Iodine-catalyzed radical oxidative annulation for the construction of dihydrofurans and indolizines

Iron-Catalyzed Oxyalkylation of Terminal Alkynes with Alkyl Iodides

A general oxyalkylation of terminal alkynes enabled by iron catalysis has been developed. Primary and secondary alkyl iodides acted as the alkylating reagents and afforded a range of α-alkylated ketones under mild reaction conditions. Acetyl tert-butyl peroxide (TBPA) was used as the radical relay precursor, providing the initiated methyl radical to start the radical relay process. Preliminary mechanistic studies were conducted, and late-stage functionalizations of natural product derivatives were performed.

Tuning radical reactivity for selective radical/radical cross-coupling

Radical/radical cross-coupling represents a straightforward way for the construction of new chemical bonds in theory and has received more and more attention over the past several years. Until now, it is challenging to achieve the selective bond formation between two transient radicals since selective radical cross-coupling usually happens between persistent radical and transient radical. However, the number of persistent radicals is much less than that of transient radicals. These issues limit the application of radical/radical cross-coupling in the construction of new chemical bonds. To solve this, we proposed a novel strategy "tuning radical reactivity" that could tune transient radical into persistent radical. This paper will introduce the concept and recent developments of "tuning radical reactivity".

Iodine-catalyzed oxidative annulation of 3-cyanoacetylindoles with benzylamines: facile access to 5-(3-indolyl)oxazoles

An iodine-catalyzed oxidative annulation of 3-cyanoacetylindoles with benzylamines has been developed. This reaction enables the convenient synthesis of a variety of 5-(3-indolyl)oxazoles under mild conditions with broad functional group compatibility.

Iodine-mediated one-pot intramolecular decarboxylation domino reaction for accessing functionalised 2-(1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)anilines with carbonic anhydrase inhibitory action

A practical and transition metal-free one-pot domino synthesis of diversified (1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)anilines has been developed employing isatins and hydrazides as the starting materials, in the presence of molecular iodine. The prominent feature of this domino process involves consecutive condensation, hydrolytic ring cleavage, and an intramolecular decarboxylation, in a one-pot process that leads to the oxidative formation of a C–O bond. Fluorescence properties of some of the representative molecules obtained in this way were studied. The synthesised 2-(1,3,4-oxadiazolo-2-yl)aniline-benzene sulphonamides (8a–o) were screened for their carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) inhibitory activity. Most of the compounds exhibited low micromolar to nanomolar activity against human (h) isoforms hCA I, hCA II, hCA IV, and XII, with some compounds displaying selective CA inhibitory activity towards hCA II with K_Is of 6.4–17.6 nM.

Tandem SN2' nucleophilic substitution/oxidative radical cyclization of aryl substituted allylic alcohols with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds

A novel and efficient tandem S_N2' nucleophilic substitution/oxidative radical cyclization reaction of aryl substituted allylic alcohols with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds has been developed by using Mn(OAc)₃ as an oxidant, which enables the expeditious synthesis of polysubstituted dihydrofuran (DHF) derivatives in moderate to high yields. The use of weakly acidic hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as the solvent rather than AcOH has successfully improved the yields and expanded the substrate scope of this type of radical cyclization reactions. Mechanistic studies confirmed the cascade reaction process involving a final radical cyclization.

Direct synthesis of 2-methylpyridines via I2-triggered [3 + 2 + 1] annulation of aryl methyl ketoxime acetates with triethylamine as the carbon source

I₂-Triggered reductive generation of iminyl radicals for the synthesis of 2-methylpyridines by employing triethylamine as the carbon source.

External oxidant-free electrooxidative [3 + 2] annulation between phenol and indole derivatives

Intermolecular [3 + 2] annulation is one of the most straightforward approaches to construct five membered heterocycles. However, it generally requires the use of functionalized substrates. An ideal reaction approach is to achieve dehydrogenative [3 + 2] annulation under oxidant-free conditions. Here we show an electrooxidative [3 + 2] annulation between phenols and N-acetylindoles under undivided electrolytic conditions. Neither external chemical oxidants nor metal catalysts are required to facilitate the dehydrogenation processes. This reaction protocol provides an environmentally friendly way for the selective synthesis of benzofuroindolines. Various N-acetylindoles bearing different C-3 and C-2 substituents are suitable in this electrochemical transformation, furnishing corresponding benzofuroindolines in up to 99% yield.Electrochemical oxidation provides a green alternative to the use of hazardous chemical oxidants and forcing conditions. Here, the authors show the electrocatalytic cross-coupling of phenols and indoles to generate biologically relevant benzofuroindolines in high yields.

