CaO solubility and activity coefficient in molten salts CaCl2–x (x = 0, NaCl, KCl, SrCl2, BaCl2 and LiCl)

CaO solubility in equimolar molten salts CaCl₂–x (x = 0, NaCl, KCl, SrCl₂, BaCl₂ and LiCl) was determined at 873–1223 K and activity coefficient calculated. CaO solubility in the binary salts is less than in CaCl₂, and the activity coefficient is greater than one. With increasing temperature CaO solubility increases and the activity coefficient decreases. The dependency of CaO activity coefficient on temperature in equimolar molten salts CaCl₂–x is

CaCl2	RTln γCaO = 6961 + 5.06 T (K)	1123–1223 K
CaCl2–NaCl	RTln γCaO = 3985 + 17.67 T (K)	923–1123 K
CaCl2–KCl	RTln γCaO = 2384 + 22.72 T (K)	1073–1223 K
CaCl2–SrCl2	RTln γCaO = 27245–1.13 T (K)	1073–1223 K
CaCl2–BaCl2	RTln γCaO = 17068 + 10.19 T (K)	1223–1273 K
CaCl2–LiCl	RTln γCaO = 14724 + 0.72 T (K)	923–1073 K

Full-size table

     

Competitive study of the reactions Br + RFI → IBr + RF and determination of bond dissociation energies D(RF−I) where RF = CF3, C2F5, n-;C3F7, i-C3F7, and n-C4F9

The overall photobromination reactions have been studied using a competitive technique. Relative Arrhenius parameters were obtained for the rate-determining step These were placed on an absolute basis using previous-absolute values of A and E for R_FI=CF₃I. The activation energies were used to calculate bond dissociation energies D(R? I) with the following results:

Ligand-promoted palladium-catalyzed β-methylene C–H arylation of primary aldehydes

The transient directing group (TDG) strategy allowed long awaited access to the direct β-C(sp³)–H functionalization of unmasked aliphatic aldehydes via palladium catalysis. However, the current techniques are restricted to terminal methyl functionalization, limiting their structural scopes and applicability. Herein, we report the development of a direct Pd-catalyzed methylene β-C–H arylation of linear unmasked aldehydes by using 3-amino-3-methylbutanoic acid as a TDG and 2-pyridone as an external ligand. Density functional theory calculations provided insights into the reaction mechanism and shed light on the roles of the external and transient directing ligands in the catalytic transformation.

Aliphatic aldehydes are among the most common structural units in organic and medicinal chemistry research. Direct C–H functionalization has enabled efficient and site-selective derivatization of aliphatic aldehydes.

Simple aliphatic functional groups enrich the skeletal backbones of many natural products, pharmaceuticals, and other industrial materials, influencing the utility and applications of these substances and dictating their reactivity and synthetic modification pathways. Aliphatic aldehydes are some of the most ubiquitous structural units in organic materials.¹ Their relevance in nature and industry alike, combined with their reactivity and synthetic versatility, attracted much attention from the synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry communities over the years (Fig. 1).² Efficient means to the functionalization of these molecules have always been highly sought after.Open in a separate windowFig. 1Select aliphatic aldehyde-containing medicines and biologically active molecules.Traditionally, scientists have utilized the high reactivity of the aldehyde moiety in derivatizing a variety of functional groups by the means of red-ox and nucleophilic addition reactions. The resourceful moiety was also notoriously used to install functional groups at the α-position via condensation and substitution pathways.³ Although β-functionalization is just as robust, it has generally been more restrictive as it often requires the use of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes.^4,5 Hence, transition metal catalysis emerged as a powerful tool to access β-functionalization in saturated aldehydes.⁶ Most original examples of metal-catalyzed β-C–H functionalization of aliphatic aldehydes required the masking of aldehydes into better metal coordinating units since free unmasked aldehydes could not form stable intermediates with metals like palladium on their own.⁷ Although the masking of the aldehyde moiety into an oxime, for example, enabled the formation of stable 5-membered palladacycles, affording β-functionalized products, this system requires the installation of the directing group prior to the functionalization, as well as the subsequent unmasking upon the reaction completion, compromising the step economy and atom efficiency of the overall process.⁸ Besides, some masking and unmasking protocols might not be compatible with select substrates, especially ones rich in functional groups. As a result, the development of a one-step direct approach to the β-C–H functionalization of free aliphatic aldehydes was a demanding target for synthetic chemists.α-Amino acids have been demonstrated as effective transient directing groups (TDGs) in the remote functionalization of o-alkyl benzaldehydes and aliphatic ketones by the Yu group in 2016.⁹ Shortly after, our group disclosed the first report on the direct β-C–H arylation of aliphatic aldehydes using 3-aminopropanoic acid or 3-amino-3-methylbutanoic acid as a TDG.¹⁰ The TDG was found to play a similar role to that of the oxime directing group by binding to the substrate via reversible imine formation, upon which, it assists in the assembly of a stable palladacycle, effectively functionalizing the β-position.¹¹ Since the binding of the TDG is reversible and temporary, it is automatically removed upon functionalization, yielding an efficient and step-economic transformation. This work was succeeded by many other reports that expanded the reaction and the TDG scopes.^12–14 However, this system suffers from a significant restriction that demanded resolution; only substitution of methyl C–H bonds of linear aldehydes was made possible via this approach (Scheme 1a–e). The steric limitations caused by incorporating additional groups at the β-carbon proved to compromise the formation of the palladacycle intermediate, rendering the subsequent functionalization a difficult task.¹²Open in a separate windowScheme 1Pd-catalyzed β-C–H bond functionalization of aliphatic aldehydes enabled by transient directing groups.Encouraged by the recent surge in use of 2-pyridone ligands to stabilize palladacycle intermediates,^15,16 we have successfully developed the first example of TDG-enabled Pd-catalyzed methylene β-C–H arylation in primary aldehydes via the assistance of 2-pyridones as external ligands (Scheme 1f). The incorporation of 2-pyridones proved to lower the activation energy of the C–H bond cleavage, promoting the formation of the intermediate palladacycles even in the presence of relatively bulky β-substituents.¹⁷ This key advancement significantly broadens the structural scopes and applications of this process and promises future asymmetric possibilities, perhaps via the use of a chiral TDG or external ligand or both. Notably, a closely related work from Yu''s group was published at almost the same time.¹⁸We commenced our investigation of the reaction parameters by employing n-pentanal (1a) as an unbiased linear aldehyde and 4-iodoanisole (2a) in the presence of catalytic Pd(OAc)₂ and stoichiometric AgTFA, alongside 3-amino-3-methylbutanoic acid (TDG1) and 3-(trifluoromethyl)-5-nitropyridin-2-ol (L1) at 100 °C (ii) sources proved Pd(OAc)₂ to be the optimal catalyst, while Pd(TFA)₂, PdCl₂ and PdBr₂ provided only moderate yields (entries 10–12). Notably, a significantly lower yield was observed in the absence of the 2-pyridone ligand, and no desired product was isolated altogether in the absence of the TDG (entries 13 and 14). The incorporation of 15 mol% Pd catalyst was deemed necessary after only 55% yield of 3a was obtained when 10 mol% loading of Pd(OAc)₂ was instead used (entry 15).Optimization of reaction conditions^a

