Metal-to-Metal Distance Modulated Au(I)/Ru(II) Cyclophanyl Complexes: Cooperative Effects in Photoredox Catalysis

The modular synthesis of Au(I)/Ru(II) decorated mono- and heterobimetallic complexes with π-conjugated [2.2]paracyclophane is described. [2.2]Paracyclophane serves as a rigid spacer which holds the metal centers in precise spatial orientations and allows metal-to-metal distance modulation. A broad set of architectural arrangements of pseudo -geminal, -ortho, -meta, and -para substitution patterns were employed. Metal-to-metal distance modulation of Au(I)/Ru(II) heterobimetallic complexes and the innate transannular π-communication of the cyclophanyl scaffold provides a promising platform for the investigations of structure-activity relationship and cooperative effects. The Au(I)/Ru(II) heterobimetallic cyclophanyl complexes are stable, easily accessible, and exhibit promising catalytic activity in the visible-light promoted arylative Meyer-Schuster rearrangement.     

Olefination of α,α'-divinyl ketones through catalytic Meyer-Schuster rearrangement

The direct olefination of 1,4-dien-3-ones remains a synthetic challenge. A two-step protocol, employing acetylide addition followed by catalytic Meyer-Schuster rearrangement has been developed for the olefination of 1,4-pentadien-3-ones to afford [3]dendralenes. Many of the traditional methods for the Meyer-Schuster rearrangement of alkynyl carbinols are not suitable with these highly unsaturated substrates because of their acid sensitivity. Unexpected reactivity during attempted rearrangement, including Nazarov-type electrocyclizations, is presented, along with conditions to promote the Meyer-Schuster rearrangement of ethoxyacetylene adducts using catalytic VO(acac)(2).     

Olefination of ketones using a gold(III)-catalyzed Meyer-Schuster rearrangement

An atom-economical and efficient olefination strategy for ketones is described. Ethoxyacetylide addition followed by a gold-catalyzed Meyer-Schuster rearrangement affords alpha,beta-unsaturated esters, generally in excellent overall yield from the starting ketones. The alkynophilicity of Au3+ promotes an interaction with the electron-rich acetylenes that catalyzes the Meyer-Schuster rearrangement selectively over other conceivable pathways.     

Organocatalytic Asymmetric Arylative Dearomatization of 2,3‐Disubstituted Indoles Enabled by Tandem Reactions

The organocatalytic asymmetric arylative dearomatization of indoles was achieved through two tandem approaches involving 2,3‐disubstituted indoles and quinone imine ketals. One approach utilized the enantioselective cascade 1,4 addition/alcohol elimination reaction, the other employed the one‐pot tandem arylative dearomatization/transfer hydrogenation sequence. In both cases, enantiomerically pure indole derivatives that bear an all‐carbon quaternary stereogenic center were generated in high yields and excellent stereoselectivities (all d.r.>95:5, up to 99 % ee).     

Conversion of α acetylenic alcohols into αβ unsaturated aldehydes

Very mild conditions have been found for the efficient regioselective addition of phenylthiol to ethynyl carbinols. A biphasic aqueous acid hydrolysis then leads to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. The Meyer-Schuster rearrangement is thus brought about in two steps.     

A general procedure for the synthesis of enones via gold-catalyzed Meyer-Schuster rearrangement of propargylic alcohols at room temperature

Meyer-Schuster rearrangements of propargylic alcohols take place readily at room temperature in toluene with 1-2 mol % PPh(3)AuNTf(2), in the presence of 0.2 equiv of 4-methoxyphenylboronic acid or 1 equiv of methanol. Good to excellent yields of enones can be obtained from secondary and tertiary alcohols, with high selectivity for the E-alkene in most cases. A one-pot procedure for the conversion of primary propargylic alcohols into β-arylketones was also developed, via Meyer-Schuster rearrangement followed by Pd-catalayzed addition of a boronic acid.     

