Sodium borohydride Solvent

The tetrahydridoborate ion, as "sodium borohydride" NaBH is soluble in water and is similarly an excellent reducing agent in this solvent. (Lithium tetrahydridoaluminate cannot be used in water, with which it reacts violently to give hydrogen.)... 

Sodium Borohydride. Sodium borohydride [16940-66-2] is a thermally stable, white crystalline soHd that decomposes in vacuo above 400°C. The heat of formation is —192 kJ/mol (—45.9 kcal/mol). NaBH is hygroscopic and absorbs water rapidly from moist air to form a dihydrate that decomposes slowly to sodium metaborate and hydrogen. It is soluble in many solvents including water, alcohols, Hquid ammonia and amines, glycol ethers, and dimethyl sulfoxide. 

Other Borohydrides. Potassium borohydride was formerly used in color reversal development of photographic film and was preferred over sodium borohydride because of its much lower hygroscopicity. Because other borohydrides are made from sodium borohydride, they are correspondingly more expensive. Generally their reducing properties are not sufficiently different to warrant the added cost. Zinc borohydride [17611-70-0] Zn(BH 2> however, has found many appHcations in stereoselective reductions. It is less basic than NaBH, but is not commercially available owing to poor thermal stabihty. It is usually prepared on site in an ether solvent. Zinc borohydride was initially appHed to stereoselective ketone reductions, especially in prostaglandin syntheses (36), and later to aldehydes, acid haHdes, and esters (37). 

The chain-growth catalyst is prepared by dissolving two moles of nickel chloride per mole of bidentate ligand (BDL) (diphenylphosphinobenzoic acid in 1,4-butanediol). The mixture is pressurized with ethylene to 8.8 MPa (87 atm) at 40°C. Boron hydride, probably in the form of sodium borohydride, is added at a molar ratio of two borohydrides per one atom of nickel. The nickel concentration is 0.001—0.005%. The 1,4-butanediol is used to solvent-extract the nickel catalyst after the reaction. 

Isoquinoline can be reduced quantitatively over platinum in acidic media to a mixture of i j -decahydroisoquinoline [2744-08-3] and /n j -decahydroisoquinoline [2744-09-4] (32). Hydrogenation with platinum oxide in strong acid, but under mild conditions, selectively reduces the benzene ring and leads to a 90% yield of 5,6,7,8-tetrahydroisoquinoline [36556-06-6] (32,33). Sodium hydride, in dipolar aprotic solvents like hexamethylphosphoric triamide, reduces isoquinoline in quantitative yield to the sodium adduct [81045-34-3] (25) (152). The adduct reacts with acid chlorides or anhydrides to give N-acyl derivatives which are converted to 4-substituted 1,2-dihydroisoquinolines. Sodium borohydride and carboxylic acids combine to provide a one-step reduction—alkylation (35). Sodium cyanoborohydride reduces isoquinoline under similar conditions without N-alkylation to give... 

Sodium borohydride is manufactured by Morton International, Inc. Treatment of trimethyl borate with a metal hydride, eg, NaH, ia the absence of a solvent yields sodium hydrotrimethoxyborate [16940-17-3] Na[HB(OCH2)3], (eq. 50) which disproportionates ia the presence of solvents such as tetrahydrofuran at 60—70°C (eq. 51) (112). 

Potassium borohydride is similar in properties and reactions to sodium borohydride, and can similarly be used as a reducing agent for removing aldehydes, ketones and organic peroxides. It is non-hygroscopic and can be used in water, ethanol, methanol or water-alcohol mixtures, provided some alkali is added to minimise decomposition, but it is somewhat less soluble than sodium borohydride in most solvents. For example, the solubility of potassium borohydride in water at 25° is 19g per lOOmL of water (as compared to sodium borohydride, 55g). 

A solution of 0.25 g sodium borohydride in 140 ml of ethanol is added to a stirred solution of 0.56 g of calcium chloride in 60 ml of ethanol at —25°. The vigorously stirred mixture is treated dropwise at —25° over 5 min with 4.87 g of 1 la-hydroxy-5/S-pregnane-3,20-dione in 100 ml of ethanol. After a further 3 hr at —20°, 10 ml of 40% aqueous acetic acid is added and the mixture is evaporated to dryness under vacuum. The residue is dissolved in 150 ml of ether and the ethereal solution is washed with 30 ml of 2 A hydrochloric acid and twice with 30 ml of water and dried over Na2S04. Removal of the solvent gives 4.6 g of crystals, which are recrystallized from 20 ml of ether to yield 2.9 g (60%) of the dihydroxy ketone, mp 182-184° [aj 110° (ethanol). 

To a mixture of ethyl 5a-cholestan-3-one 2a-xanthate (2 g, 3.95 mmol) and 100 ml methanol is added sufficient ether to completely dissolve the solids. Sodium borohydride (90 mg, 2.36 mmol) is added directly to the reaction flask and the solution is stirred at room temperature for 4 hr. (The use of an excess of sodium borohydride and an extended reaction time produces 5oc-cholestan-2a,3a-thiirane.) The reaction is diluted with 200 ml ether and washed several times with ca. 100 ml water, dried (MgS04) and the solvent is removed under vacuum. The crude sticky gum is chromatographed on a column of 85 g silicic acid. The hexane eluates contain 5a-cholest-2-ene. Ethyl 5a-cholestan-3a-ol 2a-xanthate is obtained in ca. 30% yield by subsequent elution with benzene hexane (1 7) and the desired ethyl 5a-cholestan-3 -ol 2a-xanthate is eluted with ether hexane (1 3) in ca. 30% yield. 

