The acid-mediated ring opening/cyclisation reaction of N-benzyl-α-aryl-azetidinones

N-Benzyl-4-aryl-azetidinones undergo ring opening with triflic acid to form N-benzyl-cinnamamides, which either undergo cyclisation to give 5-aryl-benzazepin-3-ones or N-debenzylation to give cinnamamides.     

MnBr2 catalyzed regiospecific oxidative Mizoroki-Heck type reaction

Herein, we report an unprecedented regiospecific oxidative Mizoroki-Heck type reaction for the synthesis of α-difluoromethyl homoallylic alcohols. The reaction shows broad substrate scopes and high functional group tolerance. Late-stage functionalization of complex biologically active molecules demonstrates the synthetic potential of this transformation. Mechanistic study supports the involvement of MnBr₂ catalyzed radical 1,2-silyl transfer.     

Oxygen-promoted Pd/C-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura reaction of potassium aryltrifluoroborates

A simple and highly efficient protocol has been developed for the Pd/C-catalyzed ligand-free Suzuki–Miyaura reaction of potassium aryltrifluoroborates. In this catalytic system, the results demonstrate that oxygen plays a positive role in the cross-coupling reaction. In addition, this catalytic system could be successfully applied to synthesize biaryl compounds containing a carbazole moiety and the catalyst was recycled seven times without significant loss of catalytic activity.     

Ullmann-type C–N coupling reaction catalyzed by CuI/metformin

A facile and efficient method for Ullmann-type C–N coupling reaction of amine and aryl halide catalyzed by CuI/metformin in EtOH is described. The advantages of this method are the use of an inexpensive and readily available catalyst and ligand, easy workup, shorter reaction time, improved yields, and the use of green solvent. Furthermore, this procedure is applied successfully for the modification of natural products, such as Vindoline and Tabersonin.     

MnBr2 catalyzed regiospecific oxidative Mizoroki-Heck type reaction

Herein, we report an unprecedented regiospecific oxidative Mizoroki-Heck type reaction for the synthesis of α-difluoromethyl homoallylic alcohols. The reaction shows broad substrate scopes and high functional group tolerance. Late-stage functionalization of complex biologically active molecules demonstrates the synthetic potential of this transformation. Mechanistic study supports the involvement of MnBr₂ catalyzed radical 1,2-silyl transfer.     

Thioester-assisted α-sialylation reaction

α-Selective sialylation reactions were carried out using novel sialic acid building blocks that possess a thioester auxiliary. In contrast to other arylthio- and benzylthioester derivatives, sialyl phosphite 1a (with the phenylthioester moiety) was employed as the α-selective building block, and was reacted with various primary alcohols, including the C6-OH group of galactose and glucose, with moderate to excellent α-selectivities. For C3-OH of the galactose, 4,6-di-O-benzylgalactal afforded desired α-linkage with excellent selectivity.     

Hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of photochemically generated α-hydroxy-o-quinodimethanes with trifluoromethyl ketones

Hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of α-hydroxy-o-quinodimethanes photochemically generated from o-tolualdehydes with trifluoromethyl ketones gave a mixture of hemiacetals and hydroxyaldehydes in fairly good yields. Their subsequent oxidation with PCC provided 1-isochromanones as formal oxidative [4+2] cycloaddition products. In contrast, similar reaction of aromatic ketones such as o-methylbenzophenone, 1-indanone, and α-tetralone gave exclusively the corresponding ketones having (trifluoromethyl)methylol groups at the o-position.     

Do reaction conditions affect the stereoselectivity in the Staudinger reaction?

