Ketone synthesis under neutral conditions. Cu(I) diphenylphosphinate-mediated,palladium-catalyzed coupling of thiol esters and organostannanes

[reaction: see text] A versatile approach to ketone synthesis is described. The reaction relies on the palladium-catalyzed, copper diphenylphosphinate-mediated coupling of thiol esters with organostannanes under neutral reaction conditions. This reaction complements the previously described coupling of thiol esters with boronic acids that used dual thiophilic-borophilic activation methodology.     

Synthesis of high enantiopurity N-protected alpha-amino ketones by thiol ester-organostannane cross-coupling using pH-neutral conditions

An efficient synthesis of high enantiopurity N-protected alpha-amino ketones is described. Complementing other studies using boronic acids and thiol esters, this Cu(I) diphenylphosphinate (CuDPP)-mediated, palladium-catalyzed coupling of alpha-amino thiol esters with aryl, heteroaryl, allyl, and alkenyl organostannanes gives N-protected alpha-amino ketones in high yields with high enantiopurity (in almost all cases) under mild and pH-neutral reaction conditions. The viability of pi-deficient heteroarylstannanes is an advantage of this reaction compared to the related boronic acid system.     

Ambient temperature synthesis of high enantiopurity N-protected peptidyl ketones by peptidyl thiol ester-boronic acid cross-coupling

alpha-Amino acid thiol esters derived from N-protected mono-, di-, and tripeptides couple with aryl, pi-electron-rich heteroaryl, or alkenyl boronic acids in the presence of stoichiometric Cu(I) thiophene-2-carboxylate and catalytic Pd(2)(dba)(3)/triethylphosphite to generate the corresponding N-protected peptidyl ketones in good-to-excellent yields and in high enantiopurity. Triethylphosphite plays a key role as a supporting ligand by mitigating an undesired palladium-catalyzed decarbonylation-beta-elimination of the alpha-amino thiol esters. The peptidyl ketone synthesis proceeds at room temperature under nonbasic conditions and demonstrates a high tolerance to functionality.     

Copper-mediated, palladium-catalyzed coupling of thiol esters with aliphatic organoboron reagents

Thiol esters and B-alkyl-9-BBN derivatives couple in the presence of a copper(I) carboxylate mediator and a palladium catalyst. In contrast to copper-mediated, palladium-catalyzed cross-couplings of thioorganics with boronic acids, the current coupling reaction of 9-BBN derivatives is facilitated by the addition of a base such as Cs(2)CO(3). Under optimized conditions, a variety of thiol esters react with different B-alkyl-9-BBN derivatives giving ketones in moderate to excellent yields.     

Simple amine/Pd(OAc)(2)-catalyzed suzuki coupling reactions of aryl bromides under mild aerobic conditions

A new palladium catalyst (DAPCy) made from Pd(OAc)(2) and commercially available, inexpensive dicyclohexylamine has been developed for the Suzuki coupling reaction of aryl bromides with boronic acids to give the coupling products in good to high yields. The air-stable catalyst was characterized and well-defined by X-ray crystallography. A catalytic system involving DAPCy in dioxane demonstrates a temperature-dependent reactivity toward aryl bromides with different electronic substituents, and selectively couples electron-deficient aryl bromides with boronic acids over electron-rich ones at room temperature. Another catalytic system employing DAPCy in EtOH provides a general and convenient method to prepare biaryls from aryl bromides and boronic acids with a broad range of functional groups at room temperature and under aerobic conditions.     

N-heterocyclic carbene catalysed aerobic oxidation of aromatic aldehydes to aryl esters using boronic acids

The organocatalytic behavior of N-heterocyclic carbenes in the aerobic oxidation of aromatic aldehydes to esters with boronic acids has been explored. This transition metal-free protocol allows access to a wide variety of aromatic esters in good to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions.     

Decarboxylative Benzylation of Aryl and Alkenyl Boronic Esters

The copper‐catalyzed decarboxylative benzylation of aryl and alkenyl boronic esters with electron‐deficient aryl acetates is reported. The oxidative coupling proceeds under mild, aerobic conditions and tolerates a host of potentially reactive electrophilic functional groups that would be problematic with traditional benzylation methods (aryl iodides and bromides, protic heteroatoms, aldehydes, Michael acceptors). A reaction pathway in which a benzylic nucleophile is generated by aryl acetate decarboxylation and in turn is intercepted by the catalyst to form diarylmethane products is supported by mechanistic studies.     

