Copper‐Catalyzed Trifluoromethylation of Trisubstituted Allylic and Homoallylic Alcohols

An efficient copper‐catalyzed trifluoromethylation of trisubstituted allylic and homoallylic alcohols with Togni’s reagent has been developed. This strategy, accompanied by a double‐bond migration, leads to various branched CF₃‐substituted alcohols by using readily available trisubstituted cyclic/acyclic alcohols as substrates. Moreover, for alcohols in which β‐H elimination is prohibited, CF₃‐containing oxetanes are isolated as the sole product.     

Nickel‐Catalyzed Direct Coupling of Allylic Alcohols with Organoboron Reagents

The direct coupling of allylic alcohols with arylboronic acids or their derivatives catalyzed by Ni(cod)₂ in the presence of a catalytic amount of base has been developed. A wide variety of allylic substrates or arylboronic acids turned out to be applicable to this catalytic system. The present method does not require the use of ligands for stabilizing the nickel catalyst in most cases or additional activators for activation of allylic alcohols.     

Mixed disproportionation versus radical trapping in titanocene(III)-promoted epoxide openings

The formation of either deoxygenation products or allylic alcohols from epoxides is observed when these substrates are treated with Cp₂TiCl under anhydrous conditions. It seems that processes via trisubstituted radicals give allylic alcohols whereas processes via disubstituted radicals may give deoxygenation products or allylic alcohols depending on the structure of the original epoxide. This method allows a controlled access to these functional groups, providing a useful tool in organic synthesis. A mechanistic discussion for these transformations is reported.     

Kinetic Resolution of Racemic Allylic Alcohols by Catalytic Asymmetric Substitution of the OH Group with Monosubstituted Hydrazines

A new strategy has been established for the kinetic resolution of racemic allylic alcohols through a palladium/sulfonyl‐hydrazide‐catalyzed asymmetric OH‐substitution under mild conditions. In the presence of 1 mol % [Pd(allyl)Cl]₂, 4 mol % (S)‐SegPhos, and 10 mol % 2,5‐dichlorobenzenesulfonyl hydrazide, a range of racemic allylic alcohols were smoothly resolved with selectivity factors of more than 400 through an asymmetric allylic alkylation of monosubstituted hydrazines under air at room temperature. Importantly, this kinetic resolution process provided various allylic alcohols and allylic hydrazine derivatives with high enantiopurity.     

Organocatalytic Activation of the Leaving Group in the Intramolecular Asymmetric SN2′ Reaction

A Brønsted‐acid‐catalyzed intramolecular enantioselective S_N2′ reaction was developed utilizing trichloroacetimidate as a leaving group. The findings indicated that dual activation of the substrates is operative. This metal‐free allylic alkylation allows highly enantioselective access to 2‐vinylpyrrolidines bearing various substituents.     

Regioselective allylic alkylation and etherification catalyzed by in situ generated N-heterocyclic carbene ruthenium complexes

Benzimidazolium halides are used for the first time as ligand precursors in ruthenium-catalyzed substitution of allylic carbonates and chlorides by carbon nucleophiles and phenols, respectively. After generation of diaminocarbene species upon deprotonation by tBuOK, their association with [Cp*Ru(MeCN)₃]PF₆ induces a very high regioselectivity in favor of the branched isomers when cinnamyl derivatives are used as starting substrates. They also provide good regioselectivities for the allylation of phenols by unsymmetrical aliphatic allylic substrates such as 3-chloro-4-phenylbut-1-ene, and thus provide a straightforward access to new allylic phenyl ethers.     

Enantioselective synthesis of acyclic allylic esters catalyzed by a palladium/BINAP(S) system

The synthesis of chiral nonracemic acyclic allylic pivalates via the Pd-catalyzed allylic substitution of racemic allylic carbonates is presented. Good to excellent enantioselectivities (up to 90%) were observed in several cases. An extraordinarily high preference for the production of the branched regioisomeric product is seen when starting from 3-buten-2-yl and crotyl substrates. A significant kinetic resolution (k_rel = 38) of the 1,3-dimethylallyl substrate was also observed, leading to the production of esters of both enantiomers of an allylic alcohol with a single enantiomer of catalyst.     

