Study on the reactions of ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxobutanoate with arylidenemalononitriles

In the presence of a catalytic amount of NEt₃, ethyl 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-oxobutanoate 1 reacted readily with arylidenemalononitriles 2 in ethanol at room temperature. It gave two products 2-trifluoromethyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyran derivatives 3 and 2-(trifluoromethyl)piperidine derivatives 4, the ratio of 3 and 4 was depended on the substrates 2 and reaction solvents. Reflux of the ethanol solution of 4 with a catalytic amount of NEt₃ afforded 2-trifluoromethyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridine derivatives 5 in moderate to good yields. The structures of new compounds 3, 4 and 5 were determined by spectral methods, microanalysis and X-ray diffraction analysis. A possible reaction mechanism for the formation of 3, 4 and 5 was presented.     

Domino allylation and cyclization of ortho-alkynylbenzaldehydes with allyltrimethylsilane catalyzed by Pd(II)-Cu(II) bimetallic systems

The reaction of ortho-alkynylated benzaldehydes 1 with allyltrimethylsilane under the Pd(OAc)₂-CuCl₂ catalyst system gave the isochromene derivatives 2 together with the chlorinated products 3. When the reaction was conducted in the presence of half equiv of H₂O, the formation of 3 was suppressed and 2 was obtained in good to high yields. When the reaction of 1a was carried out with trimethylsilylcyanide instead of allylsilane, the cyano group-substituted isochromene 9 was obtained in 94% yield.     

Comparison of the electrophilic and free-radical addition of halogens with hexafluoro-1,3-butadiene and 1,3-butadiene

Ionic and photochemical reaction of chlorine (Cl₂), bromine (Br₂) and iodine monochloride (ICl) to hexafluoro-1,3-butadiene (1) and 1,3-butadiene (2) were carried out under conditions that would provide product distributions under controlled ionic or free-radical conditions. Product distributions for ionic reaction of Cl₂ and Br₂ with 1 are similar and suggest a weakly-bridged halonium ion species. Theoretical calculations support weakly-bridged chloronium and bromonium ions for both dienes 1 and 2. There are more of the 1,4-dihalo-2-butene products from ionic halogenation of 1 than 2 which correlates with the greater charge density on carbon-4 of halonium ions from 1. Ionic and free-radical reactions of ICl with 1 give 8 and 2% of 3-chloro-4-iodohexafluoro-1-butene and 4-chloro-3-iodohexafluoro-1-butene, respectively. The minor cis-1,4-dihalo-2-butene products from 1 and 2 are reported when formed.     

Platinum-catalyzed double silylations of alkynes with bis(dichlorosilyl)methanes

Bis(dichlorosilyl)methanes 1 undergo the two kind reactions of a double hydrosilylation and a dehydrogenative double silylation with alkynes 2 such as acetylene and activated phenyl-substituted acetylenes in the presence of Speier’s catalyst to give 1,1,3,3-tetrachloro-1,3-disilacyclopentanes 3 and 1,1,3,3-tetrachloro-1,3-disilacyclopent-4-enes 4 as cyclic products, respectively, depending upon the molecular structures of both bis(dichlorosilyl)methanes (1) and alkynes (2). Simple bis(dichlorosilyl)methane (1a) reacted with alkynes [R¹-CC-R²: R¹ = H, R² = H (2a), Ph (2b); R¹ = R² = Ph (2c)] at 80 °C to afford 1,1,3,3-tetrachloro-1,3-disilacyclopentanes 3 as the double hydrosilylation products in fair to good yields (33-84%). Among these reactions, the reaction with 2c gave a trans-4,5-diphenyl-1,1,3,3-tetrachloro-1,3-disilacyclopentane 3ac in the highest yield (84%). When a variety of bis(dichlorosilyl)(silyl)methanes [(Me_nCl_3 − nSi)CH(SiHCl₂)₂: n = 0 (1b), 1 (1c), 2 (1d), 3 (1e)] were applied in the reaction with alkyne (2c) under the same reaction conditions. The double hydrosilylation products, 2-silyl-1,1,3,3-tetrachloro-1,3-disilacyclopentanes (3), were obtained in fair to excellent yields (38-98%). The yields of compound 3 deceased as follows: n = 1 > 2 > 3 > 0. The reaction of alkynes (2a-c) with 1c under the same conditions gave one of two type products of 1,1,3,3-tetrachloro-1,3-disilacyclopentanes 3 and 1,1,3,3-tetrachloro-1,3-disilacyclopent-4-enes (4): simple alkyne 2a and terminal 2b gave the latter products 4ca and 4cb in 91% and 57% yields, respectively, while internal alkyne 2c afforded the former cyclic products 3cc with trans form between two phenyl groups at the 3- and 4-carbon atoms in 98% yield, respectively. Among platinum compounds such as Speier’s catalyst, PtCl₂(PEt₃)₂, Pt(PPh₃)₂(C₂H₄), Pt(PPh₃)₄, Pt[ViMeSiO]₄, and Pt/C, Speier’s catalyst was the best catalyst for such silylation reactions.     

