Synthesis of carboxylic esters from aldehydes using metal carbonyl anions,part 2. Dimerization of aldehydes to carboxylic esters catalyzed by disodium pentacarbonylchromate,na2[cr(co)5]

Na₂[Cr(CO)₅] (1) was found to be an efficient catalyst for the dimerization of aldehydes to carboxylic esters. Several aromatic aldehydes including furfural gave the corresponding esters in good yields. This reaction also proceeded intramolecularly to give phthalide from phthalaldehyde. Compared with M₂[Fe(CO)₄] (M = Na, K), 1 was found to be a more efficient catalyst for this reaction. However, aliphatic aldehydes gave aldolcondensation products instead of the corresponding esters. In the reactions of p-substituted benzaldehydes with 1, the reactivity decreased with the increase of the electron-releasing ability of the substituents. However, even p-anisaldehyde, which hardly reacted with M₂[Fe(CO)₄], reacted with 1 to give the ester in moderate yield. The reaction mechanism, including the nucleophilic attack of the pentacarbonylchromate dianion on the carbonyl carbon, is discussed.     

环己酮与丙烯酸甲酯及(S)-3-(2′-氧环己基)-丙酸与醇的酯化反应

在(R)TTCA·K催化下由环己酮直接与丙烯酸甲酯进行Michael加成反应得到了(S)-3-(2′-氧环己基)-丙酸甲酯, [α]20D-4.14(41.5% e.e.).     

Selective synthesis of (2Z,4E)-dienyl esters by ene-diene cross metathesis

[reaction: see text] Cross metathesis of terminal alkenes with methyl (2Z,4E)-hexadienoate and related dienyl esters provides substituted (2Z,4E)-dienyl esters in good yields. Small-scale reactions are effectively promoted by the standard second-generation Grubbs-Hoveyda catalyst (GH-II), while a new fluorous GH-II catalyst is used for separation and recovery in gram-scale reactions. The transformation is featured in a rapid synthesis of the bottom fragments of the potent anticancer agents (-)-dictyostatin and 6-epi-dictyostatin.     

Highly Efficient Esterification of an Equimolar Amount of Carboxylic Acids and Alcohols Catalyzed by ZrOCl_2·8H_2O

Esterification of carboxylic acids with alcohols is one of the most fundamental and useful transformations in organic synthesis. The most common catalysts are H2SO4 and TsOH. However, H2SO4 or TsOH-catalyzed esterification procedure has some problems such as corrosion, side reactions, difficulty in separation. Hence, recently, various solid acid catalysts such as ion-exchanged resins, molecular sieve, and heteropoly acids etc. have been employed for esterification reaction. However, the s…     

A Lewis Base Catalysis Approach for the Photoredox Activation of Boronic Acids and Esters

We report herein the use of a dual catalytic system comprising a Lewis base catalyst such as quinuclidin‐3‐ol or 4‐dimethylaminopyridine and a photoredox catalyst to generate carbon radicals from either boronic acids or esters. This system enabled a wide range of alkyl boronic esters and aryl or alkyl boronic acids to react with electron‐deficient olefins via radical addition to efficiently form C−C coupled products in a redox‐neutral fashion. The Lewis base catalyst was shown to form a redox‐active complex with either the boronic esters or the trimeric form of the boronic acids (boroxines) in solution.     

Hydroxyapatite-supported palladium-catalyzed efficient synthesis of (E)-2-alkene-4-ynecarboxylic esters. Intense fluorescence emission of selected compounds

A simple procedure for the synthesis of substituted (E)-2-alkene-4-ynecarboxylic esters has been achieved using hydroxyapatite-supported palladium as efficient catalyst surface. The catalyst is recycled, and the turnover number (TON) based on Pd is 16000. A naphthyl-substituted derivative gives very intense fluorescence emission.     

Cyanoesterification of 1,2-dienes: synthesis and transformations of highly functionalized alpha-cyanomethylacrylate esters

A Ni/PMe2Ph catalyst is found to effect regioselective addition of cyanoformate esters across 1,2-dienes, giving rise to 3-alkoxycarbonyl-3-butenenitriles. Functional groups such as cyano, protected hydroxyl, and amino groups in the 1,2-diene substrates are tolerated. Isomerization of the initial products to thermodynamically more stable isomers takes place possibly through further oxidative addition of the C-CN bond of 3-alkoxycarbonyl-3-butenenitriles to Ni(0) followed by reductive elimination. The cyanoesterification products undergo further addition across alkynes in the presence of a Ni/P(4-CF3-C6H4)3 catalyst.     

