Transition Metal-Free Aromatic C−H,C−N,C−S and C−O Borylation

Aromatic organoboron compounds are highly valuable building blocks in organic chemistry. They were mainly synthesized through aromatic C−H and C−Het borylation, in which transition metal-catalysis dominate. In the past decade, with increasing attention to sustainable chemistry, numerous transition metal-free C−H and C−Het borylation transformations have been developed and emerged as efficient methods towards the synthesis of aromatic organoboron compounds. This account mainly focuses on recent advances in transition metal-free aromatic C−H, C−N, C−S, and C−O borylation transformations and provides insights to where further developments are required.     

Magnetische Kernresonanzuntersuchungen an Ti−C−H-Legierungen

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 4 Abbildungen     

Divergent Coupling of Benzocyclobutenones with Indoles via C−H and C−C Activations

Highly selective divergent coupling reactions of benzocyclobutenones and indoles, in which the chemoselectivity is controlled by catalysts, are reported herein. The substrates undergo C2(indole)–C8(benzocyclobutenone) coupling to produce benzylated indoles and benzo[b]carbazoles in the Ni- and Ru-catalyzed reactions. A completely different selectivity pattern C2(indole)–C2(benzocyclobutenone) coupling to form arylated indoles is observed in the Rh-catalyzed reaction. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest C−H and C−C activations in the reaction pathway. Synthetic utility of this protocol is demonstrated by the selective synthesis of three different types of carbazoles from the representative products.     

Electronic structures of C36 fulleride anions: C36− and C362−

Electronic structures for mono- and dianionic species of two promising C₃₆ fullerene isomers, 14 and 15, are investigated by means of the hybrid Hartree–Fock (HF)/density functional (DF) method. Structural deformations, charge distributions, and spin densities upon one- or two-electron reduction are explained in light of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (LUMOs) of each neutral isomer. First electron affinities for the neutral isomers 14 and 15 are predicted to be 2.3 and 2.5 eV, respectively, facilitating n-type doping for C₃₆ solids. The degrees of local aromaticity of the isomers 14 and 15 tend to decrease with reduction in contrast with C₆₀.     

Reversible Boron-Insertion into Aromatic C−C Bonds

Formation of borabicyclo[3.2.0]heptadiene derivatives was achieved via boron-insertion into aromatic C−C bonds in the photo-promoted skeletal rearrangement reaction of triarylboranes bearing an ortho-phosphino substituent (ambiphilic phosphine-boranes). The borabicyclo[3.2.0]heptadiene derivatives were fully characterized by NMR and X-ray analyses. The dearomatized products were demonstrated to undergo the reverse reaction in the dark at room temperature, realizing photochemical and thermal interconversion between triarylboranes and boron-doped bicyclic systems. Experimental and theoretical studies revealed that sequential two electrocyclic reactions involving E/Z-isomerization of an alkene moiety proceed via a highly strained trans-borepin intermediate.     

Rhoda-Electrocatalyzed C−H Methylation and Paired Electrocatalyzed C−H Ethylation and Propylation

The use of electricity over traditional stoichiometric oxidants is a promising strategy for sustainable molecular assembly. Herein, we describe the rhoda-electrocatalyzed C−H activation/alkylation of several N-heteroarenes. This catalytic approach has been successfully applied to several arenes, including biologically relevant purines, diazepam, and amino acids. The versatile C−H alkylation featured water as a co-solvent and user-friendly trifluoroborates as alkylating agents. Finally, the rhoda-electrocatalysis with unsaturated organotrifluoroborates proceeded by paired electrolysis.     

