Direct C?H Functionalization of Enamides and Enecarbamates by Using Visible‐Light Photoredox Catalysis

Direct C? H functionalization of various enamides and enecarbamates was realized through visible‐light photoredox catalyzed reactions. Under the optimized conditions using [Ir(ppy)₂(dtbbpy)PF₆] as photocatalyst in combination with Na₂HPO₄, enamides such as N‐vinylpyrrolidinone could be easily functionalized by irradiation of the reaction mixture overnight in acetonitrile with visible light. The scope of the reaction with respect to enamide and enecarbamate substrates by using diethyl 2‐bromomalonate for the alkylation reaction was explored, followed by an investigation of the scope of alkylating reagents used to react with the enamides and enecarbamates. The results indicated that reaction takes place with quite broad substrate scope, however, tertiary enamides with an internal C?C double bond in the E configuration could not be alkylated. Alkylation of N‐vinyl tertiary enamides and enecarbamates gave monoalkylated products exclusively in the E configuration. Alkylation of N‐vinyl secondary enamides gave doubly alkylated products. Double bond migration was observed in the reaction of electron‐deficient bromides such as 3‐bromoacetyl acetate with N‐vinylpyrrolidinone. A mechanism is proposed for the reaction that is different from reported reactions of SOMOphiles with a nonfunctionalized C?C double bond. Further tests on the trifluoromethylation and arylation of enamides and enecarbamates under similar conditions showed that the reactions could serve as a mild, practical, and environmentally friendly approach to various functionalized enamides and enecarbamates.     

On a Facile Synthesis of Melatonin and Other Related Indoles

An efficient laboratory synthesis for melatonin and other related indoles utilising enamides and enecarbamates is described.     

High turnover frequency observed in catalytic enantioselective additions of enecarbamates and enamides to iminophosphonates

[Structure: see text] In addition reactions of enecarbamates and enamides, extremely high turnover frequency of the catalyst was observed in comparison with that of silicon enolate addition reactions. This is presumably due to fast transfer of the proton that locates on the nucleophiles.     

Platinum(II)-catalyzed cyclizations forming quaternary carbon centers, using enesulfonamides, enecarbamates, or enamides as nucleophiles

Cyclic enesulfonamides, enecarbamates, or enamides tethered to an alkyne cyclize readily with use of platinum(II) chloride. This reaction generates quaternary-substituted carbon centers within simple spiro-fused or more complex tri- and tetracyclic heterocyclic ring systems. The yields for this process range from 50% to 83%. [reaction: see text].     

trans-Selective Aryldifluoroalkylation of Endocyclic Enecarbamates and Enamides by Nickel Catalysis

Efficient methods for the dicarbofuntionalization of the cyclic alkenes 2-pyrroline and 2-azetine are limited. Particularly, the dicarbofunctionalization of endocyclic enecarbamates to achieve fluorinated compounds remains an unsolved issue. Reported here is a nickel-catalyzed trans-selective dicarbofunctionalization of N-Boc-2-pyrroline and N-Boc-2-azetine, a class of endocyclic enecarbamates previously unexplored for transition metal catalyzed dicarbofunctionalization. The reaction can be extended to six- and seven-membered endocyclic enamides. A variety of arylzinc reagents and bromodifluoroacetate, and its derivatives, undergo the reaction, providing straightforward and efficient access to an array of pyrrolidine- and azetidine-containing fluorinated amino acids and oligopeptides, which may have applications in the life sciences.     

Brønsted Acid‐Catalyzed,Highly Enantioselective Addition of Enamides to In Situ‐Generated ortho‐Quinone Methides: A Domino Approach to Complex Acetamidotetrahydroxanthenes

The highly enantioselective conjugate addition of enamides and enecarbamates to in situ‐generated ortho‐quinone methides, upon subsequent N,O‐acetalization, gives rise to acetamido‐substituted tetrahydroxanthenes with generally excellent enantio‐ and diastereoselectivities. A chiral BINOL‐based phosphoric acid catalyst controls the enantioselectivity of the carbon–carbon bond‐forming event. The products are readily converted into other xanthene‐based heterocycles.     

