Copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidative amidation of terminal alkynes: efficient synthesis of ynamides

A copper-catalyzed method for the preparation of ynamides has been identified that proceeds via aerobic oxidative coupling of terminal alkynes with various nitrogen nucleophiles, including cyclic carbamates, amides and ureas, and N-alkyl-arylsulfonamides and indoles.     

Copper-catalyzed amidation of benzoic acids using tetraalkylthiuram disulfides as amine sources

A facile method for the copper-catalyzed synthesis of N-substituted benzamides was explored. In the presence of CuBr and di-tert-butyl peroxide, various N-substituted benzamides were prepared through amidation of benzoic acid by using commercially available and cheap tetraalkylthiuram disulfides as amine sources. With this protocol, a series of 14 N-substituted benzamides were furnished in good to excellent yields. The broad substrate scope and good to excellent yield show its practical synthetic value in organic synthesis.     

Catalytic alkylation of benzylic C-H bonds with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds utilizing oxygen as terminal oxidant

The oxidative alkylation of benzylic C-H bonds with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds was developed using oxygen as the terminal oxidant in the presence of catalytic amounts of FeCl₂, CuCl and NHPI.     

Pd-catalyzed desulfitative Heck coupling with dioxygen as the terminal oxidant

A Pd-catalyzed desulfitative Heck-type reaction of aromatic sulfinic acid sodium salts with various olefins is developed with O(2) as the terminal oxidant under mild conditions. The presence of phosphane ligand DPEphos in anisole can significantly enhance the reaction selectivity.     

Pd-catalyzed dearboxylative Heck coupling with dioxygen as the terminal oxidant

Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative Heck coupling of aromatic carboxylic acids with various olefins is developed using O(2) as the terminal oxidant. Enhancement of O(2) pressure leads to improving reaction turnover in this transformation and allows significantly reducing catalyst loading for efficient conversion of electron-rich benzoic acids. A Pd catalyst supported by a carbene ligand enables using electron-deficient benzoic acids as coupling partners.     

Copper-catalyzed amidation of allylic and benzylic C-H bonds

[Structure: see text] A copper-catalyzed amidation of allylic and benzylic C-H bonds with both primary and secondary sulfonamides is described. The reaction is applicable to the coupling of a diverse set of hydrocarbon species with aryl, heteroaryl, and alkyl sulfonamides and is tolerant of a variety of functional groups. Mechanistic insight has been gained through the isolation of a benzylic acetate intermediate, which was demonstrated to undergo facile conversion to the substituted sulfonamide product under copper catalysis.     

基于C-H键活化的铜催化二苄胺氧化酰胺化反应

基于铜催化的C-H键活化构建了一类高效的二苄胺氧化酰基化生成N-苄基苯甲酰胺的反应. 该反应使用CuBr作为催化剂, 二乙酸碘苯作为氧化剂, 在温和条件下生成两种酰胺, 总产率最高可达92.0%. CuBr催化剂价廉易得, 催化活性高. 同时这也是首次使用二乙酸碘苯作为氧化剂, 通过二苄胺的直接氧化酰基化反应合成N-苄基苯甲酰胺.     

Nitroarene catalyzed oxidation with sodium percarbonate or sodium perborate as the terminal oxidant

A new catalytic oxidation method for the preparation of aromatic carboxylic acids from methyl aryl ketones is reported. The method is an alternative to the haloform reaction; it is benign and affords the desired product without production of any harmful side products. The catalytic cycle is based on the use of an electron-deficient nitroarene as catalyst with either of the two cheap and green oxidants sodium percarbonate or sodium perborate. The method gives a good yield (87%) and shows excellent selectivity when the model substrate (acetophenone) is oxidized. A series of benzoic acids of industrial interest were prepared by means of this method.     

Copper-catalyzed annulation of 2-bromobenzoic esters with terminal alkynes towards 3-substituted isocoumarins

An efficient method for the synthesis of 3-substituted isocoumarins that are an important class of biologically active scaffolds via annulation of 2-bromobenzoic esters with terminal alkynes by copper catalyzed is described. The advantages of this method include mild reaction conditions, high yield and regioselectivity, and wide tolerance toward functional groups.     