Entry	Pd source	L (mol%)	TDG1 (mol%)	Solvent (v/v, mL)	Yield (%)
1	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (30)	TDG1 (40)	HFIP	30
2	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (30)	TDG1 (40)	AcOH	<5
3	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (30)	TDG1 (40)	HFIP/AcOH (1 : 1)	28
4	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (30)	TDG1 (40)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	47
5	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (30)	TDG1 (40)	HFIP/AcOH (1 : 9)	<5
6	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (30)	TDG1 (60)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	50
7	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (30)	TDG1 (80)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	25
8	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (60)	TDG1 (60)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	70(68)b
9	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (75)	TDG1 (60)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	51
10	Pd(TFA)2	L1 (60)	TDG1 (60)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	60
11	PdCl2	L1 (60)	TDG1 (60)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	52
12	PdBr2	L1 (60)	TDG1 (60)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	54
13	Pd(OAc)2	—	TDG1 (60)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	9
14	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (60)	—	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	0
15c	Pd(OAc)2	L1 (60)	TDG1 (60)	HFIP/AcOH (9 : 1)	55

Open in a separate window^aReaction conditions: 1a (0.2 mmol), 2a (0.4 mmol), Pd source (15 mol%), AgTFA (0.3 mmol), L1, TDG1, solvent (2.0 mL), 100 °C, 12 h. Yields are based on 1a, determined by ¹H-NMR using dibromomethane as an internal standard.^bIsolated yield.^cPd(OAc)₂ (10 mol%).To advance our optimization of the reaction conditions, a variety of 2-pyridones and TDGs were tested (Scheme 2). Originally, pyridine-2(1H)-one (L2) was examined as the external ligand, but it only yielded the product (3a) in 7% NMR yield. Similarly, other mono- and di-substituted 2-pyridone ligands (L3–L10) also produced low yields, fixating L1 as the optimal external ligand. Next, various α- and β-amino acids (TDG1–10) were evaluated, yet TDG1 persisted as the optimal transient directing group. These amino acid screening results also suggest that a [5,6]-bicyclic palladium species is likely the key intermediate in this protocol since only β-amino acids were found to provide appreciable yields, whereas α-amino acids failed to yield more than trace amounts of the product. The supremacy of TDG1 when compared to other β-amino acids is presumably due to the Thorpe–Ingold effect that perhaps helps facilitate the C–H bond cleavage and stabilize the [5,6]-bicyclic intermediate further.Open in a separate windowScheme 2Optimization of 2-pyridone ligands and transient directing groups.With the optimized reaction conditions in hand, substrate scope study of primary aliphatic aldehydes was subsequently carried out (Scheme 3). A variety of linear primary aliphatic aldehydes bearing different chain lengths provided the corresponding products 3a–e in good yields. Notably, relatively sterically hindered methylene C–H bonds were also functionalized effectively (3f and 3g). Additionally, 4-phenylbutanal gave rise to the desired product 3h in a highly site-selective manner, suggesting that functionalization of the methylene β-C–H bond is predominantly favored over the more labile benzylic C–H bond. It is noteworthy that the amide group was also well-tolerated and the desired product 3j was isolated in 60% yield. As expected, with n-propanal as the substrate, β-mono- (3k1) and β,β-disubstituted products (3k2) were isolated in 22% and 21% yields respectively. However, in the absence of the key external 2-pyridone ligand, β-monosubstituted product (3k1) was obtained exclusively, albeit with a low yield, indicating preference for functionalizing the β-C(sp³)–H bond of the methyl group over the benzylic methylene group.Open in a separate windowScheme 3Scope of primary aliphatic aldehydes. Reaction conditions: 1 (0.2 mmol), 2a (0.4 mmol), Pd(OAc)₂ (15 mol%), AgTFA (0.3 mmol), L1 (60 mol%), TDG1 (60 mol%), HFIP (1.8 mL), HOAc (0.2 mL), 100 °C, 12 h. Isolated yields. ^aL1 (60 mol%) was absent and yields are given in parentheses.Next, substrate scope study on aryl iodides was surveyed (Scheme 4). Iodobenzenes bearing either an electron-donating or electron-withdrawing group at the para-, meta-, or ortho-position were all found compatible with our catalytic system (3l–3ah). Surprisingly, ortho-methyl- and fluoro-substituted aryl iodides afforded the products in only trace amounts. However, aryl iodide with ortho-methoxy group provided the desired product 3ac in a moderate yield. Notably, a distinctive electronic effect pattern was not observed in the process. It should be mentioned that arylated products bearing halogen, ester, and cyano groups could be readily converted to other molecules, which significantly improves the synthetic applicability of the