Organoaluminium compounds. V. Reactions of organoaluminium compounds with benzophenone

Abstract

Benzophenone reacts with trimethyl-, triethyl-, and tri-isobutyl-aluminium in boiling benzene to give products resulting from alkylation, alkylation together with reduction, and reduction, respectively. Under these conditions dimethylphenylaluminium phenylates exclusively, whilst diethylphenylaluminium acts as a phenylating, reducing, and ethylating agent. Both di-isobutylphenyl- and isobutyldiphenylaluminium act as reducing agents, but the latter also phenylates. Attention is drawn to the mechanistic complexity of these reactions.