Asymmetric Pd(II)-Catalyzed C−O,C−N,C−C Bond Formation Using Alkenes as Substrates: Insight into Recent Enantioselective Developments

This Review summarizes the advances in the catalytic enantioselective mono- and difunctionalization of alkenes, highlighting the fundamental role of ligands. Several types of asymmetric reactions have been developed involving different bonds formation, C−O, C−N and C−C, highlighting the urgency to go ahead in the search for new ligands and synthetic methodologies in order to improve the control over the reaction selectivity and activity and thus, to increase the applications in the synthesis of heterocyclic scaffolds and biologically active compounds. The Review is organized into paragraphs, which discuss the type of bond formed during the nucleopalladation, C−O, C−N, C−C bonds, and the type of reaction involved.     

On-Surface Synthesis of One-Dimensional Carbon-Based Nanostructures via C−X and C−H Activation Reactions

The past decades have witnessed the emergence of low-dimensional carbon-based nanostructures owing to their unique properties and various subsequent applications. It is of fundamental importance to explore ways to achieve atomically precise fabrication of these interesting structures. The newly developed on-surface synthesis approach provides an efficient strategy for this challenging issue, demonstrating the potential of atomically precise preparation of low-dimensional nanostructures. Up to now, the formation of various surface nanostructures, especially carbon-based ones, such as graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), kinds of organic (organometallic) chains and films, have been achieved via on-surface synthesis strategy, in which in-depth understanding of the reaction mechanism has also been explored. This review article will provide a general overview on the formation of one-dimensional carbon-based nanostructures via on-surface synthesis method. In this review, only a part of the on-surface chemical reactions (specifically, C−X (X=Cl, Br, I) and C−H activation reactions) under ultra-high vacuum conditions will be covered.     

Carbon Monoxide Activation by a Molecular Aluminium Imide: C−O Bond Cleavage and C−C Bond Formation

Anionic molecular imide complexes of aluminium are accessible via a rational synthetic approach involving the reactions of organo azides with a potassium aluminyl reagent. In the case of K₂[( NON )Al(NDipp)]₂ ( NON =4,5-bis(2,6-diisopropylanilido)-2,7-di-tert-butyl-9,9-dimethyl-xanthene; Dipp=2,6-diisopropylphenyl) structural characterization by X-ray crystallography reveals a short Al−N distance, which is thought primarily to be due to the low coordinate nature of the nitrogen centre. The Al−N unit is highly polar, and capable of the activation of relatively inert chemical bonds, such as those found in dihydrogen and carbon monoxide. In the case of CO, uptake of two molecules of the substrate leads to C−C coupling and C≡O bond cleavage. Thermodynamically, this is driven, at least in part, by Al−O bond formation. Mechanistically, a combination of quantum chemical and experimental observations suggests that the reaction proceeds via exchange of the NR and O substituents through intermediates featuring an aluminium-bound isocyanate fragment.     

Not Carbon s–p Hybridization,but Coordination Number Determines C−H and C−C Bond Length

A fundamental and ubiquitous phenomenon in chemistry is the contraction of both C−H and C−C bonds as the carbon atoms involved vary, in s–p hybridization, along sp³ to sp² to sp. Our quantum chemical bonding analyses based on Kohn–Sham molecular orbital theory show that the generally accepted rationale behind this trend is incorrect. Inspection of the molecular orbitals and their corresponding orbital overlaps reveals that the above-mentioned shortening in C−H and C−C bonds is not determined by an increasing amount of s-character at the carbon atom in these bonds. Instead, we establish that this structural trend is caused by a diminishing steric (Pauli) repulsion between substituents around the pertinent carbon atom, as the coordination number decreases along sp³ to sp² to sp.     

Iron-Catalyzed Oxidative C−O and C−N Coupling Reactions Using Air as Sole Oxidant**

We describe the oxygenation of tertiary arylamines, and the amination of tertiary arylamines and phenols. The key step of these coupling reactions is an iron-catalyzed oxidative C−O or C−N bond formation which generally provides the corresponding products in high yields and with excellent regioselectivity. The transformations are accomplished using hexadecafluorophthalocyanine−iron(II) (FePcF₁₆) as catalyst in the presence of an acid or a base additive and require only ambient air as sole oxidant.     