process. Delightfully, aryl iodide-containing natural products like ketoprofen, fenchol and menthol were proven compatible, supplying the corresponding products in moderate yields. Unfortunately, (hetero)aryl iodides including 2-iodopyridine, 3-iodopyridine, 4-iodopyridine and 4-iodo-2-chloropyridine failed to produce the corresponding products. Although our protocol provides a novel and direct pathway to construct β-arylated primary aliphatic aldehydes, the yields of most examples are modest. The leading reasons for this compromise are the following: (1) aliphatic aldehydes are easily decomposed or oxidized to acids; (2) some of the prepared β-arylated aldehyde products may be further transformed into the corresponding α,β-unsaturated aldehydes.Open in a separate windowScheme 4Scope of aryl iodides. Reaction conditions: 1a (0.2 mmol), 2 (0.4 mmol), Pd(OAc)₂ (15 mol%), AgTFA (0.3 mmol), L1 (60 mol%), TDG1 (60 mol%), HFIP (1.8 mL), HOAc (0.2 mL), 100 °C, 12 h. Isolated yields.Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to help investigate the reaction mechanism and to elucidate the role of the ligand in improving the reactivity (Fig. 2). The condensation of the aliphatic aldehyde 1a with the TDG to form imine-1a was found thermodynamically neutral (ΔG° = −0.1 kcal mol⁻¹). As a result, it was permissible to use imine-1a directly in the calculations. According to the calculations results, the precatalyst [Pd(OAc)₂]₃, a trimeric complex, initially experiences dissociation and ligand metathesis with imine-1a to generate the Pd(ii) intermediate IM1, which is thermodynamically favorable by 21.9 kcal mol⁻¹. Consequently, the deprotonated imine-1a couples to the bidentate ligand to form the stable six-membered chelate complex IM1. Therefore, IM1 is indeed the catalyst resting state and serves as the zero point to the energy profile. We have identified two competitive pathways for the Pd(ii)-catalyzed C–H activation starting from IM1, one of which incorporates L1 and another which does not. On the one hand, an acetate ligand substitutes one imine-1a chelator in IM1 to facilitate the subsequent C–H activation leading to IM2, which undergoes C(sp³)–H activation through concerted metalation-deprotonation (CMD) viaTS1 (ΔG^‡ = 37.4 kcal mol⁻¹). However, this kinetic barrier is thought to be too high to account for the catalytic activity at 100 °C. On the other hand, the chelate imine-1a could be replaced by two N-coordinated ligands (L1) leading to the Pd(ii) complex IM3. This process is endergonic by 6.4 kcal mol⁻¹. To allow the ensuing C–H activation, IM3 dissociates one ligand (L1) producing the active species IM4, which undergoes TS2 to cleave the β-C(sp³)–H bond and form the [5,6]-bicyclic Pd(ii) intermediate IM5. Although this step features an energy barrier of 31.2 kcal mol⁻¹, it is thought to be feasible under the experimental conditions (100 °C). Possessing similar coordination ability to that of pyridine, the ligand (L1) effectively stabilizes the Pd(ii) center in the C–H activation process, indicating that this step most likely involves a manageable kinetic barrier. This result explicates the origin of the ligand-enabled reactivity (TS2vs.TS1). Additionally, we considered the γ-C(sp³)–H activation pathway viaTS2′ which was found to have a barrier of 35.5 kcal mol⁻¹. The higher energy barrier of TS2′ compared to that of TS2 is attributed to its larger ring strain in the [6,6]-bicyclic Pd(ii) transition state, which reveals the motive for the site-selectivity. Reverting back to the supposed pathway, upon the formation of the bicyclic intermediate IM5, it undergoes ligand/substrate replacement to afford intermediate IM6, at which the Ar–I coordinates to the Pd(ii) center to enable oxidative addition viaTS3 (ΔG^‡ = 27.4 kcal mol⁻¹) leading to the five-coordinate Pd(iv) complex IM7. Undergoing direct C–C reductive elimination in IM7 would entail a barrier of 29.6 kcal mol⁻¹ (TS4). Alternatively, iodine abstraction by the silver(i) salt in IM7 is thermodynamically favorable and irreversible, yielding the Pd(iv) intermediate IM8 coordinated to a TFA ligand. Subsequently, C–C reductive coupling viaTS5 generates the Pd(ii) complex IM9 and concludes the arylation process. This step was found both kinetically facile (6.1 kcal mol⁻¹) and thermodynamically favorable (30.7 kcal mol⁻¹). Finally, IM9 reacts with imine-1avia metathesis to regenerate the palladium catalyst IM1 and release imine-3a in a highly exergonic step (21.0 kcal mol⁻¹). Ultimately, imine-3a undergoes hydrolysis to yield the aldehyde product 3a and to release the TDG.Open in a separate windowFig. 2Free energy profiles for the ligand-promoted Pd(ii)-catalyzed site-selective C–H activation and C–C bond formation, alongside the optimized structures of the C–H activation transition states TS1 and TS2 (selected bond distances are labelled in Å). Energies are relative to the complex IM1 and are mass-balanced.     

Ligand design for Rh(iii)-catalyzed C–H activation: an unsymmetrical cyclopentadienyl group enables a regioselective synthesis of dihydroisoquinolones