Photoredox/Cobalt Dual-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Elimination of Carboxylic Acids: Development and Mechanistic Insight

Recently, dual-catalytic strategies towards the decarboxylative elimination of carboxylic acids have gained attention. Our lab previously reported a photoredox/cobaloxime dual catalytic method that allows the synthesis of enamides and enecarbamates directly from N-acyl amino acids and avoids the use of any stoichiometric reagents. Further development, detailed herein, has improved upon this transformation's utility and further experimentation has provided new insights into the reaction mechanism. These new developments and insights are anticipated to aid in the expansion of photoredox/cobalt dual-catalytic systems.     

A Giese reaction for electron-rich alkenes

A general method for the hydroalkylation of electron-rich terminal and non-terminal alkenes such as enol esters, alkenyl sulfides, enol ethers, silyl enol ethers, enamides and enecarbamates has been developed. The reactions are carried out at room temperature under air initiation in the presence of triethylborane acting as a chain transfer reagent and 4-tert-butylcatechol (TBC) as a source of hydrogen atom. The efficacy of the reaction is best explained by very favorable polar effects supporting the chain process and minimizing undesired polar reactions. The stereoselective hydroalkylation of chiral N-(alk-1-en-1-yl)oxazolidin-2-ones takes place with good to excellent diastereocontrol.

Giese reaction not anymore limited to electron poor alkenes! A general method for the radical mediated hydroalkylation of electron rich alkenes including enol ethers, silylenolethers, enamides, and enecarbamates has been developed.     

Synthesis of new aza-bicyclic 2-isoxazolines by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of endocyclic enecarbamates and enamides with nitrile oxides

Novel aza-bicyclic 2-isoxazolines, 4,5-dihydroisoxazole[5,4-b]pyrrolidines, and 4,5-dihydroisoxazole[5,4-b]piperidines were synthesized in a highly regioselective manner through a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of 5- and 6-membered endocyclic enecarbamates and enamides with several nitrile oxides in good to excellent yields. Hydrogenolysis of 5- and 6-membered Cbz-cycloadducts led to secondary amines, which presented distinctive stabilities. 2-Isoxazoline bisamides were obtained in good yields through a N-benzoylation, followed by ammonolysis of the secondary amine, or directly from ammonolysis of the cycloadducts.     

Enantio- and Diastereoselective NiH-Catalyzed Hydroalkylation of Enamides or Enecarbamates with Racemic α-Bromoamides**

Catalytic methods which control multiple stereogenic centers simultaneously are highly desirable in modern organic synthesis and chemical manufacturing. Herein, we report a regio-, enantio-, and diastereoselective NiH-catalyzed hydroalkylation process which proceeds with simultaneous control of vicinal stereocenters originating from two readily accessible partners, prochiral internal alkenes (enamides or enecarbamates) and racemic alkyl electrophiles (α-bromoamides or Katritzky salts). This reaction produces high-value β-aminoamides and their derivatives under mild conditions and with precise selectivity. Preliminary studies of the mechanism indicate that the reaction involves an enantioselective syn-hydronickelation to generate an enantiomerically enriched alkylnickel(II) species. Subsequent enantioconvergent alkylation with a racemic alkyl electrophile generates the desired product as a single stereoisomer.     

An efficient method for the synthesis of enol ethers and enecarbamates. Total syntheses of isoindolobenzazepine alkaloids, lennoxamine and chilenine

An efficient method for the synthesis of enol ethers and enecarbamates has been developed based on catalytic hydrosilane reduction of alpha-phosphonoxy enol ethers and alpha-phosphonoxy enecarbamates. This method has been applied to the total syntheses of two isoindolobenzazepine alkaloids, lennoxamine and chilenine.     

A stereoselective intramolecular halo-etherification of chiral enamides in the synthesis of halogenated cyclic ethers

A stereoselective halo-etherification of chiral enamides is described here. This work provides an approach to halogen containing cyclic ethers and reveals further mechanistic insights to the chemistry of chiral enamides.     