Highly selective 1,3-isomerization of allylic alcohols via rhenium oxo catalysis

Two reaction strategies are developed to promote the highly selective 1,3-isomerization of a variety of allylic alcohols using O3ReOSiPh3 as a catalyst. The first strategy utilizes substrates whose 1,3-regioisomer contains a conjugated alkene, which relies on thermodynamics to obtain high selectivity. The second strategy employs N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide as an additive to selectively and irreversibly remove the product from the reaction equilibrium and works well for the isomerization of tertiary allylic alcohols into primary allylic alcohols containing trisubstituted alkene components. High stereoselectivity is also observed in the 1,3-isomerization of enantioenriched allylic alcohols.     

S′H type reactions of substituted allylic compounds

S′_H reactions of allyl sulfides and halides with phenyl radicals are reported. Thermal decomposition of phenylazotriphenylmethane with allyl sulfides and bromide has been shown to give allylbenzene. This apparent substitution reaction involves attack of a phenyl radical on the terminal unsaturated carbon atom of the allyl sulfide; the reaction in α,α-dimethylallyl ethyl sulfide produced 2-methyl-4-phenylbutene-2. To estimate the relative reactivities of allylic substrates towards phenyl radicals, competitive reactions of phenyl radicals with allylic compounds and carbon tetrachloride were investigated. The data indicate that the radical formed by addition of a phenyl radical to the allylic sulfide looses thiyl radicals almost quantitatively.     

Alkyne haloallylation [with Pd(II)] as a core strategy for macrocycle synthesis: a total synthesis of (-)-haterumalide NA/(-)-oocydin A

The rarely used haloallylation reaction, first described by Kaneda and Teranishi in 1974, employs a Pd(II) catalyst to join an alkyne with an allylic halide to produce a 1-halo-1,4-diene subunit. It is shown here that functionalized and tertiary allylic chlorides perform well as substrates in this reaction under the action of PdCl2(PhCN)2 in THF solution. When the alkyne is added slowly to the reaction mixture, the two reactants can be used in a nearly equimolar ratio. This fact means (i) that reasonably complex pairs of alkyne and allylic halide substrates are tolerated and, therefore, (ii) that an intramolecular version of the reaction is suitable as a core strategy for complex molecule construction. The latter is demonstrated in the macrocyclization of 2b to 17b, which is the central step in the total synthesis of (-)-haterumalide NA/(-)-oocydin A (1) that is reported. The final key to the completion of the synthesis was the choice of the acid-labile PMB ester of 1 as the penultimate intermediate.     

Highly efficient and regioselective allylic amination of allylic alcohols catalyzed by [Mo3PdS4] cluster

A highly efficient and regioselective allylation reaction of amines with allylic alcohols under mild conditions catalyzed by the cubane-type sulfido cluster [(Cp∗Mo)₃S₄Pd(dba)][PF₆] with H₃BO₃ as an additive has been developed. A variety of amines and allylic alcohols are investigated, and in the case of allylic alcohols bearing substituents at either α- or γ-position only linear allylic amination products are obtained.     

A Formal Rearrangement of Allylic Silanols

We show that 1M aqueous HCl/THF or NaBH₄/DMF allows for demercurative ring-opening of cyclic organomercurial synthons into secondary silanol products bearing terminal alkenes. We had previously demonstrated that primary allylic silanols are readily transformed into cyclic organomercurials using Hg(OTf)₂/NaHCO₃ in THF. Overall, this amounts to a facile two-step protocol for the rearrangement of primary allylic silanol substrates. Computational investigations suggest that this rearrangement is under thermodynamic control and that the di-tert-butylsilanol protecting group is essential for product selectivity.     

Applications of Transition‐Metal‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic Substitution in Total Synthesis of Natural Products: An Update

Metal‐catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution (AAS) reaction is one of the most synthetically useful reactions catalyzed by metal complexes for the formation of carbon‐carbon and carbon‐heteroatom bonds. It comprises the substitution of allylic substrates with a wide range of nucleophiles or S_N2′‐type allylic substitution, which results in the formation of the above‐mentioned bonds with high levels of enantioselective induction. AAS reaction tolerates a broad range of functional groups, thus has been successfully applied in the asymmetric synthesis of a wide range of optically pure compounds. This reaction has been extensively used in the total synthesis of several complex molecules, especially natural products. In this review, we try to highlight the applications of metal (Pd, Ir, Mo, or Cu)‐catalyzed AAS reaction in the total synthesis of the biologically active natural products, as a key step, updating the subject from 2003 till date.     

