Chiral Aryl Pyridyl Alcohols as Enantioselective Catalysts in the Addition of Diethylzinc to Substituted Benzaldehydes

Chiral (5‐aryl‐10, 10‐dimethyl‐6‐aza‐tricyclo[7.1.1.0^2,7]undeca‐2(7),3,5‐trien‐8‐yl)‐diphenyl‐methanols were prepared from highly enantiopure (1R)‐(+)‐α‐pinene (> 97% ee), and applied in the enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to substituted benzaldehydes, to yield alcohols with the (S)‐configuration with an enantiomeric excess that typically ranges from 19 to 86%. Importantly, the electron‐withdrawing substituents at the meta‐position of the substituted benzaldehydes exhibited high enantioselectivity during alkylation using diethylzinc.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the oxidation of substituted benzaldehydes by hexamethylenetetramine‐bromine

The oxidation of thirty‐six monosubstituted benzaldehydes by hexa‐methylenetetramine‐bromine (HABR), in aqueous acetic acid solution, leads to the formation of the corresponding benzoic acids. The reaction is first order with respect to HABR. Michaelis‐Menten–type kinetics were observed with respect to aldehyde. The reaction failed to induce the polymerization of acrylonitrile. There is no effect of hexamethylenetetramine on the reaction rate. The oxidation of [²H]benzaldehyde (PhCDO) indicated the presence of a substantial kinetic isotope effect. The effect of solvent composition indicated that the reaction rate increases with an increase in the polarity of the solvent. The rates of oxidation of meta‐ and para‐substituted benzaldehydes showed excellent correlations in terms of Charton's triparametric LDR equation, whereas the oxidation of ortho‐substituted benzaldehydes correlated well with tetraparametric LDRS equation. The oxidation of para‐substituted benzaldehydes is more susceptible to the delocalization effect but the oxidation of ortho‐ and meta‐substituted compounds displayed a greater dependence on the field effect. The positive value of γ suggests the presence of an electron‐deficient reaction center in the rate‐determining step. The reaction is subjected to steric acceleration when ortho‐substituents are present. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 32: 615–622, 2000     

The ortho effect: copper-catalyzed highly enantioselective 1,4-conjugate addition of diethylzinc to chalcones

The copper-catalyzed enantioselective 1,4-conjugate addition of diethylzinc to chalcones was investigated in the presence of a catalytic amount of N,P-ferrocenyl ligands with central and planar chirality under mild conditions (0 °C→rt). It was found that chalcones with ortho-substituents (from ortho-substituted benzaldehydes and acetophenone/substituted acetophenones) led to a dramatic improvement in the enantioselectivities. The (R)- and (S)-antipodes of the addition reaction were obtained with up to 92% ee after this transformation.     

Optically Active Helical Poly[(S)‐3‐vinyl‐2,2′‐dihydroxy‐1,1′‐binaphthyl]: New Ligand for Asymmetric Addition of Diethylzinc to Aryl Aldehyde

Poly[(S)‐3‐vinyl‐2,2′‐dihydroxy‐1,1′‐binaphthyl] (L*) was obtained by taking off the protecting groups of poly[(S)‐3‐vinyl‐2,2′‐bis(methoxymethoxy)‐1,1′‐binaphthyl] (poly‐ 1 ). L* was proved to keep a stable helical conformation in solution. The application of helical L* in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to aldehydes has been studied. The catalytic system employing 10 mol% of L* and 150 mol% of Ti(OⁱPr)₄ was found to promote the addition of diethylzinc to a wide range of aromatic aldehydes, giving up to 99% enantiomeric excess (ee) and up to 93% yield of the corresponding secondary alcohol at 0°C. The chiral polymer can be easily recovered and reused without loss of catalytic activity as well as enantioselectivity.     

