Direct metal-free O-arylation of Biginelli 4-aryl-6-methyl-pyrimidine-2(1H)-one derivatives using diaryliodonium salts

4-Aryl-6-methyl-pyrimidine-2(1H)-one scaffolds of Biginelli type were subjected to C–O cross-coupling reactions using symmetrical diaryliodonium salts under transition metal-free conditions to afford 2-aryloxy pyrimidine derivatives in good to excellent yields.     

Transition metal-free amination of aryl halides—A simple and reliable method for the efficient and high-yielding synthesis of N-arylated amines

A simple and reliable reaction protocol for the clean, fast, and high-yielding synthesis of various N-arylated amines derived from reactions of aryl halides with various (also sterically hindered) amines under transition metal-free reaction conditions is presented. Dioxane and KN(Si(CH₃)₃)₂ were found to be the ideal solvent and base for this transformation. The conversion rates and yields observed are excellent and in the majority of the reactions performed significantly higher than that obtained in their catalyzed versions. Furthermore, the selective synthesis of 6-halopyridin-2-amines and asymmetric pyridine-2,6-diamines (derived from consecutive reactions of 2,6-dibromopyridine and 2,6-dichloropyridine, respectively, with different amines) is possible in almost quantitative yields (relative to 2,6-dihalopyridine) within very short reaction times. Purification of the 6-halopyridin-2-amine intermediates is not necessary, allowing the synthesis of pyridine-2,6-diamines in ‘one-pot’. However, catalysts are in many cases not required to efficiently and selectively couple aryl halides with amines, making transition metal-free versions of the Buchwald-Hartwig reaction extremely attractive for the synthesis of N-arylated amines with substrates containing substituents on the aryl halide, which either promote regioselectivity and/or do not require regioselective aminations.     

Base-catalyzed Schmittel cycloisomerization of o-phenylenediyne-linked bis(arenol)s to indeno[1,2-c]chromenes

We describe the transition metal-free base-catalyzed Schmittel cycloisomerization reactions of o-phenylene-linked bis(arenol)s to indeno[1,2-c]chromene derivatives through prototropic rearrangement (tautomerization) to a putative vinylidene o-quinone methide intermediate with an enyne-allene system followed by a formal inverse-electron-demand hetero Diels–Alder cycloaddition. The preliminary results on catalytic asymmetric cycloisomerization with chiral bases are also disclosed.     

Direct access to 1,4-benzothiazine 4,4-dioxides and 4-oxides via a domino reaction

The domino reactions of 2-fluoro benzensulfonyl acetonitrile and α-chloro oximes in the presence of Cs₂CO₃ in aprotic high boiling point solvents have been achieved to provide isoxazole?fused 4H-1,4-benzothiazine-4,4-dioxides via an unprecedented transition metal-free one-pot addition/cyclization process. The tunable synthesis of either isoxozolo-1,4-benzothiazin-4-oxides or their precursor 5-aminoisoxazoles can be controlled depending on the solvent selection. The observed products were characterized by means of (IR, ¹H, ¹³C NMR and HRMS) and physical methods.     

New routes for the synthesis of fused pyrrole scaffolds through transition metal-free tandem reactions

A series of transition metal-free tandem reactions for the synthesis of indolizines and 6,7-dihydroindolizin-8(5H)-ones by 4-bromobut-2-enoate ramifications reacted with 2-acetyl pyrrole derivatives are described. As the α-carbon changed from CH₃, CH₂Cl, CHCl₂, to CCl₃, different kinds of tandem reactions were observed. These tandem reactions could be used to synthesize fused indolizine and indolizidine scaffolds under mild and green conditions.     

Metal-free one-pot α-benzoxylation of benzylic alcohols with acids or aldehydes

A metal-free strategy has been developed for α-benzoxylation of benzylic alcohols with acids or aldehydes. The reaction proceeds via sequential oxidation and α-benzoxylation in one pot. Importantly, the reactions are performed in metal-free condition and utilize cheap aqueous TBHP as an oxidant, affording α-benzoxy ketones in moderate to good yields.     

Application of Metal-Free Dearomatization Reaction as a Sustainable Strategy to Direct Access Complex Cyclic Compounds

The highly efficient construction of complicated heterocyclic frameworks in an atom- and step-economic manner is still one of the cores of synthetic chemistry. Dearomatization reactions show the unique advantage for the construction of functionalized heterocycles and have attracted widespread attention over the past two decades. The metal-free approach has proved to be a green and sustainable paradigm for the synthesis of spirocyclic, polycyclic and heterocyclic scaffolds, which are widely present in natural products and bioactive molecules. In this review, the advances in the recent six years (2017–2023) in metal-free dearomatization reactions are highlighted. Emphasis is placed on developments in the field of organo-catalyzed dearomatization reactions, oxidative dearomatization reactions, Brønsted acid- or base-promoted dearomatization reactions, photoredox-catalyzed dearomatization reactions, and electrochemical oxidation dearomatization reactions.     

