Highly efficient catalytic system for electrophilic amination of arylzinc reagents

The effect of catalyst on the yield of amine in the amination of three classes of arylzinc reagents with acetone oxime O‐tosylate was investigated. Since they allowed the preparation of arylamines in excellent yields in the presence of a minimum amount of copper (I) or copper (II) compounds, the catalytic systems using copper (I) or copper (II) combined with a P‐, N‐ or S‐donor ligand were revealed to be the best catalysts for the electrophilic amination of arylzinc reagents with acetone oxime O‐tosylate in the presence of DMPU. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reactivity and mechanistic insight into visible-light-induced aerobic cross-dehydrogenative coupling reaction by organophotocatalysts

With visible-light irradiation, a mild, simple, and efficient metal-free photocatalytic system for the facile construction of sp(3)-sp(3) C-C bonds between tertiary amines and activated C-H bonds has been achieved. Spectroscopic study and product analysis demonstrate for the first time that photoinduced electron transfer from N-aryl tetrahydroisoquinolines to eosin Y bis(tetrabutylammonium salt) (TBA-eosin Y) takes place to generate TBA-eosin Y radical anion, which can subsequently react with nucleophiles and molecular oxygen. More strikingly, electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements provide direct evidence for the formation of superoxide radical anions (O(2)(-.)) rather than singlet oxygen ((1)O(2)) during visible-light irradiation. This active species is therefore believed to be responsible for the large rate of acceleration of the aerobic photocatalytic reactions.     

trans-1-Sulfonylamino-2-isoborneolsulfonylaminocyclohexane derivatives: excellent chiral ligands for the catalytic enantioselective addition of organozinc reagents to ketones

The catalytic enantioselective addition of different organozinc reagents (such as alkyl and aryl derivatives or in situ generated aryl, allyl alkenyl, and alkynyl derivatives obtained through different transmetallation processes) to simple ketones has been accomplished by using titanium tetraisopropoxide and chiral ligands derived from substituted trans-1-sulfonylamino-2-isoborneolsulfonylaminocyclohexane, producing the corresponding tertiary alcohols with enantiomeric excesses (ee) up to >99 %. A simple and efficient procedure for the synthesis of the chiral ligands used in these reactions is described.     

Catalytic C-H amination with aromatic amines

Aniline joins the club: A β-diketiminato copper(I) catalyst enables C-H amination of anilines employing low catalyst loadings to preclude oxidation to the diazene ArN=NAr. Electron-poor anilines are particularly resistant towards diazene formation and participate in the amination of strong and unactivated C-H bonds. N-alkyl anilines also take part in C-H amination.     

Palladium complexes of N-heterocyclic carbenes as catalysts for cross-coupling reactions--a synthetic chemist's perspective

Palladium-catalyzed C-C and C-N bond-forming reactions are among the most versatile and powerful synthetic methods. For the last 15 years, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have enjoyed increasing popularity as ligands in Pd-mediated cross-coupling and related transformations because of their superior performance compared to the more traditional tertiary phosphanes. The strong sigma-electron-donating ability of NHCs renders oxidative insertion even in challenging substrates facile, while their steric bulk and particular topology is responsible for fast reductive elimination. The strong Pd-NHC bonds contribute to the high stability of the active species, even at low ligand/Pd ratios and high temperatures. With a number of commercially available, stable, user-friendly, and powerful NHC-Pd precatalysts, the goal of a universal cross-coupling catalyst is within reach. This Review discusses the basics of Pd-NHC chemistry to understand the peculiarities of these catalysts and then gives a critical discussion on their application in C-C and C-N cross-coupling as well as carbopalladation reactions.     

Evidence for a one-electron mechanistic regime in dirhodium-catalyzed intermolecular C-H amination

Swift and energy efficient conversion of chemical feedstocks to pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals requires the development of new methods to add nitrogen functionality to unfunctionalized organic substrates. Dirhodium-catalyzed insertion of nitrene species into C-H bonds is a promising new method, the main drawback of which is the currently limited understanding of the catalytic mechanism. Herein, cyclic voltammetry and controlled potential electrolysis measurements have enabled us to solve many of the mechanistic mysteries of intermolecular C-H amination catalyzed by [Rh(2)(esp)(2)] (esp=α,α,α',α'-tetramethyl-1,3-benzenedipropanoate). The primary result is that, in addition to a simple nitrene-transfer mechanism that dominates the early stages of the reaction, another mechanism is available that relies on sequential proton-coupled electron transfer steps. Whereas the nitrene-transfer mechanism requires the use of expensive, atom-inefficient oxidants, we show that simple one-electron oxidants such as Ce(4+) may be used to achieve catalytic C-H amination via the one-electron mechanistic regime.