QUESTION IMAGE
Question
bulnesol is a key ingredient of oil of guaiac, a fragrance.
ratcliffe, heathcock, j. am. chem. soc. 1971, 93, 1746
(2 points each) fill in the missing reagents for the synthesis of bulnesol.
Reduce the non-conjugated ketone
Using the Carbonyl Reduction knowledge point
Acetylate the secondary alcohol
Using the Esterification knowledge point
Protect the conjugated ketone
The conjugated ketone is selectively protected as a cyclic acetal (ketal) using ethylene glycol in the presence of an acid catalyst:
Reduce the ester group
The acetate ester (\(-\text{OAc}\)) is selectively reduced to a secondary alcohol using a strong reducing agent:
Alkylate the secondary alcohol
The secondary alcohol is converted to a benzyl ether (\(-\text{OBn}\)) via deprotonation followed by nucleophilic substitution:
Deprotect the acetal group
The cyclic acetal protecting group is hydrolyzed back to the ketone under aqueous acidic conditions:
Reduce the double bond
The carbon-carbon double bond is selectively hydrogenated to a single bond using hydrogen gas over a transition metal catalyst:
Convert alcohol to a tosylate
The secondary alcohol is converted into a good leaving group (tosylate, \(-\text{OTs}\)) using p-toluenesulfonyl chloride:
Snap & solve any problem in the app
Get step-by-step solutions on Sovi AI
Photo-based solutions with guided steps
Explore more problems and detailed explanations
| Box | Reaction Step / Transformation | Missing Reagents |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Acetylation of secondary alcohol | \(\text{Ac}_2\text{O}, \text{pyridine}\) |
| 3 | Acetal protection of conjugated ketone | \(\text{HOCH}_2\text{CH}_2\text{OH}, \text{TsOH}\) |
| 4 | Reduction of acetate ester to alcohol | \(\text{LiAlH}_4\), then \(\text{H}_3\text{O}^+\) |
| 5 | Benzylation of secondary alcohol | \(1.\ \text{NaH},\ 2.\ \text{BnBr}\) |
| 6 | Hydrolysis of acetal to ketone | \(\text{H}_3\text{O}^+\) |
| 7 | Hydrogenation of alkene | \(\text{H}_2, \text{Pd/C}\) |
| 8 | Tosylation of secondary alcohol | \(\text{TsCl}, \text{pyridine}\) |