Substituent effect on nano TiO2‐ and ZnO‐catalyzed phenol photodegradation rates

Photodegradation of phenol on TiO₂ P25 Degussa, TiO₂ Hombikat, TiO₂ anatase, and ZnO nanoparticles exhibits identical photokinetic behavior. The degradation rates of 15 ortho‐, meta‐ and para‐ substituted phenols on the four semiconductor nanocrystals do not conform to the electronic effect of the substituents but show some common features. While the orthosubstituents slow down the reaction, nitro and hydroxyl groups enhance the same. The effects are rationalized. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 41: 275–283, 2009     

Cyclization of Homopropargyl Chalcogenides by Copper(II) Salts: Selective Synthesis of 2,3‐Dihydroselenophenes, 3‐Arylselenophenes,and 3‐Haloselenophenes/thiophenes

Copper(II) halide mediated cyclization of homopropargyl chalcogenides gave three types of chalcogenophene derivatives. Selective product formation was achieved by controlling solvent, temperature, and atmosphere. By using CuBr₂ and 1,2‐dichloroethane at room temperature under ambient atmosphere, 4‐bromo dihydroselenophene derivatives were obtained, whereas CuBr₂ and 1,2‐dichloroethane at reflux gave selectively 2‐substituted selenophenes. When 1,2‐dichloroethane was replaced by dimethylacetamide, 3‐halo‐selenophenes were obtained exclusively. The versatility of chalcogenophenes was also studied by reaction of 3‐haloselenophenes with terminal alkynes under Sonogashira conditions affording the cross‐coupled products. In addition, the reaction of 3‐haloselenophenes with boronic acids gave the corresponding Suzuki‐type products in good yields.     

Rhodium‐Catalyzed meta‐C−H Functionalization of Arenes

Rhodium‐catalyzed ortho ‐C−H functionalization is well known in the literature. Described herein is the Xphos‐supported rhodium catalysis of meta ‐C−H olefination of benzylsulfonic acid and phenyl acetic acid frameworks with the assistance of a para ‐methoxy‐substituted cyano phenol as the directing group. Complete mono‐selectivity is observed for both scaffolds. A wide range of olefins and functional groups attached to arene are tolerated in this protocol.     

Synthesis of α‐(Fluorophenyl)pyridine by Palladium‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling Reaction

A series of α‐(fluoro‐substituted phenyl)pyridines have been synthesized by means of a palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reaction between fluoro‐substituted phenylboronic acid and 2‐bromopyridine or its derivatives. The reactivities of the phenylboronic acids containing di‐ and tri‐fluoro substituents with α‐pyridyl bromide were investigated in different catalyst systems. Unsuccessful results were observed in the Pd/C and PPh₃ catalyst system due to phenylboronic acid containing electron‐withdrawing F atom(s). For the catalyst system of Pd(OAc)₂/PPh₃, the reactions gave moderate yields of 55% –80%, meanwhile, affording 10% –20% of dimerisation (self‐coupling) by‐products, but trace products were obtained in coupling with 2,4‐difluorophenylboronic acids because of steric hinderance. Pd(PPh₃)₄ was more reactive for boronic acids with sterically hindering F atom(s), and the coupling reactions gave good yields of 90% and 91% without any self‐coupling by‐product.     

Kinetics of the Anaerobic Reaction of para‐Substituted Phenols with Nitrogen Dioxide

para‐Substituted phenols in aqueous solution under anaerobic conditions readily react with nitrogen dioxide (NO₂^●) over a wide range of experimental conditions. The rate and rate law of the process were dependent on phenol concentration and solution pH. The kinetic order in phenol changed from one (low concentration) to zero (high concentration), a result attributable to total NO₂^● capture. Initial consumption rate (r ₀) of phenols versus pH plots showed parabolic behavior with a minimum rate at pH ca. 5. On the other hand, the maximum rate took place at high pH (pH>10) and involved the protonated phenols. The reaction rate of para‐substituted phenols with NO₂^● correlated with the bond dissociation energy and with Hammett's parameter. Based on such results and also supported by analysis of products carried out by HPLC‐MS/MS, our data conclusively show that, in spite of the fast acid–base interchanges of phenols and the interconversion of the different nitrogen oxides, the mechanisms of phenols nitration mediated by NO₂^● or HONO are clearly different.     

