Identification of a higher-order organozincate intermediate involved in Negishi cross-coupling reactions by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy

Negishi cross-coupling reactions were analyzed in solution by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy to identify both the effect of LiBr as an additive as well as the purpose of 3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) as a co-solvent. The results suggest that the main role of DMI is to facilitate a higher order bromozincate formation during the addition of LiBr.     

Negishi cross-coupling reactions catalyzed by an aminophosphine-based nickel system: a reliable and general applicable reaction protocol for the high-yielding synthesis of biaryls

Treatment of NMP solutions of NiCl(2) with 1,1',1'-(phosphanetriyl)tripiperidine (≈2.05 equiv), dissolved in THF, in air at 25 °C forms a highly active catalytic system for the cross-coupling of a large variety of electronically activated, non-activated, deactivated, and ortho-substituted, heterocyclic, and functionalized aryl bromides and aryl chlorides with diarylzinc reagents. Very high levels of conversion and yields were obtained within 2 h at 60 °C in the presence of only 0.1 mol% of catalyst (based on nickel) and thus at catalyst loadings far lower than typically reported for nickel-catalyzed versions of the Negishi reaction. Various aryl halides-which may contain trifluoromethyl groups, fluorides, or other functional groups such as acetals, ketones, ethers, esters, lactones, amides, imines, anilines, alkenes, pyridines, quinolines, and pyrimidines-were successfully converted into the corresponding biaryls. Electronic and steric variations are tolerated in both reaction partners. Experimental observations indicate that a molecular (Ni(I)/Ni(III)) mechanism is operative.     

On‐Line Reaction Monitoring and Mechanistic Studies by Mass Spectrometry: Negishi Cross‐Coupling,Hydrogenolysis, and Reductive Amination

Reaction monitoring using inductive ESI mass spectrometry allows chemical reactions to be tracked in real time, including air‐ and moisture‐sensitive as well as heterogeneous reactions. Highly concentrated solutions can also be monitored for long periods without emitter clogging. Sheath gas assists in nebulization and a sample splitter reduces the delay time and minimizes contamination of the instrument. Short‐lived intermediates (ca. 5 s) were observed in Pd/C‐catalyzed hydrogenolysis, and several intermediates were seen in Negishi cross‐coupling reactions.     

“(Diphosphine)Nickel”‐Catalyzed Negishi Cross‐Coupling: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

The use of a strongly donating “(bis‐dialkylphosphine)Ni” fragment promotes the catalytic coupling of a large range of ArCl and ArZnCl derivatives under mild conditions. Stoichiometric mechanistic investigations and DFT calculations prove that a Ni⁰/Ni^II cycle is operative in this system.     

Room-temperature palladium-catalyzed Negishi-type coupling: a combined experimental and theoretical study

An air-stable, bulky electron-accepting phosphine ligand (phosphabarrelene) allows the easy reduction of a Pd(II) precursor to a Pd(0) complex, highly active in room-temperature Negishi-type cross-coupling. DFT calculations show that the use of the electron-accepting ligand favors both transmetalation (TM) and reductive-elimination (RE) processes (see scheme; OA = oxidative addition).     

Pd(II) salen complex covalently anchored to multi‐walled carbon nanotubes as a heterogeneous and reusable precatalyst for Mizoroki–Heck and Hiyama cross‐coupling reactions

A Pd(II) salen complex anchored to multi‐walled carbon nanotubes showed excellent catalytic activity and stability for the Mizoroki–Heck and Hiyama cross‐couplings of aryl halides with olefins and phenylsiloxanes. Furthermore, the heterogeneous catalyst could be reused up to four times with the catalytic activity being recovered easily after simple manipulations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of Racemic Δ3‐2‐Hydroxybakuchiol and Its Analogues

The first synthetic approach to (±)‐Δ³‐2‐hydroxybakuchiol (=4‐[(1E,5E)‐3‐ethenyl‐7‐hydroxy‐3,7‐dimethylocta‐1,5‐dien‐1‐yl]phenol; 14 ) and its analogues 13a – 13f was developed by 12 steps (Schemes 2 and 3). The key features of the approach are the construction of the quaternary C‐center bearing the ethenyl group by a Johnson–Claisen rearrangement (→ 6 ); and of an (E)‐alkenyl iodide via a Takai–Utimoto reaction (→ 11 ); and an arylation via a Negishi cross‐coupling reaction (→ 12e – 12f ).     

Cesium carbonate‐catalyzed indium insertion into alkyl iodides and their synthetic utilities in cross‐coupling reactions

A catalytic amount of cesium carbonate (10 mol%) was found to be capable of effectively catalyzing the insertion of indium powder into alkyl iodides. The thus‐generated alkyl indium reagents could readily undergo palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions with a wide variety of aryl halides, showing compatibility to a range of important functional groups.     

Cobalt-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of alkyl halides with allylic and benzylic Grignard reagents and their application to tandem radical cyclization/cross-coupling reactions

Details of cobalt-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of alkyl halides with allylic Grignard reagents are disclosed. A combination of cobalt(II) chloride and 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (DPPE) or 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane (DPPP) is suitable as a precatalyst and allows secondary and tertiary alkyl halides--as well as primary ones--to be employed as coupling partners for allyl Grignard reagents. The reaction offers a facile synthesis of quaternary carbon centers, which has practically never been possible with palladium, nickel, and copper catalysts. Benzyl, methallyl, and crotyl Grignard reagents can all couple with alkyl halides. The benzylation definitely requires DPPE or DPPP as a ligand. The reaction mechanism should include the generation of an alkyl radical from the parent alkyl halide. The mechanism can be interpreted in terms of a tandem radical cyclization/cross-coupling reaction. In addition, serendipitous tandem radical cyclization/cyclopropanation/carbonyl allylation of 5-alkoxy-6-halo-4-oxa-1-hexene derivatives is also described. The intermediacy of a carbon-centered radical results in the loss of the original stereochemistry of the parent alkyl halides, creating the potential for asymmetric cross-coupling of racemic alkyl halides.     

