Tetrahydro‐1,5‐benzoxazepines and tetrahydro‐1H‐1,5‐benzodiazepines by a tandem reduction‐reductive amination reaction

A tandem reduction‐reductive amination reaction has been applied to the synthesis of (±)‐4‐alkyl‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1,5‐benzoxazepines and (±)‐4‐alkyl‐1‐benzoyl‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1H‐1,5‐benzodiazepines. The nitro aldehydes and ketones required for 1,5‐benzoxazepine ring closures were prepared by nucleophilic aromatic substitution of the alkoxides from several 3‐buten‐1‐ol derivatives with 2‐fluoro‐1‐nitrobenzene followed by ozonolysis. Precursors for the 1,5‐benzodiazepines were prepared by similar addition of N‐(3‐butenyl)benzamide anions to 2‐fluoro‐1‐nitrobenzene followed by ozonolysis. Catalytic hydrogenation of the nitro carbonyl compounds using 5% palladium‐on‐carbon in methanol then gave the target heterocycles by a tandem reduction‐reductive amination sequence. The 1,5‐benzoxazepines were isolated in high yield following chromatographic purification; the 1,5‐benzodiazepines were isolated as solids directly from the hydrogenation mixture and possessed differentiated functionality on the two nitrogen atoms.     

Mechanistic Dichotomy of Magnesium‐ and Zinc‐Based Germanium Nucleophiles in the C(sp3)−Ge Cross‐Coupling with Alkyl Electrophiles

Robust procedures for two mechanistically distinct C(sp³)?Ge bond formations from alkyl electrophiles and germanium nucleophiles are reported. The germanium reagents were made available as bench‐stable solutions by lithium‐to‐magnesium and lithium‐to‐zinc transmetalation, respectively. The germanium Grignard reagent reacts with various primary and secondary alkyl electrophiles by an ionic nucleophilic displacement. Conversely, the coupling of the corresponding zinc reagent requires a nickel catalyst, which then engages in radical bond formations with primary, secondary, and even tertiary alkyl bromides. Both methods avoid the regioselectivity issue of alkene hydrogermylation and enable the synthesis of a wide range of functionalized alkyl‐substituted germanes.     

Synthesis of Secondary and Tertiary Alkyl Boronic Esters by gem‐Carboborylation: Carbonyl Compounds as Bis(electrophile) Equivalents

An unprecedent gem‐carboborylation of aldehydes and ketones provides access to various secondary and tertiary alkyl boronic esters. The addition of B₂pin₂ to a carbonyl compound generates α‐oxyl‐substituted alkyl boron species. Organolithium and Grignard reagents are then applied as C nucleophiles for the 1,2‐metalate rearrangement process. The organolithium reagents can also be generated by C?H lithiation or halogen/lithium exchange. The use of chiral ligands led to the generation of chiral alkyl boronic esters in enantioenriched form, demonstrating that the enantioselectivity of this transformation is catalyst‐controlled.     

Cyclization by intramolecular carbolithiation of alkyl- and vinyllithiums prepared by the action of aromatic radical anions on phenyl thioethers. High stereoselectivity in the cyclization accelerated by an allylic lithium oxyanion

The reductive lithiation of alkyl and vinyl phenyl thioethers by aromatic radical anions is shown to be the most general method yet known for preparing organolithiums capable of intramolecular carbometalation of unactivated alkenes to produce five-membered rings and in one case a four-membered ring (in a far higher yield than known cases). The relative rates of cyclization for alkyllithiums are secondary > tertiary > primary, and the yields are very high. In the secondary case, the stereoselectivity is extremely high, producing a cyclopentylmethyllithium with a trans-2-alkyl substituent. A remarkable finding is that for all of the organolithiums a lithium oxyanionic group in the proximal allylic position to the alkene greatly accelerates the cyclization and leads almost exclusively to a trans relationship between the CH(2)Li group and the OLi group, the opposite relationship from that observed in intramolecular carbolithiations by allyllithiums. A mechanistic rationale for this divergence is discussed. One of the two types of proximal homoallylic lithium oxyanions exerts an analogous effect. An intriguing limitation, even occurring with the highly reactive secondary organolithium and in the presence of an allylic oxyanionic group, is the failure of intramolecular carbolithiation when a methyl group is at the terminus of the alkene.     