Synthesis of polyfunctionalized furans from 3-acetyl-1-aryl-2-pentene-1,4-diones

The BF₃-catalyzed cyclization of 3-acetyl-1-aryl-2-pentene-1,4-diones 1a-e in the presence of water in boiling tetrahydrofuran gave bis(3-acetyl-5-aryl-2-furyl)methanes 2a-e in 26-79% yields along with a small amount of 3-acetyl-5-aryl-2-methylfurans 3a-e. The exact structure of 2a was determined by X-ray crystallography. The use of a half volume of the solvent for the reaction of 1a resulted in the formation of 2,4-bis(3-acetyl-5-phenyl-2-furfuryl)-3-acetyl-5-phenylfuran (4) together with 2a and 3a. A similar reaction of 1a was carried out in the presence of 3-acetyl-5-(4-methylphenyl)-2-methylfuran (3d) to afford 4-(3-acetyl-5-phenyl-2-furfuryl)-3-acetyl-5-(4-methylphenyl)-2-methylfuran (5) in 49% yield. The BF₃-catalyzed reaction of 1a with 2,4-pentanedione in dry tetrahydrofuran at 23°C gave 3-(3-acetyl-5-phenyl-2-furfuryl)-4-hydroxy-3-penten-2-one (6a) and 3-(3-acetyl-2-methyl-4-phenyl-5-furyl)-4-hydroxy-3-penten-2-one (7a) in 66 and 24% yields, respectively. The product distribution depended on the reaction temperature. A similar reaction of 1b-e also yielded the corresponding trisubstituted furans 6b-e and tetrasubstituted furans 7b-e in good yields. These results suggested the presence of the furfuryl carbocation intermediate A during the reaction. The one-pot synthesis of 6a and 7a was also achieved by a similar reaction using phenylglyoxal. The deoxygenation of 1a with triphenylphosphine gave 3a in 88% yield, while 1a was treated with concentrated hydrochloric acid to yield 3-acetyl-2-chloromethyl-5-phenylfuran (8) which was quantitatively transformed in ethanol into 3-acetyl-2-ethoxymethyl-5-phenylfuran (9) and in water into 3-acetyl-5-phenylfurfuryl alcohol (10), respectively. In addition, the Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopantadiene with 1a gave the corresponding [4+2] cycloaddition products 11 and 12.     

Effect of chain length on the formation of intramolecular and intermolecular products: Reaction of diols with cyclotriphosphazene

The reactions of cyclotriphosphazene, N₃P₃Cl₆ (1), in a 1:1.2 stoichiometry with the sodium derivative of seven diols [ethane- (2a), 1,3-propane- (2b), 1,4-butane- (2c), 1,5-pentane- (2d), 1,6-hexane- (2e), 1,8-octane- (2f) and 1,10-decane- (2g) diol] in THF solution at room temperature have been used to investigate the effect of chain length on the formation of reaction products. Although no new products were found for the reaction of 1 with diols 2a-c compared to those in the literature using other bases and solution conditions, the reactions of 1 with the diols 2d-g gave six different types of products, whose structures have been characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, ¹H and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy; ansa compounds N₃P₃Cl₄[O(CH₂)_nO], (5d-5g); single-bridged compounds N₃P₃Cl₅[O(CH₂)_nO]N₃P₃Cl₅(6d-6f); double-bridged compounds N₃P₃Cl₄[O(CH₂)_nO]₂N₃P₃Cl₄ (7d-7g, syn and anti) and triple-bridged compounds, N₃P₃Cl₃[O(CH₂)_nO]₃N₃P₃Cl₃ (8d-f). Where suitable single crystals were obtained, X-ray crystallographic studies confirmed the structures of two ansa compounds (5d and 5f), one single-bridged compound (6e), and five double-bridged compounds (meso-anti for 7d, 7e, 7f and meso-syn for 7d and 7f). ³¹P NMR measurements of the reaction mixtures were used to quantify the formation of products for the reactions 1 with all the diols, 2a-g; it is found that, with increasing chain length of the diol, there is a decrease in the products formed by intramolecular reactions (spiro and ansa derivatives) and a concomitant increase in the amounts of products formed by intermolecular reactions (single-, double- and triple-bridged derivatives) of cyclophosphazene.     

