Chiral spiro-connected 2,3,3-trisubstituted oxiranes New dopants for induced ferroelectric phases

The synthesis, phase behaviour and spontaneous polarization of a new class of chiral dopants for induced ferroelectric phases of general structure A and B, possessing a 2,3,3-trisubstituted oxirane ring spiro-connected with four-, five- or six-membered carbocycles are described. In a series of these compounds with the same mesogenic building blocks the one with the five-membered carbocycle exhibits the highest induced spontaneous polarization. Introduction of a carbonyl group adjacent to the oxirane ring leads to an increased induced spontaneous polarization. The sign of the helical twisting power is positive for compounds with a cyclobutane ring and negative for those with a cyclopentane or a cyclohexane ring, although the absolute configuration at the chiral carbon is the same for all compounds.     

Metal-catalysed cleavage of carbon-carbon bonds

Reactions cleaving carbon-carbon bonds with the assistance of transition metals as the catalyst have provided various molecular transformations that are otherwise difficult to execute, opening a scenic avenue along organic synthesis. Construction of structural motifs like medium-sized carbocycles and chiral quaternary carbon centres have been set within an access of such paradoxical approaches in the past decade.     

Chiral spiro-connected 2,3,3-trisubstituted oxiranes New dopants for induced ferroelectric phases

Abstract

The synthesis, phase behaviour and spontaneous polarization of a new class of chiral dopants for induced ferroelectric phases of general structure A and B, possessing a 2,3,3-trisubstituted oxirane ring spiro-connected with four-, five- or six-membered carbocycles are described. In a series of these compounds with the same mesogenic building blocks the one with the five-membered carbocycle exhibits the highest induced spontaneous polarization. Introduction of a carbonyl group adjacent to the oxirane ring leads to an increased induced spontaneous polarization. The sign of the helical twisting power is positive for compounds with a cyclobutane ring and negative for those with a cyclopentane or a cyclohexane ring, although the absolute configuration at the chiral carbon is the same for all compounds.     

Palladium-catalyzed [3+2] intramolecular cycloaddition of alk-5-ynylidenecyclopropanes: a rapid,practical approach to bicyclo[3.3.0]octenes

Readily accessible hex-5-ynylidenecyclopropane derivatives cycloisomerize to bicyclic five-membered carbocycles upon heating with catalytic amounts of a palladium complex.     

Intramolecular coupling of allyl carboxylates with allyl stannanes and allyl silanes: a new type of reductive elimination reaction?

The palladium-catalyzed intramolecular coupling of allyl stannanes with allyl carboxylates provides a general synthesis of five- and six-membered-ring carbocycles. The intramolecular coupling leads selectively to trans five-membered carbocycles and cis six-membered carbocycles, regardless of the cis or trans configuration of the allylic functions in the starting material. For example, the stereoselective synthesis of 10-epi-elemol demonstrated the cis configuration of the six-membered carbocycles. The related Oppolzer cyclization leads to lower yields, or fails completely, with substrates substituted at C-3 of the allyl and/or alkene terminus. The palladium-catalyzed intramolecular coupling of allyl silanes with allyl trifluoroacetates allows the synthesis of trans five-membered-ring carbocycles and requires the use of a bicyclic phosphite as the ligand. DFT calculations suggest that the preferred pathway for the intramolecular allyl/allyl coupling is by formation of the Cbond;C bond between the C-3 termini of the allyl ligands of bis(eta(3)-allyl)palladium complexes.     

