Dimerization of aldehydes to carboxylic esters catalyzed by K2[Fe(CO)4]–crown ether system

K₂[Fe(CO)₄] (1) with a crown ether was found to be an efficient catalyst for the dimerization of aldehydes to carboxylic esters. Several aromatic aldehydes including furfural gave the corresponding esters in good yields. This reaction also proceeded intramolecularly to give phthalide from phthalaldehyde. However, aliphatic aldehydes gave aldol-condensation products instead of the corresponding esters. In the reactions of p-substituted benzaldehydes with 1, the reactivity decreased with increase of the electron-releasing ability of the substituents. On the basis of these results, the reaction mechanism including the nucleophilic attack of tetracarbonylferrate dianion to the carbonyl carbon is discussed.     

The first catalytic,asymmetric alpha-additions of isocyanides. Lewis-base-catalyzed,enantioselective Passerini-type reactions

The first, catalytic, enantioselective alpha-additions of isocyanides to aldehydes have been demonstrated (Passerini-type reactions). The catalytic system of silicon tetrachloride and a chiral bisphosphoramide 5a provided high yields and good to excellent enantioselectivities for the addition of tert-butyl isocyanide to a wide range of aldehydes (aromatic, olefinic, acetylenic, aliphatic). Aqueous workup afforded the alpha-hydroxy tert-butyl amides, whereas methanolic quench followed by basic workup afforded the alpha-hydroxy methyl esters.     

Calcium Borohydride

Calcium borohydride reduces both aliphatic and aromatic esters to alcohols completely in the presence of alkene catalysts. The intermediate borates formed during the reduction of aromatic esters are converted to aldehydes with aqueous NaOC1 in good yields.     

Indium tri(isopropoxide)-catalyzed selective Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes

Indium tri(isopropoxide)-catalyzed Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley reduction of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes in 2-propanol gave selectively the corresponding primary alcohols in good to excellent yields at room temperature. A wide range of functional groups including alkene, ether, ketone, ester, nitrile, and nitro were tolerated under the optimum reaction conditions. Chemoselective reductions were also achieved not only between aromatic aldehyde, aromatic ketone, and epoxide but also between aliphatic aldehyde and alkene.     

Trimethylsilyl Cyanide Addition to Carbonyl Compounds Under Neutral Condition Catalyzed by Iodine

Reaction of trimethylsilyl cyanide with aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes and ketones in the presence of a catalytic amount of elemental iodine produced the corresponding cyanohydrin trimethylsilyl ethers in very short time and high yields.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed oxidative cleavage of olefins to aldehydes.

Three oxidation protocols have been developed to cleave olefins to carbonyl compounds with ruthenium trichloride as catalyst (3.5 mol %). These methods convert olefins that are not fully substituted to aldehydes rather than carboxylic acids. While aryl olefins were cleaved to aromatic aldehydes in excellent yields by using the system of RuCl3-Oxone-NaHCO3 in CH3CN-H2O (1.5:1), aliphatic olefins were converted into alkyl aldehydes with RuCl3-NaIO4 in 1,2-dichloroethane-H2O (1:1) in good to excellent yields. It is noteworthy that terminal aliphatic olefins were cleaved to the corresponding aldehydes in excellent yields by using RuCl3-NaIO4 in CH3CN-H2O (6:1).     

The in situ generation of Ph3P=C(CF3)2. a facile one pot conversion of aldehydes to bis-trifluoromethyl olefins.

The in situ reaction of triphenylphosphine with tetrakis(trifluoromethyl)-1,3-dithietane in the presence of aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes gives good to excellent yields of bis-trifluoromethyl olefins.     

A clean, palladium-catalyzed oxidative esterification of aldehydes using benzyl chloride

A highly efficient, mild, simple and clean procedure is presented for the one-pot oxidation of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes to their corresponding ethyl esters using benzyl chloride as the oxidant under palladium-catalyzed conditions. The reaction is complete in just 30 min under microwave irradiation and inert conditions are not required to obtain good to excellent yields (65-93%) of isolated products.     