Nickel‐Catalyzed Cyclization of ortho‐Iodoketoximes and ortho‐Iodoketimines with Alkynes: Synthesis of Highly Substituted Isoquinolines and Isoquinolinium Salts

A convenient method for the synthesis of highly substituted isoquinolines and isoquinolinium salts by the nickel‐catalyzed cyclization of ortho‐haloketoximes and ‐ketimines, respectively, with alkynes is described. The reaction of ortho‐haloketoximes and various alkynes in the presence of [Ni(PPh₃)₂Br₂] and zinc powder in a mixture of acetonitrile and tetrahydrofuran at 80 °C for 15 hours gave 1,3,4‐trisubstituted isoquinoline products in moderate to excellent yields and high regioselectivity. The corresponding isoquinoline N‐oxide was found to be the intermediate in the cyclization reaction pathway. In contrast, the reaction of ortho‐haloketimines and alkynes under similar catalytic conditions in tetrahydrofuran at 70 °C for two hours gave 1,2,3,4‐tetrasubstituted isoquinolinium salts in good to excellent yields.     

Gold‐Catalyzed Suzuki Coupling of ortho‐Substituted Hindered Aryl Substrates

A method that allows hindered ortho ‐substituted aryl iodides to be efficiently coupled to phenylboronic acid using a gold‐catalyzed C−C bond formation is presented. The use of a molecularly‐defined dinuclear gold chloride catalytic precursor that is stabilized by a new tetradentate (N ,N′ )‐diamino‐(P,P′ )‐diphosphino ferrocene hybrid ligand in a Suzuki‐type reaction is described for the first time. Electron‐rich isopropyl groups on phosphorus were found essential for a superior activity, while the performances of a set of analogous gold dinuclear complexes that were fully characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and XRD analysis, were investigated. Therefore, arylation of para and ortho ‐substituted iodoarenes bearing electron‐rich, electron‐poor functional groups, and even hindered polycyclic aromatic compounds is described.     

Selective Ortho Chlorination of Phenols with n,n-Dichloro-t-Butylamine in Various Solvents

Chlorination of phenol with N,N-dichlororo-t-butylamine (DCB) in appropriate solvents affording o- and p-chlorophenols exhibits high ortho/para ratio up to >10. Solvents associate with phenolic OH group and interfere with the hydrogen bonding between phenol and DCB tend to decrease both rate of reaction and ortho/para ratio; e.g., <1.1 in acetonitrile. The reaction shows autocatalysis exerted by a product, t-butylamine, which would accelerate the reaction by abstracting a proton from the benzene site on which C1 of DCB attacks. Anhydrous sodium phenoxide is little chlorinated. These facts imply a transition state in which phenol and DCB is hydrogen-bonded for the ortho chlorination. This type of chlorination is applicable to the ortho chlorination of other phenols.     

Efficient Iminophosphorane‐Mediated Preparation of Benzofuro[3,2‐d]pyrimidin‐4(3H)‐ones and Unexpected Ring Opening Products

The carbodiimides 4 , obtained from aza‐Wittig reactions of iminophosphorane 3 with aromatic isocyanates, reacted with secondary amines, phenols or alcohols in the presence of catalytic amounts of K₂CO₃ or sodium alkoxide to give 2‐substituted benzofuro[3,2‐d]pyrimidin‐4(3H)‐ones 6 . However, when 2,2′‐iminobis[ethanol] was used, the unexpected ring opening product 7 was formed instead of 6 . Reaction of 4 with primary amines RNH₂ (R=Et, Pr, Bu, etc.) gave guanidine intermediates 8 , which were further treated with EtONa to give only one regioisomer 9 via a base catalyzed cyclization. However, another regioisomer 11 was obtained when NH₃ or ‘small’ amines RNH₂ (R=Me, NH₂) were used in the absence of EtONa via a spontaneous cyclization of 8 .     

Enantioselective Reactions of 2‐Sulfonylalkyl Phenols with Allenic Esters: Dynamic Kinetic Resolution and [4+2] Cycloaddition Involving ortho‐Quinone Methide Intermediates

We report herein a dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) involving ortho ‐quinone methide (o ‐QM) intermediates. In the presence of Et₃N and the cinchonine‐derived nucleophilic catalyst D , the DKR of 2‐sulfonylalkyl phenols with allenic esters afforded chiral benzylic sulfones in 57–79 % yield with good to excellent enantioselectivity (85–95 % ee ). Furthermore, with 2‐(tosylmethyl)sesamols or 2‐(tosylmethyl)naphthols, from which stable o ‐QM substrates can be generated, a formal [4+2] cycloaddition delivered 4‐aryl‐ or alkyl‐substituted chromans with excellent enantioselectivity (88–97 % ee ).     

