Carbon radical addition to N-sulfonylimines mediated by triethylborane or zinc

The utility of N-sulfonylimines as radical acceptors was investigated under the different reaction conditions such as the stannyl radical-mediated addition reaction, the triethylborane-mediated tin-free radical reaction, and the zinc-mediated aqueous-medium radical reaction. The alkyl radical addition reaction of N-sulfonylimines proceeded effectively without the activation by Lewis acid. These reactions were successfully extended to one-pot reactions for preparing a wide range of amine derivatives.     

Carboamination of Unactivated Alkenes through Three‐Component Radical Conjugate Addition

Two‐component Giese type radical additions are highly practical and established reactions. Herein, three‐component radical conjugate additions of unactivated alkenes to Michael acceptors are reported. Amidyl radicals, oxidatively generated from α‐amido oxy acids using redox catalysis, act as the third reaction component which add to the unactivated alkenes. The adduct radicals engage in Giese type additions to Michael acceptors to provide, after reduction, the three‐component products in an overall alkene carboamination reaction. Transformations which can be conducted under practical mild conditions feature high functional group tolerance and broad substrate scope.     

A photo-reagent system of benzimidazoline and Ru(bpy)3Cl2 to promote hexenyl radical cyclization and Dowd–Beckwith ring-expansion of α-halomethyl-substituted benzocyclic 1-alkanones

A combination of 2-aryl substituted 1,3-dimethyl-benzimidazolines (DMBIHs) and tris(2,2′-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) chloride, Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂ was used to promote photoinduced electron-transfer (PET) reactions of α-halomethyl-substituted benzocyclic 1-alkanones. This photo-reagent system stimulates free radical forming, cleavage of both carbon–bromine and carbon–chlorine bonds that are not activated by carbonyl groups. The resulting free radicals undergo 5-exo hexenyl cyclization as well as sequential cyclization and ring-expansion (Dowd–Beckwith) reactions to form radicals that abstract hydrogen atoms from the radical cation of DMBIH to yield the observed products. The results of a study of the effects of substituents located on the 2-aryl ring of DMBIH suggest that steric and hydrogen-bonding interactions influence the nature of the reaction pathways followed by the radical intermediates. PET reactions using an iridium complex and DMBIH were also investigated.     

Photoinduced electron-transfer reaction of α-bromomethyl-substituted benzocyclic β-keto esters with amines: selective reaction pathways depending on the nature of the amine radical cations

Photoinduced electron-transfer reaction of α-bromomethyl-substituted benzocyclic β-keto esters with tertiary amines was investigated. Debrominated β-keto esters and ring-expanded γ-keto esters were obtained as major products. On the basis of mechanistic experiments it was concluded that these products are formed via a reaction sequence of selective carbon–bromine bond cleavage and subsequent competitive hydrogen abstraction and Dowd–Beckwith ring-expansion of the resulting primary alkyl radicals. The characteristic product distribution observed for the type of amine used is rationalized on the basis of selective reaction pathways of generated radical intermediates that depend on the nature of the amine radical cations.     

Synthesis of tryptophans by Lewis acid promoted ring-opening of aziridine-2-carboxylates: optimization of protecting group and Lewis acid

The preparation of tryptophan derivatives through the Lewis acid promoted substitution of aziridine carboxylates with indole was found to be accompanied by a ring-expansion reaction to generate an oxazolidinone byproduct. The ratio of tryptophan to oxazolidinone products can be optimized through a judicious choice of Lewis acid and N-protecting group.     

Lewis acid-catalyzed cascade radical addition/cyclization for the synthesis of 3-substituted isoindolin-1-one derivatives

Radical addition reactions to 2-formylbenzoate-derived hydrazones in the presence of a Lewis acid were developed. Under the reaction conditions, the resulting products were readily converted into 3-substituted isoindolin-1-one derivatives. Diastereoselective synthesis of 3-substituted isoindolin-1-one derivatives was also established employing L-proline as a chiral auxiliary. The cascade radical addition–cyclization reaction allows direct access to 3-substituted isoindolin-1-one derivatives under tin-free conditions.     

