Acceleration of the DABCO-promoted Baylis-Hillman reaction using a recoverable H-bonding organocatalyst

It has been shown that catalytic amounts (20-40 mol %) of bis-aryl (thio)ureas greatly accelerate the DABCO-promoted Baylis-Hillman reaction between a range of aromatic aldehydes and methyl acrylate in the absence of solvent. These robust organocatalysts are superior mole per mole promoters of the reaction than either methanol or water and are recoverable in high yield after the reaction by column chromatography.     

CuI/Dabco as a highly active catalytic system for the Heck-type reaction

An efficient catalytic system using CuI/Dabco (triethylenediamine) for the Heck-type cross-coupling reaction was developed. In the presence of 10 mol % of CuI and 20 mol % of Dabco, the coupling of various aromatic iodides and 1-((Z)-2-bromovinyl)benzene with olefins was carried out efficiently and selectively to afford the corresponding internal olefins in moderate to good yields.     

Biginelli reaction starting directly from alcohols

An efficient of one-pot oxidative access to 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-(1H)-ones directly from aromatic alcohols under mild conditions is reported. The protocol involves 1-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate [Hmim]HSO₄ catalyzed oxidation of aromatic alcohols to aromatic aldehydes with NaNO₃ followed by their cyclocondensation with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds and urea in the same reaction vessel at 80 °C within 2-4 h to afford 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-(1H)-ones in 55-97% overall yields. Thus, the present work utilizing alcohols instead of aldehyde in Biginelli reaction is a valid and green alternative to the classical synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-(1H)-ones.     

Titanium-catalyzed Reformatsky-type reaction

A catalytic titanium mediated Reformatsky reaction is presented. The technique employs cyclopentadienyltitaniumdichloride(IV) (10 mol%) in conjunction with Mn (2 equiv.), as the stoichiometric reductant, and (CF₃CO)₂O (1.5 equiv.), as the scavenger, and it is based on the formation of titanocene(III) chloride as a mild and homogeneous single-electron reductant. The reaction gives moderate yields of the desired Reformatsky adduct, and it works well with aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes.     

New N-terminal prolyl-dipeptide derivatives as organocatalysts for direct asymmetric aldol reaction

A series of new N-terminal prolyl-dipeptide derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated as organocatalysts for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction of acetone with electron-deficient aromatic aldehydes. At room temperature, the presence of 10 mol % of catalysts 2 and 5 efficiently catalyzes the direct asymmetric aldol reaction to give the aldol adducts with modest to excellent enantiomeric excesses (ee) values, which are up to 96%.     

Direct asymmetric aldol reaction of hydroxyacetone promoted by chiral tertiary amines

The tertiary amine-catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reaction of hydroxyacetone with a variety of aromatic aldehydes is developed. Using 5-10 mol % of quinidine as catalyst, the direct aldol condensation products were obtained in reasonable yields and with asymmetric induction (up to 47% ee). The present approach is extended to asymmetric organocatalytic strategies for the preparation of 1,2-diols.     

Chiral spiroborate esters catalyzed highly enantioselective direct aldol reaction

Asymmetric catalysis of chiral spiroborate esters with an O₃BN framework toward the direct aldol reaction of acetone and aromatic aldehydes was examined, and a new, efficient chiral catalyst was discovered. In the presence of the novel catalyst, acetone was allowed to react with aromatic aldehydes at 0 °C for 50 h to afford chiral β-hydroxyketone in up to >99% ee and 92% yield. The catalyst, which is readily synthesized, is highly stable to hydrolysis, thermolysis, oxidation, and racemization, can be conveniently recovered.     

Sequential three-component reactions: synthesis, regioselectivity and application of functionalized dihydropyridines (DHPs) for the creation of fused naphthyridines

Facile and efficient synthesis of tetrasubstituted 1,4- and 1,6-dihydropyridines (DHPs) has been achieved by employing three-component domino reaction using dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD), aliphatic amines, and α,β-unsaturated aldehyde in the presence of 30 mol % trifluoroacetic acid. Interestingly, regioselectivity for the synthesis of 1,4-dihydropyridines can be increased by using 30 mol % triflic acid. In addition, the synthesis of fused-naphthyridine derivatives has been accomplished involving imino-Diels-Alder reaction by employing 1,4-dihydropyridines, aromatic aldehydes, and aromatic amines.     

Synthesis of tetra-substituted pyrroles, a potential phosphodiesterase 4B inhibitor, through nickel(II) chloride hexahydrate catalyzed one-pot four-component reaction

A wide variety of tetra-substituted pyrrole derivatives were synthesized through one-pot four-component condensation reaction of aromatic aldehydes, benzylamines, β-ketoesters, and nitroalkanes in the presence of 10 mol % NiCl₂·6H₂O in good yields. Some of them exhibit properties as potential inhibitors of phosphodiesterase 4B (PDE4B) through docking studies.     