The carbonyl group of carbohydrates can be reduced to an alcohol function. Typical procedures include catalytic hydrogenation and sodium borohydride reduction. Lithium aluminum hydride is not suitable, because it is not compatible with the solvents (water, alcohols) that are requited to dissolve caibohydrates. The products of caibohydrate reduction aie called alditols. Because these alditols lack a car bonyl group, they aie, of course, incapable of forming cyclic hemiacetals and exist exclusively in noncyclic forms. 

D) Preparation of 2-(1-Hydroxyethyi)-3-Methyi-5-(2-Oxo-2,5-Dihydro-4-Furyi)Benzo[b] Furan (3574 CB) 13,2 grams of compound 3556 CB of which the preparation is described in (C) are treated successively with 66 ml of methylene chloride, 27 ml of methanol and, with stirring, 1.6 grams of sodium borohydride added in stages. The reaciton takes 1 hour. The mixture is poured into water acidified with a sufficient amount of acetic acid, the solvents are stripped under vacuum, the crystalline product removed, washed with water, and recrystallized from ethyl acetate. Yield 90%. MP <=158°C. 

It has been found that crude cyclandelate may be purified by the following procedure. Crude cyclandelate is dissolved in a solvent chosen for convenience from the class of saturated hydrocarbons. The crude cyclandelate solution is stirred for a suitable interval, typically 1 to 5 hours, with an aqueous solution of sodium borohydride (NaBI-14) at temperatures ranging from 25° to 65°C. The preferred temperature range is 40° to 50°C. The pH of the solution may be adjusted to any desired level in the range between 2.5 to 11.5. The preferred pH range is 8.0 to 11.0 because at lower pH levels borohydride is unstable... 

After evaporation of the solvent, the solid residue consists of 5-(2-chlorobenzyl)-thieno[3,2-cl -pyridinium chloride which melts at 166°C (derivative n°30). This compound is taken up into a solution comprising ethanol (300 ml) and water (100 ml). Sodium borohydride (NaBH4) (20 g) is added portionwise to the solution maintained at room temperature. The reaction medium is maintained under constant stirring during 1 2 hours and is then evaporated. The residue is taken up into water and made acidic with concentrated hydrochloric acid to destroy the excess reducing agent. The mixture is then made alkaline with ammonia and extracted with ether. The ether solution is washed with water, dried and evaporated. The oily residue is dissolved in isopropanol (50 ml) and hydrochloric acid in ethanol solution is then added thereto. 

In the laboratory, alkenes are often hydrated by the oxymercuration procedure. When an alkene is treated with mercury(II) acetate Hg(02CCH3)2, usually abbreviated Hg(OAc)2l in aqueous tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent, electrophilic addition of Hg2+ to the double bond rapidly occurs. The intermediate orgnnomercury compound is then treated with sodium borohydride, NaBH4, and an alcohol is produced. For example ... 

Sodium borohydride is a white crystalline solid produced from the reaction between sodium hydride and boron trichloride dissolved in a nonaqueous solvent ... 

The boranes are an extensive series of binary compounds of boron and hydrogen, somewhat analogous to the hydrocarbons. The starting point for borane production is the reaction (in an organic solvent) of sodium borohydride with boron trifluoride ... 

Sodium borohydride reductions of gold(I) complexes give Au clusters at RT if sodium borohydride in ethanol is dropped slowly into a suspension of the Au(I) complex in the same solvent. The immediate coloring of the reaction mixture (mostly red), even after only a few drops of the borohydride have been added, indicates fast formation of Au clusters. In view of the complicated composition of these compounds the fast formation is surprising. The use of H2 and CO with HjO as reducing agents in the synthesis of gold clusters has been described (see Table 1, Method A, 8.2.2.2). 

To remove any metallic Au, the reaction mixture is evaporated to dryness and subsequently passed over a commercial terra infusorii column in a minimal volume of solvent. Crystallization may be performed by slow diffusion of a two-layer system. Yields are low (10-60%). The metal evaporation technique (see 8.2.1.2) gives higher yields than the sodium borohydride method. 

We needed a solvent to separate sodium borohydride from sodium methoxide, concurrently produced in the synthesis. This led to a search for solvents for sodium borohydride. Among the solvents tested was acetone. A vigorous reaction ensued upon addition of the sodium borohydride, the active hydride disappeared, and analysis revealed the presence of 4 moles of isopropyl alcohol per mole of sodium borohydride introduced. 

The search for solvents led to the discovery that sodium borohydride is an excellent reducing agent for aldehydes and ketones. The search for catalysts to enhance the reducing power of sodium borohydride led to an anomalous result in the reduction of ethyl oleate. Investigation of this anomalous result led to the discovery of hydroboration. 

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