Diastereoselective Carbocyclization of 1,6‐Heptadienes Triggered by Rhodium‐Catalyzed Activation of an Olefinic CH Bond

The use of α,ω‐dienes as functionalization reagents for olefinic carbon–hydrogen bonds has been rarely studied. Reported herein is the rhodium(I)‐catalyzed rearrangement of prochiral 1,6‐heptadienes into [2,2,1]‐cycloheptane derivatives with concomitant creation of at least three stereogenic centers and complete diastereocontrol. Deuterium‐labeling studies and the isolation of a key intermediate are consistent with a group‐directed C? H bond activation, followed by two consecutive migratory insertions, with only the latter step being diastereoselective.     

Diastereoselective Carbocyclization of 1,6‐Heptadienes Triggered by Rhodium‐Catalyzed Activation of an Olefinic C?H Bond

The use of α,ω‐dienes as functionalization reagents for olefinic carbon–hydrogen bonds has been rarely studied. Reported herein is the rhodium(I)‐catalyzed rearrangement of prochiral 1,6‐heptadienes into [2,2,1]‐cycloheptane derivatives with concomitant creation of at least three stereogenic centers and complete diastereocontrol. Deuterium‐labeling studies and the isolation of a key intermediate are consistent with a group‐directed C H bond activation, followed by two consecutive migratory insertions, with only the latter step being diastereoselective.     

One‐Pot Synthesis of N‐Substituted β‐Amino Alcohols from Aldehydes and Isocyanides

A practical two‐stage one‐pot synthesis of N‐substituted β‐amino alcohols using aldehydes and isocyanides as starting materials has been developed. This method features mild reaction conditions, broad scope, and general tolerance of functional groups. Based on a less common central carbon–carbon bond disconnection, this protocol complements traditional approaches that involve amines and various carbon electrophiles (epoxides, α‐halo ketones, β‐halohydrins). Medicinally relevant products can be prepared in a concise and efficient way from simple building blocks, as demonstrated in the synthesis of the antiasthma drug salbutamol. Upgrading the synthesis to an enantioselective variant is also feasible.     

Gold‐Catalyzed Formal C−C Bond Insertion Reaction of 2‐Aryl‐2‐diazoesters with 1,3‐Diketones

The transition‐metal‐catalyzed formal C−C bond insertion reaction of diazo compounds with monocarbonyl compounds is well established, but the related reaction of 1,3‐diketones instead gives C−H bond insertion products. Herein, we report a protocol for a gold‐catalyzed formal C−C bond insertion reaction of 2‐aryl‐2‐diazoesters with 1,3‐diketones, which provides efficient access to polycarbonyl compounds with an all‐carbon quaternary center. The aryl ester moiety plays a crucial role in the unusual chemoselectivity, and the addition of a Brønsted acid to the reaction mixture improves the yield of the C−C bond insertion product. A reaction mechanism involving cyclopropanation of a gold carbenoid with an enolate and ring‐opening of the resulting donor–acceptor‐type cyclopropane intermediate is proposed. This mechanism differs from that of the traditional Lewis‐acid‐catalyzed C−C bond insertion reaction of diazo compounds with monocarbonyl compounds, which involves a rearrangement of a zwitterion intermediate as a key step.     

Carbocyclic Amino Ketones by Bredt's Rule‐Arrested Kulinkovich–de Meijere Reaction

The Ti^II‐mediated formation of cyclopropylamines from alkenes and amides, the Kulinkovich–de Meijere reaction, involves two carbon–carbon bond‐forming steps. Strategic use of a tricyclic intermediate can arrest the process if the second step requires formation of a bridgehead double bond. Use of this Bredt's rule constraint results in the production of carbocyclic amino ketones, key alkaloid building blocks.     

Transition‐Metal‐Mediated and ‐Catalyzed C−F Bond Activation by Fluorine Elimination

The activation of carbon–fluorine (C?F) bonds is an important topic in synthetic organic chemistry. Metal‐mediated and ‐catalyzed elimination of β‐ or α‐fluorine proceeds under milder conditions than oxidative addition to C?F bonds. The β‐ or α‐fluorine elimination is initiated from organometallic intermediates having fluorine substituents on carbon atoms β or α to metal centers, respectively. Transformations through these elimination processes (C?F bond cleavage), which are typically preceded by carbon–carbon (or carbon–heteroatom) bond formation, have been increasingly developed in the past five years as C?F bond activation methods. In this Minireview, we summarize the applications of transition‐metal‐mediated and ‐catalyzed fluorine elimination to synthetic organic chemistry from a historical perspective with early studies and from a systematic perspective with recent studies.     

