Aromatic Aminocatalysis

Aromatic aminocatalysis refers to transformations that employ aromatic amines, such as anilines or aminopyridines, as catalysts. Owing to the conjugation of the amine moiety with the aromatic ring, aromatic amines demonstrate distinctive features in aminocatalysis compared with their aliphatic counterparts. For example, aromatic aminocatalysis typically proceeds with slower turnover, but is more active and conformationally rigid as a result of the stabilized aromatic imine or iminium species. In fact, the advent of aromatic aminocatalysis can be traced back to before the renaissance of organocatalysis in the early 2000s. So far, aromatic aminocatalysis has been widely applied in bioconjugation reactions through transamination; in asymmetric organocatalysis through imine/enamine tautomerization; and in cooperative catalysis with transition metals through C?H/C?C activation and functionalization. This Focus Review summarizes the advent of and major advances in the use of aromatic aminocatalysis in bioconjugation reactions and organic synthesis.     

Highly enantioselective Michael-cyclization cascade promoted by synergistic asymmetric aminocatalysis and Lewis acid catalysis

The novel dual cooperative asymmetric aminocatalysis and Lewis acid catalysis has been successfully developed for promoting cascade Michael-cyclization reaction with high enantio-, regio- and chemo-selectivity. The simple and practical process affords a one-pot approach to synthetically useful cyclopentenes.     

The Diarylprolinol Silyl Ethers: Ten Years After

Asymmetric organocatalysis has experienced an incredible development since the beginning of this century. The expansion of the field has led to a large number of efficient types of catalysts. One group, the diarylprolinol silyl ethers, was introduced in 2005 and has been established as one of the most frequently used in aminocatalysis. In this Minireview, we will take a look in the rear‐view mirror, ten years after the introduction of the diarylprolinol silyl ethers. We will focus on the perspectives of the different activation modes made available by this catalytic system. Starting with a short introduction to aminocatalysis, we will outline the properties that have made the diarylprolinol silyl ethers a common choice of catalyst. Furthermore, we will describe the major tendencies in the activation and reaction concepts developed with regard to reactivity patterns and combinations with other activation concepts.     

Cinchona‐based Primary Amine Catalysis in the Asymmetric Functionalization of Carbonyl Compounds

Asymmetric aminocatalysis exploits the potential of chiral primary and secondary amines to catalyze asymmetric reactions. It has greatly simplified the functionalization of carbonyl compounds while ensuring high enantioselectivity. Recent advances in cinchona‐based primary amine catalysis have provided new synthetic opportunities and conceptual perspectives for successfully attacking major challenges in carbonyl compound chemistry, which traditional approaches have not been able to address. This Review outlines the historical context for the development of this catalyst class while charting the landmark discoveries and applications that have further expanded the synthetic potential of aminocatalysis.     

One‐pot synthesis of polyfluoroterphenyls via palladium‐catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of chlorobromobenzene and CH bond functionalization of perfluoroarenes

An efficient tandem route for the synthesis of polyfluoroterphenyl derivatives has been developed. The target compounds were obtained in moderate to good yields by a Pd(OAc)₂‐catalyzed three‐component coupling reaction involving palladium‐catalyzed direct C? H activation of perfluoroarenes. This in turn will set the stage for a wide application of this useful reaction for the synthesis of fluorinated liquid crystal compounds containing the privileged polyfluoroterphenyl structure. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recent progress in copper catalyzed asymmetric Henry reaction

Henry reaction is one of the most classical reactions to construct synthetically useful product nitro alcohol, which as a privileged skeleton is widely distributed in various pharmaceuticals. This review summarizes the recent progress of copper-catalyzed asymmetric Henry reaction from 2011 to 2016. The significant progress that has been made in this area will be highlighted and some of challenges that the author believes may be hindering further progress will be revealed.     

Asymmetric aminocatalysis--gold rush in organic chemistry

Catalysis with chiral secondary amines (asymmetric aminocatalysis) has become a well-established and powerful synthetic tool for the chemo- and enantioselective functionalization of carbonyl compounds. In the last eight years alone, this field has grown at such an extraordinary pace that it is now recognized as an independent area of synthetic chemistry, where the goal is the preparation of any chiral molecule in an efficient, rapid, and stereoselective manner. This has been made possible by the impressive level of scientific competition and high quality research generated in this area. This Review describes this "Asymmetric Aminocatalysis Gold Rush" and charts the milestones in its development. As in all areas of science, progress depends on human effort.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Electrochemical α-Arylation of Cyclic β-Ketocarbonyls with Anodic Benzyne Intermediates

