Reduction of tetralin

Reduction of tetralin to octalin with lithium and ethylenediamine proceeds slowly, but if heated to 85°C it becomes violent, with rapid evolution of hydrogen. 

An investigation of different organic solvents, buffer, surfactants, and organorhodium compounds established that the catalytic reduction of tetralin using [ Rh(l,5-hexadiene)Cl 2] proceeds with high efficiency at high substrate-to-catalyst ratios. The reaction occurs at r. t. and 1 atm. pressure in a biphasic mixture of hexane and an aqueous buffer containing a low concentration of a surfactant which stabilizes the catalysts.314... 

The effect of operating variables on the electrochemical reduction of tetralin used as a model compound for the hydrogenation of coal is described. The effect of adding a proton donor (fort-butyl alcohol) on the reduction of an olefin was also investigated. 

Based on results of electrochemical reductions of tetralin in ethylenediamine, current efficiency is highest with aluminum as cathode material and with lithium chloride as electrolyte. A substantial increase in current efficiency was obtained in reducing 1-decene by adding a proton donor. 

The difficulty in the reduction of tetralin is associated with the presence of the fully aronnatic ring and is in keeping with the need for forcing conditions to reduce benzene to cyclohexane. 

A remarkable feature of the Birch reduction of estradiol 3-methyl ether derivatives, as well as of other metal-ammonia reductions, is the extreme rapidity of reaction. Sodium and -butyl alcohol, a metal-alcohol combination having a comparatively slow rate of reduction, effects the reduction of estradiol 3-methyl ether to the extent of 96% in 5 minutes at —33° lithium also effects complete reduction under the same conditions as is to be expected. Shorter reaction times were not studied. At —70°, reduction with sodium occurs to the extent of 56 % in 5 minutes, although reduction with lithium is virtually complete (96%) in the same time. (The slow rates of reduction of compounds of the 5-methoxytetralin type is exemplified by 5-methoxy-tetralin itself with sodium and f-butyl alcohol reduction occurs to the extent of only 50% in 6 hours vs. 99+% with lithium.) The iron catalyzed reaction of sodium with alcohols must be very fast since it competes so well with the rapid Birch reduction. One cannot compensate for the presence of iron in a Birch reduction mixture containing sodium by adding additional metal to extend the reaction time. The iron catalyzed sodium-alcohol reaction is sufficiently rapid that the aromatic steroid still remains largely unreduced. 

As previously described, a mixture of and J -octalins can be prepared by the reduction of naphthalene or Tetralin. Another route to this mixture is the dehydration of a mixture of 2-decalol isomers. This latter route has certain advantages in that one can avoid the handling of lithium metal and low-boiling amines. Moreover, 2-decalol is available commercially or can be prepared by the hydrogenation of 2-naphthol (5). In either case a comparable mixture of octalins is obtained, which can be purified by selective hydroboration to give the pure J -octalin (Chapter 4, Section III). 

Additionally, it has been noted that Tetralin operates via hydride transfer, at least in its reduction of quinones. Thus it has been shown that Tetralin readily donates hydrogen to electron-poor systems, such as quinones at 50°-160°C. The reaction is accelerated by electron-withdrawing substituents on the H-acceptor and polar solvents, and is unaffected by free radical initiators (6). These observations are consistent with hydride transfer, as is the more recent finding of a tritium isotope effect for the reaction (7). 

Partial reduction of polyarenes has been reported. Use of boron trifluoride hydrate (BF3 OH2) as the acid in conjunction with triethylsilane causes the reduction of certain activated aromatic systems 217,262 Thus, treatment of anthracene with a 4-6 molar excess of BE3 OH2 and a 30% molar excess of triethylsilane gives 9,10-dihydroanthracene in 89% yield after 1 hour at room temperature (Eq. 120). Naphthacene gives the analogously reduced product in 88% yield under the same conditions. These conditions also result in the formation of tetralin from 1-hydroxynaphthalene (52%, 4 hours), 2-hydroxy naphthalene (37%, 7 hours), 1-methoxynaphthalene (37%, 10 hours), 2-methoxynaphthalene (26%, 10 hours), and 1-naphthalenethiol (13%, 6 hours). Naphthalene, phenanthrene, 1-methylnaphthalene, 2-naphthalenethiol, phenol, anisole, toluene, and benzene all resist reduction under these conditions.217 Use of deuterated triethylsilane to reduce 1-methoxynaphthalene gives tetralin-l,l,3-yielding information on the mechanism of these reductions.262 2-Mercaptonaphthalenes are reduced to 2,3,4,5-tetrahydronaphthalenes in poor to modest yields.217 263... 

