2,7‐Di‐tert‐butylnaphtho[1,8‐cd][1,2]dithiole 1,2‐dioxides: Thermally Stable,Photochemically Active vic‐Disulfoxides

Bulking up: The thermal barrier to rearrangement of a vic‐disulfoxide is significantly increased through steric buttressing about the (O)S? S(O) bond. Whereas the title compounds represent the most thermally stable vic‐disulfoxides known to date, they also undergo a novel photomediated epimerization at room temperature (see scheme).

     

Exploring the Reactivity of α‐Lithiated Aryl Benzyl Ethers: Inhibition of the [1,2]‐Wittig Rearrangement and the Mechanistic Proposal Revisited

By carefully controlling the reaction temperature, treatment of aryl benzyl ethers with tBuLi selectively leads to α‐lithiation, generating stable organolithiums that can be directly trapped with a variety of selected electrophiles, before they can undergo the expected [1,2]‐Wittig rearrangement. This rearrangement has been deeply studied, both experimentally and computationally, with aryl α‐lithiated benzyl ethers bearing different substituents at the aryl ring. The obtained results support the competence of a concerted anionic intramolecular addition/elimination sequence and a radical dissociation/recombination sequence for explaining the tendency of migration for aryl groups. The more favored rearrangements are found for substrates with electron‐poor aryl groups that favor the anionic pathway.     

Enantioselective Palladium‐Catalyzed Oxidative β,β‐Fluoroarylation of α,β‐Unsaturated Carbonyl Derivatives

The site‐selective palladium‐catalyzed three‐component coupling of deactivated alkenes, arylboronic acids, and N‐fluorobenzenesulfonimide is disclosed herein. The developed methodology establishes a general, modular, and step‐economical approach to the stereoselective β‐fluorination of α,β‐unsaturated systems.     

Mechanistic Investigations on the Photoisomerization Reactions of 1,2‐Dihydro‐1,2‐Azaborine

The mechanisms of the photochemical isomerization reactions were investigated theoretically by using a model system of 1,2‐dihydro‐1,2‐azaborine with the CAS(6,6)/6‐311G(d,p) and MP2‐CAS‐(6,6)/6‐311++G(3df,3pd)//CAS(6,6)/6‐311G(d,p) methods. Three reaction pathways, which lead to three kinds of photoisomers, have been examined. The structures of the conical intersections, which play a decisive role in such photorearrangements, were obtained. The thermal (or dark) reactions of the reactant species have also been examined by using the same level of theory to assist in providing a qualitative explanation of the reaction pathways. The model investigations suggest that the preferred reaction route for 1,2‐dihydro‐1,2‐azaborine, which leads to the Dewar 1,2‐dihydro‐1,2‐azaborine photoproduct, is as follows: reactant→Franck–Condon region→conical intersection→photoproduct. The results obtained allow a number of predictions to be made.     

Palladium Catalysis Enables Benzylation of α,α‐Difluoroketone Enolates

A palladium‐catalyzed decarboxylative benzylation reaction of α,α‐difluoroketone enolates is reported, in which the key C(α)?C(sp³) bond is generated by reductive elimination from a palladium intermediate. The transformation provides convergent access to α‐benzyl‐α,α‐difluoroketone‐based products, and should be useful for accessing biological probes.     

The Stereochemical Course of the α‐Hydroxyphosphonate–Phosphate Rearrangement

The phosphonate–phosphate rearrangement is an isomerisation of α‐hydroxyphosphonates bearing electron‐withdrawing substituents at the α‐carbon atom. We studied the stereochemical course of this rearrangement with respect to phosphorus. A set of four diastereomeric α‐hydroxyphosphonates was prepared by a Pudovik reaction from two diastereomeric cyclic phosphites. The hydroxyphosphonates were separated and rearranged with Et₃N as base. In analogy to trichlorphon, which was the first reported compound undergoing this rearrangement. All four hydroxyphosphonates could be rearranged to 2,2‐dichlorovinyl phosphates. Single‐crystal X‐ray structure analyses of the α‐hydroxyphosphonates and the corresponding phosphates allowed us to show that the rearrangement proceeds with retention of configuration on the phosphorus atom.     

