As the title says, how can I reduce organic acids without hydrides? They are both expensive and hard to find ...Tsjerk - 12-12-2018 at 11:52
Reduce to what? Aldehyde, alcohol, alkane? Is your acid substituted? Without details no one can give an answer. WGTR - 12-12-2018 at 12:01
If we're talking about an organic acid like ethanoic acid, then heating the calcium or lithium salt can produce some acetone, which can then be
reduced via hydrogenation to isopropanol in a tube furnace. Acetone can supposedly be reduced all the way to propane electrochemically, on a cadmium
cathode. The combined efficiencies are probably not that great.clearly_not_atara - 12-12-2018 at 12:06
WGTR: but you get a dimer!
If you form the ester you can reduce the acids to alcohols with sodium in ethanol.
If you form the nitrile you can reduce to the aldehyde with SnCl2/HCl in diethyl ether followed by hydrolysis.
If you form the aldehyde you can reduce to the alkane with hydrazine/KOH in ethylene glycol.
That should about cover it, I think.JJay - 12-12-2018 at 18:20
How does calcium formate react with other calcium carboxylates at high temperatures?draculic acid69 - 15-12-2018 at 17:48
Will ethyl acetate when reduced with NaOet yield 2 moles of ethanol from 1 mole ethyl acetate?clearly_not_atara - 15-12-2018 at 17:48
NaOEt is not a reducing agent. Sodium metal in alcohol generates electrons.
How does calcium formate react with other calcium carboxylates at high temperatures?
Aldehyes are produced in low yield IIRC. Formaldehyde is also produced.
[Edited on 16-12-2018 by clearly_not_atara]I_love_Diethylether - 16-12-2018 at 03:01
I was also wondering about reduction of Esters without hydrides. I didnt find anything good tho, however it is possible to reduce Aldehydes with water
and precipitated Nickel to alcohols. An interesting review to read about this is linked.
Source: Kazuo Hata , Izumi Motoyama & Koji Sakai (1972) THE URUSHIBARA
HYDROGENATION CATALYSTS A REVIEW, Organic Preparations and Procedures International,
4:4, 179-209, DOI: 10.1080/00304947209355544 Σldritch - 16-12-2018 at 06:07
I have never heard of anyone doing it but from my understanding of the Clemmensen reduction mechanism should it not yield a primary alcohol?