Vinylation of Unprotected Phenols Using a Biocatalytic System

Readily available substituted phenols were coupled with pyruvate in buffer solution under atmospheric conditions to afford the corresponding para‐vinylphenol derivatives while releasing only one molecule of CO₂ and water as the by‐products. This transformation was achieved by designing a biocatalytic system that combines three biocatalytic steps, namely the C? C coupling of phenol and pyruvate in the presence of ammonia, which leads to the corresponding tyrosine derivative, followed by deamination and decarboxylation. The biocatalytic transformation proceeded with high regioselectivity and afforded exclusively the desired para products. This method thus represents an environmentally friendly approach for the direct vinylation of readily available 2‐, 3‐, or 2,3‐disubstituted phenols on preparative scale (0.5 mmol) that provides vinylphenols in high yields (65–83 %).     

Syntheses of symmetric and unsymmetric 2,6‐bis(phosphino)phenols

Compounds bearing the structural motif of 2,6‐bis(phosphino)phenol have been synthesized via two general methods. Double lithium‐halogen exchange occurred in low‐temperature reactions of O‐protected (by methyl‐ or tetrahydropyranyl groups) 2,6‐dibromo‐4‐methylphenol derivatives with BuLi (2 equivalents); quenching the reaction mixtures with chlorophosphines ClPR₂ (R = Ph, ⁱPr) and corresponding O‐deprotection yielded symmetrically substituted 2,6‐bis(phosphino)phenols. Sequential incorporation of  PR₂ functionalities was accomplished via single lithium‐halogen exchange (1 eq. of BuLi) of tetrahydropyranyl‐protected 2,6‐dibromo‐4‐methylphenol followed by ClPR₂ quenches, thus enabling the syntheses of unsymmetric 2,6‐bis(phosphino)phenols. Such compounds were also obtained via sequential ortho‐lithiations of tetrahydropyranyl‐protected 4‐tert‐but ylphenol, followed by ClPR₂ quenches. All of the new compounds have been characterized by spectrometric methods (¹H and ³¹P NMR, and mass spectrometry). In addition, two of the compounds, 1‐(diphenylphosphino)‐3‐(diphenylphosphoryl)‐2‐methoxy‐5‐methylbenzene ( 3a‐ox ) and 1,3‐bis(diphenylphosphino)‐2‐methoxy‐5‐methylbenzene ( 6a ) have also been characterized via single crystal X‐ray diffraction experiments. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 17:656–663, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20251     

Alkynyl Moiety for Triggering 1,2‐Metallate Shifts: Enantiospecific sp2–sp3 Coupling of Boronic Esters with p‐Arylacetylenes

The enantiospecific coupling of secondary and tertiary boronic esters to aromatics has been investigated. Using p‐lithiated phenylacetylenes and a range of boronic esters coupling has been achieved by the addition of N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS). The alkyne functionality of the intermediate boronate complex reacts with NBS triggering the 1,2‐migration of the group on boron to carbon giving a dearomatized bromoallene intermediate. At this point elimination and rearomatization occurs with neopentyl boronic esters, giving the coupled products. However, using pinacol boronic esters, the boron moiety migrates to the adjacent carbon resulting in formation of ortho boron‐incorporated coupled products. The synthetic utility of the boron incorporated product has been demonstrated by orthogonal transformation of both the alkyne and boronic ester functionalities.     

A computational study on the ring stretching modes of halogen‐substituted pyridine involved in H‐bonding

Density functional method B3LYP plus the AUG‐cc‐pVDZ and AUG‐cc‐pVTZ basis sets is used to investigate ring normal modes of halogen‐substituted pyridines involved in the N ··· H? X H‐bonds with HX (X = F, Cl). The results demonstrated that the formation of hydrogen bond leads to an increase in the frequencies of the ring breathing mode v₁, the N‐para‐C stretching mode v_6a and the meta‐CC stretching mode v_8a, whereas there is no change in the triangle mode v₁₂ for free pyridine and a smaller blue shift for substituted pyridines. There is a strong coupling between the C? Y stretching vibration and the triangle mode (ortho‐ and para‐substituted) or the breathing mode (meta‐substituted) in substituted pyridines, which leads to the frequency decrease in the triangle or breathing modes. The natural bond orbital analysis suggests that electrostatic interaction and charge transfer caused by the intermolecular and intramolecular hyperconjugations are the origin of the frequency blue shift in the ring stretching modes. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2012     