Cobalt-catalyzed intermolecular [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition for the synthesis of 1,3-cyclohexadienes

A cobalt(I)-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between an internal acceptor-substituted alkyne and a terminal alkene leads to the formation of regiochemically enriched polysubstituted 1,3-cyclohexadiene derivatives in acceptable yields when methyl butynoate is used, whereas regiochemically pure products are formed in good yields form phenyl propyonate. The concurrent cyclotrimerization reaction of the alkyne to the corresponding benzene derivative is dependent on the sterical bulk of the alkyne and is considerably reduced with the sterically more hindered alkyne.     

Iron-catalyzed cyclopropanation with glycine ethyl ester hydrochloride in water

An iron-catalyzed cyclopropanation reaction of styrenes in aqueous media is disclosed that employs glycine ethyl ester hydrochloride in a tandem diazotization/cyclopropanation reaction. The products are accessed in good yields and good diastereoselectivity using readily available and inexpensive starting materials. Moreover, a wide range of transition metals may be used under these conditions, thus opening new opportunities for efficient carbene-transfer reactions under user-friendly conditions.     

The interaction between polymerization initiators and inhibitors in solutions—VIII. The mechanism of the reaction of azobisisobutyronitrile with p-benzoquinone and chloranil in polar and nonpolar solvents

The reactions of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) with p-benzoquinone (BQ) and chloranil in toluene, chlorobenzene and acetonitrile, have been investigated by isolation and identification of the reaction products. In toluene and chlorobenzene, isobutyroylamino hydroquinone together with tetramethyl dioxazinobenzene are formed in the case of (BQ); the corresponding mono- and dioxazinobenzene derivatives are formed in the case of chloranil. In acetonitrile, however, only polyquinonoid resinous derivatives of the quinones are obtained. The crystalline derivatives as well as the resinous products have no nitrile groups in their structures and the nitrogen atom is directly attached to the parent quinone nucleus. This fact indicates that the radicals from AIBN react with quinones exclusively in the ketenimine form. A mechanism based on the possibility of electron-transfer from the radical to the quinone molecule to form charged species has been suggested. The degree of separation of these species is determined by the polarity of the solvent. Combination of the charged entities produces nuclear-substituted intermediates which may be eventually isolated as hydroquinones or subjected to further radical reactions with the ketenimine substituent to form the oxazinobenzene derivatives. The formation of ether derivatives of hydroquinone and tetrachlorohydroquinone in the reaction of BQ and chloranil with AIBN is accordingly excluded.     

Convenient temporary methyl imidate protection of N-acetylglucosamine and glycosylation at O-4

This paper expands on the scope and utility of the temporary conversion of N-acetyl groups to alkyl imidates when attempting to glycosylate at O-4 of N-acetylglucosamine acceptors. The optimized synthesis of alkyl imidate protected glucosamine acceptors at position 4 and carrying various protecting groups at O-3 is described. These imidates were prepared immediately prior to glycosylation by treating the 4-OH acceptors with 0.5 M MeOTf to obtain the corresponding methyl imidates still carrying a free 4-OH group. When preparing these imidates in diethyl ether as the reaction solvent, we observed the unexpected formation of ethyl imidates in addition to the desired methyl imidates. While the 3-O-allyl acceptors were too unstable to be useful in glycosylation reactions, the 3-O-acylated methyl and ethyl imidates of glucosamine were shown to behave well during the glycosylation of the 4-OH with a variety of reaction conditions and various glycosyl donors. Glycosylation of these acceptors was successfully carried out with perbenzylated beta-thioethyl rhamnopyranoside under MeOTf promotion, while activation of this donor under NIS/TMSOTf or NIS/TfOH proved less successful. In contrast, activation of the less reactive perbenzylated alpha-thioethyl and peracetylated beta-thioethyl rhamnopyranosides with NIS/TfOH led to successful glycosylations of the 4-OH. Activation of a peracetylated rhamnosyl trichloroacetimidate by TMSOTf at low temperature also gave a high yield of glycosylation. We also report one-pot glycosylation reactions via alkyl imidate protected acceptor intermediates. In all cases the alkyl imidate products were readily converted to their corresponding N-acetyl derivatives under mild conditions.     

