Palladium‐Catalyzed N‐Alkylation of Amides and Amines with Alcohols Employing the Aerobic Relay Race Methodology

Possibly because homogeneous palladium catalysts are not typical borrowing hydrogen catalysts and ligands are thus ineffective in catalyst activation under conventional anaerobic conditions, they had not been used in the N‐alkylation reactions of amines/amides with alcohols in the past. By employing the aerobic relay race methodology with Pd‐catalyzed aerobic alcohol oxidation being a more effective protocol for alcohol activation, ligand‐free homogeneous palladiums are successfully used as active catalysts in the dehydrative N‐alkylation reactions, giving high yields and selectivities of the alkylated amides and amines. Mechanistic studies implied that the reaction most probably proceeds via the novel relay race mechanism we recently discovered and proposed.     

Synthesis of Early‐Transition‐Metal Carbide and Nitride Nanoparticles through the Urea Route and Their Use as Alkylation Catalysts

The use of urea as either a carbon or a nitrogen source enabled the synthesis of various early‐transition‐metal nitride and carbide nanoparticles (TiN, NbN, Mo₂N, W₂N, NbC_xN_1?x, Mo₂C and WC). The ability of these particles to promote alkylation reactions with alcohols was tested on benzyl alcohol and acetophenone at 150 °C for 20 h in xylene. Group IV and V ceramics proved to be able to catalyse the formation of 1,3‐diphenyl propenone, whereas group VI ceramics showed a tendency to promote the Friedel–Crafts‐type reaction of benzyl alcohol on xylene (the solvent). TiN featured the highest activity for the alkylation of ketones and was further tested for more difficult alkylations. Group VI ceramics were further investigated as catalysts for the Friedel–Crafts‐type alkylation of aromatics with activated alcohols. Interestingly, even hexanol could be effectively used for these reactions.     

Novel N‐Alkylbenzimidazole‐Ruthenium (II) complexes: Synthesis and catalytic activity of N‐alkylating reaction under solvent‐free medium

In this article, direct N‐alkylation reactions of amines with alcohols derivatives have been investigated. For this purpose, a new series ruthenium (II) complexes bearing N‐coordinated benzimidazole complexes with have been synthesized and fully characterized by elemental analysis, FT‐IR, ¹H NMR and, ¹³C NMR spectroscopies. Additionally, the structures of the complexes 2b and 2c have been confirmed by X‐ray crystallography. Although the N‐alkylating reaction is usually performed in toluene, the catalytic study of complexes 2a‐d has carried out no additional solvent and alcohol acted both as solvent and reactant of alkylating by using a little excess of alcohols. Surprisingly, conversion and selectivity of amine product for alkylation reaction have been seen high in medium solvent‐free relative to in toluene.     

Transition‐Metal‐Free Hydrogen Autotransfer: Diastereoselective N‐Alkylation of Amines with Racemic Alcohols

A practical method for the synthesis of α‐chiral amines by alkylation of amines with alcohols in the absence of any transition‐metal catalysts has been developed. Under the co‐catalysis of a ketone and NaOH, racemic secondary alcohols reacted with Ellman's chiral tert‐butanesulfinamide by a hydrogen autotransfer process to afford chiral amines with high diastereoselectivities (up to >99:1). Broad substrate scope and up to a 10 gram scale production of chiral amines were demonstrated. The method was applied to the synthesis of chiral deuterium‐labelled amines with high deuterium incorporation and optical purity, including examples of chiral deuterated drugs. The configuration of amine products is found to be determined solely by the configuration of the chiral tert‐butanesulfinamide regardless of that of alcohols, and this is corroborated by DFT calculations. Further mechanistic studies showed that the reaction is initiated by the ketone catalyst and involves a transition state similar to that proposed for the Meerwein–Ponndorf–Verley (MPV) reduction, and importantly, it is the interaction of the sodium cation of the base with both the nitrogen and oxygen atoms of the sulfinamide moiety that makes feasible, and determines the diastereoselectivity of, the reaction.     

