Unsaturated ketone catalytic reduction

By catalytic reduction of a p-unsaturated ketones, prepared from aldehydes by the Claisen - Schmidt reaction (see under Aromatic Aldehydes), for example ... 

As in the case of the steroids, introduction of additional nuclear substituents yields morphine analogs of increased potency. The more important of these are derived from one of the minor alkaloids that occur in opium. Thebaine (14), present in crude opium in about one-tenth the amount of morphine, exhibits a reactive internal diene system that is well known to undergo various addition reactions in a 1,4 manner (e.g., bromination). Thus, reaction with hydrogen peroxide in acid may be visualized to afford first the 14-hydroxy-6-hemiketal (15). Hydrolysis yields the isolated unsaturated ketone (16). Catalytic reduction... 

Compound A, C H O, was found to be an optically active alcohol. Despite its apparent unsaturation, no hydrogen was absorbed on catalytic reduction over a palladium catalyst. On treatment of A with dilute sulfuric acid, dehydration occurred and an optically inactive alkene B, Q iH14, was produced as the major product. Alkene B, on ozonolysis, gave two products. One product was identified as propanal, CH3CH2CHO. Compound C, the other product, was shown to be a ketone, CgHgO. How many degrees of unsaturation does A have Write the reactions, and identify A, B, and C. 

As for some of the monodentate phosphine-based catalysts, ds-[Ru(6,6 -Cl2bpy)2(0H2)2][CF3S03]2 was found to require water for the best catalytic activity in the reduction of aldehydes and ketones [57]. Aldehydes and ketones were found to be hydrogenated, with reasonable yields. Unsaturated aldehydes were reduced with selectivity towards the unsaturated alcohol, whereas unsaturated ketones showed selectivity towards the saturated ketones. 

In 1969, Szantay and co-workers published a linear synthesis of (+)-yohimbine and (—)-P-yohimbine (75) in full detail (220). Tetracyclic key intermediate 400, obtained from 3,4-dihydro-p-carboline and a properly substituted a,p-unsatu-rated ketone (173), was treated with a proper phosphonoacetic acid derivative to give unsaturated nitrile 401 or unsaturated ester 402. Catalytic reduction of the latter resulted almost exclusively in 404 with normal stereo arrangement, while reduction of 401 supplied a mixture of normal and epialloindolo[2,3-a] quinolizines 403 and 405, respectively. Dieckmann ring closure of diester 404 gave 18a-methoxycarbonylyohimbone (407) as the thermodynamically favored... 

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation has the advantage of milder reaction conditions compared to catalytic hydrogenation. The development of various electrode materials (e.g., massive electrodes, powder cathodes, polymer film electrodes) and the optimization of reaction conditions have led to highly selective electrocatalytic hydrogenations. These are very suitable for the conversion of aliphatic and aromatic nitro compounds to amines and a, fi-unsaturated ketones to saturated ketones. The field is reviewed with 173 references in [158]. While the reduction of conjugated enones does not always proceed chemoselectively at a Hg cathode, the use of a carbon felt electrode coated with polyviologen/Pd particles provided saturated ketones exclusively (Fig. 34) [159]. 

Reduction of unsaturated ketones to saturated alcohols is achieved by catalytic hydrogenation using a nickel catalyst [49], a copper chromite catalyst [50, 887] or by treatment with a nickel-aluminum alloy in sodium hydroxide [555]. If the double bond is conjugated, complete reduction can also be obtained with some hydrides. 2-Cyclopentenone was reduced to cyclopentanol in 83.5% yield with lithium aluminum hydride in tetrahydrofuran [764], with lithium tris tert-butoxy)aluminium hydride (88.8% yield) [764], and with sodium borohydride in ethanol at 78° (yield 100%) [764], Most frequently, however, only the carbonyl is reduced, especially with application of the inverse technique (p. 21). 

