Zinc—carbon bonds metal 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. " °... 

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... 

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