Efficient transesterification/acylation reactions mediated by N-heterocyclic carbene catalysts

Imidazol-2-ylidenes, a family of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC), are efficient catalysts in the transesterification involving numerous esters and alcohols. Low catalyst loadings of aryl- or alkyl-substituted NHC catalysts mediate the acylation of alcohols with enol acetates in short reaction times at room temperature. Commercially available and more difficult to cleave methyl esters react with primary alcohols in the presence of alkyl-substituted NHC to efficiently form the corresponding esters. While primary alcohols are selectively acylated over secondary alcohols with use of enol esters as acylating agents, methyl and ethyl esters can be employed as protective agents for secondary alcohols in the presence of the more active alkyl-substituted NHC catalysts. The NHC-catalyzed transesterification protocol was simplified by generating the imidazol-2-ylidene catalysts in situ.     

Determination of herbicides in soil samples by gas chromatography: optimization by the simplex method

An analytic method for the determination of phenoxy acid herbicides and 2,4-D esters in soil samples by GC-FID is described. The esterification reaction with MeOH and H(2)SO(4) as catalyst has been used, optimizing experimental variables by the 'Simplex method'. The recoveries in soil samples were between 76 and 97% with relative S.D.s between 4 and 7% (n=4) at level of concentration of 5 and 10 mug ml(-1) for phenoxy acids and 2,4-D esters, respectively.     

Spontaneous formation of PMB esters using 4-methoxybenzyl-2,2,2-trichloroacetimidate

Carboxylic acids are converted to the corresponding 4-methoxybenzyl (PMB) esters with 4-methoxybenzyl-2,2,2-trichloroacetimidate in the absence of an acid catalyst. This operationally simple procedure is a highly effective method for the formation of PMB esters. The reaction is promoted by the carboxylic acids themselves in excellent yields (72–99%). Sterically hindered carboxylic acids, which provide lower yields with other imidates, are esterified in higher yield with the more reactive PMB imidate. No racemization is observed in the case of carboxylic acids bearing an α-stereocenter, and no isomerization is observed with Z-α,β-unsaturated acids. This method may therefore find use in the esterification of complex or sensitive substrates where more common techniques lead to decomposition.     

Addition reactions of pendant epoxide group in poly(glycidyl methacrylate) with various active esters

Addition reactions of pendant epoxide groups in poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) with various active esters such as 1-benzotriazolyl benzoate, S-(2-benzoxazolyl) thiobenzoate, S-(2-benzothiazolyl) thiobenzoate, 4-nitrophenyl benzoate (4NPB), and S-phenyl thiobenzoate (PTB) were carried out using quaternary salts as catalysts. The reactions of PGMA with those active esters proceeded in diglyme at 100°C for 24 h quantitatively without the formation of 2-hydroxyl pendant groups in the polymer when 10 mol % of tetraethylammonium bromide was used as a catalyst. Furthermore, it was found that the respective quaternary salts have higher catalytic activity than tertiary amines in the reaction of PGMA with the active esters, and the reaction of PGMA with 4NPB gave the corresponding polymer with the highest conversion by addition of tetrabutylammonium bromide as a catalyst, while tetraethylammonium chloride showed the highest activity for the reaction of PGMA with PTB. In addition, the rate of reaction of PGMA with 4NPB was proportional to third order kinetics of the epoxide concentration, the ester concentration and the catalyst concentration as follows: ?d[Epoxide]/dt = ?[Ester]/dt = k₃[Epoxide] [Ester] [Catalyst].     

Catalytic ester-amide exchange using group (IV) metal alkoxide-activator complexes

A process for preparation of amides from unactivated esters and amines has been developed using a catalytic system comprised of group (IV) metal alkoxides in conjunction with additives including 1-hydroxy-7-azabenzotriazole (HOAt). In general, ester-amide exchange proceeds using a variety of structurally diverse esters and amines without azeotropic reflux to remove the alcohol byproduct. Initial mechanistic studies on the Zr(Ot-Bu)4-HOAt system revealed that the active catalyst is a novel, dimeric zirconium complex as determined by X-ray crystallography.     

