Regio- and chemoselective metalation of arenes and heteroarenes using hindered metal amide bases

The preparation of highly functionalized organometallic compounds can be achieved by direct C H activation of a broad range of unsaturated substrates using lithium chloride solubilized 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidide bases (TMP_nMX_m⋅p LiCl). These are excellent reagents for converting a wide range of aromatic and heterocyclic substrates into valuable organometallic reagents with broad applications in organic synthesis.     

Recent progress in coupling of two heteroarenes

The biheteroaryl structural motif is prevalent in polymers, advanced materials, liquid crystals, ligands, molecules of medicinal interest, and natural products. Many types of synthetic transformations have been known for the construction of heteroaryl–heteroaryl linkages. Coupling reactions provide one of the most efficient ways to achieve these biheterocyclic structures. In this review, four types of coupling reactions are discussed: 1) transition‐metal‐catalyzed coupling reactions of heteroaryl halides or surrogates with heteroarylmetals; 2) direct inter‐ and intramolecular heteroarylations of C? H bonds of heteroarenes with heteroaryl halides or pseudohalides; 3) oxidative C? H/C? H homo‐ and cross‐couplings of two unpreactivated heteroarenes; and 4) transition‐metal‐catalyzed decarboxylative cross‐coupling reactions between haloheteroarenes or heteroarenes and heteroarenecarboxylic acids. The general purpose of this review is to give an exhaustive and clear picture in heteroaryl–heteroaryl bond formation as well as its application in the synthesis of natural products, pharmaceuticals, catalyst ligands, and materials.     

Reaction mechanism of porphyrin metallation studied by theoretical methods

We have studied the reaction mechanism for the insertion of Mg2+ and Fe2+ into a porphyrin ring with density functional calculations with large basis set and including solvation, zero-point and thermal effects. We have followed the reaction from the outer-sphere complex, in which the metal is coordinated with six water molecules and the porphyrin is doubly protonated, until the metal ion is inserted into the deprotonated porphyrin ring with only one water ligand remaining. This reaction involves the stepwise displacement of five water molecules and the removal of two protons from the porphyrin ring. In addition, a step seems to be necessary in which a porphyrin pyrrolenine nitrogen atom changes its interaction from a hydrogen bond to a metal-bound solvent molecule to a direct coordination to the metal ion. If the protons are taken up by a neutral imidazole molecule, the deprotonation reactions are exothermic with minimal barriers. However, with a water molecule as an acceptor, they are endothermic. The ligand exchange reactions were approximately thermoneutral (+/-20 kJ mol(-1), with one exception) with barriers of up to 72 kJ mol(-1) for Mg and 51 kJ mol(-1) for Fe. For Mg, the highest barrier was found for the formation of the first bond to the porphyrin ring. For Fe, a higher barrier was found for the formation of the second bond to the porphyrin ring, but this barrier is probably lower in solution. No evidence was found for an initial pre-equilibrium between a planar and a distorted porphyrin ring. Instead, the porphyrin becomes more and more distorted as the number of metal-porphyrin bonds increase (by up to 191 kJ mol(-1)). This strain is released when the porphyrin becomes deprotonated and the metal moves into the ring plane. Implications of these findings for the chelatase enzymes are discussed.     

Meta- and para-difunctionalization of arenes via a sulfoxide-magnesium exchange reaction

The aryl sulfoxide moiety (ArSO) allows an expedient two-step meta-, para-difunctionalization of readily available diaryl sulfoxides. In the first step, the sulfoxide plays the role of a directing metalation group. In the second step, triggered by i-PrMgCl x LiCl, it becomes a leaving group and undergoes a regioselective sulfoxide-magnesium exchange.     

