Radical-mediated difunctionalization of unactivated alkenes through distal migration of functional groups

Radical-mediated controllable difunctionalization of alkenes provides a powerful tool for the manipulation of olefins and has become a hot topic recently. In general, however, the scope of alkene is largely restricted to the activated alkenes. The development of a general strategy for the functionalization of unactivated alkenes is desired, yet remains challenging. In this review, we have summarized the recent advances in the strategy of intramolecularly distal migration of functional groups which has been efficiently applied in the radical-mediated difunctionalization of unactivated alkenes. A portfolio of functionalities including aryl, cyano, heteroaryl, imino, carbonyl, alkynyl, and alkenyl groups showcase the migratory aptitude.     

Difunctionalization of Alkenes Involving Metal Migration

The direct difunctionalization of alkenes, a cheap and abundant feedstock, represents one of the most attractive strategies for increasing molecular complexity in synthetic organic chemistry. In contrast with the 1,2‐difunctionalization of alkenes, recent advances showcase alkene 1,n‐difunctionalizations (n≠2) involving metal migration is an emerging and rapidly growing area of research. This promising strategy not only opens a novel avenue for future development of alkene transformations, but also significantly expands upon the bond disconnections available in modern organic synthesis. This Minireview summarizes recent progress in the migratory difunctionalization of alkenes, with an emphasis on the driving force for metal migration.     

Radical Addition Enables 1,2‐Aryl Migration from a Vinyl‐Substituted All‐Carbon Quaternary Center

An efficient method for photocatalytic perfluoroalkylation of vinyl‐substituted all‐carbon quaternary centers involving 1,2‐aryl migration has been developed. The rearrangement reactions use fac‐Ir(ppy)₃, visible light and commercially available fluoroalkyl halides and can generate valuable multisubstituted perfluoroalkylated compounds in a single step that would be challenging to prepare by other methods. Mechanistically, the photoinduced alkyl radical addition to an alkene leads to the migration of a vicinal aryl substituent from its adjacent all‐carbon quaternary center with the concomitant generation of a C‐radical bearing two electron‐withdrawing groups that is further reduced by a hydrogen donor to complete the domino sequence.     

Walking metals: catalytic difunctionalization of alkenes at nonclassical sites

Migration of metals along a carbon chain is triggered by two of the most common organometallic elementary steps – β-hydride (β-H) elimination and alkene hydrometallation. This process heralds a new future for creating bonds at carbon sites that fall outside the tenets of the conventional wisdom for reactivity and bond formation, and provides an opportunity to leverage β-H elimination to advance the very reaction of alkene difunctionalization it is intrinsically predestined to disrupt. Almost four decades since its genesis, the early adventure for alkene difunctionalization by metal migration was sporadic, and its later development went on a hiatus primarily due to original impetus on arresting β-H elimination for vicinal alkene difunctionalization. With the recent surge on alkene difunctionalization, efforts have been gradually shifting to harnessing the process of β-H elimination to difunctionalize alkenes at sites other than the classical vicinal carbons, termed henceforth nonclassical reaction sites for pedagogical simplicity. In this review article, we extricate and examine the origin and the development of such reactions over the years. This review covers a wide range of reactions for the difunctionalization of alkenes at geminal (1,1), allylic (1,3) and remote (1,n) carbon sites with a variety of coupling partners. These reactions have enabled engineering of complex molecular frameworks with the generation of new carbon–carbon (C–C)/C–C, C–C/C–heteroatom (halogens, O, N, B) and C–B/C–B bonds. The development of these unique transformations is also presented with mechanistic hypotheses and experimental evidences put forward by researchers. Judged by the number of reports emerging recently, it is now strikingly evident that the field of alkene difunctionalization by metal migration has begun to gain momentum, which holds a great future prospect to develop into a synthetic method of enormous potential.

Alkenes can be difunctionalized at unconventional carbon sites by the migration of transition metals through β-hydride elimination and hydrometallation steps.     

Visible-Light Photoredox-Catalyzed Remote Difunctionalizing Carboxylation of Unactivated Alkenes with CO2

Remote difunctionalization of unactivated alkenes is challenging but a highly attractive tactic to install two functional groups across long distances. Reported herein is the first remote difunctionalization of alkenes with CO₂. This visible-light photoredox catalysis strategy provides a facile method to synthesize a series of carboxylic acids bearing valuable fluorine- or phosphorus-containing functional groups. Moreover, this versatile protocol shows mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, and good functional-group tolerance. Based on DFT calculations, a radical adds to an unactivated alkene to smoothly form a new carbon radical, followed by a 1,5-hydrogen atom-transfer process, the rate-limiting step, generating a more stable benzylic radical. The reduction of the benzylic radicals by an Ir^II species generates the corresponding benzylic carbanions as the key intermediates, which further undergo nucleophilic attack with CO₂ to generate carboxylates.     

