Catalytic 1,4‐Rhodium(III) Migration Enables 1,3‐Enynes to Function as One‐Carbon Oxidative Annulation Partners in C?H Functionalizations

1,3‐Enynes containing allylic hydrogens cis to the alkyne are shown to act as one‐carbon partners, rather than two‐carbon partners, in various rhodium‐catalyzed oxidative annulations. The mechanism of these unexpected transformations is proposed to occur through double C H activation, involving a hitherto rare example of the 1,4‐migration of a Rh^III species. This phenomenon is general across a variety of substrates, and provides a diverse range of heterocyclic products.     

Cascade Mn‐Mediated γ‐Alkylation/oxa‐Michael Addition of Enones with 1,3‐Dicarbonyls

A radical‐based strategy for regioselective γ‐C?C bond formation/oxa‐conjugate addition, forming the tetrahydrobenzofuran core common to many bioactive natural products is described. The technique utilizes readily available enone derivatives and 1,3‐dicarbonyl compounds as coupling partners in an oxidative formal [3+2] cycloaddition mediated by Mn^III. The transformation delivers polycyclic products in good yields and proceeds with complete regiocontrol and excellent stereoselectivity. Sterically encumbered substrates are notably well‐tolerated and bond formation occurs readily to form neopentyl and all‐carbon quaternary centers in good yields. Several stereo‐ and chemoselective transformations of the products are described.     

Enantioselective Construction of α‐Chiral Silanes by Nickel‐Catalyzed C(sp3)−C(sp3) Cross‐Coupling

An enantioselective C(sp³)?C(sp³) cross‐coupling of racemic α‐silylated alkyl iodides and alkylzinc reagents is reported. The reaction is catalyzed by NiCl₂/(S,S)‐Bn‐Pybox and yields α‐chiral silanes with high enantiocontrol. The catalyst system does not promote the cross‐coupling of the corresponding carbon analogue, corroborating the stabilizing effect of the silyl group on the alkyl radical intermediate (α‐silicon effect). Both coupling partners can be, but do not need to be, functionalized, and hence, even α‐chiral silanes with no functional group in direct proximity of the asymmetrically substituted carbon atom become accessible. This distinguishes the new method from established approaches for the synthesis of α‐chiral silanes.     

Regio‐ and Enantioselective Rhodium‐Catalyzed Addition of 1,3‐Diketones to Allenes: Construction of Asymmetric Tertiary and Quaternary All Carbon Centers

An unprecedented highly regio‐ and enantioselective rhodium‐catalyzed addition of 1,3‐diketones to terminal and 1,1‐disubstituted allenes furnishing asymmetric tertiary and quaternary all‐carbon centers is reported. By applying a Rh^I/phosphoramidite/TFA catalytic system under mild conditions, the desired chiral branched α‐allylated 1,3‐diketones could be obtained in good to excellent yields, with perfect regioselectivity and in high enantioselectivity. The reaction shows a broad functional‐group tolerance on both reaction partners highlighting its synthetic potential.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Carbonylative α‐Arylation to β‐Ketonitriles

A carbonylative α‐arylation process employing unactivated nitriles for the first time is described. The reaction tolerates a range of (hetero)aryl iodides and several nitrile coupling partners. No prefunctionalization of the nitriles is necessary and the resulting β‐ketonitriles are obtained in good to excellent yields. The methodology also allows for a convenient ¹³C‐labelling of the generated carbonyl moiety.     

Tetramethyl‐m‐benziporphodimethene and Isomeric α,β‐Unsaturated γ‐Lactam Embedded N‐Confused Tetramethyl‐m‐benziporphodimethenes

The condensation reaction of α,α′‐dihydroxy‐1,3‐diisopropylbenzene, pyrrole, and an aldehyde leads to the formation of tetramethyl‐m‐benziporphodimethene and outer α‐pyrrolic carbon oxygenated N‐confused tetramethyl‐m‐benziporphodimethenes containing a γ‐lactam ring in the macrocycle. Two isomers with the carbonyl group of the lactam ring either close to (O‐Up) or away from (O‐Down) the neighboring sp³ meso carbon were synthesized and characterized. The single crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis on the regular and γ‐lactam containing tetramethyl‐m‐benziporphodimethenes showed highly distorted macrocycles for all compounds. For O‐Up and O‐Down isomers, dimeric structures, assembling by intermolecular hydrogen‐bonding interactions through lactam rings, were observed in the solid state. Fitting the concentration dependent chemical shifts of the outer NH proton using the non‐linear regression method give a maximum association constant of 108.9 M ^?1 for the meso 4‐methylcarboxyphenyl substituted O‐Down isomer. The DFT calculations concluded that the O‐Up isomer is energetically more stable, and the keto form is more stable than the enol form.     

