An efficient synthesis of ring‐fused indoles via copper‐catalyzed tandem reaction of N‐(o‐alkynylphenyl)imines

A copper‐catalyzed tandem intramolecular cyclization‐addition reaction of N‐(o‐alkynylphenyl)imines is disclosed. This strategy offers a simple and promising method for accessing ring‐fused indoles. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organophosphate‐accelerated copper‐catalyzed C(sp2)–C(sp) Sonogashira‐type cross couplings

A dramatic acceleration in copper‐catalyzed Sonogashira‐type reactions was observed when an organophosphate was used as additive. The catalyst systems featuring low copper loading (0.5 mol% < Cu < 5 mol%) gave Sonogashira‐type products with a broad scope of aromatic and aliphatic terminal alkynes as well as aryl iodides in good to excellent yields. Among the organophosphate/copper catalytic systems, that of 4 mol% Cu(OTf)₂/10 mol% (R)‐(?)‐1,1′‐binaphthyl‐2,2′‐diyl hydrogenphosphate exhibited the highest catalytic activity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hiyama cross‐coupling reaction catalyzed by a palladium salt of 1‐benzyl‐4‐aza‐1‐azoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane chloride under microwave irradiation

An efficient catalytic system using 1‐benzyl‐4‐aza‐1‐azoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane chloride ((BeDABCO)₂Pd₂Cl₆) was developed for the Hiyama cross‐coupling reaction of various aryl halides with triethoxy(phenyl)silane. The substituted biaryls were produced in excellent yields in short reaction times using a catalytic amount of this catalyst in NMP at 100 °C. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Nano tetraimine Pd(0) complex as an efficient catalyst for phosphine‐free Suzuki reaction in water and copper‐free Sonogashira reaction under aerobic conditions

A nano tetraimine Pd(0) complex catalyst was successfully used as an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the phosphine‐free palladium‐catalysed Suzuki coupling reaction in water at 80 °C. This nano tetraimine Pd(0) complex was also used for copper‐free Sonogashira reaction in dimethylformamide at 100 °C. The catalyst was easily recovered from the reaction mixture by centrifugation and reused for at least six cycles without any significant loss in its catalytic activity. Analysis of the reaction mixture using inductively coupled plasma analysis showed that leaching of palladium from the catalyst was negligible. The reactions can be performed efficiently for aryl iodides, bromides and also chlorides. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3D Luminescent Copper(I) Iodide Coordination Polymer Based on Cu4I4 Clusters and an Ethyl‐bridging Bis(triazole) Ligand

The copper‐iodine based coordination polymer [Cu₄I₂(bmte)]_n ( 1 ) [H₂bmte = 1,2‐bis(5‐methyl‐1H‐1,2,4‐triazol‐3‐yl)ethane] was synthesized using cuprous iodide and a flexible 3‐substituted, ethyl‐bridging bis(triazole) ligand under solvothermal conditions. X‐ray diffraction analysis reveals that compound 1 shows a 3D framework containing Cu₄I₄ clusters and alternating left‐ and right‐handed [Cu(triazole)] helices, which result in a (4,8)‐connected fluorite (flu) topological network. Moreover, compound 1 exhibits orange phosphorescence with the emission maxima at 590 nm in the solid state at room temperature.     

Free‐radical‐promoted cationic photopolymerization under visible light in aerated media: New and highly efficient silane‐containing initiating systems

New systems for the visible‐light‐induced polymerization of cationic resins working through a free‐radical‐promoted process are presented. They are based on a photoinitiator (camphorquinone, isopropylthioxanthone, Eosin), a silane, and a diphenyl iodonium salt, the new compound being the silane. The overall efficiency is strongly affected by the silane structure. The rates of polymerization and final percent conversion are noticeably higher than those obtained in the presence of already studied reference systems. Moreover, contrary to previously investigated free‐radical‐promoted cationic polymerizations, oxygen does not inhibit the process and an unusual enhancement of the polymerization kinetics is found in aerated conditions: such an observation seems to have never been reported so far. The excited state processes and the role of oxygen as revealed by laser flash photolysis are discussed. The particular behavior of the silyl radicals is outlined. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 2008–2014, 2008     

2,5‐Bis(2‐(diphenylphosphino)phenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole ligands and their Cu(I) complexes for Sonogashira coupling reaction

