Nickel-catalyzed chelation-assisted transformations involving ortho C-H bond activation: regioselective oxidative cycloaddition of aromatic amides to alkynes

Although the pioneering example of ortho metalation involving cleavage of C-H bonds was achieved using a nickel complex (Kleiman, J. P.; Dubeck, M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1963, 85, 1544), no examples of catalysis using nickel complexes have been reported. In this work, the Ni-catalyzed transformation of ortho C-H bonds utilizing chelation assistance, such as oxidative cycloaddition of aromatic amides with alkynes, has been achieved.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed oxidative C-H alkenylations of anilides and benzamides in water

A cationic ruthenium(II) complex enabled efficient oxidative alkenylations of anilides in water as a green solvent and proved applicable to double C-H bond functionalizations of (hetero)aromatic amides with ample scope. Detailed studies provided strong support for a change of ruthenation mechanism in the two transformations, with an irreversible metalation as the key step in cross-dehydrogenative alkenylations of benzamides.     

Intermolecular amidation of unactivated sp2 and sp2 C-H bonds via palladium-catalyzed cascade C-H activation/nitrene insertion

This communication describes the Pd(OAc)2-catalyzed intermolecular amidation reactions of unactivated sp2 and sp3 C-H bonds using primary amides and potassium persulfate. The substrates containing a pendent oxime or pyridine group were amidated with excellent chemo- and regioselectivities. It is noteworthy that reactive C-X bonds were well-tolerated and a variety of primary amides can be effective nucleophiles for the Pd-catalyzed C-H amidation reactions. For the reaction of unactivated sp3 C-H bonds, beta-amidation of 1 degrees sp3 C-H bonds versus 2 degrees C-H bonds is preferred. The catalytic reaction is initiated by chelation-assisted cyclopalladation involving C-H bond activation. Preliminary mechanistic study suggested that the persulfate oxidation of primary amides should generate reactive nitrene species, which then reacted with the cyclopalladated complex.     

Palladium-catalyzed intermolecular directed C-H amidation of aromatic ketones

Pd-catalyzed directed ortho C-H amidation of aromatic ketones with both sulfonamides and amides has been accomplished. The use of an electron-deficient Pd complex, Pd(OTf)(2), is crucial for the success of this transformation. Some key intermediates of the reaction, that is, the cyclopalladation complexes of ketones, have been characterized by X-ray crystallography. Experimental analysis of these palladacycles and also the experimental results with N-methyl sulfonamides indicate that the new reaction does not seem to proceed through a nitrene intermediate. The utility of the newly developed reaction was demonstrated for the synthesis of useful organic intermediates such as 2- and 3-alkyl indoles and 2-aminophenyl ketones.     

Pd(II)-catalyzed ortho trifluoromethylation of arenes and insights into the coordination mode of acidic amide directing groups

A Pd(II)-catalyzed trifluoromethylation of ortho C-H bonds with an array of N-arylbenzamides derived from benzoic acids is reported. N-Methylformamide has been identified as a crucial promoter of C-CF(3) bond formation from the Pd center. X-ray characterization of the C-H insertion intermediate has revealed a rare coordination mode of acidic amides as directing groups and the origin of their capacity in directing C-H activation.     

General and efficient copper-catalyzed amidation of saturated C-H bonds using N-halosuccinimides as the oxidants

We have developed a general and efficient method for copper-catalyzed amidation of saturated C-H bonds under mild conditions, and the used substrates include benzylic reagents, the N, N-dimethylaniline derivatives, the free carboxamides, and sulfonamides. The protocol uses inexpensive and readily available CuBr/ N-halosuccinimide (NBS or NCS) as the catalyst/oxidant, so it provides practical applications for synthesis of various amides via C-H activation.     

