Oligoethylene Glycols as Highly Efficient Mutifunctional Promoters for Nucleophilic‐Substitution Reactions

Herein, we report the promising use of n‐oligoethylene glycols (oligoEGs) as mutifunctional promoters for nucleophilic‐substitution reactions employing alkali metal salts. Among the various oligoEGs tested, pentaethylene glycol (pentaEG) had the most efficient catalytic activity. In particular, when compared with other nucleophiles examined, a fluorine nucleophile generated from CsF was significantly activated by the pentaEG promoter. We also performed various facile nucleophilic‐displacement reactions, such as the halogenation, acetoxylation, thioacetoxylation, nitrilation, and azidation of various substrates with potassium halides, acetate, thioacetate, cyanide, and sodium azide, respectively, in the presence of the pentaEG promoter. All of these reactions provided their desired products in excellent yields. Furthermore, the combination of pentaEG and a tert‐alcohol medium showed tremendous efficiency in the nucleophilic‐displacement reactions (fluorination and methoxylation) of base‐sensitive substrates with basic nucleophiles (cesium fluoride and potassium methoxide, respectively). The catalytic role of oligoEGs was examined by quantum‐chemical methods. The oxygen atoms in oligoEGs were found to act as Lewis bases on the metal cations to produce the “flexible” nucleophile, whereas the two terminal hydroxy (OH) groups acted as “anchors” to orientate the nucleophile and the substrate into an ideal configuration for the reaction.     

Asymmetric Au-catalyzed domino cyclization/nucleophile addition reactions of enynes in the presence of water, methanol and electron-rich aromatic derivatives

An efficient Au(I) catalytic system is described for the asymmetric domino cyclization/functionalization reactions of functionalized 1,6-enynes in the presence of an external nucleophile. The use of (R)-4-MeO-3,5-(t-Bu)₂-MeOBIHEP ligand associated with gold led to clean rearrangements implying the formal addition of an oxygen or carbon nucleophile to an alkene followed by a cyclization process. The enantiomeric excesses were highly dependant on the substrate/nucleophile combination. Very good enantiomeric excesses up to 98% were obtained in the case of substrates bearing larger groups (hindered diesters and disulfones) and in the case of hindered carbon nucleophiles.     

Observation and mechanistic study of facile C-O bond formation between a well-defined aryl-copper(III) complex and oxygen nucleophiles

A well-defined macrocyclic aryl–Cu(III) complex (2) reacts readily with a variety of oxygen nucleophiles, including carboxylic acids, phenols and alcohols, under mild conditions to form the corresponding aryl esters, biaryl ethers and alkyl aryl ethers. The relationship between these reactions and catalytic C-O coupling methods is demonstrated by the reaction of the macrocyclic aryl–Br species with acetic acid and p-fluorophenol in the presence of 10 mol% Cu(I). An aryl-Cu(III)-Br species 2(Br) was observed as an intermediate in the catalytic reaction. Investigation of the stoichiometric C-O bond-forming reactions revealed nucleophile-dependent changes in the mechanism. The reaction of 2 with carboxylic acids revealed a positive correlation between the log(k(obs)) and the pK(a) of the nucleophile (less-acidic nucleophiles react more rapidly), whereas a negative correlation was observed with most phenols (more-acidic phenols react more rapidly). The latter trend resembles previous observations with nitrogen nucleophiles. With carboxylic acids and acidic phenols, UV-visible spectroscopic data support the formation of a ground-state adduct between 2 and the oxygen nucleophile. Collectively, kinetic and spectroscopic data support a unified mechanism for aryl-O coupling from the Cu(III) complex, consisting of nucleophile coordination to the Cu(III) center, deprotonation of the coordinated nucleophile, and C-O (or C-N) reductive elimination from Cu(III).     

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.     