Phosphine‐Catalyzed Enantioselective γ‐Addition of 3‐Substituted Oxindoles to 2,3‐Butadienoates and 2‐Butynoates: Use of Prochiral Nucleophiles

The first phosphine‐catalyzed enantioselective γ‐addition with prochiral nucleophiles and 2,3‐butadienoates as the reaction partners has been developed. Both 3‐alkyl‐ and 3‐aryl‐substituted oxindoles could be employed in this process, which is catalyzed by a chiral phosphine that is derived from an amino acid, thus affording oxindoles that bear an all‐carbon quaternary center at the 3‐position in high yields and excellent enantioselectivity. The synthetic value of these γ‐addition products was demonstrated by the formal total synthesis of two natural products and by the preparation of biologically relevant molecules and structural scaffolds.     

Synthesis and NMR characterization of 6‐Phenyl‐6‐deoxy‐2,3‐di‐O‐methylcellulose

Cellulose ( 1 ) was converted for the first time to 6‐phenyl‐6‐deoxy‐2,3‐di‐O‐methylcellulose ( 6 ) in 33% overall yield. Intermediates in the five‐step conversion of 1 to­ 6 were: 6‐O‐tritylcellulose ( 2 ), 6‐O‐trityl‐2,3‐di‐O‐methylcellulose ( 3 ), 2,3‐di‐O‐methylcellulose ( 4 ); and 6‐bromo‐6‐deoxy‐2,3‐di‐O‐methylcellulose ( 5 ). Elemental and quantitative carbon‐13 analyses were concurrently used to verify and confirm the degrees of substitution in each new polymer. Gel permeation chromotography (GPC) data were generated to monitor the changes in molecular weight (DP_w) as the synthesis progressed, and the compound average decrease in cellulose DP_w was ～ 27%. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the decomposition of all polymers. The degradation temperatures ( °C) and percent char at 500 °C of cellulose derivatives 2 to 6 were 308.6 and 6.3%, 227.6 °C and 9.7%, 273.9 °C and 30.2%, 200.4 °C and 25.6%, and 207.2 °C and 27.0%, respectively. The glass transition temperature (T_g) of­6‐O‐tritylcellulose by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) occurred at 126.7 °C and the modulus (E′, Pa) dropped 8.9 fold in the transition from ?150 °C to + 180 °C (6.6 × 10⁹ to 7.4 × 10⁸ Pa). Modulus at 20 °C was 3.26 × 10⁹ Pa. Complete proton and carbon‐13 chemical shift assignments of the repeating unit of the title polymer were made by a combination of the HMQC and COSY NMR methods. Ultimate non‐destructive proof of carbon–carbon bond formation at C6 of the anhydroglucose moiety was established by generating correlations between resonances of CH₂6 (anhydroglucose) and C1′, H2′, and H6′ of the attached aryl ring using the heteronuclear multiple‐bond correlation (HMBC) method. In this study, we achieved three major objectives: (a) new methodologies for the chemical modification of cellulose were developed; (b) new cellulose derivatives were designed, prepared and characterized; (c) unequivocal structural proof for carbon–carbon bond formation with cellulose was derived non‐destructively by use of one‐ and two‐dimensional NMR methods. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stereoselective Synthesis of Trisubstituted Alkenes through Sequential Iron‐Catalyzed Reductive anti‐Carbozincation of Terminal Alkynes and Base‐Metal‐Catalyzed Negishi Cross‐Coupling

The stereoselective synthesis of trisubstituted alkenes is challenging. Here, we show that an iron‐catalyzed anti‐selective carbozincation of terminal alkynes can be combined with a base‐metal‐catalyzed cross‐coupling to prepare trisubstituted alkenes in a one‐pot reaction and with high regio‐ and stereocontrol. Cu‐, Ni‐, and Co‐based catalytic systems are developed for the coupling of sp‐, sp²‐, and sp³‐hybridized carbon electrophiles, respectively. The method encompasses a large substrate scope, as various alkynyl, aryl, alkenyl, acyl, and alkyl halides are suitable coupling partners. Compared with conventional carbometalation reactions of alkynes, the current method avoids pre‐made organometallic reagents and has a distinct stereoselectivity.     