Two diphosphane ligands – 2,5‐bis(2‐(diphenylphosphino)‐5‐R)phenyl)‐1,3,4‐oxadiazole ( L1 , R = H, L2 , R = OMe) and their binuclear complexes, L1Cu and L2Cu , were prepared and characterized. The molecular structures of L1Cu and L2Cu , as perchlorate salts, were established by X‐ray crystallography, which showed them to be binuclear complexes with each Cu atom tetrahedrally coordinated by two P atoms and two N atoms. The ligands and their Cu(I) complexes catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reactions of iodobenzene with phenylacetylene in the presence of K₂CO₃ under Pd‐free conditions. Coupling reactions catalyzed by L1 or L2 with Cu(MeCN)₄ClO₄ in situ exhibited better yields than those by the corresponding Cu(I) complexes L1Cu or L2Cu . Detailed studies showed L1 or L2 with Cu(MeCN)₄ClO₄ to be suitable catalysts for the coupling reaction of terminal alkynes and aryl halides. The coupling reactions of aryl iodides with electron‐withdrawing groups showed better results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polymerization of 1,3‐dienes with functional groups. II. Free‐radical polymerization of N‐(2‐methylene‐3‐butenoyl)piperidine

The free‐radical homopolymerization and copolymerization behavior of N‐(2‐methylene‐3‐butenoyl)piperidine was investigated. When the monomer was heated in bulk at 60 °C for 25 h without an initiator, about 30% of the monomer was consumed by the thermal polymerization and the Diels–Alder reaction. No such side reaction was observed when the polymerization was carried out in a benzene solution with 1 mol % 2,2′‐azobisisobutylonitrile (AIBN) as an initiator. The polymerization rate equation was found to be R_p ∝ [AIBN]^0.507[M]^1.04, and the overall activation energy of polymerization was calculated to be 89.5 kJ/mol. The microstructure of the resulting polymer was exclusively a 1,4‐structure that included both 1,4‐E and 1,4‐Z configurations. The copolymerizations of this monomer with styrene and/or chloroprene as comonomers were carried out in benzene solutions at 60 °C with AIBN as an initiator. In the copolymerization with styrene, the monomer reactivity ratios were r₁ = 6.10 and r₂ = 0.03, and the Q and e values were calculated to be 10.8 and 0.45, respectively. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1545–1552, 2003     

Synthesis of 2(5H)‐Furanone Derivatives with Bis‐1,2,3‐triazole Structure

A series of new chiral 2(5H)‐furanone derivatives containing bis‐1,2,3‐triazole moiety were designed and synthesized from (5S)‐5‐alkoxy‐3,4‐dihalo‐2(5H)‐furanones 1 , dicarboxyl amino acids 2 , propargyl bromide, and organic azides 5 under mild conditions via the sequential three steps, including asymmetric Michael addition‐elimination, substitution and no‐ligand click reaction. Twelve new intermediates, including N‐[5‐alkoxy‐2(5H)‐furanonyl] dicarboxyl amino acids 3 and their corresponding propargyl esters 4 , and twelve target molecules 6 were characterized by FTIR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, MS and elemental analysis. The influences of different synthetic conditions and substrates in each step were investigated. The research provides a new method and idea for the synthesis of 2(5H)‐furanone compounds with polyheterocyclic structure due to the diversities of four basic unit molecules.     

Novel pyridine‐bis(ferrocene‐isoxazole) ligand: synthesis and application to palladium‐catalyzed Sonogashira cross‐coupling reactions under copper‐ and phosphine‐free conditions

We present here the first synthesis and application to Sonogashira reaction of pyridine‐bis(ferrocene‐isoxazole) Pd(II) complex 5 , prepared from 2,6‐bis‐(5‐ferrocenylisoxazole‐3‐yl)pyridine. Under copper‐ and phosphine‐free conditions, the stable complex 5 efficiently catalyzed the cross‐coupling of aryl halides with terminal alkynes in DMF–H₂O with TBAB as an additive, hexahydropyridine as base and affording internal arylated alkynes in moderate to excellent yields. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bromine isotopic signature facilitates de novo sequencing of peptides in free‐radical‐initiated peptide sequencing (FRIPS) mass spectrometry

We recently showed that free‐radical‐initiated peptide sequencing mass spectrometry (FRIPS MS) assisted by the remarkable thermochemical stability of (2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl‐piperidin‐1‐yl)oxyl (TEMPO) is another attractive radical‐driven peptide fragmentation MS tool. Facile homolytic cleavage of the bond between the benzylic carbon and the oxygen of the TEMPO moiety in o‐TEMPO–Bz–C(O)–peptide and the high reactivity of the benzylic radical species generated in ?Bz–C(O)–peptide are key elements leading to extensive radical‐driven peptide backbone fragmentation. In the present study, we demonstrate that the incorporation of bromine into the benzene ring, i.e. o‐TEMPO–Bz(Br)–C(O)–peptide, allows unambiguous distinction of the N‐terminal peptide fragments from the C‐terminal fragments through the unique bromine doublet isotopic signature. Furthermore, bromine substitution does not alter the overall radical‐driven peptide backbone dissociation pathways of o‐TEMPO–Bz–C(O)–peptide. From a practical perspective, the presence of the bromine isotopic signature in the N‐terminal peptide fragments in TEMPO‐assisted FRIPS MS represents a useful and cost‐effective opportunity for de novo peptide sequencing. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of styrene under microwave irradiation