Highly enantioselective hydrogenation of N-phthaloyl enamides

Rh- or Ru-catalyzed highly enantioselective hydrogenation of N-phthaloyl enamides is presented. Electron-rich TangPhos and DuanPhos are found to be effective ligands for Rh-catalyzed hydrogenation of α-aryl enamides and up to 99% ee has been achieved. In contrast, for the hydrogenation of α-alkyl enamide, the Ru-C₃-TunePhos complex is more effective and up to 69% ee can be observed. This work is the first report of the hydrogenation of N-phthaloyl enamides.     

Palladium(II)-catalyzed direct alkenylation of nonaromatic enamides

A mild and efficient method for the direct alkenylation of nonaromatic enamides was achieved through a palladium(II)-catalyzed C-H functionalization. The reaction scope includes cyclic and acyclic enamides and a range of activated alkenes. This approach represents the first successful direct C(3)-functionalization of nonaromatic cyclic enamides.     

Strategies for the synthesis of 2-substituted indoles and indolines starting from acyclic alpha-phosphoryloxy enecarbamates

Strategies have been developed for the synthesis of 2-substituted indoles and indolines starting from acyclic alpha-phosphoryloxy enecarbamates. A highly chemoselective cross-coupling of N-(o-bromophenyl)-alpha-phosphoryloxyenecarbamates with boron nucleophiles enabled the efficient preparation of various N-(o-bromophenyl)enecarbamates, which served as useful precursors for subsequent Heck-type cyclization or 5-endo-trig aryl radical cyclization to furnish 2-substituted indoles or indolines, respectively.     

Room Temperature Copper(II)-Catalyzed Oxidative Cyclization of Enamides to 2,5-Disubstituted Oxazoles via Vinylic C-H Functionalization

A copper(II)-catalyzed oxidative cyclization of enamides to oxazoles via vinylic C-H bond functionalization at room temperature is described. Various 2,5-disubstituted oxazoles bearing aryl, vinyl, alkyl, and heteroaryl substituents could be synthesized in moderate to high yields. This reaction protocol is complementary to our previously reported iodine-mediated cyclization of enamides to afford 2,4,5-trisubstituted oxazoles.     

Enecarbamates as imine surrogates: nucleophilic addition of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to enecarbamates

[reaction: see text] Novel Mannich-type reactions of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with enecarbamates have been developed. Stable and storable enecarbamates work as surrogates of aliphatic aldehyde-derived imines, which are known to be difficult to isolate and store.     

Probing the stereoselectivity of the Heck arylation of endocyclic enecarbamates with diazonium salts. Concise syntheses of (2S,5R)-phenylproline methyl ester and Schramm's C-azanucleoside

[reaction: see text] The diastereoselectivity of the Heck arylation of several chiral, nonracemic, five-membered endocyclic enecarbamates with aryldiazonium tetrafluoroborates was evaluated. The cis selectivity observed for some enecarbamates bearing coordinating groups was explored in the concise synthesis of the (2S,5R)-(+)-phenylproline methyl ester, a scaffold for the nonpeptide cholecystokinin antagonist (+)-RP 66803, and in the synthesis of Schramm's potent antiprotozoan C-azanucleoside.     

Construction of Nitrogen-Fused Tetrahydroquinolines via a Domino Reaction

An efficient domino approach for the diastereoselective synthesis of polyfunctionalized nitrogen-fused tetrahydroquinoline frameworks under mild conditions has been developed. The scope and limitation of this transformation were investigated by using a range of readily accessible enamides and benzyl azides. This method is also applicable to the formation of 2,3-functionalized enamides.     

Direct Metal‐Catalyzed Regioselective Functionalization of Enamides

Enamides are stable enamine surrogates and provide key intermediates for the synthesis of small but complex nitrogen‐containing compounds. Metal‐catalyzed regioselective functionalization of enamides provides a rapid method to synthesize useful nitrogen containing heterocycles. This review discloses the recent progress made in the development of the C?H functionalization of enamides involving efficient and atom‐economical routes. Syntheses of different heterocycles are classified based on the site reactivity of enamides and key mechanistic insights are given for each transformation.