Straightforward access to chiral diol bidentate ligands: their efficient enantioselective induction in the addition of diethylzinc to aromatic aldehydes

Enantiopure C₂‐symmetric diol bidentate ligands have been synthesized in a straightforward manner through a three‐step reaction with good yields. The synthesized C₂‐symmetric diol bidentate ligands were used in the addition of diethylzinc to various aromatic aldehydes, a general catalytic benchmark reaction, in order to assess their enantioselective induction properties. The enantioselective addition of diethylzinc to 1‐naphthaldehyde and 3‐chlorobenzaldehyde was achieved with an enantiomeric excess (ee) of up to 98%. All synthesized ligands were also evaluated in the addition of diethyzinc to aromatic aldehydes including an extra metal such as Ti(IV) (up to 99% ee). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Organocatalytic Domino Oxa‐Michael/1,6‐Addition Reactions: Asymmetric Synthesis of Chromans Bearing Oxindole Scaffolds

An asymmetric organocatalytic domino oxa‐Michael/1,6‐addition reaction of ortho‐hydroxyphenyl‐substituted para‐quinone methides and isatin‐derived enoates has been developed. In the presence of 5 mol % of a bifunctional thiourea organocatalyst, this scalable domino reaction affords 4‐phenyl‐substituted chromans bearing spiro‐connected oxindole scaffolds and three adjacent stereogenic centers in good to excellent yields (up to 98 %) and with very high stereoselectivities (up to >20:1 d.r., >99 % ee).     

Functionalization of Hexa‐peri‐hexabenzocoronenes: Investigation of the Substituent Effects on a Superbenzene

We have demonstrated that the iridium‐catalyzed direct borylation of hexa‐peri‐hexabenzocoronene (HBC) enables regioselective introduction of boryl groups to the para‐, ortho‐, and meta‐substituted HBCs in high yields. The boryl groups have been transformed into various functionalities such as hydroxy, cyano, ethynyl, and amino groups. We have elucidated that the substituents significantly influence the photophysical properties of HBCs to enhance fluorescence quantum yields. DFT calculations revealed that the origin of the substituent effect is the lift in degeneracy in the frontier orbitals by an interaction with electron‐donating and electron‐withdrawing substituents at the para‐ and ortho‐positions. The change in molecular orbitals results in an increase of the transition probability from the S₀→S₁ states. In addition, the two‐photon absorption cross‐section values of para‐substituted HBCs are significantly larger than those of ortho‐ and meta‐substituted HBCs.     

A C2-symmetric chiral bipyridyldiol–titanium complex as a catalyst for the asymmetric trimethylsilylcyanation of substituted benzaldehydes

This article describes a novel C₂-symmetric ligand that comprises a central bipyridine-pinene-derived core and two functionalized two diphenylmethanol subunits. The [8′-(hydroxy-diphenyl-methyl)-10,10,10′,10′-tetramethyl-[5,5′]bi[6-aza-tricyclo[7.1.1.0^2,7]undecyl]-2(7),3,5,2′(7′),3′,5′-hexane-8-yl]-diphenyl-methanol 1 is an effective catalyst in the enantioselective addition of trimethylsilylcyanide to various aromatic aldehydes with asymmetric inductions of up to 98% ee. Importantly, the correlation between Hammett substituent constants and the enantiomeric excess, and the electron-releasing group at the meta- and para-positions of substituted benzaldehydes were demonstrated to be associated with the high enantioselectivity of the trimethylsilylcyanation reaction that involves trimethylsilylcyanide.     

Regio‐ and Stereoselective Aliphatic–Aromatic Cross‐Benzoin Reaction: Enzymatic Divergent Catalysis

