Direct Arylation/Alkylation/Magnesiation of Benzyl Alcohols in the Presence of Grignard Reagents via Ni-, Fe-, or Co-Catalyzed sp(3) C-O Bond Activation

Direct application of benzyl alcohols (or their magnesium salts) as electrophiles in various reactions with Grignard reagents has been developed via transition metal-catalyzed sp(3) C-O bond activation. Ni complex was found to be an efficient catalyst for the first direct cross coupling of benzyl alcohols with aryl/alkyl Grignard reagents, while Fe, Co, or Ni catalysts could promote the unprecedented conversion of benzyl alcohols to benzyl Grignard reagents in the presence of (n)hexylMgCl. These methods offer straightforward pathways to transform benzyl alcohols into a variety of functionalities.     

NaIO4-mediated selective oxidation of alkylarenes and benzylic bromides/alcohols to carbonyl derivatives using water as solvent

A new transition-metal-free, sodium metaperiodate (NaIO4)-mediated direct oxidation of methylarenes and benzylic bromides to the corresponding aromatic carboxylic acids is described. Under the same reaction conditions, benzylic alcohols are selectively oxidized to afford the corresponding aldehydes in good yields without undergoing overoxidation. Unprecedentedly, oxidation of benzyl bromide, toluene, or benzyl alcohol with NaIO4 underwent nuclear bromination followed by oxidation to give 4-bromobenzoic acid in 60-79% yields.     

Cleavage of benzyl ethers by triphenylphosphine hydrobromide

Triphenylphosphine hydrobromide was found to cleave the benzyl ethers derived from 1°, 2° alkyl, and aryl alcohols to the corresponding alcohols and benzyltriphenylphosphonium bromide in good yields. Alkene and allyl phosphonium salts were produced from the benzyl ethers with 3° alkyl and allyl groups, respectively. These results indicate that the formation of the product is determined by the relative stability of the carbocationic intermediate. The anhydrous, stoichiometric amount of PPh₃·HBr offers a new and effective method for the deprotection of benzyl ethers.     

Synthesis, characterization, anti-inflammatory and in vitro antimicrobial activity of some novel alkyl/aryl substituted tertiary alcohols

The synthesis of some novel alkyl/aryl substituted tertiary alcohols was accomplished in two steps. The synthetic route involves preparation of Grignard reagents by treating alkyl/aryl bromides with magnesium turnings in dry ether. Then substituted chalcones were reacted with the Grignard reagents to afford alkyl/aryl substituted tertiary alcohols 1-10. The structures of the synthesized compounds were assigned on the basis of FT-IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectroscopic data. The in vivo anti-inflammatory activity of the synthesized compounds was evaluated using the carrageenan-induced hind paw edema method and was compared with that of ibuprofen. Some of the newly synthesized compounds showed promising anti-inflammatory activity. The tertiary alcohols 1-10 were also screened for antibacterial activity against ten bacterial strains using seven Gram-positive and three Gram-negative bacteria and for antifungal activity against Aspergillus Flavus, Aspergillus Niger and Aspergillus pterus. Tertiary alcohols 1-10 were found to exhibit good to excellent antimicrobial activities compared to levofloxacin and fluconazole used as standard drugs.     

Reduction of Aromatic Aldehydes,Ketones with Acyloxy Substituent at the Ortho-position by NaBH4 in the Presence of Waters

n unusual reduction of some aromatic aldehydes, ketones by sodium borohydride was discovered. In a THF/H₂O or DMSO/H₂O solvent system the aromatic aldehydes, ketones with acyloxy substituent on the ortho-position to the carbonyl group can be reduced to the corresponding alkyl phenols. This unusual reduction is applicable also to the corresponding alcohols of all the above aldehydes, ketones. A putative mechanism was suggested. In addition to the above aldehydes, ketones, benzyl alcohols, certain 4-acyloxybenzyl esters(probably also the 2-substituted analogues) such as 4-benzoyloxybenzyl benzoate was also found to be reduced to methylphenol by this unusual reduction.     