Non-Covalent Interaction-Controlled Site-Selective C−H Transformations

Site-selective C−H transformations are important to obtain desired compounds as single products in a highly efficient manner. However, it is generally difficult to achieve such transformations because organic substrates contain many C−H bonds with similar reactivities. Therefore, the development of practical and efficient methods for controlling site selectivity is highly desirable. The most frequently used strategy is “directing group method”. Although this method is highly effective and promotes site-selective reactions, it has several limitations. Our group recently reported other methods to achieve site-selective C−H transformations using non-covalent interactions between a substrate and a reagent or a catalyst and a substrate (non-covalent method). In this personal account, the background of site-selective C−H transformations, our reaction design to achieve site-selective C−H transformations, and recently reported reactions are explained.     

A High-Performance n-Type Thermoelectric Polymer from C−H/C−H Oxidative Direct Arylation Polycondensation

n-Type conjugated polymers (CPs) are crucial in the applications of organic electronics. Direct coupling of electron-deficient C−H monomer via selective C−H activation, namely C−H/C−H oxidative direct arylation polycondensation (Oxi-DArP), is an ideal approach toward such CPs. Herein, Oxi-DArP is firstly adopted to synthesize a high-performance n-type CP using a newly developed monomer, i.e., 3,6-di(thiazol-5-yl)-diketopyrrolopyrrole (Tz-5-DPP). Tz-5-DPP based homopolymer PTz - 5 - DPP with a molecular weight of 22 kDa has been synthesized via Oxi-DArP. After n-doping, PTz - 5 - DPP films exhibited electric conductivity values up to 8 S cm⁻¹ and power factors (PFs) up to 106 μW m⁻¹ K⁻². Notably, this PF value is the highest for n-type polymer thermoelectric materials to date. The Oxi-DArP synthesis and the excellent n-type performance of the polymer make this work an important step toward the straightforward and sustainable preparation of high-performance n-type polymer semiconductors.     

Aryne-Enabled C−N Arylation of Anilines

Anilines are potentially high-value arylating agents, but are limited by the low reactivity of the strong C−N bond. We show that the reactive intermediate benzyne can be used to both activate anilines, and set-up an aryl transfer reaction in a single step. The reaction does not require any transition metal catalysts or stoichiometric organometallics, and establishes a metal-free route to valuable biaryl products by functionalizing the aniline C−N bond.     

