Reduction, acid chlorides nitriles

Acid chlorides, R(Ar)COCl, are reduced to R(Ar)CHO by Hj/Pd(S), a moderate catalyst that does not reduce RCHO to RCHjOH (Rosenmund reduction). Acid chlorides, esters (R(Ar)COOR), and nitriles (RC N) are reduced with lithium tri-t-butoxyaluminum hydride, LiAlH[OC(CH3)3]j, at very low temperatures, followed by HjO. The net reaction is a displacement of X by H",... 

Notes A reducing agent. Alcohols are generated from aldehydes, ketones, esters and acid chlorides. Nitriles can be converted to aldehydes. Tosylates will be replaced by -H halides are inert. Amides are reduced to amines. Reduction of lactones can provide a useful synthetic strategy ... 

Reactions of the carboxyl group include salt and acid chloride formation, esterification, pyrolysis, reduction, and amide, nitrile, and amine formation. Salt formation occurs when the carboxyUc acid reacts with an alkaline substance (22)... 

Aldehydes have also been obtained by lithium trialkoxyaluminum hydride reduction of 5-nitriles or 5-acid chlorides, and, as the thio-semicarbazones, by the McFadyen-Stevens reaction in surprisingly good yields (50-60%) considering the severity of the reaction conditions. ... 

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)... 

Nitration of hydroxypropiophenone (7-1) followed by conversion of the phenol to its methyl ether by means of methyl iodide provides the intermediate (7-2) the nitro group is then reduced to the corresponding amine (7-3) by catalytic reduction. The newly introduced amine is then replaced by a nitrile group by successive conversion to the diazonium salt by means of nitrous acid followed by treatment with cuprous cyanide (7-4). Reaction with aluminum chloride removes the methyl ether to afford the ortho acylphenol (7-5). This is converted to the chromone (7-6) as above by reaction with benzoyl chloride and sodium benzoate. The nitrile is next hydrolyzed to the carboxylic acid (7-7) by means of sulfuric acid. The acid is then converted to its acid chloride by means of thionyl chloride and that treated with 2-(A -piperidyl)ethanol (7-8). There is thus obtained flavoxate (7-9) [8], a muscle relaxant whose name reflects its flavone nucleus. 

Aldehydes are prepared by the hydroboration-oxidation of alkynes (see Section 5.3.1) or selective oxidation of primary alcohols (see Section 5.7.9), and partial reduction of acid chlorides (see Section 5.7.21) and esters (see Section 5.7.22) or nitriles (see Section 5.7.23) with lithium tri-terr-butox-yaluminium hydride [LiAlH(0- Bu)3] and diisobutylaluminium hydride (DIBAH), respectively. 

An approach to the synthesis of a prostaglandin intermediate began with 2-furanacetonitrile (71JOC3191). Friedel-Crafts acylation with pimelic half-ester acid chloride and Wolff-Kishner reduction of the product with concomitant hydrolysis of the nitrile group to acid yielded the diester (78) on diazomethane treatment. Ring opening of the furan by a standard procedure yielded a diketo diester (79) which on refluxing in aqueous methanolic potassium carbonate underwent hydrolysis and cyclization to the diacid (80 Scheme 19). 

Amines are at the same low oxidation level as alcohols and consequently are easily prepared by reduction. Amides and nitriles are reduced efficiently by LAH to amines. Nitriles give only primary amines while amides give 1°, 2°, or 3° amines depending on the number of carbon substituents on the amide nitrogen. The advantage of this method is that amides are easy to prepare from acid chlorides and amines while nitriles are available by displacement reactions. 

The reduction of nitriles, carboxylic acids and carboxylic acid chlorides (Expts 5.80 and 5.81). 

THE REDUCTION OF NITRILES. CARBOXYLIC ACIDS AND CARBOXYLIC ACID CHLORIDES... 

Functional Group Transformations Functional group transformations help us in the conversion of a functional group to an aldehyde or a ketone without affecting the carbon skeleton of the molecule. Aldehydes can be synthesised by the oxidation of primary alcohols, or by the reduction of esters, acid chlorides, or nitriles. Since nitriles can be obtained from alkyl halides, this a way of adding an aldehyde unit (CHO) to an alkyl halide ... 

Thiazolecarboxylic acids, esters or acid chlorides react readily with ammonia or various amines, affording the corresponding carboxamides. Dehydration of the amides with phosphorus pentoxide or phosphoryl chloride occurs readily and gives the corresponding nitriles (Scheme 99). Thiazolecarboxylic acid hydrazides are obtained in a similar way, using hydrazine or substituted hydrazines instead of ammonia or amines. The Raney nickel reduction of cyanothiazoles leads to the corresponding amino compounds, the 4-cyano derivative being the isomer most readily reduced. 

Acid chlorides are more reactive than other acid derivatives, and they are reduced to aldehydes by mild reducing agents such as lithium tri-ferf-butoxyaluminum hydride. Diisobutylaluminum hydride (DIBAL-H) reduces esters to aldehydes at low temperatures, and it also reduces nitriles to aldehydes. These reductions were covered in Sections 18-9,18-10, and 20-13. 

Ate complex with n-BuLi (2). This complex (2) reduces ketones, esters, acid chlorides, and acid anhydrides readily, even at -78°. Consequently, it is useful for selective reduction of these groups in the presence of halide, amide, and nitrile groups, which are inert at low temperatures. It is even possible to reduce a ketone selectively in the presence of an ester group by use of 1 equiv. of reagent at -78°. 

Methylisothiazole-5-carboxylic acid has also been prepared by alkaline hydrolysis of the 5-nitrile. The 5-acids decarboxylate readily at or near their melting points but otherwise behave normally, forming acid chlorides, esters, amides, hydra-zides, and nitriles. The esters undergo the Claisen condensation to form ]8-ketoesters, and the nitriles form thioamides with hydrogen sulfide in pyridine. An anomalous reaction is the reduction of 5-cyano-... 

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