Asymmetric hydroarsination reactions toward synthesis of alcohol functionalised C-chiral As–P ligands promoted by chiral cyclometallated complexes

The asymmetric hydroarsination reactions between diphenylarsine and 3-diphenylphosphanyl-but-3-en-1-ol and 2-diphenylphosphanyl-prop-2-en-1-ol have been achieved using the organopalladium complex containing ortho-metallated (R)-[1-(dimethylamino)ethylnaphthalene as the chiral reaction template in high stereoselectivities under mild conditions. Hydroarsination of 3-diphenylphosphanyl-but-3-en-1-ol with diphenylarsine generated only one stereoisomer as five-membered As–P bidentate chelate on chiral naphthylamine palladium template. Using the same chiral metal template, similar hydroarsination reaction was carried out on 2-diphenylphosphanyl-prop-2-en-1-ol which gave two different products in the ratio of 2.6 to 1. The major isomer was identified as the expected five-membered As–P bidentate ligand and the minor isomer was identified as the elimination product. The naphthylamine auxiliary could be removed chemoselectively by treatment with concentrated hydrochloric acid. Optically pure As–P ligands containing the hydroxy groups at the chiral carbon centres were prepared by ligand displacement. The absolute configuration and coordination properties of the complexes have been established by single crystal X-ray analysis.     

Oxidant-free direct coupling of internal alkynes and 2-alkylpyridine via double C-H activations by alkylhafnium complexes

We have developed a novel oxidant-free direct cross-coupling reaction of 2,6-lutidine and internal alkynes leading to five-membered carbocyclic compounds mediated by nonmetallocene cationic hafnium alkyl complexes. Mechanistic studies of the coupling reaction showed that the reaction begins with C(sp(3))-H bond activation via σ-bond metathesis, after which the coordinatively unsaturated hafnium center mediates further insertion, migration, and β-H elimination reactions to give five-membered carbocycles from readily available substrates.     

Photocatalytic Sulfonylcarbocyclization of Alkynes Using SEt as a Traceless Directing Group: Access to Cyclopentenes and Indenes

Cyclopentenes and indenes are important structural scaffolds in synthetic, medical, and material chemistry. Cyclization of alkynes via remote C?H functionalization is an appealing approach to construct these motifs due to its high efficiency and step-economy. Herein, a traceless directing group strategy was designed to reverse the regioselectivity of radical addition which enabled an unprecedented photocatalytic sulfonylcarbocyclization of terminal alkynes by forming C?C bond on inert C(sp³)?H bond. It offers a facile access to decorated cyclopentenes and indenes under mild conditions. The resultant products could be converted into a set of valuable molecular scaffolds, including a key intermediate of AM-6226. Mechanistic experiments suggest a radical cascade pathway comprising a Markovnikov-type sulfonylation, 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer, 5-endo-trig cyclization, and β-elimination. This study lays further groundwork for the use of anti-Baldwin 5-endo-trig radical cyclization in rapidly assembling five-membered carbocycles.     

Asymmetric hydroarsination reactions toward synthesis of alcohol functionalised C-chiral As–P ligands promoted by chiral cyclometallated complexes

The asymmetric hydroarsination reactions between diphenylarsine and 3-diphenylphosphanyl-but-3-en-1-ol and 2-diphenylphosphanyl-prop-2-en-1-ol have been achieved using the organopalladium complex containing ortho-metallated (R)-[1-(dimethylamino)ethylnaphthalene as the chiral reaction template in high stereoselectivities under mild conditions. Hydroarsination of 3-diphenylphosphanyl-but-3-en-1-ol with diphenylarsine generated only one stereoisomer as five-membered As–P bidentate chelate on chiral naphthylamine palladium template. Using the same chiral metal template, similar hydroarsination reaction was carried out on 2-diphenylphosphanyl-prop-2-en-1-ol which gave two different products in the ratio of 2.6 to 1. The major isomer was identified as the expected five-membered As–P bidentate ligand and the minor isomer was identified as the elimination product. The naphthylamine auxiliary could be removed chemoselectively by treatment with concentrated hydrochloric acid. Optically pure As–P ligands containing the hydroxy groups at the chiral carbon centres were prepared by ligand displacement. The absolute configuration and coordination properties of the complexes have been established by single crystal X-ray analysis.     