The catalytic asymmetric synthesis of chiral 2‐hydroxy ketones by using different thiamine diphosphate dependent enzymes, namely benzaldehyde lyase from Pseudomonas fluorescens (PfBAL), a variant of benzoylformate decarboxylase from Pseudomonas putida (PpBFD‐L461A), branched‐chain 2‐keto acid decarboxylase from Lactococcus lactis (LlKdcA) and a variant of pyruvate decarboxylase from Acetobacter pasteurianus (ApPDC‐E469G), was studied. Starting with the same set of substrates, substituted benzaldehydes in combination with different aliphatic aldehydes, PfBAL and PpBFD‐L461A selectively deliver the (R)‐ and (S)‐2‐hydroxy‐propiophenone derivatives, respectively. The (R)‐ and (S)‐phenylacetylcarbinol (1‐hydroxy‐1‐phenylacetone) derivatives are accessible in a similar way using LlKdcA and ApPDC‐E469G, respectively. In many cases excellent stereochemical purities (>98 % enantiomeric excess) could be achieved. Hence, the regio‐ and stereochemistry of the product in the asymmetric aliphatic–aromatic cross‐benzoin reaction can be controlled solely by choice of the appropriate enzyme or enzyme variant.     

Asymmetric Biocatalytic Synthesis of 1-Aryltetrahydro-β-carbolines Enabled by “Substrate Walking”

Stereoselective catalysts for the Pictet–Spengler reaction of tryptamines and aldehydes may allow a simple and fast approach to chiral 1-substituted tetrahydro-β-carbolines. Although biocatalysts have previously been employed for the Pictet–Spengler reaction, not a single one accepts benzaldehyde and its substituted derivatives. To address this challenge, a combination of substrate walking and transfer of beneficial mutations between different wild-type backbones was used to develop a strictosidine synthase from Rauvolfia serpentina (RsSTR) into a suitable enzyme for the asymmetric Pictet–Spengler condensation of tryptamine and benzaldehyde derivatives. The double variant RsSTR V176L/V208A accepted various ortho-, meta- and para-substituted benzaldehydes and produced the corresponding chiral 1-aryl-tetrahydro-β-carbolines with up to 99 % enantiomeric excess.     

Enantioselective Deprotonation/Electrophile Addition Reactions of Tricarbonyl(phenyl carbamate)chromium Complexes

Sequential reaction of the tricarbonyl[(η⁶-phenyl) carbamate]chromium complex 3 with chiral amide bases (see 4 and 5 ) and electrophiles yielded planar chiral ortho-substituted complexes 6 with up to 70% enantiomeric excess (ee) (Scheme 2, Table 1 and 2). The enantiomer purity could be increased to >90% ee by fractional crystallization. In all but one case the racemate crystallized selectively, leaving the enantiomerically enriched complex in solution. X-Ray crystal-structure analyses of rac- 6a and (1R)- 6a suggest that this can be ascribed to a more favorable packing of enantiomers of opposite configuration in the solid state than that of the enantiomerically pure solid. Increasing the temperature of the intermediate ortho-lithiated aryl carbamate complex induced an anionic ortho-Fries rearrangement: The 1,3-transposition of the carbamoyl group yielded the ortho-substituted (η⁶-benzamide)tricarbonylchromium complexes 10 in 65% yield, after exposure to the electrophile (Scheme 6), and the use of a chiral amide base 5 in the deprotonation step afforded the product with an ee of 54%.     

Importance of a Fluorine Substituent for the Preparation of meta‐ and para‐Pentafluoro‐λ6‐sulfanyl‐Substituted Pyridines

Although there are ways to synthesize ortho‐pentafluoro‐λ⁶‐sulfanyl (SF₅) pyridines, meta‐ and para‐SF₅‐substituted pyridines are rare. We disclose herein a general route for their synthesis. The fundamental synthetic approach is the same as reported methods for ortho‐SF₅‐substituted pyridines and SF₅‐substituted arenes, that is, oxidative chlorotetrafluorination of the corresponding disulfides to give pyridylsulfur chlorotetrafluorides (SF₄Cl‐pyridines), followed by chloride/fluoride exchange with fluorides. However, the trick in this case is the presence on the pyridine ring of at least one fluorine atom, which is essential for the successful transformation of the disulfides into m‐and p‐SF₅‐pyridines. After enabling the synthesis of an SF₅‐substituted pyridine, ortho‐F groups can be efficiently substituted by C, N, S, and O nucleophiles through an S_NAr pathway. This methodology provides access to a variety of previously unavailable SF₅‐substituted pyridine building blocks.     