Origin of the oxygen atom in metalloporphyrin-catalyzed epoxidations with LiOCl as oxidant

Abstract – The origin of the oxygen atom incorporated into epoxides during the oxidation of olefins with the catalytic system Mn(TPP)Cl/LiOCl in the presence of ¹⁸O-labelled water has been investigated. One molar equivalent of H₂¹⁸O with respect to Li¹⁶OCl led to a 53 % ¹⁸O-incorporation within the epoxide formed, and near complete incorporation of ¹⁸O from water was achieved when no limiting amount of water was used. These results clearly indicate that the epoxidic oxygen atom arose from the high-valent metal-oxo species generated by LiOCl, but the exchange of the oxygen atom of hypochlorite with bulk water is fast, compared to the oxidation of the manganese(III) porphyrin by LiOCl. Therefore hypochlorite is not a suitable oxidant for mechanistic studies of metal-catalyzed oxygenation reactions involving high-valent metal-oxo species. Potassium monopersulfate is the adequate oxidant for such studies, because of its slow oxygen atom exchange with bulk water.     

Copper-catalyzed direct cyanation of terminal alkynes with benzoyl cyanide

Copper-catalyzed direct cyanation of terminal alkynes is achieved using less toxic, stable and easy to handle benzoyl cyanide as a cyanide source and air as an oxidant. This protocol provides a good alternative to the preparation of 3-arylpropiolonitriles under mild condition.     

Copper-catalyzed amidation of sp3 C-H bonds adjacent to a nitrogen atom

We have developed a novel copper-catalyzed amidation of unactivated sp(3) C-H bonds adjacent to a nitrogen atom by using an inexpensive catalyst-oxidant (CuBr/(t)BuOOH) system under mild conditions. The dephenylation was first found for N-benzylaniline, and the new class of products provide diverse structures for pharmaceuticals and combinatorial chemistry.     

Selective oxidation of naphthalene derivatives with ruthenium catalysts using hydrogen peroxide as terminal oxidant

The selective oxidation of naphthalene and its derivatives to give naphthoquinones has been investigated in detail. The reaction can be carried out effectively in the presence of a catalytic amount of Ru complexes (0.2 mol%) and phase transfer catalysts (PTC) using H₂O₂ as the terminal oxidant and water as the solvent. The effect of different ruthenium complexes, phase transfer catalysts, and the concentration of hydrogen peroxide were studied. Compared to previous procedures for this type of reactions, acidic solvents and high concentration of hydrogen peroxide are not necessary, which makes the reaction more environmentally friendly.     

Copper-catalyzed coupling reaction of terminal alkynes with aryl- and alkenyliodonium salts

[reaction: see text]. The copper iodide-catalyzed cross-coupling of terminal alkynes with hypervalent iodonium salts was accomplished with CuI (10 mol %) and NaHCO3 (2 equiv) in DME/H2O (4:1) at room temperature for 30 min to afford arylalkynes or enynes under mild conditions.     

Copper-catalyzed domino synthesis of quinazolinones via Ullmann-type coupling and aerobic oxidative C-H amidation

An efficient copper-catalyzed approach to quinazolinone derivatives has been developed, and the protocol uses cheap and readily available substituted 2-halobenzamides and (aryl)methanamines as the starting materials as well as economical and environmentally friendly air as the oxidant. This can be the first example of constructing N-heterocycles via sequential Ullmann-type coupling under air and aerobic oxidative C-H amidation.     

Axially chiral NHC-Pd(II) complexes in the oxidative kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols using molecular oxygen as a terminal oxidant

[reaction: see text] Axially chiral N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) Pd(II) complexes were prepared from optically active 1,1'-binaphthalenyl-2,2'-diamine (BINAM) and H8-BINAM and applied in the oxidative kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols using molecular oxygen as a terminal oxidant. The corresponding sec-alcohols can be obtained in good yields with moderate to good enantioselectivities.     

Copper-catalyzed methyl esterification of aromatic aldehydes and benzoic alcohols by TBHP as both oxidant and methyl source

A copper-catalyzed synthesis of methyl esters from aromatic aldehydes in the presence of tert-butyl hydrogen peroxide (TBHP) was developed via a radical reaction mechanism. TBHP acts not only as an efficient oxidant, but also as a green methyl source in such transformation. Moreover, this method could also be efficiently extended to the methyl esterification of benzylic alcohols.