Reductive Synthetic Methods

Carbonyl compounds such as aldehydes and ketones contain a carbon—oxygen double bond that can be reduced to yield an alcohol. 

In Section 15.9, we will consider reducing agents and their r ioselectivity. The reduction of carbonyl groups is sometimes accompanied by reduction of other functional groups. We will find that many synthetic variations are possible because several reducing agents with different reactivities and regioselectivities have been developed. 

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The Schiff base obtained is converted in good yield (60 to 80%) to amines by the action of Raney Ni (209). This reductive condensation provides a good synthetic method and was used to prepare thiazole analogs (62) of folic acid (Scheme 43) (210). These Schiff bases under... 

Ketose (Section 25 1) A carbohydrate that contains a ketone carbonyl group in its open chain form Kiliam-Fischer synthesis (Section 25 20) A synthetic method for carbohydrate chain extension The new carbon-carbon bond IS formed by converting an aldose to its cyanohydnn Reduction of the cyano group to an aldehyde function com pletes the synthesis... 

Cycloahphatic amine synthesis routes may be described as distinct synthetic methods, though practice often combines, or hybridi2es, the steps that occur amination of cycloalkanols, reductive amination of cycHc ketones, ring reduction of cycloalkenylarnines, nitrile addition to ahcycHc carbocations, reduction of cyanocycloalkanes to aminomethylcycloalkanes, and reduction of nitrocycloalkanes or cycHc ketoximes. 

Uranium pentabromide [13775-16-1], UBr, is unstable toward reduction and the pentaiodide is unknown. Two synthetic methods utilized for the production of UBr involve the oxidation of uranium tetrabromide [13470-20-7], UBr, by Br2 or by bromination of uranium turnings with Br2 in acetonitrile. The metastable pentabromide is isostmctural with the pentachloride, being dimeric with edge-sharing octahedra U2Br2Q. 

The first systematic theoretical study on dihydro-1,2,4-triazines was recently carried out (98JOC5824) the stabilities of all the possible unsubstituted dihydro-1,2,4-triazines were calculated using various theoretical methods, all reliable calculation methods consistently show that the 2,5-dihydro isomer 98 is the most stable. This is in perfect agreement with the experimental observations all the synthetic methods used for the preparation of dihydro-1,2,4-triazines result in 2,5-dihydro isomer 98, provided the structures of the reactants and the reaction mechanism allow its formation. Thus, although Metze and Scherowsky (59CB2481) claimed the formation of 1,2-dihydro-1,2,4-triazine 92 (R = = Ph) in the reduction... 

Another important synthetic method for the reduction of ketones and aldehydes to the corresponding methylene compounds is the Woljf-Kishner reduction. This reaction is carried out under basic conditions, and therefore can be applied for the reduction of acid-sensitive substrates it can thus be regarded as a complementary method. The experimental procedure for the Clemmensen reduction is simpler however for starting materials of high molecular weight the Wolff-Kishner reduction is more successful. 

Usually metal-free phthalocyanine (PcH2) can be prepared from phthalonitrile with or without a solvent. Hydrogen-donor solvents such as pentan-l-ol and 2-(dimethylamino)ethanol are most often used for the preparation.113,127 128 To increase the yield of the product, some basic catalyst can be added (e.g., DBU, anhyd NH3). When lithium or sodium alkoxides are used as a base the reaction leads to the respective alkali-metal phthalocyanine, which can easily be converted into the free base by treatment with acid and water.129 The solvent-free preparation is carried out in a melt of the phthalonitrile and the reductive agent hydroquinone at ca. 200 C.130 Besides these and various other conventional chemical synthetic methods, PcH2 can also be prepared electrochemically.79... 