High-temperature reaction of a Co2(CO)6-complexed propargyl cation

The novel high-temperature reaction of Co₂(CO)₆-complexed propargyl cations, occurring in the spontaneous and stereoselective (90-97% d,l-) manner and yielding the radical dimers, d,l-3,4-diaryl-1,5-hexadiynes (2, 11, 14), is described. Despite the alleged thermal lability and delicate nature of the requisite Co₂(CO)₆-complexed propargyl cations, the reaction temperature can be elevated from 20 °C to 147 °C, shortening the reaction time from 660 min to less than 1 min. Isotopic enrichment experiments detected (MS TOF/ESI/APCI) an incorporation of upto, eight ¹³CO ligands into the metal core, suggesting a single electron, cluster-to-cluster reduction along the reaction coordinate. The reaction kinetics is found to be sensitive toward the electronic nature of the substituents (H, OMe) and to the substitution pattern (0-, 4-, 3,4,5-) on the periphery of the aromatic ring. Calculation data suggest that the spontaneous transfer of a single electron from the metal cluster, onto a π-bonded propargyl moiety, is dependent upon the negative charge on aromatic C_1^′ carbon atom, located alpha to the cationic center. The spontaneous conversion of diamagnetic species (propargyl cation) to paramagnetic counterparts (propargyl radical) indicates that the π-bonded organometallic cations can act as the prototypes for transition metal-based thermal sensors. Their application in photochemical research, electronic devices, molecular electronics, and biomedical fields can also be envisioned.     

Highly diastereo- and enantioselective direct aldol reactions promoted by water-compatible organocatalysts bearing a pyrrolidinyl-camphor structural scaffold

Efficient synthetic routes have been developed for the synthesis of a series of pyrrolidinyl-camphor containing organocatalysts (1-10). Structural modifications were made by varying the stereo- and electronic properties of the camphor scaffold and the aromatic substituents. These readily tunable and amphiphilic organocatalysts were evaluated for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction of various aromatic aldehydes and cyclohexanone either in organic solvents or in the presence of water. The aldol reaction proceeded smoothly with excellent chemical yields (up to 99%), enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee), and anti-diastereoselectivities (up to 99:1) with a catalytical amount of the bifunctional organocatalysts (20 mol %) under optimal reaction conditions. Mechanistic transition models are proposed and the stereochemical bias of the asymmetric aldol reaction is presented.     

Exploiting the oxidative coupling reaction of MBTH for indapamide determination

The oxidative coupling reaction between aromatic amines and 3-methylbenzothiazolin-2-one hydrazone (MBTH) in the presence of cerium(IV) has been extensively used with quantitative analytical purposes. Nevertheless, a literature survey reveals that different wavelengths (visible range) can be used to monitor the reaction products when using MBTH and Ce(IV) as colour developing reagents.In the present work, the oxidative coupling reaction of indapamide (an oral antihypertensive diuretic drug) with MBTH in the presence of cerium(IV) was evaluated using distinct reaction approaches and was implemented in an automated multipumping flow system. The developed methodology was applied in the spectrophotometric control of the drug in pharmaceutical formulations. The optimization of the proposed multipumping flow system was performed by using an experimental design approach, namely by exploiting a Plackett-Burman factorial design and a central cubic faces design.This work revealed the formation of products with different reaction kinetics, chemical stabilities and absorbance spectra, depending on the sequence of addition of the reagents. By exploiting a specific sequence in the addition of reagents, the proposed automatic system allowed the rapid quantification of indapamide in pharmaceutical formulations, with a determination rate of about 25 h⁻¹, and a relative deviation under 2.1% when comparing with the reference procedure. Detection limit was approximately 1 mg L⁻¹.     

Indium(III) triflate catalyzed tandem azidation/1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of ω,ω-dialkoxyalkyne derivatives with trimethylsilyl azide

The azidation reaction of dialkyl acetal derivatives with trimethylsilyl azide (TMSN₃) was efficiently catalyzed by 1-5 mol % of In(OTf)₃. The major product differed depending on the substrate structure and molar ratio of TMSN₃, that is, aliphatic acetals provided α-azido ether derivatives, while aromatic acetal (benzaldehyde dimethyl acetal) provided gem-diazide, respectively. Furthermore, novel tandem azidation/1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction using alkynyl acetal derivatives gave bicyclic triazolo-heterocyclic compounds, recognized as chemically modified aza-sugar analogues, in high yields under mild conditions.     

