Sodium borohydride selective ketone reduction

A difference in the reactivities and selectivities between tetra-n-butylammonium borohydride and sodium borohydride in the reduction of conjugated ketones is well illustrated with A1-9 2-octalone (Scheme 11.3) [17], Reduction with the sodium salt in tetrahydrofuran is relatively slow and produces the allylic alcohol (1) and the saturated alcohol (2) in a 1.2 1 ratio whereas, in contrast, tetra-n-butylammonium borohydride produces the non-conjugated alcohol (3) (50%) and the saturated alcohol (2) (47%), with minor amounts of the ketone (4), and the allylic alcohol (1) [16]. It has been proposed that (3) results from an initial unprecedented formation of a dienolate anion and its subsequent reduction. 

Table 10. Polycyclic 2-Cyclohcxcnols by Stereoselective Reduction of the Corresponding Ketones with Lithium Aluminum Hydride or Sodium Borohydride (Selective Axial Attack)...

Examples of hydride reduction of aldehydes and ketones are shown in Figure 14.51. Notice in the first reaction that sodium borohydride selectively reduces the aldehyde in the presence of an ester nitro and nitrile groups are also tolerated. In the second reaction, the borohydride reduction of a ketone, the diastereoselectivity, reflects the steric hindrance to the approach of the methyl groups on the bridging carbon atom block the approach from the top face of the molecule. By contrast, little diastereoselectivity is observed in the reduction of 2-hydroxyclobutanone. The final example illustrates the reduction of an a,p-unsaturated ketone. 

Potassium and sodium borohydride show greater selectivity in action than lithium aluminium hydride thus ketones or aldehydes may be reduced to alcohols whilst the cyano, nitro, amido and carbalkoxy groups remain unaffected. Furthermore, the reagent may be used in aqueous or aqueous-alcoholic solution. One simple application of its use will be described, viz., the reduction of m-nitrobenzaldehyde to m-nitrobenzyl alcohol ... 

The success of the halo ketone route depends on the stereo- and regio-selectivity in the halo ketone synthesis, as well as on the stereochemistry of reduction of the bromo ketone. Lithium aluminum hydride or sodium borohydride are commonly used to reduce halo ketones to the /mm-halohydrins. However, carefully controlled reaction conditions or alternate reducing reagents, e.g., lithium borohydride, are often required to avoid reductive elimination of the halogen. 

Facial selectivities in the nucleophilic addition of bicyclic ketones have recently been examined comprehensively [71, 72]. Mehta and his colleagues studied the facial selectivities of 2,3-exo,exo-disubstituted 7-norbomanones 14a and 14b [73-75]. In the reduction of 14a and 14b with sodium borohydride, lithium aluminum hydride. 

The stereoselective total synthesis of both ( )-corynantheidine (61) (170,171) (alio stereoisomer) and ( )-dihydrocorynantheine (172) (normal stereoisomer) has been elaborated by Szdntay and co-workers. The key intermediate leading to both alkaloids was the alio cyanoacetic ester derivative 315, which was obtained from the previously prepared ketone 312 (173) by the Knoevenagel condensation accompanied by complete epimerization at C-20 and by subsequent stereoselective sodium borohydride reduction. ( )-Corynantheidine was prepared by modification of the cyanoacetate side chain esterification furnished diester 316, which underwent selective lithium aluminum hydride reduction. The resulting sodium enolate of the a-formyl ester was finally methylated to racemic corynantheidine (171). 

Although there is evidence that quaternary ammonium salts are cleaved by sodium borohydride at high temperature [7], initial studies suggested that the quaternary ammonium borohydrides might have some synthetic value in their selectivity, e.g. aldehydes are reduced by an excess of the quaternary ammonium salts under homogeneous conditions in benzene at 25 °C, whereas ketones are recovered unchanged and are only partially reduced at 65 °C [2], The reduction of esters also requires the elevated temperature, whereas nitriles are not reduced even after prolonged reaction at 65 °C. Evidence that the two-phase (benzene water) reduction of octan-2-one by sodium borohydride was some 20-30 times faster in the presence of Aliquat, than in the absence of the catalyst [8], established the potential use of the mote lipophilic catalysts. 

Kinetic studies established that tetra-n-butylammonium borohydride in dichloromethane was a very effective reducing agent and that, by using stoichiometric amounts of the ammonium salt under homogeneous conditions, the relative case of reduction of various classes of carbonyl compounds was the same as that recorded for the sodium salt in a hydroxylic solvent, i.e. acid chlorides aldehydes > ketones esters. However, the reactivities, ranging from rapid reduction of acid chlorides at -780 C to incomplete reduction of esters at four days at 250 C, indicated the greater selectivity of the ammonium salts, compared with sodium borohydride [9], particularly as, under these conditions, conjugated C=C double bonds are not reduced. 

