Unconjugated unsaturated hydrogenation

Unconjugated unsaturated aldehydes and ketones can be reduced without affecting the carbonyl group, particularly with a Pd catalyst Ni and Pt have been used, but the reduction must be terminated after the addition of 1 equiv. of hydrogen. The nitrile group also can survive the reduction of carbon-carbon unsaturation in the same molecule. 

The use of copper chromite at 40°C and atmospheric pressure was not very effective for selective carbonyl group hydrogenation. Unsaturated alcohols were produced from unsaturated aldehydes in low yields at low conversions and not at all from methyl vinyl ketone. 28 With unconjugated, unsaturated aldehydes, copper chromite is effective as a selective hydrogenation catalyst. Hydrogenation of 46 at 140°-160°C and 200 atmospheres gave better than 70% of the diene diol, 47. Increasing the temperature to 240°C resulted in the complete saturation of 46 (Eqn. 18.28). 29... 

Although selective hydrogenation of the carbonyl group of a,P-unsaturated ketones does not appear possible at this time, the keto group can be selectively hydrogenated with unconjugated, unsaturated ketones provided the... 

Additionally, it should be observed that the thermal oxidability and oxidative polymerization of the unsaturated fatty acids follows the trend linolenic > linoleic > oleic > > palmitoleic (Martinenghi, 1963). The oxidation involves, as first step, the abstraction of a hydrogen atom in allylic position to the double bonds. Certainly, this process is favoured in the case of fatty acids with two or more unconjugated double bonds where the formation of a free radical by allylic hydrogen abstraction leads quite necessarily to double bonds slippage with formation of conjugated double bonds ... 

Concerning chemical selectivities in multiple unsaturated acetylenic compounds, conjugated enynes are reduced with modest selectivity. The most difficult case involves the selective reduction of an enyne with a terminal double bond and an internal triple bond, because the difference in the rates of their hydrogenation is minimal. The hydrogenation of nonterminal, unconjugated diynes to (Z,Z)-dienes can be achieved in good yield. 

We calculate an index of hydrogen deficiency of three. A quick glance at the infrared spectrum reveals the source of unsaturation implied by an index of three a nitrile group at 2260 cm (index = two) and a carbonyl group at 1747 cm (index = one). The frequency of the carbonyl absorption indicates an unconjugated ester. The appearance of several strong C—O bands near 1200 cm confirms the presence of an ester functional group. We can rule out a CM2 bond because they usually absorb at a lower value (2150 cm ) and have a weaker intensity than compounds that contain C=N. 

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