Co-Catalyzed Asymmetric Intramolecular [3+2] Cycloaddition of Yne-Alkylidenecyclopropanes and its Reaction Mechanism

Developing new transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric cycloadditions for the synthesis of five-membered carbocycles (FMCs) is a research frontier in reaction development due to the ubiquitous presence of chiral FMCs in various functional molecules. Reported here is our discovery of a highly enantioselective intramolecular [3+2] cycloaddition of yne-alkylidenecyclopropanes (yne-ACPs) to bicyclo[3.3.0]octadiene and bicyclo[4.3.0]nonadiene molecules using a cheap Co catalyst and commercially available chiral ligand (S)-Xyl-BINAP. This reaction avoids the use of precious Pd and Rh catalysts, which are usually the choices for [3+2] reactions with ACPs. The enantiomeric excess in the present reaction can be up to 92 %. Cationic cobalt(I) species was suggested by experiments as the catalytic species. DFT calculations showed that this [3+2] reaction starts with oxidative cyclometallation of alkyne and ACP, followed by ring opening of the cyclopropyl (CP) group and reductive elimination to form the cycloadduct. This mechanism is different from previous [3+2] reactions of ACPs, which usually start from CP cleavage, not from oxidative cyclization.     

An aerobic [2 + 2 + 2] cyclization via chloropalladation: from 1,6-diynes and acrylates to substituted aromatic carbocycles

A Pd-catalyzed aerobic [2 + 2 + 2] cyclization of 1,6-diynes and acrylates proceeding through a chloropalladation process has been developed. Polysubstituted five-membered aromatic carbocycles/heterocycles were obtained in good to excellent yields. The results of the mechanistic study are consistent with the proposed reaction mechanism.     

Intramolecular sulfur-ylide additions to ketones. A cyclopentane annulation1

Various 2-(3′-phenylthiopropyl)cycloalkanones were prepared from the corresponding cyclic ketones and subjected to S-alkylation by triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate followed by potassium $\text{tert}$-butoxide treatment to give bicyclic epoxides with new five-membered carbocycles. A related cyclization to a six-membered ring was also observed.     

Benzhydryldimethylsilyl allylic silanes: syntheses and applications to

A new silyl group, the benzhydryldimethylsilyl group, has been developed that is easily synthesized and that undergoes facile oxidation. The [3 + 2] annulation reactions of allylic silanes with this silyl group provide a variety of highly substituted five-membered carbocycles and heterocycles with high stereoselectivities. The silyl groups of these cyclic compounds have been oxidized to hydroxyl groups to demonstrate the general synthetic utility of the method.     

Mercuric chloride and iodide mediated cyclization of tethered alkynedithioacetals as a general route to five- and six-membered rings: tuning of regioselectivity by alkyne substitution

[reaction: see text] Mercuric chloride mediated cyclization of tethered alkynedithioacetals has been established as a general route to five- and six-membered carbocycles and heterocycles. Substitution at the alkyne terminus leads to preferential formation of five-membered rings, whereas unsubstituted alkynedithioacetals give six-membered rings as the major products. Mercuric iodide interrupts the reaction at the intermediate dithioacetal stage.     

Syntheses of Seven- and Five-Membered Rings from Allyl Cations

The cycloaddition of allyl cations to conjugated dienes offers an efficient and general tool for the construction of seven-membered carbocycles. The silver salt route is highly suitable for generating allyl cations and can be used even in most difficult cases, i. e. for elusive and intractable allyl cations such as 2-methylallyl, 2-methoxyallyl, and the parent allyl cation. Cycloadditions to the 2-methoxyallyl cation come very close to the prototype of a 6π, 7C reaction, since the carbonyl group introduced into the new ring can either be used for further transformations or be removed altogether. The combination of an allyl cation with π reactants, especially conjugated dienes, is a powerful and strongly convergent synthetic method since it permits one-step assembly, from a C₃ and a C₄ unit, of a cluster of up to four chiral centers in a ring which is larger than six-membered. Allyl cations combine with electron-rich 2π systems to form novel five-membered rings. The nature of the organometallic intermediates has been elucidated in many cases.     

