Baylis-Hillman adducts in rhodium-catalyzed 1,4-additions: unusual reactivity

In the presence of a rhodium catalyst, unactivated Baylis-Hillman adducts reacted with arylboronic acids to afford trisubstituted alkenes with good yields. This highly efficient reaction (aerobic conditions, low temperature) is believed to proceeds via an unexpected mechanism involving 1,4-addition/beta-hydroxy elimination steps and not pi-allyl type rhodium intermediates.     

Rhodium Fluoroapatite Catalyzed Conjugate Addition of Arylboronic Acids to α,β‐Unsaturated Carbonyl Compounds

Rhodium fluoroapatite (RhFAP) is an efficient catalyst for conjugate addition of organoboron reagents to α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds. A variety of arylboronic acids and α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds were converted to the corresponding conjugate‐addition products, demonstrating the versatility of the reaction. The reaction is highly selective. RhFAP was recovered quantitatively by simple filtration, and reused for four cycles.     

Stereoselective and diversity-oriented synthesis of trisubstituted allylic alcohols and amines

Stereoselective and diversity-oriented synthesis of trisubstituted olefins was achieved by using ortho-diphenylphosphanyl benzoate (o-DPPB) as a directing group for allylic substitution. The starting point of this methodology was a set of α-methylene aldehydes derived from Baylis-Hillman adducts. Subsequent addition of different organometallic reagents led to a variety of allylic alcohol substrates. After introduction of the reagent-directing o-DPPB group, copper-mediated allylic substitution with a wide range of Grignard reagents enabled the stereoselective construction of a large number of E-configured trisubstituted allylic alcohols and amines in excellent yields and stereoselectivities. Remarkable is the synthetic flexibility, which allows a wide range of permutations starting from an aldehyde followed by successive introduction of the substituents R(2) and R(3) from organometallic Grignard based reagents. Thus, starting from only a few precursors, a diversity-oriented synthesis of stereodefined trisubstituted allylic alcohols and amines becomes possible.     

Palladium Catalysed Reactions of Baylis-Hillman Products: Synthesis of Some Useful Intermediates

Acetates derived from Baylis-Hillman products were reacted with sodio dimethyl (or diethyl) malonate under Pd(0) catalysis to form E olefins as the major products. Likewise, the Heck reaction with these acetates as well as with the corresponding alcohols form a variety of useful intermediates which include trisubstituted olefinic compounds and α-benzyl β-keto esters.

     

An efficient base-free N-arylation of imidazoles and amines with arylboronic acids using copper-exchanged fluorapatite

N-Arylation of imidazoles and amines with arylboronic acids was accomplished with copper-exchanged fluorapatite (CuFAP) in methanol at room temperature. The products N-arylimidazoles and N-arylamines were isolated in good to excellent yields. A variety of arylboronic acids were converted to the corresponding N-arylimidazoles and N-arylamines, demonstrating the versatility of the reaction.     

Synthesis of functionalized iodoalkenes using a multicomponent reaction triggered by electrophilic iodination of alkenyldiazoacetates

Diazo compounds are frequently used as precursors of metal carbenoids and act as soft nucleophiles even without the use of metal catalysts. The resulting diazonium species may also be trapped by various nucleophiles. The introduction of an iodine functionality applicable for the coupling reaction into an alkenyl diazo compound, however, has not been reported. We developed iodoalkoxylation reactions of alkenyl diazoacetates using an electrophilic iodinating reagent and oxygen nucleophile. This catalyst-free multicomponent reaction proceeded regioselectively, furnishing trisubstituted vinyl iodides in 31%–71% yield. The synthesized iodoalkenes were converted into the corresponding olefins with various functionalities in good yield via Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions with arylboronic acids under palladium catalysis to demonstrate the synthetic utility of the developed reaction sequence.     

Cu-catalyzed stereoselective conjugate addition of arylboronic acids to alkynoates

The CuOAc-catalyzed reaction of internal alkynoates with arylboronic acids proceeded under mild conditions to yield trisubstituted cinnamates stereoselectively.     