We report the regioselective synthesis of dihydroisoquinolones from aliphatic alkenes and O-pivaloyl benzhydroxamic acids mediated by a Rh(iii) precatalyst bearing sterically bulky substituents. While the prototypical Cp* ligand provides product with low selectivity, sterically bulky Cp^t affords product with excellent regioselectivity for a range of benzhydroxamic acids and alkenes. Crystallographic evidence offers insight as to the source of the increased regioselectivity.C–H activation mediated processes have provided a unique retrosynthetic approach to access a variety of substituted heterocycles.¹ One tactic that has received increased attention is the coupling of π-components with heteroatom containing molecules.² A variety of transition metals are capable of catalyzing this type of transformation, providing access to dozens of heterocyclic motifs.^1–3 A challenge for these methods is controlling the regioselectivity of migratory insertion across alkenes and alkynes after the metallacycle forming C–H activation (eqn 1).Steric and electronic effects are understood to control migratory insertion of unsymmetrical alkynes in Rh(iii) catalyzed isoquinolone syntheses (eqn 1). When the substituents are electronically similar, the larger group resides β- to Rh in the metallacycle to avoid unfavorable steric interactions (selectivity is generally >10 : 1).⁴ When the substituents are electronically different, the more electron-donating group prefers being α- to rhodium in the metallacycle, presumably to stabilize the electron poor metal.^5,6 The type of C–H bond being activated also plays an important role in the regioselectivity of migratory insertion; aromatic substrates typically provide synthetically useful regioselectivities when electronically different alkynes are used (>10 : 1) but alkenyl C–H activation leads to products with lower regioselectivities, presumably due to minimal steric interactions during migratory insertion.^7,8 We found that sterically bulky di-tert-butylcyclopentadienyl ligand (Cp^t) enhances the regioselectivity of the alkyne migratory insertion event in these cases, delivering regioselectivities (>10 : 1) modestly above those achievable by Cp* ligated Rh complexes (<6 : 1). However, when the alkyne migratory insertion was poorly selective with RhCp* (<3 : 1), RhCp^t complex was ineffective at providing synthetically useful levels of selectivity. Furthermore, the Cp^t ligand was only effective with aryl substituted alkynes, presumably because of strong steric interactions between the ligand and alkyne in the insertion event. Migratory insertion of alkenes to access heterocycles using C–H activation chemistry is still relatively rare, with seminal studies by Glorius and Fagnou reporting the synthesis of dihydroisoquinolones.^9–11 Similar to alkynes, alkenyl electron-donating groups favor the position adjacent to the metal in the metallacycle delivering high regioselectivity. In contrast to alkynes, aliphatic alkenes afford product with poor regioselectivity (2 : 1) (eqn 2).^5h,12 We hypothesized competing steric and electronic effects cause the low regioselectivity, with steric effects favoring the formation of a 4-substituted product and electronics favoring the formation of a 3-substituted product.¹³ As a temporary solution to this problem, our group and others have employed tethering strategies to increase the regioselectivity of the migratory insertion event (eqn 3).^14,15 Of course, regioselectivity controlled by the ligand on Rh would be the optimal solution to the selectivity problem (eqn 4).¹⁶ Consequently, we focused our attention toward developing an intermolecular variant of this reaction that would provide product with improved regioselectivity.As a model system, we explored the impact ligands have on the coupling of O-pivaloyl-benzhydroxamic acid 1a with 1-decene 2a to provide dihydroisoquinolones 3a and 3a′. When Cp* is used as a ligand, the desired products are isolated in excellent yield but poor selectivity (2.4 : 1 3a : 3a′) ( a

Rate constants for the quenching of metastable O2(1Σ) molecules

Singlet molecular oxygen, O₂(¹Σ), is one of the important intermediate species in the atmospheres of Earth, Mars, and Venus. To elucidate the chemistry of this excited molecular oxygen, a series of kinetic measurements have been undertaken using the flow-discharge/optical-emission technique. By monitoring the characteristic emission (762 nm for ¹Σ), the quenching rates for several important molecules have been obtained at room temperature. The following table summarizes measurements.

Some hydrogen abstraction reactions of the trichloromethyl radical

The gas phase photolysis of CCl₄ in the presence of several alkanes has been used to obtain Arrhenius parameters for the abstraction of hydrogen atoms by the CCl₃ radical: The following log k₄ values were obtained:

Hypervalent iodine-mediated β-difluoroalkylboron synthesis via an unusual 1,2-hydrogen shift enabled by boron substitution

β-Difluoroalkylborons, featuring functionally important CF₂ moiety and synthetically valuable boron group, have great synthetic potential while remaining synthetically challenging. Herein we report a hypervalent iodine-mediated oxidative gem-difluorination strategy to realize the construction of gem-difluorinated alkylborons via an unusual 1,2-hydrogen migration event, in which the (N-methyliminodiacetyl) boronate (BMIDA) motif is responsible for the high regio- and chemoselectivity. The protocol provides facile access to a broad range of β-difluoroalkylborons under rather mild conditions. The value of these products was demonstrated by further transformations of the boryl group into other valuable functional groups, providing a wide range of difluorine-containing molecules.

A hypervalent iodine-mediated gem-difluorination allows the facile synthesis of β-difluoroalkylborons. An unusual 1,2-hydrogen migration, triggered by boron substitution, is involved.