All-metal aromatic complexes show high reactivity in the oxidation reaction of methane and some hydrocarbons

The C-H activations of methane, ethane, propane, and propene catalyzed by all-metal aromatic complexes Al(4)Fe were investigated. The results reveal that the rate-determining barrier of methane activation reaction with Al(4)Fe is lower than that of both some well-known inorganic catalysts and some metal organic catalysts. It was found that the all-metal aromatic complexes have high reactivity for the C-H activation of ethane, propane, and propene. Further research showed that the ability of all-metal aromatic complex to accept an electron and the degree of electron delocalization on its aromatic plane had obvious influences on the reactivity of Al(4)Fe. The present work predicts a new kind of catalyst for the alkyl C-H activation reaction: all-metal aromatic catalyst.     

Radical hydroxyalkylation of C-H bond adjacent to nitrogen of tertiary amides, ureas, and amines

Tertiary amides, ureas, and amines undergo direct intermolecular addition to aldehydes under the Et3B/air conditions, thereby providing a unique and simple means for the radical sp3 C-H transformation of nitrogen-containing molecules.     

Mild N-deacylation of secondary amides by alkylation with organocerium reagents

Secondary amides are a class of highly stable compounds serving as versatile starting materials, intermediates and directing groups (amido groups) in organic synthesis. The direct deacylation of secondary amides to release amines is an important transformation in organic synthesis. Here, we report a protocol for the deacylation of secondary amides and isolation of amines. The method is based on the activation of amides with Tf₂O, followed by addition of organocerium reagents, and acidic work-up. The reaction proceeded under mild conditions and afforded the corresponding amines, isolated as their hydrochloride salts, in good yields. In combination with the C-H activation functionalization methodology, the method is applicable to the functionalization of aniline as well as conversion of carboxylic derivatives to functionalized ketones.     

Expedient synthesis of N-acyl anthranilamides and β-enamine amides by the Rh(III)-catalyzed amidation of aryl and vinyl C-H bonds with isocyanates

A Rh(III)-catalyzed protocol for the amidation of anilide and enamide C-H bonds with isocyanates has been developed. This method provides direct and efficient syntheses of N-acyl anthranilamides, enamine amides, and pyrimidin-4-one heterocycles.     

A mild titanium-based system for the reduction of amides to aldehydes

A mild method for the reduction of amides to aldehydes using 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane/titanium(IV) isopropoxide reducing system is described. The reaction occurs under mild conditions and allows the reduction of aromatic as well as aliphatic, tertiary amides to the corresponding aldehydes, in good yields. This methodology was extended to the reduction of aromatic secondary and primary amides to the corresponding aldehydes.     

Construction of anomalously bent biphenyl structure using conformational properties of calix[4]amide

C_2v-symmetrical cyclic tetramers of aromatic amides were simply synthesized in moderate yield by condensation reaction of N,N′-dimethyl-1,3-phenylenediamine and isophthalic acid derivatives using dichlorotriphenylphosphorane. The calix[4]amides exist in 1,3-alternate structure with cis conformation of tertiary aromatic amides, which were shown to be a versatile scaffold leading to a bowl-shaped macrocyclic compound possessing a anomalously strained structure, a bent hinge angle between two aromatic ring planes of biphenyl moiety, via an intramolecular ligation reaction.     

High-pressure Raman studies on aqueous protonated thiazole: presence of charge-enhanced C-H...O hydrogen bonds

Close interactions of the charge-enhanced C-H...O type have been analyzed both experimentally and computationally in the protonated thiazole-water system. The formation of a weak hydrogen bond was directly evidenced by a low-frequency shift of the hydrogen-bonded aromatic C-H stretch in the protonated thiazole moiety. For pure thiazole, the pressure dependence of the C-H bands yielded blue frequency shifts. The peak frequency of the aromatic C-H stretch band of protonated thiazole in a dilute D2O solution possesses an unusual nonmonotonic pressure dependence, which indicates enhanced C-H...O hydrogen-bond formation at high pressure. We performed density functional theory calculations to predict the frequency shift of the C-H stretching vibrations. The reorganization of the hydrogen-bonded network may be one of the factors to induce the blue frequency shift to the red frequency shift.     