Use of aromatic radical-anions in the absence of THF. Tandem formation and cyclization of benzyllithiums derived from the attack of homo- and bishomoallyllithiums on alpha-methylstyrenes: two-pot synthesis of cuparene

When a homo- or bishomoallyllithium, generated by reductive lithiation of the corresponding phenyl thioether by the radical anion lithium 1-(dimethylamino)naphthalenide (LDMAN), is added to alpha-methylstyrene, a tandem addition/cyclization to a phenyl-substituted five- or six-membered-ring occurs. The yields are compromised by polymerization of the alpha-methylstyrene, a process favored by tetrahydrofuran (THF), the solvent used to generate lithium aromatic radical anions. Thus, a new method of generating LDMAN (unsuccessful for other common radical anions) in the absence of THF has been developed. The radical anion can be generated and the reductive lithiation performed in dimethyl ether at -70 degrees C. After the addition of diethyl ether or other solvent, and evaporation of the dimethyl ether in vacuo, the alpha-methylstyrene is added and the solution is warmed to -30 degrees C. When the unsaturated alkyllithium is primary, no adduct forms in THF due to polymerization of the alpha-methylstyrene, but moderate yields are attained in a solvent containing mainly hexanes. It was also found that the cyclized organolithiums, which would have become protonated in the presence of THF, can be captured by an electrophile, even at ambient temperature. A two-pot synthesis, the most efficient reported, of the sesquiterpene (+/-)-cuparene in 46% yield, using this technology is reported.     

Mild and Low‐Pressure fac‐Ir(ppy)3‐Mediated Radical Aminocarbonylation of Unactivated Alkyl Iodides through Visible‐Light Photoredox Catalysis

A novel, mild and facile preparation of alkyl amides from unactivated alkyl iodides employing a fac‐Ir(ppy)₃‐catalyzed radical aminocarbonylation protocol has been developed. Using a two‐chambered system, alkyl iodides, fac‐Ir(ppy)₃, amines, reductants, and CO gas (released ex situ from Mo(CO)₆), were combined and subjected to an initial radical reductive dehalogenation generating alkyl radicals, and a subsequent aminocarbonylation with amines affording a wide range of alkyl amides in moderate to excellent yields.     

Cyclization by intramolecular carbolithiation of alkyl- and vinyllithiums prepared by reductive lithiation: surprising stereochemistry in the lithium oxyanion accelerated cyclization

The versatility of intramolecular carbolithiation of simple alkenes to yield cyclopentylmethyllithiums by unconjugated organolithiums is greatly increased (1) by generating the organolithiums by reductive lithiation of phenyl thioethers with aromatic radical anions and (2) by using allylic or homoallylic alcohol groups on the receiving alkene. This type of reductive lithiation allows virtually any kind of organolithium to be generated, usually in a connective manner. Furthermore, the allylic or homoallylic lithium oxyanionic groups on the alkene greatly accelerate the reactions and lead in most cases to completely stereoselective cyclization at -78 degrees . Most significantly, the trans stereoselectivity is the opposite from that observed when the organometallic is allylic. A four-membered ring has also been generated by this method.     

Synthesis of pinacol esters of 1‐alkyl‐1H‐pyrazol‐5‐yl‐ and 1‐alkyl‐1H‐pyrazol‐4‐ylboronic acids

Starting from 1H‐pyrazol, a wide number of 1‐alkyl‐1H‐pyrazol‐4‐yl and 1‐alkyl‐1H‐pyrazol‐5‐ylboronic acids and their pinacol esters were synthesized and characterized. The key step in the described methodology is the regioselective lithiation of the pyrazole ring. The synthesized pinacolates are stable under prolonged storage and can be used as convenient reagents in organic synthesis.     

Theoretical Study on the Mechanism of Ni‐Catalyzed Alkyl–Alkyl Suzuki Cross‐Coupling

Ni‐catalyzed cross‐coupling of unactivated secondary alkyl halides with alkylboranes provides an efficient way to construct alkyl–alkyl bonds. The mechanism of this reaction with the Ni/ L1 ( L1 =trans‐N,N′‐dimethyl‐1,2‐cyclohexanediamine) system was examined for the first time by using theoretical calculations. The feasible mechanism was found to involve a Ni^I–Ni^III catalytic cycle with three main steps: transmetalation of [Ni^I( L1 )X] (X=Cl, Br) with 9‐borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane (9‐BBN)R₁ to produce [Ni^I( L1 )(R₁)], oxidative addition of R₂X with [Ni^I( L1 )(R₁)] to produce [Ni^III( L1 )(R₁)(R₂)X] through a radical pathway, and C? C reductive elimination to generate the product and [Ni^I( L1 )X]. The transmetalation step is rate‐determining for both primary and secondary alkyl bromides. KOiBu decreases the activation barrier of the transmetalation step by forming a potassium alkyl boronate salt with alkyl borane. Tertiary alkyl halides are not reactive because the activation barrier of reductive elimination is too high (+34.7 kcal mol^?1). On the other hand, the cross‐coupling of alkyl chlorides can be catalyzed by Ni/ L2 ( L2 =trans‐N,N′‐dimethyl‐1,2‐diphenylethane‐1,2‐diamine) because the activation barrier of transmetalation with L2 is lower than that with L1 . Importantly, the Ni⁰–Ni^II catalytic cycle is not favored in the present systems because reductive elimination from both singlet and triplet [Ni^II( L1 )(R₁)(R₂)] is very difficult.     