Linear Free‐Energy Relationships Applied to the 13C NMR Chemical Shifts in 4‐Substituted N‐[1‐(Pyridine‐3‐ and ‐4‐yl)ethylidene]anilines

Two series of 4‐substituted N‐[1‐(pyridine‐3‐ and ‐4‐yl)ethylidene]anilines have been synthesized using different methods of conventional and microwave‐assisted synthesis, and linear free‐energy relationships have been applied to the ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of the carbon atoms of interest. The substituent‐induced chemical shifts have been analyzed using single substituent parameter and dual substituent parameter methods. The presented correlations describe satisfactorily the field and resonance substituent effects having similar contributions for C1 and the azomethine carbon, with exception of the carbon atom in para position to the substituent X. In both series, negative ρ values have been found for C1′ atom (reverse substituent effect). Quantum chemical calculations of the optimized geometries at MP2/6‐31G++(d,p) level, together with ¹³C NMR chemical shifts, give a better insight into the influence of the molecular conformation on the transmission of electronic substituent effects. The comparison of correlation results for different series of imines with phenyl, 4‐nitrophenyl, 2‐pyridyl, 3‐pyridyl, 4‐pyridyl group attached at the azomethine carbon with the results for 4‐substituted N‐[1‐(pyridine‐3‐ and ‐4‐yl)ethylidene]anilines for the same substituent set (X) indicates that a combination of the influences of electronic effects of the substituent X and the π₁‐unit can be described as a sensitive balance of different resonance structures.     

Ligand‐Enabled β‐Methylene C(sp3)−H Arylation of Masked Aliphatic Alcohols

Despite recent advances, reactivity and site‐selectivity remain significant obstacles for the practical application of C(sp³)?H bond functionalization methods. Here, we describe a system that combines a salicylic‐aldehyde‐derived L,X‐type directing group with an electron‐deficient 2‐pyridone ligand to enable the β‐methylene C(sp³)?H arylation of aliphatic alcohols, which has not been possible previously. Notably, this protocol is compatible with heterocycles embedded in both alcohol substrates and aryl coupling partners. A site‐ and stereo‐specific annulation of dihydrocholesterol and the synthesis of a key intermediate of englitazone illustrate the practicality of this method.     

Synthesis and biological activity of O,O′‐dialkyl‐5‐aryl‐1‐hydroxy‐2E,4E‐pentadienylphosphonates

A series of O,O‐dialkyl‐5‐aryl‐1‐hydroxy‐2E,4E‐pentadienylphosphonates with structures similar to that of abscisic acid were synthesized by the reactions of dialkyl phosphites with 5‐aryl‐2E,4E‐pentadienaldehydes. The structures of all new compounds have been confirmed by ¹H NMR, ³¹P NMR, and IR spectroscopy and by elemental analysis or MS. The configurations of carbon‐carbon double bonds were determined by X‐ray diffraction analyses. The bioassays showed that some of these compounds exhibit inhibitory activity on the elongation of wheat coleoptile. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 11:303–307, 2000     

Enantioselective Rhodium‐Catalyzed Cycloisomerization of (E)‐1,6‐Enynes

An enantioselective rhodium(I)‐catalyzed cycloisomerization reaction of challenging (E)‐1,6‐enynes is reported. This novel process enables (E)‐1,6‐enynes with a wide range of functionalities, including nitrogen‐, oxygen‐, and carbon‐tethered (E)‐1,6‐enynes, to undergo cycloisomerization with excellent enantioselectivity, in a high‐yielding and operationally simple manner. Moreover, this Rh^I‐diphosphane catalytic system also exhibited superior reactivity and enantioselectivity for (Z)‐1,6‐enynes. A rationale for the striking reactivity difference between (E)‐ and (Z)‐1,6‐enynes using Rh^I‐BINAP and Rh^I‐TangPhos is outlined using DFT studies to provide the necessary insight for the design of new catalyst systems and the application to synthesis.     

