Aldol condensation:

In some cases, the adducts obtained from the Aldol Addition can easily be converted (in situ) to ,-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, either thermally or under acidic or basic catalysis. The formation of the conjugated system is the driving force for this spontaneous dehydration. Under a variety of protocols, the condensation product can be obtained directly without isolation of the aldol. The aldol condensation is the second step of the Robinson Annulation.

Mechanism of the Aldol Condensation

For the addition step see Aldol Addition

Recent Literature

An Efficient Method for the Selective Iodination of ,-Unsaturated Ketones Z. Wang, G. Yin, J. Qin, M. Gao, L. Cao, A. Wu, Synthesis, 2008, 3565-3568.

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Reaction Cascade to Substituted Cyclohexylamines J. Zhou, B. List, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2007, 129, 7498-7499.
Aldol addition:

Aldol Addition Aldol Reaction

'Aldol' is an abbreviation of aldehyde and alcohol. When the enolate of an aldehyde or a ketone reacts at the -carbon with the carbonyl of another molecule under basic or acidic conditions to obtain -hydroxy aldehyde or ketone, this reaction is called Aldol Reaction.

Mechanism of the Aldol Addition

Under conditions of kinetic control, the mixed Aldol Addition can be used to prepare adducts that are otherwise difficult to obtain selectively. This process begins with the irreversible generation of the kinetic enolate, e.g. by employing a sterically hindered lithium amide base such as LDA (lithium diisopropylamide). With an unsymmetrically substituted ketone, such a non-nucleophilic, sterically-demanding, strong base will abstract a proton from the least hindered side. Proton transfer is avoided with lithium enolates at low temperatures in ethereal solvents, so that addition of a second carbonyl partner (ketone or aldehyde) will produce the desired aldol product.

Recent Literature

Highly Enantioselective Organocatalytic Direct Aldol Reaction in an Aqueous Medium V. Maya, M. Raj, V. K. Singh, Org. Lett., 2007, 9, 2593-2595.

Chiral Amine-Polyoxometalate Hybrids as Highly Efficient and Recoverable Asymmetric Enamine Catalysts S. Luo, J. Li, H. Xu, L. Zhang, J.-P. Cheng, Org. Lett., 2007, 9, 3675-3678.

A Highly Efficient Organocatalyst for Direct Aldol Reactions of Ketones with Aldedydes Z. Tang, Z.-H. Yang, X.-H. Chen, L.-F. Cun, A.-Q. Mi, Y.-Z. Jiang, L.-Z. Gong, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2005, 127, 9285-9289.

The First Direct and Enantioselective Cross-Aldol Reaction of Aldehydes A. B. Northtrup, D. W. C. MacMillan, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2002, 124, 6798-6799.

Enantioselective organocatalytic aldehydealdehyde cross-aldol couplings. The broad

utility of -thioacetal aldehydes R. I. Storer, D. W. C. MacMillan, Tetrahedron, 2004, 60, 7705-7714.

Highly Diastereo- and Enantioselective Direct Aldol Reactions in Water Y. Hayashi, T. Sumiya, J. Takahashi, H. Gotoh, T. Urushima, M. Shoji, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2006, 45, 958-961.

Combined Proline-Surfactant Organocatalyst for the Highly Diastereo- and Enantioselective Aqueous Direct Cross-Aldol Reaction of Aldehydes Y. Hayashi, S. Aratake, T. Okano, J. Takahashi, T. Sumiya, M. Shoji, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2006, 45, 5527-5529.

Design of Organocatalysts for Asymmetric Direct Syn-Aldol Reactions X.-Y. Xu, Y.-Z. Wang, L.-Z. Gong, Org. Lett., 2007, 9, 4247-4249.

Chiral Diols: A New Class of Additives for Direct Aldol Reaction Catalyzed by L-Proline Y. Zhou, Z. Shan, J. Org. Chem., 2006, 71, 9510-9512.

Anti-selective and regioselective aldol addition of ketones with aldehydes using MgI 2 as promoter H.-X. Wei, R. L. Jasoni, H. Shao, J. Hu, P. W. Pare, Tetrahedron, 2004, 60, 1182911835.

The Aldol Reaction under High-Intensity Ultrasound: A Novel Approach to an Old Reaction G. Cravotto, A. Demetri, G. M. Nano, G. Palmisano, A. Penoni, S. Tagliapietra, Eur. J. Org. Chem., 2003, 4438-4444.

Reconstructed Hydrotalcite as a Highly Active Heterogeneous Base Catalyst for Carbon-Carbon Bond Formations in the Presence of Water K. Ebitani, K. Motokura, K. Mori, T. Mizugaki, K. Kaneda, J. Org. Chem., 2006, 71, 5440-5447.

Direct Asymmetric Aldol Reactions of Acetone Using Bimetallic Zinc Catalysts B. M. Trost, E. R. Silcoff, H. Ito, Org. Lett., 2001, 3, 2497-2500.

Highly Stereoselective TiCl4-Mediated Aldol Reactions from (S)-2-Benzyloxy-3pentanone V. Rodrquez-Cisterna, C. Villar, P. Romea, F. Urpi, J. Org. Chem., 2007, 72, 66316633.

Development of Highly Diastereo- and Enantioselective Direct Asymmetric Aldol Reaction of a Glycinate Schiff Base with Aldehydes Catalyzed by Chiral Quaternary Ammonium Salts T. Ooi, M. Kameda, M. Taniguchi, K. Maruoka, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2004,126, 96859694.

Crossed aldol reaction using cross-linked polymer-bound lithium dialkylamide A. Seki, F. Ishiwata, Y. Takizawa, M. Asami, Tetrahedron, 2004, 60, 5001-5011.