Photocatalytic C−C Cleavage of Methylenecyclobutanes for γ,δ-Unsaturated Aldehydes by Strain Release

Radical additions onto olefins have surfaced as an increasingly powerful strategy for the synthesis of difunctionalized scaffolds. However, despite of major advances, known approaches continue to be largely limited to two manifolds, namely 1,2-difunctionalization of alkenes and remote difunctionalization via hydrogen atom transfer (HAT). Herein, we describe a mechanistically distinct approach by photoinduced carbon-carbon (C−C) activation/ring-opening to access γ,δ-unsaturated aldehydes from methylenecyclobutanols and sulfonyl chlorides by strain release. Remarkably, the sulfonyl motif on the products was easily removed by another photocatalytic process, which enabled the concise assembly of the natural product alatanone A. The synthetic utility of our approach was reflected by versatile functional group tolerance, ample substrate scope, and scalability. The photocatalysis represents a conceptually distinct alternative to existing approaches for remote 1,4-diversifications, with a double bond remaining in the thus obtained products.     

碳碳双键催化加氢的研究进展

综述了近年来碳碳双键催化加氢的研究进展;分别针对以氢气为氢源的催化加氢反应和以非氢气为氢源的催化转移加氢反应进行了分析概括;指出其中催化转移加氢(包括光照下转移加氢)具有反应条件温和且操作安全简便的优势,应用前景广阔.     

Development of Catalytic Site-Selective C−H Oxidation

Direct C−H bond oxygenation is a strong and useful tool for the construction of oxygen functional groups. After Chen and White's pioneering works, various non-heme-type iron and manganese complexes were introduced, leading to strong development in this area. However, for this method to become a truly useful tool for synthetic organic chemistry, it is necessary to make further efforts to improve site-selectivity, and catalyst durability. Recently, we found that non-heme-type ruthenium complex cis- 1 presents efficient catalysis in C(sp³)−H oxygenation under acidic conditions. cis- 1 -catalysed C−H oxygenation can oxidize various substrates including highly complex natural compounds using hypervalent iodine reagents as a terminal oxidant. Moreover, the catalyst system can use almost stoichiometric water molecules as the oxygen source through reversible hydrolysis of PhI(OCOR)₂. It is a strong tool for producing isotopic-oxygen-labelled compounds. Moreover, the environmentally friendly hydrogen peroxide can be used as a terminal oxidant under acidic conditions.     

Isoindolinone Synthesis via One-Pot Type Transition Metal Catalyzed C−C Bond Forming Reactions

Isoindolinone structure is an important privileged scaffold found in a large variety of naturally occurring as well as synthetic, biologically and pharmaceutically active compounds. Owing to its crucial role in a number of applications, the synthetic methodologies for accessing this heterocyclic skeleton have received significant attention during the past decade. In general, the synthetic strategies can be divided into two categories: First, direct utilization of phthalimides or phthalimidines as starting materials for the synthesis of isoindolinones; and second, construction of the lactam and/or aromatic rings by different catalytic methods, including C−H activation, cross-coupling, carbonylation, condensation, addition and formal cycloaddition reactions. Especially in the last mentioned, utilization of transition metal catalysts provides access to a broad range of substituted isoindolinones. Herein, the recent advances (2010–2020) in transition metal catalyzed synthetic methodologies via formation of new C−C bonds for isoindolinones are reviewed.     

Cobalt-catalyzed oxidative esterification of allylic/benzylic C(sp3)–H bonds

A protocol for the cobalt-catalyzed oxidative esterification of allylic/benzylic C(sp³)–H bonds with carboxylic acids was developed in this work. Mechanistic studies revealed that C(sp³)–H bond activation in the hydrocarbon was the turnover-limiting step and the in-situ formed [Co(III)]Ot-Bu did not engage in hydrogen atom abstraction (HAA) of a C–H bond. This protocol was successfully incorporated into a synthetic pathway to β-damascenone that avoided the use of NBS.     

Regioselective Vinylation of Remote Unactivated C(sp3)−H Bonds: Access to Complex Fluoroalkylated Alkenes

Regioselective incorporation of a particular functional group into aliphatic sites by direct activation of unreactive C?H bonds is of great synthetic value. Despite advances in radical‐mediated functionalization of C(sp³)?H bonds by a hydrogen‐atom transfer process, the site‐selective vinylation of remote C(sp³)?H bonds still remains underexplored. Reported herein is a new protocol for the regioselective vinylation of unactivated C(sp³)?H bonds. The remote C(sp³)?H activation is promoted by a C‐centered radical instead of the commonly used N and O radicals. The reaction possesses high product diversity and synthetic efficiency, furnishing a plethora of synthetically valuable E alkenes bearing tri‐/di‐/mono‐fluoromethyl and perfluoroalkyl groups.     