Efficient imidazolium salts for palladium-catalyzed Mizoroki-Heck and Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions

The system, Pd(OAc)2/imidazolium salts (L2), was found as an efficient catalyst in the Heck coupling reaction of olefins with aryl halides and Suzuki reactions of various aryl halides with aryl boronic acids under aerobic condition. This catalytic system demonstrates great tolerance to a wide range of groups on all substrates of aryl halides, alkenes and aryl boronic acids.     

Rhodium(I)-catalyzed carboxylation of aryl- and alkenylboronic esters with CO2

When the esters of arylboronic acids with 2,2-dimethylpropan-1,3-diol were treated with a catalytic amount of [Rh(OH)(cod)]2 in the presence of 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane and CsF in dioxane at 60 degrees C under carbon dioxide atmosphere, the benzoic acid derivatives were obtained in good yields. Reactions of alkenylboronic esters also proceeded under similar conditions to give alpha,beta-unsaturated carboxylic acids. As these boronic esters are now easily available through coupling or direct borylation reactions, this method would be a useful method for the preparation of various functionalized aryl- and alkenyl-carboxylic acids.     

A Copper‐Catalyzed,pH‐Neutral Construction of High‐Enantiopurity Peptidyl Ketones from Peptidic S‐Acylthiosalicylamides in Air at Room Temperature

A copper‐catalyzed transformation of peptidic thiol esters and boronic acids gives peptidyl ketones and takes place in DMF or DMF/H₂O at room temperature in air (see scheme). This aerobic reaction only occurs at a thiol ester group capable of coordinating to Cu through its appendage on the sulfur center and is not hampered by racemization of the reactants or products.

     

Crystallization-controlled dynamic self-assembly and an on/off switch for equilibration using boronic ester formation

Macrocyclic boronic esters of different sizes can be prepared selectively from the same starting diboronic acid and 1,2-diol by means of an interesting dynamic self-assembly phenomena. More specifically, two kinds of macrocyclic boronic esters could be formed diastereoselectively and nearly quantitatively under neutral conditions by the addition of an appropriate guest molecule that acts as a template. Although a mixture of tetrol 1 and di(boronic acid) 2 in methanol gave only insoluble polymeric boronic esters, a soluble macrocyclic boronic ester, homo-[2+2], was obtained selectively in the presence of toluene as a guest molecule. Furthermore, when benzene was employed as a guest molecule, the selective formation of another macrocyclic boronic ester, hetero-[3+3], occurred. Interestingly, each of these macrocycles could be converted into the other in the presence of methanol and the appropriate guest molecule; however, under aprotic conditions, guest molecules encaged by the macrocyclic boronic ester could be exchanged without affecting its structure. Thus the presence or absence of a protic solvent could be used as a regulator to switch on or off the dynamic equilibrium of the system. In addition, investigation of the effect of reaction time, direct observation of the reaction mixture by NMR spectroscopy, and carrying out the reaction using optically active tetrol suggested that precipitation plays an essentially important role in the selective formation of the macrocyclic boronic esters. Thus, although both of [2+2] and [3+3] were present as solutes in the reaction mixture, the type of added guest molecule induced the selective precipitation of only one form of macrocyclic boronic ester, hence displacing the equilibrium of the system.     

Catalytic Hydroalkylation of Allenes

We have developed a catalytic method for the hydroalkylation of allenes using alkyl triflates as electrophiles and silane as a hydride source. The reaction has an excellent substrate scope and is compatible with a wide range of functional groups, including esters, aryl halides, aryl boronic esters, sulfonamides, alkyl tosylates, and alkyl bromides. We found evidence for a reaction mechanism that involves unusual dinuclear copper ally complexes as catalytic intermediates. The unusual structure of these complexes provides a rationale for their unexpected reactivity.     

Palladium-catalyzed coupling of thiol esters with aryl and primary and secondary alkyl organoindium reagents

Thiol esters and organoindium reagents undergo palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling under mild conditions to give ketones in moderate to excellent yields. Aryl and primary/secondary alkyl organoindium reagents can be used as coupling partners. This method has two advantages over the cross-coupling of thiol esters with boron and tin reagents: (1) no added copper reagent is required to mediate the reaction and (2) for the case of alkyl transfer, no added base is required to activate organoindium reagents for cross-coupling as is required for the coupling of alkyl boron reagents with thiol esters.     