Ortho-selective nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions of polyhaloanilines with potassium/sodium o-ethyl xanthate: a convenient access to halogenated 2(3H)-benzothiazolethiones

Polyhaloanilines bearing an ortho halogen atom undergo smooth nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions with anionic sulfur nucleophiles at relatively mild temperatures (95-120 degrees C). These reactions are very efficient and highly ortho-selective. With potassium/sodium O-ethyl xanthate as a nucleophile, subsequent cyclization follows to afford halogenated 2(3H)-benzothiazolethiones (2-mercaptobenzothiazoles) in high yields.     

Organocatalysis of nucleophilic substitution reactions by the combined effects of two promoters fused in a molecule: oligoethylene glycol substituted imidazolium salts

Oligoethylene glycol substituted imidazolium salts were synthesized as promoters for a range of S_N2 reactions, and their efficiency was examined. These tailor-made organic promoters enhanced the nucleophilicity of alkali metal salts significantly through the combined effects of two promoters (oligoethylene glycols and imidazolium salts) in a single molecule. The effects of the oligoethylene glycol side chain length, ionic liquid anions, nucleophiles, and substrates were investigated systematically. [hexaEGmim][OMs] and [dihexaEGim][OMs] showed the highest efficiency for S_N2 reactions using alkali metal salts. The role of the terminal hydroxyl groups of the oligoethylene glycol moiety was assessed by examining the relative S_N2 yields of chlorination and bromination. The results showed that the hydrogen bonding strength of the hydroxyl groups with the nucleophile is very important. The mechanism for the excellent promotion of S_N2 reactions by oligoEGILs was examined by quantum chemical calculations. The results showed that the oxygen atoms in the oligoethylene glycol portion and the ionic liquid anion act on the counter cation K⁺ or Na⁺ as a Lewis base, to enhance the reactivity of the metal salts significantly.     

Transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric reactions using P-chirogenic diaminophosphine oxides: DIAPHOXs

This review describes the development of a new class of chiral phosphorus ligands: amino acid-derived P-chirogenic diaminophosphine oxides, DIAPHOXs, and their application to several transition metal-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions. Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation with cyclic beta-keto esters as prochiral nucleophiles was initially examined using P-chirogenic diaminophosphine oxide 1a, resulting in highly enantioselective construction of quaternary stereocenters. Mechanistic investigations revealed that 1a is activated by N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide-induced tautomerization to afford a trivalent diamidophosphite species 13, which functions as the actual ligand. Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitutions of both acyclic and cyclic substrates were also examined using various nucleophiles such as malonate derivatives, nitromethane, aliphatic amines, and aromatic amines, providing a variety of chiral compounds with good to excellent enantioselectivity. In addition, Ir-catalyzed asymmetric allylic amination and alkylation of terminal allylic carbonates were examined using structurally optimized P-chirogenic diaminophosphine oxides, and the corresponding branched products were obtained in a highly regio- and enantioselective manner. Furthermore, the developed catalytic asymmetric process was successfully applied to the catalytic enantioselective synthesis of biologically active compounds, (R)-preclamol, (R)-baclofen hydrochloride, and (-)-paroxetine.     

Nucleophile-assisted racemisations of halosilanes — kinetic studies

Kinetic studies have been carried out on the nucleophile-induced racemisation of PhMeCHSiMe₂X, 2, X = triflate, Br or Cl. Thirteen nucleophiles were studied. The results are interpreted in terms of two competing mechanisms for racemisation: (a) nucleophile attack on a silane-nucleophile complex formed by displacement of the halide by the nucleophile, and (b) halide-halosilane exchange, with inversion of configuration. Solvent effects were examined, and kinetic orders in the nucleophile and in one case for the halosilane were determined. The order in added nucleophile varied between one and two, with strong nucleophiles in polar media. Anomalously high orders in nucleophile were observed in non-polar media and are ascribed to aggregation of the nucleophile. A kinetic analysis of the competing mechanisms was attempted, and was consistent with the experimental findings. In this particular series of reactions involving compounds with good leaving groups and relatively powerful nucleophiles there was no evidence for intermediates involving extracoordinate silicon.     