Carbonylative Coupling of Alkyl Zinc Reagents with Benzyl Bromides Catalyzed by a Nickel/NN2 Pincer Ligand Complex

An efficient catalytic protocol for the three‐component assembly of benzyl bromides, carbon monoxide, and alkyl zinc reagents to give benzyl alkyl ketones is described, and represents the first nickel‐catalyzed carbonylative coupling of two sp³‐carbon fragments. The method, which relies on the application of nickel complexed with an NN₂‐type pincer ligand and a controlled release of CO gas from a solid precursor, works well with a range of benzylic bromides. Mechanistic studies suggest the intermediacy of carbon‐centered radicals.     

Silver-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of alkyl bromides with alkyl or aryl Grignard reagents

Treatment of secondary or tertiary alkyl bromides with alkyl Grignard reagents in the presence of catalytic amounts of silver bromide and potassium fluoride in CH₂Cl₂ afforded the corresponding cross-coupling products in reasonable yields. Moreover, silver showed catalytic activity for the cross-coupling reactions of alkyl bromides with aryl Grignard reagents.     

Direct synthesis of ethers from aldehydes and ketones. One-pot reductive etherification of benzaldehydes,alkyl aryl ketones,and benzophenones

Benzyl alcohols formed by the reduction of benzaldehydes, alkyl aryl ketones, and benzophenones with sodium tetrahydridoborate in alcohols undergo in situ etherification with the solvent in the presence of a catalytic amount of HCl. Thus the process may be regarded as one-pot transformation of carbonyl compounds into the corresponding benzyl ethers. The yields of ethers depend on the substituent nature in the aromatic fragment of the initial carbonyl compound and on the alcohol used as reduction medium.     

Allylation of Carbonyl Compounds Mediated by Aluminum/Fluoride Salts in Water

A novel mediator (Al/KF) has been developed and employed in the Barbier‐type alkylations of various aldehydes and ketones with alkyl halide in water. The carbonyl compounds could be effectively converted into corresponding homoallylic alcohol in good yields only when allyl bromides or substituted allyl bromides were used as halides. Aromatic aldehydes could afford homoallylic alcohols in high yields, unfortunately, the allylation of aromatic aldehyde substituted by nitro‐ or amino‐group could not proceed smoothly, and the allylation yields of ketones and aliphatic carbonyl compounds were lower under the same condition. The diastereoselectivity and regioseletivity of the reaction have also been studied, the predominant products preferred the erythro‐ or anti‐isomer in dominant γ‐adduct by using Al/KF mediated allylation of benzaldehydes with cinnamyl bromide and ethyl 4‐bromo‐2‐butenoate in water.     

Manganese-Catalyzed Chemoselective Coupling of Secondary Alcohols,Primary Alcohols and Methanol

Herein, we report a manganese-catalyzed three-component coupling of secondary alcohols, primary alcohols and methanol for the synthesis of β,β-methylated/alkylated secondary alcohols. Using our method, a series of 1-arylethanol, benzyl alcohol derivatives, and methanol undergo sequential coupling efficiently to construct assembled alcohols with high chemoselectivity in moderate to good yields. Mechanistic studies suggest that the reaction proceeds via methylation of a benzylated secondary alcohol intermediate to generate the final product.     

Nucleophilic addition of arylmethylzinc reagents (ArCH2ZnCl) to formaldehyde: An easy access to 2-(hetro)arylethyl alcohols

The selective addition of arylmethylmagnesium halides with formaldehyde giving arylethyl alcohols is extremely challenging. To circumvent the difficulties, in the current communication, we have reported on the nucleophilic addition of benzyl zinc reagents derived from inexpensive and abundant benzyl chlorides to paraformaldehyde. The reaction investigated herein is hitherto unknown and was found to be selective, operationally simple, atom- and step-economical and high yielding to deliver phenethyl alcohols utilized as key perfumery ingredients in 60–83% yields. After successful establishment of the reaction condition, the reaction was also scaled up successfully to deliver a large-scale preparation of the phenethyl alcohol.     