The stereochemistry is one of the critical issues in the Staudinger reaction. We have proposed the origin of the stereoselectivity recently. The effects of solvents, additives, and pathways of ketene generation on the stereoselectivity were investigated by using a clean Staudinger reaction, which is a sensitive reaction system to the stereoselectivity. The results indicate that the additives, usually existed and generated in the Staudinger reaction, and the pathways of the ketene generation do not generally affect the stereoselectivity. The solvent affects the stereoselectivity. The polar solvent is favorable to the formation of trans-beta-lactams. The addition orders of the reagents affect the stereoselectivity in the Staudinger reaction between acyl chlorides and imines. The addition of a tertiary amine into a solution of the acyl chloride and the imine generally decreases the stereoselectivity, which is affected by the interval between additions of the acyl chloride and the tertiary amine, and the imine substituents. Our current results provide further understanding on the stereochemistry of the Staudinger reaction between acyl chlorides and imines and on the factors affecting the stereochemistry and also provide a method to prepare beta-lactams with the desired relative configuration via rationally tuning the stereoselectivity-controlling factors in the Staudinger reaction.     

Stereoselective anti-SN2′ Mitsunobu reaction of α-hydroxy-α-alkenylsilanes

A novel silyl group-directed anti-S_N2′ reaction of allylic alcohols under Mitsunobu reaction conditions is described. The Mitsunobu reaction of α-hydroxy-α-alkenylsilanes with a TBS or TIPS group gave the anti-S_N2′ product, in which regio- and stereochemical outcomes of the reaction depended on the steric bulkiness of the silyl group.     

Novel Co/graphene oxide and Co/nanoporous graphene catalysts for Fischer–Tropsch reaction

For the first time, nanoporous graphene and graphene oxide sheets have been synthesized and used as supports for preparation of Co/graphene-based catalysts to evaluate their efficiency in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis and for comparison with the performance of Co/Al₂O₃ to study the effects of the carbon supports on the reaction. Outstanding results were obtained compared with the alumina counterpart. Application of nanoporous graphene yielded heavier hydrocarbons compared with the Co/Al₂O₃ catalyst, possibly due to the high surface area and intrinsic properties of the carbon nanostructures as effective hydrogen carriers. Use of graphene oxide and nanoporous graphene supports also resulted in high CO₂ selectivity. However, the graphene-supported catalysts displayed lower C₁–C₄ hydrocarbon selectivity compared with the Al₂O₃ catalyst.     

Total synthesis 2-epi-α-cedren-3-one via a cobalt-catalysed Pauson-Khand reaction

Herein we target the total synthesis of 2-epi-α-cedren-3-one, a natural compound isolated from the essential oil of Juniperus thurifera. Overall, our synthetic sequence presents an optimised and robust series of chemical transformations, with prominent features including a low temperature and highly (Z)-selective Wittig olefination reaction, which is vital for the establishment of the relative stereochemistry within the final natural product, and a microwave-assisted, catalytic, intramolecular Pauson-Khand cyclisation reaction, which is used to construct the intriguing tricyclic core of the target molecule. Our optimum cyclisation protocol utilises only 20?mol% of transition metal, and delivers the complex tricyclic structure in just 10?min. Further manipulations of the annulation product culminate in the first total synthesis of the described natural target.     

A highly enantioselective Strecker reaction catalyzed by titanium-N-salicyl-β-aminoalcohol complexes

N-salicyl-β-amino alcohols 1 were synthesized and evaluated as ligands for catalytic asymmetric Strecker reactions. N-Benzhydrylaldimines derived from aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes reacted with TMSCN in the presence of 10 mol% of Ti-1 complex to give the Strecker products in excellent yields and in up to >98% ee. The presence of a protic additive is essential to ensure good conversion and reaction rate. The reaction conditions are simple and the stereochemical outcome is predictable from the configuration of the ligands, both enantiomers of which are readily synthesized.     

Ab initio study of the reaction path of the reaction HNCO+CN

HNCO is a convenient photolytic source of NCO and NH radicals for laboratory kinetics studies of elementary reaction[1] and plays an important role in the combustion and atmosphere chemistry. It can re- move deleterious compounds rapidly from exhausted ga…     

Asymmetric organocatalytic cascade Michael/hemiketalization/retro-Henry reaction of β,γ-unsaturated ketoesters with α-nitroketones

An unprecedented enantioselective organocatalytic Michael/hemiketalization/retro-Henry cascade sequence is described, which catalyzed by a simple bifunctional indane amine-thiourea catalyst. This process provides a new route to the enantioselective synthesis of 5-nitro-pent-2-enoates, a precursor to α-ketolactam.     