Tunable Gold-catalyzed Reactions of Propargyl Alcohols and Aryl Nucleophiles

Gold-catalyzed transformations of 1,3-diarylpropargyl alcohols and various aryl nucleophiles were studied. Selective tunable synthetic methods were developed for 1,1,3-triarylallenes, diaryl-indenes and tetraaryl-allyl target products by C3 nucleophilic substitution and subsequent intra- or intermolecular hydroarylation, respectively. The reactions were scoped with regards to gold(I)/(III) catalysts, solvent, temperature, and electronic and steric effects of both the diarylpropargyl alcohol and the aryl nucleophiles. High yields of triaryl-allenes and diaryl-indenes by gold(III) catalysis were observed. Depending on the choice of aryl nucleophile and control of reaction temperature, different product ratios have been obtained. Alternatively, tetraaryl-allyl target products were formed by a sequential one-pot tandem process from appropriate propargyl substrates and two different aryl nucleophiles. Corresponding halo-arylation products (I and Br; up to 95 % 2-halo-diaryl-indenes) were obtained in a one-pot manner in the presence of the respective N-halosuccinimides (NIS, NBS).     

The syn/anti‐Dichotomy in the Palladium‐Catalyzed Addition of Nucleophiles to Alkenes

In this review the stereochemistry of palladium‐catalyzed addition of nucleophiles to alkenes is discussed, and examples of these reactions in organic synthesis are given. Most of the reactions discussed involve oxygen and nitrogen nucleophiles; the Wacker oxidation of ethylene has been reviewed in detail. An anti‐hydroxypalladation in the Wacker oxidation has strong support from both experimental and computational studies. From the reviewed material it is clear that anti‐addition of oxygen and nitrogen nucleophiles is strongly favored in intermolecular addition to olefin–palladium complexes even if the nucleophile is coordinated to the metal. On the other hand, syn‐addition is common in the case of intramolecular oxy‐ and amidopalladation as a result of the initial coordination of the internal nucleophile to the metal.     

Development of atom-economical catalytic asymmetric reactions under proton transfer conditions: construction of tetrasubstituted stereogenic centers and their application to therapeutics

The development of atom-economical catalytic asymmetric reactions based on two distinct sets of catalyst, a rare earth metal/amide-based ligand catalyst and a soft Lewis acid/hard Br?nsted base catalyst, is reviewed. These catalytic systems exhibit high catalytic activity and stereoselectivity by harnessing a cooperative catalysis through hydrogen bond/metal coordination and soft-soft interactions/hard-hard interactions, respectively. The effectiveness of these cooperative catalysts is clearly delineated by the high stereoselectivity in reactions with highly coordinative substrates, and the specific activation of otherwise low-reactive pronucleophiles under proton transfer conditions. The rare earth metal/amide-based ligand catalyst was successfully applied to catalytic asymmetric aminations, nitroaldol (Henry) reactions, Mannich-type reactions, and conjugate addition reactions, generating stereogenic tetrasubstituted centers. Catalytic asymmetric amination and anti-selective catalytic asymmetric nitroaldol reactions were successfully applied to the efficient enantioselective synthesis of therapeutic candidates, such as AS-3201 and the β(3)-adrenoreceptor agonist, showcasing the practical utility of the present protocols. The soft Lewis acid/hard Br?nsted base cooperative catalyst was specifically developed for the chemoselective activation of soft Lewis basic allylic cyanides and thioamides, which are otherwise low-reactive pronucleophiles. The cooperative action of the catalyst allowed for efficient catalytic generation of active carbon nucleophiles in situ, which were integrated into subsequent enantioselective additions to carbonyl-type electrophiles.     