不饱和一元醇、乙酸酯和醛的合成

大多数鳞翅目昆虫性信息素是不饱和长碳链(C_(12)～C_(16))醇、乙酸酯或醛,双键位置一般在5、7、8、9、10和11位。它们的差别主     

Reduction of Aromatic Aldehydes and Ketones with Acyloxy Substituent at the Orthoposition by NaBH4 in the Presence of Waters*

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＡｓａｍｉｌｄｒｅｄｕｃｔａｎｔ,ｓｏｄｉｕｍｂｏｒｏｈｙｄｒｉｄｅ（ＮａＢＨ４）ｉｓｗｉｄｅｌｙｕｓｅｄｉｎｏｒｇａｎｉｃｓｙｎｔｈｅｓｉｓｔｏｐｒｅｐａｒｅａｌｃｏｈｏｌｓｆｒｏｍａｌｄｅｈｙｄｅｓａｎｄｋｅｔｏｎｅｓ．Ｃ...     

Magnesium Lewis Acid Assisted Oxidative Bromoetherification Involving Bromine Transfer from Alkyl Bromides with Aldehydes by Umpolung of Bromide

An oxidative bromoetherification involving a bromine transfer from alkyl bromides upon reacting them with aldehydes in a Grignard reaction with a concurrent oxidation of bromide was developed to provide substituted tetrahydrofurans in high yields. This reaction, which proceeds through two types of bromine transfer, was promoted by the addition of a Brønsted acid. Mechanistic studies suggested that a magnesium Lewis acid activates hypobromate, which is generated in situ from the reaction of bromide and Oxone to improve the electrophilicity of the bromonium ion (Br⁺) for the oxidative bromoetherification of alkenyl alcohols. Furthermore, the magnesium Lewis acid catalyzed oxidative bromoetherification of an alkenyl alcohol proceeded to provide a cyclization product in 92 % yield.     

Synthesis of new N-quaternary-3-benzamidoquinuclidinium salts

The synthesis of racemic and enantiomerically pure N-p-methylbenzyl-3- and N-p-chlorobenzylbenzamidoquinuclidinium bromides (6-8 and 9-11, respectively) is described. These compounds were prepared from racemic or enantiomerically pure 3-benzamidoquinuclidines 3-5 using the appropriate quaternization reagents: p-methyl- benzyl bromide (1) and p-chlorobenzyl bromide (2).     

The reaction of arylmagnesium bromides with N-(ω-bromoalkyl)phthalimides

The reaction of the N-(ω-bromoalkyl)phthalimides, 1 and 2, with a series of arylmagnesium bromides in tetrahydrofuran yielded the corresponding oxazoloisoindoles 4a-4h and oxazinoisoindoles 5a-5f. At low temperatures, phenylmagnesium bromide, on treatment with 1 and 2 , yielded the open-chain alcohols, 7 and 8. With 3, phenylmagnesium bromide yielded the corresponding alcohol 9 under any conditions utilized. In several cases, the products isolated from the reaction of 1 with arylmagnesium bromides were shown to depend on the order of addition, with monoarylated oxazoloisoindoles 4c and 4d being formed when the Grignard reagent was added to 1 , and triarylated products 10a and 10b formed when the order of addition was reversed. A further triarylated product 10c was also obtained by the latter method.     