Photocatalytic α-Tertiary Amine Synthesis via C−H Alkylation of Unmasked Primary Amines

A practical, catalytic entry to α,α,α-trisubstituted (α-tertiary) primary amines by C−H functionalisation has long been recognised as a critical gap in the synthetic toolbox. We report a simple and scalable solution to this problem that does not require any in situ protection of the amino group and proceeds with 100 % atom-economy. Our strategy, which uses an organic photocatalyst in combination with azide ion as a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) catalyst, provides a direct synthesis of α-tertiary amines, or their corresponding γ-lactams. We anticipate that this methodology will inspire new retrosynthetic disconnections for substituted amine derivatives in organic synthesis, and particularly for challenging α-tertiary primary amines.     

Computational Mechanism Investigation of C=C Bond Hydrogenation Catalyzed by Rhodium Hydride

The hydrogenation of unsaturated carbons is a commonly used synthetic tool in pharmaceutical and industrial production. Recently, the Norton group realized highly selective hydrogenation of C=C bonds catalyzed by a rhodium hydride. Despite the great efforts made by experimentalists, details regarding the mechanism remained unclear. In this work, detailed DFT calculations were carried out to elucidate the principal features of this transformation. For enones we find that two possible competing mechanisms proposed by the experimental groups are computationally excluded, our proposed alternative mechanism with a total barrier of 20.0 kcal mol⁻¹ is theoretically feasible, solvent methanol to also plays a crucial role in assisting β-hydrogenation in addition to being the hydrogen source for α-hydrogenation, and the cross-polarization of the substrate enone-conjugated system to result in an enhanced charge density of the α-carbon, which favors being hydrogenated first. For isolated alkenes, neither of the two possible competing mechanisms can be excluded computationally and which carbon atom is first hydrogenated depends on the electronic properties of the substrate itself. The combination of rhodium and C=C bonds changes the electronic properties of H on the rhodium hydride and enhances its hydrogenation activity.     

Stereoselective Synthesis of the Proposed C79–C104 Fragment of Symbiodinolide

Stereoselective and streamlined synthesis of the proposed C79–C104 fragment 2 of symbiodinolide ( 1 ), a polyol marine natural product with a molecular weight of 2860, was achieved. In the synthetic route, the proposed C79–C104 fragment 2 was synthesized by utilizing a Julia–Kocienski olefination and subsequent Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation as key transformations in a convergent manner. Detailed comparison of the ¹³C NMR chemical shifts between the natural product and the synthetic C79–C104 fragment 2 revealed that the stereostructure at the C91–C99 carbon chain moiety of symbiodinolide ( 1 ) should be reinvestigated.     

Hydrogen storage on fullerenes: hydrogenation of C59N. using C60H36 as the source of hydrogen

C(60)H(36) has been used as the source of hydrogen for the in situ hydrogenation of (C(59)N)(2), leading to C(59)NH(5) as the main reaction product identified by negative-ion mass spectrometry and providing evidence of the usage of C(60) as a storage device for hydrogen.     

General method of obtaining deuterium-labeled heterocyclic compounds using neutral D2O with heterogeneous Pd/C

A protocol of a versatile H-D exchange reaction of heterocyclic compounds catalyzed by heterogeneous Pd/C in D₂O is described. The reaction of various nitrogen-containing heterocycles with 10% Pd/C (10 wt % of the substrate) under hydrogen atmosphere in D₂O as a deuterium source at 110-180 °C for 24 h afforded the corresponding deuterated compounds with satisfactory efficiency of deuteration in moderate to excellent isolated yields. Furthermore, the Pd/C-H₂-D₂O system can be extended to the direct deuteration of biologically active compounds such as sulfamethazine, which is used as a synthetic antibacterial drug for fat stocks and would be applied as a general method for the preparation of the standard materials for the analysis of residual chemicals in foods and so on.     