Ultrafast UV pump/IR probe studies of C-H activation in linear,cyclic, and aryl hydrocarbons

The photochemical C-H activation reactions of eta(3)-TpRh(CO)(2) (Tp = HB-Pz(3), Pz = 3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl) and CpRh(CO)(2) (Cp = C(5)H(5)) have been studied in a series of linear, cyclic, and aromatic hydrocarbon solvents on a femtosecond to microsecond time scale. These results have revealed that the structure of the hydrocarbon substrate affects the final C-H bond activation step, which is in accordance with the known preference of bond activation toward primary C-H sites. In the case of aromatic C-H activation, the reaction is divided into parallel channels involving sigma- and pi-solvated intermediates. Results for the analogous CpRh(CO)(2) molecule have shown that the coordination of the cyclopentadienyl ligand does not play a direct role in the dynamics of the reaction, in contrast to the C-H activation mechanism observed in eta(3)-TpRh(CO)(2) studies.     

Practical synthesis of aromatic nitriles via gallium-catalysed electrophilic cyanation of aromatic C-H bonds

A gallium-catalysed, direct cyanation reaction of aromatic and heteroaromatic C-H bonds with cyanogen bromide was developed as a practical synthetic method for the preparation of aromatic nitriles.     

Synthesis of indoles via palladium-catalyzed C-H activation of N-aryl amides followed by coupling with alkynes

A convenient and efficient method for the construction of indole skeleton was developed via Pd-catalyzed C-H activation of N-aryl amides and subsequent coupling with alkynes. Both stoichiometric and catalytic versions have been successfully achieved.     

Palladium-catalyzed C-H aminations of anilides with N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide

The first amide-directed, palladium-catalyzed, intermolecular, highly selective C-H aminations with the non-nitrene-based nitrogen source N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide have been developed. This methodology might provide a new pathway for directed metal-catalyzed aromatic C-H amination.     

Metal- and chemical-oxidant-free C-H/C-H cross-coupling of aromatic compounds: the use of radical-cation pools

Pool and couple: A method for oxidative C-H/C-H cross-coupling has been developed using "radical-cation pools". Aromatic compounds react with aryl radical cations, which are generated and accumulated by low-temperature electrolysis (see scheme). This method avoids both the nonselective oxidation of substrates and oxidation of products and effects the C-H/C-H cross-coupling of aromatic compounds without metal complexes and chemical oxidants.     

Highly regioselective carbonylation of unactivated C(sp3)-H bonds by ruthenium carbonyl

The regioselective carbonylation of unactivated C(sp(3))-H bonds of aliphatic amides was achieved using Ru(3)(CO)(12) as a catalyst. The presence of a 2-pyridinylmethylamine moiety in the amide is crucial for a successful reaction. The reaction shows a preference for C-H bonds of methyl groups as opposed to methylene C-H bonds and tolerates a variety of functional groups. The stoichiometric reaction of an amide with Ru(3)(CO)(12) gave a dinuclear ruthenium complex in which the 2-pyridinylmethylamino moiety was coordinated to the ruthenium center in an N,N manner.     

Self-assembly driven by an aromatic primary amide motif

Primary amides are unique supramolecular synthons possessing two hydrogen donors and two hydrogen acceptors. By interacting in a complementary fashion, primary amides reliably generate two-dimensional hydrogen bonded networks that differ from conventional hydrogen bonded structures such as carboxylic acid dimers or one-dimensional secondary amide chains. This feature permits the design of sophisticated supramolecular assemblies based on primary amides (especially aromatic amides). Several interesting crystal structures have been constructed utilizing primary amides, although such structures have been applied only in the field of crystal engineering because the networks strongly favor crystallization. Expansion of the applications of primary amides to liquid crystals and self-assembly in solution requires an appropriate balance between primary amide-based hydrogen bonding and other noncovalent interactions. This perspective article reviews the key hydrogen bonding properties of primary amides determined from crystal structure studies, and a variety of supramolecular assemblies involving primary amides are discussed. A new strategy for overcoming crystallinity and solubility issues is proposed, involving introduction of a trifluoromethyl group at the ortho position of the aromatic primary amide. Such substitutions produce highly processable primary amides, while maintaining the two-dimensional hydrogen bonded network. Examples of self-assembly using 2-trifluoromethylbenzamide demonstrate its usefulness in self-assembly.