trans-1-Sulfonylamino-2-isoborneolsulfonylaminocyclohexane derivatives: excellent chiral ligands for the catalytic enantioselective addition of organozinc reagents to ketones

The catalytic enantioselective addition of different organozinc reagents (such as alkyl and aryl derivatives or in situ generated aryl, allyl alkenyl, and alkynyl derivatives obtained through different transmetallation processes) to simple ketones has been accomplished by using titanium tetraisopropoxide and chiral ligands derived from substituted trans-1-sulfonylamino-2-isoborneolsulfonylaminocyclohexane, producing the corresponding tertiary alcohols with enantiomeric excesses (ee) up to >99 %. A simple and efficient procedure for the synthesis of the chiral ligands used in these reactions is described.     

Easily Accessible Benzamide‐Derived P,O Ligands (Bphos) for Palladium‐Catalyzed Carbon–Nitrogen Bond‐Forming Reactions

Easily accessible benzamide‐derived hemilabile phosphine ligands were efficiently prepared through ortho‐directed lithiation of the corresponding N,N‐diethylbenzamide followed by quenching with chlorodialkylphosphines. These structurally simple hemilabile ligands were found to be highly effective in palladium‐catalyzed amination of aryl and heteroaryl chlorides. Various sterically congested and functionalized aryl halide substrates were compatible in these reaction conditions. By using optimized reaction conditions, remarkable catalyst productivity (total turnover number up to 8400) was obtained.     

A simple and efficient tetradentate Schiff base derived palladium complex for Suzuki–Miyaura reaction in water

A simple and efficient catalytic system based on Pd complex of tetradentate Schiff base ligands is found to be highly active (up to 99% isolated yield) for Suzuki–Miyaura reaction of aryl bromides with arylboronic acids in water at room temperature. Further the scope of this protocol has been extended to the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of aryl chlorides with arylbronic acids in isopropanol.     

A family of simple amide-derived air-stable P,O-ligands for Suzuki cross-coupling of unactivated aryl chlorides

A family of air-stable amide-derived phosphine (Aphos) ligands engineered on simple N,N-dialkyl aryl amide scaffolds has been designed and prepared by one-pot synthesis from the amides in high yields. The Aphos ligands have been used, in analogous to their atropisomeric variations, as hemilabile bidentate P,O-ligands in various Pd-catalyzed C-N and C-C bond forming reactions. We present here our results on the highly efficient Suzuki cross-coupling reactions of unactivated and/or sterically hindered aryl chlorides with arylboronic acids and a relationship of Aphos structures with catalytic efficacy.     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of a new class of CyPHOX ligands

Four newly designed CyPHOX ligands with chiral cyclohexane scaffold replacing the previous planar aryl group of PHOX ligands, were efficiently prepared. The synthesis features a kinetically controlled asymmetric phos-Michael reactions of trisubstituted cyclic carboxylates, which is quite simple, reliable and scalable.     

Room‐Temperature Arylation of Thiols: Breakthrough with Aryl Chlorides

The formation of aryl C−S bonds is an important chemical transformation because aryl sulfides are valuable building blocks for the synthesis of biologically and pharmaceutically active molecules and organic materials. Aryl sulfides have traditionally been synthesized through the transition‐metal‐catalyzed cross‐coupling of aryl halides with thiols. However, the aryl halides used are usually bromides and iodides; readily available, low‐cost aryl chlorides often not reactive enough. Furthermore, the deactivation of transition‐metal catalysts by thiols has forced chemists to use high catalyst loadings, specially designed ligands, high temperatures, and/or strong bases, thus leading to high costs and the incompatibility of some functional groups. Herein, we describe a simple and efficient visible‐light photoredox arylation of thiols with aryl halides at room temperature. More importantly, various aryl chlorides are also effective arylation reagents under the present conditions.     

Room-Temperature Arylation of Thiols: Breakthrough with Aryl Chlorides

The formation of aryl C−S bonds is an important chemical transformation because aryl sulfides are valuable building blocks for the synthesis of biologically and pharmaceutically active molecules and organic materials. Aryl sulfides have traditionally been synthesized through the transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling of aryl halides with thiols. However, the aryl halides used are usually bromides and iodides; readily available, low-cost aryl chlorides often not reactive enough. Furthermore, the deactivation of transition-metal catalysts by thiols has forced chemists to use high catalyst loadings, specially designed ligands, high temperatures, and/or strong bases, thus leading to high costs and the incompatibility of some functional groups. Herein, we describe a simple and efficient visible-light photoredox arylation of thiols with aryl halides at room temperature. More importantly, various aryl chlorides are also effective arylation reagents under the present conditions.     

