Nickel-catalyzed reductive cleavage of aryl alkyl ethers to arenes in absence of external reductant

Formal aromaticity transfer for palladium-catalyzed coupling between phenols and pyrrolidines/indolines

We herein describe a palladium-catalyzed formal aromaticity transfer coupling reaction between phenols and pyrrolidines or indolines to generate the corresponding N-cyclohexyl pyrroles or indoles. In this transformation, the aromaticity of phenols is formally passed on to the pyrrolidine or indoline units. Substituted phenols thus can serve as latent cyclohexyl equivalents for the fast construction of various N-cyclohexyl pyrroles and indoles.

Mild sp2Carbon-Oxygen Bond Activation by an Isolable Ruthenium(II) Bis(dinitrogen) Complex: Experiment and Theory

The isolable ruthenium(II) bis(dinitrogen) complex [Ru(H)₂(N₂)₂(PCy₃)₂] (1) reacts with aryl ethers (Ar–OR, R = Me and Ar) containing a ketone directing group to effect sp²C–O bond activation at temperatures below 40 °C. DFT studies support a low-energy Ru(II)/Ru(IV) pathway for C–O bond activation: oxidative addition of the C–O bond to Ru(II) occurs in an asynchronous manner with Ru–C bond formation preceding C–O bond breaking. Alternative pathways based on a Ru(0)/Ru(II) couple are competitive but less accessible due to the high energy of the Ru(0) precursors. Both experimentally and by DFT calculations, sp²C–H bond activation is shown to be more facile than sp²C–O bond activation. The kinetic preference for C–H bond activation over C–O activation is attributed to unfavorable approach of the C–O bond toward the metal in the selectivity determining step of the reaction pathway.

Generalization of the Tolman electronic parameter: the metal–ligand electronic parameter and the intrinsic strength of the metal–ligand bond

The MLEP is a new, generally applicable measure of the metal–ligand bond strength based on vibrational spectroscopy, replacing the TEP.

Practical Cross-Coupling between O-Based Electrophiles and Aryl Bromides via Ni Catalysis

Cross-coupling of various O-based electrophiles with aryl bromides was developed through Ni-catalyzed C-O activation in the presence of magnesium. Beside carboxylates, carbamates, and ethers, phenols exhibited excellent reactivity under modified conditions. This chemistry was featured as a simple and environmentally benign process with low catalyst loading and easy manipulations. The method exhibited broad substrate scopes.

Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions of Unreactive Phenolic Electrophiles via C-O Bond Activation

Nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of aryl esters, carbamates, carbonates, ethers and arenols are reviewed. Carbon-oxygen bonds in these phenol derivatives cannot be activated by palladium, a typical cross-coupling catalyst, but a low valent nickel species in conjunction with a strong σ-donor ligand is uniquely effective for achieving this. The review is organized primarily by substrate class and secondarily by coupling partners, encompassing organometallics, heteroatom nucleophiles, C-H bonds and many others. Although the reactions in this category are covered thoroughly, each reaction is described only briefly, so that it is possible to quickly overview the spectrum of nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of inert phenol derivatives. The robustness of inert phenol derivatives under typically used catalytic conditions as well as their utility as a directing group allow unique synthetic applications of these new C-O cross-coupling reactions, which is also included in cases where appropriate. Mechanistic aspects of C-O bond activation by nickel are also summarized, highlighting their diversity compared with the C-X bond activation involved in conventional cross-coupling processes.

Iridium/N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed C-H borylation of arenes by diisopropylaminoborane

Catalytic C-H borylation of arenes has been widely used in organic synthesis because it allows the introduction of a versatile boron functionality directly onto simple, unfunctionalized arenes. We report herein the use of diisopropylaminoborane as a boron source in C-H borylation of arenes. An iridium(I) complex with 1,3-dicyclohexylimidazol-2-ylidene is found to efficiently catalyze the borylation of arenes and heteroarenes. The resulting aminoborylated products can be converted to the corresponding boronic acid derivatives simply by treatment with suitable diols or diamines.

Nickel catalyzed reduction of arenols under mild conditions

The mild Ni-catalyzed reduction of arenols features a broad substrate scope, non-sensitivity to steric hindrance and no over-reduction of the aryl ring.

Metal catalyzed defunctionalization reactions

The chronological development of metal assisted defunctionalization reactions is discussed from the stoichiometric to the catalytic stage with their application in synthetic organic chemistry.

Deoxygenative C-C Bond-Forming Processes via a Net Four-Electron Reductive Coupling

The nickel-catalyzed coupling of enones or enals with alkynes in the presence of silane and titanium alkoxide reductants provides direct access to skipped diene products. The process involves a net four-electron reductive coupling and proceeds with deoxygenation of the starting enone or enal. A new class of well-defined nickel(0) precatalysts bearing an unhindered N-heterocyclic carbene ligand, which was developed in optimization of the process, is essential for the efficiency of the transformation. The strategy allows the high reactivity of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl substrates to be utilized in couplings with simultaneous extrusion of the oxygen atom, thus enabling a traceless strategy for alkene installation.

C-H functionalization at sterically congested positions by the platinum-catalyzed borylation of arenes

Despite significant progress in the area of C-H bond functionalization of arenes, no general method has been reported for the functionalization of C-H bonds at the sterically encumbered positions of simple arenes, such as mesitylene. Herein, we report the development of the first platinum-based catalyst for C-H borylation of arenes and heteroarenes. Notably, this method exhibited high tolerance toward steric hindrance and provided rapid access to a series of 2,6-disubstituted phenylboronic esters, valuable building blocks for further elaborations.

Cross-Couplings Using Aryl Ethers via C-O Bond Activation Enabled by Nickel Catalysts

Arene synthesis has been revolutionized by the invention of catalytic cross-coupling reactions, wherein aryl halides can be coupled with organometallic and organic nucleophiles. Although the replacement of aryl halides with phenol derivatives would lead to more economical and ecological methods, success has been primarily limited to activated phenol derivatives such as triflates. Aryl ethers arguably represent one of the most ideal substrates in terms of availability, cost, safety, and atom efficiency. However, the robust nature of the C(aryl)-O bonds of aryl ethers renders it extremely difficult to use them in catalytic reactions among the phenol derivatives. In 1979, Wenkert reported a seminal work on the nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling of aryl ethers with Grignard reagents. However, it was not until 2004 that the unique ability of a low-valent nickel species to activate otherwise unreactive C(aryl)-O bonds was appreciated with Dankwardt's identification of the Ni(0)/PCy3 system, which significantly expanded the efficiency of the Wenkert reaction. Application of the nickel catalyst to cross-couplings with other nucleophiles was first accomplished in 2008 by our group using organoboron reagents. Later on, several other nucleophiles, including organozinc reagents, amines, hydrosilane, and hydrogen were shown to be coupled with aryl ethers under nickel catalysis. Despite these advances, progress in this field is relatively slow because of the low reactivity of benzene derivatives (e.g., anisole) compared with polyaromatic substrates (e.g., methoxynaphthalene), particularly when less reactive and synthetically useful nucleophiles are used. The "naphthalene problem" has been overcome by the use of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands bearing bulky N-alkyl substituents, which enables a wide range of aryl ethers to be coupled with organoboron nucleophiles. Moreover, the use of N-alkyl-substituted NHC ligands allows the use of alkynylmagnesium reagents, thereby realizing the first Sonogashira-type reaction of anisoles. From a mechanistic perspective, nickel-catalyzed cross-couplings of aryl ethers are at a nascent stage, in particular regarding the mode of activation of C(aryl)-O bonds. Oxidative addition is one plausible pathway, although such a process has not been fully verified experimentally. Nickel-catalyzed reductive cleavage of aryl ethers in the absence of an external reducing agent provides strong support for this oxidative addition process. Several other mechanisms have also been proposed. For example, Martin demonstrated a new possibility of the involvement of a Ni(I) species, which could mediate the cleavage of the C(aryl)-O bond via a redox-neutral pathway. The tolerance of aryl ethers under commonly used synthetic conditions enables alkoxy groups to serve as a platform for late-stage elaboration of complex molecules without any tedious protecting group manipulations. Aryl ethers are therefore not mere economical alternatives to aryl halides but also enable nonclassical synthetic strategies.

Ipso-Borylation of Aryl Ethers via Ni-Catalyzed C-OMe Cleavage

A Ni-catalyzed ipso-borylation of aryl ethers via C(sp(2))-OMe and C(sp(3))-OMe cleavage is described. The transformation is characterized by its wide substrate scope under mild conditions and an exquisite divergence in site selectivity that can be easily switched by selecting the appropriate boron reagent.