Asymmetric catalysis with benzyne remains elusive because of the highly fleeting and nonpolar nature of benzyne intermediates. Reported herein is an electrochemical approach for the oxidative generation of benzynes (cyclohexyne) and its successful merging with chiral primary aminocatalysis, formulating the first catalytic asymmetric enamine–benzyne (cyclohexyne) coupling reaction. Cobalt acetate was identified to stabilize the in situ generated arynes and facilitate its coupling with an enamine. This catalytic enamine-benzyne protocol provides a concise method for the construction of diverse α-aryl (α-cyclohexenyl) quaternary carbon stereogenic centers with good stereoselectivities.     

Redox Tuning of a Direct Asymmetric Aldol Reaction

Presented herein is a redox tuning strategy for asymmetric aminocatalysis with a designed chiral ferrocenophane. Under redox control, the ferrocenophane catalyst efficiently catalyzes the asymmetric aldol reaction at room temperature with excellent yield and good stereoselectivity. Moreover, the redox‐active ferrocene moiety also served as phase‐tag to facilitate catalyst recovery and reuse. The catalyst can be reused for five cycles without much loss of activity. Ferrocenium of the oxidized ferrocenophane was proposed to serve as Lewis acidic site, thus accounting for the stereo control.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Electrochemical α‐Arylation of Cyclic β‐Ketocarbonyls with Anodic Benzyne Intermediates

Asymmetric catalysis with benzyne remains elusive because of the highly fleeting and nonpolar nature of benzyne intermediates. Reported herein is an electrochemical approach for the oxidative generation of benzynes (cyclohexyne) and its successful merging with chiral primary aminocatalysis, formulating the first catalytic asymmetric enamine–benzyne (cyclohexyne) coupling reaction. Cobalt acetate was identified to stabilize the in situ generated arynes and facilitate its coupling with an enamine. This catalytic enamine‐benzyne protocol provides a concise method for the construction of diverse α‐aryl (α‐cyclohexenyl) quaternary carbon stereogenic centers with good stereoselectivities.     

Hydrogen‐Bond‐Mediated Asymmetric Catalysis

The utilization of hydrogen bonding as an activation force has become a powerful tool in asymmetric organocatalysis. Significant advances have been made in the recent past in this emerging field. Due to space constraints, this Focus Review summarizes only the key aspects with an emphasis on catalysis based on chiral ureas and thioureas, diols, and phosphoric acids. The examples provided neatly demonstrate that chiral ureas and thioureas, diols, and phosphoric acids display effective and unique activation modes of catalysis for a broad spectrum of asymmetric organic transformations, including single‐step and multiple‐step cascade reactions. These functionalities, which have the ability to afford efficient H‐bond activation of electrophiles including C?O, C?N, aziridines, and epoxides, have established their status as “privileged” functional groups in the design of organocatalysts.     

Organocatalytic Cascade Reactions for the Diversification of Thiopyrano-Piperidone Fused Rings Utilizing Trienamine Activation

An aminocatalytic privileged diversity-oriented synthesis (ApDOS) strategy utilizing trienamine catalysis for the construction of diverse and complex thiopyrans-piperidone fused rings through a thia-Diels–Alder/nucleophilic ring-closing sequence by using dithioamides as activated heterodienophiles is reported. Following this strategy, a super cascade reaction to assemble nine fused rings can be achieved by employing a bis-dithioamide. Additionally, by linking an indole moiety on the dithioamide, a Pictet–Spengler type reaction can be promoted once the cascade sequence has been achieved, leading to more complex penta- hexa- and heptacyclic fused ring derivatives in a one-pot process. This investigation opens new perspectives for the synthesis of a new class of complex and diverse thiopyrans that contribute to populate new relevant regions in the chemical space.     

手性氮氧-Ni(Ⅱ)络合物催化三氟甲基酮酸酯的不对称羰基ene反应

本工作对手性氮氧–镍络合物催化剂在不对称羰基ene反应中的应用进行了深入研究,通过对配体结构和反应条件的优化,实现了三氟甲基酮酸酯的不对称羰基ene反应.实验发现,氮氧配体的结构对反应对映选择性有很大影响,其中酰胺结构中苯环2,6-位大位阻供电取代基对于反应立体选择性控制起着至关重要的作用.该催化体系有广泛的底物普适性,对一系列α-甲基烯烃都能得到高达80%～96%的收率和97%～>99%ee的对映选择性.同时,通过对照实验以及对催化剂单晶结构的分析,提出了可能的反应过渡态,为该系列催化剂的拓展提供了基础.     

Copper-catalyzed cross dehydrogenative coupling reactions of tertiary amines with ketones or indoles

A novel cross dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reaction of N,N-dimethylanilines with methyl ketones by cooperative copper and aminocatalysis has been developed, which leads to the formation of β-arylamino ketones in 42-73% yields. Moreover, the copper-catalyzed alkylation of free (NH) indoles with N,N-dimethylanilines via CDC reaction is also presented, affording alkylated indoles in 52-78% yields.     

Acid-base bifunctional and dielectric outer-sphere effects in heterogeneous catalysis: a comparative investigation of model primary amine catalysts

Dielectric and acid-base bifunctional effects are elucidated in heterogeneous aminocatalysis using a synthetic strategy based on bulk silica imprinting. Acid-base cooperativity between silanols and amines yields a bifunctional catalyst for the Henry reaction that forms alpha,beta-unsaturated product via quasi-equilibrated iminium intermediate. Solid-state UV/vis spectroscopy of catalyst materials treated with salicylaldehyde demonstrates zwitterionic iminium ion to be the thermodynamically preferred product in the bifunctional catalyst. This product is observed to a much lesser extent relative to its neutral imine tautomer in primary amine catalysts having outer-sphere silanols partially replaced by aprotic functional groups. One of these primary amine catalysts, consisting of a polar outer-sphere environment derived from cyano-terminated capping groups, has activity comparable to that of the bifunctional catalyst in the Henry reaction, but instead forms the beta-nitro alcohol product in high selectivity (approximately 99%). This appears to be the first observation of selective alcohol formation in primary amine catalysis of the Henry reaction. A primary amine catalyst with a methyl-terminated outer-sphere also produces alcohol, albeit at a rate that is 50-fold slower than the cyano-terminated catalyst, demonstrating that outer-sphere dielectric constant affects catalyst activity. We further investigate the importance of organizational effects in enabling acid-base cooperativity within the context of bifunctional catalysis, and the unique role of the solid surface as a macroscopic ligand to impose this cooperativity. Our results unequivocally demonstrate that reaction mechanism and product selectivity in heterogeneous aminocatalysis are critically dependent on the outer-sphere environment.     

亚砜叶立德在C—H键活化反应中的应用研究进展

过渡金属催化的导向C—H键活化反应具有反应效率高、选择性好、原子经济等优点,特别是卡宾前体参与的C—H活化反应已经发展为一种新颖的构筑碳碳键的合成策略.相比于传统的重氮化合物等卡宾前体,亚砜叶立德作为一种新型的卡宾前体,具有易于制备、性质稳定、操作安全等诸多优点,被广泛应用于C—H活化反应,可以便捷地转化成各种酰甲基化...     

Chiral Iminophosphoranes—An Emerging Class of Superbase Organocatalysts

Chiral Brønsted base catalysis is a fascinating and highly explored field of research. For many years catalysts based on chincona alkaloid chiral scaffolds have constituted privileged systems widely employed in numerous base‐promoted organic transformations. Recently, a novel group of chiral base catalysts has been successfully introduced. The application of organosuperbases, namely cyclopropenimines, guanidines, and iminophosphoranes, as chiral catalysts is receiving increasing attention. The aim of this Concept article is to summarize recent progress in the field of chiral iminophosphorane superbase organocatalysis. Catalysts design, different approaches to their synthesis, and applications in asymmetric synthesis are outlined and discussed in detail.     

Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Sequential C−H Activation and Cyclization from N-Methoxyarylamides and 3-Diazooxindoles for the Synthesis of Isochromenoindolones

An efficient synthetic method for structurally various isochromenoindolones has been demonstrated through Rh(III)-catalyzed C−H activation followed by a cyclization reaction of N-methoxyarylamides with 3-diazooxindoles. The sequential reaction involves the streamlined formation of C−C and C−O bonds in one pot. The present method provides a broad range of isochromenoindolones as a new privileged scaffold in moderate to good yields with the release of methoxyamine and molecular nitrogen and has the benefits of a broad substrate scope and good functional group tolerance.     

Hydrogen‐Bonding in Aminocatalysis: From Proline and Beyond

This Concept article summarizes recent progress in the field of hydrogen‐bonding aminocatalysis using proline‐derived systems. The aminocatalysts available in the literature are categorized by the incorporated hydrogen‐bonding scaffold and its mode of recognition. Both mono‐ and double‐hydrogen‐bonding motifs are discussed and examples of their application in asymmetric synthesis are given.