Evidence of two-state reactivity in alkane hydroxylation by Lewis-acid bound copper-nitrene complexes

Introduction
Like alkenes, alkynes can be reduced to alkanes in the presence of transition metal catalysts such as Pt, Pd, or Ni. The reaction involves two sequential syn additions of hydrogen via a cis-alkene intermediate.

Alkenes undergo reduction by the addition of molecular hydrogen to give alkanes. Because the process generally occurs in the presence of a transition-metal catalyst, the reaction is called catalytic hydrogenation.
Metals like palladium, platinum, and nickel are commonly used in their solid forms — fine powder on an inert surface. As these catalysts remain insoluble in the reaction mixture, they are referred to as heterogeneous catalysts.
The hydrogenation process takes place on the...

The double bond in a simple, unconjugated alkene is a region of high electron density that can act as a weak base or a nucleophile. The filled π orbital (HOMO) of the double bond can interact with the empty LUMO of an electrophile. A bonding interaction occurs when the electrophile attacks between the two carbons; the electrophile then accepts a pair of electrons from the π bond and undergoes addition across the double bond, yielding a single product.
Addition and elimination...

In addition to the oxymercuration–demercuration method, which converts the alkenes to alcohols with Markovnikov orientation, a complementary hydroboration-oxidation method yields the anti-Markovnikov product. The hydroboration reaction, discovered in 1959 by H.C. Brown, involves the addition of a B–H bond of borane to an alkene giving an organoborane intermediate. The oxidation of this intermediate with basic hydrogen peroxide forms an alcohol.

The rate of acid-catalyzed hydration of alkenes depends on the alkene's structure, as the presence of alkyl substituents at the double bond can significantly influence the rate.

Alkenes react with water in the presence of an acid to form an alcohol. In the absence of acid, hydration of alkenes does not occur at a significant rate, and the acid is not consumed in the reaction. Therefore, alkene hydration is an acid-catalyzed reaction.