily reduced than the carboxylic acids, and LiAltLj reduces all the way back to 1° alcohols. 

Reductions.2 In contrast to NaCNBHj, the complex I reduces acid chlorides only to aldehydes under neutral conditions in 50-90% yield. However, under acidic conditions, I reduces carbonyl groups to alcohols (70-80%, yield), although diaryl ketones are reduced in low yields. A useful feature of this reagent is that reduction of ketones is more stereoselective than that with NaCNBH,. Thus reduction of 4-/-butylcyclohexanone gives a 94 6 mixture of irons cis isomeric alcohols if 80% yield. 

Reduction of aldehydes and ketones.4 In the presence of hydrogen chloride (or a Lewis acid), the reagent reduces carbonyl compounds to alcohols in high yield and with high stereoselectivity. However, the reduction of hindered ketones requires a strong Lewis acid (A1C13). Aldehydes are reduced so much more readily than ketones that selective reductions are possible. The reagent is also useful for reduction of a,/5-cnals to allylic alcohols. 

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