Visible‐Light‐Induced Nickel‐Catalyzed Negishi Cross‐Couplings by Exogenous‐Photosensitizer‐Free Photocatalysis

The merging of photoredox and transition‐metal catalysis has become one of the most attractive approaches for carbon–carbon bond formation. Such reactions require the use of two organo‐transition‐metal species, one of which acts as a photosensitizer and the other one as a cross‐coupling catalyst. We report herein an exogenous‐photosensitizer‐free photocatalytic process for the formation of carbon–carbon bonds by direct acceleration of the well‐known nickel‐catalyzed Negishi cross‐coupling that is based on the use of two naturally abundant metals. This finding will open new avenues in cross‐coupling chemistry that involve the direct visible‐light absorption of organometallic catalytic complexes.     

Carbene‐Catalyzed Desymmetrization and Direct Construction of Arenes with All‐Carbon Quaternary Chiral Center

Multisubstituted arenes such as indanes with attached all‐carbon quaternary centers are unique scaffolds in synthetic functional molecules and sophisticated natural products. A key challenge in preparing such molecules lies in the enantioselective installation of the quaternary carbon centers. Conventional methods in this direction include asymmetric substitution reactions and substrate‐controlled cyclization reactions. These reactions lead to poor stereoselectivities and/or require long and tedious synthetic steps. Disclosed here is a one‐step organic catalytic strategy for enantioselective access to this class of molecules. The reaction involves an N‐heterocyclic carbene catalyzed process for direct benzene construction, indane formation, remote‐carbon desymmetrization, and excellent chirality control. This approach will enable the concise synthesis of arene‐containing molecules, including those with complex structures and challenging chiral centers.     

Mechanistic Aspects of Aryl–Halide Oxidative Addition,Coordination Chemistry,and Ring‐Walking by Palladium

This contribution describes the reactivity of a zero‐valent palladium phosphine complex with substrates that contain both an aryl halide moiety and an unsaturated carbon–carbon bond. Although η²‐coordination of the metal center to a C?C or C?C unit is kinetically favored, aryl halide bond activation is favored thermodynamically. These quantitative transformations proceed under mild reaction conditions in solution or in the solid state. Kinetic measurements indicate that formation of η²‐coordination complexes are not nonproductive side‐equilibria, but observable (and in several cases even isolated) intermediates en route to aryl halide bond cleavage. At the same time, DFT calculations show that the reaction with palladium may proceed through a dissociation–oxidative addition mechanism rather than through a haptotropic intramolecular process (i.e., ring walking). Furthermore, the transition state involves coordination of a third phosphine to the palladium center, which is lost during the oxidative addition as the C?halide bond is being broken. Interestingly, selective activation of aryl halides has been demonstrated by adding reactive aryl halides to the η²‐coordination complexes. The product distribution can be controlled by the concentration of the reactants and/or the presence of excess phosphine.     

Nickel‐ and Photoredox‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling Reactions of Aryl Halides with 4‐Alkyl‐1,4‐dihydropyridines as Formal Nucleophilic Alkylation Reagents

A combination of nickel and photoredox catalysts promoted novel cross‐coupling reactions of aryl halides with 4‐alkyl‐1,4‐dihydropyridines. 4‐Alkyl‐1,4‐dihydropyridines act as formal nucleophilic alkylation reagents through a photoredox‐catalyzed carbon–carbon (C?C) bond‐cleavage process. The present strategy provides an alternative to classical carbon‐centered nucleophiles, such as organometallic reagents.     

Enantio‐ and Diastereoselective Hydrofluorination of Enals by N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysis

In contrast to well‐established asymmetric hydrogenation reactions, enantioselective protonation is an orthogonal approach for creating highly valuable methine chiral centers under redox‐neutral conditions. Reported here is the highly enantio‐ and diastereoselective hydrofluorination of enals by an asymmetric β‐protonation/α‐fluorination cascade catalyzed by N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs). The two nucleophilic sites of a homoenolate intermediate, generated from enals and an NHC, are sequentially protonated and fluorinated. The results show that controlling the relative rates of protonation, fluorination, and esterification is crucial for this transformation, and can be accomplished using a dual shuttling strategy. Structurally diverse carboxylic acid derivatives with two contiguous chiral centers are prepared in a single step with excellent d.r. and ee values.     

