Ionic Hydrogenation of α,β-Unsaturated Ketones with Cyclohexane in the Presence of Aluminum Halides

4-Methyl-3-penten-2-one, 3-hepten-2-one, 3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-buten-1-one, 4-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-, 4-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-, 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-, 4-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-, and 4-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-3-buten-2-ones, and 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl-2-propenone react with cyclohexane in the presence of excess aluminum chloride or aluminum bromide in CH2Cl2 or CH2Br2, respectively, at room temperature to form the corresponding saturated ketones in high yields. Using 4-phenyl- and 4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-buten-2-ones as examples, it was shown that the reaction pattern does not change in going from the Lewis acids AlCl3 and AlBr3 to proton-donor acid system CF3SO3H-SbF5. The reactive intermediates are likely to be C-protonated complexes of α,β-unsaturated ketones with aluminum halides or their O,C-diprotonated analogs.