Alkoxysulfonyl radical species: acquisition and transformation towards sulfonate esters through electrochemistry

Sulfonyl radical mediated processes have been considered as a powerful strategy for the construction of sulfonyl compounds. However, an efficient and high atom-economical radical approach to the synthesis of sulfonate esters is still rare, owing to the limited tactics to achieve alkoxysulfonyl radicals. Herein, an electrochemical anodic oxidation of inorganic sulfites with alcohols is developed to afford alkoxysulfonyl radical species, which are utilized in subsequent alkene difunctionalization to provide various sulfonate esters. This transformation features excellent chemoselectivity and broad functional group tolerance. This new discovery presents the potential prospect for the construction of sulfonate esters, and enriches the electrochemical reaction type.

A new route to provide alkoxysulfonyl radical species via electrochemical anodic oxidation of inorganic sulfites with alcohols is developed, affording sulfonate esters by subsequent alkene difunctionalization with these alkoxysulfonyl radicals.     

Radical Monofluoroalkylative Alkynylation of Olefins by a Docking–Migration Strategy

A radical‐mediated monofluoroalkylative alkynylation of alkenes is disclosed for the first time. The reaction demonstrates a remarkably broad substrate scope in which both activated and unactivated alkenes are suitable starting materials. The concurrent addition of an alkynyl and a monofluoroalkyl group onto an alkene proceeds through a docking–migration sequence, affording a vast array of valuable fluoroalkyl‐substituted alkynes. Many complex natural products and drug derivatives are readily functionalized, demonstrating that this method can be used for late‐stage alkynylation.     

Computational Study on Chemoselective Difunctionalization of Unactivated Alkenes with Radical-mediated Remote Functional Group Migration

A computational study of the radical-mediated chemoselective difunctionalization of the tertiary alcohol substituted aliphatic alkenes is carried out employing density functional theory (DFT) and high-level coupled-cluster methods, such as coupled-cluster singles and doubles with perturbative triples [DLPNO-CCSD(T)]. Our results indicate that the cyclic vinyl radical plays an important role in the progression of the reactions. Our computations demonstrated that the chemoselective difunctionalization of unactivated alkenes with radical-mediated remote functional group migration is suitable for the 5- and 6-exo-dig cyclization, as opposite to 3- and 4-exo-dig cyclization suffering from cyclic intermediate with high energy. Our results show that the migration of nitrile group is more preferable than that of alkynyl group for the molecules including both cyano group and alkynyl group. For the 5- and 6-exo-dig cyclization, the rate-determining step is the homolysis of the C−C σ-bond in the cyclic intermediate, which results in the hydroxyl alkyl radical.     

Nickel‐Catalyzed Carbofluoroalkylation of 1,3‐Enynes to Access Structurally Diverse Fluoroalkylated Allenes

A nickel‐catalyzed 1,4‐carbofluoroalkylation of 1,3‐enynes to access structurally diverse fluoroalkylated allenes has been established. This method has demonstrated high catalytic reactivity, mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, and excellent functional‐group tolerance. The key to success is the use of a nickel catalyst to generate different fluoroalkyl radicals from readily available and structurally diverse fluoroalkyl halides to access 1,4‐difunctionalization of 1,3‐enynes by a radical relay. This strategy provides facile synthesis of structurally diverse multisubstituted allenes, and offers a solution for batch production of various fluorinated bioactive molecules for drug discovery by further transformations.     

Metal-free oxyaminations of alkenes using hydroxamic acids

A radical-mediated approach to metal-free alkene oxyamination is described. This method capitalizes on the unique reactivity of the amidoxyl radical in alkene additions to furnish a general difunctionalization using simple diisopropyl azodicarboxylate (DIAD) as a radical trap. This protocol capitalizes on the intramolecular nature of the process, providing single regioisomers in all cases. Difunctionalizations of cyclic alkenes provide trans oxyamination products inaccessible using current methods with high levels of stereoselectivity, complementing cis-selective oxyamination processes.     

Intramolecular alkene carboamination reactions for the synthesis of enantiomerically enriched tropane derivatives

The synthesis of tropane derivatives via intramolecular Pd-catalyzed alkene difunctionalization reactions is described. Enantiopure N-aryl-γ-aminoalkenes bearing an aryl or alkenyl halide adjacent to the amino group were converted to benzo- or cycloalkenyl-fused tropane products in good yield and with no loss of enantiopurity.     