Novel chemistry of alpha-tosyloxy ketones: applications to the solution- and solid-phase synthesis of privileged heterocycle and enediyne libraries

New synthetic technologies for the preparation and elaboration of alpha-tosyloxy ketones in solution- and on solid-phase are described. Both olefins and ketones serve as precursors to these relatively stable chemical entities: olefins via a novel one-pot epoxidation, arylsulfonic acid displacement, and oxidation sequence, and ketones by direct exposure to arylsulfonic acids in the presence of diacetoxy iodobenzene. Reaction of these substrates with O-, S-, or N-centered nucleophiles leads to incorporation of the nucleophile with concomitant expulsion of the sulfonate, while exposure to bis-functional nucleophiles furnishes annulated heterocyclic systems. In addition, the reactions of carbon-centered nucleophiles with alpha-tosylyloxy ketones are also explored. The collated data for all these nucleophiles provide compelling evidence for the proposal that different reaction pathways are followed when alpha-tosyloxy ketones are engaged by "hard" versus "soft" nucleophiles. The accessibility and site-selectivity of the chemistry demonstrated herein offer the promise of an expanded use for this moiety in solid-phase library construction, in particular, and in the field of organic synthesis, in general.     

Recent advances in the application of chiral phosphine ligands in Pd-catalysed asymmetric allylic alkylation

One of the most powerful approaches for the formation of simple and complex chiral molecules is the metal-catalysed asymmetric allylic alkylation. This reaction has been broadly studied with a great variety of substrates and nucleophiles under different reaction conditions and it has promoted the synthesis of new chiral ligands to be evaluated as asymmetric inductors. Although the mechanism as well as the active species equilibria are known, the performance of the catalytic system depends on the fine tuning of factors such as type of substrate, nucleophile nature, reaction medium, catalytic precursor and type of ligand used. Particularly interesting are chiral phosphines which have proved to be effective asymmetric inductors in several such reactions. The present review covers the application of phosphine-donor ligands in Pd-catalysed asymmetric allylic alkylation in the last decade.     

InI3‐ or ZnI2‐Catalyzed Reaction of Hydroxylated 1,5‐Allenynes with Thiols: A New Access to 3,5‐Disubstituted Toluene Derivatives

Transition‐metal‐activated alkynes or allenes can accept nucleophilic attack and undergo direct addition of the nucleophiles to the unsaturated bonds or trigger subsequent rearrangement reactions. This chemistry has witnessed increasing development in recent years. In this report, we have focused on the metal‐catalyzed reactions of a variety of substituted propargyl allenic alcohols and thiophenols using indium(III) and zinc(II) catalysts, which can activate both the alcohol and alkyne. In this reaction, thio groups play the role of a nucleophile and trigger subsequent rearrangements to give benzene derivatives. The products can be further transformed into various 1,3,5‐trisubstituted aromatic compounds by nickel‐catalyzed coupling reactions through the cleavage of the C? S bonds.     

Evidence of enhanced reactivity of DAAP nucleophiles toward dephosphorylation and deacylation reactions in cationic gemini micellar media

4,4'-(Dialkylamino)pyridine (DAAP)-based compounds 1-4 catalytically cleave hydrophobic organophosphate and carboxylate esters in various host micellar aggregates at mildly alkaline pH. The role of the micellar reaction medium in such esterolytic reactions has been carefully examined in this work. The cationic gemini surfactant based micellar aggregates provide more than 1 order of magnitude better reaction medium for the above reactions than their conventional single-chain, single-charge, cationic cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTABr) micelles. The catalytic turnover behavior of DAAP nucleophiles in the presence of excess substrates is also retained in gemini micellar media.     

The Efficiency of the Metal Catalysts in the Nucleophilic Substitution of Alcohols is Dependent on the Nucleophile and Not on the Electrophile

In this study, we investigate the effect of the electrophiles and the nucleophiles for eight catalysts in the catalytic S_N1 type substitution of alcohols with different degree of activation by sulfur‐, carbon‐, oxygen‐, and nitrogen‐centered nucleophiles. The catalysts do not show any general variance in efficiency or selectivity with respect to the alcohols and follow the trend of alcohol reactivity. However, when it comes to the nucleophile, the eight catalysts show general and specific variances in the efficiency and selectivity to perform the desired substitution. Interestingly, the selectivity of the alcohols to produce the desired substitution products was found to be independent of the electrophilicity of the generated carbocations but highly dependent on the ease of formation of the cation. Catalysts based on iron(III), bismuth(III), and gold(III) show higher conversions for S‐, C‐, and N‐centered nucleophiles, and Bi^III was the most efficient catalyst in all combinations. Catalysts based on rhenium(I) or rhenium(VII), palladium(II), and lanthanum(III) were the most efficient in performing the nucleophilic substitution on the various alcohols with the O‐centered nucleophiles. These catalysts generate the symmetrical ether as a by‐product from the reactions of S‐, C‐, and N‐centered nucleophiles as well, resulting in lower chemoselectivity.     