Much emphasis has been placed on the selectivity of quaternary ammonium borohydrides in their reduction of aldehydes and ketones [18-20]. Predictably, steric factors are important, as are mesomeric electronic effects in the case of 4-substituted benzaldehydes. However, comparison of the relative merits of the use of tetraethyl-ammonium, or tetra-n-butylammonium borohydride in dichloromethane, and of sodium borohydride in isopropanol, has shown that, in the competitive reduction of benzaldehyde and acetophenone, each system preferentially reduces the aldehyde and that the ratio of benzyl alcohol to 1-phenylethanol is invariably ca. 4 1 [18-20], Thus, the only advantage in the use of the ammonium salts would appear to facilitate the use of non-hydroxylic solvents. In all reductions, the use of the more lipophilic tetra-n-butylammonium salt is to be preferred and the only advantage in using the tetraethylammonium salt is its ready removal from the reaction mixture by dissolution in water. 

Palladium catalysts resemble closely the platinum catalysts. Palladium oxide (PdO) is prepared from palladium chloride and sodium nitrate by fusion at 575-600° [29,30]. Elemental palladium is obtained by reduction of palladium chloride with sodium borohydride [27, 31], Supported palladium catalysts are prepared with the contents of 5% or 10% of palladium on charcoal, calcium carbonate and barium sulfate [32], Sometimes a special support can increase the selectivity of palladium. Palladium on strontium carbonate (2%) was successfully used for reduction of just y, (5-double bond in a system of oc, / , y, (5-unsaturated ketone [ii]. 

Conversion of the keto ketoxime 1 to the exo-exo-amino alcohol 2 has been accomplished by hydrogenation over Adams catalyst and by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride. Amino alcohol 2 has also been prepared from 1 by a two-stage process in which selective reduction of the ketone is carried out with sodium borohydride, and the resultant hydroxy oxime is reduced with lithium aluminum hydride or by hydrogenation over Adams catalyst. ... 

Apart from reactions with sodium borohydride, which is frequently used in water or water-alcohol mixtures to selectively reduce ketones or aldehydes, water is rarely used in reductions because of chemical incompatibility with most reducing agents. Nevertheless, water was shown to influence these types of reactions. 

The reduction is usually effected catalytically in ethanol solution using hydrogen under pressure in the presence of Raney nickel. As in the reduction of nitriles (Section 5.16.1, p. 771), which also involves the intermediate imine, ammonia or the amines should be present in considerable excess to minimise the occurrence of undesirable side reactions leading to the formation of secondary and tertiary amines. These arise from the further reaction of the carbonyl compound with the initially formed amine product. Selected experimental conditions for these reductive alkylation procedures have been well reviewed.210 Sodium borohydride has also been used as an in situ reducing agent and is particularly effective with mixtures of primary amines and aliphatic aldehydes and ketones.211... 

Selective reductions This complex borohydride is particularly useful for selective 1,2-reduction of acyclic a,/ -cnones and of conjugated cyclohexenones to allylic alcohols. However, the 1,2-selectivity is less marked with conjugated cyclopentenones. The reagent reduces unhindered cyclic ketones to the more stable (equatorial) alcohols with stereoselectivity greater than that of sodium borohydride. 

Selective reductions. Raber et al.1 have compared the ability of tetra-n-butylammonium borohydride, tetraethylammonium borohydride, and sodium borohydride to effect selective reduction of aldehydes in the presence of ketones, and conclude that no one of these reagents is generally effective for this purpose and that the three reagents are generally similar. 

Abbreviations Amberlite IRA 400 borohydride resin, commercially available resin for selective reduction of a,/3-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones DBU, 1,8-diazabicyclo [5.4.0]undec-7-en DCM, dichloromethane DMF, dimethylformamide EtOAc, ethyl acetate Et2NH, diethylamine Et3N, triethylamine HBr, hydrobromic acid HC1, hydrochloric acid MS, mass spectrometry MeOH, methyl alcohol NH4OH, ammonium hydroxide NaBHj, sodium borohydride NaOH, sodium hydroxide NaOMe, sodium methanolate PAMAM, polyaminoamide resin (commercially available) RT, room temperature THF, tetrahydrofuran. 

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