Methoxytetralin [Partial Reduction of a Substituted Naphthalene to a Tetralin].262 1,5-Dimethoxynaphthalene (300 mg, 1.0 mmol) dissolved in... 

Tetrahydropyran (THP), aldehyde etherification, 67-68 Tetralin compounds, 5-methoxytetralin reduction of substituted naphthalene, 132-133... 

Many reductions with sodium are carried out in boiling alcohols in methanol (b.p. 64°), ethanol (b.p. 78°), butanol (b.p. 117-118°), and isoamyl alcohol (b.p. 132°). More intensive reductions are achieved at higher temperatures. For example reduction of naphthalene with sodium in ethanol gives 1,4-dihydronaphthalene whereas in boiling isoamyl alcohol tetralin is formed. 

Reduction of 1-decene had to be carried out at a lower concentration (0.073M) since decene was not completely soluble at the concentrations used in the case of tetralin (0.22M). Electrolysis was interrupted after 0.0062 Faradays were passed through the solution, corresponding to 42.2% conversion of 1-decene to decane at 100% current efficiency. In these runs, a carbon cathode was used. Current efficiency for reducing 1-decene was 27.3%. In the presence of an equimolar amount of terf-butyl alcohol (0.073M), the current efficiency for 1-decene was 38.6%, corresponding to a 41% increase. 

Reduction of arenes.1 Raney nickel (Mozingo type) in combination with 2-propanol (reflux) effects reduction of aromatic rings in 2-18 hours. Naphthalene is reduced in 18 hours to tetralin (90% yield) and cis- and frans-decalin (10% yield). Anisole is reduced in 110 hours to cyclohexyl methyl ether (90% yield). Nitrobenzene is reduced quickly to aniline and then further to cyclohexylamine and cyclohexylisopropylamine. 

The hydrogen atom exchange reactions between Tetralin and diphenylmethane and the reduction of the ketones were studied in the presence of a selected group of raw whole coals, demineralized whole coals, and demineralized macerals. The macerals used in this work were obtained from two hvA bituminous coals, one from the Kentucky Upper Elkhorn No. 3 Seam (PSOC-1103) and one from the Ohio Lower Kittaning No. 5 Seam (PSOC-297) two hvB bituminous coals, one from the Indiana No. 1 Block Seam (PSOC-106) and one from the Hiawatha King 6 Mine and two hvC bituminous coals, one from the Illinois No. 2 Seam and one from the Indiana Brazil Block Seam (PSOC-828). 

The results described above illustrate the problem of separating effects due to catalysis provided by pyrrhotite from those due to the chemistry of the reduction of pyrite. It must also be borne in mind that reduction of pyrite produces a nearly equivalent amount of l S, which remains available to enter subsequent reactions by mechanisms now only poorly understood. In order to remove these complications, pyrrhotite was prepared by the reduction of pyrite with tetralin, isolated from the reaction residue, and then heated with fresh tetralin. Figures 4 and 5 contain the yields of naphthalene and 1-methylindan, and the ratios of trans- to cis-decalin as a function of concentration. In this case, the pyrite was a hand-picked sample of micro-crystals taken from a coal nodule. As may be seen, the yields of naphthalene and 1-methylindan, and the ratio of trans- to cis-decalin all increase with pyrite concentration. The slope of the line for naphthalene yield is 0.91. A slope of 0.53 is calculated for stoichiometric reduction of FeS to FeS by tetralin to yield naphthalene. Thus, roughly half of the naphthalene produced can be accounted for by the demand for hydrogen in the reduction of pyrite. 

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