A Persistent α‐Fluorocarbanion and Its Analogues: Preparation,Characterization, and Computational Study

Fluoro power : In agreement with theoretical studies on α‐fluorocarbanions an X‐ray crystal structure shows the α‐fluorobis(phenylsulfonyl)methide anion adopts a pyramidal configuration (see picture). High‐level calculations and NMR spectroscopy studies demonstrate that electron‐withdrawing substituents play a crucial role in modulating the properties of bis(phenylsulfonyl)methide anions.

     

Enantioselective Nucleophilic β‐Carbon‐Atom Amination of Enals: Carbene‐Catalyzed Formal [3+2] Reactions

An enantioselective β‐carbon amination for enals is disclosed. The nitrogen atom from a protected hydrazine with suitable electronic properties readily behaves as a nucleophile. Addition of the nitrogen nucleophile to a catalytically generated N‐heterocyclic‐carbene‐bound α,β‐unsaturated acyl azolium intermediate constructs a new carbon–nitrogen bond asymmetrically. The pyrazolidinone products from our catalytic reactions are common scaffolds in bioactive molecules, and can be easily transformed into useful compounds such as β³‐amino‐acid derivatives.     

Activation of α‐Diazocarbonyls by Organic Catalysts: Diazo Group Acting as a Strong N‐Terminal Electrophile

For the first time α‐diazocarbonyls have been used as highly active N‐terminal electrophiles in the presence of bicyclic amidine catalysts. The C? N bond‐forming reactions of active methylene compounds as C nucleophiles with α‐diazocarbonyls as N‐terminal electrophiles proceed quickly under ambient conditions, in the presence of 1,8‐diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene (DBU), because of the formation of the reactive N‐terminal electrophilic intermediates. DBU activates both the active methylene and α‐diazocarbonyl. Importantly, this reaction is general for both active methylenes and α‐diazocarbonyls, and the activation mode will lead to new synthetic applications of α‐diazocarbonyls.     

Photochemical Transformations of Some 2‐(5‐Methylthiophen‐2‐yl)‐3‐[(naphthalen‐2‐yl)methoxy]‐4H‐chromen‐4‐ones Involving Type‐II Process

Photo‐irradiation of 2‐(5‐methylthiophen‐2‐yl)‐3‐[(naphthalen‐2‐yl)methoxy]‐4H‐chromen‐4‐ones yielded the fascinating angular tetracyclic products via cyclization involving both 2‐thienyl ring and naphthylmethoxy group via 1,4‐biradical generated in the Norrish type‐II process. The stereochemical dispositions of the products were determined by MM2 energy minimized programme and spectroscopic analysis.     

A Theoretical and Experimental Study of the Effects of Silyl Substituents in Enantioselective Reactions Catalyzed by Diphenylprolinol Silyl Ether

The effect of silyl substituents in diphenylprolinol silyl ether catalysts was investigated. Mechanistically, reactions catalyzed by diphenylprolinol silyl ether can be categorized into three types: two that involve an iminium ion intermediate, such as for the Michael‐type reaction (type A) and the cycloaddition reaction (type B), and one that proceeds via an enamine intermediate (type C). In the Michael‐type reaction via iminium ions (type A), excellent enantioselectivity is realized when the catalyst with a bulky silyl moiety is employed, in which efficient shielding of a diastereotopic face of the iminium ion is directed by the bulky silyl moiety. In the cycloaddition reaction of iminium ions (type B) and reactions via enamines (type C), excellent enantioselectivity is obtained even when the silyl group is less bulky and, in this case, too much bulk reduces the reaction rate. In other cases, the yield increases when diphenylprolinol silyl ethers with bulky substituents are employed, presumably by suppressing side reactions between the nucleophilic catalyst and the reagent. The conformational behaviors of the iminium and enamine species have been determined by theoretical calculations. These data explain the effect of the bulkiness of the silyl substituent on the enantioselectivity and reactivity of the catalysts.     