Organofluorine compounds have been widely applied in medicinal chemistry and materials science.^1a–d In particular, the gem-difluoro moiety featuring unique steric and electronic properties can act as a chemically inert isostere of a variety of polar functional groups.^2a–c Therefore, the construction of gem-difluoro-containing compounds has received considerable attention in recent years. Efficient methods including deoxyfluorination of carbonyl compounds,^3a,b photoredox difluorination,⁴ radical difluorination,⁵ and cross-coupling reactions with suitable CF₂ carriers^6a–f are well developed. Alternatively, iodoarene-mediated oxidative difluorination reactions provide valuable access to these motifs by using simple alkenes as starting materials.^7a–i Previously, these reactions were generally associated with a 1,2-aryl or 1,2-alkyl migration (Scheme 1a).^7a–f Recent developments also allowed the use of heteroatoms as migrating groups, thereby furnishing gem-difluoro compounds equipped with easily transformable functional groups (Scheme 1b). In this regard, Bi and coworkers reported an elegant 1,2-azide migrative gem-difluorination of α-vinyl azides, enabling the synthesis of a broad range of novel β-difluorinated alkyl azides.^7g Jacobsen developed an iodoarene-catalyzed synthesis of gem-difluorinated aliphatic bromides featuring 1,2-bromo migration with high enantioselectivity.^7h Almost at the same time, research work from our group demonstrated that not only bromo, but also chloro and iodo could serve as viable migrating groups.⁷ⁱOpen in a separate windowScheme 1Hypervalent iodine-mediated β-difluoroalkylboron synthesis.We have been devoted to developing new methodologies for the assembly of boron-containing building blocks by using easily accessible and stable MIDA (N-methyliminodiacetyl) boronates^8a–c as starting materials.^9a–e Recently, we realized a hypervalent iodine-mediated oxidative difluorination of aryl-substituted alkenyl MIDA boronates.^9d Depending on the substitution patterns, the reaction could lead to the synthesis of either α- or β-difluoroalkylborons via 1,2-aryl migration (Scheme 1c). Recently, with alkyl-substituted branched alkenyl MIDA boronates, Szabó and Himo observed an interesting bora-Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement, furnishing β-difluorinated alkylboronates with broader product diversity (Scheme 1d).¹⁰ While extending the scope of our previous work,^9d we found that the use of linear alkyl-substituted alkenyl MIDA boronates also delivers β-difluoroalkylboron products. Intriguingly, instead of an alkyl- or boryl-migration, an unusual 1,2-hydrogen shift takes place. It should be noted that internal inactivated alkenes typically deliver the 1,2-difluorinated products, with no rearrangement taking place.^11a–d Herein, we disclose our detailed study of our second generation of β-difluoroalkylborons synthesis (Scheme 1e). The starting linear 1,2-disubstituted alkyl-substituted alkenyl MIDA boronates, unlike the branched ones,¹⁰ could be readily prepared via a two-step sequence consisting of hydroborylation of the terminal alkyne and a subsequent ligand exchange with N-methyliminodiacetic acid. This intriguing 1,2-H shift was found to be closely related to the boron substitution, probably driven thermodynamically by the formation of the β-carbon cation stabilized by a σ(C–B) bond via hyperconjugation.^12a–dTo start, we employed benzyl-substituted alkenyl MIDA boronate 1a as a model substrate (9d the use of F sources such as CsF, AgF and Et₃N·HF in association with PhI(OAc)₂ (PIDA) as the oxidant and DCM as the solvent led to no reaction (entries 1 to 3). The use of Py·HF (20 equiv) successfully provided β-difluorinated alkylboronate 2a, derived from an unusual 1,2-hydrogen migration, in 39% yield (entry 4). By simply increasing the loading of Py·HF to 40 equivalents, a higher conversion and thus an improved yield of 61% was obtained (entry 5). No further improvement was observed by using a large excess of Py·HF (100 equiv) (entry 6). Other hypervalent iodine oxidants such as PhIO or PIFA were also effective but resulted in reduced yields (entries 7 and 8). A brief survey of other solvents revealed that the original DCM was the optimal one (entries 9 and 10).Optimization of reaction conditions

Polycyclic heteroaromatics via hydrazine-catalyzed ring-closing carbonyl–olefin metathesis

The use of hydrazine-catalyzed ring-closing carbonyl–olefin metathesis (RCCOM) to synthesize polycyclic heteroaromatic (PHA) compounds is described. In particular, substrates bearing Lewis basic functionalities such as pyridine rings and amines, which strongly inhibit acid catalyzed RCCOM reactions, are shown to be compatible with this reaction. Using 5 mol% catalyst loadings, a variety of PHA structures can be synthesized from biaryl alkenyl aldehydes, which themselves are readily prepared by cross-coupling.

Hydrazine catalysis enables the ring-closing carbonyl–olefin metathesis (RCCOM) to form polycyclic heteroaromatics, especially those with basic functionality.

Polycyclic heteroaromatic (PHA) structures comprise the core framework of many valuable compounds with a diverse range of applications (Fig. 1A).¹ For example, polycyclic azines (e.g. quinolines) are embedded in many alkaloid natural products, including diplamine² and eupolauramine³ to name just a few. These types of structures are also of interest for their biological activity, such as with the inhibitor of the Src-SH3 protein–protein interaction shown in Fig. 1A.⁴ Many nitrogenous PHAs are also useful as ligands for transition metal catalysis, as exemplified by the widely used ligand 1,10-phenanthroline.⁵ Meanwhile, chalcogenoarenes⁶ such as dinaphthofuran⁷ and benzodithiophene⁸ have attracted high interest for both their medicinal properties⁹ and especially for their potential use as organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), organic photovoltaics (OPVs), and organic field-effect transistors (OFETs).¹⁰ These and numerous other examples have inspired the development of a wide variety of strategies to construct PHAs.^1,11–14 Although these approaches are as varied as the structures they target, the wide range of molecular configurations within PHA chemical space and the challenges inherent in exerting control over heteroatom position and global structure make novel syntheses of these structures a topic of continuing interest.Open in a separate windowFig. 1(A) Examples of PHAs. (B) RCCOM strategy for PHA synthesis. (C) Lewis base inhibition for Lewis acid vs. hydrazine catalyzed RCCOM. (D) Hydrazine-catalyzed RCCOM for PHA synthesis.One potentially advantageous strategy for PHA synthesis is the use of ring-closing carbonyl–olefin metathesis¹⁵ (RCCOM) to forge one of the PHA rings, starting from a suitably disposed alkenyl aldehyde precursor 2 that can be easily assembled by cross-coupling (Fig. 1B). In related work, the application of RCCOM to form polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was reported by Schindler in 2017.¹⁶ In this case, 5 mol% FeCl₃ catalyzed the metathesis of substrates to form phenanthrenes and related compounds in high yields at room temperature. This method was highly attractive for its efficiency, its use of an earth-abundant metal catalyst, and the production of benign acetone as the only by-product. Nevertheless, one obvious drawback to the use of Lewis acid activation is that the presence of any functionality that is significantly more Lewis basic than the carbonyl group can be expected to strongly inhibit these reactions (Fig. 1C). Such a limitation thus renders this method incompatible with a wide swath of complex molecules, especially PHAs comprised of azine rings. This logic argues for a mechanistically orthogonal RCCOM approach that allows for the synthesis of PHA products with a broader range of ring systems and functional groups.We have developed an alternative approach to catalytic carbonyl–olefin metathesis that makes use of the condensation of 1,2-dialkylhydrazines 5 with aldehydes to form hydrazonium ions 6 as the key catalyst–substrate association step.^17–19 This interaction has a much broader chemoorthogonality profile than Lewis acid–base interactions and should thus be much less prone to substrate inhibition than acid-catalyzed approaches. In this Communication, we demonstrate that hydrazine-catalyzed RCCOM enables the rapid assembly of PHAs bearing basic functionality (Fig. 1D).For our optimization studies, we chose biaryl pyridine aldehyde 7 as the substrate (20 salt 11 was also productive (entry 2), albeit somewhat less so. Notably, iron(iii) chloride generated no conversion at either ambient or elevated temperatures (entries 3 and 4). Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) was similarly ineffective (entry 5). Meanwhile, a screen of various solvents revealed that, while the transformation could occur in a range of media (entries 6–9), THF was optimal. Finally, by raising the temperature to 90 °C (entry 10) or 100 °C (entry 11), up to 96% NMR yield (85% isolated yield) of adduct 8 could be obtained in the same time period.Optimization studies^a

