Jones oxidation

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Jones oxidation
Named after Ewart Jones
Reaction type Organic redox reaction
Identifiers
Organic Chemistry Portal jones-oxidation
RSC ontology ID RXNO:0000356

The Jones oxidation is an organic reaction for the oxidation of primary and secondary alcohols to carboxylic acids and ketones, respectively. It is named after its discoverer, Sir Ewart Jones. The reaction was an early method for the oxidation of alcohols. Its use has subsided because milder, more selective reagents have been developed, e.g. Collins reagent. [1]

Contents

The Jones oxidation Jones Oxidation Scheme.png
The Jones oxidation

Jones reagent is a solution prepared by dissolving chromium trioxide in aqueous sulfuric acid. To effect a Jones oxidation, this acidic mixture is then added to an acetone solution of the substrate. Alternatively, potassium dichromate can be used in place of chromium trioxide. The oxidation is very rapid and quite exothermic. Yields are typically high. The reagent is convenient and cheap. However, Cr(VI) compounds are carcinogenic, which deters the use of this methodology.

Stoichiometry and mechanism

Jones reagent will convert primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones, respectively. Depending on the reaction conditions, the aldehydes may then be converted to carboxylic acids. For oxidations to the aldehydes and ketones, two equivalents of chromic acid oxidize three equivalents of the alcohol:

2 HCrO4 + 3 RR'C(OH)H + 8 H+ + 4 H2O → 2 [Cr(H2O)6]3+ + 3 RR'CO

For oxidation of primary alcohols to carboxylic acids, 4 equivalents of chromic acid oxidize 3 equivalents of the alcohol. The aldehyde is an intermediate.

4 HCrO4 + 3 RCH2OH + 16 H+ + 11 H2O → 4 [Cr(H2O)6]3+ + 3 RCOOH

The inorganic products are green, characteristic of chromium(III) aquo complexes. [2]

Like many other oxidations of alcohols by metal oxides, the reaction proceeds via the formation of a mixed chromate ester: [3] [4] These esters have the formula CrO3(OCH2R)

CrO3(OH) + RCH2OH → CrO3(OCH2R) + H2O

Like conventional esters, the formation of this chromate ester is accelerated by the acid. These esters can be isolated when the alcohol is tertiary because these lack the α hydrogen that would be lost to form the carbonyl. For example, using tert-butyl alcohol, one can isolate tert-butyl chromate ((CH3)3CO)2CrO2), which is itself a good oxidant. [5]

For those structures with hydrogen alpha to the oxygen, the chromate esters degrade, releasing the carbonyl product and an ill-defined Cr(IV) product:

CrO3(OCH2R) → CrO2OH + O=CHR

The deuterated alcohols HOCD2R oxidize about six times slower than the undeuterated derivatives. This large kinetic isotope effect shows that the C–H (or C–D) bond breaks in the rate-determining step.

The reaction stoichiometry implicates the Cr(IV) species "CrO2OH", which comproportionates with the chromic acid to give a Cr(V) oxide, which also functions as an oxidant for the alcohol. [6]

The oxidation of the aldehydes is proposed to proceed via the formation of hemiacetal-like intermediates, which arise from the addition of the O3CrO-H bond across the C=O bond.

The reagent rarely oxidizes unsaturated bonds. In certain cases, depending on very exact stereoelectronic factors, production of epoxides may occur.

Illustrative reactions and applications

It remains useful in organic synthesis. [2] [7] A variety of spectroscopic techniques, including Infrared spectroscopy, can be used to monitor the progress of a Jones oxidation reaction. At one time the Jones oxidation was used in breathalyzers.

The principal reagents are Collins reagent, PDC, and PCC. These reagents represent improvements over inorganic chromium(VI) reagents such as Jones reagent.

Historical references

Related Research Articles

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In organic chemistry, an aldehyde is an organic compound containing a functional group with the structure R−CH=O. The functional group itself can be referred to as an aldehyde but can also be classified as a formyl group. Aldehydes are a common motif in many chemicals important in technology and biology.