Visible‐Light‐Induced ortho‐Selective Migration on Pyridyl Ring: Trifluoromethylative Pyridylation of Unactivated Alkenes

The photocatalyzed ortho‐selective migration on a pyridyl ring has been achieved for the site‐selective trifluoromethylative pyridylation of unactivated alkenes. The overall process is initiated by the selective addition of a CF₃ radical to the alkene to provide a nucleophilic alkyl radical intermediate, which enables an intramolecular endo addition exclusively to the ortho‐position of the pyridinium salt. Both secondary and tertiary alkyl radicals are well‐suited for addition to the C2‐position of pyridinium salts to ultimately provide synthetically valuable C2‐fluoroalkyl functionalized pyridines. Moreover, the method was successfully applied to the reaction with P‐centered radicals. The utility of this transformation was further demonstrated by the late‐stage functionalization of complex bioactive molecules.     

Copper-Catalyzed Chemo- and Enantioselective Radical 1,2-Carbophosphonylation of Styrenes

The copper-catalyzed enantioselective radical difunctionalization of alkenes from readily available alkyl halides and organophosphorus reagents possessing a P−H bond provides an appealing approach for the synthesis of α-chiral alkyl phosphorus compounds. The major challenge arises from the easy generation of a P-centered radical from the P−H-type reagent and its facile addition to the terminal side of alkenes, leading to reverse chemoselectivity. We herein disclose a radical 1,2-carbophosphonylation of styrenes in a highly chemo- and enantioselective manner. The key to the success lies in not only the implementation of dialkyl phosphites with a strong bond dissociation energy to promote the desired chemoselectivity but also the utilization of an anionic chiral N,N,N-ligand to forge the chiral C(sp³)−P bond. The developed Cu/N,N,N-ligand catalyst has enriched our library of single-electron transfer catalysts in the enantioselective radical transformations.     

Palladium-Catalyzed Arylfluorination of Alkenes: A Powerful New Approach to Organofluorine Compounds

Fluorine incorporation into organic molecules is often beneficial to their absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) properties or bioactivity. As a consequence, organofluorine compounds have become quite common amongst drugs and agrochemicals, and their preparation is a highly important topic in both synthetic organic chemistry and pharmaceutical chemistry. One of the newly developed methods for accessing organofluorine compounds is Pd-catalyzed arylfluorination of alkenes. It is an olefin difunctionalization process that simultaneously introduces an aryl group and a fluorine atom into an alkene framework. This review provides a concise overview of this powerful and versatile method.     

Radical Heteroarylalkylation of Alkenes via Three‐Component Docking‐Migration Thioetherification Cascade

A novel, rational‐designed approach to access various heteroaryl‐substituted alkyl thioethers was developed via docking‐migration cascade process. By utilizing three components involving alkene, dual‐function reagent, and thioetherificating reagent, radical heteroarylalkylation of alkenes followed by thiolation of the alkyl radical intermediates proceeded smoothly, manifesting well compatibility of substrates and cascade transformations. Furthermore, this protocol also features mild conditions, broad substrate scope, and wide product diversity.     

Visible light induced C-H monofluoroalkylation to synthesize 1,4-unsaturated compound

We developed a method to synthesize fluorinated 1,4-unsaturated dicarbonyl compounds via photoredox catalyzed radical addition process. Commercially available ethyl bromodifluoroacetate (BrCF₂CO₂Et) as fluoroalkyl source, the corresponding fluoro-containing dicarbonyl compounds could be obtained in moderate to good yields.     

Visible-light-mediated cascade difunctionalization/cyclization of alkynoates with acyl chlorides for synthesis of 3-acylcoumarins

A new visible-light-mediated radical cyclization of alkynoates with acyl chlorides is described for the one-pot construction of diverse 3-acylcoumarins with high efficiency and selectivity. This method is successful by sequential difunctionalization of an alkynes CC triple bond with the CCl bonds of acyl chloride and aromatic C(sp²)H bonds. The cyclization is proposed to simultaneously form two new carbon–carbon bonds, and involves radical acylation, 5-exo-trig cyclization, and ester migration.     

