Sodium reductive dimerization

Two classes of charged radicals derived from ketones have been well studied. Ketyls are radical anions formed by one-electron reduction of carbonyl compounds. The formation of the benzophenone radical anion by reduction with sodium metal is an example. This radical anion is deep blue in color and is veiy reactive toward both oxygen and protons. Many detailed studies on the structure and spectral properties of this and related radical anions have been carried out. A common chemical reaction of the ketyl radicals is coupling to form a diamagnetic dianion. This occurs reversibly for simple aromatic ketyls. The dimerization is promoted by protonation of one or both of the ketyls because the electrostatic repulsion is then removed. The coupling process leads to reductive dimerization of carbonyl compounds, a reaction that will be discussed in detail in Section 5.5.3 of Part B. 

Reduction in aptotic solvents may be accompanied by side reactions due to the alkaline conditions developed around the cathode. Preparative work is thus limited to substrates undergoing these unwanted side reactions relatively slowly. Reductive dimerizations in aptotic solvents show a high degree of stereoselectivity in favour of carbon-carbon bond formation to yield the ( )-isomer. A templating action is brought about either by co-ordination to a lithium or sodium ion of two reacting... 

Piperidinomethylisatin on lithium aluminum hydride gave the indoline 67 while sodium borohydride reduction of the same isatin derivative gave a reductive dimerization to 68 and a reduction-rearrangement to 69.255... 

Other authors obtained such a diol by reductive dimerization using sodium [128]. The internal chain can be longer thus Loeb et al. [129] developed the condensation of acetone and hexafluoroacetone to produce ... 

Symmetrical 3,5-dialkyl-l,2,4-trithiolanes (178) can be synthesized in reasonable yield by chlorination of dialkyl disulfides (175) to a-chiloroalkyl sulfenyl chlorides (176), which are then reacted with potassium iodide to give di-a-chloroalkyl disulfides (177). Subsequent cyclization with sodium sulfide gave (178) (72T3489). When (176) was treated with one molar equivalent of sodium sulfide, the reductive dimerization and cyclization was effected in one step (78HCA1404). Treatment of perfluoropropene with sodium hydrogen sulfide in THF resulted in the formation of 3,5-bis(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)-l,2,4-trithiolane (179) (72IZV2517). 

M(Cp-> )2] cations sodium reduction generates the Rh and Ir metallocenes, which dimerize to give the complex ... 

Before the introduction of metal-ammonia solutions for the reduction of a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds,sodium, sodium amalgam, or zinc in protic media were most commonly employed for this purpose. Some early examples of their use include the conversion of carvone to dihydrocarvone with zinc in acid or alkaline medium, and of cholest-4-en-3-one to cholestanone with sodium in alcohol. These earlier methods are complicated by a variety of side reactions, such as over-reduction, dimerization, skeletal rearrangements, acid- or base-catalyzed isomerizations and aldol condensations, most of which can be significantly minimized by metal-ammonia reduction. 

In the reductive dimerization of methyl cinnamate to a cyclopentanone [Eq. (5)], similar yields are found at the cathode [42] and with metals (sodium, THE, and TBAI, —78°C) [40]. Because of the potential selective conversion at the electrode, halides can be reduced at the cathode to carbanions in the presence of carbonyl compounds, which are reduced at more cathodic potentials. This way labile carbanions can be obtained and reacted under conditions in which the same species generated by a metalorganic route would decompose. Eor example, trichlorobromoalkane can be cathodically converted in the presence of aldehydes to a dichloromethyl anion 0°C [route a, Eq. (6)] and be trapped to form a dichlorotetrahydrofuran, but for the metallorganic route [route b, Eq. (6)] a reaction temperature of — 110°C is necessary [43]. 

Lactones have been converted to (hydroxyalkyljcyclopropyl phenyl ketones on reaction with phenylmagnesium bromide and phenyllithium. Reductive dimerization of ethyl cyclo-propanecarboxylate with sodium gave l,2-dicyclopropylethane-l,2-dione in 69% yield when thionyl chloride treatment was carried out prior to hydrolytic workup, and to dicyclopropyl ketone in 74% yield, when workup included sodium bromate treatment. A related reaction occurred during thermolysis of 6,6-dimethyl-5,7-dioxaspiro[2.5]octane-4,8-dione to give dispiro[2.1.2.1. ]octane-4,8-dione. ... 

An important variation in butadiene polymerization technology is the reductive dimerization of butadiene, using stoichiometric, instead of catalytic, quantities of sodium. This process has been developed by National Distillers into a commercial synthesis of a mixture of 10-carbon dicarboxylic acids, and a 10,000,000-pound-per-year plant is under construction to exploit this reaction (7). Esso has recently developed a similar process for the synthesis of dimeric dicarboxylic acids from the reaction between sodium and cyclopentadiene, but there has been no indication yet that it intends to commercialize this reaction (8). 

Reduction with sodium tetrahydridohoratejpyridine Reductive dimerization of nitro compounds... 

Reductive dimerization of esters proceeds with sodium metal in inert solvents. The reaction is sometimes referred to as the acyloin condensation, after the class... 

These reactions are usehil for the preparation of homogeneous difunctional initiators from a-methylstyrene in polar solvents such as tetrahydrofuran. Because of the low ceiling temperature of a-methylstyrene (T = 61° C) (26), dimers or tetramers can be formed depending on the alkaU metal system, temperature, and concentration. Thus the reduction of a-methylstyrene by sodium potassium alloy produces the dimeric dianionic initiators in THF (27), while the reduction with sodium metal forms the tetrameric dianions as the main products (28). The stmctures of the dimer and tetramer correspond to initial tail-to-tail addition to form the most stable dianion as shown in equations 6 and 7 (28). 

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