Transition metal-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond activation

This tutorial review deals with recent developments in the activation of C-C bonds in organic molecules that have been catalyzed by transition metal complexes. Many chemists have devised a variety of strategies for C-C bond activation and significant progress has been made in this field over the past few decades. However, there remain only a few examples of the catalytic activation of C-C bonds, in spite of the potential use in organic synthesis, and most of the previously published reviews have dwelt mainly on the stoichiometric reactions. Consequently, this review will focus mainly on the catalytic reaction of C-C bond cleavage by homogeneous transition metal catalysts. The contents include cleavage of C-C bonds in strained and unstrained molecules, and cleavage of multiple C-C bonds such as C[triple bond]C triple bonds in alkynes. Multiple bond metathesis and heterogeneous systems are beyond the scope of this review, though they are also fascinating areas of C-C bond activation. In this review, the strategies and tactics for C-C bond activation will be explained.     

Gold-catalyzed cyclizations of alkynol-based compounds: synthesis of natural products and derivatives

The last decade has witnessed dramatic growth in the number of reactions catalyzed by gold complexes because of their powerful soft Lewis acid nature. In particular, the gold-catalyzed activation of propargylic compounds has progressively emerged in recent years. Some of these gold-catalyzed reactions in alkynes have been optimized and show significant utility in organic synthesis. Thus, apart from significant methodology work, in the meantime gold-catalyzed cyclizations in alkynol derivatives have become an efficient tool in total synthesis. However, there is a lack of specific review articles covering the joined importance of both gold salts and alkynol-based compounds for the synthesis of natural products and derivatives. The aim of this Review is to survey the chemistry of alkynol derivatives under gold-catalyzed cyclization conditions and its utility in total synthesis, concentrating on the advances that have been made in the last decade, and in particular in the last quinquennium.     

Recent Advances in the Intermolecular Oxidative Difunctionalization of Alkenes

Functionalization of alkenes has been well investigated by chemists, thus it has been extensively applied in organic synthesis and industries. In the past few decades, transition‐metal, such as palladium, rhodium, gold, iridium, copper and iron, catalyzed functionalization reactions of alkenes have been significantly developed and played vital roles in synthesis. The difunctionalization of alkenes are appealing as an important alternative to the traditional approaches for the construction of useful carbon centers, particularly carbon quaternary centers, which commonly existed as structural motifs in numerous natural products, pharmaceuticals, and biologically active molecules. This account will summarize our recent advances in the intermolecular difunctionalization of alkenes, and also highlight the scope and limitations as well as the mechanisms of these difunctionalization reactions. In general, in this account the difunctionalization of alkenes starting from dicarbofunctionalization will be discussed. Then carboheterofunctionalization of alkenes will be intensively reviewed, and diheterofunctionalization will also be highlighted.     

Supported gold nanoparticles as catalysts for organic reactions

This critical review is intended to attract the interest of organic chemists and researchers on green and sustainable chemistry on the catalytic activity of supported gold nanoparticles in organic transformations. In the general part of this critical review, emphasis is given to the different procedures to form supported gold nanoparticles and to the importance of the support cooperating in the catalysis. Also the convergence of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis in the study of gold nanoparticles has been discussed. The core part of this review is constituted by sections in which the reactions catalyzed by supported gold nanoparticles are described. Special emphasis is made on the unique ability of gold catalysts to promote additions to multiple C-C bonds, benzannulations and alcohol oxidation by oxygen (282 references).     

Non‐Redox‐Metal‐Catalyzed Redox Reactions: Zinc Catalysts

The advantages of zinc catalysts, such as their low toxicity, low cost, and environmentally benignity, are encouraging organic chemists to explore their applications in organic synthesis. As a non‐redox metal, zinc catalysts have been investigated in redox reactions over the past few decades. Because of the importance of redox reactions, the interest in zinc catalysts, and the fact that no review on zinc‐catalyzed redox reactions has been published, herein, I have collected and summarized the main contributions in this area. This review is divided into two parts: reduction reactions and oxidation reactions.     

Synthesis,Structures and Properties of C(sp2)‐Centered Homo‐ and Hetero‐Nuclear Gold Complexes

C(sp²)‐centered homo‐ and hetero‐nuclear gold complexes have attracted widespread interests in recent decades. Studies of this type of complexes may deepen the understandings of the intermediates in Au‐catalyzed organic reactions and explore new applications in catalytic and material science. The focuses of this review include the synthesis, structural characteristics, properties and applications of C(sp²)‐centered homo‐ and hetero‐nuclear gold complexes according to different structural classifications.     