Lewis acid-catalyzed Meyer-Schuster reactions: methodology for the olefination of aldehydes and ketones

In principle, the most efficient and atom-economical means of converting an aldehyde or ketone into the homologated α,β-unsaturated ester is through addition/rearrangement sequences involving acetylenic π-bonds (Scheme 1). Implementation of such a strategy for the synthesis of α,β-unsaturated esters is presented: addition of ethoxyacetylene followed by scandium(III) triflate-catalyzed Meyer-Schuster rearrangement reaction. Stereoselectivities range from good to excellent in the formation of disubstituted α,β-unsaturated esters from aldehydes (Table 3). The two-stage olefination of even the most hindered ketones proceeds with near perfect efficiency (Table 4).     

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of (+)-anthecotulide using enyne and Meyer-Schuster rearrangements

The bioactive sesquiterpene lactone (+)-anthecotulide (1) is synthesized for the first time, in a six-step sequence devoid of protecting groups. The key transformations are a novel Rh(I)-catalyzed asymmetric enyne rearrangement of a terminal alkynyl ester (4), to form the α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone core, and a final-step mild Au(I)-catalyzed Meyer-Schuster rearrangement.     

One-pot consecutive reactions based on the synthesis of conjugated enones by the re-catalysed meyer-schuster rearrangement

Re catalysis in one-pot reactions: An atom-economical, one-pot strategy that involves alkyne deprotonation and a subsequent rhenium(V)-catalysed Meyer-Schuster rearrangement of the alkynol to provide α,?-unsaturated enones in high yield has been developed. Subsequent in situ hydride reduction or Diels-Alder reaction of the enones provided products in good-to-high overall yields.     

The Meyer-Schuster rearrangement: a new synthetic strategy leading to prostaglandins and their drug analogs, Bimatoprost and Latanoprost

Gold(I) mediated Meyer-Schuster rearrangement for the installation of the ‘lower’ side chain of prostaglandins and their analogs has been developed. This Au-mediated rearrangement, featuring a low catalyst loading and mild reaction conditions, has been demonstrated to be an efficient alternative to the standard Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction in prostaglandin chemistry. Moreover, the present results provide a new synthetic process leading to pharmacologically active prostanoids: Latanoprost and Bimatoprost, that continue to hold key positions in the anti-glaucoma drug market.     

Reductive cyclization of o-nitrophenyl propargyl alcohols: facile synthesis of substituted quinolines

Reduction of secondary and tertiary o-nitrophenyl propargyl alcohols followed by acid-catalyzed Meyer-Schuster rearrangement gave 2-substituted and 2,4-disubstituted quinolines, respectively. Tertiary propargyl alcohols gave excellent yields of the quinoline derivative, while the yields of quinolines were slightly reduced when secondary propargyl alcohol derivatives were utilized.     

Lewis acid-catalyzed cascade reactions of arylmethylenecyclopropanes with 1,1,3-triarylprop-2-yn-1-ols or their methyl ethers

Arylmethylenecyclopropanes 1 can react with 3-methoxy-1,3,3-triarylprop-1-yne 2 or 1,1,3-triarylprop-2-yn-1-ol 2-OH to give the corresponding functionalized methylenecyclobutene, cyclobutane, and cyclopropane derivatives in the presence of Lewis acid BF3.OEt2 under mild conditions. A plausible Meyer-Schuster rearrangement mechanism has been proposed.     

Mercuric triflate-catalyzed reaction of propargyl acetates with water leading vinyl ketones

[reaction: see text]. Reaction of propargyl acetate with water catalyzed by Hg(OTf)2 afforded vinyl ketone as the major product along with a dimeric vinyl mercuric product and normal hydration products in small amounts. The reaction is an alternative to the Meyer-Schuster and Rupe rearrangement applicable to primary alcohols, although the mechanism is entirely different.     

Synthesis of novel 5,6-substituted furo[2,3-d]pyrimidines via Pd-catalyzed cyclization of alkynylpyrimidinols with aryl iodides

A flexible method for the synthesis of 5,6-disubstituted furo[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives is described. The key step is a palladium-catalyzed arylative cyclization of alkynylpyrimidinols with various aryl iodides, which gave the title compounds in 36-75% yield.     