Metal-induced reductive dimerization of carbonyl compounds is a useful synthetic method for the formation of vicinally functionalized carbon-carbon bonds. For stoichiometric reductive dimerizations, low-valent metals such as aluminum amalgam, titanium, vanadium, zinc, and samarium have been employed. Alternatively, ternary systems consisting of catalytic amounts of a metal salt or metal complex, a chlorosilane, and a stoichiometric co-reductant provide a catalytic method for the formation of pinacols based on reversible redox couples.2 The homocoupling of aldehydes is effected by vanadium or titanium catalysts in the presence of Me3SiCl and Zn or A1 to give the 1,2-diol derivatives high selectivity for the /-isomer is observed in the case of secondary aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes. 

At the time of its discovery in 1970, few chemical methods were known for the laboratory syntheses of such molecules. Fewer still were appropriate for their industrial scale production. Unlike many other amino acid derivatives, gl rphosate is stable in strong acid or base, even at elevated temperatures. It can also tolerate strong reductants and some oxidants (1,2). This stability accounts for the diversity of synthetic methods that have been explored and developed to prepare glyphosate and its heterocyclic derivatives over the last 25+ years. 

Corey, E.J. Helal, C.J. (1998) Reduction of Carbonyl Compounds with Chiral Oxazaborolidine Catalysts A New Paradigm for Enantioselective Catalysis and a Powerful New Synthetic Method. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 37, 1986-2012. 

Related Polymer Systems and Synthetic Methods. Figure 12A shows a hypothetical synthesis of poly (p-phenylene methide) (PPM) from polybenzyl by redox-induced elimination. In principle, it should be possible to accomplish this experimentally under similar chemical and electrochemical redox conditions as those used here for the related polythiophenes. The electronic properties of PPM have recently been theoretically calculated by Boudreaux et al (16), including bandgap (1.17 eV) bandwidth (0.44 eV) ionization potential (4.2 eV) electron affinity (3.03 eV) oxidation potential (-0.20 vs SCE) reduction potential (-1.37 eV vs SCE). PPM has recently been synthesized and doped to a semiconductor (24). 

Abstract Recent advances in the metal-catalyzed one-electron reduction reactions are described in this chapter. One-electron reduction induced by redox of early transition metals including titanium, vanadium, and lanthanide metals provides a variety of synthetic methods for carbon-carbon bond formation via radical species, as observed in the pinacol coupling, dehalogenation, and related radical-like reactions. The reversible catalytic cycle is achieved by a multi-component catalytic system in combination with a co-reductant and additives, which serve for the recycling, activation, and liberation of the real catalyst and the facilitation of the reaction steps. In the catalytic reductive transformations, the high stereoselectivity is attained by the design of the multi-component catalytic system. This article focuses mostly on the pinacol coupling reaction. 

As described in this chapter, the sonochemical reduction technique appears to be a promising method for the preparation of various types of metal nanoparticles in an aqueous solution. By choosing more efficient organic additives, easily-reducible metal precursors, supports and templates with an appropriate role, more advanced functional nanoparticles could be synthesized successfully using the sonochemical reduction technique. In future, it is also possible to develop effective synthetic methods by combining the sonochemical method with other chemical methods. 

The synthetic method leading to Nb-alkylidenes and Nb-alkylidynes was particularly successful, due to a quite remarkable difference in the reaction rate of 29 with ketones or aldehydes, vs the subsequent reaction of the alkylidene with ketones and aldehydes (see Scheme 37). The former reaction takes a few minutes at -40°C, while the latter one occurs in hours at room temperature.88 The reaction between 178 and benzaldehyde led to triphenylethylene and the niobyl derivative 184. Due to the difference in reaction rates between a and b in Scheme 37, it was found that the sequential addition of two different ketones or aldehydes to a THF solution of 29 produced a nonsymmetric olefin in a stepwise McMurry-type reaction.84 This is exemplified in the coupling shown in reaction c (Scheme 37). The proposed reaction pathway does not involve the intermediacy of a pinacolato ligand and therefore differs from the mechanism of the McMurry reaction and related reductive couplings at activated metal sites.89... 