Synthesis of Bridged Benzazocines and Benzoxocines by a Titanium‐Catalyzed Double‐Reductive Umpolung Strategy

A sequence of two titanium(III)‐catalyzed reductive umpolung reactions is reported that allows the rapid construction of benzazo‐ and benzoxozine building blocks. The first step is a reductive cross‐coupling of quinolones or chromones with Michael acceptors. This reaction proceeds with complete syn‐selectivity for the quinolone functionalization while the anti‐diastereomers are obtained as the major products from chromones. With different reaction conditions, the stereochemical outcome can be altered to afford the syn‐chromanone products as well. A subsequent reductive ketyl radical cyclization forges the tricyclic title compounds in good yields. A stereochemical model explaining the observed stereoselectivities is provided and the product configurations were unambiguously verified by X‐ray analyses and 2D NMR spectroscopic experiments.     

A new alternative to the mannich reaction: tandem radical addition-cyclization reaction for asymmetric synthesis of gamma-butyrolactones and beta-amino acids

The radical addition-cyclization reaction of substrates having two different radical acceptors such as acrylate and aldoxime ether moieties was studied. This new free radical-mediated Mannich-type reaction proceeded smoothly via a tandem C-C bond-forming process. Furthermore, the diastereoselective tandem reaction provides the novel method for asymmetric synthesis of gamma-butyrolactones and beta-amino acid derivatives.     

Time-resolved resonance Raman and density functional study of an azirine intermediate in the 2-fluorenylnitrene ring-expansion reaction to form a dehydroazepine product

We report time-resolved resonance Raman spectra for the azirine intermediate produced in the 2-fluorenylnitrene ring-expansion reaction to form a dehydroazepine product. The Raman bands obtained with a 252.7 nm probe wavelength and 500 ns delay time exhibit reasonable agreement with predicted vibrational frequencies from density functional calculations for two isomers of azirine intermediates that may be formed from a 2-fluorenylnitrene precursor. The Raman bands observed for delay times of 15 ns and 10 micros were consistent with predicted vibrational frequencies from density functional calculations for the 2-fluorenylnitrene and dehydroazepine product species as well as previously reported 416 nm time-resolved Raman spectra obtained on the ns and micros time scales. Our results demonstrate that the 2-fluorenylnitrene ring-expansion reaction to produce dehydroazepine products proceeds via relatively long-lived 2-fluorenylnitrene and azirine intermediates. Substitution of a phenyl ring para to the nitrene group of phenylnitrene appears to lead to significant changes in the ring-expansion reaction so that longer lived arylnitrene and azirine intermediates can be observed. This should enable the chemical reactivity of azirine intermediates formed from arylnitrenes to be examined more readily.     

Fine-tuning of radiolysis induced emission by variable substitution of donor-/acceptor-substituted tetrakis(arylethynyl)benzenes

Emission from charge recombination between radical cations and anions of various tetrakis(arylethynyl)benzenes (TAEBs) was measured during pulse radiolysis in benzene (Bz). The formation of TAEB in the excited singlet state ((1)TAEB*) can be attributed to the charge recombination between TAEB (*+) and TAEB (*-), which is initially generated from the radiolytic reaction. It was found that the charge recombination between TAEB (*+) and TAEB (*-) gave (1)TAEB* as the emissive species but not excimers because of the large repulsion between substituents caused by the rotation around C-C single bonds. Since donor-/acceptor-substituted TAEBs possess three types of charge-transfer pathways (linear-conjugated, cross-conjugated, and "bent"-conjugated pathways between the donor and acceptor substituents through the ethynyl linkage), the emission spectra of (1)TAEBs* with intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) character depend on the substitution pattern and the various types of donor and acceptor groups during pulse radiolysis. Through control of the substitution pattern (e.g., the position of the nitrogen atom within the pyridine ring or the number of acceptors per arene ring of the regioisomeric donor-/acceptor-substituted TAEBs with donating N, N-dibutylamino and accepting pyridine unit (N1-9) and those with donating N, N-dibutylamino and accepting one (F1-3), two trifluoromethyl (F4-6), or perfluorinated arene (F7-9) units), fine-tuning of radiolysis induced emission color can be achieved.     

