Enantioselective spiro ene-carbocyclization of 1,6-enynes catalyzed by tropos rhodium(I) complex with skewphos ligand

A tropos rhodium(I) complex having skewphos ligand is shown to be a highly enantioselective catalyst for asymmetric ene-type carbocyclization of 1,6-enynes with tri-substituted olefins to control quaternary stereogenic centers or spiro-rings.     

Dynamics of molecular oxygen in micellar solutions

Fluorescence quenching by molecular oxygen has been employed to estimate dynamic parameters and solubility characteristics of molecular oxygen in micelle forming detergent solutions. A kinetic model which assumes that oxygen quenching occurs only in the micellar phase is employed to analyze the data.     

Diastereoselective allylations of allyl-propargyl hybrid cations: synthesis of conjugated 1,5-dien-7-yne frameworks bearing C(4)-stereogenic centers

[reaction: see text] Chiral C(4)-substituted (E)- or (Z)-1-alkynyl-1-trimethylsilyloxy-2-butene systems provide anti-(Z) or syn-(Z) conjugated dienyne, with a very high level of stereocontrol, on treatment with BF(3).OEt(2) in CH(2)Cl(2) at -50 degrees C in the presence of allyltrimethylsilane. The Cieplak conformation for (E)-substrates and neighboring-group participation for (Z)-substrates are considered to be responsible for the stereochemical consequences.     

Generation of alkoxycarbenium ion pools from thioacetals and applications to glycosylation chemistry

[reaction: see text] Alkoxycarbenium ions have been generated and accumulated as "cation pools" by the low-temperature electrochemical oxidation of alpha-phenylthioethers. Although an unsuccessful attempt to accumulate glycosyl cations was made, a one-pot method for electrochemical glycosylation, which involves anodic oxidation of thioglycosides to generate glycosyl cation equivalents followed by their reactions with glycosyl acceptors, has been developed.     

Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley alkynylation of aldehydes: essential modification of aluminium alkoxides for rate acceleration and asymmetric synthesis

A novel carbonyl alkynylation has been accomplished based on utilization of the Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reaction system. The success of the MPV alkynylation crucially depends on the discovery of the remarkable ligand acceleration effect of 2,2'-biphenol. For example, the alkynylation of chloral (2c) with the aluminium alkoxide 6(R = Ph), prepared in situ from Me(3)Al, 2,2'-biphenol and 2-methyl-4-phenyl-3-butyn-2-ol (1a) as an alkynyl source, proceeded smoothly in CH(2)Cl(2) at room temperature to give the desired propargyl alcohol 3ca in almost quantitative yield after 5 h stirring. The characteristic feature of this new transformation involving no metal alkynides can be visualized by the fact that the alkynyl group bearing keto carbonyl was transferred successfully to aldehyde carbonyl without any side reactions on keto carbonyl. Although the use of (S)-1,1[prime or minute]-bi-2-naphthol and its simple analogues was found to be unsuitable for inducing asymmetry in this reaction, design of new chiral biphenols bearing a certain flexibility of the biphenyl axis led to satisfactory results in terms of enantioselectivity as well as reactivity.     

Intramolecular catalytic Friedel-Crafts reactions with allenyl cations for the synthesis of quinolines and their analogues

[reaction: see text] This paper describes a novel method to synthesize a quinoline backbone by incorporating allenyl cations into a catalytic intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reaction. The initial products were isomerized and aromatized upon treatment with acid and base, respectively, to give quinolines. The basic concept also proved to be promising for 1-benzazepine, 1-benzazocine, or isoquinoline synthesis.     

Exploiting Transient Radical Cations as Brønsted Acids for Allylic C–H Heteroarylation of Enol Silyl Ethers

Intermediary radical cations, generated through single-electron oxidation of enol silyl ethers by excited Ir-based photocatalysts, can be exploited as Brønsted acids for the activation of heteroarylcyanides. This strategy enables the direct allylic C−H heteroarylation of enol silyl ethers under visible-light irradiation.     

Quinoid-Aromatic Resonance for Very Small Optical Energy Gaps in Small-Molecule Organic Semiconductors: A Naphthodithiophenedione-oligothiophene Triad System

Organic semiconductors with very small optical energy gaps have attracted a lot of attention for near-infrared-active optoelectronic applications. Herein, we present a series of donor-acceptor-donor (D−A−D) organic semiconductors consisting of a highly electron-deficient naphtho[1,2-b:5,6-b′]dithiophene-2,7-dione quinoidal acceptor and oligothiophene donors that show very small optical energy gaps of down to 0.72 eV in the solid state. Investigation of the physicochemical properties of the D−A−D molecules as well as theoretical calculations of their electronic structures revealed an efficient intramolecular interaction between the quinoidal acceptor and the aromatic oligothiophene donors in the D−A−D molecules; this significantly enhances the backbone resonance and thus reduces the bond length alternation along the π-conjugated backbones. Despite the very small optical energy gaps, the D−A−D molecules have low-lying frontier orbital energy levels that give rise to air-stable ambipolar carrier transport properties with hole and electron mobilities of up to 0.026 and 0.043 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively, in field-effect transistors.