Azomethine Ylides from Nitrones: Using Catalytic nBuLi for the Totally Stereoselective Synthesis of trans‐2‐Alkyl‐3‐oxazolines

The cycloaddition of azomethine ylide N‐oxides (nitrone ylides) with aldehydes provides 3‐oxazolines in a completely stereoselective manner in the presence of a catalytic amount of n‐butyllithium. The process involves an initial nucleophilic attack on the aldehyde, followed by intramolecular oxygen addition to the nitrone moiety and lithium‐assisted elimination of water, regenerating the catalytic species. Various Li‐based catalytic systems are possible and the in situ generated water is required for continuing the catalytic cycle. The best results are observed with 20 mol % of n‐butyllithium, whereas the use of stoichiometric amounts inhibit the rate of catalysis. Experimental, spectroscopic, and computational mechanistic studies have provided evidence of lithium‐ion catalysis and rationalized several competing catalytic pathways     

An HF and DFT ab initio Study on the Mechanism of ortho‐Directed Lithiation of Hydric and Nonhydric Aromatic Compounds Incorporating Aggregation and Discrete Solvation: The Role of N,N,N′,N′‐Tetramethylethane‐1,2‐diamine (TMEDA) in Lithiation Reactions

An HF and DFT ab initio study was set up to decipher the roles of aggregation and solvation in the ortho‐directed lithiation of aromatics (hydric and nonhydric), as well as to shed light on the much debated question of precomplexation in the mechanism of lithiation. Ab initio (HF/6‐31‐G*) calculations on the lithiation of non‐hydric aromatics have uncovered several competitive routes operating as a function of the aggregation state of the organolithium base used. Specifically, two competitive routes were found for the lithiation of the anisole model 2 by organolithium dimers 1‐dim , namely the so‐called cyclic‐dimer and open‐dimer routes, whereas, for organolithium tetramers 1‐tet , the corresponding cyclic route is the only one operative, and, for monomers 1‐mon , several optional routes seem to be available. Precomplexation is, in all cases, a requirement. According to the computational data presented, the mysterious rate acceleration experimentally observed for lithiations carried out in TMEDA can be assigned to an aggregation effect on the intermediate open‐dimer species, which subsidiarily give rise to several so‐called s‐monomer routes, of which the dimerization‐driven s‐monomer route s‐m_3b is the one having the lowest energy barrier. The relevant species characteristic of both the open‐dimer and s‐monomer routes are the so‐called open dimers, i.e., high‐energy intermediates (actually, spiro dimeric aggregates), resulting from cleavage‐induced associative complexation of the aromatic substrate upon the fully solvated organolithium dimer. DFT calculations (B3LYP/6‐31+G*) also revealed that the peri‐lithiation (i.e., Li at C(8)) of 1‐naphthol model 3 is a slow process taking place preferentially through the open‐dimer route.     

Ketones from Nickel‐Catalyzed Decarboxylative,Non‐Symmetric Cross‐Electrophile Coupling of Carboxylic Acid Esters

Synthesis of the C?C bonds of ketones relies upon one high‐availability reagent (carboxylic acids) and one low‐availability reagent (organometallic reagents or alkyl iodides). We demonstrate here a ketone synthesis that couples two different carboxylic acid esters, N‐hydroxyphthalimide esters and S‐2‐pyridyl thioesters, to form aryl alkyl and dialkyl ketones in high yields. The keys to this approach are the use of a nickel catalyst with an electron‐poor bipyridine or terpyridine ligand, a THF/DMA mixed solvent system, and ZnCl₂ to enhance the reactivity of the NHP ester. The resulting reaction can be used to form ketones that have previously been difficult to access, such as hindered tertiary/tertiary ketones with strained rings and ketones with α‐heteroatoms. The conditions can be employed in the coupling of complex fragments, including a 20‐mer peptide fragment analog of Exendin(9–39) on solid support.     