Organocatalytic discrimination of non-directing aryl and heteroaryl groups: enantioselective synthesis of bioactive indole-containing triarylmethanes

Despite the enormous developments in asymmetric catalysis, the basis for asymmetric induction is largely limited to the spatial interaction between the substrate and catalyst. Consequently, asymmetric discrimination between two sterically similar groups remains a challenge. This is particularly formidable for enantiodifferentiation between two aryl groups without a directing group or electronic manipulation. Here we address this challenge by using a robust organocatalytic system leading to excellent enantioselection between aryl and heteroaryl groups. With versatile 2-indole imine methide as the platform, an excellent combination of a superb chiral phosphoric acid and the optimal hydride source provided efficient access to a range of highly enantioenriched indole-containing triarylmethanes. Control experiments and kinetic studies provided important insights into the mechanism. DFT calculations also indicated that while hydrogen bonding is important for activation, the key interaction for discrimination of the two aryl groups is mainly π–π stacking. Preliminary biological studies also demonstrated the great potential of these triarylmethanes for anticancer and antiviral drug development.

Excellent enantiodiscrimination between aryl and heteroaryl groups without a directing group has been achieved with organocatalysis. The highly enantioenriched triarylmethane products exhibit anticancer and antiviral activities.

Asymmetric catalysis has evolved arguably into the most powerful method for the synthesis of enantioenriched molecules.¹ It features high efficiency and atom-economy in principle as compared to other approaches such as chiral resolution and auxiliary-based asymmetric synthesis, thereby enabling increasing applications in industrial synthesis.² In the past few decades, a wide range of chiral catalytic systems with diverse activation modes have been developed. However, the fundamental basis for enantiocontrol remains essentially unchanged, i.e., spatial interaction between the substrate and catalyst.^1,2 For example, in the construction of a tetrahedral C(sp³)-chiral center from a prochiral C(sp²)-based planar substrate (e.g., carbocation, radical, carbonyl, and olefin), a chiral catalyst typically provides enantiodifferentiation by blocking one face of the plane and directing the reaction partner (Y) to approach towards the other face (Scheme 1a). To achieve this, the catalyst must be able to effectively discriminate between the two substituents (R¹ and R²) on the prochiral carbon. Obviously, the larger the difference of these two substituents is, the better enantioselectivity will be expected. Consequently, it has been well-established to achieve high enantioselectivity for cases bearing two sterically different groups (e.g., alkyl/aryl vs. H and large alkyl vs. small alkyl). In contrast, for cases bearing two substituents of a similar size, it remains challenging.¹Open in a separate windowScheme 1Introduction to asymmetric differentiation in C(sp²)-prochiral centers.1,1-Diarylmethinyl stereocenters are a widely prevalent structural motif in various natural products and biologically important molecules.³ Asymmetric addition to the 1,1-diaryl C C and C = X (X = heteroatom) bonds represents one of the most direct approaches for the construction of this unit.^4–8 However, this requires effective discrimination between two (often) sterically similar aryl groups, which represents a notable challenge in asymmetric catalysis (Scheme 1b).⁴ So far, success has mainly relied on the use of a directing group in one aryl group to allow catalyst recognition (e.g., by coordination) or electronic difference by incorporating electron-donating/withdrawing groups.^6,7 Notably, the effective enantiodifferentiation between aryl and heteroaryl groups still remains challenging, particularly in the absence of a directing group.⁸ Moreover, despite the above-mentioned important progress, it is worth noting that almost all these examples relied on metal catalysis, and little success has been achieved by organocatalysis.^4–8 In this context, here we describe organocatalytic discrimination of non-directing aryl and heteroaryl groups, providing access to highly enantioenriched triarylmethanes, and in view of the general diverse biological activities of triarylmethanes,⁹ we have also investigated the anticancer and antiviral activities of these products.Indole imine methides (IIMs) have recently emerged as versatile intermediates for the asymmetric synthesis of enantioenriched indole derivatives, a family of useful units in medicinal chemistry.^10–12 In particular, those with the methide motif adorned in the 2-position of indole are particularly useful to construct indole-fused polyheterocycles via asymmetric annulation processes, as pioneered by Shi and co-workers.^10,11 In continuation of our interest in IIMs,¹² we envisioned that these types of intermediates would be a good platform to study the power of organocatalysis for the challenging discrimination between aryl and heteroaryl groups lacking a directing group (Scheme 1c). However, additional challenges should be expected since this intermediate II is likely generated as a Z/E mixture, typically in equilibrium with carbocation I. Therefore, the equilibrium should be made in synergy with the nucleophilic addition step to allow dynamic asymmetric control in order to achieve high enantioselectivity.To test our hypothesis, we employed racemic tertiary alcohol 1a as the model precursor to the 2-indole imine methide intermediate. Notably, no directing group is incorporated in the two aryl groups (phenyl and thienyl) to be discriminated by the catalyst. Despite the above-mentioned substantial challenges in this asymmetric control, considerable efforts were devoted to condition optimization and ultimately led to excellent reaction efficiency and enantiocontrol (13 With benzothiazoline 2a as the hydride source,¹⁴ the asymmetric reduction proceeded smoothly to form indole-containing triarylmethane 3a under mild conditions in essentially quantitative yield and 95% ee (entry 1, 15 gave drastically low enantiocontrol (entry 8). Other solvents did not provide a better result either (entries 9–11). The reaction was very sensitive to coordinating solvents, such as ether and ethyl acetate, which completely shut down the reaction, presumably due to competing binding with the acid catalyst. Decreasing the reaction temperature to 0 °C maintained high enantioselectivity, but moderately affected the reaction rate (entry 12). Finally, at a higher concentration, slightly lower enantioselectivity was observed (entry 13).Evaluation of the reaction conditions^a