Denmark and coworkers have found that methylaluminum bis (2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methyl-phenoxide) (MAD) or methylaluminum bis(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) (MAPh) is effective as the Lewis acid promoter for cycloaddition of 2,2-disubstituted 1-nitroalkenes (Eq. 8.100).158 Other Lewis acids such as SnCl4, TiCl4, and TiCl2(Oi-Pr)2 fail to promote the cycloaddition of 2,2-disubstituted 1-nitroalkenes. The products are converted into 3,3-disubstituted pyrrolidines via hydrogenolysis.158 Reductive cleavage of N-0 bonds produces oxime hemiacetals, which are further reduced to amido aldehydes and finally to pyrrolidines. This reaction provides a useful synthetic method for pyrrolidines, which is discussed later. 

Enantiometrically pure alcohols are important and valuable intermediates in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and other fine chemicals. A variety of synthetic methods have been developed to obtain optically pure alcohols. Among these methods, a straightforward approach is the reduction of prochiral ketones to chiral alcohols. In this context, varieties of chiral metal complexes have been developed as catalysts in asymmetric ketone reductions [ 1-3]. However, in many cases, difficulties remain in the process operation, and in obtaining sufficient enantiomeric purity and productivity [2,3]. In addition, residual metal in the products originating from the metal catalyst presents another challenge because of the ever more stringent regulatory restrictions on the level of metals allowed in pharmaceutical products [4]. An alternative to the chemical asymmetric reduction processes is biocatalytic transformation, which offers... 

Annual Volume 71 contains 30 checked and edited experimental procedures that illustrate important new synthetic methods or describe the preparation of particularly useful chemicals. This compilation begins with procedures exemplifying three important methods for preparing enantiomerically pure substances by asymmetric catalysis. The preparation of (R)-(-)-METHYL 3-HYDROXYBUTANOATE details the convenient preparation of a BINAP-ruthenium catalyst that is broadly useful for the asymmetric reduction of p-ketoesters. Catalysis of the carbonyl ene reaction by a chiral Lewis acid, in this case a binapthol-derived titanium catalyst, is illustrated in the preparation of METHYL (2R)-2-HYDROXY-4-PHENYL-4-PENTENOATE. The enantiomerically pure diamines, (1 R,2R)-(+)- AND (1S,2S)-(-)-1,2-DIPHENYL-1,2-ETHYLENEDIAMINE, are useful for a variety of asymmetric transformations hydrogenations, Michael additions, osmylations, epoxidations, allylations, aldol condensations and Diels-Alder reactions. Promotion of the Diels-Alder reaction with a diaminoalane derived from the (S,S)-diamine is demonstrated in the synthesis of (1S,endo)-3-(BICYCLO[2.2.1]HEPT-5-EN-2-YLCARBONYL)-2-OXAZOLIDINONE. 

Reductive and oxidative transformations of small ring compounds form the basis of a variety of versatile synthetic methods which include functionalization and carbon skeleton construction. Redox mechanisms of organotransition metal compounds play an important role in inducing or catalyzing specific reactions. Another useful route in this area is based on one-electron redox reactions. The redox tautomerism of dialkyl phosphonate also contributes to the efficiency of the reductive transformation of small ring compounds. This review summarizes selective transformations which have a high potential for chemical synthesis. 

The pivotal role of natural a-amino acids among a myriad of biologically active molecules is widely appreciated, and is of particular importance in the pharmaceutical industry. Unnatural a-amino acids also have a prominent position in the development of new pharmaceutical products. It has been shown that substitution of natural a-amino acids for unnatural amino acids can often impart significant improvements in physical, chemical and biological properties such as resistance to proteolytic breakdown, stability, bioavailability, and efficacy. One of the many synthetic methods available for the production of enantiomerically enriched a-amino acids is the metal-catalyzed enantioselective reduction of a-de-hydroamino acid derivatives [90]. 

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