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerizations of styrene under microwave irradiation (MI), with or without azobisisobutyronitrile, were successfully carried out in bulk at 72 and 98 °C, respectively. The results showed that the polymerizations had living/controlled features, and there was a significant enhancement of the polymerization rates under MI in comparison with conventional heating (CH) under the same conditions. The polymer structures were characterized with ¹H and ¹³C NMR. The results showed the same structure for both polymers obtained by MI and CH. Successful chain‐extension experimentation further demonstrated the livingness of the RAFT polymerization carried out under MI. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6810‐6816, 2006     

Pseudohalide‐directed Assembly of Two Zinc(II) Coordination Polymers with a 3,4‐Bis(3‐pyridyl)‐5‐(4‐pyridyl)‐1,2,4‐triazole Tecton

The zinc(II) pseudohalide complexes {[Zn(L³³⁴)(SCN)₂(H₂O)](H₂O)₂}_n ( 1 ) and [Zn(L³³⁴)(dca)₂]_n ( 2 ) were synthesized and characterized using the ligand 3,4‐bis(3‐pyridyl)‐5‐(4‐pyridyl)‐1,2,4‐triazole (L³³⁴) and ZnCl₂ in presence of thiocyanate (SCN^–) and dicynamide [dca, N(CN)₂^–] respectively. Single‐crystal X‐ray structural analysis revealed that the central Zn^II atoms in both complexes have similar octahedral arrangement. Compound 1 has a 2D sheet structure bridged by bidentate L³³⁴ and double μ_N,S‐thiocyanate anions, whereas complex 2 , incorporating with two monodentate dicynamide anions, displays a two‐dimensional coordination framework bridged by tetradentate L³³⁴ ligand. Structural analysis demonstrated that the influence of pseudohalide anions plays an important role in determining the resultant structure. Both complexes were characterized by IR spectroscopy, microanalysis, and powder X‐ray diffraction techniques. In addition, the solid fluorescence and thermal stability properties of both complexes were investigated.     

Ferrocenyl bisoxazoline as an efficient non‐phosphorus ligand for palladium‐catalyzed copper‐free Sonogashira reaction in aqueous solution

Pd(OAc)₂‐catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reactions of alkynes and a variety of aryl halides with 1,3‐bis(5‐ferrocenylisoxazoline‐3‐yl)benzene as an efficient non‐phosphorus ligand under copper‐free conditions are presented. The main advantages over previous methodologies include low catalyst loading (0.2 mol% Pd(OAc)₂ and 0.4 mol% ferrocenyl bisoxazoline ligand are sufficient for these coupling reactions), less problematic reaction medium (water–dimethylformamide) and more convenient operation (no requirement for nitrogen protection).     

An efficient synthesis of 3‐triazolyl‐2(1H)‐quinolones by CuTC‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction

A facile and efficient Cu(I)‐catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction for the synthesis of a series of 3‐triazolyl‐2(1H)‐quinolones 3 have been developed using 3‐azido‐quinolin‐2(1H)‐one as the coupling partner. The optimized reaction conditions involve the use of eco‐ friendly ethanol as the solvent in the presence of copper(I) thiophene‐2‐carboxylate as the catalyst, to afford good to excellent yields of 3‐triazolyl‐2(1H)‐quinolone derivatives of biological interest. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

SET‐LRP of methyl acrylate catalyzed with activated Cu(0) wire in methanol in the presence of air

Single electron transfer‐living radical polymerization (SET‐LRP) of methyl acrylate (MA) in methanol, catalyzed with nonactivated and activated Cu(0) wires, was performed in the presence of nondeoxygenated reagents and was investigated under a simple blanket of nitrogen. The addition of a small amount of hydrazine hydrate mediates the deoxygenation of the reaction mixture by the consumption of oxygen through its use to oxidize Cu(0) to Cu₂O, followed by the reduction of Cu₂O with hydrazine back to the active Cu(0) catalyst. SET‐LRP of MA in methanol in the presence of air requires a smaller dimension of Cu(0) wire, compared to the nonactivated Cu(0) wire counterpart. Activation of Cu(0) wire allowed the polymerization in air to proceed with no induction period, linear first‐order kinetics, linear correlation between the molecular weight evolution with conversion, and narrow molecular weight distribution. The retention of chain‐end functionality of α,ω‐di(bromo) poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) prepared by SET‐LRP was demonstrated by a combination of experiments including ¹H NMR spectroscopy and matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry after thioetherification of α,ω‐di(bromo) PMA with thiophenol. In SET‐LRP of MA in the presence of limited air, bimolecular termination is observed only above 85% conversion. However, for bifunctional initiators, the small amount of bimolecular termination observed at high conversion maintains a perfectly bifunctional polymer. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Tetramethylguanidino‐tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine: A novel ligand for copper‐based atom transfer radical polymerization