One-pot synthesis of α,α-difluoroimines from alkynes through tandem catalytic diboration/fluorination/imination reaction

Tandem catalytic diboration/fluorination/imination of arylacetylenes leads to the formation of α,α-difluoroimines, where the adjacent CN and C-F₂ bonds are formed simultaneously. The convenient one-pot protocol involves a Pt(0)-catalyzed diboration of terminal or internal arylalkynes followed by electrophilic fluorination with Selectfluor in the presence of primary amines and a dehydrating agent. A plausible mechanism for the three consecutive steps (diboration/fluorination/imination) is suggested in accordance with the electronic properties of the substrates. Alkynes/catalytic diboration/alkenyl diboronate esters/Selectfluor/electrophilic fluorination/α,α-difluoroimines.     

NO-NH3-O2 reaction catalyzed by V2O5/AC at low temperatures —Effects of SO2, V2O5 loading and reaction temperature

The effects of SO₂, V₂O₅ loading and reaction temperature on the activity of activated carbon supported vanadium oxide catalyst have been studied for the reduction of NO with NH₃ at low temperatures (150—250°C). It is found that SO₂ significantly promotes the catalyst activity. Both V₂O₅ loading and reaction temperature are vital to the promoting effect of SO₂. The catalysts with V₂O₅ loadings of 1—5 weight percent have a positive effect on the promotion of SO₂, while the catalysts with V₂O₅ loadings of above 7 weight percent have not such an effect or show a negative effect. At lower temperatures (<180°C) SO₂ poisons the catalyst but at higher temperatures promotes it. The reason of the SO₂ promotion was also discussed; it may results from the formation of SO₄ ²⁻ on the catalyst surface, which increases the surface acidity and hence the catalytic activity.     

Asymmetric organocatalytic cascade Michael/acyl transfer reaction of 2-hydroxychalcones with α-nitroketones

A highly enantioselective (84–97% ee) cascade Michael/acyl transfer reaction of α-nitroketones to a wide range of 2-hydroxychalcones was established in the presence of a bifunctional squaramide. Although aliphatic α-nitroketones were revealed to be a class of challenging substrates with unsatisfactory reactivity or enantioselectivity by previous reports, good isolated yields and excellent enantiopurities have been achieved via our catalytic protocol. γ-Nitroketones created by this new methodology were versatile building blocks possessing profound further synthetic utility.     

Solvent effects on the asymmetric Diels–Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and (−)-menthyl acrylate revisited with the three-layer hybrid local self-consistent field/molecular mechanics/self-consistent reaction field method

The construction of the three-layer hybrid local self-consistent field/molecular mechanics/self-consistent reaction field method is detailed. This method is specifically devoted to the study of the reactivity of large chemical systems in solution. The solvent, modeled by a polarizable continuum, surrounds the whole solute molecule. Solute–solvent interactions are taken into account by means of the self-consistent reaction field approach. The solute system is treated by both quantum and molecular mechanics, the former being principally applied to the reactive part, i.e., the part undertaking bond forming or breaking, the latter being reserved for the ancillary encumbering groups. The connection between the molecular mechanics and the quantum mechanics part is accomplished by a strictly localized bond orbital that remains frozen within the local self-consistent field framework. As a test system, the asymmetric Diels–Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and (–)-menthyl acrylate is studied for the first time with steric interactions and electrostatic solvent effects taken into account simultaneously. The results indicate that the coupling of both interactions leads to conclusions that could not have been guessed from separate calculations.Proceedings of the 11th International Congress of Quantum chemistry satellite meeting in honour of Jean-Louis Rivail     

DMAP catalysed vinylogous Rauhut–Currier reaction of allenoates with para-quinone methides

The hitherto unknown, organocatalysed (DMAP) vinylogous Rauhut-Currier reaction of 2,3-butadienoates with para-quinone methides has been achieved. The products, diarylmethane substituted allenoates, are formed in high to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions.