Catalytic Reductive Pinacol‐Type Rearrangement of Unactivated 1,2‐Diols through a Concerted,Stereoinvertive Mechanism

A catalytic pinacol‐type reductive rearrangement reaction of internal 1,2‐diols is reported herein. Several scaffolds not usually amenable to pinacol‐type reactions, such as aliphatic secondary–secondary diols, undergo the transformation well without the need for prefunctionalization. The reaction uses a simple boron catalyst and two silanes and proceeds through a concerted, stereoinvertive mechanism that enables the preparation of highly enantiomerically enriched products. Computational studies have been used to rationalize the preference for migration over direct deoxygenation.     

A One‐Pot Cross‐Pinacol Coupling/Rearrangement Procedure

A new catalytic retro‐pinacol/cross‐pinacol reaction, followed by subsequent rearrangement or deoxygenation of the intermediately formed vicinal diols, is described. This operationally simple one‐pot protocol allows isolation of geminal α,α‐diphenyl ketones or 1,1‐diphenyl alkenes with high yields and selectivities.     

Cascade‐ and Orthoamide‐Type Overman Rearrangements of Allylic Vicinal Diols

This article describes the details of two new types of Overman rearrangement from allylic vicinal diols. Starting from identical diols, both bis(imidate)s and cyclic orthoamides were selectively synthesized by simply changing the reaction conditions. Whilst exposure of the bis(imidate)s to thermal conditions initiated the double Overman rearrangement to introduce two identical nitrogen groups in a single operation (the cascade‐type Overman rearrangement), the reaction of cyclic orthoamides resulted in a single rearrangement (the orthoamide‐type Overman rearrangement). The newly generated allylic alcohols from the orthoamide‐type reaction can potentially undergo a variety of further transformations. For instance, we demonstrated an Overman/Claisen sequence in one pot. The most conspicuous feature of this method is that it offers precise control over the number of Overman rearrangements from the same allylic vicinal diols. This method also excludes the tedious protecting‐group manipulations of the homoallylic alcohols, which are necessary in conventional Overman rearrangements. All of the performed rearrangements proceeded in a completely diastereoselective fashion through a chair‐like transition state.     

A Cascade “Prins‐Pinacol‐Type Rearrangement and C4‐OBn Participation” on Carbohydrate Substrates: Synthesis of Bridged Tricyclic Ketals,Annulated Sugars and C2‐Branched Heptoses

A “Prins pinacol type rearrangement followed by C4‐OBn participation” in a cascade manner has been observed while probing the fate of carbocation in some carbohydrate derived homoallylic alcohols in the Prins reaction. This has led to an easy access to tetrahydrofuran‐fused bridged bicyclic ketals (or tetrahydrofuran‐fused 1,6‐anhydro‐heptopyranose frameworks) which are further converted into some annulated sugars and C2‐branched heptoses.     

Reactions of 9,9′‐bibenzonorbornenylidene sulfoxides with TMSOTf: Anomalous pinacol‐type rearrangement of thiirane 1‐Oxides

syn‐9,9′‐Bibenzonorbornenylidene sulfoxide 8b underwent pinacol‐type rearrangement to form 9 , together with a mixture of thiiranes 4a and 4b by reaction with TMSOTf in CH₂Cl₂ at room temperature. The rearrangement of anti‐sulfoxide 8a proceeded more slowly giving a mixture of 9, 4a , and 4b . © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 20:29–34, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20507     

Catalysts and temperature driven melt polycondensation reaction for helical poly(ester‐urethane)s based on natural L‐amino acids

Catalyst and temperature driven melt polycondensation reaction was developed for natural L‐amino acid monomers to produce new classes of poly(ester‐urethane)s. Wide ranges of catalysts from alkali, alkali earth metal, transition metal and lanthanides were developed for the condensation of amino acid monomers with diols to yield poly(ester‐urethane)s. A‐B Diblock and A‐B‐A triblock species were obtained by carefully choosing mono‐ or diols in model reactions. More than two dozens of transition metal and lanthanide catalysts were identified for the polycondensation to yield high molecular weight poly(ester‐urethane)s. Theoretical studies revealed that the carbonyl carbon in ester possessed low electron density compared to the carbonyl carbon in urethane which driven the thermo‐selective polymerization process. Optical purity of the L‐amino acid residues in the melt polycondensation process was investigated using D‐ and L‐isomers and the resultant products were analyzed by chiral‐HPLC and CD spectroscopy. CD analysis revealed that the amino acid based polymers were self‐assembled as β‐sheet and polyproline type II secondary structures. Electron and atomic force microscopic analysis confirmed the formation of helical nano‐fibrous morphology in poly(ester‐urethane)s. The newly developed melt polycondensation process is very efficient and optimized for wide range of catalysts to produce diverse polymer structures from natural L‐amino acids. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1065–1077     

A Direct,Concise, and Enantioselective Synthesis of 2‐Substituted 4,4,4‐Trifluorobutane‐1,3‐diols Based on the Organocatalytic In Situ Generation of Unstable Trifluoroacetaldehyde

A direct, concise, and enantioselective synthesis of 2‐substituted 4,4,4‐trifluorobutane‐1,3‐diols based on the organocatalytic asymmetric direct aldol reaction of an ethyl hemiacetal of trifluoroacetaldehyde with various aldehydes was examined. A catalytic amount (30 mol %) of commercially available and inexpensive l ‐prolinamide is quite effective as an organocatalyst for the catalytic in situ generation of gaseous and unstable trifluoroacetaldehyde from its hemiacetal, and a successive asymmetric direct aldol reaction with various aldehydes in dichloromethane at 0 °C, followed by reduction with sodium borohydride, gives 2‐substituted 4,4,4‐trifluorobutane‐1,3‐diols in moderate to good yields (31–84 %) with low diastereoselectivities and good to excellent enantioselectivities (64–97 % ee).     

Regio‐ and Stereoselective Homologation of 1,2‐Bis(Boronic Esters): Stereocontrolled Synthesis of 1,3‐Diols and Sch 725674

1,2‐Bis(boronic esters), derived from the enantioselective diboration of terminal alkenes, can be selectively homologated at the primary boronic ester by using enantioenriched primary/secondary lithiated carbamates or benzoates to give 1,3‐bis(boronic esters), which can be subsequently oxidized to the corresponding secondary‐secondary and secondary‐tertiary 1,3‐diols with full stereocontrol. The transformation was applied to a concise total synthesis of the 14‐membered macrolactone, Sch 725674. The nine‐step synthetic route also features a novel desymmetrizing enantioselective diboration of a divinyl carbinol derivative and high‐yielding late‐stage cross‐metathesis and Yamaguchi macrolactonization reactions.     

Synthesis of meta‐Terphenyl‐2,2′′‐diols by Anodic C−C Cross‐Coupling Reactions

The anodic C?C cross‐coupling reaction is a versatile synthetic approach to symmetric and non‐symmetric biphenols and arylated phenols. We herein present a metal‐free electrosynthetic method that provides access to symmetric and non‐symmetric meta‐terphenyl‐2,2′′‐diols in good yields and high selectivity. Symmetric derivatives can be obtained by direct electrolysis in an undivided cell. The synthesis of non‐symmetric meta‐terphenyl‐2,2′′‐diols required two electrochemical steps. The reactions are easy to conduct and scalable. The method also features a broad substrate scope, and a large variety of functional groups are tolerated. The target molecules may serve as [OCO]^3? pincer ligands.     

One‐Pot Synthesis of 2,4,5‐Triphenyl Imidazoles from 1,2‐Diols as Key Reagents

A simple one‐pot procedure for the preparation of 2,4,5‐triphenyl imidazole derivatives is presented. The procedure involves the lead tetraacetate oxidation of 1,2‐diols to give aldehydes in situ , which then undergo a three‐component reaction with benzil and ammonium acetate to yield the imidazole derivatives.     

Organocatalytic Enantioselective Vinylogous Pinacol Rearrangement Enabled by Chiral Ion Pairing

An enantioselective pinacol rearrangement of functionalized (E)‐2‐butene‐1,4‐diols was developed. In the presence of a catalytic amount of a chiral BINOL‐derived N‐triflyl phosphoramide, these 1,4‐diols rearranged to β,γ‐unsaturated ketones in excellent yields and enantioselectivities. The formation of a chiral ion pair between the intermediary allylic cation and the chiral phosphoramide anion was postulated to be responsible for the highly efficient chirality transfer. These chiral building blocks were further converted into enantioenriched polysubstituted tetrahydrofuran and tetrahydronaphthalene derivatives.     

Didecarboxylative Iron‐Catalyzed Bidirectional Aldolization towards Diversity‐Oriented Ketodiol Synthesis

1,3‐Acetonedicarboxylic acid was selectively activated by Fe(acac)₃, providing a synthetic platform for rapid synthesis of keto‐3,3′‐diols. The bidirectional aldol reaction was efficient for challenging aliphatic aldehydes, providing a rapid route to potentially bioactive complex structures.     

Hydroxy‐Directed,Fluoride‐Catalyzed Epoxide Hydrosilylation for the Synthesis of 1,4‐Diols

A novel highly regioselective, fluoride‐catalyzed hydrosilylation of β‐hydroxy epoxides has been developed. The reaction is modular and applicable to the synthesis of a broad range of 1,4‐diols. Fluoride is crucial for two reasons: First, it promotes the formation of a silyl ether (which contains a Si‐H bond) and, second, it enables ring opening by an intramolecular S_N2 reaction through activation of the silane. The reaction can be performed under air.     

BCl3‐Induced Annulative Oxo‐ and Thioboration for the Formation of C3‐Borylated Benzofurans and Benzothiophenes

BCl₃‐induced borylative cyclization of aryl‐alkynes possessing ortho‐EMe (E=S, O) groups represents a simple, metal‐free method for the formation of C3‐borylated benzothiophenes and benzofurans. The dichloro(heteroaryl)borane primary products can be protected to form synthetically ubiquitous pinacol boronate esters or used in situ in Suzuki–Miyaura cross couplings to generate 2,3‐disubstituted heteroarenes from simple alkyne precursors in one pot. In a number of cases alkyne trans‐haloboration occurs alongside, or instead of, borylative cyclization and the factors controlling the reaction outcome are determined.     

Convenient Synthesis of 1H‐Indol‐1‐yl Boronates via Palladium(0)‐Catalyzed Borylation of Bromo‐1H‐indoles with ‘Pinacolborane’

An atom‐economic Pd⁰‐catalyzed synthesis of a series of pinacol‐type indolylboronates 3 from the corresponding bromoindole substrates 2 and pinacolborane (pinBH) as borylating agent was elaborated. The optimal catalyst system consisted of a 1 : 2 mixture of [Pd(OAc)₂] and the ortho‐substituted biphenylphosphine ligand L‐3 (Scheme 4, Table). Our synthetic protocol was applied to the fast, preparative‐scale synthesis of 1‐substituted indolylboronates 3a – h in the presence of different functional groups, and at a catalyst load of only 1 mol‐% of Pd.     

One‐Step Production of 1,3‐Butadiene from 2,3‐Butanediol Dehydration

We report the direct production of 1,3‐butadiene from the dehydration of 2,3‐butandiol by using alumina as catalyst. Under optimized kinetic reaction conditions, the production of methyl ethyl ketone and isobutyraldehyde, formed via the pinacol–pinacolone rearrangement, was markedly reduced and almost 80 % selectivity to 1,3‐butadiene and 1,3‐butadiene could be achieved. The presence of water plays a critical role in the inhibition of oligomerization. The amphoteric nature of γ‐Al₂O₃ was identified as important and this contributed to the improved catalytic selectivity when compared with other acidic catalysts.     

A facile method to synthesize high‐molecular‐weight biobased polyesters from 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid and long‐chain diols

In this study, biobased furan dicarboxylate polyesters have been prepared using 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) and diols with high number of methylene groups (long‐chain diols), namely, 8, 9, 10, and 12. Because of the high boiling points of these diols, a modified procedure of the well‐known melt polycondensation was applied in this work. According to this, the dimethyl ester of FDCA (DMFD) reacted in the first transesterification stage with the corresponding diols forming bis‐hydroxy‐alkylene furan dicarboxylates (BHFD). In the second stage, the BHFD reacted with DMFD again at temperatures of 150–170 °C (for 4–5 h), and in the final stage, the temperature was raised to 210–230 °C (vacuum was applied for 2–3 h). The molecular weight of the polyesters and the content of oligomers, as was verified by gel permeation chromatography analysis, depend on the polycondensation time and temperature. The chemical structure of the polyesters was verified from ¹H NMR spectroscopy. All the polymers were found to be semicrystalline, with melting temperatures from 69 to 140 °C depending on the diol used. In addition, the mechanical properties also varied with the type of diol. The higher values were observed for poly(octylene 2,5‐furanoate), whereas the lowest values were observed for poly(dodecylene 2,5‐furanoate) with the higher number of methylene groups in its repeating unit. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2617–2632     

Synthesis and properties of waterborne self‐crosslinkable sulfo‐urethane silanol dispersions

A novel type of crosslinkable waterborne polyurethane ionomer was prepared by the acetone process. Two new types of sulfonated diols compatible with this process were synthesized from dimethyl 5‐sodium sulfo isophthalate using a one‐ or two‐stage method. Isocyanate‐terminated polyurethane oligomers were prepared from the sulfonated diols with various combinations of diols and diisocyanates and subsequently reacted with amino silane derivatives. Stable, low‐volatile organic chemical, waterborne dispersions of the sulfo‐urethane silanol polymers spontaneously crosslink upon drying without extra additives or processing steps. Despite the lack of organic coalescing solvents, the dispersions have minimum film‐forming temperatures below 10 °C, regardless of glass‐transition temperature. Tensile strengths up to 6000 psi with elongations between 300 and 600% were obtained for the crosslinked films. The hard‐segment content of the films can be controlled to produce films with a Sward–Rocker hardness value up to 42. Through silane end‐group modification, the crosslinking density of the films can also be modified to produce polyurethanes with a wide range of physical properties. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3037–3045, 2002     

Dimethyl Carbonate as a Sacrificial Molecule for the Synthesis of 5‐Memebered N‐ and O‐Heterocycles

In the last twenty years DMC has been employed as an efficient methylating and methoxycarbonylating agent with several monodentate and bidentate nucleophiles, showing great selectivity and unexpected results. In this short review we report on yet another application of DMC chemistry i.e. the synthesis of 5‐membered N‐ and O‐heterocycles. In these reactions DMC acts as a sacrificial molecule since it is not present in the final products, but only in the reaction intermediates as an halogen‐free leaving group. This DMC‐based synthesis of heterocycles resulted of general application, as it is effective for aliphatic and aromatic 1,4‐diols, incorporating several functionalities (primary, secondary, tertiary, allylic, phenolic), as well as, for bifunctional compounds i.e. 4‐amino‐1‐butanol. This synthetic procedure was also employed for industrially relevant compounds such as (‐)‐norlabdane oxide and isosorbide showing to maintain the chiral integrity of the substrate. In one case intramolecular cyclisation of isosorbide was also observed to achieve a strained tricyclic derivative. Comparing this reaction methodology with a chlorine based procedure, the DMC‐mediated pathway is quantitative, occurs in one step, does not require any chlorine‐based chemical or strong acid and does not produce any chlorinated waste material.