纳米金催化的绿色合成与清洁反应研究新进展

近年来,基于多相纳米金(Au)催化的绿色合成与清洁反应研究引起了人们的广泛关注。与传统的铂族金属催化剂相比,纳米Au催化剂在控制反应选择性、高收率获得目标产物以及实现高效简约的一锅法串联反应合成等符合"原子经济"及"步骤经济"等绿色化学理念的新反应及新过程方面展现了其独特的优势,已成为当前绿色催化领域研究的热点和前沿。主要综述了我们研究小组在纳米Au催化绿色合成领域,尤其是利用纳米Au催化高效制取含氮精细有机化合物及生物质资源高值化利用方面所取得的研究进展,介绍了各类反应的特点、优势及在合成中的应用。     

Enantioselective organocatalytic aldol reaction using small organic molecules

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Enantioselective reactions catalyzed by small organic molecules (asymmetric organocatalysis) are a comparatively new and popular segment in the area of contemporary research in asymmetric synthesis. The great synthetic utility of the aldol reaction for the formation of C–C bonds has geared up for a hard battle for research in this area resulting in a rapid evolution of tremendous highly enantioselective chiral catalysts. This review emphasizes asymmetric direct aldol reactions catalyzed by small enantioenriched organic molecules, particularly those involving enamine catalysis through primary and secondary amines. We have made significant efforts to include several important contributions from different groups in this area.     

Chirality Transfer and Memory of Chirality in Gold‐Catalyzed Reactions

Over the last few years, gold‐catalyzed reactions that involved chirality transfer and memory of chirality (MOC) have emerged as a powerful tool in enantioselective synthesis. This technique has allowed for the single‐step synthesis of enantioenriched compounds from readily available starting materials. This Focus Review discusses this emerging field with an emphasis on mechanistic aspects and their applications in synthetic organic chemistry.     

Activated metallic gold as an agent for direct methoxycarbonylation

We have discovered that metallic gold is a highly effective vehicle for the low-temperature vapor-phase carbonylation of methanol by insertion of CO into the O-H bond to form methoxycarbonyl. This reaction contrasts sharply to the carbonylation pathway well known for homogeneously catalyzed carbonylation reactions, such as the synthesis of acetic acid. The methoxycarbonyl intermediate can be further employed in a variety of methoxycarbonylation reactions, without the use or production of toxic chemicals. More generally we observe facile, selective methoxycarbonylation of alkyl and aryl alcohols and secondary amines on metallic gold well below room temperature. A specific example is the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate, which has extensive use in organic synthesis. This work establishes a unique framework for using oxygen-activated metallic gold as a catalyst for energy-efficient, environmentally benign production of key synthetic chemical agents.     

Trends in lipase-catalyzed asymmetric access to enantiomerically pure/enriched compounds

Over the last few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of publications in the field of lipase-catalyzed reactions performed in common organic solvents, ionic liquids or even non-conventional solvents. A fairly large percentage of these publications have emerged from organic chemists who have recognized the potential of biocatalysis as a viable and popular technique in organic synthesis. Considerable research has shown that reactions catalyzed by enzymes are more selective and efficiently performed than many of their analogues in the organic chemistry laboratory. This review article focuses on some of the recent developments in the rapidly growing field of lipase-catalyzed asymmetric access to enantiomerically pure/enriched compounds. The literature search is dated back to the last five years and covers some comprehensive examples.     

On-surface synthesis of cyclic organic molecules

Creating or connecting together large organic molecules, as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), by chemical reactions readily on surfaces is the first step to a true advance in the field of molecular electronics. On-surface synthesis can be regarded as an efficient means to build new molecular species by using bottom-up strategies. Recently, a collection of different reactions leading to large tailor-made organic molecules on single-crystal metal surfaces has been reported. The fundamental mechanisms controlling these reactions can be investigated from a surface science perspective. This discipline skillfully combines the use of characterization techniques at the nanoscale, with single-crystal metallic surfaces able to catalyse these reactions. We present a tutorial review that highlights the relevance of the new bottom up strategies and classifies most of the different molecular on-surface reactions involving aromatic organic molecules that have been published up to date.     

金属复分解闭环反应合成C=C键的研究进展

金属复分解反应是合成C=C键的有效方法,被广泛地用于合成各种类型的化合物,特别是碳环、杂环化合物以及天然产物的合成。本文综述了近年来金属复分解反应合成C=C键的最新研究进展。参考文献31篇。     

Synthesis of five-membered N-heterocycles using Rh based metal catalysts

Abstract

One of the highly emerging and an important aspect of organic chemistry is the metal catalyzed synthesis of heterocycles. The methodologies used earlier for their synthesis were less approachable to the organic chemist because of their high cost, highly specified instrumentation, and inconvenient methods. For both the stereoselective and regioselective synthesis of five-membered nitrogen containing heterocycles, cyclic reactions that are Rh-catalyzed have known to be very efficient. The present review covers the varied applications of Rh as a catalyst and its importance in the formation of five-membered nitrogen containing heterocycles. The fascinating research that has been done in this area is enclosed in this review.     