2-(Hydroxycarbonyl)benzyl glycosides: a novel type of glycosyl donors for highly efficient beta-mannopyranosylation and oligosaccharide synthesis by latent-active glycosylation

2-(Benzyloxycarbonyl)benzyl (BCB) glycosides were prepared by coupling of the corresponding tetraacetylglycosyl bromides and benzyl 2-(hydroxymethyl)benzoate. The BCB glycosides were converted almost quantitatively into the corresponding 2-(hydroxycarbonyl)benzyl (HCB) glycosides by selective hydrogenolysis of the benzyl ester functionality without affecting the benzylidene acetal and the benzyl ether. Treatment of the HCB 4,6-O-benzylidenemannopyranoside 4 with triflic anhydride in the presence of di-tert-butylmethylpyridine and subsequent addition of the glycosyl acceptor having a primary hydroxyl group afforded exclusively the disaccharide of the beta-mannopyranosyl linkage. Glycosylation of the compound 4 with secondary and tertiary alcohols also provided beta-mannopyranosides as the major products. Glycosylation of the HCB 4,6-O-cyclohexylidenemannoside 5 with primary alcohols was also highly beta-selective, and the HCB 2,3-O-cyclohexylidenemannoside 6 exhibited the moderate beta-selectivity. On the other hand, unlike the HCB mannosides, the HCB 4,6-O-benzylideneglucoside 7 gave exclusively the disaccharides of the alpha-glycopyranosyl linkage in the glycosylation with primary alcohols. The latent BCB-disaccharide 23, which was obtained from the HCB mannoside 4 as the donor and the BCB glucoside 12 as the acceptor by the present glycosylation method, was converted into the active HCB-disaccharide 39 by selective hydrogenolysis. Repetitive glycosylation of the donor 39 with the same acceptor 12 afforded the BCB-trisaccharide 40. Other BCB-trisaccharides 42 and 46 were also efficiently synthesized by employing the present methodology.     

Iron-catalyzed carbometalation of propargylic and homopropargylic alcohols

Nucleophilic addition to alkynes represents an attractive approach to the synthesis of olefins. Obstacles to this strategy include the low reactivity of alkynes toward many organometallic reagents and difficulties associated with controlling the regioselectivity of addition. Here we demonstrate that Fe(III) salts are effective precatalysts for the carbometalation of alkynes. Primary and secondary propargylic and homopropargylic alcohols react with alkyl and aryl Grignard reagents to provide Z-allylic and -homoallylic alcohols as single stereo and regioisomers. Alkylation and arylation occur distal to the alcohol. Common oxygen protecting groups and tertiary nitrogens are tolerated. The intermediate vinyl magnesium or iron species can be trapped with a variety of electrophiles including aldehydes, allyl bromide, and N-bromosuccinimide. Diyne substrates undergo an unusual addition/cyclization reaction to generate cyclic dienes. A brief discussion of mechanism is included.     

Synthesis of Novel Alkyl‐Sulfanyl 1,3,4‐Oxadiazolyl‐1,3,5,7‐Tetraazatricyclic Ammonium Chloride Type Cationic Surfactants

A series of novel cationic surfactants bearing 1,3,4‐oxadiazole and tetraazatricyclic ring structures were synthesized by alkyl chain elongation of 5‐{10‐[4‐(hydroxymethyl)phenoxy]decyl}‐2,3‐dihydro‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole‐2‐thione with homologous series of alkyl bromides, followed by chlorination of the corresponding benzyl alcohols with thionyl chloride and quaternization of the obtained intermediates with hexamethylenetetramine.     

Study of the enantioselectivity of the CAL-B-catalysed transesterification of α-substituted α-propylmethanols and α-substituted benzyl alcohols

A study of the enantioselectivity exhibited by the lipase B from Candida antarctica in the transesterification of different α-substituted α-propylmethanols with vinyl acetate is shown. The best results are obtained when the large-sized (L) substituent of the alcohol is either a phenyl group or more especially a cyclohexyl group, although the reaction rates are lower than when linear or slightly branched groups are present. It is also found that ramification at the β-position of the L substituent has a deleterious effect on both lipase activity and enantioselectivity. Moreover, some α-substituted benzyl alcohols bearing medium-sized (M) substituents larger than an ethyl and smaller than a propyl group are resolved by means of this methodology with moderate-good enantioselectivities (E=46–57) and similar reaction rates.