Reactivity of 3-silyloxy-1,4-enynes: Gold(III)-catalyzed regioselective nucleophilic substitution

Gold-catalyzed reactions of 3-silyloxy-1,4-enynes with alcohols afford primary, secondary, and tertiary pent-2-en-4-ynyl ethers in moderate to excellent yields. The substitution proceeds with high regioselectivity. An initial cyclization providing five-membered carbocycles instead was not observed under the reaction conditions. Control experiments show that these reactions are also catalyzed by Brønsted- and Lewis-acids, although scope and yields are markedly reduced.     

Cobalt-mediated two-carbon ring expansion of five-membered rings. Electrophilic carbon-carbon bond activation in the synthesis of seven-membered rings

Electrophilic cobalt(III) mediates an unprecedented two-carbon ring expansion of coordinated five-membered rings, leading to a remarkably general new strategy for the synthesis of seven-membered carbocycles from readily available five-membered ring substrates. The reaction, a metal-mediated [5 + 2] cyclopentenyl/alkyne cycloaddition, proceeds via initial protonation of a cobalt(I) cyclopentadiene complex, followed by rearrangement to an agostic eta3-cyclopentenyl intermediate. The cyclic eta3-allyl residue then undergoes migratory coupling with alkyne followed by carbon-carbon bond activation of the unstrained five-membered ring and recyclization to the ring expanded product, although the order of events and intimate mechanism has not been conclusively established. The reaction is highly selective with respect to which five-membered ring ligand undergoes activation, presumably a consequence of rapid cobalt-mediated interannular hydride transfer and kinetic preference for alkyne insertion into the less substituted cyclopentenyl ring. The alkyne insertion is itself highly regioselective, proceeding via migration to the sterically smaller end of the alkyne. The reaction is sensitive to both the cobalt counterion and the ancillary eta5-cyclopentadienyl substituent but proceeds for a considerable range of alkyl-, aryl-, and trialkylsilyl-substituted terminal and internal alkynes.     

Visible-Light-Driven Strain-Increase Ring Contraction Allows the Synthesis of Cyclobutyl Boronic Esters

There are a limited number of ring-contraction methodologies which convert readily available five-membered rings into strained four-membered rings. Here we report a photo-induced radical-mediated ring contraction of five-membered-ring alkenyl boronate complexes into cyclobutanes. The process involves the addition of an electrophilic radical to the electron-rich alkenyl boronate complex, leading to an α-boryl radical. Upon one-electron oxidation, ring-contractive 1,2-metalate rearrangement occurs to give a cyclobutyl boronic ester. A range of radical precursors and vinyl boronates can be employed, and chiral cyclobutanes can be accessed with high levels of stereocontrol. The process was extended to the preparation of benzofused cyclobutenes and the versatility of the boronic ester was demonstrated by conversion to other functional groups.     

Computational evaluation of asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions of vinylboranes with chiral dienes

The asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions of dichlorovinylborane and vinyl-9-BBN with two chiral dienes have been studied theoretically. Calculations suggest high reactivity and regio- and stereoselectivity could be achieved in these processes giving the anti para endo product. This class of reactions represents a potential stereoselective approach to a variety of chiral carbocycles.     

Sterically biased 3,3-sigmatropic rearrangement of azides: efficient preparation of nonracemic alpha-amino acids and heterocycles

[reaction: see text] Homochiral alpha-amino acids, heterocycles, and carbocycles are efficiently constructed via a short sequence of reactions starting from the chiral auxiliary p-menthane-3-carboxaldehyde. The key feature of the sequence is a highly selective tandem Mitsunobu/3,3-sigmatropic rearrangement of hydrazoic acid that procures enantiomerically enriched allylic azides. The sequence is either terminated by oxidative cleavage to provide amino acids or by ring-closing metathesis to provide heterocycles or carbocycles bearing nitrogen.