Reductive alkylation with other metals

Sigma-bond metathesis at hypovalent metal centers Thermodynamically, reaction of H2 with a metal-carbon bond to produce new C—H and M—H bonds is a favorable process. If the metal has a lone pair available, a viable reaction pathway is initial oxidative addition of H2 to form a metal alkyl dihydride, followed by stepwise reductive elimination (the microscopic reverse of oxidative addition) of alkane. On the other hand, hypovalent complexes lack the... 

The complex TpPtMeH2 was synthesized by reacting TpPtMe(CO) with water (66). While it is stable towards reductive elimination of methane at 55 °C, deuterium incorporation from methanol-c/4 solvent occurs rapidly into the hydride positions and subsequently, more slowly, into the methyl position (Scheme 15). The scrambling into the methyl position has been attributed to reversible formation of a methane complex which does not lose methane under the reaction conditions (75,76). Similar scrambling reactions have been observed for other metal alkyl hydrides at temperatures below those where alkane reductive elimination becomes dominant (77-84). This includes examples of scrambling without methane loss at elevated temperature (78). 

For secondary alkyl iodides, the two one-electron polarographic waves are more separated. Reduction of 2-iodooctane at the potential of the first wave alfords the dialkylmercury and 7,8-dimethyl-tetradecane by reactions of the sec-octyl radical. At the potential of the second wave only octane and octenes are isolated [37]. 2-Bromooctane shows only one polarographic wave and yields octane and octene on reduction at any potential [37]. Radicals generated by reduction of primary and secondary iodoalkanes will react with other cathode materials including tin, lead and thallium to form metal alkyls [48,49],... 

The amount of amorphous polymer, which is generally produced in small percentage (9-16%) contemporaneously with the non-atactic polymer, is independent of reaction time (see Table II). It is on the contrary closely connected with the nature of the catalytic system employed and changes, for instance, when the triethylaluminum is substituted by other metal alkyls (beryllium alkyls, propylaluminum, isobutylaluminum, etc.) 5,28). It also depends on the purity of the a-titanium trichloride, in particular increasing in the presence of other crystalline modifications of titanium trichloride [i.e. -TiCU (27)] and of titanium compounds obtained by reduction of titanium tetrachloride at low temperature with aluminum alkyls. 

These results illustrate the practicality of preparing trialkylamines by the reductive alkylation of dialkylamines with aliphatic ketones. Excellent yields are obtained, particularly with the more reactive and less hindered ketones, such as cyclohexanone and acetone, and with the less hindered secondary amines. Platinum sulfide, or other platinum metal sulfides, are the catalysts of choice when more hindered reagents require more severe operating conditions. 

A systematic study of the reductive alkylation of acetophenones revealed that the desired transformation (Scheme 30) required a careful selection of reagents and conditions. The best results were obtained from reduction by potassium in ammonia at -78 °C, with t-butyl alcohol as the proton source. Exchange of the potassium counterion of the enolate (152 M = K) for lithium then ensured regioselective alkylation at C-1 to give (153) in 80-90% yields (Scheme 30). Metals other than potassium as the reductant led to undesirable side reactions with the carbonyl group, which included simple reduction to the methylcar-binol and ethylbenzene (lithium or sodium), while the absence of a proton source or presence of a strong... 

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