New C2-symmetrical ferrocenyl diamines as ligands for ruthenium catalyzed transfer hydrogenation

The new C₂-symmetrical ferrocenyl diamines 5–7 and 13 proved to be good ligands for the ruthenium catalyzed enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of unsymmetrical ketones. The stereocontrolled and highly flexible synthetic route to the new diamines made it possible to vary the ligand structure in an efficient manner. A short trial and error process led to a very active catalytic system with diamine 6a as the ligand, which is capable of reducing ketones even at −30°C using 2-propanol as a hydrogen source. Enantioselectivities up to 90% were reached in the reduction of 1′-acetonaphthone.     

Synthesis of C60H2 by rhodium-catalyzed hydrogenation of C60.

Reduction of C60 with rhodium(0) on alumina and hydrogen in deuterated benzene (C6D6) at ambient temperature and pressure yields a mixture of hydrogenated compounds; C60H2 has been characterized as the major product in 14% yield based on 1H NMR.     

Efficient Synthesis of Phenoxathiines via the Cascade C–H Hydroxylation–C–S Coupling–C–O Cyclization Reaction

Russian Journal of General Chemistry - The ligand-free and simple cascade C–H hydroxylation–C–S coupling–C–O cyclization reaction has been used as the synthetic...     

Weak hydrogen bonds from Cp donors to CC acceptors

In the crystal structure of 1, pairs of molecules are connected by mutual C(Cp)–H?CC interactions which have a geometry suggestive of weak hydrogen bonding (1[(η⁵-C₅H₅)Fe(CC−C₇H₇–2,4,6)(CO)₂]). The shorter of the H?C distances is only 2.59 Å, which is a distance that is typically observed for C–H?CC hydrogen bonds of stronger donors such as chloroform or alkyne groups.     

Hydrogen bonding structure and stability of alpha-chitin studied by 13C solid-state NMR

The structure and stability of hydrogen bonds in alpha-chitin were investigated by (13)C solid-state NMR measurements at different temperatures. Splitting of the carbonyl carbon signal for alpha-chitin was interpreted as two types of hydrogen bonding; the peaks at 173.5 and 175.8 ppm were assigned, respectively, to a carbonyl carbon hydrogen bonded exclusively to the NH group and a carbonyl carbon hydrogen-bonded to both NH and C(6)-OH groups. Approximately 60% of carbonyl groups exclusively contributed to the intermolecular hydrogen bonding and ca. 40% of them to the combination of intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Internal rotation around the C(5)-C(6) bond was detected at 55 degrees C.     

Total synthesis of abyssomicin C, atrop-abyssomicin C, and abyssomicin D: implications for natural origins of atrop-abyssomicin C

In this article, the total syntheses of the antibiotic abyssomicin C (1) and its biologically inactive sibling abyssomicin D (3) are described. A number of unforseen roadblocks in our synthetic plan encouraged innovation, which culminated in the discovery of a new Lewis acid-templated Diels-Alder reaction. En route to abyssomicin C, we prepared and characterized its stable conformational isomer atrop-abyssomicin C (57), which in the presence of a strong acid underwent an unusual interconversion with the targeted natural product. Close inspection of the X-ray crystallographic structures of these compounds led to hypotheses on the mechanism of their interconversion. Attempted reduction of both atropisomers revealed that atrop-abyssomicin C afforded abyssomicin D much more readily, suggesting that this previously unknown atropisomer may be synthesized by the host organism and serves as a direct precursor of abyssomicin D. Finally, to gain insight into the mechanism of antiobiotic activity, several synthetic intermediates and designed analogues were evaluated for biological activity.     

Enantioselective total synthesis of phomallenic acid C

The newly isolated bacterial FAS II inhibitor phomallenic acid C (3) was synthesized for the first time as a 16:1 mixture of the (R)- and (S)-isomer with the diyne-allene motif constructed using a coupling under Negishi conditions. By comparison with the synthetic sample, the natural phomallenic acid C was estimated to be a 3.8:1 mixture of (R)-/(S)-isomers. This synthesis describes a new synthetic entry to optically active allene diynes.     

Synthesis of C1-Substituted 7-Oxanorbornadienes

7-Oxanorbornadienes are valuable synthetic intermediates as they can serve as general templates to create highly substituted ring systems. However, to date, only very few C1-substituted 7-oxanorbornadienes have been synthesized and can be found in the literature. In this article, synthesis of some C1-substituted 7-oxanorbornadienes was achieved by the Diels–Alder reaction between 2-substituted furans and dimethylacetylene dicarboxylate. Moderate to good yields (13–85%) of the Diels–Alder reactions were observed. These C1-substituted 7-oxanorbornadienes will find applications as valuable synthetic intermediates and are useful in the studies of transition-metal-catalyzed reactions.