Radicals, reduction mechanisms

Tetraneopentyltitanium [36945-13-8] Np Ti, forms from the reaction of TiCl and neopentyllithium ia hexane at —80° C ia modest yield only because of extensive reduction of Ti(IV). Tetranorbomyltitanium [36333-76-3] can be prepared similarly. When exposed to oxygen, (NpO)4Ti forms. If it is boiled ia ben2ene, it decomposes to neopentane. When dissolved ia monomers, eg, a-olefins or dienes, styrene, or methyl methacrylate, it initiates a slow polymerisation (211,212). Results from copolymerisation studies iadicate a radical mechanism (212). Ultraviolet light iacreases the rate of dissociation to... 

The alkyl group R of certain carboxylic esters can be reduced to RH by treatment with lithium in ethylamine. The reaction is successful when R is a tertiary or a sterically hindered secondary alkyl group. A free-radical mechanism is likely. Similar reduction, also by a free-radical mechanism, has been reported with sodium in HMPA-r-BuOH. In the latter case, tertiary R groups give high yields of RH, but primary and secondary R are converted to a mixture of RH and ROH. Both of these methods provide an indirect method of accomplishing 10-81 for tertiary R. 

In this chapter, we discuss free-radical substitution reactions. Free-radical additions to unsaturated compounds and rearrangements are discussed in Chapters 15 and 18, respectively. In addition, many of the oxidation-reduction reactions considered in Chapter 19 involve free-radical mechanisms. Several important types of free-radical reactions do not usually lead to reasonable yields of pure products and are not generally treated in this book. Among these are polymerizations and high-temperature pyrolyses. 

This was also accomplished with BaRu(0)2(OH)3. The same type of conversion, with lower yields (20-30%), has been achieved with the Gif system There are several variations. One consists of pyridine-acetic acid, with H2O2 as oxidizing agent and tris(picolinato)iron(III) as catalyst. Other Gif systems use O2 as oxidizing agent and zinc as a reductant. The selectivity of the Gif systems toward alkyl carbons is CH2 > CH > CH3, which is unusual, and shows that a simple free-radical mechanism (see p. 899) is not involved. ° Another reagent that can oxidize the CH2 of an alkane is methyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane, but this produces CH—OH more often than C=0 (see 14-4). ... 

A second theoretical inconsistency with a radical mechanism for the biochemical reaction was described by Finke. Although cleavage of the methyl-Co(II) bond is very efficient and rapid process, he argued that homolysis of methyl-Co does not occur in enzymes because reduction of CHs-Co requires too low a potential for biochemically relevant electron donors (<-1.0 V vs NHE) (195). For example, the mid-... 

A crystal structure of the C02 derivative of (8), K[Co(salen)( 71-C02)], haso been reported in which the Co—C bond is 1.99 A, the C—O bonds are both equivalent at 1.22 A and the O-C-O angle is 132°.125 Carboxylation of benzylic and allylic chlorides with C02 in THF-HMPA was achieved with (8) electrogenerated by controlled-potential electrolysis,126 in addition to reductive coupling of methyl pyruvate, diethyl ketomalonate and / -tolylcarbodiimide via C—C bond formation. Methyl pyruvate is transformed into diastereomeric tartrates concomitant with oxidation to the divalent Co(salen) and a free-radical mechanism is proposed involving the homolytic cleavage of the Co—C bond. However, reaction with diphenylketene (DPK) suggests an alternative pathway for the reductive coupling of C02-like compounds. 

Poly(azophenylene-o-carborane) (see 6) has been prepared from diphenyl-o-carborane by means of nitration, reduction, and acylation to initially give 1,2-bis(/ -nitroso-acetylaminophenyl)-o-carborane (NAFC). Rapid decomposition in solution affords phenylene amino phenyl carborane (PAFC) by recombination of phenylene and azophenylene radicals.40 These radicals have also been utilized to form copolymers of carborane-containing copolymers from monomers polymerizable via radical mechanisms. Thus, copolymers of polystyrene and poly(azophenylene) can be readily formed by means of emulsion copolymerization of styrene with NAFC decomposition products. 