Kinetic Resolution of Racemic Allylic Alcohols by Catalytic Asymmetric Substitution of the OH Group with Monosubstituted Hydrazines

A new strategy has been established for the kinetic resolution of racemic allylic alcohols through a palladium/sulfonyl‐hydrazide‐catalyzed asymmetric OH‐substitution under mild conditions. In the presence of 1 mol % [Pd(allyl)Cl]₂, 4 mol % (S)‐SegPhos, and 10 mol % 2,5‐dichlorobenzenesulfonyl hydrazide, a range of racemic allylic alcohols were smoothly resolved with selectivity factors of more than 400 through an asymmetric allylic alkylation of monosubstituted hydrazines under air at room temperature. Importantly, this kinetic resolution process provided various allylic alcohols and allylic hydrazine derivatives with high enantiopurity.     

A Concise Stereoselective Synthesis of (R)‐2‐Benzylmorpholine and ML398 from (R)‐(−)‐2‐Phenylglycinol

We describe here an efficient stereoselective method for the preparation of (R)‐2‐benzylmorpholine and ML398. The present method features a high diastereocontrol using an endocyclic oxidation of phenylglycinol‐derived morpholine and a stereoselective alkylation of chiral non‐racemic morpholin‐3‐one as key steps.     

Umpolung Reactions of α‐Imino Esters: Useful Methods for the Preparation of α‐Amino Acid Frameworks

This paper summarizes our recent efforts toward the development of tandem reactions utilizing umpolung reactions of α‐imino esters. A highly diastereoselective tandem N‐alkylation–Mannich reaction of α‐imino esters was developed. A tandem N‐alkylation–addition reaction of α‐imino esters derived from ethyl glyoxylate with various aldehydes proceeded to give 1,2‐amino alcohols. The same reaction also proceeded efficiently using a novel flow system comprising two connected microreactors. Novel syntheses of α‐quaternary alkynyl amino esters and allenoates were developed through the use of umpolung N‐addition to β,γ‐alkynyl α‐imino esters, followed by regioselective acylation. In addition, a highly regioselective tandem N‐alkylation–vinylogous aldol reaction of β,γ‐alkenyl α‐imino esters was discovered. N‐Alkylation of α‐iminophosphonates followed by a Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons reaction with aldehydes occurred to afford enamines, which can be used in a four‐component coupling reaction with methyl vinyl ketone. α‐N‐Acyloxyimino esters served as highly efficient substrates for the N,N,C‐trialkylation reaction to introduce various nucleophiles at the imino nitrogen and carbon atoms.     

Site‐Selective Linear Alkylation of Anilides by Cooperative Nickel/Aluminum Catalysis

We report meta‐ and para‐selective linear alkylation reactions of anilides with alkenes by nickel/N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and aluminum catalysis. With a less bulky NHC, the alkylation reaction of N‐methyl‐N‐phenylcyclohexanecarboxamides proceeded mainly at the meta position. In contrast, a bulky NHC ligand led to the para‐selective alkylation of N‐sec‐alkyl anilides.     

1,1‐Disilyl Alcohols as d1 Synthons: Harnessing the 1,2‐Brook Rearrangement

1,1‐Disilyl alcohols like 6 give the silyl ethers like 9 on treatment with base and alkyl halides, in a reaction which may be formulated as the alkylation of the Brook‐rearranged carbanion 8 . The products can be oxidised to give ketones like 10 , showing that this Brook‐rearranging system supplies a controlled d¹ synthon of the acyl anion class. The alcohols can be prepared from the acid chloride 12 and dimethyl(phenyl)silyllithium, but the intermediate anion 21 need not be worked up; it can be used directly in the alkylation step.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Triboration: Straightforward,Atom‐Economical Synthesis of 1,1,1‐Triborylalkanes from Terminal Alkynes and HBpin

A convenient and efficient one‐step synthesis of 1,1,1‐triborylalkanes was achieved via sequential dehydrogenative borylation and double hydroborations of terminal alkynes with HBpin (HBpin=pinacolborane) catalyzed by inexpensive and readily available Cu(OAc)₂. This process proceeds under mild conditions, furnishing 1,1,1‐tris(boronates) with wide substrate scope, excellent selectivity, and good functional‐group tolerance, and is applicable to gram‐scale synthesis without loss of yield. The 1,1,1‐triborylalkanes can be used in the preparation of α‐vinylboronates and borylated cyclic compounds, which are valuable but previously rare compounds. Different alkyl groups can be introduced stepwise via base‐mediated deborylative alkylation to produce racemic tertiary alkyl boronates, which can be readily transformed into useful tertiary alcohols.     

