P(i-BuNCH2CH2)3N: an effective ligand in the palladium-catalyzed amination of aryl bromides and iodides

It is shown that the bicyclic triaminophosphine P(i-BuNCH2CH2)3N serves as an effective ligand for the palladium-catalyzed amination of a wide array of aryl bromides and iodides. Other bicyclic or acyclic triaminophosphines, even those of similar basicity and/or bulk, were inferior.     

Titanium alkoxides as initiators for the controlled polymerization of lactide

Fourteen titanium alkoxides were synthesized for comparison of their catalytic properties in the bulk and solution polymerization of lactide (LA). In bulk polymerizations, they are effective catalysts in terms of polymer yield and molecular weight. Titanatranes gave polylactides with significantly increased molecular weight over more extended polymerization times, and those with five-membered rings afforded polymers in higher yields and with larger molecular weights than their six-membered ring counterparts. Steric hindrance of the rings was found to significantly affect polymer yields. Increased heterotactic-biased poly(rac-LA) was formed as the number of chlorine atoms increased in TiCl(x)(O-i-Pr)(4)(-)(x). In solution polymerizations, titanium alkoxides catalyzed controlled polymerizations of LA, and end group analysis demonstrated that an alkoxide substituent on the titanium atom acted as the initiator. That polymerization is controlled under our conditions was shown by the linearity of molecular weight versus conversion. A tendency toward formation of heterotactic-biased poly(rac-LA) was observed in the solution polymerizations. The rate of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and the molecular weight of the polymers are greatly influenced by the substituents on the catalyst, as well as by factors such as the polymerization temperature, polymerization time, and concentration of monomer and catalyst.     

P[N(i-Bu)CH(2)CH(2)](3)N: nonionic Lewis base for promoting the room-temperature synthesis of α,β-unsaturated esters, fluorides, ketones, and nitriles using Wadsworth-Emmons phosphonates

The bicyclic triaminophosphine P(RNCH(2)CH(2))(3)N (R = i-Bu, 1c) serves as an effective promoter for the room-temperature stereoselective synthesis of α,β-unsaturated esters, fluorides, and nitriles from a wide array of aromatic, aliphatic, heterocyclic, and cyclic aldehydes and ketones, using a range of Wadsworth-Emmons (WE) phosphonates. Among the analogues of 1c [R = Me (1a), i-Pr (1b), Bn (1d)], 1a and 1b performed well, although longer reaction times were involved, and 1d led to poorer yields than 1c. Functionalities such as cyano, chloro, bromo, methoxy, amino, ester, and nitro were well tolerated. We were able to isolate and characterize (by X-ray means; see above) the reactive WE intermediate species formed from 2b and 1c.     

Organic-organometallic crystal engineering: novel formation of a honeycomb supramolecular architecture of [Re2(mu-OMe)3(CO)6]- anions encapsulating a linear H-bonded chain of [DABCO-H]+ cations

The title salt [Re(2)(mu-OMe)(3)(CO)(6)](-)[DABCO-H](+) (1) was prepared as colorless prismatic crystals by the reaction of DABCO with Re(CO)(5)(OTf) in refluxing methanol solution and was characterized by spectroscopic means including single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. The molecular structure of 1 revealed that a novel honeycomb supramolecular architecture of the anionic organometallic complex created a cavity with an effective diameter of 7.450(3) A that houses a linear H-bonded chain of [DABCO-H](+) in its center. This structure also represents the first example of the use of a linear chain of [DABCO-H](+) species as a countercation for a coordination compound.     

Reactions of tris(amino)phosphines with arylsulfonyl azides: product dependency on tris(amino)phosphine structure

The Staudinger reaction of N(CH2CH2NR)3P [R = Me (1), Pr (2)] with 1 equiv of N3SO2C6H4Me-4 gave the ionic phosphazides [N(CH2CH2NR)3PN][SO2C6H4Me-4] [R = Me (3), R = Pr (5a)], and the same reaction of 2 with N3SO2C6H2Me3-2,4,6 gave the corresponding aryl sulfinite 5b. On the other hand, the reaction of 1 with 0.5 equiv of N3SO2Ar (Ar = C6H4Me-4) furnished the novel ionic phosphazide [[N(CH2CH2NMe)3P]2(mu-N3)][SO2Ar] (6). Data that shed light on the mechanistic pathway leading to 3 were obtained by low temperature 31P NMR spectroscopy. A crystal and molecular structure analysis of the phosphazide sulfonate [N(CH2CH2NMe)3PN3][SO3C6H4Me-4] (4), obtained by atmospheric oxidation of 3, indicated an ionic structure, the cationic part of which is stabilized by a transannular P-N bond. A crystal and molecular structure analysis of 6 also indicated an ionic structure in which the cation features two untransannulated N(CH2CH2NMe)3P cages bridged by an azido group in an eta 1: mu: eta 1 fashion. The reaction of P(NMe2)3 with N3SO2Ar (Ar = C6H4Me-4) in a 1:0.5 molar ratio furnished [[(Me2N)3P]2(mu-N3)][SO2-Ar] (11) in quantitative yield. On the other hand, the same reaction involving a 1:1 molar ratio of P(NMe2)3 and N3SO2Ar produced a mixture of 11, [(Me2N)3PN3][SO2Ar] (12), and the iminophosphorane (Me2N)3P=NSO2Ar (10). In contrast, the bicyclic tris(amino)phosphines MeC(CH2NMe)3P (7) and O=P(CH2NMe)3P (8) reacted with N3SO2-Ar (Ar = C6H4Me-4) to give the iminophosphorane MeC(CH2NMe)3P=NSO2Ar (14) (structured by X-ray means) and O=P(CH2NMe)3P=NSO2Ar (16) via the intermediate phosphazides MeC(CH2NMe)3PN3SO2Ar (13) and O=P(CH2NMe)3PN3SO2Ar (15), respectively. The variety of products obtained from the reactions of arylsulfonyl azides with proazaphosphatranes (1 and 2), acyclic P(NMe2)3, bicyclic tris(amino)phosphines 7 and 8 are rationalized in terms of steric and basicity variations among the phosphorus reagents.     

P(MeNCH2CH2)3N: an efficient catalyst for the desilylation of tert-butyldimethylsilyl ethers

tert-Butyldimethylsilyl (TBDMS) ethers of primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols and phenolic TBDMS ethers are desilylated to their corresponding alcohols and phenols, respectively, in DMSO, at 80 degrees C, in 68-94% yield in the presence of 0.2-0.4 equiv of P(MeNCH2CH2)3N. Using P(i-PrNCH2-CH2)3N as the catalyst, 85-97% yields of desilylated alcohols were obtained from TBDMS ethers of 1-octanol, 2-phenoxyethanol, and racemic alpha-phenyl ethanol. These are the first examples of desilylations of silyl ethers catalyzed by nonionic bases. Both catalysts were much less effective for the desilylation of tert-butyldiphenylsilyl (TBDPS) ethers (22-45% yield) under the same conditions as used for TBDMS ethers. Possible pathways involving nucleophilic attack of the anion of the solvent molecule (generated by the catalyst) at the Si-O bond of silyl ether or a prior activation of the silyl ether by the catalyst via a P-Si interaction followed by nucleophilic attack of the solvent anion are proposed on the basis of 1H and 31P NMR experimental data.