Polystyrene-supported phosphine oxide-catalysed Beckmann rearrangement of ketoximes in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol

A polystyrene-supported phosphine oxide-catalysed Beckmann rearrangement of ketoximes in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) has been developed. Good substrate compatibility, mild reaction conditions, good yields as well as the reusability of the catalyst/solvent made this procedure more environmentally benign.     

Triflic acid–catalyzed rearrangement of unalkylated benzene sulfonanilides

Previous work has demonstrated that alkylated benzene sulfonanilides undergo sulfuric acid (98%)–catalyzed rearrangement to alkylamino diaryl sulfones. Similar treatment of their unalkylated analogs typically leads only to hydrolysis. Surprisingly, when the unalkylated benzene sulfonanilides react with triflic acid, rearrangement to sulfones does occur.     

Columnar Liquid‐Crystalline Dinaphthoperylenetetracarboxdiimides

Although the double Friedel–Crafts acylation of arenes with ethyl chloroglyoxylate is hindered by the strongly deactivating effect of the first‐entering glyoxylic substituent, the double reaction is successful with the reactive arene perylene under long reaction times and with concomitant ester hydrolysis. The reaction is regiospecific, giving the 3,9‐regioisomer exclusively. This perylenylenediglyoxylic acid is condensed first with o‐bromophenylacetic acid and then with α‐branched alkylamines to yield the title compounds. Whilst the corresponding tetraalkyl esters only show monotropic mesophases, these diimides show enantiotropic columnar mesophases that can be maintained at room temperature if racemically branched alkyl chains of moderate size are used. A palladium‐induced C?C bond migration during the build‐up of the arene system leads to an isomeric side product of reduced symmetry that can be isolated by aggregation‐controlled chromatographic separation. The HOMO and LUMO energies of the title compounds are considerably higher than those of established perylenetetracarboxdiimides.     

A novel synthetic route to rac-(Z)-recifeiolide from cyclooctanone and acetaldehyde

A novel synthetic approach to (±)-Z-recifeiolide 6, a 12-membered-ring lactone which can be selectively isomerized into (E)-recifeiolide, a natural antibiotic product isolated from fungus (Cephalosporium recifei) is reported. The synthesis is accomplished in five steps starting from readily available cyclooctanone and acetaldehyde based on the Lewis acid-catalyzed TMS-directed oxy-2-oxonia-Cope rearrangement. The work represents a novel strategy to assemble related macrolides.     

C−H Acetoxylation‐Based Chemical Synthesis of 17 β‐Hydroxymethyl‐17 α‐methyl‐18‐norandrost‐13‐ene Steroids

Palladium‐catalyzed C?H acetoxylation has been proposed as a key transformation in the first chemical synthesis of steroids bearing a unique 17β‐hydroxymethyl‐17α‐methyl‐18‐nor‐13‐ene D ‐fragment. This C?H functionalization step was crucial for inverting the configuration at the quaternary stereocenter of a readily available synthetic intermediate. The developed approach was applied to prepare the metandienone metabolite needed as a reference substance in anti‐doping analysis to control the abuse of this androgenic anabolic steroid.     

Synthesis of 2,2-Disubstituted 2H-Chromenes through Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation Utilizing a [1,2]-Phospha-Brook Rearrangement under Brønsted Base Catalysis

A new methodology for the synthesis of 2,2-disubstituted 2H-chromenes was developed by utilizing the [1,2]-phospha-Brook rearrangement under Brønsted base catalysis. Phosphazene P2-tBu efficiently catalyzed the addition reaction of 4H-chromen-4-ols containing a diethoxyphosphoryl group with α,β-unsaturated ketones, which involved the catalytic generation of a carbanion through the [1,2]-phospha-Brook rearrangement and subsequent conjugate addition at the 2-position to afford adducts possessing an alkenylphosphate moiety in a highly diastereoselective manner. Further transformation of the adducts based on a nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction with arylzinc reagents provided densely functionalized 2,2-disubstituted 2H-chromenes.     

Gold-Catalyzed Divergent Ring-Opening Rearrangement of Cyclopropenes Enabled by Dichotomous Gold−Carbenes

The gold-catalyzed ring-opening rearrangement of cyclopropenes affords an efficient route to either polysubstituted naphthols or aryl-substituted furans. Owing to the unique dichotomy of gold−carbenes, this protocol provides a switchable reaction selectivity between naphthols and furans enabled by the use of TFP−Au(MeCN)SbF₆ (tri(2-furyl) phosphine) or PNP(AuNTf₂)₂ (bis(diphenylphosphino)(isopropyl) amine) as catalysts respectively. It is proposed that the gold−carbene intermediate might be involved in the cyclopropene→naphthol rearrangement while the gold-carbocation is more likely to be involved in the cyclopropene→furan rearrangement.     

Formal Umpolung Addition of Phosphites to 2-Azaaryl Ketones under Chiral Brønsted Base Catalysis: Enantioselective Protonation Utilizing [1,2]-Phospha-Brook Rearrangement

The formal enantioselective umpolung addition of dialkyl phosphites to 2-azaaryl ketones was developed under Brønsted base catalysis. The reaction involves the enantioselective protonation of the transient α-oxygenated (2-azaaryl)methyl anion generated through the 1,2-addition of the anion of dialkyl phosphite to the 2-azaaryl ketone and the subsequent [1,2]-phospha-Brook rearrangement. A chiral bis(guanidino)iminophosphorane organosuperbase efficiently catalyzed the reaction to provide enantio-enriched phosphates in high yields with good to high enantioselectivities. This is a rare example of the catalytic enantioselective protonation of transient carbanions other than enolates, constructing a trisubstituted stereogenic center α to 2-azaarenes.     

Kinetics of oxidation of benzyl alcohols with molecular oxygen catalyzed by N-hydroxyphthalimide: Role of hydroperoxyl radicals

A kinetic study of the initiated oxidation of benzyl alcohol and cumene by molecular oxygen was performed. The oxidation rate was more enhanced with N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI) in the case of cumene than that of benzyl alcohol. HOOH inhibits cumene oxidation and does not affect the rate of oxidation of benzyl alcohol. It was shown that termination chain reactions of phthalimid-N-oxyl radicals (PINO^•) does not occur with RОО^• and proceeds with HOO^•. A kinetic scheme of the process and an equation describing the kinetics of oxidation of benzyl alcohol in the presence of NHPI are proposed. Using the PM7 method, the thermodynamic characteristics of elementary steps of oxidation explaining the obtained results were calculated.     

Cycloaddition Reactions of an Active Cyclic Phosphane/Borane Pair with Alkenes,Alkynes, and Carbon Dioxide

The active six-membered cyclo-FLP 6 undergoes a rapid P/B addition reaction to carbon dioxide. At elevated temperature, the resulting heterobicyclo[2.2.2]octane derived product 7 undergoes ring opening and equilibrates with the cyclotetramer (7)₄ . In the large macrocyclic structure, four monomeric six-membered cyclo-FLP units are connected by four CO₂ molecules to form the supramolecular ring system. The P/B cyclo-FLP 6 undergoes a variety of additional cycloaddition reactions.