Semireduction of alkynoic acids via a transition metal-free α borylation-protodeborylation sequence

A method for the semi-reduction of alkynoic acids through an α-borylation and subsequent protodeborylation mechanism has been developed. The transition metal-free protocol is achieved through the activation of bis(pinacolato)diboron by an in situ generated carboxylate moiety yielding aryl acrylic acids. Our studies demonstrate an unprecedented dual role for the carboxylate anion that involves the activation of the diboron reagent and a directing effect in the α-borylation.     

Solvent- and transition metal-free synthesis of spiro[cyclopropane-1,3-oxindoles] from cyclic diazoamides

A highly efficient method to synthesize spiro[cyclopropane-1,3-oxindoles] from cyclic diazoamides and mono-substituted or 1,2-disubstituted alkenes under solvent- and transition metal-free conditions is reported. The reaction offers proficient access to synthetically useful and biologically important spiro[cyclopropane-1,3-oxindoles]. The advantageous features of this sustainable method are being metal-free, shorter reaction time, cost-effectiveness, eco-friendliness and excellent yields. The selectivity and yield are comparable with transition metal-catalyzed cyclopropanation reactions.     

Microwave-Assisted Post-Ugi Reactions for the Synthesis of Polycycles

Microwave irradiation and post-Ugi reactions own their respective advantages in comparison with other strategies. The combination of microwave irradiation and post-Ugi reactions shows paramount importance in the construction of polycycles. This minireview outlines the recent developments of microwave-assisted post-Ugi reactions for the synthesis of polycycles. Through transition metal-catalyzed or transition metal-free transformations, diverse polycycles are prepared in an efficient, rapid, and step-economical manner.     

Halodeboronation of organotrifluoroborates using tetrabutylammonium tribromide or cesium triiodide

Halodeboronation of organotrifluoroborates using commercially available tetrabutylammonium tribromide (TBATB) or cesium triiodide in aqueous medium is reported. The mild, transition metal-free method has proven to be tolerant of a wide range of functional groups. High regio- and chemoselectivity are observed. Two synthetic routes to (Z)-dibromoalkenes from alkynes, through stereodefined (Z)-2-bromoalkenyltrifluoroborates and (Z)-1,2-bis(boryl)alkenyltrifluoroborates, have been developed using the TBATB mediated bromodeboronation as the key step.     

Enantioselective one-carbon expansion of aromatic rings by simultaneous formation and chromoselective irradiation of a transient coloured enolate

Enantioenriched seven-membered carbocycles are motifs in many molecules of structural and biological interest. We report a simple, practical, transition metal-free and mechanistically unusual method for the enantioselective synthesis of substituted cycloheptatrienes. By forming a coloured enolate with an appropriate absorption band and selectively irradiating in situ, we to initiate a tandem, asymmetric anionic and photochemical ring expansion of readily accessible N-benzylbenzamides. The cascade of reactions leading to the products entails enantioselective benzylic deprotonation with a chiral lithium amide, dearomatizing cyclization of the resulting configurationally defined organolithium to give an extended amide enolate, and photochemically induced formal [1,7]-sigmatropic rearrangement and 6π-electrocyclic ring-opening – the latter all evidently being stereospecific – to deliver enantioenriched cycloheptatrienes with embedded benzylic stereocentres.

Irradiation of a mixture of aromatic amide and chiral base leads to a tandem reaction sequence in which dearomatization forms a chromophore capable of photochemical rearrangement leading to overall asymmetric expansion of the aromatic ring.     

Pyrimidine-directed metal-free C–H borylation of 2-pyrimidylanilines: a useful process for tetra-coordinated triarylborane synthesis

Convenient, easily handled, laboratory friendly, robust approaches to afford synthetically important organoboron compounds are currently of great interest to researchers. Among the various available strategies, a metal-free approach would be overwhelmingly accepted, since the target boron compounds can be prepared in a metal-free state. We herein present a detailed study of the metal-free directed ortho-C–H borylation of 2-pyrimidylaniline derivatives. The approach allowed us to synthesize various boronates, which are synthetically important compounds and various four-coordinated triarylborane derivatives, which could be useful in materials science as well as Lewis-acid catalysts. This metal-free directed C–H borylation reaction proceeds smoothly without any interference by external impurities, such as inorganic salts, reactive functionalities, heterocycles and even transition metal precursors, which further enhance its importance.