Pd/Cu-Catalyzed amide-enabled selectivity-reversed borocarbonylation of unactivated alkenes

The addition reaction between CuBpin and alkenes to give a terminal boron substituted intermediate is usually fast and facile. In this communication, a selectivity-reversed procedure has been designed and established. This selectivity-reversed borocarbonylation reaction is enabled by a cooperative action between palladium and copper catalysts and proceeds with complete regioselectivity. The key to the success of this transformation is the coordination of the amide group and slower CuBpin formation by using KHCO₃ as the base. A wide range of β-boryl ketones were produced from terminal unactivated aliphatic alkenes and aryl iodides. Further synthetic transformations of the obtained β-boryl ketones have been developed as well.

A selectivity-reversed borocarbonylation reaction has been developed with complete regioselectivity.

The catalytic borocarbonylation of alkenes represents a novel synthetic tool for the simultaneous installation of boron and carbonyl groups across alkenes, enabling rapid construction of molecules with high complexity from abundant alkenes. In particular, the obtained organoboron compounds are versatile synthetic intermediates that can be readily converted into a wide range of functional groups with complete stereospecificity.¹ Consequently, several catalytic systems have been developed to diversify the molecular frameworks through carbonylative borofunctionalization.² In general, carbonylative borofunctionalization of alkenes proceeds via an alkyl-copper intermediate, which was produced by the addition of CuBpin to the terminal position of the alkene starting material,³ followed by CO insertion and other related steps. A new C–B bond is formed at the terminal position of the alkene and a carbonyl group has been installed at the β-position simultaneously (Scheme 1a). However, in contrast to the progress in the borocarbonylation, a selectivity-reversed procedure (the boryl group is installed at the internal position) to give β-boryl ketone products is still unprecedented.Open in a separate windowScheme 1Strategies for borocarbonylation of activated alkenes.Recently, several attractive strategies have emerged for the borofunctionalization of unactivated alkenes to give β-boryl products.^4–7 In 2015, Fu, Xiao and their co-workers established a copper-catalyzed regiodivergent alkylboration of alkenes.^4a In the same year, Miura and Hirano''s group reported a copper-catalyzed aminoboration of terminal alkenes.^4b In these two attractive procedures, the regioselectivity was controlled by the ligand applied. More recently, an intermolecular 1,2-alkylborylation of alkenes was described by Ito''s research group.⁵ A radical-relay strategy was used to achieve the targeted regioselective addition. Furthermore, Engle and co-workers explored a palladium-catalyzed 1,2-carboboration and -silylation reaction of alkenes.⁶ Stereocontrol can be achieved in this new procedure with the assistance of a chiral auxiliary which is a coordinating group in this case.Inspired by these pioneering studies, we assumed that if the reaction could be initiated by the insertion of an acylpalladium complex into alkenes, followed by transmetalation with CuBpin before reductive elimination, β-boryl ketones can finally be produced (Scheme 1b). However, due to the inherent reactivity of the palladium species toward alkenes, olefin substrates were usually restricted to styrenes and a large excess of them is typically required (>6 equivalents).^8,9 Therefore, the critical part of the reaction design is to promote the reaction of the acylpalladium intermediate with alkenes faster than the insertion of CuBpin into olefins. One of the ideas is taking advantage of the coordinating group to transform the reaction from intermolecular to intramolecular. Among the developed directing groups,¹⁰ 8-aminoquinoline (AQ) is interesting and has been relatively well studied by various groups in a number of novel transformations.^11–13 Although the AQ directing group contains a NH group which can participate in intramolecular C–N bond formation,¹⁴ we believe that the selectivity-reversed borocarbonylation of alkenes can potentially be achieved through cooperative Pd/Cu catalysis. Then, valuable β-boryl ketones can be produced from readily available substrates directly and effectively.To test the viability of our design on selectivity-reversed borocarbonylation of alkenes, N-(quinolin-8-yl)pent-4-enamide (1a), iodobenzene (2a), and bis(pinacolato)diboron (B₂pin₂) were chosen as model substrates for systematic studies. As shown in 15 In the testing of palladium precursors, allylpalladium chloride dimer proved to be the best palladium catalyst for this reaction, affording 3a in 41% yield (†) and tend to generate the by-product β-aminoketone. Xantphos was found to be superior to the other tested bidentate ligands ( Entry[Pd]LigandCuBaseYield of 3a (%)1Pd(TFA)₂ L1 IMesCuClK₂CO₃292Pd(OAc)₂ L1 IMesCuClK₂CO₃343[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 IMesCuClK₂CO₃414[Pd(cinnamyl)Cl]₂ L1 IMesCuClK₂CO₃365[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 IPrCuClK₂CO₃06[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 CuClK₂CO₃337[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 CuBrK₂CO₃418[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 CuIK₂CO₃509[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L2 CuIK₂CO₃3810[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L3 CuIK₂CO₃4711[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L4 CuIK₂CO₃012[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L5 CuIK₂CO₃013[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L6 CuIK₂CO₃<214[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L7 CuIK₂CO₃1015[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L8 CuIK₂CO₃1216[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 CuIKHCO₃58 (51)^b17[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 CuIK₂HPO₄2618[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 CuINaHCO₃019[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 CuINaO^tBu1120^c[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L1 CuIKHCO₃<521[Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ L7 CuIKHCO₃40 Open in a separate window^aAll reactions were carried out on a 0.1 mmol scale with alkene (0.1 mmol) and aryl iodide (2.0 equiv.). Yields were determined by ¹H NMR analysis of the crude reaction mixture using 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene as the internal standard.