Ligand‐Assisted Gold‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling with Aryldiazonium Salts: Redox Gold Catalysis without an External Oxidant

Gold‐catalyzed C(sp)–C(sp²) and C(sp²)–C(sp²) cross‐coupling reactions are accomplished with aryldiazonium salts as the coupling partner. With the assistance of bpy ligand, gold(I) species were oxidized to gold(III) by diazonium without any external oxidants. Monitoring the reaction with NMR and ESI‐MS provided strong evidence for the nitrogen extrusion followed by Au^III reductive elimination as the key step.     

Ligand‐Free Palladium‐Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidative Coupling of Carboxylic Anhydrides with Arylboronic Acids

We report a new, effective and environmentally friendly protocol for selective aerobic oxidative coupling of arylboronic acids with carboxylic anhydrides in the presence of ligand‐free palladium catalyst. The aryl benzoates are obtained in good to excellent yields.     

Iron‐Catalyzed Oxidative Heterocoupling Between Aliphatic and Aromatic Organozinc Reagents: A Novel Pathway for Functionalized Aryl–Alkyl Cross‐Coupling Reactions

Aryl–alkyl cross‐coupling products are obtained by the iron‐catalyzed oxidative heterocoupling of organozinc reagents under mild conditions. This novel reaction pathway is versatile, allowing for the use of primary and secondary aliphatic diorganozinc reagents as coupling partners as well as tolerating functionalized aryl‐ and alkylzinc reagents.

     

Six‐ and Eightfold Palladium‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling Reactions of Hexa‐ and Octabromoarenes

Palladium‐catalyzed sixfold coupling of hexabromobenzene ( 20 ) with a variety of alkenylboronates and alkenylstannanes provided hexaalkenylbenzenes 1 in up to 73 % and 16 to 41 % yields, respectively. In some cases pentaalkenylbenzenes 21 were isolated as the main products (up to 75 %). Some functionally substituted hexaalkenylbenzene derivatives containing oxygen or sulfur atoms in each of their six arms have also been prepared (16 to 24 % yield). The sixfold coupling of the less sterically encumbered 2,3,6,7,10,11‐hexabromotriphenylene ( 24 ) gave the desired hexakis(3,3‐dimethyl‐1‐butenyl)triphenylene ( 25 ) in 93 % yield. The first successful cross‐coupling reaction of octabromonaphthalene ( 26 ) gave octakis‐(3,3‐dimethyl‐1‐butenyl)naphthalene ( 27 ) in 21 % yield. Crystal structure analyses disclose that, depending on the nature of the substituents, the six arms are positioned either all on the same side of the central benzene ring as in 1 a and 1 i , making them nicely cup‐shaped molecules, or alternatingly above and below the central plane as in 1 h and 23 . In 27 , the four arms at C‐1,4,6,7 are down, while the others are up, or vice versa. Upon catalytic hydrogenation, 1 a yielded 89 % of hexakis(tert‐butylethyl)benzene ( 23 ). Some efficient accesses to alkynes with sterically demanding substituents are also described. Elimination of phosphoric acid from the enol phosphate derived from the corresponding methyl ketones gave 1‐ethynyladamantane ( 3 b , 62 % yield), 1‐ethynyl‐1‐methylcyclohexane ( 3 c , 85 %) and 3,3‐dimethylpentyne ( 3 e , 65 %). 1‐(Trimethylsilyl)ethynylcyclopropane ( 7 ) was used to prepare 1‐ethynyl‐1‐methylcyclopropane ( 3 d ) (two steps, 64 % overall yield). The functionally substituted alkynes 3 f – h were synthesized in multistep sequences starting from the propargyl chloride 11 , which was prepared in high yields from the dimethylpropargyl alcohol 10 (94 %). The alkenylstannanes 19 were prepared by hydrostannation of the corresponding alkynes in moderate to high yields (42–97 %), and the alkenylboronates 2 and 4 by hydroboration with catecholborane (27–96 % yield) or pinacolborane (26–69 % yield).     

Gold(I)‐Catalyzed Diazo Cross‐Coupling: A Selective and Ligand‐Controlled Denitrogenation/Cyclization Cascade

An unprecedented gold‐catalyzed ligand‐controlled cross‐coupling of diazo compounds by sequential selective denitrogenation and cyclization affords N‐substituted pyrazoles in a position‐switchable mode. This novel transformation features selective decomposition of one diazo moiety and simultaneous preservation of the other one from two substrates. Notably, the choice of the ancillary ligand to the gold complex plays a pivotal role on the chemo‐ and regioselectivity of the reactions.     

A Metalloenzyme‐Like Catalytic System for the Chemoselective Oxidative Cross‐Coupling of Primary Amines to Imines under Ambient Conditions

The direct oxidative cross‐coupling of primary amines is a challenging transformation as homocoupling is usually preferred. We report herein the chemoselective preparation of cross‐coupled imines through the synergistic combination of low loadings of Cu^II metal‐catalyst and o‐iminoquinone organocatalyst under ambient conditions. This homogeneous cooperative catalytic system has been inspired by the reaction of copper amine oxidases, a family of metalloenzymes with quinone organic cofactors that mediate the selective oxidation of primary amines to aldehydes. After optimization, the desired cross‐coupled imines are obtained in high yields with broad substrate scope through a transamination process that leads to the homocoupled imine intermediate, followed by dynamic transimination. The ability to carry out the reactions at room temperature and with ambient air, rather than molecular oxygen as the oxidant, and equimolar amounts of each coupling partner is particularly attractive from an environmentally viewpoint.     

Addressing Challenges in Palladium‐Catalyzed Cross‐Coupling Reactions Through Ligand Design

The development of palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions has revolutionized the synthesis of organic molecules on both bench‐top and industrial scales. While significant research effort has been directed toward evaluating how modifying various reaction parameters can influence the outcome of a given cross‐coupling reaction, the design and implementation of novel ancillary ligand frameworks has played a particularly important role in advancing the state‐of‐the‐art. This Review seeks to highlight notable examples from the recent chemical literature, in which newly developed ancillary ligands have enabled more challenging substrate transformations to be addressed with greater selectivity and/or under increasingly mild conditions. Throughout, the importance and subtlety of ligand effects in palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reactions are described, in an effort to inspire further development and understanding within the field of ancillary ligand design.     

Significant Enhancement in the Efficiency and Selectivity of Iron‐Catalyzed Oxidative Cross‐Coupling of Phenols by Fluoroalcohols

Significant enhancement of both the rate and the chemoselectivity of iron‐catalyzed oxidative coupling of phenols can be achieved in fluorinated solvents, such as 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoropropan‐2‐ol (HFIP), 2,2,2‐trifluoroethanol (TFE), and 1‐phenyl‐2,2,2‐trifluoroethanol. The generality of this effect was examined for the cross‐coupling of phenols with arenes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and of phenol with β‐dicarbonyl compounds. The new conditions were utilized in the synthesis of 2′′′‐dehydroxycalodenin B in only four synthetic steps.     

Oxidative Interception of the Hydroamination Pathway: A Gold‐Catalyzed Diamination of Alkenes

A complimentary diamination of alkenes by using homogeneous gold catalysts is described. The reaction is one of very few examples of homogeneous gold oxidation catalysis and proceeds with high selectivity under mild conditions. Individual steps of the suggested catalytic cycle were investigated on isolated model gold complexes, and new pathways for gold‐catalyzed amination reactions were established. The key step is an intramolecular alkyl–nitrogen bond formation from a gold(III) intermediate. This process validates the concept of reductive elimination from high oxidation catalyst states for this type of C? N bond forming reactions.