Stereocontrolled Total Synthesis of (+)‐trans‐Dihydronarciclasine

A highly stereoselective and efficient total synthesis of trans‐dihydronarciclasine from a readily available chiral starting material was developed. The synthesis defines two of the five stereogenic centers of the natural product by an amino acid ester–enolate Claisen rearrangement. The other three stereogenic centers are created in a highly stereocontrolled fashion via a six‐ring vinylogous ester intermediate, which is generated from the γ,δ‐unsaturated ester functional group of the Claisen rearrangement product in an efficient three‐step sequence. This concise total synthesis exemplifies the use of a highly regioselective Friedel–Crafts‐type cyclization to form the B ring via an isocyanate intermediate derived from an N‐Boc group, which is superior to the conventional method using an imino triflate intermediate. This same N‐Boc group is employed to give high selectivity in the Claisen rearrangement earlier in the sequence.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Difunctionalization of Activated Alkynes by Radical Oxidation–Tandem Cyclization/Dearomatization to Synthesize 3‐Trifluoromethyl Spiro[4.5]trienones

A copper‐catalyzed difunctionalizing trifluoromethylation of activated alkynes with the cheap reagent sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (NaSO₂CF₃ or Langlois’ reagent) has been developed incorporating a tandem cyclization/dearomatization process. This strategy affords a straightforward route to synthesis of 3‐(trifluoromethyl)‐spiro[4.5]trienones, and presents an example of difunctionalization of alkynes for simultaneous formation of two carbon–carbon single bonds and one carbon–oxygen double bond.     

Synthetic and Structural Studies of 1‐Halo‐8‐(alkylchalcogeno)naphthalene Derivatives

A series of eight 1‐halo‐8‐(alkylchalcogeno)naphthalene derivatives ( 1 – 8 ; halogen=Br, I; alkylchalcogen=SEt, SPh, SePh, TePh) containing a halogen and a chalcogen atom occupying the peri positions have been prepared and fully characterised by using X‐ray crystallography, multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and MS. Naphthalene distortion due to non‐covalent substituent interactions was studied as a function of the bulk of the interacting chalcogen atoms and the size and nature of the alkyl group attached to them. X‐ray data for 1 , 2 , 4 and 5 – 8 were compared. Molecular structures were analysed in terms of naphthalene ring torsions, peri‐atom displacement, splay angle magnitude, X???E interactions, aromatic ring orientations and quasi‐linear X???E? C arrangements. A general increase in the X???E distance was observed for molecules that contain bulkier atoms at the peri positions. The I???S distance of 4 is comparable with the I???Te distance of 8 , and is ascribed to a stronger lone pair–lone pair repulsion due to the presence of an axial S(naphthyl) ring conformation. Density functional theory (B3LYP) calculations performed on 5 – 8 revealed Wiberg bond index values of 0.05–0.08, which indicate minor interactions taking place between the non‐bonded atoms in these compounds.     

Gas‐Phase Elimination Reaction of Ethyl (5‐cyanomethyl‐1,3,4‐thiadiazol‐2‐yl)carbamate: A Computational Study

The gas‐phase elimination reaction of ethyl (5‐cyanomethyl‐1,3,4‐thiadiazol‐2‐yl)carbamate has been studied computationally at the MP2/6–31++G(2d,p) level of theory. The values of the activation parameters and rate constants for the thermal decomposition were evaluated over a temperature range from 405.0 to 458.0 K. The temperature dependence of the rate constants was used to deduce the modified Arrhenius expression: log k_{405–458 K} = (9.01 ± 0.49) + (1.32 ± 0.16) log T – (6946 ± 30) 1/T, which is in good agreement with the expression obtained from experimental data. The results confirm that the mechanism is a cis‐concerted elimination that occurs in two steps: The first one corresponds to the formation of ethylene and an intermediate, 5‐(cyanomethyl)‐1,3,4‐thiadiazol‐2‐yl‐carbamic acid, via a six‐membered cyclic transition state, and the second one is the decarboxylation of this intermediate via a four‐membered cyclic transition step, leading to carbon dioxide and the corresponding 1,3,4‐thiadiazole derivative (5‐amino‐1,3,4‐thiadiazole‐2‐acetonitrile). The connectivity of transition states with their respective minima was verified through intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations, and the progress of the reaction was followed by means of Wiberg bond indices, resulting that both transition states have an “early” character, nearer to the reactants than to the products.     