Palladium-catalyzed oxyarylation of olefins using silver carbonate as the base. Probing the mechanism by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

The Pd(OAc)₂-catalyzed oxyarylation of electron-rich (8 and 12) and electron-poor (10) olefins by ortho-iodophenols (3a-d) was studied using Ag₂CO₃ as the base, in acetone, and in the presence and absence of PPh₃. The corresponding adducts of oxyarylation were obtained in moderate yields. The reaction mechanism was examined by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Cationic arylpalladium intermediate (14), formed by the oxidative insertion of Pd(0) into 3a, and the cationic palladacycles (15), obtained by reaction of 14 with olefins 8 and 12, were intercepted by ESI-MS and characterized by ESI-MS/MS.     

Copper-catalyzed dehydrogenative cross-coupling reaction between unactivated ethers and simple ketones mediated by pyrrolidine

A copper-catalyzed dehydrogenative cross-coupling reaction between unactivated ethers and simple ketones mediated by pyrrolidine has been developed. Under the catalysis of CuBr₂ and in the presence of pyrrolidine, either tetrahydrofuran 2a or tetrahydropyran 2b can react smoothly with a series of methyl aryl ketones 1a–m to give desired coupling products 3aa–mb using TBHP as an oxidant. The advantages of the dehydrogenative cross-coupling reaction are adoption of unmodified ethers as substrates, good tolerance of many functional groups and use of cheap copper salt as a catalyst. A plausible radical mechanism through enamine attack is proposed.     

The reaction of benzothiazole sulfenamide with (TMS)3SiH: An example of degenerate-branched chain process

The reaction of sulfenamide 3 with (TMS)₃SiH initiated by the decomposition of AIBN at 76 °C has been studied in some detail. The reaction is a rare example of a radical chain-branching process. The two main products are dialkylamine 4 and the thiosilane 5. It is also established that 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (2) is formed in a substantial yield as one of the by-products. The mechanism of this chain autocatalytic reaction is complex due to a mix of different radical chain reactions and some discussion is provided. The amine obtained in a quantitative yield can arise from two independent routes of attack of (TMS)₃Si radical on sulfenamide 3. The minor route affords thiol 2 that can act as a catalyst for the major route during the reaction course and then gives a salt with secondary amine, which precipitates upon cooling. The origin of autocatalysis is discussed in some detail.     

Silyl stabilized azanes: reactions of lithiumbis(trimethylsilyl)hydrazine with trialkyltin halides

Lithium 1,2-bis(trimethylsilyl)hydrazine (1a) reacts with Me₃SnCl, Et₃SnBr and Bu₃SnCl to form bis(trimethylsilyl)(trimethylstannyl)hydrazine (2a), (triethylstannyl)bis(trimethyl silyl)hydrazine (2b) and (tributylstannyl)bis(trimethylsilyl)hydrazine (2c), respectively. Compounds 2a and 2b undergo disproportionation at room temperature to form bis(trimethylsilyl)bis(trimethylstannyl)hydrazine (3a) and bis(triethylstannyl)bis(trimethylsilyl)hydrazine (3b). In contrast, 2c is highly stable and can withstand such a reaction up to 150 °C. The monostannylated products, 2a, 2b and 2c do not get lithiated at NH and instead undergo transmetallation in their reaction with RLi or Li to form lithiumbis(trimethylsilyl)hydrazine (1a).     

Reductive coupling of (azulen-1-yl)carbonyl compounds by low-valent titanium; pinacol/pinacolone rearrangement versus pinacol and alkene generation

The azulen-1-yl group strongly influences the course of the TiCl₄-Zn promoted McMurry coupling of 1-acetylazulene which afforded, along with the normal coupling products, pinacol 2dl and alkene 3, the pinacolone 4. The latter was likely formed via rearrangement of the pinacolate intermediate. An improved, microwave-assisted protocol was developed for this reaction that provided high yields of products in a short reaction time. The steric reaction route is consistent with the proposed mechanism.     