Selective catalytic hydrogenation with chromium-promoted Raney nickel is reported (e.g. citral and citronellal to citronellol) NaHCr2(CO)io and KHFe(CO)4 reduction of a/3-unsaturated ketones (e.g. citral to citronellal) has been described (cf. Vol. 7, p. 7). The full paper on selective carbonyl reductions on alumina (Vol. 7, p. 7) has been published." Dehydrogenation of monoterpenoid alcohols over liquid-metal catalysts gives aldehydes and ketones in useful yields. ... 

The main methods of reducing ketones to alcohols are (a) use of complex metal hydrides (b) use of alkali metals in alcohols or liquid ammonia or amines 221 (c) catalytic hydrogenation 14,217 (d) Meerwein-Ponndorf reduction.169,249 The reduction of organic compounds by complex metal hydrides, first reported in 1947,174 is a widely used technique. This chapter reviews first the main metal hydride reagents, their reactivities towards various functional groups and the conditions under which they are used to reduce ketones. The reduction of ketones by hydrides is then discussed under the headings of mechanism and stereochemistry, reduction of unsaturated ketones, and stereochemistry and selectivity of reduction of steroidal ketones. Finally reductions with the mixed hydride reagent of lithium aluminum hydride and aluminum chloride, with diborane and with iridium complexes, are briefly described. 

The intramolecular cyclopropanation of appropriate y,(5-unsaturated a-diazoketones following a stereoselective catalytic reduction of the cyclopropyl ketone group provides a useful approach in diterpenoid synthesis. Some examples of the use of the cyclopropanation-reductive cleavage approach in synthesis are shown in equations 67 and 68l0f103. 

Chemoselective catalytic reduction of a,/3 unsaturated ketones to allylic alcohols is a challenging problem since, but a few exceptions [1-3], this reaction generally proceeds with formation of saturated ketones or saturated alcohols [4]. This reduction indeed is best carried out with stoicheiometric hydrides [4] but even in this case overreduction products are often obtained [5]. Recently, we reported in a preliminary communication [6] the unprecedented observation that a,/3 unsaturated ketones are reduced to the corresponding allylic alcohols by hydrogen transfer from propan-2-ol over MgO as catalyst according to the following scheme ... 

Fig. (2). The cyclization of enone (9), gives origin of two Cyclized products (10) and (11). Ketone (10), Ketone (10) is converted to the saturated ketone (14)under standard organic reactions.Bromination and dehydrobromination of ketone (14) yields the a,P-unsaturated ketone (IS), which on subjection to catalytic hydrogenation affords (16) and this on reduction, produces alcohol (17). The compound (13) yields (18) by standard reactions that are used for the transformation of (12) to (16). Reduction with metal hydride followed by oxidation affords ketone (11), which is converted to alcohol (17)...

Cyclization of enone (9) in hexane with boron trifluorideetherate in presence of 1,2-ethanedithiol, followed by hydrolysis with mercury (II) chloride in acetonitrile, yielded the cis-isomer (10) (16%) and transisomer (11) (28%). Reduction of (10) with lithium aluminium hydride in tetrahydrofuran followed by acetylation with acetic anhydride and pyridine gave two epimeric acetates (12) (32%) and (13) (52%) whose configuration was determined by NMR spectroscopy. Oxidation of (12) with Jones reagent afforded ketone (14) which was converted to the a, 3-unsaturated ketone (15) by bromination with pyridinium tribromide in dichloromethane followed by dehydrobromination with lithium carbonate and lithium bromide in dimethylformamide. Ketone (15), on catalytic hydrogenation with Pd-C in the presence of perchloric acid, produced compound (16) (72%) and (14) (17%). The compound (16) was converted to alcohol (17) by reduction with lithium aluminium hydride. 

Isoxeaoks. Oximes of certain oi, -unsaturated ketones are oxidized by iodine-potassium iodide in aqueous THF containing sodium bicarbonate to isoxazoles. Thus treatment of the oxime of either (E)- or (Z)-P-ionone (1) with this combination of reagents gives the isoxazole (2) in 91 % yield. The expensive potassium iodide is needed only in catalytic amount. Reduction of (2) tvith sodium and 3 eq. of (-butanol in liquid... 

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