RuV -Acylimido Intermediate in [RuIV (Por)Cl2 ]-Catalyzed C-N Bond Formation: Spectroscopic Characterization, Reactivity, and Catalytic Reactions

Metal-catalyzed C-N bond formation reactions via acylnitrene transfer have recently attracted much attention, but direct detection of the proposed acylnitrenoid/acylimido M(NCOR) (R=aryl or alkyl) species in these reactions poses a formidable challenge. Herein, we report on Ru(NCOR) intermediates in C-N bond formation catalyzed by [Ru^IV (Por)Cl₂ ]/N₃ COR, a catalytic method applicable to aziridine/oxazoline formation from alkenes, amination of substituted indoles, α-amino ketone formation from silyl enol ethers, amination of C(sp³ )-H bonds, and functionalization of natural products and carbohydrate derivatives (up to 99 % yield). Experimental studies, including HR-ESI-MS and EPR measurements, coupled with DFT calculations, lend evidence for the formulation of the Ru(NCOR) acylnitrenoids as a Ru^V -imido species.

Catalytic Intermolecular C(sp3)-H Amination: Selective Functionalization of Tertiary C-H Bonds vs Activated Benzylic C-H Bonds

A catalytic intermolecular amination of nonactivated tertiary C(sp³)-H bonds (BDE of 96 kcal·mol^-1) is reported for substrates displaying an activated benzylic site (BDE of 85 kcal·mol^-1). The tertiary C(sp³)-H bond is selectively functionalized to afford α,α,α-trisubstituted amides in high yields. This unusual site-selectivity results from the synergistic combination of Rh₂(S-tfpttl)₄, a rhodium(II) complex with a well-defined catalytic pocket, with tert-butylphenol sulfamate (TBPhsNH₂), which leads to a discriminating rhodium-bound nitrene species under mild oxidative conditions. This catalytic system is very robust, and the reaction was performed on a 50 mmol scale with only 0.01 mol % of catalyst. The TBPhs group can be removed under mild conditions to afford the corresponding NH-free amines.

Intermolecular Hydroaminoalkylation of Alkynes

Intermolecular hydroaminoalkylation reactions of alkynes with secondary amines, which selectively give access to allylic amines with E configuration of the alkene unit, are achieved in the presence of titanium catalysts. Successful reactions of symmetrically substituted diaryl- and dialkylalkynes as well as a terminal alkyne take place with N-benzylanilines, N-alkylanilines, and N-alkylbenzylamines.

Efficient Amination of Activated and Non-Activated C(sp3 )-H Bonds with a Simple Iron-Phenanthroline Catalyst

A readily available catalyst consisting of iron dichloride in combination with 1,10-phenanthroline catalyzes the ring-closing C-H amination of N-benzoyloxyurea to form imidazolidin-2-ones in high yields. The C-H amination reaction is very general and applicable to benzylic, allylic, propargylic, and completely non-activated aliphatic C(sp3 )-H bonds, and it also works for C(sp2 )-H bonds. The surprisingly simple method can be performed under open flask conditions.

Unravelling nitrene chemistry from acyclic precursors: recent advances and challenges

Recent advances in nitrene chemistry from acyclic precursors are reviewed in this paper.

Ruthenium Pybox-Catalyzed Enantioselective Intramolecular C-H Amination of Sulfamoyl Azides en Route to Chiral Vicinal Diamines

Enantioselective C(sp³)-H aminations allow an efficient access to nonracemic chiral amines. This work reports the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of chiral 1,2,5-thiadiazolidine-1,1-dioxides by an enantioselective ring-closing 1,5-C-H amination of sulfamoyl azides. The reaction is catalyzed by a recently introduced simple chiral ruthenium bis(oxazoline) (pybox) complex ( Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 12395) and provides cyclic 5-membered sulfamide products in up to 98% yield and up to 98% ee if the C-H bond is in a benzylic position. Mechanistic experiments support a stepwise mechanism in which an intermediate ruthenium nitrenoid species initiates a 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer followed by an immediate radical rebound. The cyclic sulfamide products are suitable intermediates for the synthesis of chiral vicinal diamines as has been verified for a representative example.

Origins of ligand-controlled diastereoselectivity in dirhodium-catalysed direct amination of aliphatic C(sp3)–H bonds

DFT studies were used to explore the mechanism of ligand-controlled diastereoselectivity in Rh2-catalysed intramolecular C(sp3)–H aminations, and the stereoselectivities were revealed via distortion/interaction and noncovalent interaction analysis.

Allylic Amination of Alkenes with Iminothianthrenes to Afford Alkyl Allylamines

Allylic C-H amination is currently accomplished with (sulfon)amides or carbamates. Here we show the first allylic amination that can directly afford alkyl allylamines, enabled by the reactivity of thianthrene-based nitrogen sources that can be prepared from primary amines in a single step.

Intramolecular C(sp3 )-H Bond Oxygenation by Transition-Metal Acylnitrenoids

This study demonstrates for the first time that easily accessible transition‐metal acylnitrenoids can be used for controlled direct C(sp³)‐H oxygenations. Specifically, a ruthenium catalyst activates N‐benzoyloxycarbamates as nitrene precursors towards regioselective intramolecular C−H oxygenations to provide cyclic carbonates, hydroxylated carbamates, or 1,2‐diols. The method can be applied to the chemoselective C−H oxygenation of benzylic, allylic, and propargylic C(sp³)−H bonds. The reaction can be performed in an enantioselective fashion and switched in a catalyst‐controlled fashion between C−H oxygenation and C−H amination. This work provides a new reaction mode for the regiocontrolled and stereocontrolled conversion of C(sp³)‐H into C(sp³)−O bonds.

Nitrene Transfer and Carbene Transfer in Gold Catalysis

Catalytic transformations involving metal carbenes are considered one of the most important aspects of homogeneous transition metal catalysis. Recently, gold-catalyzed generation of gold carbenes from readily available alkynes represents a significant advance in metal carbene chemistry. This Review summarizes the advances in the gold-catalyzed nitrene-transfer reactions of alkynes with nitrogen-transfer reagents, such as azides, nitrogen ylides, isoxazoles, and anthranils, and gold-catalyzed carbene-transfer reactions, involving oxygen atom-transfer reactions of alkynes with nitro compounds, nitrones, sulfoxides, and pyridine N-oxides, through the presumable α-imino gold carbene and α-oxo gold carbene intermediates, respectively. Gold-catalyzed processes are reviewed by highlighting their product diversity, selectivity, and applicability, and the mechanistic rationale is presented where possible.

Molybdenum(VI) bis-imido Complexes of Dipyrromethene Ligands

We report the synthesis of high-valent molybdenum(VI) bis-imido complexes 1-4 with dipyrromethene (DPM) supporting ligands of the general formula (DPM^R)Mo(NR')₂Cl (R, R' = mesityl (Mes) or tert-butyl (^tBu)). The electrochemical and chemical properties of 1-4 reveal unexpected ligand noninnocence and reactivity. ¹⁵N NMR spectroscopy is used to assess the electronic properties of the imido ligands in the tert-butyl complexes 1 and 3. Complex 1 is inert toward ligand (halide) exchange with bulky phenolates such as KOMes or amides (e.g., KN(SiMe₃)₂), whereas the use of the lithium alkyl LiCH₂SiMe₃ results in a rare nucleophilic β-alkylation of the DPM ligand. While the reductions of the complexes occur at molybdenum, the oxidation is centered at the DPM ligand. Quantum-chemical calculations (complete active space self-consistent field, density functional theory) suggest facile (near-infrared) interligand charge transfer to the imido ligand, which might preclude the isolation of the oxidized complex [1]⁺ in the experiment.

β-Silicon-effect-promoted intermolecular site-selective C(sp3)-H amination with dirhodium nitrenes

A dirhodium-catalyzed, β-selective C-H amination of organosilicon compounds has been developed. Primary C(sp³)-H bonds of silylethyl groups and secondary C(sp³)-H bonds of silacycloalkanes can be selectively converted to C-N bonds at the β-position of the silicon atoms. The experimental data and theoretical calculations indicate that the strong σ-donor ability of the carbon-silicon bonds is responsible for the β-selectivity. Kinetic isotope effects clearly demonstrate that the C-H bond cleavage step is not turnover-limiting, but selectivity-determining.