Domino 6pi-electrocyclization/Diels-Alder reactions on 1,6-disubstituted (E,Z,E)-1,3,5-hexatrienes: versatile access to highly substituted tri- and tetracyclic systems

The (E,Z,E)-1,3,5-hexatrienes 1a, 2a,b and 3b undergo 6pi-electrocyclization within 15-30 min upon heating to 200-215 degrees C. While the cyclohexene-annelated products 8a,b were stable, the analogous cyclopentene- and cycloheptene-annelated derivatives 7a and 9b easily underwent dehydrogenation to the corresponding aromatic compounds 10a and 12b during the work-up. The cyclohexadiene derivatives 8a,b were employed in thermal Diels-Alder reactions with 4-phenyl-3H-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (PTAD) and tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) to give the expected [4+2] cycloadducts 13a and 14a in good yields (60 and 78%). The initially formed cycloadduct of 8a and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD) underwent a subsequent retro-Diels-Alder reaction to give the tetrahydronaphthalene 11b (47%). Under high pressure (10 kbar), the cycloadduct 15a was formed at room temperature and could be isolated in 44% yield. TCNE and N-phenylmaleimide with 8a under high pressure also led to the [4+2] cycloadducts 14a and 16a in good yields (60 and 77%). The 6pi-electrocyclization and subsequent Diels-Alder reaction, when performed as a one-pot domino process, provided direct access to Diels-Alder products of intermediately formed 6pi-electrocyclization products, for example from the 1,3,5-hexatrienes 1a,b, 2a,b, 3b and TCNE to the corresponding tricyclic products 17a,b, 14a,b, 18b in moderate to good yields (27-80%) depending on the nature of the alkoxycarbonyl group. Such sequential reactions with N-phenylmaleimide, maleic anhydride, dimethyl maleate and fumarodinitrile, the latter two under high pressure (10 kbar), worked as well to yield 16b (70%), 19a,b (19, 32%) and 20b (39%) and 21b (76%), respectively. With PTAD, however, the hexatrienes 2a,b reacted at ambient temperature without 6pi-electrocyclization to give the formal [4+2] cycloadducts 27a,b (48 and 46%), most probably via zwitterionic intermediates 23a,b and 25a,b.     

Rationalization of the conflicting effects of hydrogen bond donor solvent on nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions in non-polar aprotic solvent: reactions of phenyl 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl ether with primary and secondary amines in benzene-methanol mixtures

The kinetics of the reactions of phenyl 2,4,6-trinitrophenyl ether with piperidine and cyclohexylamine respectively were studied at different amine concentrations in benzene. The reaction of cyclohexylamine was not base-catalysed while that of piperidine was catalysed by one molecule of the nucleophilic amine. Addition of small amounts of hydrogen-bond donor solvent, methanol to the benzene medium of the reactions produced different effects—rate diminution followed by rate increase in one and continuous rate diminution in the other. These effects are compared with that of aniline (previously studied) in which a continuous rate increase was observed. The results are rationalized in terms of the effect of amine-solvent interaction on the nucleophilicity of the amines in addition to some other factors operating through cyclic transition states leading to products. It is evident from the rationalization that the idea of ‘dimer nucleophile’ in nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions is erroneous.     

Generation of an aromatic amide-derived phosphane (Aphos) library by self-assisted molecular editing and applications of Aphos in room-temperature Suzuki-Miyaura reactions

Aromatic amide-derived phosphanes (Aphos) are hemilabile P,O-coordinating ligands, which, when combined with a Pd precursor, yield a promising precatalyst system for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. A focused library of Aphos ligands has been constructed for structural optimization, with the target of improving catalytic efficacy. By using microwave irradiation at accurately regulated temperature, an expeditious and reproducible one-pot synthesis and screening protocol was designed and experimentally validated. The success is based on a unique self-assisted molecular editing (SAME) process in which both the substrate and the product molecules catalyze formation of the product. Thus, starting from a 4-chlorobenzamide-derived Aphos as the substrate, parallel reactions with a selected set of arylboronic acids, in the absence of an added external phosphane ligand to Pd, produced a family of structurally edited Aphos ligands. The resultant reaction mixture containing the new Aphos, the Pd species, and the base could be used for in situ screening of the Aphos efficacy in a reference Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction. The structures of all Aphos ligands were characterized by 31P NMR spectroscopy and their catalytic profiles in the reference reaction were evaluated by HPLC analysis. These data allowed the identification of an efficient Aphos ligand, capable of promoting room-temperature Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of unactivated and sterically hindered aryl chlorides with arylboronic acids under mildly basic conditions.     

Suzuki and Heck cross‐coupling reactions using ferromagnetic nanoparticle‐supported palladium complex as an efficient and recyclable heterogeneous nanocatalyst in sodium dodecylsulfate micelles

A novel heterogeneous Pd catalyst was synthesized by anchoring Pd(II) onto 4′‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐2,2′:6′,2″‐terpyridine‐coated Fe₃O₄ (FMNPs@TPy‐Pd). This catalyst has been demonstrated for the first time as a recoverable and reusable heterogeneous nanocatalyst in Suzuki and Heck cross‐coupling reactions. The catalyst is very easy to handle and is environmentally safe and economical. FMNPs@TPy‐Pd was characterized using transmission and scanning electron microscopies, X‐ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared and energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopies.