Synthesis of indenes by the palladium-catalyzed carboannulation of internal alkynes

[reaction: see text] A number of highly substituted indenes have been prepared in good yields by treating functionally substituted aryl halides with various internal alkynes in the presence of a palladium catalyst. The reaction is believed to proceed by regioselective arylpalladation of the alkyne and subsequent nucleophilic displacement of the palladium in the resulting vinylpalladium intermediate.     

Palladium-catalyzed carboannulation of propargylic carbonates and nucleophiles to 2-substituted indenes

A new and efficient synthesis of 2-substituted indenes has been achieved via palladium-catalyzed carboannulation of propargylic carbonates with nucleophiles in good to excellent yields. A variety of nucleophiles were tolerated in this reaction.     

Synthesis of indenes from alkynes and phenyl amino chromium carbene complexes

Reactions of phenyl morpholino or pyrrolidino chromium carbene complexes with alkynes in DMF at 120–125°C resulted in exclusive formation of the indene derivatives.     

Synthesis of indenes via palladium-catalyzed carboannulation of diethyl 2-(2-(1-alkynyl)phenyl)malonate and organic halides

Highly substituted indenes have been prepared in good yields by the palladium-catalyzed carboannulation of diethyl 2-(2-(1-alkynyl)phenyl)malonate with aryl, benzylic, and alkenyl halides. The reaction conditions and the scope of the process were examined, and a possible mechanism is proposed.     

Synthesis of new benzo[b]thieno fused ring systems via transition metal-mediated cyclisations

The compact synthesis of a new ring fused benzo[b]thieno derivative with an embedded nine-membered ring system via ring closing metathesis methodology is described. The preparation of the novel 11H-benzo[b]thieno[2,3-c]pyrrolo[2,3-a]indol-11-one via palladium-mediated oxidative cyclisation of benzo[b]thien-2-oyl indole derivatives is also reported.     

Synthesis of indenes from phenylpropanones using alumina catalyst

1,3-Diphenylpronan-2-one undergoes dehydration over alumina at around 400° C to form 1,3-diphenylallene which cyclizes to 2-phenylindene. Since the parent ketone can be obtained under the reaction conditions from phenylacetic acid, the present reaction forms a one step syntheses of 2-phenylindene from phenylacetic acid. 3- and 4-methylphenylacetic acids also give the corresponding indenes. 1,3-Diphenylpropan-1-ones also give phenylindenes, presumably by a direct cyclodehydration reaction.     

Synthesis of indenes by ytterbium-catalyzed carboalkoxylation/Friedel-Crafts reaction of arylidenecyclopropanes with acetals

Ytterbium-catalyzed tandem carboalkoxylation/Friedel-Crafts reaction of arylidenecyclopropanes 1 with acetals 2 afforded the corresponding indene derivatives 3 in good to high yields. For example, in the presence of 10 mol % of Yb(OTf)₃ the reaction of 1-phenylbenzylidenecyclopropane 1a with the dimethyl acetals of benzaldehyde 2a, p-tolualdehyde 2b, and p-anisaldehyde 2c gave 1,3-diphenyl-2-(2-methoxyethyl)indene 3a, 2-(2-methoxyethyl)-3-phenyl-1-(p-tolyl)indene 3b, and 1-(p-anisyl)-2-(2-methoxyethyl)-3-phenylindene 3c in 82%, 80%, and 80% yields, respectively.     

Synthesis of planar-chiral bridged bipyridines and terpyridines by metal-mediated coupling reactions of pyridinophanes

We have accomplished efficient synthesis of planar-chiral bridged 2,2′-bipyridine (S)-6, C₂-symmetric bipyridinophane (S,S)-7, bridged 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridines (S)-11, and C₂-symmetric terpyridine (S,S)-12 by metal-mediated biaryl cross-coupling or homo-coupling reactions of the corresponding 6-halo[10](2,5)pyridinophanes. Stille-type and Negishi cross-coupling reactions are particularly useful for the syntheses of 6, 11, and 12. On the other hand, nickel-mediated homo-coupling reaction worked best for achieving the synthesis of structurally unique bipyridinophane 7.     

Synthesis of selectively deuterated fulvenes and indenes from enediynes

A facile enediyne--> fulvene--> indene transformation provides a route to all possible isotopomers of substituted fulvenes and indenes.     

Synthesis of beta- and gamma-carbolines by the palladium-catalyzed iminoannulation of alkynes

A variety of substituted beta- and gamma-carbolines have been prepared in moderate to excellent yields by the palladium-catalyzed annulation of internal and terminal acetylenes by the tert-butylimines of N-substituted 3-iodoindole-2-carboxaldehydes and 2-haloindole-3-carboxaldehydes, respectively. This annulation chemistry is effective for a wide range of alkynes, including aryl-, alkyl-, hydroxymethyl-, ethoxycarbonyl-, and trimethylsilyl-substituted alkynes. When an unsymmetrical internal alkyne is employed, this method generally gives two regioisomers. When a terminal alkyne is employed, only one regioisomer has been isolated. This palladium-catalyzed annulation chemistry has also been successfully applied to the synthesis of two biologically interesting beta-carboline alkaloids, ZK93423 and abecarnil (ZK112119).     

Synthesis of substituted naphthalenes by the palladium-catalyzed annulation of internal alkynes

[reaction: see text] A variety of substituted naphthalenes have been prepared by the palladium-catalyzed carboannulation of internal alkynes. This method (1) forms two new carbon-carbon bonds in a single step, (2) accommodates a variety of functional groups, and (3) affords excellent yields of highly substituted naphthalenes.     

Synthesis of amidine complexes by metal-mediated addition of amino acid esters to coordinated nitriles

The reaction of the nitrile platinum(IV) complex trans-[PtCl₄(EtCN)₂] with amino acid esters H₂NC(R¹)(R²)CO₂Me (R¹ = R² = H, H-Me, Me-Me, H-Ph) and H₂NCH₂CH₂CO₂Me in CH₂Cl₂ produces the amidine complexes trans-[PtCl₄{ Z-NH=C(Et)NHC(R¹)(R²)CO₂Me}₂] and trans-[PtCl₄{ Z-NH=C(Et)NHCH₂CH₂CO₂Me}₂], which were isolated in 70–80% yields and characterized by elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, IR spectroscopy, and ¹H and ¹³C{¹H} NMR spectroscopy. The structures of the complexes with R¹ = R² = H (1), R¹ = H, R² = Me (2), and R¹ = H, R² = Ph (4) were established by X-ray diffraction analysis.__________Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 601–605, March, 2005.     

Synthesis of beta- and gamma-carbolines by the palladium-catalyzed iminoannulation of internal alkynes

[reaction: see text] A variety of substituted beta- and gamma-carbolines have been prepared in good to excellent yields by the annulation of internal acetylenes by the tert-butylimines of N-substituted 3-iodoindole-2-carboxaldehydes and 2-haloindole-3-carboxaldehydes, respectively, in the presence of a palladium catalyst.     

Synthesis of naphthalenes and 2-naphthols by the electrophilic cyclization of alkynes

[reactions: see text] A wide variety of substituted naphthalenes are readily prepared regioselectively under mild reaction conditions by the 6-endo-dig electrophilic cyclization of appropriate arene-containing propargylic alcohols by ICl, I2, Br2, NBS, and PhSeBr. 3-Iodo-2-naphthols have also been prepared in excellent yields by the cyclization of analogous 1-aryl-3-alkyn-2-ones. This methodology readily accommodates various functional groups and has been successfully extended to the synthesis of substituted carbazoles and dibenzothiophenes.     

Intramolecular cyanoboration of alkynes via activation of boron-cyanide bonds by transition metal catalysts

Cyano(dialkylamino)boryl ethers of homopropargylic alcohols undergo intramolecular addition of a B-CN bond across their carbon-carbon triple bonds (cyanoboration) in the presence of palladium and nickel catalysts, furnishing five-membered cyclic boryl ethers regioselectively in good yields via 5-exo cyclization. The products were transformed into highly substituted α,β-unsaturated nitriles via Suzuki-Miyaura coupling to aryl iodides, rhodium-catalyzed conjugative addition to methyl vinyl ketone, and rhodium-catalyzed protodeborylation.     

Synthesis of novel carborane-containing terminal alkynes

Lithiation of 1-bromomethyl-o-carborane with lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) in THF results in the in situ formation of 1-lithio-2-bromomethyl-o-carborane, the reaction of which with 3-trimethylsilylprop-2-ynal gives 2-(2-trimethylsilylethynyl)-3,4-(о-carborano)-2,5-dihydrofuran. Subsequent base-catalyzed desilylation furnishes new terminal alkynes of closoand nido-carborane series.     

C-C versus C-H bond activation of alkynes by early second-row transition metal atoms

The reactions of Y (a2D), Zr (a3F), Nb (a6D), Mo (a7S), and electronically excited-state Mo* (a5S) with propyne (methylacetylene) and 2-butyne (1,2-dimethylacetylene) were investigated using crossed molecular beams. For all of the metals studied, reactions with propyne led to H2 elimination, forming MC3H2. For Y + propyne, C-C bond cleavage forming YCCH + CH3 also was observed, with an energetic threshold in good agreement with an earlier determination of D0(Y-CCH). For Y + 2-butyne, three reactive channels were observed: YC4H4 + H2, YC3H3 + CH3, and YC3H2 + CH4. The C-C bond cleavage products accounted for 21 and 27% of the total products at Ecoll = 69 and 116 kJ/mol, respectively. For Zr and Nb reactions with 2-butyne, competition between H2 and CH4 elimination was observed, with C-C bond cleavage accounting for 12 and 4% of the total product signal at Ecoll = 71 kJ/mol, respectively. For reactions of Mo and Mo* with 2-butyne, only H2 elimination was observed. The similarity between reactions involving two isomeric species, propyne and allene, suggests that H atom migration is facile in these systems.