Oxidative β‐Csp3−H Functionalization of tBuOH: A Selective Radical/Radical Cross‐Coupling Access to β‐Hydroxy Thioethers

An oxidative β‐Csp³?H functionalization of tert‐butanol (tBuOH) for the construction of C?S bonds through an iodine‐catalyzed Csp³?H/S?H coupling was successfully achieved. Different kinds of mercaptans were shown to be good coupling partners, affording the desired products in good yields. This protocol not only offers a novel method for the synthesis of β‐hydroxy thioethers, but also provides an effective strategy for selective radical/radical cross‐coupling.     

Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Capsules via Poly(ionic liquid)‐Based Layer‐by‐Layer Assembly

Layer‐by‐layer (LbL) assembly technique is applied for the first time for the preparation of nitrogen‐doped carbon capsules. This approach uses colloid silica as template and two polymeric deposition components, that is, poly(ammonium acrylate) and a poly (ionic liquid) poly(3‐cyanomethyl‐1‐vinylimidazolium bromide), which acts as both the carbon precursor and nitrogen source. Nitrogen‐doped carbon capsules are prepared successfully by polymer wrapping, subsequent carbonization and template removal. The as‐synthesized carbon capsules contain ≈7 wt% of nitrogen and have a structured specific surface area of 423 m² g⁻¹. Their application as supercapacitor has been briefly introduced. This work proves that LbL assembly methodology is available for preparing carbon structures of complex morphology.     

Gas permeability and n‐butane solubility of poly(1‐trimethylgermyl‐1‐propyne)

The gas permeability and n‐butane solubility in glassy poly(1‐trimethylgermyl‐1‐propyne) (PTMGP) are reported. As synthesized, the PTMGP product contains two fractions: (1) one that is insoluble in toluene and soluble only in carbon disulfide (the toluene‐insoluble polymer) and (2) one that is soluble in both toluene and carbon disulfide (the toluene‐soluble polymer). In as‐cast films, the gas permeability and n‐butane solubility are higher in films prepared from the toluene‐soluble polymer (particularly in those films cast from toluene) than in films prepared from the toluene‐insoluble polymer and increase to a maximum in both fractions after methanol conditioning. For example, in as‐cast films prepared from carbon disulfide, the oxygen permeability at 35 °C is 330 × 10^?10 cm³ (STP) cm/(cm² s cmHg) for the toluene‐soluble polymer and 73 × 10^?10 cm³ (STP) cm/(cm² s cmHg) for the toluene‐insoluble polymer. After these films are conditioned in methanol, the oxygen permeability increases to 5200 × 10^?10 cm³ (STP) cm/(cm² s cmHg) for the toluene‐soluble polymer and 6200 × 10^?10 cm³ (STP) cm/(cm² s cmHg) for the toluene‐insoluble polymer. The rankings of the fractional free volume and nonequilibrium excess free volume in the various PTMGP films are consistent with the measured gas permeability and n‐butane solubility values. Methanol conditioning increases gas permeability and n‐butane solubility of as‐cast PTMGP films, regardless of the polymer fraction type and casting solvent used, and minimizes the permeability and solubility differences between the various films (i.e., the permeability and solubility values of all conditioned PTMGP films are similar). © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 2228–2236, 2002     

