COMMUNICATIONS
[3] K. C. Nicolaou P. S. Baran, R. Kranich, Y.-L. Zhong, K. Sugita, N.
Zou, Angew. Chem. 2001, 113, 208; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2001, 40,
202.
[4] S. J. Danishefsky, T. Kitahara, C. F. Yan, J. Morris, J. Am. Chem. Soc.
1979, 101, 6996.
[5] S. J. Danishefsky, C. F. Yan, R. K. Singh, R. B. Gammill, P. McCurry,
N. Fritsch, J. C. Clardy, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1979, 101, 7001.
[6] The DMP-mediated conversion of 8 into quinone 9 was accompanied
by the formation of an epoxide product whose structure was consistent
with epoxidation of the inner diene bond of 9.
[7] A multistep route to this type of diene is known; however, the reaction
requires the presence of chlorine substituents on the aryl ring, see
H. W. Heine, B. J. Barchiesi, E. A. Williams, J. Org. Chem 1984, 49,
2560.
offers exiting possibilities for the development of new
chemical processes.[2] Furthermore, scH2O is a suitable
medium in connection with ªgreenº (environmentally friend-
ly) technology because water is the most environmentally
acceptable and naturally abundant solvent. However, the
microscopic characteristics of scH2O, including the structure
which is closely related to chemical reactivity in scH2O, are
not sufficiently well understood. Hence a better understand-
ing of the structure and nature of scH2O leads to marked
improvements in practical applications such as in the me-
chanical, chemical, and geothermal industries.
Currently in organic synthesis, a matter of primary interest
is the promotion of reaction rates by more ªgreenº chemical
processes. Recently we reported an interesting finding that
scH2O itself successfully functions as an acid in accelerating
pinacol/Beckmann rearrangements.[3] Bröll et al. have briefly
reported a base-catalyzed Cannizzaro-type disproportiona-
tion of formaldehyde in scH2O carried out without a base
catalyst.[4] In addition, our in situ Raman spectroscopy
measurements have indicated that the extent and strength
of hydrogen bonding of scH2O are very different to those in
heated and ambient H2O.[5] This suggests a pronounced
stimulation of the breakdown of monomeric water molecules
under supercritical conditions, which would account for the
acid and base difunctionality of scH2O. We have further
studied the base function of scH2O by conducting a base-
catalyzed disproportionation of benzaldehyde in the absence
of any base catalysts. The rate of such a noncatalytic
disproportionation in scH2O has been found to be several-
hundred-fold larger than in the conventional catalytic reac-
tions, whereas the rates of these reactions in hot water (below
3008C), even at high pressures, are extremely small. In
[8] N. Matsumoto, T. Tsuchida, M. Umekita, N. Kinoshita, H. Iinuma, T.
Sawa, M. Hamada, T. Takeuchi, J. Antibiot. 1997, 50, 900; N.
Matsumoto, H. Iinuma, T. Sawa, T. Takeuchi, S. Hirano, T. Yoshioka,
M. Ishizuka, J. Antibiot. 1997, 50, 906.
[9] N. Matsumoto, N. Agata, H. Kuboki, H. Iinuma, T. Sawa, T. Takeuchi,
K. Umezawa, J. Antibiot. 2000, 53, 637.
[10] N. Matsumoto, A. Ariga, S. To-E, H. Nakamura, N. Agata, S.-I.
Hirano, J.-I. Inoue, K. Umezawa, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 2000, 10,
865; O. Block, G. Klein, H.-J. Altenbach, D. J. Brauer, J. Org. Chem.
2000, 65, 716; P. Wipf, P. D. G. Coish, J. Org. Chem. 1999, 64, 5053; L.
Alcaraz, G. Macdonald, J. Ragot, N. J. Lewis, R. J. K. Taylor,
Tetrahedron 1999, 55, 3707.
[11] For a previous total synthesis, see N. Matsumoto, H. Iinuma, T. Sawa,
T. Takeuchi, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 1998, 8, 2945.
[12] Crystallographic data (excluding structure factors) for the structure
reported in this paper have been deposited with the Cambridge
Crystallographic Data Centre as supplementary publication
no. CCDC-148280. Copies of the data can be obtained free of charge
on application to CCDC, 12 Union Road, Cambridge CB21EZ, UK
(fax: (44)1223-336-033; e-mail: deposit@ccdc.cam.ac.uk).
.
addition, the participation of the OHꢀ ion, the not OH
radical, in the reaction is strongly suggested from GC-MS and
NMR spectroscopic analysis of the benzyl alcohol product in
the disproportionation using [D6]benzaldehyde as a reactant.
We first demonstrate that the reaction of benzaldehyde to
benzyl alcohol and benzoic acid proceeds in scH2O even in the
absence of any base catalysts. Figure 1 shows the background
corrected IR spectra for reaction mixtures in scH2O (3978C)
and hot water (2778C) at a constant pressure of 25 MPa along
with those for ordinary benzyl alcohol and benzaldehyde
aqueous solutions. These measurements were performed by
real time, in situ FT-IR spectroscopy for benzaldehyde in H2O
introduced into a high-pressure, high-temperature, flow
reactor at a constant residence time of 105.0 s. The spectrum
obtained in scH2O (trace D),shows a new intense band at
1002 cmꢀ1, not present in that of the benzaldehyde solution
(trace A). This strong band can be assigned to the CO
stretching vibration(n1) of the benzyl alcohol formed, and is
not observed in the hot water (trace C) or ordinary water
(trace A) phases. We have further analyzed the absorption
bands around 1700 cmꢀ1 (not shown) can be assigned to the
CO stretching vibrations of benzaldehyde and benzoic acid, in
which the n1 frequency of benzoic acid is somewhat higher
than that of benzaldehyde. In the scH2O an intense band at
1702 cmꢀ1 nearly coincides with that of the authentic benzoic
acid sample, showing unambiguously that benzoic acid is
produced in addition to benzyl alcohol. Detailed analysis of
Structure and Base Catalysis of Supercritical
Water in the Noncatalytic Benzaldehyde
Disproportionation Using Water at
High Temperatures and Pressures**
Yutaka Ikushima,* Kiyotaka Hatakeda, Osamu Sato,
Toshirou Yokoyama, and Masahiko Arai
The physicochemical characteristics of water are greatly
changeable by varying the pressure or temperature under
supercritical conditions,[1] and supercritical water (scH2O)
[*] Dr. Y. Ikushima,[] Dr. K. Hatakeda,[] Dr. O. Sato,[]
Dr. T. Yokoyama
National Industrial Research Institute of Tohoku
4-2-1 Nigatake, Miyagino-ku
Sendai 983-8551 (Japan)
Fax : ( 81)22-237-5224
Dr. M. Arai[]
Graduate School of Engineering, Hokkaido University
Kita13-Nishi8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8628 (Japan)
[ ] CREST, JST (Japan Science and Technology Corporation)
4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi 332-0012 (Japan)
[**] This work has been supported by CREST, JST (Japan Science and
Technology Corporation), 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi 332-0012 (Ja-
pan).
210
ꢀ WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH, D-69451 Weinheim, 2001
1433-7851/01/4001-0210 $ 17.50+.50/0
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2001, 40, No. 1