Ortho effects in mass spectrometric fragmentation processes

The mass spectra of the phenylhydrazones and 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones of ortho substituted benzaldehydes and acetophenones (X = I, Br, Cl, OCH₃, OH) show characteristic [M ? X]⁺ ions which allow the ortho derivatives to be distinguished from their meta and para isomers.     

Process‐Scale Total Synthesis of Nature‐Identical (−)‐(S,S)‐7‐Hydroxycalamenal in High Enantiomeric Purity through Catalytic Enantioselective Hydrogenation

A process‐scale stereoselective synthesis of nature‐identical (−)‐(S,S)‐7‐hydroxycalamenal (=(−)‐(5S,8S)‐5,6,7,8‐tetrahydro‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐8‐(1‐methylethyl)naphthalene‐2‐carbaldehyde; (−)‐ 1a ) in 96% enantiomeric excess (ee) with the aid of chiral Ru complexes has been developed. The key step was the enantioselective hydrogenation of easily accessible 2‐(4‐methoxyphenyl)‐3‐methylbut‐2‐enoic acid ( 10 ) to (+)‐ 11 in a 86% ee (Scheme 5 and Table 1). A substantial increase in optical purity (96% ee) was achieved by induced crystallization of the intermediate (+)‐3,4‐dihydro‐4‐(1‐methylethyl)‐7‐methoxy‐2H‐naphthalen‐1‐one ((+)‐ 3 ). Computational conformation analysis carried out on the analog (−)‐ 9 rationalized the high diastereoselectivity achieved in the catalytic hydrogenation of the CC bond.     

Asymmetric Syntheses of 2‐(1‐Aminoethyl)phenols

Three different routes were probed for the synthesis of enantiomerically enriched 2‐(1‐aminoethyl)phenols and their methyl ethers. The first route centers on diastereoselective nucleophile addition to chiral imines. The second route has as key steps the enantioselective reduction of a ketone followed by nucleophilic substitution, and the third route involves a diastereoselective imine reduction. The efficiency of the approach depends on the substrate substitution pattern. All three methods work well for the parent compound 2‐(1‐aminoethyl)phenol ( 1 ) but the third route is the most efficient, providing the compound with >96% enantiomer excess in three steps with an overall yield of 71%. Conversely, for the ortho‐methyl analogue 2 , the first method is best. For the t‐Bu‐substituted analogue 3 , only moderate enantiomeric enrichment was achieved.     

1-萘甲酰苯胺和2-萘甲酰苯胺的分子内电荷转移研究

A series of 1-naphthanilides (1) and 2-naphthanilides (2) with varied substituents at the para- or meta-position of anilino phenyl ring were prepared and their absorption and fluorescence spectra in a nonpolar solvent cyclohexane were investigated. An abnormal long wavelength emission assigned to the charge transfer (CT) state was found for all of the prepared naphthanilides in cyclohexane. A linear free energy correlation between the CT emission energies and the Hammett constants of the substituent was found within series 1 and 2. The value of the linear slope with 1 (0.42 eV) was higher than that with 2 (0.32 eV) being close to that of the substituted benzanilides 3 (0.31 eV) The higher slope value suggested higher charge separation extent in the CT state of 1 than that of 2. It was found that the corresponding linear slope of anilino-substituted benzanilides remained unchanged when para-, meta-, ortho-, or ortho, ortho-methyls were introduced into the anilino moiety, which ruled out the possible contribution of the difference in the steric effect and the electron accepting ability of the naphthoyl acceptor in 1 and 2. Compared with the early reported N-substituted-benzoyl-aminonaphthalene derivatives 4 and 5, it was considered that 1-naphthoyl enhanced the charge transfer in 1 and the proximity of its ^1La and ^1Lb states was suggested to be responsible. It was shown that 1- and/or 2-substituted naphthalene cores acting as either electron acceptor (naphthoyl) or electron donor (aminonaphthalene) were different in not only electron accepting (donating) ability but also shaping the charge transfer pathway.     