酞菁铁催化烯烃自由基膦叠氮化反应:利用叠氮快速转移合成膦叠氮的温和方法

含氮和磷原子的化合物是生命系统中不可缺少的组成部分,由于其独特的化学、生物和物理性质,已被广泛应用于农业化学、材料科学和制药学.如果一个有机化合物同时含有氮和磷原子,它可能因为胺和膦/磷酸盐基团的协同作用而具有额外的功能.2015年赵玉芬院士和唐果教授报道了一例自由基叠氮膦酰化的例子,该反应虽然有效,但因需使用化学剂量的氧化性自由基引发剂Mn(OAc)3·2H2O,因此,有必要发展一种更环保经济的方法.本文报道了铁催化烯烃的分子间自由基膦叠氮化反应.该方法使用了微量的催化剂,通过自由基接力与叠氮基团转移实现分子间自由基膦叠氮化反应.实验先进行条件筛选,考察了催化剂类型、催化剂用量、氧化剂类型、溶剂和温度对反应的影响,确定以酞菁铁为催化剂,叔丁基过氧化氢(TBHP)为引发剂,乙腈为溶剂,苯乙烯、叠氮基三甲基硅烷、二苯基膦酰为模板反应底物为最佳条件,实现了二苯基膦酰对烯烃的自由基膦酰基叠氮化反应.在最优条件下进行底物拓展,制备得到27种膦叠氮化合物,产率为23％～88％.以制得的膦叠氮产物为起始原料,通过叠氮还原和Click反应制备得到三种衍生物,产率为82％～97％,可作为药物合成中间体进行下一步研究.本文还进行了机理实验和理论计算.在自由基钟实验和自由基捕获实验中,通过两种不同速率的自由基开环反应与自由基捕获反应证实了反应的自由基路径.质谱检测到酞菁铁羟基(PcFeⅢOH)和酞菁铁叠氮(PcFeⅢN3)的存在.采用密度泛函理论计算了不同自旋态下的酞菁铁(PcFe),以确定可能的催化剂种类,并计算出三重态3pcFe最稳定.从三重态3pcFe开始计算铁催化叔丁基过氧化氢的单电子转移,并计算了从叔丁氧基自由基开始的自由基接力,证实了膦酰苄基自由基的形成是最有利的途径;研究结果发现膦酰苄基自由基能与4pcFe(N3)反应,发生叠氮基团转移生成目标产物.在叠氮基团转移计算中,考察了四种合理的途径,分别是苄基在三重态或五重态势能面接近叠氮基团的内部或端位氮原子(Ni和Nt).结果 表明,叠氮基团从叠氮基酞菁铁(Ⅲ)物种(PcFeⅢN3)转移到苄基自由基的活化能(4.8 kcal/mol)极低.据此催化循环机理可能为:酞菁铁首先与叔丁基过氧化氢发生单电子转移形成酞菁铁羟基中间体及叔丁氧自由基;然后,二苯基膦酰的氢原子被叔丁氧自由基攫取生成二苯基膦酰自由基,并加成至苯乙烯形成苄基自由基.同时,酞菁铁羟基中间体与HN3进行配体交换形成酞菁铁叠氮中间体,最后与苄基自由基进行叠氮基团转移生成产物,并重新生成酞菁铁(Ⅱ).本文证实了铁催化叠氮化反应的自由基基团转移机理(外球机理),因为很难想象如何在酞菁铁的同侧同时加成叠氮与苄基基团,通过生成高价铁物种(PcFe-N3·)的内球机理得到产物.该工作将有助于启发更多的金属催化机理研究.     

Recent advance in radical fluoroalkylation with sulfinate salts

In the last few years, the incorporation of a fluoroalkyl moiety into an organic molecule has been extensively studied. Especially, radical fluoroalkylation, involving the formation of CC and Cheteroatom bonds, presents its valuable synthetic potential to achieve fluoroalkylated compounds. This digest paper highlights recent progress on fluoroalkylation with sulfinate salts, and focuses on radical tri-/di-/monofluoromethylation during the last five years.     

Synthesis and polymerization of novel fluorinated acrylates and methacrylates bearing alkoxyl groups derived from radical addition reaction of perfluoroisopropenyl ester

Radical addition of 2-benzoxypentafluoropropene [CF₂C(CF₃)OCOC₆H₅] (BPFP) with alcohols such as ethanol and 2-propanol was investigated to afford fluorinated alcohols. Radical addition of BPFP with cyclic ethers such as tetrahydrofuran, 1,3-dioxolane and tetrahydropyran was also achieved to afford addition products followed by hydrolysis to yield fluorinated alcohols possessing cyclic structures. Novel fluoroalkyl acrylates and methacrylates were synthesized from the fluorinated alcohols with (meth)acryloyl chlorides. Radical polymerization of the fluoroalkyl (meth)acrylates yielded polymers of 1.2 × 10⁵ as the highest molecular weight.