Mechanistic investigation of imine formation in ruthenium‐catalyzed N‐alkylation of amines with alcohols

Imines are observed frequently in ruthenium‐catalyzed N‐alkylation of amines with alcohols. Herein, nitrogen–phosphine functionalized carbene ligands were developed and used in ruthenium‐catalyzed N‐alkylation to explore the mechanism of imine formation. The results showed that strongly electron‐donating ligands were beneficial for imine formation and alcohol dehydrogenation to generate acid. In addition, with an increase of electron density of nitrogen atom in substituted amines, the yield of imines in N‐alkylation was improved. At the same time, with electron‐rich imines as substrates, the transfer hydrogenation of imines became difficult. It is suggested that strongly electron‐donating ligands and substrates caused an increase of electron density on the ruthenium center, which resulted in the elimination of hydrogen atoms in active species [LRuH₂] as hydrogen gas rather than transfer onto the imine coordinated with the ruthenium center.     

Development of a General Non‐Noble Metal Catalyst for the Benign Amination of Alcohols with Amines and Ammonia

The N‐alkylation of amines or ammonia with alcohols is a valuable route for the synthesis of N‐alkyl amines. However, as a potentially clean and economic choice for N‐alkyl amine synthesis, non‐noble metal catalysts with high activity and good selectivity are rarely reported. Normally, they are severely limited due to low activity and poor generality. Herein, a simple NiCuFeO_x catalyst was designed and prepared for the N‐alkylation of ammonia or amines with alcohol or primary amines. N‐alkyl amines with various structures were successfully synthesized in moderate to excellent yields in the absence of organic ligands and bases. Typically, primary amines could be efficiently transformed into secondary amines and N‐heterocyclic compounds, and secondary amines could be N‐alkylated to synthesize tertiary amines. Note that primary and secondary amines could be produced through a one‐pot reaction of ammonia and alcohols. In addition to excellent catalytic performance, the catalyst itself possesses outstanding superiority, that is, it is air and moisture stable. Moreover, the magnetic property of this catalyst makes it easily separable from the reaction mixture and it could be recovered and reused for several runs without obvious deactivation.     

Polystyrene‐supported Pd(II) complex‐catalysed carboacylation of 2‐arylpyridines with alcohols via C─H bond activation under solvent‐free conditions

Polystyrene‐supported N ,N ‐dimethylethylenediamine Pd(II) complex C was used as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of aromatic ketones via ortho ‐acylation of sp² C─H bonds of 2‐arylpyridines with alcohols as effective coupling partners. The alcohols were oxidized with tert ‐butyl hydroperoxide to their corresponding aldehydes in situ and efficiently coupled with 2‐arylpyridines to form aryl ketones under solvent‐free conditions. Furthermore, catalyst C could be easily recovered by simple filtration and reused for five cycles without any significant decrease in its activity.     

A Simple Synthesis of Polyfunctionalized 4‐Aminopyrazolidin‐3‐ones as ‘Aza‐deoxa’ Analogs of D‐Cycloserine

A simple five‐step synthesis of fully substituted (4RS,5RS)‐4‐aminopyrazolidin‐3‐ones as analogs of D ‐cycloserine was developed. It comprises a two‐step preparation of 5‐substituted (4RS,5RS)‐4‐(benzyloxycarbonylamino)pyrazolidin‐3‐ones, reductive alkylation at N(1), alkylation of the amidic N(2) with alkyl halides, and simultaneous hydrogenolytic deprotection/reductive alkylation of the primary NH₂ group. The synthesis enables an easy stepwise functionalization of the pyrazolidin‐3‐one core with only two types of common reagents, aldehydes (or ketones) and alkyl halides. The structures of products were elucidated by NMR spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of N‐Chiral Amine Oxides

Direct asymmetric synthesis of N‐chiral amine oxides was accomplished (up to 91:9 e.r.) by means of a bimetallic titanium catalyst. A hydroxy group situated at the γ‐position of the N stereocenter enables the desired N‐oxidation through dynamic kinetic resolution of the trivalent amine substrates. The method was further extended to the kinetic resolution of racemic γ‐amino alcohols with a preexisting stereocenter, giving an important class of enantioenriched (up to 99.9:0.1 e.r.) building blocks that are otherwise difficult to synthesize.     