Ketones from Nickel‐Catalyzed Decarboxylative,Non‐Symmetric Cross‐Electrophile Coupling of Carboxylic Acid Esters

Synthesis of the C?C bonds of ketones relies upon one high‐availability reagent (carboxylic acids) and one low‐availability reagent (organometallic reagents or alkyl iodides). We demonstrate here a ketone synthesis that couples two different carboxylic acid esters, N‐hydroxyphthalimide esters and S‐2‐pyridyl thioesters, to form aryl alkyl and dialkyl ketones in high yields. The keys to this approach are the use of a nickel catalyst with an electron‐poor bipyridine or terpyridine ligand, a THF/DMA mixed solvent system, and ZnCl₂ to enhance the reactivity of the NHP ester. The resulting reaction can be used to form ketones that have previously been difficult to access, such as hindered tertiary/tertiary ketones with strained rings and ketones with α‐heteroatoms. The conditions can be employed in the coupling of complex fragments, including a 20‐mer peptide fragment analog of Exendin(9–39) on solid support.     

Practical generation of 3,5‐dimethoxybenzyllithium: application to the synthesis of 5‐substituted‐resorcinols

Reductive lithiation of 3,5‐dimethoxybenzyl methyl ether was successfully performed with lithium wire and a catalytic amount of naphthalene in dry tetrahydrofuran at ?15°C, leading to the quantitative generation of 3,5‐dimethoxybenzyllithium. This organometallic compound, which can be stored for at least 24 h, was trapped with a variety of different electrophiles, including, besides aldehydes, non‐functionalized and functionalized alkyl halides and an epoxide. Accordingly, it is a useful intermediate in the synthesis of 5‐substituted natural and non‐natural resorcinols. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Deprotonative Metalation of Substituted Benzenes and Heteroaromatics Using Amino/Alkyl Mixed Lithium–Zinc Combinations

Different homoleptic and heteroleptic lithium–zinc combinations were prepared, and structural elements obtained on the basis of NMR spectroscopic experiments and DFT calculations. In light of their ability to metalate anisole, pathways were proposed to justify the synergy observed for some mixtures. The best basic mixtures were obtained either by combining ZnCl₂ ? TMEDA (TMEDA=N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylethylenediamine) with [Li(tmp)] (tmp=2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidino; 3 equiv) or by replacing one of the tmp in the precedent mixture with an alkyl group. The reactivity of the aromatic lithium zincates supposedly formed was next studied, and proved to be substrate‐, base‐, and electrophile‐dependent. The aromatic lithium zincates were finally involved in palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions with aromatic chlorides and bromides.     

Investigation of collision‐induced dissociations involving odd‐electron ion formation under positive electrospray ionization conditions using accurate mass

Collision induced dissociation (CID) has been extensively used for structure elucidation. CID in the electrospray ionization (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) modes has been found to generate mostly even‐electron fragment ions while it has been occasionally reported to form odd‐electron free radical ions. However, the structural requirements and the fragmentation mechanisms for free‐radical CIDs have not been well characterized in the literature. For this purpose, we studied a series of aromatic and non‐aromatic compounds such as sulfonamides, N‐aryl amides, tert‐butyl‐substituted aromatic compounds, aryl alkyl ethers, and O‐alkyl aryl oximes using the LTQ? and LTQ Orbitrap? linear ion trap mass spectrometers. The accurate measurement of the fragment ion masses established the unambiguous assignment of the fragment structures resulting from the test compounds. Our results showed that free radical fragmentation is structure dependent and is to a large extent correlated with the neighboring groups in the structures that stabilize the newly formed free radical ions. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanism of Ligand‐Controlled Regioselectivity‐Switchable Copper‐Catalyzed Alkylboration of Alkenes

Cu‐catalyzed alkylboration of alkenes with bis(pinacolato)diboron ((Bpin)₂) and alkyl halides provides a ligand‐controlled regioselectivity‐switchable method for the construction of complex boron‐containing compounds. Here, we employed DFT methods to elucidate the mechanistic details of this reaction and the origin of the different regioselectivity induced by Xantphos and Cy‐Xantphos. The calculation results reveal that the catalytic cycle mainly proceeds through the migratory insertion of alkenes on Cu‐Bpin complex, the oxidative addition of alkyl halides, and the reductive elimination of a C?C bond. Meanwhile, the rate‐ determining step is the oxidative addition of alkyl halides and the regioselectivity‐determining step is the migratory insertion of alkenes. The bulky cyclohexyl group of Cy‐Xantphos facilitates the approach of the substituents of alkenes to Bpin in the migratory insertion step and thus leads to the Markovnikov products. The less bulky phenyl group on Xantphos prefers keeping the substituents of alkenes away from the Bpin moiety in the migratory insertion step and thus results in anti‐Markovnikov products.     