Recent Advances in Radical C-H Activation/Radical Cross-Coupling

Research and industrial interest in radical C-H activation/radical cross-coupling chemistry has continuously grown over the past few decades. These reactions offer fascinating and unconventional approaches toward connecting molecular fragments with high atom- and step-economy that are often complementary to traditional methods. Success in this area of research was made possible through the development of photocatalysis and first-row transition metal catalysis along with the use of peroxides as radical initiators. This Review provides a brief and concise overview of the current status and latest methodologies using radicals or radical cations as key intermediates produced via radical C-H activation. This Review includes radical addition, radical cascade cyclization, radical/radical cross-coupling, coupling of radicals with M-R groups, and coupling of radical cations with nucleophiles (Nu).

Metal-Free α-C(sp³)-H Functionalized Oxidative Cyclization of Tertiary N,N-Diaryl Amino Alcohols: Theoretical Approach for Mechanistic Pathway

The mechanistic pathway of TEMPO/I₂-mediated oxidative cyclization of N,N-diaryl amino alcohols 1 was investigated. Based on direct empirical experiments, three key intermediates (aminium radical cation 3, α-aminoalkyl radical 4, and iminium 5), four types of reactive species (radical TEMPO, cationic TEMPO, TEMPO-I, and iodo radical), and three types of pathways ((1) SET/PCET mechanism; (2) HAT/1,6-H transfer mechanism; (3) ionic mechanism) were assumed. Under the assumption, nine free energy diagrams were acquired through density functional theory calculations. From the comparison of solution-phase free energy, some possible mechanisms were excluded, and then the chosen plausible mechanisms were concretized using the more stable intermediate 7.

Metal-free molecular iodine-catalyzed direct sulfonylation of pyrazolones with sodium sulfinates leading to sulfonated pyrazoles at room temperature

A simple and highly efficient iodine-catalyzed sulfonylation of pyrazolones with sodium sulfinates has been developed under mild and metal-free conditions.

A co-operative effect of visible light photo-catalysis and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles for green synthesis of furans in water

A novel approach to poly-functionalized furan synthesis is disclosed via oxidative decarboxylative [3+2] cycloaddition using co-operative catalysis by visible light and CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles.

Iodine-catalyzed sulfenylation of pyrazolones using dimethyl sulfoxide as an oxidant

An iodine catalyzed sulfenylation of pyrazolones with a diverse range of heterocyclic thiols, heterocyclic thiones and disulfides has been described using dimethyl sulfoxide as an oxidant, which is an inexpensive, readily available and green oxidant.

I2-Catalyzed cross dehydrogenative coupling: rapid access to benzoxazinones and quinazolinones

An efficient and applicable I₂-catalyzed intramolecular dehydrogenative C–O/C–N coupling reaction has been developed for the first time to provide both benzoxazinones and quinazolinones.

Electrocatalytic intramolecular oxidative annulation of N-aryl enamines into substituted indoles mediated by iodides

An electrocatalytic reaction protocol is developed for achieving intramolecular dehydrogenative annulation ofN-aryl enamines.

Selective Oxidative Decarbonylative Cleavage of Unstrained C(sp(3))-C(sp(2)) Bond: Synthesis of Substituted Benzoxazinones

A transition metal (TM)-free practical synthesis of biologically relevant benzoxazinones has been established via a selective oxidative decarbonylative cleavage of an unstrained C(sp(3))-C(sp(2)) bond employing iodine, sodium bicarbonate, and (t)butyl hydroperoxide in DMSO at 95 °C. Control experiments and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations suggest that the reaction involves a [1,5]H shift and extrusion of CO gas as the key steps. The extrusion of CO has also been established using PMA-PdCl2.

Switching the regioselectivity in the copper-catalyzed synthesis of iodoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines

A unique copper-catalyzed binucleophilic switching of 2-aminopyridine has been developed for the regioselective synthesis of 2- and 3-iodoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines using alkenes/alkynes as coupling partners in the presence of molecular iodine under aerobic reaction conditions. This method was also applied to the synthesis of 2-iodo-3-phenylbenzo[d]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles. This protocol offers an easy route towards the synthesis of 2,3-diarylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines.

Copper-catalyzed radical coupling of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with terminal alkenes for the synthesis of tetracarbonyl compounds

A novel and efficient copper-catalyzed radical cross-coupling of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with terminal alkenes for the synthesis of tetracarbonyl compounds with a quaternary carbon atom has been developed. Mechanistically, this transformation involves the construction of two C-C bonds and two C[double bond, length as m-dash]O bonds in a one-pot process. The reaction tolerates a wide range of functional groups and proceeds under mild conditions.