Radical dearomatization of arenes and heteroarenes

The stannane-mediated benzeneselenol-catalyzed addition of aryl iodides to a range of arenes and aromatic hetereocycles has been studied. With furan, thiophene, and several carbocyclic arenes, the addition takes place with quenching of the adduct radical by the catalytic selenol leading to moderate yields of aryl-dihydroarenes. With nitrogen heterocycles, on the other hand, it was not possible to suppress aromatization of the adduct radical and fully aromatized products were isolated. Aryl iodides bearing hydrogen bond donating groups in the ortho-position add to nitrogen heterocycles with high selectivity ortho- to the nitrogen, affording a simple one-step synthesis of potential chelating ligands. While 2-iodophenol is an excellent aryl radical source in these reactions, the homologous 1-iodo-2-naphthol fails owing to its reaction with diphenyl diselenide, which gives 1-phenylseleno-2-naphthol in high yield.     

Continuous Flow Magnesiation of Functionalized Heterocycles and Acrylates with TMPMgCl⋅LiCl

A flow procedure for the metalation of functionalized heterocycles (pyridines, pyrimidines, thiophenes, and thiazoles) and various acrylates using the strong, non‐nucleophilic base TMPMgCl?LiCl is reported. The flow conditions allow the magnesiations to be performed under more convenient conditions than the comparable batch reactions, which often require cryogenic temperatures and long reaction times. Moreover, the flow reactions are directly scalable without further optimization. Metalation under flow conditions also allows magnesiations that did not produce the desired products under batch conditions, such as the magnesiation of sensitive acrylic derivatives. The magnesiated species are subsequently quenched with various electrophiles, thereby introducing a broad range of functionalities.     

Metallation reactions. Part 35: A change of the regiochemistry in the metallation of (alkylthio)arenes

The metallation reaction of bromo(alkylthio)benzenes is described. The results show the complementarity of these reactions with the metal-hydrogen exchange reaction. In fact, monometallation of bromo(methylthio)benzenes afforded products substituted in para or meta or ortho to the thioethereal function while bimetallation led to αS,para, αS,meta and αS,ortho disubstituted products. Analogously, the monometallation of 4-bromo-(isopropylthio)benzene afforded para-monosubstituted and ortho,para-disubstituted products.     

Preparation and Regioselective Magnesiation or Lithiation of Bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl‐Substituted Heteroaryls for the Generation of Highly Functionalized Heterocycles

A wide range of bis(trimethylsilyl)methyl (BTSM)‐ substituted heteroaryl derivatives has been prepared by using Kumada–Corriu or Negishi cross‐coupling reactions. The regioselective lithiation or magnesiation of these building blocks bearing a bulky BTSM group by using magnesium or lithium 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidide bases followed by quenching reactions with different electrophiles provides various functionalized N‐, O‐, or S‐heterocycles. Furthermore, the BTSM group can then be converted into formyl, methyl, or styryl groups to give access to a variety of highly functionalized heteroaromatics.     

Synthesis of geodesic polynuclear arenes and fullerenes by intramolecular aryl-aryl coupling

Bending over backwards to build buckybowls and -balls? For the last two decades, flash vacuum pyrolysis of chloro- and bromoarenes has been the method of choice for intramolecular aryl-aryl couplings that afford geodesic polynuclear arenes ("buckybowls") including fullerene C(60). Recently, even fluoroarenes were subjected under relatively mild conditions to intramolecular C(Ar)-C(Ar) couplings by combining the cleavage of C(Ar)-F with the formation of very strong Si-F or Al-F bonds (see picture; green C, white H).     

In situ anionic shielding for regioselective metalation: directed peri and iterative metalation routes to polyfunctionalized 7-azaindoles

Strolling the ring: a general regioselective directed peri(C4)-metalation route to 1 through an in situ N-anionic protection of C2 is reported. The azaindoles may be elaborated by directed ortho metalation (DoM) and Suzuki coupling to more complex heterocyclic systems. An iterative ring-walk DoM sequence furnishes the exhaustively substituted 2. DMG=directed metalation group, TMEDA=N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine, TMS=trimethylsilyl.     