The familiar standard de carbonyl at ion mechanism ( 3, 5) involving a concerted oxidative-addition of aldehyde, CO migration (with subsequent elimination), and reductive-elimination of product, would seem with metalloporphyrins to require coordination numbers higher than six, and in this case Ru(IV) intermediates. Although this is plausible, the data overall strongly suggest a radical mechanism and Ru(III) intermediates. 

Although the tin hydride reductions of alkyl halides seem simple, one must be careful because these reactions occur by a free radical mechanism. This is important, because the carbon radical produced in the reaction can isomerize68,78 and one often obtains two different stereoisomers from the synthesis. Another problem is that chiral centres can be lost in tin hydride reductions when an optically active halide is reduced. One example of this is the reduction of benzyl-6-isocyanopenicillanate with tributyltin deuteride78 (Scheme 14). The amount of isomerization depends on the temperature, the concentration of the tin hydride and the presence of and /-substituents78-82. However, some authors have reported tin hydride reductions where no racemization was observed78. 

The dehalogenation of organic halides by organotin hydrides takes place in most cases with a free-radical mechanism [1, 84, 85], The stereospecific reduction of 1,1-dibromo-l-alkenes with Bu3SnH discovered by Uenishi and coworkers [86-89], however, did not occur in the absence of palladium complexes and did not involve radicals. For the synthesis of (Z)-l-bromo-l-alkenes, [(PPh3)4Pd] proved to be the most effective catalyst which could also be generated in situ. The reaction in Eq. (7) proceeded at room temperature and a wide range of solvents could be used. 

The product-forming steps of dehalogenations by free radical pathways were discussed earlier (see Section 18.3.1.1). In non-radical mechanisms, the dehalo-genated products (RH) will be formed mostly by reductive elimination [193, 194] however, concerted processes lead directly from RX to RH (see Sections 18.3.1.2 and 18.3.1.3). 

The first two pathways (a) and (b) show, respectively, the influence of H+ and of surface complex forming ligands on the non-reductive dissolution. These pathways were discussed in Chapter 5. Reductive dissolution mechanisms are illustrated in pathways (c) - (e) (Fig. 9.3). Reductants adsorbed to the hydrous oxide surface can readily exchange electrons with an Fe(III) surface center. Those reductants, such as ascorbate, that form inner-sphere surface complexes are especially efficient. The electron transfer leads to an oxidized reactant (often a radical) and a surface Fe(II) atom. The Fe(II)-0 bond in the surface of the crystalline lattice is more labile than the Fe(III)-0 bond and thus, the reduced metal center is more easily detached from the surface than the original oxidized metal center (see Eqs. 9.4a - 9.4c). 

Various transition metals have been used in redox processes. For example, tandem sequences of cyclization have been initiated from malonate enolates by electron-transfer-induced oxidation with ferricenium ion Cp2pe+ (51) followed by cyclization and either radical or cationic termination (Scheme 41). ° Titanium, in the form of Cp2TiPh, has been used to initiate reductive radical cyclizations to give y- and 5-cyano esters in a 5- or 6-exo manner, respectively (Scheme 42). The Ti(III) reagent coordinates both to the C=0 and CN groups and cyclization proceeds irreversibly without formation of iminyl radical intermediates.The oxidation of benzylic and allylic alcohols in a two-phase system in the presence of r-butyl hydroperoxide, a copper catalyst, and a phase-transfer catalyst has been examined. The reactions were shown to proceed via a heterolytic mechanism however, the oxidations of related active methylene compounds (without the alcohol functionality) were determined to be free-radical processes. 

The corresponding tellurium dichlorides can also be employed as starting materials, and although a greater excess of the reagent is needed (3.5 equiv) the reactions are faster. These reductive cleavages can be rationalized through a radical mechanism. 

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