An Efficient Friedel–Crafts/Oxa‐Michael/Aromatic Annulation: Rapid Access to Substituted Naphtho[2,1‐b]furan,Naphtho[1,2‐b]furan,and Benzofuran Derivatives

Substituted naphthofurans and benzofurans are easily accessible by treatment of naphthols/substituted phenols with nitroallylic acetates through a substitution–elimination process promoted by cesium carbonate. Reactions between naphthols and aromatic/heteroaromatic‐substituted nitroallylic acetates gave the desired functionalized naphthofurans in high to excellent chemical yields (14–97 %). On the other hand, treatment of phenol derivatives (i.e., 3‐dimethylamino‐, 3‐methoxy‐, and 3,5‐dimethoxyphenol) with various nitroallylic acetates afforded the corresponding benzofurans in moderate to good chemical yields (24–91 %). The reaction proceeded through an interesting Friedel–Crafts S_N2′ process followed by intramolecular oxa‐Michael cyclization and subsequent aromatization. A plot of log (k/k_H) against Hammett constants σ_p showed satisfactory linearity with a positive ρ value, indicating that the initial Friedel–Crafts‐type S_N2′ process constituted the rate‐determining step. This methodology has been applied to the synthesis of various novel C₂ and C₃ symmetric bis‐ and trisfurans by using catechol and phloroglucinol as the nucleophilic partners. The reactivity decreased when alkyl‐substituted nitroallylic acetate systems were used. This might be related to the decreased electrophilic character of these substrates.     

Transition‐Metal‐Free C(sp2)–C(sp2) Cross‐Coupling of Diazo Quinones with Catechol Boronic Esters

A transition‐metal‐free C(sp²)?C(sp²) bond formation reaction by the cross‐coupling of diazo quinones with catechol boronic esters was developed. With this protocol, a variety of biaryls and alkenyl phenols were obtained in good to high yields under mild conditions. The reaction tolerates various functionalities and is applicable to the derivatization of pharmaceuticals and natural products. The synthetic utility of the method was demonstrated by the short synthesis of multi‐substituted triphenylenes and three bioactive natural products, honokiol, moracin M, and stemofuran A. Mechanistic studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that the reaction involves attack of the boronic ester by a singlet quinone carbene followed by a 1,2‐rearrangement through a stepwise mechanism.     

Oxidative cleavage of S‐Arylmercaptoacetic acids by pyridinium chlorochromate: Kinetic and correlation analysis

Kinetics of oxidation of 24 S‐Arylmercaptoacetic acids (SAMA) by pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) have been studied in acidmedium. The product of oxidation is the corresponding thiophenol. The rate data of meta‐ and para‐substituted acids have been correlated well with σ_I, σ_R^o values and the meta‐compounds correlate well with F,R values. The reaction constants are negative and of smaller magnitudes. Further, the ortho‐substituted acids show a good correlation with triparametric equation involving Taft's σ_I and σ_R^o and charton's steric parameter v. There is no considerable steric contribution to the total orthosubstituent effect. Based on these observations, the mechanism involving the formation of protonated arylsulfinylacetic acid intermediate, followed by an intramolecular rearrangement leading to the product thiophenol has been proposed. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 31: 683–688, 1999     

Regioselective Synthesis of Para‐Bromo Aromatic Compounds

Reaction of substituted benzene rings with N‐bromophthalimide, under neutral conditions, gave the corresponding bromo derivatives with a preference for the formation of the para bromo isomer over the ortho isomer. The simple work‐up procedure minimizes loss of product and the yields are good.     

金催化的炔烃羟基化反应: 合成2取代苯并呋喃化合物

本文报道了一种以邻炔基苯酚为原料,通过金催化的炔烃羟基化反应合成2取代苯并呋喃的方法. 该方法可以在温和的条件下快速以高产率得到各种2取代苯并呋喃. 关键前体邻炔基苯酚可以很容易由Sonogashira 反应制备.     

A Novel Iron‐catalyzed One‐pot Synthesis of 3‐Amino‐1,2,4‐triazoles

A novel one‐pot synthesis of 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazole developed via iron (III) catalyzed route is reported. The new method is more efficient, simple, and convenient and presents a concise new strategy for the synthesis of 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazole derivatives. The iron (III) complex intermediate assisted in the intramolecular bond cyclization owing to its Lewis acidity or oxidizing properties. A series of aromatic nitriles bearing different electron‐donating and electron‐withdrawing groups substituted at para and/or ortho positions were also investigated. The position of the substituents affected the yield of the final compound, with the para‐substituted substrates giving relatively higher yields.