Stereoselective synthesis of unsymmetrical β,β-diarylacrylates by a Heck-Matsuda reaction: versatile building blocks for asymmetric synthesis of β,β-diphenylpropanoates, 3-aryl-indole, and 4-aryl-3,4-dihydro-quinolin-2-one and formal synthesis of (-)-indatraline

β,β-Disubstituted α,β-unsaturated esters may serve as valuable derivatives for the preparation of other highly functionalized systems found in many natural products and marketed drugs. The stereoselective synthesis of unsymmetrical β,β-diarylacrylate compounds possessing two similar aromatic groups remains a substantial challenge. A simple and convenient stereoselective protocol for the preparation of β,β-disubstituted acrylates via a Heck-Matsuda reaction is reported. Good to high yields were accomplished by a "ligand-free" Pd-catalyzed arylation reaction of cinnamate esters with arenediazonium tetrafluoroborates. Both electron-deficient and electron-rich arenediazonium salts could be employed as arylating reagents, and cinnamate esters were generally more reactive when substituted with an electron-donating group. The overall methodology is highly stereoselective, and this attribute was taken advantage of in the asymmetric Cu-catalyzed 1,4 reduction reaction to provide β,β-diarylpropanoates in high enantioselectivities. The synthesis of a 3-aryl indole and a chiral 4-aryl-2-quinolone from β,β-diarylacrylates was achieved by cyclization in the presence of a diphosphine ligated CuH catalyst. A convenient route for the asymmetric formal synthesis of the psychoactive compound (-)-Indatraline is also presented.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Epoxidation of α,β‐Unsaturated Esters with Chiral Yttrium–Biaryldiol Complexes

The full details of the asymmetric epoxidation of α,β‐unsaturated esters catalyzed by yttrium complexes with biaryldiol ligands are described. An yttrium–biphenyldiol catalyst, generated from Y(OiPr)₃–biphenyldiol ligand–triphenylarsine oxide (1:1:1), is suitable for the epoxidation of various α,β‐unsaturated esters. With this catalyst, β‐aryl α,β‐unsaturated esters gave high enantioselectivities and good yields (≤99 % ee). The reactivity of this catalyst is good, and the catalyst loading could be decreased to as little as 0.5–2 mol % (the turnover number was up to 116), while high enantiomeric excesses were maintained. For β‐alkyl α,β‐unsaturated esters, an yttrium–binol catalyst, generated from Y(OiPr)₃–binol ligand–triphenylphosphine oxide (1:1:2), gave the best enantioselectivities (≤97 % ee). The utility of the epoxidation reaction was demonstrated in an efficient synthesis of (?)‐ragaglitazar, a potential antidiabetes agent.     

New thermo-crosslinking reactions of polymers containing pendant epoxide groups with various polyfunctional active esters

New thermo-crosslinking reactions of poly(glycidyl methacrylate), copolymers of glycidyl methacrylate with methyl methacrylate, styrene or ethyl acrlate with various active esters such as di[S-(2-benzothiazoly)] thioadipate (BTAD), di(S-phenyl) thioadipate (PTAD), di(4-nitrophenyl) adipate (NPAD), diphenyl adipate (PAD), and di(S-phenyl) thioisophthalate (PTIP), and other polyfunctional esters were carried out in the film state using various catalysts such as quarternary ammonium or phosphonium salts, tert amines, or the crown ether 18-crown-6 = potassium salts system. Addition reactions of pendant epoxide groups in the polymer with the active esters such as NPAD and PTAD proceeded selectively to give gel compounds without other side reactions. The rates of reaction with the thioesters such as BTAD and PTAD were relatively faster than those with the phenyl esters such as PAD and NPAD at 70°C. The rates of reactions with the esters having flexible segments such as PTAD were also faster than those with the esters having rigid skeletons such as PTIP. Furthermore, it was found that the rate of reaction was affected strongly by reaction temperature, catalyst concentration, length of alkyl chain in the catalyst, kind of counterion of quarternary ammonium salts as a catalyst, content of pendant epoxide groups in the polymer, and kind of copolymer unit in the polymer, respectively.     