Efficient Synthesis of Differentiated syn‐1,2‐Diol Derivatives by Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation–Dynamic Kinetic Resolution of α‐Alkoxy‐Substituted β‐Ketoesters

Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation was applied to a wide range of racemic aryl α‐alkoxy‐β‐ketoesters in the presence of well‐defined, commercially available, chiral catalyst Ru^II–(N‐p‐toluenesulfonyl‐1,2‐diphenylethylenediamine) and a 5:2 mixture of formic acid and triethylamine as the hydrogen source. Under these conditions, dynamic kinetic resolution was efficiently promoted to provide the corresponding syn α‐alkoxy‐β‐hydroxyesters derived from substituted aromatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes with a high level of diastereoselectivity (diastereomeric ratio (d.r.)>99:1) and an almost perfect enantioselectivity (enantiomeric excess (ee)>99 %). Additionally, after extensive screening of the reaction conditions, the use of Ru^II‐ and Rh^III‐tethered precatalysts extended this process to more‐challenging substrates that bore alkenyl‐, alkynyl‐, and alkyl substituents to provide the corresponding syn α‐alkoxy‐β‐hydroxyesters with excellent enantiocontrol (up to 99 % ee) and good to perfect diastereocontrol (d.r.>99:1). Lastly, the synthetic utility of the present protocol was demonstrated by application to the asymmetric synthesis of chiral ester ethyl (2S)‐2‐ethoxy‐3‐(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐propanoate, which is an important pharmacophore in a number of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor α/γ dual agonist advanced drug candidates used for the treatment of type‐II diabetes.     

Band‐Gap Manipulations of Monolayer Graphene by Phenyl Radical Adsorptions: A Density Functional Theory Study

Phenyl radical (Ph^.) adsorption on monolayer graphene sheets is used to investigate the band‐gap manipulation of graphene through density functional theory. Adsorption of a single Ph^. on graphene breaks the aromatic π‐bond and generates an unpaired electron, which is delocalized to the ortho or para position. Adsorption of a second radical at the ortho or para position saturates the radical by electron pairing and results in semiconducting graphene. Adsorption of a second radical at the ortho position (ortho–ortho pairing) is found to be more favorable than adsorption at the para position (ortho–para pairing), and the ortho–ortho pairing has stronger effects on band‐gap opening compared with ortho–para pairing. Adsorption of even numbers of Ph^. on graphene by ortho–ortho and ortho–para pairings, in general, increases the band gap. Our study shows promise of band‐gap manipulation in monolayer graphene by Ph^. adsorption, leading to potential wider applications of graphene.     

Chiral,non-racemic α-hydroxyphosphonates and phosphonic acids via stereoselective hydroxylation of diallyl benzylphosphonates

Chiral, non-racemic α-hydroxyphosphonates have been prepared in high enantiomeric excess (96–98% ee), via stereoselective oxaziridine-mediated hydroxylation of diallyl benzylphosphonates. The enantiomeric purity and absolute configuration of the α-hydroxyphosphonates was established from ¹H and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy of the (S)-O-methylmandelate esters. Deprotection of the diallyl α-hydroxyphosphonates under neutral conditions furnished the corresponding free phosphonic acids, retaining a high degree of stereochemical purity (90 to >98% ee).     

A Convenient Synthesis of N‐Aryl Benzamides by Rhodium‐Catalyzed ortho‐Amidation and Decarboxylation of Benzoic Acids

The rhodium‐catalyzed amidation of substituted benzoic acids with isocyanates by directed C?H functionalization followed by decarboxylation to afford the corresponding N‐aryl benzamides is demonstrated, in which the carboxylate serves as a unique, removable directing group. Notably, less common meta‐substituted N‐aryl benzamides are generated readily from more accessible para‐ or ortho‐substituted groups by employing this strategy.