The reaction of sulphur and nitrogen nucleophiles with [Pt(dien)Cl]+

The reaction of a variety of sulphur nucleophiles [thiourea, S-ethyl mercaptoethylamine (EMEA), glutathione (GSH), dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) and methionine] with the platinum(II) complex [Pt(dien)Cl]+ has been studied at 25°C using the nucleophiles in large excess. The measurements confirm that the sulphur nucleophiles react directly with the platinum complex and that the solvolytic pathway makes little contribution to the reaction. The reactions were monitored by a combination of conductometric and spectrophotometric methods. The oxygen and nitrogen nucleophiles water and imidazole respectively have also been studied. Reagents such as thiourea, EMEA, methionine and glutathione are some 101–102 more reactive than the nitrogen nucleophile imidazole and some 102–103 more reactive than oxygen nucleophile. In a direct competition between sulphur (kS) and nitrogen (kN) nucleophiles for the platinum substrate, as will occur under biological conditions, the kS/kN ratio is at least 10 so that little of the nitrogen-substituted product will be formed in the reaction.     

Computational study of the mechanism and selectivity of palladium-catalyzed propargylic substitution with phosphorus nucleophiles

The mechanism and sources of selectivity in the palladium-catalyzed propargylic substitution reaction that involves phosphorus nucleophiles, and which yields predominantly allenylphosphonates and related compounds, have been studied computationally by means of density functional theory. Full free-energy profiles are computed for both H-phosphonate and H-phosphonothioate substrates. The calculations show that the special behavior of H-phosphonates among other heteroatom nucleophiles is indeed reflected in higher energy barriers for the attack on the central carbon atom of the allenyl/propargyl ligand relative to the ligand-exchange pathway, which leads to the experimentally observed products. It is argued that, to explain the preference of allenyl- versus propargyl-phosphonate/phosphonothioate formation in reactions that involve H-phosphonates and H-phosphonothioates, analysis of the complete free-energy surfaces is necessary, because the product ratio is determined by different transition states in the respective branches of the catalytic cycle. In addition, these transition states change in going from a H-phosphonate to a H-phosphonothioate nucleophile.     

Stereospecific Electrophilic Fluorination of Alkylcarbastannatrane Reagents

We report the use of isolable primary and secondary alkylcarbastannatrane nucleophiles in site‐specific fluorination reactions. These reactions occur without the need for transition metal catalysis or in situ activation of the nucleophile. In the absence of the carbastannatrane backbone, alkyltin nucleophiles exhibit no activity towards fluorination. When enantioenriched alkylcarbastannatranes are employed, fluorination occurs predominately via a stereoinvertive mechanism to generate highly enantioenriched alkyl fluoride compounds. These conditions can also be extended to stereospecific chlorination, bromination, and iodination reactions.     

Catalytic properties of supported gold nanoparticles in organic syntheses

Gold nanoparticles exhibit unique properties due to their ability to form aggregates of atoms of diverse morphology shapes and sizes of which depend, to a considerable extent, on specific features of the nearest environment. The nature of gold nanoparticles varies in a wide range: from the particles with pronounced Lewis acidic properties to the negatively charged particles bearing a formal zero-valence charge. The most examples of new reactions catalyzed by gold nanoparticles include unsaturated compounds and strong nucleophiles (such as amines) as substrates. This short review provides a digest of the catalytic properties of gold nanoparticles. The main attention is paid to the possible role of certain forms of the metal in catalytic reactions. Of special interest are reactions in which effects of synergism of gold and other active species or second metals present in the catalyst are revealed or a size effect is established.