Zinc—carbon bonds hydrides

Although catalytic hydrogenation is the method most often used, double bonds can be reduced by other reagents, as well. Among these are sodium in ethanol, sodium and rerr-butyl alcohol in HMPA, lithium and aliphatic amines (see also 15-14), " zinc and acids, sodium hypophosphate and Pd-C, (EtO)3SiH—Pd(OAc)2, trifluoroacetic acid and triethylsilane (EtsSiH), and hydroxylamine and ethyl acetate.However, metallic hydrides, such as lithium aluminum hydride and sodium borohydride, do not in general reduce carbon-carbon double bonds, although this can be done in special cases where the double bond is polar, as in 1,1-diarylethenes and in enamines. " °... 

Catalysts suitable specifically for reduction of carbon-oxygen bonds are based on oxides of copper, zinc and chromium Adkins catalysts). The so-called copper chromite (which is not necessarily a stoichiometric compound) is prepared by thermal decomposition of ammonium chromate and copper nitrate [50]. Its activity and stability is improved if barium nitrate is added before the thermal decomposition [57]. Similarly prepared zinc chromite is suitable for reductions of unsaturated acids and esters to unsaturated alcohols [52]. These catalysts are used specifically for reduction of carbonyl- and carboxyl-containing compounds to alcohols. Aldehydes and ketones are reduced at 150-200° and 100-150 atm, whereas esters and acids require temperatures up to 300° and pressures up to 350 atm. Because such conditions require special equipment and because all reductions achievable with copper chromite catalysts can be accomplished by hydrides and complex hydrides the use of Adkins catalyst in the laboratory is very limited. 

Since sodium borohydride usually does not reduce the nitrile function it may be used for selective reductions of conjugated double bonds in oc,/l-un-saturated nitriles in fair to good yields [7069,1070]. In addition some special reagents were found effective for reducing carbon-carbon double bonds preferentially copper hydride prepared from cuprous bromide and sodium bis(2-methoxyethoxy)aluminum hydride [7766], magnesium in methanol [7767], zinc and zinc chloride in ethanol or isopropyl alcohol [7765], and triethylam-monium formate in dimethyl formamide [317]. Lithium aluminum hydride reduced 1-cyanocyclohexene at —15° to cyclohexanecarboxaldehyde and under normal conditions to aminomethylcyclohexane, both in 60% yields [777]. 

Deprotonation of the zinc alcohol complexes shown in Fig. 12 to produce zinc alkoxide species has not been reported. Instead, mononuclear, tetrahedral zinc alkoxide complexes, supported by hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate ligands, ([TpBut,Me or Tpph,Me, Scheme 8), have been generated via treatment of zinc hydride precursor complexes with aliphatic alcohols.68-70 A zinc ethoxide complex, [TpBut,Me]Zn-OEt, was also prepared via decarboxylation of the ethyl carbonate complex, [TpBut,Me]Zn-0C(0)0Et.49 X-ray crystallographic studies of [Tpph Me] Zn-OCH3 and [TpBut,Me]Zn-OEt revealed Zn-O bond lengths of 1.874(2) and 1.826(2) A, respectively.68,71 These bond distances are 0.1 A shorter than found for the alcohol complexes shown in Fig. 12. 

Both coumarin and chromone are converted by diborane then alkaline hydrogen peroxide into 3-hydroxy-chroman." " Catalytic reduction of conmarin or chromone satnrates the C-C double bond." For both systems, hydride reagents can of course react either at carbonyl carbon or at the conjugate position and mixtures therefore tend to be prodnced. Zinc amalgam in acidic solntion converts benzopyrones in 4-unsubstituted benzopyrylinm salts." ... 

Substitution of hydrogen for halogen in compounds containing the halogen attached to doubly or trebly bonded carbon can often be effected by aluminum amalgam,444 lithium aluminum hydride,445 zinc dust in pyridine and glacial... 

The reaction of CO2 with a metal hydride produces formate complexes M-0C(0)H, not formyl derivatives M-C(0)0H, and the insertion into M-C bonds gives the appropriate carboxylate compounds M-0C(0)R. In a similar fashion, the reactions with M-OH and M-OR (R = alkyl, aryl) generate the corresponding bicarbonate M-0C(0)0H and carbonate M-0C(0)0R species, respectively. The reaction of CO2 with a zinc hydroxide moiety is particularly important in biological systems, namely, for the reversible hydration of CO2 to HCOs catalyzed by Zn(ll) in carbonic anyhdrases. Moreover, it has been postulated that the insertion of CO2 into M-O bonds is essential in the co-polymerization of CO2 and epoxides and in the preparation of cyclic carbonates and polycarbo-In a similar vein, the insertion of CO2 into the M-N bond of both main group and transition metal... 

Insertion of zinc into the carbon-halogen bond of organozinc carbenoids is accelerated by the presence ofa catalytic amount of Pb(II) salts [40]. By this means, several l,l-(biszincio)alkane reagents such as 14,15 [41], or 16 [42] can be prepared (Scheme 4.4). The commercially available Nysted reagent 17 is also prepared through zinc insertion with zinc-lead couple [43]. In the case of aUcyl-substituted l,l-(biszincio)aIkanes, P-hydride elimination is prevented with the adjunction of TMEDA (N,N,N, N -tetramethylethylenediamine) [44]. 

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