Synthesis of carboxylic esters from aldehydes using metal carbonyl anions,part 2. Dimerization of aldehydes to carboxylic esters catalyzed by disodium pentacarbonylchromate,na2[cr(co)5]

Na₂[Cr(CO)₅] (1) was found to be an efficient catalyst for the dimerization of aldehydes to carboxylic esters. Several aromatic aldehydes including furfural gave the corresponding esters in good yields. This reaction also proceeded intramolecularly to give phthalide from phthalaldehyde. Compared with M₂[Fe(CO)₄] (M = Na, K), 1 was found to be a more efficient catalyst for this reaction. However, aliphatic aldehydes gave aldolcondensation products instead of the corresponding esters. In the reactions of p-substituted benzaldehydes with 1, the reactivity decreased with the increase of the electron-releasing ability of the substituents. However, even p-anisaldehyde, which hardly reacted with M₂[Fe(CO)₄], reacted with 1 to give the ester in moderate yield. The reaction mechanism, including the nucleophilic attack of the pentacarbonylchromate dianion on the carbonyl carbon, is discussed.     

Catalytic, enantioselective alpha-additions of isocyanides: Lewis base catalyzed Passerini-type reactions

[reaction: see text] The generality of catalytic, enantioselective alpha-additions of isocyanides to aldehydes has been demonstrated (Passerini-type reactions). The catalytic system of silicon tetrachloride and a chiral bisphosphoramide (R,R)-1b provided high yields and good to excellent enantioselectivities for the addition of tert-butyl isocyanide to a wide range of aldehydes (aromatic, heteroaromatic, olefinic, acetylenic, aliphatic). Aqueous workup afforded the alpha-hydroxy tert-butyl amides whereas a low-temperature methanol quench followed by basic workup afforded the alpha-hydroxy methyl esters. The reaction is also successful for other isocyanides, albeit with reduced enantioselectivity. Reaction conditions, particularly the rate of addition of the isocyanide was found to be crucial for good yields and high selectivities.     

Asymmetric aldol-Tishchenko reaction catalyzed by Yb-complexes with basic amino acid-derived ligands

Simple amino acid-derived esters have been identified as promising chiral sources for the ytterbium-catalyzed aldol-Tishchenko reaction of aromatic aldehydes with aliphatic ketones. The 1,3-anti-diols with three stereogenic centers were isolated in excellent yields, complete anti-diastereocontrol and enantioselectivities of up to 50% ee.     

N-heterocyclic carbene catalysed aerobic oxidation of aromatic aldehydes to aryl esters using boronic acids

The organocatalytic behavior of N-heterocyclic carbenes in the aerobic oxidation of aromatic aldehydes to esters with boronic acids has been explored. This transition metal-free protocol allows access to a wide variety of aromatic esters in good to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions.     

Catalytic asymmetric reductive amination of aldehydes via dynamic kinetic resolution

A novel organocatalytic asymmetric reductive amination of aldehydes has been developed. Treating racemic alpha-branched aldehydes with p-anisidine and a Hantzsch ester in the presence of our previously developed phosphoric acid catalyst, TRIP, gave beta-branched secondary amines in excellent yields and enantioselectivities via an efficient dynamic kinetic resolution. The process is applicable to several different aromatic aldehydes and amines but gives slightly reduced enantiomeric ratios with aliphatic aldehydes.     

Reaction of aluminacyclopentadienes with aldehydes affording cyclopentadiene derivatives

Aluminacyclopentadienes, prepared in situ from the reaction of AlCl₃ and 1,4-dilithio-1,3-dienes at room temperature, reacted with aldehydes at room temperature to afford cyclopentadiene derivatives including tetrahydroindenes in good to excellent yields. Both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes undergo this reaction.     