Synthesis of phenanthrenes and polycyclic heteroarenes by transition-metal catalyzed cycloisomerization reactions

Readily available biphenyl derivatives containing an alkyne unit at one of their ortho-positions are converted into substituted phenanthrenes on exposure to catalytic amounts of either PtCl2, AuCl, AuCl3, GaCl3 or InCl3 in toluene. This 6-endo-dig cyclization likely proceeds through initial pi-complexation of the alkyne unit followed by interception of the resulting eta2-metal species by the adjacent arene ring. The reaction is inherently modular, allowing for substantial structural variations and for the incorporation of substituents at any site of the phenanthrene product. Moreover, it is readily extended to the heterocyclic series as exemplified by the preparation of benzoindoles, benzocarbazoles, naphthothiophenes, as well as bridgehead nitrogen heterocycles such as pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinolines. Depending on the chosen catalyst, biaryls bearing halo-alkyne units can either be converted into the corresponding 10-halo-phenanthrenes or into the isomeric 9-halo-phenanthrenes; in the latter case, the concomitant 1,2-halide shift is best explained by assuming a metal vinylidene species as the reactive intermediate. The scope of this novel method for the preparation of polycyclic arenes is illustrated by the total synthesis of a series of polyoxygenated phenanthrenes that are close relatives of the anticancer agent combretastatin A-4, as well as by the total synthesis of the aporphine alkaloid O-methyl-dehydroisopiline and its naturally occurring symmetrical dimer.     

Luminescent, redox-active diphenothiazine dumbbells expanded by conjugated arenes and heteroarenes

Dumbbell-shaped diphenothiazines bridged by conjugatively linked (hetero)aromatic moieties were synthesized in a modular fashion by Suzuki-Miyaura coupling in good yields. The electronic structure was studied by DFT computations, determining the geometry optimized lowest energy conformers and scrutinizing the Kohn-Sham FMOs. The torsional deviation from coplanarity is predominantly influencing the electronic structure, i.e., by deviation from ideal overlap and maximal electron transmission. The reversible oxidation potentials assigned to the phenothiazinyl electrophores in most cases can thereby be qualitatively rationalized. All dumbbell-shaped diphenothiazines are strongly luminescent, which can be attributed to extended π-electron conjugation with considerable excited state electronic coupling as a consequence of large structural and electronic distributional changes upon photoexcitation.     

Synthesis of Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane Bioisosteres of Internal Alkynes and para‐Disubstituted Benzenes from [1.1.1]Propellane

We report a general preparation of arylated bicyclo[1.1.1]pentanes through the opening of [1.1.1]propellane with various arylmagnesium halides. After transmetalation with ZnCl₂ and Negishi cross‐coupling with aryl and heteroaryl halides, bis‐arylated bicyclo[1.1.1]pentanes are obtained. These bis‐arylated bicyclo[1.1.1]pentanes may be considered as bioisosteres of internal alkynes. Bioisosteres of tazarotene and the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGluR5) antagonist 2‐methyl‐6‐(phenylethynyl)pyridine were prepared and their physicochemical properties were evaluated.     

Benzylation of arenes and heteroarenes catalyzed by HfCl_4/HfO_2

A highly efficient benzylation of arenes and heteroarenes catalyzed by HfCl_4/HfO_2 has been developed.Broad scope of benzylation reagents have been used in this process with high yields under mild condition.Additionally,the HfO_2 can be re-used after the reaction.     

Gold-catalyzed decorations of arenes and heteroarenes with C-C multiple bonds

Synthetic organic chemistry has been markedly affected by the booming of gold catalysis over the past decade. The renaissance of this coinage metal allowed unprecedented transformations to be realized in a highly selective manner and rendered "old chemistry" more accessible from a practical point of view. Particularly, organic compounds containing C-C multiple bonds benefited from the high carbophilicity of gold species, that opened access to a great chemical diversity through direct and selective π-electrophilic activations. Nowadays, the complexity of naturally occurring compounds based on functionalized aromatic frameworks continues to inspire and influence developments in synthetic chemistry. Furthermore, the ubiquitous presence of arene-based systems in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and functional organic materials warrants the growing demand for mild, selective and sustainable synthetic routes to their preparation. In this context, although the peculiar aptitude of gold salts/complexes for interaction with aromatic compounds (auration process) has long been known, the direct catalytic gold decoration of arenes, has risen to prominence only recently. Here, the extensive use of electrophilic activation of C-C multiple bonds by gold species deserves a prominent mention, and the great strides made in the field over the last few years are described in this tutorial review.