Regioselective Alkylative Carboxylation of Allenamides with Carbon Dioxide and Dialkylzinc Reagents Catalyzed by an N‐Heterocyclic Carbene–Copper Complex

The alkylative carboxylation of allenamide catalyzed by an N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)–copper(I) complex [(IPr)CuCl] with CO₂ and dialkylzinc reagents was investigated. The reaction of allenamides with dialkylzinc reagents (1.5 equiv) and CO₂ (1 atm.) proceeded smoothly in the presence of a catalytic quantity of [(IPr)CuCl] to afford (Z)‐α,β‐dehydro‐β‐amino acid esters in good yields. The reaction is regioselective, with the alkyl group introduced onto the less hindered γ‐carbon, and the carboxyl group introduced onto the β‐carbon atom of the allenamides. The first step of the reaction was alkylative zincation of the allenamides to give an alkenylzinc intermediate followed by nucleophilic addition to CO₂. A variety of cyclic and acyclic allenamides were found to be applicable to this transformation. Dialkylzinc reagents bearing β‐hydrogen atoms, such as Et₂Zn or Bu₂Zn, also gave the corresponding alkylative carboxylation products without β‐hydride elimination. The present methodology provides an easy route to alkyl‐substituted α,β‐dehydro‐β‐amino acid ester derivatives under mild reaction conditions with high regio‐ and stereoselectivtiy.     

Subdirectly irreducible medial quandles

We describe all subdirectly irreducible medial quandles. We show that they fall within one of four disjoint classes. In particular, in the finite case they are either connected (and therefore Alexander quandles) or reductive. Moreover, we provide a representation of all non-connected subdirectly irreducible medial quandles.     

Palladium on activated carbon catalyzed reductive amination of aldehydes and ketones by triethylsilane

Various aldehydes and ketones were efficiently transformed into the corresponding amines using amine derivatives in the presence of triethylsilane and a catalytic amount of palladium on activated carbon in ethanol. The proposed method provides a one‐pot synthesis of various amines in excellent yields after short reaction times. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Convenient Heterogeneous Reduction of Knoevenagel Product by Hantzsch Ester and Its Development into Reductive Alkylation of Malononitrile

Poor solubility of Hantzsch ester is used as indicator in the reduction of methylidene malononitrile. The Knoevenagel reaction is integrated to develop a reductive alkylation of malononitrile with aryl and aliphatic aldehyde as the carbonyl substrate.     

Revised mechanism of carboxylation of ribulose‐1,5‐biphosphate by rubisco from large scale quantum chemical calculations

Here, we describe a computational approach for studying enzymes that catalyze complex multi‐step reactions and apply it to Ribulose 1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase–oxygenase (Rubisco), the enzyme that fixes atmospheric carbon dioxide within photosynthesis. In the 5‐step carboxylase reaction, the substrate Ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate (RuBP) first binds Rubisco and undergoes enolization before binding the second substrate, CO₂. Hydration of the RuBP.CO₂ complex is followed by C C bond scission and stereospecific protonation. However, details of the roles and protonation states of active‐site residues, and sources of protons and water, remain highly speculative. Large‐scale computations on active‐site models provide a means to better understand this complex chemical mechanism. The computational protocol comprises a combination of hybrid semi‐empirical quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics within constrained molecular dynamics simulations, together with constrained gradient minimization calculations using density functional theory. Alternative pathways for hydration of the RuBP.CO₂ complex and associated active‐site protonation networks and proton and water sources were investigated. The main findings from analysis of the resulting energetics advocate major revision to existing mechanisms such that: hydration takes place anti to the CO₂; both hydration and C C bond scission require early protonation of CO₂ in the RuBP.CO₂ complex; C C bond scission and stereospecific protonation reactions are concerted and, effectively, there is only one stable intermediate, the C3‐gemdiolate complex. Our main conclusions for interpreting enzyme kinetic results are that the gemdiolate may represent the elusive Michaelis–Menten‐like complex corresponding to the empirical K_m (=K_c) with turnover to product via bond scission concerted with stereospecific protonation consistent with the observed catalytic rate. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