高稳定性的氮掺杂氧化钽光催化甲醇C−H活化和直接C−C偶联制乙二醇

乙二醇是非常重要的基础化学品,不仅可以作为合成聚合物(如聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯)的重要单体,也可以用作防冻剂和燃料添加剂等,具有广泛的用途.乙二醇的年产量超过2500万吨,目前主要的工业合成路线是由石油衍生的乙烯通过环氧化制环氧乙烷,环氧乙烷再水解制乙二醇.甲醇是一种清洁的平台化合物,不仅可以由天然气和煤炭通过传统的合成气过程生产,也可以由生物质和CO2直接合成.直接以甲醇为原料是合成乙二醇的理想过程,但目前热催化还未实现该过程.通过太阳能驱动的C?H活化和C?C偶联过程,可以实现甲醇直接偶联制乙二醇的理想反应过程.光催化甲醇制乙二醇可以在十分温和的条件下进行,目前已报道的甲醇制乙二醇光催化剂均为硫化物半导体材料,如CdS,ZnS和Zn2In2S5,但硫化物存在的光腐蚀和毒性等问题迫使我们去发展一种更加稳定和环境友好的光催化剂.氧化物基半导体材料,如Ta2O5,TiO2,ZnO和WO3等,是一类相对硫化物半导体材料更加稳定的光催化材料,然而目前还没有氧化物基半导体光催化剂用于光催化甲醇制乙二醇的报道.本文率先将金属氧化物光催化剂Ta2O5,用于甲醇制乙二醇的光催化反应,实现了乙二醇的选择性合成.在单纯的Ta2O5催化剂上,乙二醇选择性可达73％.Ta2O5十分独特,可以实现甲醇的光催化C?C偶联制乙二醇,而其他金属氧化物光催化剂(如TiO2,ZnO,WO3和Nb2O5)光催化转化甲醇只生成甲醛和甲酸等C1产物.进一步通过简单、方便的氨气焙烧法,制备了一系列不同氮掺杂量的氧化钽(N-Ta2O5)催化剂.在未经助催化剂修饰的氮含量为2.3％的2％N-Ta2O5光催化剂上,乙二醇选择性为71％,生成速率可达4.0 mmol gcat?1 h?1,约为Ta2O5的9倍,同时显著高于已报道的未经助催化剂修饰的CdS催化剂性能.通过光电流、表面光电压谱和理论计算等方法系统地研究了氮掺杂氧化钽具有高的光催化甲醇制乙二醇性能的重要原因,发现氮掺杂氧化钽高的电荷分离能力是决定其具有高活性的关键因素.另一方面,氮掺杂氧化钽表现出了非常高的反应稳定性,在超过160 h的循环测试过程中,乙二醇的生成速率基本保持不变,这是目前已报道的金属硫化物光催化剂所未能实现的.在长达60 h的反应过程中,未经助催化剂修饰的2％N-Ta2O5催化剂上乙二醇生成量基本随时间线性增长,收率可达3.6％.进一步研究发现,钽基半导体材料(Ta2O5和N-Ta2O5)可以在保持甲醇羟基不变的情况下优先活化甲醇C?H键,生成羟甲基自由基(?CH2OH),随后羟甲基自由基经C?C偶联生成乙二醇.钽基半导体光催化剂是一种环境友好且十分稳定的甲醇光催化偶联制乙二醇的优异催化剂,未来基于该类催化剂不仅有希望发展出更加高效、稳定的甲醇制乙二醇光催化剂,还有希望为更广的羟基存在下的C?H键选择性活化反应过程设计高效稳定的催化剂提供借鉴和指导.     

Vibrational Predissociation Spectra of C2N− and C3N−: Bending and Stretching Vibrations

We present infrared predissociation spectra of C₂N⁻(H₂) and C ₃N⁻(H₂) in the 300–1850 cm⁻¹ range. Measurements were performed using the FELion cryogenic ion trap end user station at the Free Electron Lasers for Infrared eXperiments (FELIX) laboratory. For C₂N⁻(H₂), we detected the CCN bending and CC−N stretching vibrations. For the C₃N⁻(H₂) system, we detected the CCN bending, the CC−CN stretching, and multiple overtones and/or combination bands. The assignment and interpretation of the presented experimental spectra is validated by calculations of anharmonic spectra within the vibrational configuration interaction (VCI) approach, based on potential energy surfaces calculated at explicitly correlated coupled cluster theory (CCSD(T)-F12/cc-pVTZ−F12). The H₂ tag acts as an innocent spectator, not significantly affecting the C_2,3N⁻ bending and stretching mode positions. The recorded infrared predissociation spectra can thus be used as a proxy for the vibrational spectra of the bare anions.     