SmI2-mediated elimination reaction of Baylis-Hillman adducts controlled by temperature: a facile synthesis of trisubstituted alkenes and 1,5-hexadiene derivatives with E-stereoselectivity

Promoted by samarium diiodide, the Baylis-Hillman adducts undergo hydroxyl elimination to form trisubstituted alkenes with total (E)-stereoselectivity in good to excellent yields. The flexibility of this method also opens a new route to synthesize a class of 1,5-hexadiene derivatives by temperature tuning.     

Tetrasubstituted olefin synthesis via Pd-catalyzed addition of arylboronic acids to internal alkynes using O2 as an oxidant

The Pd(II)-catalyzed reaction of arylboronic acids and internal alkynes provides a convenient route to a wide variety of tetrasubstituted olefins. The reaction is conducted in DMSO using molecular O2 as an oxidant in the absence of any base. The reaction involves the cis addition of two aryl groups from the arylboronic acid to opposite ends of the triple bond of the internal alkyne. The synthesis tolerates a wide variety of functional groups, including alcohol, aldehyde, ester, TMS, and acetal groups. Electron-rich dialkylacetylenes, such as 4-octyne, provide highly substituted 1,3-dienes in moderate yields. The very mild O2/DMSO conditions also afford good to excellent yields of biaryls by the homocoupling of arylboronic acids.     

Chiral sulfoxide–olefin ligands: tunable stereoselectivity in Rh-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-additions

A class of chiral sulfoxide–olefins were designed and synthesized through concise routes. Their applications as ligands in Hayashi–Miyaura reaction were studied, which found that vinyl substituents of the ligands vary in stereocontrolling ability. Particularly, either isomer of adducts with excellent ees could be readily obtained through changing the position of the substituents of olefins as well as changing the configuration of the CC bond of the ligands. Meanwhile, the substrate scope of arylboronic acids and alkenes was clearly shown.     

IBX/LiBr-promoted one-pot oxidative anti-Markownikov bromohydroxylation/bromoalkoxylation of Baylis-Hillman olefins

The first example of one-pot oxidative anti-Markownikov bromohydroxylation and bromoalkoxylation of Baylis-Hillman (BH) adducts (olefins) is reported. The reaction is performed at rt using LiBr as the bromine source and 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX) as the oxidant. The process involves oxidation of BH adducts with IBX to give β-ketomethylene compounds in situ, which undergo highly regioselective vicinal functionalization with LiBr/H₂O or LiBr/ROH in the same vessel to afford α-bromo-β-hydroxy or α-bromo-β-alkoxy compounds, respectively, in excellent yields. The α-bromo-β-hydroxy compounds are readily transformed into epoxides in aq NaOH.     

Synthesis of monocarbenepalladium(0) complexes and their catalytic behavior in cross-coupling reactions of aryldiazonium salts

The first monocarbenepalladium(0) complexes with benzoquinone and naphthoquinone as additional ligands have been prepared. As demonstrated by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray analysis, the complexes show a unique coordination mode giving quinone-bridged dimers. The monocarbenepalladium(0) complexes allow efficient cross-coupling reactions of aryldiazonium salts with olefins (Heck reaction) and arylboronic acids (Suzuki reaction).     

A facile one-pot stereoselective synthesis of trisubstituted (E)-2-methylalk-2-enoic acids from unactivated Baylis-Hillman adducts and a simple access to some important insect pheromones

An efficient one-pot stereoselective synthesis of trisubstituted (E)-2-methylalk-2-enoic acids has been accomplished by treatment of unactivated Baylis-Hillman adducts, 3-hydroxy-2-methylenealkanoates, with Al-NiCl₂·6H₂O in methanol at room temperature followed by hydrolysis. The method has been applied to the synthesis of three important insect pheromones, (4S,2E)-2,4-dimethyl-2-hexenoic acid, (+)-(S)-manicone and (+)-(S)-normanicone.     

Steric factors direct Baylis-Hillman and aldol reactions in titanium tetrachloride mediated coupling between alpha-keto esters and cyclohex-2-enone derivatives

The titanium tetrachloride mediated reaction of alpha-keto esters with 5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-enone provides the corresponding Baylis-Hillman adducts exclusively whereas a similar reaction of alpha-keto esters with cyclohex-2-enone furnishes the corresponding aldol adducts (with high syn-diasteroeselectivity) as the major product (along with the Baylis-Hillman adducts as the minor product), thus clearly demonstrating the role of the steric factors in directing the reaction pathway.     