Recyclable Merrifield resin-supported thiourea organocatalysts derived from l-proline for direct asymmetric aldol reaction

Four Merrifield resin-supported thiourea organocatalysts derived from l-proline were synthesized and found to be efficient catalysts for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction between ketone and aromatic aldehydes. The catalysts exhibited high catalytic activity, diastereoselectivity and excellent enantioselectivity at room temperature with a low loading (only 2 mol %). They also retained unchanged enantioselectivities even after being reused for at least four cycles.     

Site-selective direct arylation of unprotected adenine nucleosides mediated by palladium and copper: insights into the reaction mechanism

Reaction conditions facilitating the site-selective direct aryl functionalisation at the C-8 position of adenine nucleosides have been identified. Many different aromatic components may be effectively cross-coupled to provide a diverse array of arylated adenine nucleoside products without the need for ribose or adenine protecting groups. The optimal palladium catalyst loading lies between 0.5 and 5 mol %. Addition of excess mercury to the reaction had a negligible affect on catalysis, suggesting the involvement of a homogeneous catalytic species. A study by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that metal containing nanoparticles, ca. 3 nm with good uniformity, are formed during the latter stages of the reaction. Stabilised PVP palladium colloids (PVP=N-polyvinylpyrrolidone) are catalytically active in the direct arylation process, releasing homogenous palladium into solution. The effect of various substituted 2-pyridine ligand additives has been investigated. A mechanism for the site-selective arylation of adenosine is proposed.     

Facile ring-closure cyclization of arenes by nucleophilic C-alkylation reaction in ionic liquid

A novel synthetic method using an ionic liquid (IL) for a six-membered ring-closure cyclization is described. The ring-closure cyclization by nucleophilic C-alkylation was achieved with various halo- and alkanesulfonyloxyalkyl aromatic compounds in high yields with minimal byproducts using ILs as the reaction media in the absence of any catalyst. For example, the cyclization of 2-(3-methanesulfonyloxy-propoxy)naphthalene (1a) to 2,3-dihydro-1H-naphtho[2,1-b]pyran (2) in IL [bmim][PF₆] proceeded selectively at 150 °C for 24 h in 85% yield.     

Poly(ethyleneglycol) (PEG): a rapid and recyclable reaction medium for the DABCO-catalyzed Baylis-Hillman reaction

PEG (400) has been used as a rapid and recyclable reaction medium for the Baylis-Hillman reaction with the conventional basic catalyst DABCO (20 mol %) with very good yields of products. Recyclability is achieved with no further addition of DABCO to the reaction medium for over four runs without substantial loss in yields. Incidentally, DABCO is recycled for the first time in this transformation.     

Electrophilic aromatic addition reaction (AdEAr) to anthracene

After finding in a previous study that naphthalene and quinoline can react via electrophilic aromatic addition reaction (Ad_EAr), we applied this to anthracene. When anthracene was reacted with bromine in methanol in the presence of NaHCO₃ and pyridine, 9,10-dihydro-9,10-dimethoxyanthracene (2) was obtained in 82% yield in the absence of substitution products or oxidative demethylation products like anthraquinone. The same reaction in ethanol produced 9,10-diethoxy-9,10-dihydroanthracene (9) in much lower yield (45%). In addition, we investigated the reactivity of addition product 2. Treatment of 2 with DDQ in benzene at 65 °C for 12 h produced 9,10-dimethoxyanthracene (3) in 62% yield, and 2 was rapidly transformed to 9-methoxyanthracene (4) in methanolic NaOH in 10 min. Moreover, the acid-catalyzed aromatization of 2 in 1-propanol at 75 °C for 10 min gave 9-n-propoxyanthracene (8) in 65% yield.     

Nickel salt-catalyzed addition reaction of arylboronic acids to aromatic aldehydes

Arylation reaction of aromatic aldehydes with arylboronic acids proceeded smoothly in the presence of a base and catalytic amount of a nickel salt, Ni(ClO₄)₂·6H₂O, in toluene/IPA = 5:1 or IPA to afford corresponding diarylmethanols in good to excellent yields.     

Palladium/copper-catalyzed sila-Sonogashira reactions of aryl iodides with alkynylsilanes via a direct C-Si bond activation

The palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of aryl iodides with alkynylsilanes in the presence of a substoichiometric amount (50 mol %) of copper(I) chloride as an activator in DMF under strictly non-basic reaction conditions afford the corresponding unsymmetrical diarylethynes in moderate to excellent yields. A wide range of substrates bearing an electron-donating or an electron-withdrawing substituent on the aromatic ring are compatible.