ChemInform Abstract: Dehomologation of Aldehydes via Oxidative Cleavage of Silyl Enol Ethers with Aqueous Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyzed by Cetylpyridinium Peroxotungstophosphate under Two-Phase Conditions.

Abstract

Dehomologation of aldehydes has been first successfully achieved via oxidative cleavage of silyl enol ethers, derived from aldehydes and trimethylchlorosilane, using aqueous hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a catalytic amount of peroxotungstophophate (PCWP) under phase-transfer conditions. For instance, the oxidation of 1-[(trimethylsilyl)oxy]-1-octene resulting from octanal and Me3SiCl with 35% H2O2 catalyzed by PCWP in dichloromethane at room temperature afforded the one-carbon shorter aldehyde, heptanal, in 79% yield. A variety of silyl enol ethers were also converted into one-carbon shorter aldehydes in good yields. The oxidation under homogeneous conditions using tert-butyl alcohol gave hydrolysis products such as 2-oxooctanol and octanal. It is of interest that [1-(trimethylsilyl)oxy]-1,10-undecadiene involving an enol moiety and a terminal double bond afforded exclusively 9-decenal, in which the enol moiety was selectively oxidized. A plausible reaction path for the oxidative cleavage of silyl ...