Cu(acac)2-Catalyzed N-Arylations of Phenylurea with Aryl Boronic Acid

Cu(acac)₂ activates aryl boronic acids for the reaction with NH₂-phenylurea without additional ligand and heating. The procedure is simple, general, ligand-free, milder than the palladium-catalyzed arylation, and avoids the use of toxic phosphine ligands.     

Simple, efficient and recyclable catalytic system for performing copper-catalyzed C-S coupling of thiols with aryl iodides in PEG and PEG-H2O

A new protocol for the coupling of aryl iodides with thiophenols or alkanethiols is reported. The reaction is catalyzed by CuI-PEG or CuI-PEG-H₂O system in the absence of ligands and volatile organic solvents. A variety of functionalized aryl sulfides are prepared in excellent yields. The isolation of the products is readily performed by the extraction with diethyl ether or petroleum ether, and the CuI-PEG catalyst can be reused without significant loss in activity. The simple catalytic system is economically competitive and environmentally friendly.     

Cu(OAc)2·H2O-catalyzed N-arylation of nitrogen-containing heterocycles

In the absence of any additional ligands, the efficient N-arylation of nitrogen-containing heterocycles with aryl iodides catalyzed by relative low catalyst amount of Cu(OAc)₂·H₂O was developed. This simple catalytic system is involved in the C-N cross-coupling reaction and works for a variety of pyrazole, pyrrole, imidazole, triazole, indole, benzoimidazole, benzotriazole, carbazole, and anilines as well as aryl iodides with different electronic properties. Highly efficient copper(II)-catalyzed N-arylation protocol was established.     

Simple iron-amine catalysts for the cross-coupling of aryl Grignards with alkyl halides bearing beta-hydrogens

Mixtures of iron(III) chloride and appropriate amine ligands are active catalysts for the coupling of aryl Grignard reagents with primary and secondary alkyl halide substrates bearing beta-hydrogens, under mild and simple reaction conditions.     

Highly enantioselective Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation of indoles using Sulfur-MOP ligand

The preparation of various (R)-Sulfur-MOP ligands with aryl and alkyl substituents on sulfur, and the application of these ligands to Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation of indoles is reported. The sulfur substituent served as an effective stereocontrol element, and in the case of the 2-i-PrPh substituent on sulfur, the allylation products from an array of simple and substituted indoles were obtained with high enantioselectivity (up to 95% ee).     

Picolinamides as Effective Ligands for Copper‐Catalysed Aryl Ether Formation: Structure–Activity Relationships,Substrate Scope and Mechanistic Investigations

The use of picolinic acid amide derivatives as an effective family of bidentate ligands for copper‐catalysed aryl ether synthesis is reported. A fluorine‐substituted ligand gave good results in the synthesis of a wide range of aryl ethers. Even bulky phenols, known to be very challenging substrates, were shown to react with aryl iodides with excellent yields using these ligands. At the end of the reaction, the first examples of end‐of‐life Cu species were isolated and identified as Cu^II complexes with several of the anionic ligands tested. A preliminary mechanistic investigation is reported that suggests that the substituents on the ligands might have a crucial role in determining the redox properties of the metal centre and, consequently, its efficacy in the coupling process. An understanding of these effects is important for the development of new efficient and tunable ligands for copper‐based chemistry.     

Copper‐mediated simple and direct aerobic oxidative esterification of arylacetonitriles with alcohols/phenols

A simple and direct aerobic oxidative esterification reaction of arylacetonitriles with alcohols/phenols is achieved in the presence of a copper salt and molecular oxygen, which produces a broad range of aryl carboxylic acid esters in good to high yields. Copper salt plays multiple roles in the transformation, which allows the oxygenation of C? H bond, cleavage of inert C? C bond, and formation of C? O bond in one pot without the assistance of any of the acids, bases, ligands, and so on. The reaction provides a simple, direct, and efficient protocol towards functionalized esters, especially aryl benzoates, from readily available starting materials.     

1,2,3,4-Tetrahydro-8-hydroxyquinoline-promoted copper-catalyzed coupling of nitrogen nucleophiles and aryl bromides

Based on the dramatic accelerating effect of 2-aminophenol, three ligands derived from 2-aminophenol were developed. Copper-catalyzed coupling reaction of nitrogen-containing nucleophiles with aryl bromides was efficiently carried out under mild conditions using 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-8-hydroxyquinoline as a novel, simple, and versatile ligand.     