Co (II)‐C12 alkyl carbon chain multi‐functional ionic liquid immobilized on nano‐SiO2 nano‐SiO2@CoCl3‐C12IL as an efficient cooperative catalyst for C–H activation by direct acylation of aryl halides with aldehydes

Nano‐silica supported ionic liquids composed of alkyl carbon chain and transition metal chlorides anions have been prepared and successfully applied as a heterogeneous catalyst in the direct aldehyde C‐H activation. Catalytic results indicated that nano‐SiO₂ supported ionic liquid consisting C12 alkyl carbon chain and CoCl₃ anion nano‐SiO₂@CoCl₃‐C12IL showed excellent catalytic properties with good to excellent yields towards the desired aryl ketones. The excellent recyclability of the supported catalyst, mild reaction conditions, low catalyst loading, and operational simplicity are the important features of this methodology.     

Star polystyrene‐b‐hyperbranched polyglycidol: Synthesis and ionic conductivity

In this work, novel star‐hyperbranched block copolymers containing four polystyrene arms and hyperbranched polyglycidol at the end of each arm (sPS‐b‐HPG) have been synthesized. The polystyrene arms were prepared through atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene starting from a four‐arm initiator. The hydroxyl‐terminated PS star polymers served as precursors for the cationic ring‐opening polymerization of glycidol using BF₃·OEt₂ as the catalyst. The chemical structures of these block copolymers were characterized by using ¹H and ¹³C NMR. DSC analysis indicated that the star‐hyperbranched block copolymers exhibited two distinct glass transition temperatures corresponding to the linear PS and the HPG segments, respectively. The addition of LiClO₄ increased the T_g of HPG segments at low concentrations, however, decreased the T_g at high concentrations. The T_g of PS segments was not affected by the addition of salts at all. Furthermore, the interaction of sPS‐b‐HPG with LiBr was studied by using viscosity analysis based on the Jones–Dole equation. The star‐like PS core strengthened the interaction of sPS‐b‐HPG with Li ions that could facile the inhomogeneous distribution of Li cations and anions in different phases, which is important in polymeric electrolytes for lithium chemical power sources. The ionic conductivity of one sPS‐b‐HPG/LiClO₄ electrolyte was measured to be higher than that of HPG/LiClO₄ electrolyte. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 949–958, 2009     

Sequential One‐Pot Addition of Excess Aryl‐Grignard Reagents and Electrophiles to O‐Alkyl Thioformates

The sequential addition of aromatic Grignard reagents to O‐alkyl thioformates proceeded to completion within 30 s to give aryl benzylic sulfanes in good yields. This reaction may begin with the nucleophilic attack of the Grignard reagent onto the carbon atom of the O‐alkyl thioformates, followed by the elimination of ROMgBr to generate aromatic thioaldehydes, which then react with a second molecule of the Grignard reagent at the sulfur atom to form arylsulfanyl benzylic Grignard reagents. To confirm the generation of aromatic thioaldehydes, the reaction between O‐alkyl thioformates and phenyl Grignard reagent was carried out in the presence of cyclopentadiene. As a result, hetero‐Diels–Alder adducts of the thioaldehyde and the diene were formed. The treatment of a mixture of the thioformate and phenyl Grignard reagent with iodine gave 1,2‐bis(phenylsulfanyl)‐1,2‐diphenyl ethane as a product, which indicated the formation of arylsulfanyl benzylic Grignard reagents in the reaction mixture. When electrophiles were added to the Grignard reagents that were generated in situ, four‐component coupling products, that is, O‐alkyl thioformates, two molecules of Grignard reagents, and electrophiles, were obtained in moderate‐to‐good yields. The use of silyl chloride or allylic bromides gave the adducts within 5 min, whereas the reaction with benzylic halides required more than 30 min. The addition to carbonyl compounds was complete within 1 min and the use of lithium bromide as an additive enhanced the yields of the four‐component coupling products. Finally, oxiranes and imines also participated in the coupling reaction.