B(C6F5)3催化的醛与烷氧基羟胺的一锅法还原胺化反应

近年路易斯酸B（C₆F₅）₃催化的醛酮还原及胺化反应研究表明,缺电子的路易斯酸B（C₆F₅）₃也可以作为一种"耐水"的催化剂在"有水"条件下进行催化反应.这些研究成果对进一步扩展受限路易斯酸碱对（FLPs）化学的研究领域和应用前景提供了更多可能.本文以硅烷作为还原剂,在路易斯酸B（C₆F₅）₃催化下可在温和条件下实现醛与烷基羟胺类化合物的直接还原胺化反应,并且在还原过程中N-O键不会发生断裂,可中等至高产率地制备各种烷氧基取代的羟胺衍生物.对反应机理研究发现,在中性条件下苯甲醛与苄氧基羟胺的反应仅得到缩合中间产物肟醚,而在HCl或过量H₂O的参与下苯甲醛与苄氧基羟胺的直接还原胺化均可顺利进行;对反应机理的研究表明苄氧基羟胺会与路易斯酸硼烷在过量H₂O的参与下发生质子化,在硅烷的作用下转化成具有一定还原性的"硼氢化胺盐"活性中间体并进而促使中间产物肟醚的还原.对醛与羟胺的直接还原胺化反应研究表明,在"有水"条件下路易斯酸B（C₆F₅）₃不仅仅是一种"耐水"的催化剂,在某些反应中水可能直接影响着催化反应,尤其是对醛酮的直接还原胺化反应.因此,继续深入研究有"水"条件下路易斯酸硼烷参与的催化反应机理不仅对FLPs化学的发展至关重要,对其他相应催化体系的研究也具有重要的参考价值.     

Synthesis of Functionalized (η5‐Indenyl)rhodium(III) Complexes and Their Application to C−H Bond Functionalization

It has been established that reductive complexation of functionalized benzofulvenes, which are readily prepared from commercially available indene and 2‐methylindene, with RhCl₃ in ethanol affords the corresponding indenyl–rhodium(III) dichlorides bearing substituents at the 1‐ (H or CO₂Et), 2‐ (H or Me), and 3‐ [CH₂Ph or CH₂(2‐MeOC₆H₄)] positions. The indenyl–rhodium(III) complexes bearing one ethoxycarbonyl group showed higher thermal stability and regioselectivity than our previously reported Cp^ERh^III complex toward the oxidative [3+2] annulation of acetanilides with internal alkynes.     

Mechanistic Insights into the Ni‐Catalyzed Reductive Carboxylation of C−O Bonds in Aromatic Esters with CO2: Understanding Remarkable Ligand and Traceless‐Directing‐Group Effects

The mechanism of the Ni⁰‐catalyzed reductive carboxylation reaction of C(sp²)?O and C(sp³)?O bonds in aromatic esters with CO₂ to access valuable carboxylic acids was comprehensively studied by using DFT calculations. Computational results revealed that this transformation was composed of several key steps: C?O bond cleavage, reductive elimination, and/or CO₂ insertion. Of these steps, C?O bond cleavage was found to be rate‐determining, and it occurred through either oxidative addition to form a Ni^II intermediate, or a radical pathway that involved a bimetallic species to generate two Ni^I species through homolytic dissociation of the C?O bond. DFT calculations revealed that the oxidative addition step was preferred in the reductive carboxylation reactions of C(sp²)?O and C(sp³)?O bonds in substrates with extended π systems. In contrast, oxidative addition was highly disfavored when traceless directing groups were involved in the reductive coupling of substrates without extended π systems. In such cases, the presence of traceless directing groups allowed for docking of a second Ni⁰ catalyst, and the reactions proceed through a bimetallic radical pathway, rather than through concerted oxidative addition, to afford two Ni^I species both kinetically and thermodynamically. These theoretical mechanistic insights into the reductive carboxylation reactions of C?O bonds were also employed to investigate several experimentally observed phenomena, including ligand‐dependent reactivity and site‐selectivity.     

Directly Bridging Indoles to 3,3′‐Bisindolylmethanes by Using Carboxylic Acids and Hydrosilanes under Mild Conditions

A straightforward Lewis acid‐promoted protocol for 3,3′‐bisindolylmethanes (BIMs) synthesis by reductive alkylation of indoles at the C3 position with carboxylic acids in the presence of hydrosilane was developed for the first time. Instead of aldehydes, more readily available, stable, and easy‐to‐handle carboxylic acids have been employed as alternative alkylating agents. As an efficient organocatalyst, B(C₆F₅)₃ enables the reductive alkylation of various substituted indole derivatives with carboxylic acids with up to 98 % yield at room temperature and under neat conditions. This metal‐free strategy offers an alternative approach for the direct functionalization of indoles to BIMs with carboxylic acids and such protocol allows selective reduction of carboxylic acid to aldehyde in combination with C−C bond formation.