Highly efficient and mild copper-catalyzed N- and C-arylations with aryl bromides and iodides

Mild, efficient, copper-catalyzed N-arylation procedures for nitrogen heterocycles, amides, carbamates, and C-arylation procedures for malonic acid derivatives have been developed that afford high yields of arylated products with excellent selectivity. The N-arylation of imidazole with aryl bromides or iodides was found to be greatly accelerated by inexpensive, air-stable catalyst systems, combining catalytic copper salts or oxides with a set of structurally simple chelating ligands. The reaction was shown to be compatible with a broad range of aryl halides, encompassing sterically hindered, electron-poor, and electron-rich ones, providing the arylated products under particularly mild conditions (50-82 degrees C). The lower limit in ligand and catalyst loading and the scope of Ullmann-type condensations catalyzed by complexes bearing those ligands with respect to the nucleophile class have also been investigated. Chelating Schiff base Chxn-Py-Al (1c) generates a remarkably general copper catalyst for N-arylation of pyrrole, indole, 1,2,4-triazole, amides, and carbamates; and C-arylation of diethyl malonate, ethyl cyanoacetate, and malononitrile with aryl iodides under mild conditions (50-82 degrees C). The new method reported here is the most successful to date with regard to Ullmann-type arylation of some of these nucleophiles.     

Highly active palladium catalysts supported by bulky proazaphosphatrane ligands for Stille cross-coupling: coupling of aryl and vinyl chlorides, room temperature coupling of aryl bromides, coupling of aryl triflates, and synthesis of sterically hindered biaryls

A family of proazaphosphatrane ligands [P(RNCH2CH2)2N(R'NCH2CH2): R = R' = i-Bu, 1; R = Bz, R' = i-Bu, 3; R = R' = Bz, 4] for palladium-catalyzed Stille reactions of aryl chlorides is described. Catalysts derived from ligands 1 and 4 efficiently catalyze the coupling of electronically diverse aryl chlorides with an array of organotin reagents. The catalyst system based on the ligand 3 is active for the synthesis of sterically hindered biaryls (di-, tri-, and tetra-ortho substituted). The use of ligand 4 allows room-temperature coupling of aryl bromides and it also permits aryl triflates and vinyl chlorides to participate in Stille coupling.     

Ullmann‐Ma Reaction: Development,Scope and Applications in Organic Synthesis†

Copper‐catalyzed cross‐couplings of aryl halides and nucleophiles, traditionally called Ullmann‐type coupling reactions, were initially reported by Ullmann et al. from 1901—1929. A seminal report in 1998 by Ma et al. from Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences revealed an accelerating effect caused by amino acids, which brought Ullmann‐type coupling reactions into a ligand‐accelerating era. From 1999 to the first 10 years of 2000s, the first‐generation ligands were developed by many researchers and promoted Ullmann‐type coupling reactions of aryl iodides and bromides under relatively mild conditions. Amino acid ligands, developed by Ma and coworkers, are one class of the most important first‐generation ligands. In the second 10 years of 2000s, Ma et al. led the discovery of second‐generation ligands for copper‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions. Two great breakthroughs have been realized by using second‐generation oxalic diamide and related amide ligands, with aryl chlorides as general coupling partner and with low catalyst loadings. Now copper‐catalyzed cross coupling reactions of aryl halides and nucleophiles with amino acids or oxalic diamides and related amides as ligands are recognized as Ullmann‐Ma reactions and have found extensive applications in organic synthesis.     

Radical dearomatization of arenes and heteroarenes

The stannane-mediated benzeneselenol-catalyzed addition of aryl iodides to a range of arenes and aromatic hetereocycles has been studied. With furan, thiophene, and several carbocyclic arenes, the addition takes place with quenching of the adduct radical by the catalytic selenol leading to moderate yields of aryl-dihydroarenes. With nitrogen heterocycles, on the other hand, it was not possible to suppress aromatization of the adduct radical and fully aromatized products were isolated. Aryl iodides bearing hydrogen bond donating groups in the ortho-position add to nitrogen heterocycles with high selectivity ortho- to the nitrogen, affording a simple one-step synthesis of potential chelating ligands. While 2-iodophenol is an excellent aryl radical source in these reactions, the homologous 1-iodo-2-naphthol fails owing to its reaction with diphenyl diselenide, which gives 1-phenylseleno-2-naphthol in high yield.     

Efficient pyridylbenzamidine ligands for palladium‐catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura reaction

A series of pyridylbenzamidine ligands were applied in palladium‐catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura reactions and the effect of ligand on catalytic properties was evaluated. Under the optimization conditions, the bulky and electron‐donating nitrogen donor ligands were successfully used to catalyze the reaction of a variety of aryl bromides and aryl chlorides with arylboronic acid, giving the desired products in moderate to high yields. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.