With CuBr/tetramethylguanidino‐tris(2‐aminoethyl)amine (TMG₃‐TREN) as the catalyst, the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate, n‐butyl acrylate, styrene, and acrylonitrile was conducted. The catalyst concentration of 0.5 equiv with respect to the initiator was enough to prepare well‐defined poly(methyl methacrylate) in bulk from methyl methacrylate monomer. For ATRP of n‐butyl acrylate, the catalyst behaved in a manner similar to that reported for CuBr/tris[2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl]amine. A minimum of 0.05 equiv of the catalyst with respect to the initiator was required to synthesize the homopolymer of the desired molecular weight and low polydispersity at the ambient temperature. In the case of styrene, ATRP with this catalyst occurred only when a 1:1 catalyst/initiator ratio was used in the presence of Cu(0) in ethylene carbonate. The polymerization of acrylonitrile with CuBr/TMG₃‐TREN was conducted successfully with a catalyst concentration of 50% with respect to the initiator in ethylene carbonate. End‐group analysis for the determination of the high degree of functionality of the homopolymers synthesized by the new catalyst was determined by NMR spectroscopy. The isotactic parameter calculated for each system indicated that the homopolymers were predominantly syndiotactic, signifying that the tacticity remained the same, as already reported for ATRP. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5906–5922, 2005     

Synthesis,DNA binding,nuclease activity and cytotoxic studies of a wheel‐shaped octanuclear copper(II) complex based on 1,2,4‐triazole

The antitumor activity shown by many platinum complexes has produced a strong interest in research of new organometallic compounds. Among the metal compounds synthesized and tested, copper compounds have received considerable attention because of their cytotoxic activity against solid tumors. A novel wheel‐shaped octanuclear copper(II) complex with a 1,2,4‐triazole derivative ligand formulated as [Cu₈L₄](ClO₄)₈?11H₂O ( 1 ) (L = 3,5‐bis((bis(2‐hydroxylethyl)amino)methyl)‐4 H‐1,2,4,‐triazole‐4‐amine) has been synthesized and structurally characterized. In 1 , eight Cu atoms are linked through 1,2,4‐triazole units and alkoxide bridges to form a centrosymmetric octanuclear Cu(II) metallomacrocycle. The interaction of complex 1 with calf thymus DNA has been studied using UV absorption, fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopies, viscosity measurements and cyclic voltammetry. The apparent binding constant (k_app) value for 1 is 1.59 × 10⁵ M^?1. Furthermore, complex 1 displays efficient oxidative cleavage of supercoiled DNA in the presence of external agents, the rate constant for the conversion of supercoiled to nicked DNA being 2.67 × 10^?5 s^?1. Interestingly, cytotoxicity studies on the MCF‐7 human breast cancer cell line show that the IC₅₀ value of 1 is less than that of cisplatin for the same cell line, revealing that it has the potential to act as an effective metal‐based anticancer drug. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

End‐group fidelity in nitroxide‐mediated living free‐radical polymerizations

In this study, new nitroxides based on the 2,2,5‐trimethyl‐4‐phenyl‐3‐azahexane‐3‐oxy skeleton were used to examine chain‐end control during the preparation of polystyrene and poly(t‐butyl acrylate) under living free‐radical conditions. Alkoxyamine‐based initiators with a chromophore attached to either the initiating fragment or the mediating nitroxide fragment were prepared, and the extent of the incorporation of the chromophores at either the initiating end or the propagating chain end was determined. In contrast to 2,2,6,6‐tetramethyl piperidinoxy (TEMPO), the incorporation of the initiating and terminating fragment into the polymer chain was extremely high. For both poly(t‐butyl acrylate) and polystyrene with molecular weights less than or equal to 70,000, incorporations at the initiating end of greater than 97% were observed. At the terminating chain end, incorporations of greater than 95% were obtained for molecular weights less than or equal to 50,000. The level of incorporation tended to decrease slightly at higher molecular weights because of the loss of the alkoxyamine propagating unit, which had important consequences for block copolymer formation. These results clearly show that these new α‐H nitroxides could control the polymerization of vinyl monomers such as styrene and t‐butyl acrylate to an extremely high degree, comparable to anionic and atom transfer radical polymerization procedures. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 4749–4763, 2000