Phosphine-Catalyzed Annulations between Modified Allylic Derivatives and Polar Dienes and Substituent Effect on the Annulation Mode

in this work, the phosphine-catalyzed annulation reactions between modified allylic derivatives and polar 1,1-dicyano-1,3-dienes have been studied. In the catalysis of PPh3 （20 mol%）, a [4 ＋ 1 ] annulation reaction is realized between a series of l,l-dicyano-2,4-diaryl-1,3-dienes and ethoxycarbonyl-activated allylic acetate, producing polysubstituted cyclopentenes in modest to excellent yields. It is also observed that the substituents of both 1,3-dienes and allylic derivatives have a significant influence on the annulation mode： under the catalysis of PPh3 or PBu3 （20 mol%）, regioselective [3 ＋ 2] annulation products are formed from differently substituted substratcs.     

Copper triflate/t-BuOOAc-catalyzed amidation of allylic and benzylic acetates with sulfonamides

A copper triflate/t-BuOOAc-catalyzed amidation of allylic and benzylic acetates has been developed which is suitable for the coupling of a wide variety of functionalized sulfonamide nucleophiles with acetate electrophiles. The methodology allows for the amidation of benzylic substrates which are not further activated by an additional adjacent alkene or alkyne, enabling simple allylic acetates and primary benzylic acetates to be used as reaction partners.     

Palladium-Catalyzed Low Pressure Carbonylation of Allylic Alcohols by Catalytic Anhydride Activation

A direct carbonylation of allylic alcohols has been realized for the first time with high catalyst activity at low pressure of CO (10 bar). The procedure is described in detail for the carbonylation of E-nerolidol, an important step in a new BASF-route to (−)-ambrox. Key to high activities in the allylic alcohol carbonylation is the finding that catalytic amounts of carboxylic anhydride activate the substrate and are constantly regenerated with carbon monoxide under the reaction conditions. The identified reaction conditions are transferrable to other substrates as well.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Oxidative Amination and Allylic Amination of Alkenes

Enamines and enamides are useful synthetic intermediates and common components of bioactive compounds. A new protocol for their direct synthesis by a net alkene C? H amination and allylic amination by using catalytic Cu^II in the presence of MnO₂ is reported. Reactions between N‐aryl sulfonamides and vinyl arenes furnish enamides, allylic amines, indoles, benzothiazine dioxides, and dibenzazepines directly and efficiently. Control experiments further showed that MnO₂ alone can promote the reaction in the absence of a copper salt, albeit with lower efficiency. Mechanistic probes support the involvement of nitrogen‐radical intermediates. This method is ideal for the synthesis of enamides from 1,1‐disubstituted vinyl arenes, which are uncommon substrates in existing oxidative amination protocols.     

Allylic Functionalization of 2,5- and 2,4-Cyclo-Hexadiene-1,3-Dicarboxylates

A series of 2,4- and 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1,3-dicarboxylates were functionalized at the allylic position via oxidation (SeO₂, PDC/t-BuOOH) and halogenation (NBS). The regiochemical outcome for different substrates and reactions was studied and the importance of factors such as reaction mechanism, steric hindrance and reaction intermediates stability was discussed.

     

Allylic amination of unfunctionalyzed olefins by nitroarenes and CO, catalyzed by Ru3(CO)12/Ph-BIAN (Ph-BIAN=bis(phenylimino)acenaphthenequinone): extension to the synthesis of allylic amines with strongly electron-withdrawing or electron-donating groups on the aryl ring

The allylic amination of unfunctionalyzed olefins by nitroarenes under CO pressure, catalyzed by Ru₃(CO)₁₂/Ph-BIAN (Ph-BIAN=bis(phenylimino)acenaphthenequinone) has been extended to some substrates with strongly electron-withdrawing groups on the nitroarene. Reaction of 1,4-dinitrobenzene selectively affords functionalization of only one nitro group, the other remaining unreacted. However, the second nitro group can be reduced in one pot by CO/H₂O in the presence of the same catalytic system employed in the amination reaction, to afford the corresponding 4-amino derivative. Some attempts to render the reaction enantioselective by employing chiral bis-oxazolines as ligands in place of Ph-BIAN are described. Bis-oxazolines are suitable ligands for the reaction, although not as efficient as Ph-BIAN, but the allylic amine obtained was found to be racemic.     

Catalytic Oxidative Trifluoromethoxylation of Allylic C−H Bonds Using a Palladium Catalyst

A catalytic intermolecular allylic C−H trifluoromethoxylation reaction of alkenes has been developed based on the use of a palladium catalyst, CsOCF₃ as the trifluoromethoxide source, and benzoquinone as the oxidant. This reaction provides an efficient route for directly accessing allylic trifluoromethoxy derivatives with excellent regioselectivities from terminal alkenes via an allylic C−H bond activation process.