The reactivity of TMSN3 with ruthenium cyclopropenyl complexes containing different ligands and different substituent at Cγ

Ruthenium vinylidene complexes 2a-2c containing indenyl and bidentate dppe ligands can be obtained in efficient yields. Treatment of the cationic ruthenium vinylidene complexes with n-Bu₄NOH in acetone yields the neutral cyclopropenyl products (η⁵-C₉H₇)(dppe)Ru-CC(Ph)CHR (3) (3a, R = Ph; 3b, R = CN; 3c, R = p-C₆H₄-CN) via the deprotonation reaction. Reaction of complexes 3a and 3c with Me₃SiN₃ (TMSN₃) the N-coordinated complexes 4a and 4c can be obtained as stable products. Complex 3b containing CN group at Cγ in the cyclopropenyl ring reacts with TMSN₃ yielded the tetrazolate complex 5b. Similar cyclopropenyl products containing indenyl and two triphenylphosphine ligands 3′ can also be synthesized. Reaction of complex 3b′ with TMSN₃ also yielded the tetrazolate complex as the major product. And the minor products are [Ru]-N₃ and organic compound 6b. Reaction of 3a′ and 3c′ with TMSN₃ yielded [Ru]-N₃. The corresponding organic products can also be obtained via the N₃⁻ attacking the metal center in the N-coordinated complexes 4a′ and 4c′.     

Sodium dithionite initiated regio- and stereoselective radical addition of polyfluoroalkyl iodide with norbornene analogs

Sodium dithionite initiated free-radical addition of polyfluoroalkyl iodides (2m-2s) with norbornene 1a and its derivatives, such as norbornene-2-carboxylates 1b and 1c, and norbornene-2-carboxylic acids 1d and 1e was investigated. In all the cases, the addition of R_F group was stereoselectively delivered at exo-position and the predominant configuration of products was trans. Under the similar condition, norbornene-2-carboxylic ethyl ester 1b reacted with 2p to give 6-exo-R_F-5-endo-iodo adduct 3bp and 5-exo-R_F-6-endo-iodo adduct 5bp in the ratio of 4:1. While 1c, which has a heavy crowded group in the 2-endo-position, gave 6-exo-R_F-5-endo-iodo adduct 3cp and polyfluoroalkylated product 4cp retaining the trans-configuration and the exo-orientation of R_F group. The fluoroalkylation-lactonization reaction occurred in the reaction of norbornene-2-endo-carboxylic acids 1d and 1e with polyfluoroalkyl iodides to afford the corresponding fluoroalkylated γ-lactone products (7dp-7ds, and 7em-7er). The configuration of the products was further confirmed by 2D NMR and X-ray diffraction analyses for the first time.     

Sodium dithionite initiated reactions of 1-bromo-1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane with enol ethers of cyclic ketones

Sodium dithionite initiated reactions of 1-bromo-1-chloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (1) with methyl and trimethylsilyl ethers of cyclopentanone and cyclohexanone enols (2a-d) in a MeCN/H₂O system were investigated. 2-(2,2,2-Trifluoroethylidene)cyclopentanone (4a) and 2-(2,2,2-trifluoroethylidene)-cyclohexanone (4b), respectively, were obtained as the main products and isolated in reasonable yields. The reaction with a 1:1 mixture of 5- and 3-methyl substituted 1-methoxycyclohexenes, 2e and 2f, revealed strong influence of steric hindrance on the reaction rate; a mixture of 2-(2,2,2-trifluoroethylidene)-5-methylcyclohexanone (6) and 2-(2,2,2-trifluoroethylidene)-3-methylcyclohexanone (7) in a 9:1 ratio was formed. Ketones 4a and 4b were reduced to the corresponding alcohols 8 and 9 and the reaction of 4b with hydrazine gave an indazole derivative 10.     

Regio- and stereoselective reactions of a rhodanine derivative with optically active 2-methyl- and 2-phenyloxirane

The reaction of a rhodanine derivative (=(Z)-5-benzylidene-3-phenyl-2-thioxo-1,3-thiazolidin-4-one; 1) with (S)-2-methyloxirane (2) in the presence of SiO₂ in dry CH₂Cl₂ for 10 days led to two diastereoisomeric spirocyclic 1,3-oxathiolanes 3 and 4 with the Me group at C(2) (Scheme 2). The analogous reaction of 1 with (R)-2-phenyloxirane (5) afforded also two diastereoisomeric spirocyclic 1,3-oxathiolanes 6 and 7 bearing the Ph group at C(3) (Scheme 3). The structures of 3, 4, 6, and 7 were confirmed by X-ray crystallography (Figs. 1 and 2). These results show that oxiranes react selectively with the thiocarbonyl group (CS) in 1. Furthermore, the nucleophilic attack of the thiocarbonyl S-atom at the SiO₂-activated oxirane ring proceeds with high regio- and stereoselectivity via an S_N2-type mechanism.     

