Oxidation urea - hydrogen peroxide

A 250-mL, two-necked, round-bottomed flask equipped with a magnetic stirbar, thermometer, and a reflux condenser fitted with a rubber septum and balloon of argon is charged with a solution of methyltrioxorhenium (MTO) (0.013 g, 0.05 mmol, 0.1% mol equiv) in 100 mL of methanol (Note 1). Urea hydrogen peroxide (UHP) (14.3 g, 152 mmol) is added (Notes 1, 2, 3, 4), the flask is cooled in an ice bath, and dibenzylamine (9.7 mL, 50.7 mmol) is then added dropwise via syringe over 10 min (Notes 1, 5). After completion of the addition, the ice bath is removed and the mixture is stirred at room temperature (Note 6). A white precipitate forms after approximately 5 min (Note 7) and the yellow color disappears within 20 min (Note 8). Another four portions of MTO (0.1% mol equiv, 0.013 g each) are added at 30-min intervals (2.5 hr total reaction time). After each addition, the reaction mixture develops a yellow color, which then disappears only after the last addition does the mixture remain pale yellow (Note 9). The reaction flask is cooled in an ice bath and solid sodium thiosulfate pentahydrate (12.6 g, 50.7 mmol) is added in portions over 20 min in order to destroy excess hydrogen peroxide (Note 10). The cooled solution is stirred for 1 hr further, at which point a KI paper assay indicates that the excess oxidant has been completely consumed. The solution is decanted into a 500-mL flask to remove small amounts of undissolved thiosulfate. The solid is washed with 50 mL of MeOH and the methanol extract is added to the reaction solution which is then concentrated under reduced pressure by rotary evaporation. Dichloromethane (250 mL) is added to the residue and the urea is removed by filtration through cotton and celite. Concentration of the filtrate affords 10.3 g (97%) of the nitrone as a yellow solid (Note 11). 

Urea hydrogen peroxide adduct (UHP) was employed in metal-catalysed asymmetric epoxidation [98] and Baeyer-Villiger oxidation [99,100]. Since the presence of urea does not change the course of the reaction, this will not be described here. Conversion of epoxides to halohydrins with elemental... 

Anhydrous peroxytrifluoroacetic acid is not easy to handle, but the procedure has recently been revised.121 Namely, reaction of urea-hydrogen peroxide complex (UHP) with tri-fluoroacetic anhydride in acetonitrile at 0 °C gives solutions of peroxytrifluoroacetic acid, which oxidize aldoximes to nitroalkanes in good yields (Eqs. 2.58 and 2.59). Ketoximes fail to react under these conditions, the parent ketone being recovered. 

The biomimetic protocol was invented by Julia and Colonna, and involves the use of polyamino acids (such as poly-(L)-leucine) as the catalysts for peroxide oxidation of chalcones, styryl alkyl ketones and conjugated alkenones. The substrate range is broad, especially when using immobilized catalysts and an organic solvent containing the substrate, urea-hydrogen peroxide and an organic base (Scheme 22)[101]. 

Bentley et al.m recently improved upon Julia s epoxidation reaction. By using urea-hydrogen peroxide complex as the oxidant, l,8-diazabicyclo[5,4,0]undec-7-ene (DBU) as the base and the Itsuno s immobilized poly-D-leucine (Figure 4.2) as the catalyst, the epoxidation of a, (3-unsaturated ketones was carried out in tetrahydrofuran solution. This process greatly reduces the time required when compared to the original reaction using the triphasic conditions. 

The oxidant (e.g. urea hydrogen peroxide) and the base (various) used in the reactions are readily available and cheap. 

Some recent advances have been reported in oxime oxidation, including the in situ generation of peroxytrifluoroacetic acid from the reaction of urea hydrogen peroxide complex with TFAA in acetonitrile at 0 °C This method gives good yields of nitroalkanes from aldoximes but fails with ketoximes. 

The effect of structural variation and the use of different caboxylate salts as cocatalysts was investigated by Pietikainen . The epoxidation reactions were performed with the chiral Mn(III)-salen complexes 173 depicted in Scheme 93 using H2O2 or urea hydrogen peroxide as oxidants and unfunctionalized alkenes as substrates. With several soluble carboxylate salts as additives, like ammonium acetate, ammonium formate, sodium acetate and sodium benzoate, good yields (62-73%) and moderate enantioselectivities (ee 61-69%) were obtained in the asymmetric epoxidation of 1,2-dihydronaphthalene. The results were better than with Ai-heterocycles like Ai-methylimidazole, ferf-butylpyridine. 

Af-methylmorpholine A-oxide or 4-phenylpyridine A-oxide as cocatalysts. The yields and enantioselectivities obtained with HgOg or urea hydrogen peroxide were comparable, with slightly better yields for the epoxidation with HgOg (73% versus 68% for the epoxide of 1,2-dihydronaphthalene in the presence of NH4OAC). 

In 2002, Ichihara and coworkers reported on the utilization of a Keggin-type phos-phomolybdate (NH4)3PMoi2O40 on apatite as catalyst for the solvent-free epoxidation of olefins (see Section III.A.3.c) and the oxidation of sulfldes and sulfoxides in the presence of urea hydrogen peroxide (Scheme 104) . Chemoselectivities of the oxidation of the sulfides were good [product ratios (sulflde/sulfoxide) 84/16 up to 91/9] depending on the substrate, temperature and reaction time. 

Varma and Naicker published a solid-state oxidative protocol for the transformation of nitriles to amides and of A-heterocycles to A-oxides employing the urea hydrogen peroxide complex (Scheme 156) . The A-oxides depicted in Scheme 156 were synthesized... 

The oxidation of picolinaldehydes to the corresponding Af-oxides with dimethyldioxirane proceeds in good yield without the need to protect the aldehyde function <99T12557>. The urea-hydrogen peroxide complex oxidizes pyridines to pyridine Af-oxides <990L189>. 

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