^bIsolated yield.^cXantphos (10 mol%).With the optimized reaction conditions in hand, we examined the scope of this selectivity-reversed borocarbonylation with various unactivated alkenes and aryl iodides toward the synthesis of β-boryl ketones ( C bond even when there are two C C bonds in the amide substrates (4i and 4j). In addition, sterically hindered 4-pentenoic amide was subjected to the optimized reaction conditions, and the corresponding product was formed in 42% yield (4k). Furthermore, mono-substitution at the β-position of 4-pentenoic amides could also be employed, affording the corresponding products in moderate yields (4l and 4m). Iodoarenes containing more complex substrates such as L-menthol, L-borneol, vitamin E, diacetonfructose and nerol were also competent substrates and gave moderate to good yields of the corresponding products. Finally, no desired product could be detected when 3-butenoic amide, 2-vinylbenzamide or internal alkene was tested under our standard conditions.Substrate scope for the synthesis of β-boryl ketones^aOpen in a separate window^aAll reactions were carried out on a 0.1 mmol scale. Alkenes (0.1 mmol), aryl iodides (2.0 equiv.), B₂pin₂ (1.5 equiv.), CuI (10 mol%), [Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ (2.5 mol%), xantphos (5 mol%), KHCO₃ (2.0 equiv.), CO (10 bar), and DMSO (0.2 M) were stirred at 70 °C for 18 h. The dr value given was determined by ¹H NMR.To demonstrate the synthetic utilities of the obtained borocarbonylation products, a series of further synthetic transformations of the β-boryl ketones were performed (Scheme 2). From a practical point of view, the reaction can be easily performed on the gram-scale and gave the target product 3m in 67% yield. β-Hydroxyl ketone 6a (CCDC: 2079475;^† determined by X-ray crystallography and the ORTEP drawing with 50% thermal ellipsoids) was produced in 95% yield by oxidation of the parent β-boryl ketone 3a. Furthermore, the C–B bond can be easily converted into a C–N bond, affording β-aminoketone 6b in 60% yield. Upon the reduction reaction of 3m with NaBH₄, the corresponding reduced oxaborole amide 6c could be isolated in 70% yield. Finally, a two-step transamination process was performed to remove the AQ group.¹⁶Open in a separate windowScheme 2Diversification of β-boryl ketones.To gain some insight into the mechanism of this selectivity-reversed borocarbonylation of alkenes, several control experiments were performed. The target product 3a was not formed, instead byproduct 6b was obtained in 40% yield, in the case without xantphos. Possible explanations for this result are: (i) the bidentate directing group AQ increases the stability of Pd(ii) species and promotes the carbonylation step; (ii) the role of xantphos is to coordinate to C(sp³)–Pd(ii) species after its formation and inhibit the formation of the C–N bond to give byproduct 6b (Scheme 3a). In addition, copper and B₂pin₂ were proven to be important, and KHCO₃ was essential for the carbonylation step (Scheme 3b). Analysis of the copper system in the absence of palladium and iodobenzene revealed that alkenes failed to undergo CuBpin insertion under this condition and no hydroboration products could be detected after work-up (Scheme 3c). Additionally, alkenes without the directing group were also tested under our standard conditions, and no reaction occurred.Open in a separate windowScheme 3Control experiments.Although we did not observe compound 7a during our optimization and substrate scope processes, even after stopping the reaction after 8 hours, we tested the possibility that 7a might act as an intermediate. When 7a was subjected to this transformation, the product 3a was delivered in 24% yield and 6b was generated in 37% (Scheme 3d). No significant difference in the yield outcome was observed when xantphos was added. Additionally, in our deuterated substrate testing, the amount of the deuterated product obtained is lower than the theoretical value (Scheme 3e). Thus, a pathway of β-H elimination followed by hydroboration could be involved as well. However, we believe the direct reaction between palladium and copper intermediates is the main one for this procedure due to the proven importance of the AQ group and the known achievements of copper-catalyzed hydroboration of enones, even with enantioselective versions.¹⁷On the basis of the above results and related literature studies,^7,11–14 a possible reaction pathway is proposed (Scheme 4). Initially, the AQ directing group coordinates with Pd⁰, which produces the active AQ-Pd⁰ catalyst I. This is followed by oxidative addition to aryl iodides to generate Pd^II species II, and then by base promoted iodine dissociation to form complex III. After the CO insertion step, the acyl-Pd^II species IV coordinates with the alkene and undergoes migratory insertion to generate C(sp³)–Pd^II intermediate V, which is stabilized by the xantphos ligand and AQ directing group. Subsequently, C(sp³)–Pd^II complex V reacts especially with CuBpin to give the desired product β-boryl ketone and regenerate the Pd(0) complex. Finally, ligand exchange of Pd⁰Ln regenerates AQ-Pd⁰I for the next catalytic cycle. Additionally, another minor pathway that involves the carbonylative Heck reaction to give an enone derivative, followed by its hydroboration to give the final product could be included as well.Open in a separate windowScheme 4Proposed catalytic cycle.In summary, a novel Pd/Cu catalyzed amide-directed selectivity-reversed borocarbonylation for the selective synthesis of β-boryl ketones from terminal alkenes has been developed. Various aryl iodides and aliphatic alkenes were transformed into the desired β-boryl ketones in moderate to excellent yields. In this catalyst system, the assistance from the AQ directing group is essential for successful reaction design.