We present the metal-free ortho-C–H borylation of 2-pyrimidylanilines to afford synthetically important boronic esters and tetra-coordinated triarylboranes, which could be useful in materials science as well as Lewis-acid catalysts.     

Regioselective single-step synthesis of 2-aminoimidazole derivatives

A convenient single-step strategy for the regioselective assembly of 2-aminoimidazole derivatives is herein described. Through a transition metal-free domino addition/cyclization process, the reactions of unsymmetrical carbodiimides with propargylic amines mediated by Cs₂CO₃ selectively afforded the corresponding polysubstituted 2-aminoimidazoles in moderate to good yields under very mild conditions. The regioselectivity was reversed in the presence of TEA at a higher temperature. The obtained 2-(o-iodoaryl)amino imidazoles could be easily converted to 2-(2-biphenyl)amino imidazole, 2-(o-alkynylphenyl)amino imidazole, benzoimidazo[1,2-a]imidazole and N-(imidazol-2-yl)indole derivatives.     

Transition Metal-Free Synthesis of meta-Bromo- and meta-Trifluoromethylanilines from Cyclopentanones by a Cascade Reaction

Anilines are key constituents in biologically active compounds and often obtained from transition metal-catalyzed coupling of an aryl halide with an amine. In this work, we report a transition metal-free method for the synthesis of meta-bromo- and meta-trifluoromethylanilines starting from 3-tribromomethylcyclopentanone or 3-(2-bromo-2-chloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethyl)cyclopentanone, respectively. The scope of the transformation is shown by application of primary, secondary and aromatic amines. The reaction proceeds in acceptable to high yields (20–81 %), and allows for the synthesis of anilines with substitution patterns otherwise difficult to access.     

Bioorthogonal metal-free click-ligation of cRGD-pentapeptide to alginate

"Click" reactions have become very common and powerful ligation techniques, of which 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions have most frequently been employed. Since metal-mediated cycloadditions are incompatible in biomedical applications due to toxicity issues associated with transition metals like copper, metal-free variants provide important alternatives. The metal-free conjugation process is studied in detail with special emphasis put on the reaction progress. This report unfolds the first aqueous metal-free "click" conjugation of a cyclic RGD-pentapeptide with the biomacromolecule alginate, creating a "smart" bioactive polymer with potential applications in biomedicine.     

Blue light-promoted cyclopropenizations of N-tosylhydrazones in water

Carbene transfer reactions play an important role in the field of organic synthesis because of their ability to construct a variety of molecules. Herein, we reported on blue light-induced cyclopropenizations of N-tosylhydrazones in water, which avoids the use of expensive metal-based catalysts and toxic organic solvents. This metal-free and operationally simple methodology enable highly efficient cyclopropenizations, X-H insertion reactions, and cyclopropanation under mild reaction conditions.     

Mechanisms of antioxidant action: A photochemical study of transition metal dibutyl dithiocarbamates (and their photo-stabilizing role in a polyolefin matrix)

Solution photochemistry of some (N,N-di-n-butyldithiocarbamato) complexes and of the metal-free dithiocarbamate ligands has been used to investigate their role in the photo-oxidation of polyolefins. Transient absorption spectra were recorded for tetramethyl thiuram disulphide at around 600 and 400 nm, and for tetramethyl thiuram monosulphide which also shows an additional band at 350 nm. Kinetic analysis of the decay profiles showed the presence of two different species with first and second order kinetics for the 400 and 600 nm transients respectively. Tentatively, the 400 nm absorption was assigned to a triplet-triplet transition, while the 600 and 350 nm absorption regions were assigned to the dithiocarbamoyl and thiocarbamoyl radicals respectively. Spectrophotometric monitoring has shown that tetramethyl thiuram disulphide is formed during the process of photobleaching of the Fe(III) complex.     

Transition metal-free direct amination of benzoxazoles using formamides as nitrogen sources

A transition metal-free method for the direct amination of benzoxazoles using formamides as nitrogen sources is reported, which was mediated by an inexpensive and environmentally friendly tetrabutylammonium iodide/tert-butyl hydroperoxide system and gave the 2-aminobenzoxazole derivatives with moderate to good yields.     

A transition metal-free tandem process to pyrrolopyrazino[2,3-d]pyridazine-diones

A transition metal-free tandem process for the synthesis of pyrrolopyrazino[2,3-d]pyridazine-diones is described. The process is an efficient construction of this tricyclic system by a one-pot coupling/Smiles rearrangement/cyclization approach. This methodology has potential applications in the synthesis of biologically and medicinally relevant compounds.