Gold‐Catalyzed Annulations of 2‐Alkynyl Benzaldehydes with Vinyl Ethers: Synthesis of Dihydronaphthalene,Isochromene, and Bicyclo[2.2.2]octane Derivatives

With the suitable selection of a gold catalyst as well as the appropriate control of the reaction conditions, various new gold‐catalyzed cyclizations of 2‐alkynyl benzaldehyde with acyclic or cyclic vinyl ethers have been developed. Acetal‐tethered dihydronaphthalene and isochromenes were obtained from the reactions of 2‐alkynyl benzaldehydes with acyclic vinyl ethers under mild conditions. And, more interestingly, the gold‐catalyzed reactions of 2‐alkynyl benzaldehyde with a cyclic vinyl ether afforded the bicyclo[2.2.2]octane derivative involving two molecules of cyclic vinyl ethers. These products contain interesting substructures that have been found in many biologically active molecules and natural products. In addition, a gold‐catalyzed homo‐dimerization of 2‐phenylethynyl benzaldehyde 1 a was observed when the reaction was carried out in the absence of vinyl ether, affording a set of separable diastereomeric products. Plausible mechanisms for these transformations are discussed; a gold‐containing benzopyrylium was regarded as the crucial intermediate by which a number of these new transformations took place.     

Recent advances in asymmetric reactions catalyzed by chiral phosphoric acids

The very recent advances in chiral phosphoric acids (CPAs) catalyzed asymmetric reactions are discussed.     

Direct Trifluoromethylselenolation and Fluoroalkylselenolation of C−H Bonds: Recent Advances in Reagents Development and Reactions

Due to their high lipophilicity and strong electron-withdrawing property, more and more attention has been paid to introducing trifluoromethylseleno and fluoroalkylseleno moieties into organic molecules. In this short review, we categorize the synthesis of compounds that combine selenium and fluorinated moieties into two main types: trifluoromethylselenolation (CF₃Se) and fluoroalkylselenolation (R_fSe, except CF₃Se). This review aims to provide a summary of the recent advances in direct C−H trifluoromethylselenolation and fluoroalkylselenolation from the synthesis of trifluoromethylselenolation and fluoroalkylselenolation reagents to their application. Based on the method of how the R_fSe group was introduced, the main content is divided into three parts: transition-metal-free reactions, transition-metal-mediated/catalyzed reactions and photo-catalyzed reactions. The general substrate scope, mechanism and limitations would also be discussed so that we hope the review will serve as an inspiration for further research in this appealing research field.     

Gold for C?C Coupling Reactions: A Swiss‐Army‐Knife Catalyst?

For organic chemists, the construction of C C bonds is the most essential aspect of the assembly of molecules. Transition‐metal‐catalyzed coupling reactions have evolved as one of the key tools for this task. Lately, gold has also emerged as a catalyst for this kind of transformation. Gold, with its special properties as a mild carbophilic π Lewis acid, its ability to insert into C H bonds, and, as discovered recently, its ability to undergo redox transformations, offers the opportunity to apply all this potent proficiency for the construction of compounds in an efficient and economical way. This Minireview critically presents the C C coupling reactions enabled by gold catalysts to encourage further research activities in this promising area of oxidation/reduction gold catalysts.     

Synthetic routes to seven and higher membered S-heterocycles by use of metal and nonmetal catalyzed reactions

Nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur containing heterocycles have a wide range of biological activities. Metal and nonmetal catalysts are used in organic reactions with high activity. New strategies have been developed for the preparation of heterocycles in the last decades. The metal and nonmetal catalyzed synthesis of heterocycles is becoming an important and highly rewarding protocol in organic synthesis. In this review article, the synthesis of seven and higher-membered S-heterocycles is presented with the application of metal and nonmetal catalysts for the period from 1968 to 2018.     

Applications of and alternatives to pi-electron-deficient azine organometallics in metal catalyzed cross-coupling reactions

While the use of pi-deficient azine halides in palladium catalyzed cross-coupling reactions is common, the use of pi-electron deficient azine organometallics has been less intensively examined. In recent years, important advances have been made that are beginning to address this deficiency and need. The purpose of this tutorial review is to highlight and discuss the innovations that facilitate the synthesis of azine-containing biaryls with a focus on the pyridine structural motif. Given the number of important compounds which exhibit azine-heterobiaryls and the wide use of cross-coupling methods in their synthesis, this review should be of interest among synthetic organic chemists and organometallic chemists alike.