One-pot synthesis of new iso-DPP derivatives from terminal alkynes and isocyanates

The reaction of phenyl acetylide anion with aryl isocyanates followed by quenching with water is shown to produce pyrrolopyrrole (iso-DPP) derivatives in addition to the isomeric cyclopentadienone imines previously reported. If the reaction is quenched with dilute HCl, 5-ylidenepyrrol-2(5H)-ones, formed by a Meyer-Schuster rearrangement, can be isolated instead. A possible mechanism for this reaction is suggested.     

Alkene Carboarylation through Catalyst-Free,Visible Light-Mediated Smiles Rearrangement

A light-mediated Truce–Smiles arylative rearrangement is described that proceeds in the absence of any photocatalyst. The protocol creates two C−C bonds from simple starting materials, with the installation of an aryl ring and a difluoroacetate moiety across unactivated alkenes. The reaction proceeds via a radical mechanism, utilizing a light-mediated reduction of ethyl bromodifluoroacetate by N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) to set up intermolecular addition to an unactivated alkene, followed by Truce–Smiles rearrangement.     

Heterogeneous gold-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling of propargylic acetates with arylboronic acids leading to (E)-α-arylenones

An efficient heterogeneous gold-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling of propargylic acetates with arylboronic acids has been developed that proceeds smoothly in the presence of Selectfluor and provides a general and powerful tool for the preparation of various valuable α-arylenones with moderate to good yields, excellent E-selectivity, and recyclability of the gold catalyst. The reaction is the first example of heterogeneous gold-catalyzed arylative rearrangement of propargylic acetates for construction of complex enones.     

Gold- and silver-catalyzed reactions of propargylic alcohols in the presence of protic additives

A wide range of primary, secondary and tertiary propargylic alcohols undergo a Meyer-Schuster rearrangement to give enones at room temperature in the presence of a gold(I) catalyst and small quantities of MeOH or 4-methoxyphenylboronic acid. The syntheses of the enone natural products isoegomaketone and daphenone were achieved using this reaction as the key step. The rearrangement of primary propargylic alcohols can readily be combined in a one-pot procedure with the addition of a nucleophile to the resulting terminal enone, to give β-aryl, β-alkoxy, β-amino or β-sulfido ketones. Propargylic alcohols bearing an adjacent electron-rich aryl group can also undergo silver-catalyzed substitution of the alcohol with oxygen, nitrogen and carbon nucleophiles. This latter reaction was initially observed with a batch of gold catalyst that was probably contaminated with small quantities of silver salt.     

Lewis acid catalyzed cascade reactions of diarylvinylidenecyclopropanes and 1,1,3-triarylprop-2-yn-1-ols or their methyl ethers

The reactions of vinylidenecyclopropanes 1 with 1,1,3-triarylprop-2-yn-1-ols or their methyl ethers 2 in the presence of a Lewis acid selectively produce 4-dihydro-1H-cyclopenta[b]naphthalene derivatives 3 or 1,2,3,8-tetrahydrocyclopenta[a]indene derivatives 4 depending on the substituents on the cyclopropane. Good to high yields are obtained under mild conditions. A plausible cascade Meyer-Schuster rearrangement and Friedel-Crafts reaction mechanism has been proposed. Moreover, novel functionalized methylenecyclobutene derivatives 5 could also be obtained in moderate to good yields under similar conditions when strongly electron-donating methoxy groups were introduced into the benzene rings of 2.     

The meyer-schuster rearrangement and hydrohalide addition of 3-alkynyl-3-hydroxy-1H-isoindol-1-ones

Treatment of N-methyl and N-phenylphthalimide with appropiate lithium acetylides in tetrahydrofuran obtained the acetylenic alcohols 2a through 2h . These compounds, when subjected to mildly acidic hydrolysis conditions in aqueous organic solvents, underwent Meyer-Schuster rearrangement to yield the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds 4a through 4h which were determined to have the E configuration. The phenyl ethynyl analogs of series 4 underwent hydrohalide addition when treated with hydrogen halides in water solution.