Chemoselective,Substrate‐directed Fluorination of Functionalized Cyclopentane β‐Amino Acids

This work describes a substrate‐directed fluorination of some highly functionalized cyclopentane derivatives. The cyclic products incorporating CH₂F or CHF₂ moieties in their structure have been synthesized from diexo‐ or diendo‐norbornene β‐amino acids following a stereocontrolled strategy. The synthetic study was based on an oxidative transformation of the ring carbon–carbon double bond of the norbornene β‐amino acids, followed by transformation of the resulted ?all cis“ and ?trans“ diformyl intermediates by fluorination with ?chemodifferentiation“.     

Origin of the Enantioselectivity in Organocatalytic Michael Additions of β‐Ketoamides to α,β‐Unsaturated Carbonyls: A Combined Experimental,Spectroscopic and Theoretical Study

The organocatalytic enantioselective conjugate addition of secondary β‐ketoamides to α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds is reported. Use of bifunctional Takemoto’s thiourea catalyst allows enantiocontrol of the reaction leading either to simple Michael adducts or spirocyclic aminals in up to 99 % ee. The origin of the enantioselectivity has been rationalised based on combined DFT calculations and kinetic analysis. This study provides a deeper understanding of the reaction mechanism, which involves a predominant role of the secondary amide proton, and clarifies the complex interactions occurring between substrates and the catalyst.     

Synthesis of α‐Fluoroketones by Insertion of HF into a Gold Carbene

Reported is an efficient synthesis of α‐fluoroketones by insertion of hydrogen fluoride (HF) into the gold carbene intermediate, generated from a cationic gold catalyzed addition of N‐oxides to alkynes. This method results in excellent chemical yields for a wide range of alkyne substrates and demonstrates good functional‐group tolerance.     

Rhodium(II)‐Catalyzed Intramolecular Annulation of 1‐Sulfonyl‐1,2,3‐Triazoles with Pyrrole and Indole Rings: Facile Synthesis of N‐Bridgehead Azepine Skeletons

A convenient and efficient synthetic method has been developed to construct highly functionalized N‐bridgehead azepine skeletons, which are of great importance in biological and pharmaceutical industry. The reaction proceeds through a rhodium(II) azavinyl carbene intermediate, which initiated the intramolecular C? H functionalization with pyrrolyl and indolyl rings. A variety of azepine derivatives were obtained in moderate to good yields under mild reaction conditions with high chemoselectivity. Several interesting derivatizations of the resulting products demonstrate that this method is synthetically valuable and useful.     

Highly Enantioselective Pictet–Spengler Reactions with α‐Ketoamide‐Derived Ketimines: Access to an Unusual Class of Quaternary α‐Amino Amides

“ Quat's” the story? N‐Aryl amides are effective directing/activating groups for chlorosilane Lewis acids. This aspect has been exploited for the development of the first simple and general method for the highly enantioselective Pictet–Spengler reaction of ketimines derived from α‐ketoamides leading to quaternary α‐amino acid derivatives (see scheme).

     

Enantio‐ and Diastereoselective 1,2‐Additions to α‐Ketoesters with Diborylmethane and Substituted 1,1‐Diborylalkanes

The catalytic enantioselective synthesis of boronate‐substituted tertiary alcohols through additions of diborylmethane and substituted 1,1‐diborylalkanes to α‐ketoesters is reported. The reactions are catalyzed by readily available chiral phosphine/copper(I) complexes and produce β‐hydroxyboronates containing up to two contiguous stereogenic centers in up to 99:1 e.r. and greater than 20:1 d.r. The utility of the organoboron products is demonstrated through several chemoselective functionalizations. Evidence indicates the reactions occur via an enantioenriched α‐boryl‐copper‐alkyl intermediate.