A simple,efficient and green procedure for Michael addition catalyzed by [C_4dabco]OH ionic liquid

A dabco-based basic ionic liquid,1-butyl-4-aza-1-azaniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane hydroxide,has been developed as a catalyst for a convenient and rapid method for the Michael addition of active methylene compounds to a b-unsaturated carboxylic esters and nitriles.The method is very simple,and the yields are very high.The catalyst can be recycled several times without much loss of activity.     

Catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction of beta-keto esters: effects of the linker heteroatom in linked-BINOL

We describe the development of a general catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction of acyclic beta-keto esters to cyclic enones, in which asymmetric induction occurs at the beta-position of the acceptors. Among the various asymmetric catalyst systems examined, the newly developed La-NR-linked-BINOL complexes (R = H or Me) afforded the best results in terms of reactivity and selectivity. In general, the NMe ligand 2 was suitable for the combination of small enones and small beta-keto esters, and the NH ligand 1 was suitable for bulkier substrates (steric tuning of the catalyst). Using the La-NMe-linked-BINOL complex, the Michael reaction of methyl acetoacetate (8a) to 2-cyclohexen-1-one (7b) gave the corresponding Michael adduct 9ba in 82% yield and 92% ee. The linker heteroatom in linked-BINOL is crucial for achieving high reactivity and selectivity in the Michael reaction of beta-keto esters. The amine moiety in the NR-linked-BINOL can also tune the Lewis acidity of the central metal (electronic tuning of the catalyst), which was supported by density functional studies and experimental results. Another advantage of the NR-linked-BINOL ligand as compared with O-linked-BINOL is the ease of modifying a substituent on the amine moiety, making it possible to synthesize a variety of NR-linked-BINOL ligands for further improvement or development of new asymmetric catalyses by introducing additional functionality on the linker with the amine moiety. The efficiency of the present asymmetric catalysis was demonstrated by the synthesis of the key intermediate of (-)-tubifolidine and (-)-19,20-dihydroakuammicine in only five steps compared to the nine steps required by the original process from the Michael product of malonate. This strategy is much more atom economical. On the basis of the results of mechanistic studies, we propose that a beta-keto ester serves as a ligand as well as a substrate and at least one beta-keto ester should be included in the active catalyst complex. Further improvement of the reaction by maintaining an appropriate ratio of the La-NMe-linked-BINOL complex and beta-keto esters is also described.     

Consecutive catalytic electrophilic fluorination/amination of β-keto esters: toward α-fluoro-α-amino acids?

Monofluorination of β-keto esters with Selectfluor^® (1-chloromethyl-4-fluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2,2,2]octane bis(tetrafluoroborate)) using CpTiCl₃ as a catalyst, followed by amination with diazodicarboxylates using a Cu/Ph-Box catalyst leads to α-fluoro-α-hydrazino-β-keto esters in good yields and good selectivities (ee up to 94%).     

La[N(SiMe3)2]3‐Catalyzed Hydroboration of Esters and Other Challenging Unsaturated Groups

The commercially available homoleptic lanthanum amide La[N(SiMe₃)₂]₃ (LaN^TMS) is reported to enable the hydroboration of esters using pinacolborane (HBpin) as the reducing agent. A wide range of substrates including aromatic, aliphatic esters and lactones were applicable to afford corresponding boronic esters in excellent yields under mild and neat conditions with broad functional group compatibility and good chemoselectivity. Furthermore, LaN^TMS is capable to realize the very challenging and rarely reported hydroboration of carbonate esters with low catalyst loading at room temperature. Both cyclic and linear carbonate esters can be easily converted to the corresponding products with satisfactory yields. Besides, the hydroboration of alkynes has been developed by using LaN^TMS as a catalyst.     

Mechanism and optimisation of the homoboroproline bifunctional catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction: Lewis acid tuning through in situ esterification

The use of homoboroproline as a bifunctional catalyst in the asymmetric aldol reaction has been investigated mechanistically, particularly with respect to tuning the Lewis acidity of boron by in situ esterification with mildly sigma-electron withdrawing diols such as hydrobenzoin and tartrate esters. The stability of simple cyclohexyl and cyclopentyl boronate diol esters shows that the 5-ring boronate esters are more stable, which sheds light on the mode of action of esterified homoboroproline catalyst in the enamine-mediated aldol reaction, which is also studied by NMR. The result is reaction optimisation to provide an efficient aldol reaction and a proposed mechanistic proposal.