Strong σ‐Hole Activation on Icosahedral Carborane Derivatives for a Directional Halide Recognition

Crystal engineering based on σ‐hole interactions is an emerging approach for realization of new materials with higher complexity. Neutral inorganic clusters derived from 1,2‐dicarba‐closo‐dodecaborane, substituted with ‐SeMe, ‐TeMe, and ‐I moieties on both skeletal carbon vertices are experimentally demonstrated herein as outstanding chalcogen‐ and halogen‐bond donors. In particular, these new molecules strongly interact with halide anions in the solid‐state. The halide ions are coordinated by one or two donor groups (μ₁‐ and μ₂‐coordinations), to stabilize a discrete monomer or dimer motifs to 1D supramolecular zig‐zag chains. Crucially, the observed chalcogen bond and halogen bond interactions feature remarkably short distances and high directionality. Electrostatic potential calculations further demonstrate the efficiency of the carborane derivatives, with V_s,max being similar or even superior to that of reference organic halogen‐bond donors, such as iodopentafluorobenzene.     

Transition‐Metal‐Catalyzed Redox‐Neutral and Redox‐Green C–H Bond Functionalization

Transition‐metal‐catalyzed C–H bond functionalization has become one of the most promising strategies to prepare complex molecules from simple precursors. However, the utilization of environmentally unfriendly oxidants in the oxidative C–H bond functionalization reactions reduces their potential applications in organic synthesis. This account describes our recent efforts in the development of a redox‐neutral C–H bond functionalization strategy for direct addition of inert C–H bonds to unsaturated double bonds and a redox‐green C–H bond functionalization strategy for realization of oxidative C–H functionalization with O₂ as the sole oxidant, aiming to circumvent the problems posed by utilizing environmentally unfriendly oxidants. In principle, these redox‐neutral and redox‐green strategies pave the way for establishing new environmentally benign transition‐metal‐catalyzed C–H bond functionalization strategies.     

Multicomponent Double Diels–Alder/Nazarov Tandem Cyclization of Symmetric Cross‐Conjugated Diynones to Generate [6‐5‐6] Tricyclic Products

The construction of complex polycyclic terpenoid products in an efficient and step‐economical manner using multicomponent and tandem processes is highly valuable. Herein, we report a tandem cyclization sequence that initiates with a multicomponent double Diels–Alder reaction of cross‐conjugated diynones, followed by a Nazarov cyclization to efficiently produce [6‐5‐6] tricyclic products with excellent regio‐ and diastereoselectivity. This methodology generates five new carbon–carbon bonds, three rings, quaternary or vicinal quaternary carbons, and stereogenic centers in a one‐pot reaction.     

A Four‐Component Reaction Strategy for Pyrimidine Carboxamide Synthesis

Demonstrated herein is a highly effective 3 starting materials–4 component reaction (3SM‐4CR) strategy for the synthesis of pyrimidine carboxamides from amidines, styrene, and N ,N ‐dimethylformamide (DMF) by a palladium‐catalyzed oxidative process. This transformation represents the first example of employing DMF as a dual synthon, a one‐carbon‐atom synthon and amide synthon, and was proven by isotope‐labeling experiments. Additionally, the combination of C−H bond functionalization and cross‐dehydrogenative coupling processes affords four chemical bond formations. This sequential 3SM‐4CR strategy features inexpensive, readily available starting materials, green oxidants, as well as atom and step economy. It leads to the preparation of pyrimidine carboxamides and has potential applications in the pharmaceutical industry.     

InCl3‐Mediated Addition of Indole to Isatogens: An Expeditious Synthesis of 13‐deoxy‐Isatisine A

A strategy directed towards the total synthesis of isatisine A that involves several late‐stage metal‐catalyzed transformations that address the key carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bond formations has been developed. As a part of this strategy, methods for the addition of indoles to isatogens that lead selectively to either 2,2‐disubstituted N‐hydroxyindolin‐3‐one or 2,2‐disubstituted indolin‐3‐one compounds have been developed by employing InCl₃ as a catalyst or as the reagent. The present methods provide the first examples of the additions of indoles to the isatogen nucleus. To demonstrate its viability, the synthesis of 13‐deoxy‐isatisine A has been completed in ten steps from a known and easily available lactone.