Electrophilic Reactivities of 1,2‐Diaza‐1,3‐dienes

The kinetics of the reactions of 1,2‐diaza‐1,3‐dienes 1 with acceptor‐substituted carbanions 2 have been studied at 20 °C. The reactions follow a second‐order rate law, and can be described by the linear free energy relationship log k(20 °C)=s(N+E) [Eq. (1)]. With Equation (1) and the known nucleophile‐specific parameters N and s for the carbanions, the electrophilicity parameters E of the 1,2‐diaza‐1,3‐dienes 1 were determined. With E parameters in the range of ?13.3 to ?15.4, the electrophilic reactivities of 1 a–d are comparable to those of benzylidenemalononitriles, 2‐benzylideneindan‐1,3‐diones, and benzylidenebarbituric acids. The experimental second‐order rate constants for the reactions of 1 a – d with amines 3 and triarylphosphines 4 agreed with those calculated from E, N, and s, indicating the applicability of the linear free energy relationship [Eq. (1)] for predicting potential nucleophilic reaction partners of 1,2‐diaza‐1,3‐dienes 1 . Enamines 5 react up to 10² to 10³ times faster with compounds 1 than predicted by Equation (1), indicating a change of mechanism, which becomes obvious in the reactions of 1 with enol ethers.     

Synthesis of [1,2‐a] benzimidazolo‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2‐thione, [1,2‐a] benzimidazolo‐1,3,5‐thiadiazin‐2‐thione, [1,2‐a] benzimidazolo‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2‐amine,and [1,2‐a] benzimidazol‐2‐yl amidrazone

N‐benzimidazol‐2‐yl imidate type 1 reacts with thiourea, carbon disulfide, cyanamide, and hydrazide to give, respectively, [1,2‐a] benzimidazolo‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2‐thione 2 , [1,2‐a] benzimidazolo‐1,3,5‐thiadiazin‐2‐thione 3 , [1,2‐a] benzimidazolo‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2‐amine 4 , and [1,2‐a] benzimidazol‐2‐yl amidrazone 5 with good yields. Structures elucidation of all newly synthesized heterocyclic compounds was based on the data of IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, elemental analysis, and MS of some products. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 21:279–283, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/hc.20618     

Cobalt‐Catalyzed C8‐Dienylation of Quinoline‐N‐Oxides

An efficient Cp*Co^III‐catalyzed C8‐dienylation of quinoline‐N‐oxides was achieved by employing allenes bearing leaving groups at the α‐position as the dienylating agents. The reaction proceeds by Co^III‐catalyzed C?H activation of quinoline‐N‐oxides and regioselective migratory insertion of the allene followed by a β‐oxy elimination, leading to overall dienylation. Site‐selective C?H activation was achieved with excellent selectivity under mild reaction conditions, and 30 mol % of a NaF additive was found to be crucial for the efficient dienylation. The methodology features high stereoselectivity, mild reaction conditions, and good functional‐group tolerance. C8‐alkenylation of quinoline‐N‐oxides was achieved in the case of allenes devoid of leaving groups as coupling partners. Furthermore, gram‐scale preparation and preliminary mechanistic experiments were carried out to gain insights into the reaction mechanism.     

Arginine‐Facilitated α‐ and π‐Radical Migrations in Glycylarginyltryptophan Radical Cations

We have used model tripeptides GXW (with X being one of the amino acid residues glycine (G), alanine (A), leucine (L), phenylalanine (F), glutamic acid (E), histidine (H), lysine (K), or arginine (R)) to study the effects of the basicity of the amino acid residue on the radical migrations and dissociations of odd‐electron molecular peptide radical cations M^.+ in the gas phase. Low‐energy collision‐induced dissociation (CID) experiments revealed that the interconvertibility of the isomers [G^.XW]⁺ (radical centered on the N‐terminal α‐carbon atom) and [GXW]^.+ (radical centered on the π system of the indolyl ring) generally increased upon increasing the proton affinity of residue X. When X was arginine, the most basic amino acid, the two isomers were fully interconvertible and produced almost identical CID spectra despite the different locations of their initial radical sites. The presence of the very basic arginine residue allowed radical migrations to proceed readily among the [G^.RW]⁺ and [GRW]^.+ isomers prior to their dissociations. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the energy barriers for isomerizations among the α‐carbon‐centered radical [G^.RW]⁺, the π‐centered radical [GRW]^.+, and the β‐carbon‐centered radical [GRW_β^.]⁺ (ca. 32–36 kcal mol⁻¹) were comparable with those for their dissociations (ca. 32–34 kcal mol⁻¹). The arginine residue in these GRW radical cations tightly sequesters the proton, thereby resulting in minimal changes in the chemical environment during the radical migrations, in contrast to the situation for the analogous GGW system, in which the proton is inefficiently stabilized during the course of radical migration.