Homolytic C−H Bond Activation by Phosphine−Quinone-Based Radical Ion Pairs

Herein, we present the formation of transient radical ion pairs (RIPs) by single-electron transfer (SET) in phosphine−quinone systems and explore their potential for the activation of C−H bonds. PMes₃ (Mes=2,4,6-Me₃C₆H₂) reacts with DDQ (2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone) with formation of the P−O bonded zwitterionic adduct Mes₃P−DDQ ( 1 ), while the reaction with the sterically more crowded PTip₃ (Tip=2,4,6-iPr₃C₆H₂) afforded C−H bond activation product Tip₂P(H)(2-[CMe₂(DDQ)]-4,6-iPr₂-C₆H₂) ( 2 ). UV/Vis and EPR spectroscopic studies showed that the latter reaction proceeds via initial SET, forming RIP [PTip₃]⋅⁺[DDQ]⋅⁻, and subsequent homolytic C−H bond activation, which was supported by DFT calculations. The isolation of analogous products, Tip₂P(H)(2-[CMe₂{TCQ−B(C₆F₅)₃}]-4,6-iPr₂-C₆H₂) ( 4 , TCQ=tetrachloro-1,4-benzoquinone) and Tip₂P(H)(2-[CMe₂{oQ^tBu−B(C₆F₅)₃}]-4,6-iPr₂-C₆H₂) ( 8 , oQ^tBu=3,5-di-tert-butyl-1,2-benzoquinone), from reactions of PTip₃ with Lewis-acid activated quinones, TCQ−B(C₆F₅)₃ and oQ^tBu−B(C₆F₅)₃, respectively, further supports the proposed radical mechanism. As such, this study presents key mechanistic insights into the homolytic C−H bond activation by the synergistic action of radical ion pairs.     

Transformations of Aryl Ketones via Ligand-Promoted C−C Bond Activation

The coupling of aromatic electrophiles (aryl halides, aryl ethers, aryl acids, aryl nitriles etc.) with nucleophiles is a core methodology for the synthesis of aryl compounds. Transformations of aryl ketones in an analogous manner via carbon–carbon bond activation could greatly expand the toolbox for the synthesis of aryl compounds due to the abundance of aryl ketones. An exploratory study of this approach is typically based on carbon–carbon cleavage triggered by ring-strain release and chelation assistance, and the products are also limited to a specific structural motif. Here we report a ligand-promoted β-carbon elimination strategy to activate the carbon–carbon bonds, which results in a range of transformations of aryl ketones, leading to useful aryl borates, and also to biaryls, aryl nitriles, and aryl alkenes. The use of a pyridine-oxazoline ligand is crucial for this catalytic transformation. A gram-scale borylation reaction of an aryl ketone via a simple one-pot operation is reported. The potential utility of this strategy is also demonstrated by the late-stage diversification of drug molecules probenecid, adapalene, and desoxyestrone, the fragrance tonalid as well as the natural product apocynin.     

Atramacronoids A−C,three eudesmanolide sesquiterpene-phenol hybrids with an unprecedented C−C linkage from the rhizomes of Atractylodes macrocephala

Three eudesmanolide sesquiterpene-phenol hybrids, atramacronoids A?C (1?3), featuring an unusual 6/6/5/5/6 skeleton furnished by forming an unexpected C-8?C-16 linkage, were obtained from the rhizomes of Atractylodes macrocephala. Their structures and absolute configurations were elucidated by spectroscopic data analysis, chemical calculations, combined with X-ray diffractions. The plausible biosynthetic pathways for compounds 1?3 are proposed. Surprisingly, compound 1 exhibited cytotoxicity against SGC-7901 cells by inducing cells apoptosis, which might relate to the promotion of synthesis of neutrophil elastase.     

Mechanical C−C Bond Formation by Laser Driven Shock Wave

Mechanically induced C−C bond formation was demonstrated by the laser driven shock wave generated in liquid normal alkanes at room temperature. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis revealed the dehydrogenation condensation between two alkane molecules, for seven normal alkanes from pentane to undecane. Major products were identified to be linear and branched alkane molecules with double the number of carbons, and exactly coincided with the molecules predicted by supposing that a C−C bond was formed between two starting molecules. The production of the alkane molecules showed that the C−C bond formation occurred almost evenly at all the carbon positions. The dependence of the production on the laser pulse energy clearly indicated that the process was attributed to the shock wave. The C−C bond formation observed was not a conventional passive chemical reaction but an unprecedented active reaction.