A convenient procedure for the catalytic asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides and alkenes

[reaction: see text] Silver fluoride and cinchona alkaloids catalyze the diastereo- and enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition between azomethine ylides, generated from N-alkylideneglycine esters, and acrylates to give the corresponding endo-adducts. Azomethine ylides derived from aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes react in a highly diastereoselective reaction with good yields and enantioselectivities of the substituted pyrrolidines.     

Catalytic, asymmetric cyanohydrin synthesis in propylene carbonate

Propylene carbonate can be used as a green solvent for asymmetric cyanohydrin synthesis catalyzed by VO(salen)NCS. A range of 10 aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes gave high enantioselectivities (up to 93%) and conversions (up to 100%) in reactions carried out at or near room temperature with reaction times of 24 h or less.     

水介质中无催化剂下醛酮与活泼亚甲基化合物的缩合反应

报道了水相中无催化剂下各种羰基化合物与活泼亚甲基化合物的Knoevenagel缩合反应. 芳香醛与活泼亚甲基化合物如丙二腈、氰基乙酸乙酯、氰基乙酰胺的缩合在室温下即能顺利进行, 获得了很高的收率; 而对于杂环芳醛、α,β-不饱和的醛以及脂肪醛与活泼亚甲基化合物的缩合, 需在50～65 ℃下进行, 也取得了很高的收率; 对于脂肪酮、芳香酮以及二元醛与丙二腈的缩合在75～85 ℃下也能顺利地进行, 获得中等以上的收率. 反应简单、高效而且对环境友好.     

Synthesis of erythro-alpha-amino beta-hydroxy carboxylic acid esters by diastereoselective photocycloaddition of 5-methoxyoxazoles with aldehydes

A new photoaldol route to alpha-amino-beta-hydroxy carboxylic acid esters is initiated by the photocycloaddition of aromatic or aliphatic aldehydes to 5-methoxyoxazoles. The 4-unsubstituted 5-methyloxazole 1 gave the cycloadducts 8a-f in high yields and excellent exo-diastereoselectivities. Hydrolysis of 8a-f gives the N-acetyl alpha-amino-beta-hydroxy esters 9a-f, which could be subsequently converted into the corresponding Z-didehydro alpha-amino acids 10a-f. Quartenary alpha-amino-beta-hydroxy esters 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20, which are stable against dehydration, were obtained from the 4-alkylated 5-methoxyoxazoles 2-6, in most cases highly erythro-selective due to the high degree of stereocontrol (exo) at the photocycloaddition (to give 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19) level. The relative configurations of the N-acetyl alpha-amino-beta-hydroxy esters were determined by NMR spectroscopy and comparison with chiral pool-derived compounds as well as by X-ray structure determination of the ester 23, formed by hydrolysis of the cycloadduct 22, derived from photocycloaddition of propionaldehyde to the isoleucine-derived oxazole 21.     

Oxidation of Organic Compounds by Sulfonated Porous Carbon and Hydrogen Peroxide

 The oxidation of organic compounds by sulfonated porous carbon and H2O2 was studied at room temperature. Alkyl and aryl sulfides were oxidized to the corresponding sulfoxides or sulfones in excellent yields. Secondary alcohols were also converted to the corresponding esters/lactones and aldehydes to methyl esters in good yields. Moreover, aliphatic tertiary amines and substituted pyridines were oxidized to N-oxides.     

Sulfamidation of 2-arylaldehydes and ketones with chloramine-T

[reaction: see text] A series of aliphatic and aromatic carbonyl compounds has been transformed into the corresponding sulfamidated products by means of amine-catalyzed nitrene transfer of chloramine-T. Depending on the residues R, either alpha-sulfamidation in the case of aromatic aldehydes and acetone derivatives or direct sulfamidation at the carbonyl functionality of aliphatic aldehydes has been observed. Applying microwave conditions, good to excellent yields under significantly reduced reaction times could be obtained, thus providing a facile access to alpha,alpha-disubstituted amino acids.