Synthesis of hindered anilines: copper-catalyzed electrophilic amination of aryl boronic esters

No longer a hindrance: copper-catalyzed electrophilic amination of aryl boronic esters is accomplished under mild reaction conditions using 2.5-5.0 mol % of a catalyst derived from copper tert-butoxide and Xantphos ligand. The reaction tolerates a wide range of functional groups and can be used to prepare some of the most hindered anilines made to date.     

5-aroyl-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-one library generation via automated sequential and parallel microwave-assisted synthesis techniques

An efficient two-step synthetic pathway toward the preparation of diversely substituted 5-aroyl-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-ones is realized. The protocol involves an initial trimethylsilyl chloride-mediated Biginelli multicomponent reaction involving S-ethyl acetothioacetate, aromatic aldehydes, and ureas as building blocks to generate a set of 3,4-dihydropyrimidine-5-carboxylic acid thiol esters. These thiol esters serve as starting materials for a subsequent Pd-catalyzed Cu-mediated Liebeskind-Srogl cross-coupling reaction with boronic acids to provide the desired 5-aroyl-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-one derivatives. Both steps were performed using microwave heating in sealed vessels, either in an automated sequential or parallel format using dedicated microwave reactor instrumentation. A diverse library of 30 5-aroyl-3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-ones was prepared with commercially available aldehyde, urea, and boronic acid building blocks as starting materials.     

Aerobic oxidation of phenol to quinone with copper chloride as catalyst in ionic liquid

Aerobic oxidation of 2,3,6-trimethyl-phenol to trimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone with 2.5 mol% copper(II) chloride as catalyst in ionic liquid 1-n-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride, [BMIm]Cl, with n-butanol as co-solvent affording 86% yield provides a new alternative to the copper(II) chloride catalysed aerobic oxidation. The advantage of this catalytic system is that only a catalytic amount of copper(II) chloride is necessary. This catalytic system is also applicable for oxidation of 2-methyl-1-naphthol to 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone. This catalytic reaction was systematically investigated under different conditions.     

Visible‐Light‐Mediated Chan–Lam Coupling Reactions of Aryl Boronic Acids and Aniline Derivatives

The copper(II)‐catalyzed aerobic oxidative coupling reaction between aryl boronic acids and aniline derivatives was found to be improved significantly under visible‐light‐mediated photoredox catalysis. The substrate scope of this oxidative Chan–Lam reaction was thus expanded to include electron‐deficient aryl boronic acids as viable starting materials.     

Asymmetric synthesis of α-keto esters via Cu(II)-catalyzed aerobic deacylation of acetoacetate alkylation products: an unusually simple synthetic equivalent to the glyoxylate anion synthon

A simple and efficient method for the preparation of β-stereogenic α-keto esters is described using a copper(II)-catalyzed aerobic deacylation of substituted acetoacetate esters. The substrates for the title process arise from catalytic, enantioselective conjugate additions and alkylation reactions of acetoacetate esters. The mild conditions do not induce racemization of the incipient enolizable α-keto ester. The reaction is tolerant of esters, certain ketones, ketals, and nitro groups and utilizes inexpensive, readily available materials.     

Asymmetric alkyldifluoroboranes and their use in secondary amine synthesis

[reaction: see text] Asymmetric diol boronic esters with potassium bifluoride form the corresponding alkyltrifluoroborate and free diol under mild conditions. Defluoridation with tetrachlorosilane produces an alkyldifluoroborane intermediate. This conversion of relatively unreactive boronic esters to derivatives that are strong Lewis acids opens new synthetic opportunities, as illustrated by the preparation of (R)-2-phenylpyrrolidine in 98% ee from a pinanediol or 1,2-dicyclohexyl-1,2-ethanediol boronic ester via potassium (2-phenyl-4-azidobutyl)trifluoroborate.     

Decarboxylative Conjunctive Cross-coupling of Vinyl Boronic Esters using Metallaphotoredox Catalysis

The synthesis of complex alkyl boronic esters through conjunctive cross-coupling of vinyl boronic esters with carboxylic acids and aryl iodides is described. The reaction proceeds under mild metallaphotoredox conditions and involves an unprecedented decarboxylative radical addition/cross-coupling cascade of vinyl boronic esters. Excellent functional-group tolerance is displayed, and application of a range of carboxylic acids, including secondary α-amino acids, and aryl iodides provides efficient access to highly functionalized alkyl boronic esters. The decarboxylative conjunctive cross-coupling was also applied to the synthesis of sedum alkaloids.