Chromic acid is jargon for a solution formed by the addition of sulfuric acid to aqueous solutions of dichromate. It consists at least in part of chromium trioxide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potassium dichromate</span> Chemical compound

Potassium dichromate, K2Cr2O7, is a common inorganic chemical reagent, most commonly used as an oxidizing agent in various laboratory and industrial applications. As with all hexavalent chromium compounds, it is acutely and chronically harmful to health. It is a crystalline ionic solid with a very bright, red-orange color. The salt is popular in laboratories because it is not deliquescent, in contrast to the more industrially relevant salt sodium dichromate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyridinium chlorochromate</span> Chemical compound

Pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) is a yellow-orange salt with the formula [C5H5NH]+[CrO3Cl]. It is a reagent in organic synthesis used primarily for oxidation of alcohols to form carbonyls. A variety of related compounds are known with similar reactivity. PCC offers the advantage of the selective oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes or ketones, whereas many other reagents are less selective.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chromium trioxide</span> Chemical compound

Chromium trioxide is an inorganic compound with the formula CrO3. It is the acidic anhydride of chromic acid, and is sometimes marketed under the same name. This compound is a dark-purple solid under anhydrous conditions and bright orange when wet. The substance dissolves in water accompanied by hydrolysis. Millions of kilograms are produced annually, mainly for electroplating. Chromium trioxide is a powerful oxidiser, a mutagen, and a carcinogen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dess–Martin periodinane</span> Chemical reagent

Dess–Martin periodinane (DMP) is a chemical reagent used in the Dess–Martin oxidation, oxidizing primary alcohols to aldehydes and secondary alcohols to ketones. This periodinane has several advantages over chromium- and DMSO-based oxidants that include milder conditions, shorter reaction times, higher yields, simplified workups, high chemoselectivity, tolerance of sensitive functional groups, and a long shelf life. However, use on an industrial scale is made difficult by its cost and its potentially explosive nature. It is named after the American chemists Daniel Benjamin Dess and James Cullen Martin who developed the reagent in 1983. It is based on IBX, but due to the acetate groups attached to the central iodine atom, DMP is much more reactive than IBX and is much more soluble in organic solvents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manganate</span> Chemical compound

In inorganic nomenclature, a manganate is any negatively charged molecular entity with manganese as the central atom. However, the name is usually used to refer to the tetraoxidomanganate(2−) anion, MnO2−
4
, also known as manganate(VI) because it contains manganese in the +6 oxidation state. Manganates are the only known manganese(VI) compounds.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarett oxidation</span> Organic reaction

The Sarett oxidation is an organic reaction that oxidizes primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones, respectively, using chromium trioxide and pyridine. Unlike the similar Jones oxidation, the Sarett oxidation will not further oxidize primary alcohols to their carboxylic acid form, neither will it affect carbon-carbon double bonds. Use of the original Sarett oxidation has become largely antiquated however, in favor of other modified oxidation techniques. The unadulterated reaction is still occasionally used in teaching settings and in small scale laboratory research.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collins reagent</span> Chemical compound

Collins reagent is the complex of chromium(VI) oxide with pyridine in dichloromethane. This metal-pyridine complex, a red solid, is used to oxidize primary alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes and secondary alcohols to the corresponding ketones. This complex is a hygroscopic orange solid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornforth reagent</span> Chemical compound

The Cornforth reagent (pyridinium dichromate or PDC) is a pyridinium salt of dichromate with the chemical formula [C5H5NH]2[Cr2O7]. This compound is named after the Australian-British chemist Sir John Warcup Cornforth (b. 1917) who introduced it in 1962. The Cornforth reagent is a strong oxidizing agent which can convert primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones respectively. In its chemical structure and functions it is closely related to other compounds made from hexavalent chromium oxide, such as pyridinium chlorochromate and Collins reagent. Because of their toxicity, these reagents are rarely used nowadays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi reaction</span> Coupling reaction used in organic synthesis

The Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi reaction is a nickel/chromium coupling reaction forming an alcohol from the reaction of an aldehyde with an allyl or vinyl halide. In their original 1977 publication, Tamejiro Hiyama and Hitoshi Nozaki reported on a chromium(II) salt solution prepared by reduction of chromic chloride by lithium aluminium hydride to which was added benzaldehyde and allyl chloride:

Alcohol oxidation is a collection of oxidation reactions in organic chemistry that convert alcohols to aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, and esters where the carbon carries a higher oxidation state. The reaction mainly applies to primary and secondary alcohols. Secondary alcohols form ketones, while primary alcohols form aldehydes or carboxylic acids.

Oxidation with chromium(VI) complexes involves the conversion of alcohols to carbonyl compounds or more highly oxidized products through the action of molecular chromium(VI) oxides and salts. The principal reagents are Collins reagent, PDC, and PCC. These reagents represent improvements over inorganic chromium(VI) reagents such as Jones reagent.

A chromate ester is a chemical structure that contains a chromium atom (symbol Cr) in a +6 oxidation state that is connected via an oxygen (O) linkage to a carbon (C) atom. The Cr itself is in its chromate form, with several oxygens attached, and the Cr–O–C attachment makes this chemical group structurally similar to other ester functional groups. They can be synthesized from various chromium(VI) metal compounds, such as CrO3, chromium chloride complexes, and aqueous chromate ions, and tend to react via redox reactions to liberate chromium(IV).

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collins oxidation</span>

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Sulfonium-based oxidations of alcohols to aldehydes summarizes a group of organic reactions that transform a primary alcohol to the corresponding aldehyde (and a secondary alcohol to the corresponding ketone). Selective oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes requires circumventing over-oxidation to the carboxylic acid. One popular approach are methods that proceed through intermediate alkoxysulfonium species (RO−SMe+
2
X-
, e.g. compound 6) as detailed here. Since most of these methods employ dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as oxidant and generate dimethylsulfide, these are often colloquially summarized as DMSO-oxidations. Conceptually, generating an aldehyde and dimethylsulfide from an alcohol and DMSO requires a dehydrating agent for removal of H2O, ideally an electrophile simultaneously activating DMSO. In contrast, methods generating the sulfonium intermediate from dimethylsulfide do not require a dehydrating agent. Closely related are oxidations mediated by dimethyl selenoxide and by dimethyl selenide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babler oxidation</span>

The Babler oxidation, also known as the Babler-Dauben oxidation, is an organic reaction for the oxidative transposition of tertiary allylic alcohols to enones using pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC):

References

  1. "Chromium-based Reagents". Oxidation of Alcohols to Aldehydes and Ketones. Basic Reactions in Organic Synthesis. 2006. pp. 1–95. doi:10.1007/0-387-25725-X_1. ISBN   0-387-23607-4.
  2. 1 2 Eisenbraun, E. J. (1965). "Cyclooctanone". Organic Syntheses . 45: 28. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.045.0028 .
  3. Smith, Michael B.; March, Jerry (2007), Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure (6th ed.), New York: Wiley-Interscience, ISBN   978-0-471-72091-1
  4. Ley, S. V.; Madin, A. (1991). B. M. Trost; I. Fleming (eds.). Comprehensive organic synthesis. Vol. 7. Oxford: Pergamon Press. pp. 253–256.
  5. Fillmore Freeman, "Di-tert-butyl Chromate" Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis, 2001, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. doi : 10.1002/047084289X.rd059m
  6. Oxidation in Organic Chemistry. Edited by K. B. Wiberg, Academic Press, NY, 1965.
  7. Meinwald, J.; Crandall, J.; Hymans, W. E. (1965). "Nortricyclanone". Organic Syntheses . 45: 77. doi:10.15227/orgsyn.045.0077 .