A convenient method for the preparation of α-vinylfurans by phosphine-initiated reactions of various substituted enynes bearing a carbonyl group with aldehydes

α-Vinylfurans were obtained by phosphine-initiated cyclization of various enynes bearing a carbonyl group at the ene end in the presence of various aldehydes, in moderate to high yields. The reaction may consist of 1,6-addition of phosphine to the enynes, ring closure, and Wittig reaction between the ylid resulting from cyclization and an aldehyde. Thus, various aldehydes were able to be used in the reaction. The reaction was influenced greatly by the substituents at the acetylene position (R¹) and the α-position of the carbonyl group (R³).     

Multi-component coupling synthesis of polycyclic pyrrole derivatives via Ir- and Rh-catalyzed cycloisomerizations with microwave heating

CuBr₂-catalyzed three-component coupling of N-benzylallylamine, ethyl glyoxalate, and terminal alkynes afforded glycinate-tethered 1,6-enynes, which were further transformed into polycyclic pyrrole-2-carboxylates via iridium-catalyzed cycloisomerization/Diels-Alder cycloaddition/dehydrogenation sequence under conventional and microwave heating conditions. The corresponding β-amino acid analogues were obtained from the Ir-catalyzed reaction of enynes prepared from lithium amides of allylamines with methyl non-2-en-4-ynoate. The Cu-catalyzed Mannich-type condensation was further extended to the synthesis of the glycinate-tethered dienyne and cyclopropylenyne, which were subjected to Rh-catalyzed cycloisomerizations to furnish bicyclic amino acids.     

Construction of 3-allylidene-4-vinyltetrahydrofurans and 3-allylidene-4-vinylpyrrolidines via sequential domino allylation/olefination of C-C triple bonds

An efficient method via sequential domino allylation/olefination of C-C triple bonds for the syntheses of five-membered heterocycles was developed by treatment 1,6-enynes with alkenes in the presence of a palladium catalyst. The configurations of the 1,3-dienes of the five-membered heterocycles are stereocontrolled.     

Iridium-catalyzed hydroiodination of functionalized alkynes

The efficiency of an Ir(I)/HI system has been studied. The association of hydroiodic acid with iridium has been tested in the catalytic hydroiodination of alkynes. The use of [Ir(cod)Cl]₂ dimer led to clean hydroiodination reactions and afforded the corresponding vinyliodides as a mixture of derivatives, where the Markovnikov type adduct was found to be the major product (80/20 to 93/7 ratio), in good yields. The mechanism was investigated and two main pathways seemed to be involved, one based on an initial oxidative addition of HI to the Ir(I) complex and the other one based on a π-activation of the alkyne moiety. The corresponding vinyliodides were engaged in Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling (Sonogashira and Suzuki-Miyaura) reactions under organoaqueuous conditions.     

Iridium-catalyzed enantioselective Pauson-Khand-type reaction of 1,6-enynes

Iridium-chiral diphosphine complex catalyzes an enantioselective intramolecular Pauson-Khand-type reaction to give various chiral bicyclic cyclopentenones. The enantioselective reaction proceeds more smoothly and enantioselectively under a lower partial pressure of carbon monoxide. Moreover, aldehyde can be used as a CO source in the enantioselective carbonylative coupling.     

Stereoselective synthesis of hex-2-(E)-en-4-yn-1,6-dioates and E,Z-muconic acid diesters via organo-catalyzed self-coupling of propiolates

Alkyl propiolate couples with itself in the presence of catalytic DABCO under very mild conditions to provide a quantitative yield of E-hex-2-en-4-yne dioates. Hydrogenation of these enyne dioates using Lindlar catalyst provides the corresponding E,Z-diene dioate, a common structural motif found in an array of natural products.     

The reaction of [H4Ru4(CO)12] with 1-penten-3-yne: dimerization and trimerization through the triple bonds

The clusters [Ru₄(μ-CO)(CO)₁₀(μ₄-η¹:η²:η¹:η²-C₅H₆)₂] (1), [Ru₄(CO)₈(μ₄-η⁴:η¹:η¹:η¹:η³-C₁₀H₁₂)(μ₃-η³:η²:η¹-C₅H₆)] (2) and [Ru₄(CO)₁₀(μ₄-η⁴:η¹:η¹:η³:η¹-C₁₅H₁₆)] (3) have been prepared from the reaction of [H₄Ru₄(CO)₁₂] with 1-penten-3-yne. This reaction is observed to proceed with dimerization and trimerization through the triple bonds. The products were characterized spectroscopically by ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR. X-ray crystal structures of compounds 1 and 2 are also described.     

Donor/Acceptor Effects on the Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Geminal Diethynylethenes (g‐DEEs)

A series of geminal diethynylethenes (g‐DEEs) with electron‐donating and/or electron‐accepting (D/A) groups were synthesized via a Pd‐catalyzed cross‐coupling sequence. The UV/VIS spectra for donor–acceptor (D–A) functionalized g‐DEEs 5, 8 , and 11 show distinctive absorption trends attributable to intramolecular charge‐transfer (ICT). The bond‐length‐alternation (BLA) index for the cross‐conjugated enediyne framework varies slightly with different terminal substituents as determined by density‐functional theory (DFT) calculations and single‐crystal X‐ray analysis. Ultrafast third‐order optical nonlinearities for the g‐DEEs were measured by the differential optical Kerr effect (DOKE) technique and show that terminal donor–acceptor substitution of g‐DEEs enhances molecular second hyperpolarizabilities (γ) in comparison to donor or acceptor g‐DEEs. A small increase in the two‐photon‐absorption cross‐section (σ⁽²⁾) is observed in the series 9 – 11 as a result of increased functionalization. The effects of donor/acceptor substitution on electron delocalization along the cross‐conjugated enediyne structure are evaluated on the basis of natural‐bond‐orbital (NBO) analysis. Solid‐state structures of the four derivatives 3b, 4b, 7 and 8 were characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray structural analysis and show an asymmetric unit cell for one derivative, D–A g‐DEE 8 .     

Iridium-catalyzed enantioselective cycloisomerization of nitrogen-bridged 1,6-enynes to 3-azabicylo[4.1.0]heptenes

A cationic iridium complex catalyzes a cycloisomerization of nitrogen-bridged 1,6-enynes to give 3-azabicyclo[4.1.0]heptenes in good to high yield. When an iridium-chiral diphosphine complex is used, the reaction proceeds enantiomerically to give chiral cyclopropanes fused by a six-membered ring system.     

Two Novel Thermal Biradical Cyclizations in Theory and Experiment: New Synthetic Routes to 6H-Indolo[2,3-b]quinolines and 2-Aminoquinolines from Enyne-Carbodiimides

The regioselectivity of the biradical cyclization of enyne-carbodiimides 1 can easily be controlled by variation of R¹ at the alkyne terminus. Attachment of a hydrogen atom (R¹=H) leads to C²–C⁷ cyclization and formation of biradical 2 , whereas C²–C⁶ cyclization to provide biradical 3 is observed with R¹=Me₃Si or Ph.