Triarylantimony dicarboxylates as pseudo-halides for palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction with arylboronic acids and triarylbismuthanes without any base

The reaction of triarylantimony diacetates (6) with organoboron reagents (9) in the presence of Pd(PPh₃)₄ led to the formation of cross-coupling products, biaryls (10, 12 and 14-17), in moderate to excellent yields under mild conditions without any base. Similar reaction of 6 with triarylbismuthanes (18) also gave the corresponding cross-coupling products. Single crystal X-ray analysis of tri(p-tolyl)antimony diacetate (6b) and tris(p-trifluoromethylphenyl)antimony diacetate (6e) revealed the geometry of both central antimony atoms being intermediate between trigonal bipyramidal and pentagonal bipyramidal arrangement with intramolecular coordination between the antimony and two carbonyl oxygen atoms with cis orientation.     

Preparation of 2,2-difluoro-1-trialkylsilylethenylstannanes and their cross-coupling reactions

Reaction of 2 with bis(tributyltin) in the presence of 3 mol % Pd₂(dba)₃, 6 mol % XPhos, and 30 equiv of LiBr in wet and air bubbled THF at reflux for 8 h afforded the desired products 3 in 73–74% yields. The cross-coupling reaction of 3a with aryl iodides in the presence of 10 mol % Pd(PPh₃)₄ and 10 mol % CuI afforded the coupled products 4a–p in 47–90% yields. The coupling reaction of 3b with various alkynyl bromides having aryl-, alkyl, or trialkylsilyl group also afforded the corresponding 1,3-enynes 5a–g in 61–77% yields.     

A convenient one-pot synthesis of 2-(trifluoromethyl)-3,4,7,8-tetrahydro-2H-chromen-5(6H)-one derivatives and their further transformations

The trifluoromethyl containing heterocycles, 2-hydroxy-4-aryl-3-(thien-2-oyl)-2-(trifluoromethyl)-3,4,7,8-tetrahydro-2H-chromen-5(6H)-one derivatives 4, were synthesized via a one-pot three-component reaction of aldehyde 1 with 1,3-cyclohexanedione 2 and 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(thien-2-yl)butane-1,3-dione 3 in the presence of a catalytic amount of Et₃N. The effect of bases and solvents on the reaction efficiency and yield was briefly investigated. Treatment of 4 with an excess amount of NH₄OAc in ethanol afforded 2-trifluoromethyl-1H-quinolin-5-one derivatives 5. Refluxing of 4 with TsOH in CHCl₃ gave the corresponding dehydrated products 8.     

(Fluorosilyl)ethylenediamines and fluorosilyl-1,3-diaza-2-silacyclopentanes

This paper presents the chemistry of ethylenediamines and fluorosilanes. The synthesis of thermally stable monosilyl (1-5)- and bis(fluorosilyl)ethylenediamines (6) is described. Starting with the dilithium salt of ethylenediamine and F₂Si(CMe₃)₂ the five-membered 1,3-diaza-2-silacyclopentane (8) is obtained. The reaction of tetra- and trifluorosilanes with dilithiated bis(silyl)ethylenediamines leads to the formation of 1,3-diaza-2-fluorosilylsilacyclopentanes (9-14). Fluorosilanes substitute 8 in 1 and 3 positions (15-28). A fluorosilyl-bridged five-membered ring (29) is isolated in the reaction of 1-trimethylsilyl-1,3-diaza-2-silacyclopentane, BuLi and MeSiF₃. In the synthesis of N-fluorosilyl-1,3-diaza-2-silacyclopentanes constitutional isomers were formed (30-33). Quantum-chemical calculations support the isomerisation mechanism. An iminosilane with an SiN double bond is the intermediate product of the rearrangement process.Crystal structures of 7, 13, 20 and 23 are reported.     

Synthesis of a tetraoxy-bis-nortaxadiene, en route to taxol, using a cascade radical cyclisation sequence

Concise syntheses of the substituted enynediones 28a, 33b and 36 starting from the cyclohexenealdehyde 18, corresponding to ring A in the taxanes, and the vinylstannane 24, are described. Treatment of 36 with Bu₃SnH-AIBN did not lead to the oxy-substituted taxadiene 37 expected from a tandem radical macrocyclisation-radical transannulation sequence; instead, a mixture of unidentified products resulted. When the PMB ether 33b corresponding to the alcohol 36 was treated with Bu₃SnH-AIBN under similar conditions, p-anisaldehyde was isolated, as a major by-product, but no evidence for the formation of a taxadiene could be observed. In contrast, the iododienynedione 41, i.e., deoxy 36, underwent a tandem radical macrocyclisation-transannulation sequence, when treated with Bu₃SnH-AIBN, leading to the tetraoxy-bis-nortaxadiene 42 in 44% yield. Attempts to synthesise the alcohol 28b from the silyl ether 28a en route to the iodide 28c instead gave the substituted tetrahydrofuran 29 via an intramolecular oxy-Michael reaction.