Synthesis of thiol functionalized poly(meth)acrylates through enzymatic catalysis and a subsequent one pot reaction process

The synthesis and modification of thiol functionalized poly(meth)acrylates using a straightforward reaction concept that consists of an enzymatically catalyzed monomer synthesis, free radical polymerization and post-polymerization modification is presented. The well-known enzymatic transacylation of methyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate that runs under mild and environmentally friendly conditions was used to synthesize thiol protected acrylic and methacrylic monomers. Upon free radical polymerization and subsequent removal of protection groups, polymers with pendant thiol groups are obtained, which, in turn, can react in situ with Michael acceptors to form thiol-ene reaction products. The exceptional advantage of the proposed method is that upon removal of the enzyme from the monomer mixture, the polymerization, deprotection of thiols and subsequent Thio-Michael-type addition reaction can be conducted in one pot without purification of the intermediate products. Furthermore, the different reactivities of acetyl and benzoyl protection groups in lipase catalyzed reactions are discussed.     

Photochemistry of 6-halo- and 5,6-dihalouracils. A simple synthesis of fluorescent uracil derivatives

6-Iodo- and 5,6-dihalouracil derivatives undergo remarkably efficient photocoupling reactions leading to strongly fluorescent heterocycles in the presence of suitable radical acceptors.     

New ring-expansion reactions of hydroxy propenoyl cyclic compounds under palladium(0)/phosphine-catalyzed conditions

[reaction: see text] Palladium(0)-catalyzed one-atom ring-expansion of 1-hydroxy-2,2-dialkyl-1-propenoylindan derivatives has been achieved in the presence of P(o-tolyl)(3) giving 2-hydroxy-3,3-dialkyl-2-vinyl-1-tetralone derivatives in excellent yields. This ring-expansion reaction was applied to a 17-(1-oxo-2-propenyl)-beta-estradiol derivative and furnished a similar ring-expanded product in an excellent yield.     

Ring-opening and ring-expansion reactions of carborane-fused borirane

Though the reaction chemistry of three-membered ring molecules such as cyclopropanes and their heteroatom-containing analogues has been extensively studied, the chemical properties of their boron analogues, boriranes, are little known thus far. This work describes the diverse reactivity patterns of carborane-fused borirane 2. This borirane engages in ring-opening reactions with different types of Lewis acids, such as BBr₃, GeCl₂, GaCl₃, BH₃(SMe₂) and HBpin, affording a series of ring-opening products, in which M–X or B–H bonds add across the B–C(cage) bond of the three-membered ring in 2. On the other hand, borirane 2 can undergo ring-expansion reactions with unsaturated molecules such as PhCHO, CO₂ and PhCN to give ring-expansion products, five-membered boracycles, via a concerted reaction mechanism as supported by DFT calculations. The results of this work not only enrich the reaction chemistry of boriranes, but also offer new routes to boron-containing compounds and heterocycles.

Carborane-fused borirane can not only engage in ring-opening reactions with different types of Lewis acids, but also undergo ring-expansion reactions with unsaturated molecules such as PhCHO, CO₂ and PhCN to give five-membered boracycles.     

Compounds of potassium and tin(II) with diiminopyridine ligands: EPR spectroscopy and theoretical study

Potassium and tin(II) derivatives of the paramagnetic forms of the redox-active 2,6-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyliminomethyl)pyridine were synthesized and studied by means of EPR spectroscopy. It was shown that the reaction with metallic potassium involves the three-electron step reduction of the organic ligand to form a radical anion, dianion, and trianion radical, respectively. The reactions of the tin(II) diiminopyridine derivatives with metallic magnesium give complexes comprising the radical anion form of the ligand and a low-valence metal center. The geometries of the paramagnetic products and their spin density distributions were explored in terms of the density functional theory.     

Application of the pulse radiolysis technique to reactions of organic radical ions

The nanosecond pulse radiolysis technique has been applied to study the rate constants for charge transfer and substitution reactions of radical ions. Electron transfer from biphenyl anion to styrene derivatives shows a correlation with the reduction potential of the acceptors expected from the Marcus theory. The positive charge transfer from biphenyl cation to the same acceptors shows a much larger rate constant, suggesting a considerable shift of the free energy relationship to the positive side of G^o. The substitution reaction of fluorenone anion with organic halides shows an S_N2 character, while that of diethyl fumarate shows electron transfer nature. The dimerization of radical anions has been proven for benzophenone and fluorenone, when their lifetime of the parent anions are prolonged by countercations.