Abstract
The approximate rates and stoichiometry of the reaction of excess potassium 2-thexyl-1,3,2-dioxaborinane hydride(KTDBNH) with 55 selected compounds containing representative functional groups under standardized conditions (tetrahydrofuran, TEX>$0^{\circ}C$, reagent : compound=4 : 1) was examined in order to define the characteristics of the reagent for selective reductions. Benzyl alcohol and phenol evolve hydrogen immediately. However, primary, secondary and tertiary alcohols evolve hydrogen slowly, and the rate of hydrogen evolution is in order of $1^{\circ}$> $2^{\circ}$> $3^{\circ}$. n-Hexylamine is inert toward the reagent, whereas the thiols examined evolve hydrogen rapidly. Aldehydes and ketones are reduced rapidly and quantitatively to give the corresponding alcohols. Cinnamaldehyde is rapidly reduced to cinnamyl alcohol, and further reduction is slow under these conditions. The reaction with p-benzoquinone dose not show a clean reduction, but anthraquinone is cleanly reduced to 9,10-dihydro-9,10-anthracenediol. Carboxylic acids liberate hydrogen immediately, further reduction is very slow. Cyclic anhydrides slowly consume 2 equiv of hydride, corresponding to reduction to the caboxylic acid and alcohol stages. Acid chlorides, esters, and lactones are rapidly and quantitatively reduced to the corresponding carbinols. Epoxides consume 1 equiv hydride slowly. Primary amides evolve 1 equiv of hydrogen readily, but further reduction is slow. Tertiary amides are also reduced slowly. Both aliphatic and aromatic nitriles consume 1 equiv of hydride rapidly, but further hydride uptake is slow. Analysis of the reaction mixture with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine yields 64% of caproaldehyde and 87% of benzaldehyde, respectively. 1-Nitropropane utilizes 2 equiv of hydride, one for hydrogen evolution and the other for reduction. Other nitrogen compounds examined are also reduced slowly. Cyclohexanone oxime undergoes slow reduction to N-cyclohexylhydroxyamine. Pyridine ring is slowly attacked. Disulfides examined are reduced readily to the correponding thiols with rapid evolution of 1 equiv hydrogen. Dimethyl sulfoxide is reduced slowly to dimethyl sulfide, whereas the reduction of diphenyl sulfone is very slow. Sulfonic acids only liberate hydrogen quantitatively without any reduction. Finally, cyclohexyl tosylate is inert to this reagent. Consequently, potassium 2-thexyl-1,3,2-dioxaborinane hydride, a monoalkyldialkoxyborohydride, shows a unique reducing characteristics. The reducing power of this reagent exists somewhere between trialkylborohydrides and trialkoxyborohydride. Therefore, the reagent should find a useful application in organic synthesis, especially in the field of selective reduction.