Chiral‐Organotin‐Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution of Vicinal Amino Alcohols

A highly efficient kinetic resolution of racemic amino alcohols has been achieved for the first time with a chiral tin catalyst. A chiral organotin compound with 3,4,5‐trifluorophenyl groups at the 3,3′‐positions of the binaphthyl framework enabled this transformation with excellent yield and high enantioselectivity. The process tolerates aryl‐ and alkyl‐substituted amino alcohols and a variety of other substrates, affording the corresponding products in high enantioselectivity and with s factors up to >500.     

Diversity‐Oriented Enantioselective Synthesis of Highly Functionalized Cyclic and Bicyclic Alcohols

The copper‐catalyzed hetero‐allylic asymmetric alkylation (h‐AAA) of functionalized Grignard reagents that contain alkene or alkyne moieties has been achieved with excellent regio‐ and enantioselectivity. The corresponding alkylation products were further transformed into a variety of highly functionalized cyclic and bicyclic alcohols with excellent control over the chemo‐, regio‐, and stereoselectivity.     

Bimetallic Gold(I)/Chiral N,N′‐Dioxide Nickel(II) Asymmetric Relay Catalysis: Chemo‐ and Enantioselective Synthesis of Spiroketals and Spiroaminals

A highly efficient asymmetric cascade reaction between keto esters and alkynyl alcohols and amides is reported. The success of the reaction was attributed to the combination of chiral Lewis acid N,N′‐dioxide nickel(II) catalysis with achiral π‐acid gold(I) catalysis working as an asymmetric relay catalytic system. The corresponding spiroketals and spiroaminals were synthesized in up to 99 % yield, 19:1 d.r., and more than 99 % ee under mild reaction conditions. Control experiments suggest that the N,N′‐dioxide ligand was essential for the formation of the spiro products.     

A Convenient Synthesis of Functionalized α‐Methylidenebutano‐4‐lactams

A concise synthetic approach to functionalized α‐methylidenebutanolactams has been developed. The synthetic strategy is based on the preliminary assembly of the lactam template equipped with appropriate functionalities. Subsequent installation of the methylidene by a metalation/alkylation/elimination sequence completed the elaboration of the racemic title compounds.     

Kinetic Resolution of the Racemic 2‐Hydroxyalkanoates Using the Enantioselective Mixed‐Anhydride Method with Pivalic Anhydride and a Chiral Acyl‐Transfer Catalyst

A variety of optically active 2‐hydroxyalkanoates and the corresponding 2‐acyloxyalkanoates are produced by the kinetic resolution of racemic 2‐hydroxyalkanoates by using achiral 2,2‐diarylacetic acid with hindered carboxylic anhydrides as the coupling reagents. The combined use of diphenylacetic acid, pivalic anhydride, and (+)‐(R)‐benzotetramisole ((R)‐BTM) effectively produces (S)‐2‐hydroxyalkanoates and (R)‐2‐acyloxyalkanoates from the racemic 2‐hydroxyalkanoates (s‐values=47–202). This protocol directly provides the desired chiral 2‐hydroxyalkanoate derivatives from achiral diarylacetic acid and racemic secondary alcohols that do not include the sec‐phenethyl alcohol moiety by using the transacylation process to generate the mixed anhydrides from the acid components with bulky carboxylic anhydrides under the influence of the chiral acyl‐transfer catalyst. The transition state that provides the desired (R)‐2‐acyloxyalkanoate from (R)‐2‐hydroxyalkanoate included in the racemic mixture is disclosed by DFT calculations, and the structural features of the transition form are also discussed.