Baylis-Hillman adducts between pyridine carboxaldehyde derivatives and cyclic enones

Baylis-Hillman (BH) adducts were synthesized using pyridinecarboxaldehyde derivatives and cyclic enones. The Baylis-Hillman reaction was examined by employing various organic tertiary bases and solvents. It was observed that DBU in MeOH as well as imidazole and N-methylimidazole in aqueous MeOH are very effective. These pyridinecarboxaldehydes were reactive and efficient towards the Baylis-Hillman reaction and the resulting adducts are highly stable. The crystal structure for one of the BH adducts was determined.     

The first ligand-modulated oxidative Heck vinylation. Efficient catalysis with molecular oxygen as palladium(0) oxidant

The discovery of the first ligand-supported Pd(ii) catalysed oxidative Heck reaction with molecular oxygen as reoxidant and the scope with diverse arylboronic acids and olefins using only 1-2% of catalyst are reported.     

Efficient palladium(II) catalysis under air. Base-free oxidative heck reactions at room temperature or with microwave heating

Scope and limitations of the base-free oxidative Heck reaction with arylboronic acids have been explored. Under our conditions, the dmphen-palladium(II)-catalyzed arylation proceeded with air or p-benzoquinone as reoxidants of palladium(0). We found that ambient temperature and mild aerobic conditions allow for the use of substrates sensitive to palladium(II)-catalyzed oxidation. Oxidative Heck couplings, employing different arylboronic acids, were smoothly and regioselectively conducted with both electron-rich and electron-poor olefins, providing high yields even with disubstituted butyl methacrylate, sensitive acrolein, and a vinylboronate ester. Controlled microwave processing was used to reduce reaction times from hours to minutes both in small scale and in 50 mmol scale batch processes.     

Nonenzymatic acylative kinetic resolution of Baylis-Hillman adducts

The first efficient nonenzymatic acylative kinetic resolution of Baylis-Hillman adducts is reported. Chiral pyridine catalyst 1a and an optimized analogue 1e are capable of promoting the synthetically useful enantioselective acylation (the efficiency of which is outstanding for sp(2)-sp(2) carbinol substrates, s = 3.5-13.1, ee up to 97%) of Baylis-Hillman adducts derived from recalcitrant precursors which are currently difficult to synthesize utilizing benchmark asymmetric Baylis-Hillman reaction catalyst technology. A novel one-pot synthesis-kinetic resolution process involving a DBU-catalyzed Baylis-Hillman reaction and subsequent 1e/DBU-mediated enantioselective acylation has also been developed.     

Reaction between N-alkylhydroxylamines and chiral enoate esters: more experimental evidence for a cycloaddition-like process, a rationale based on DFT theoretical calculations, and stereoselective synthesis of new enantiopure beta-amino acids

The reactions between N-benzyl- and N-methylhydroxylamine and chiral enoate esters, derived from D-glyceraldehyde and (-)-verbenone, respectively, have been investigated. Theoretical calculations show that the most favorable mechanism involves the concerted cycloaddition of the hydroxylamine to the substrate. This result is in good agreement with the stereospecificity observed when the trisubstituted olefins are used. The open-chain adducts have been isolated when the processes are carried out at low temperatures and for short reaction times. These compounds evolve to the corresponding isoxazolidinones on standing at room temperature or under acid catalysis. The high pi-facial diastereoselection has been rationalized on the basis of steric effects induced by the dioxolane ring for D-glyceraldehyde derivatives or by the cyclobutane gem-dimethyl substitution for esters prepared from (-)-verbenone. As an application of these reactions, new beta-amino acids have been synthesized in a highly efficient and stereocontrolled manner.     

Silver(I)‐Catalyzed Enantioselective [3+2]‐Cycloaddition Reaction of α‐Silylimines: A Facile Route to Quaternary‐Carbon‐Rich Scaffolds

A silver‐catalyzed highly enantioselective 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition reaction of α‐silylimines with pyrone‐based trisubstituted olefins was developed affording bi‐ and tricyclic α‐quaternary‐carbon‐rich pyrano‐pyrrolidines in excellent yields. The tricyclic benzopyrone adducts thus obtained were efficiently transformed into highly complex tetracyclic scaffolds supporting four consecutive stereogenic centers with three quaternary carbons.