Iron porphyrin catalysed light driven C-H bond amination and alkene aziridination with organic azides

Visible light driven nitrene transfer and insertion reactions of organic azides are an attractive strategy for the design of C-N bond formation reactions under mild reaction conditions, the challenge being lack of selectivity as a free nitrene reactive intermediate is usually involved. Herein is described an iron(iii) porphyrin catalysed sp³ C-H amination and alkene aziridination with selectivity by using organic azides as the nitrogen source under blue LED light (469 nm) irradiation. The photochemical reactions display chemo- and regio-selectivity and are effective for the late-stage functionalization of natural and bioactive compounds with complexity. Mechanistic studies revealed that iron porphyrin plays a dual role as a photosensitizer and as a catalyst giving rise to a reactive iron-nitrene intermediate for subsequent C-N bond formation.

Mechanism and Chemoselectivity of Mn-Catalyzed Intramolecular Nitrene Transfer Reaction: C–H Amination vs. C=C Aziridination

The reactivity, mechanism and chemoselectivity of the Mn-catalyzed intramolecular C–H amination versus C=C aziridination of allylic substrate cis-4-hexenylsulfamate are investigated by BP86 density functional theory computations. Emphasis is placed on the origins of high reactivity and high chemoselectivity of Mn catalysis. The N p orbital character of frontier orbitals, a strong electron-withdrawing porphyrazine ligand and a poor π backbonding of high-valent MnIII metal to N atom lead to high electrophilic reactivity of Mn-nitrene. The calculated energy barrier of C–H amination is 9.9 kcal/mol lower than that of C=C aziridination, which indicates that Mn-based catalysis has an excellent level of chemoselectivity towards C–H amination, well consistent with the experimental the product ratio of amintion-to-aziridination I:A (i.e., (Insertion):(Aziridination)) >20:1. This extraordinary chemoselectivity towards C–H amination originates from the structural features of porphyrazine: a rigid ligand with the big π-conjugated bond. Electron-donating substituents can further increase Mn-catalyzed C–H amination reactivity. The controlling factors found in this work may be considered as design elements for an economical and environmentally friendly C–H amination system with high reactivity and high chemoselectivity.

Intramolecular Metal-Free N-N Bond Formation with Heteroaromatic Amines: Mild Access to Fused-Triazapentalene Derivatives

Formation of N-N bonds may offer an original approach to various nitrogen-containing heterocycles with numerous applications. For this purpose, we found that readily available heteroaromatic amines are appropriate substrates for providing an efficient and innovative approach for the formation of N-N bonds in the presence of iodine (III) reagent in very mild conditions. This method makes it possible to synthesize nitrogen rich triazapentalene derivatives exhibiting fluorescent properties, inaccessible with existing approaches.

Theoretical studies on the N–X (X = Cl, O) bond activation mechanism in catalytic C–H amination

A favorable S_N2-type N–Cl bond cleavage mechanism are proposed for Rh-catalysed C–H amination, which also works for N–O bond cleavage in Rh, Ru, and Pd analogous systems. These results could provide new understanding of C–H amination.

One-pot generation of benzynes from 2-aminophenylboronates via a Rh(ii)-catalyzed N–H amination/oxidation/elimination cascade process

Rh(ii)-Nitrene-mediated N–H amination of 2-aminophenylboronates triggered a cascade of oxidation/elimination processes resulting in the generation of benzynes.

Iron- and cobalt-catalyzed C(sp3)–H bond functionalization reactions and their application in organic synthesis

This review highlights the developments in iron and cobalt catalyzed C(sp³)–H bond functionalization reactions with emphasis on their applications in organic synthesis, i.e. natural products and pharmaceuticals synthesis and/or modification.

Late-stage C-H amination of abietane diterpenoids

This study aims at highlighting the synthetic versatility of the rhodium-catalyzed C-H amination reactions using iodine(iii) oxidants for the late-stage functionalization of natural products. Inter- and intramolecular nitrene insertions have been performed from various abietane diterpenoids, leading to the amination of the C-3, C-6, C-7, C-11 and C-15 positions. Ca. 20 aminated compounds have been isolated with yields of up to 86% and high levels of regio-, chemo- and stereoselectivities.

Non-C2-Symmetric Chiral-at-Ruthenium Catalyst for Highly Efficient Enantioselective Intramolecular C(sp3)-H Amidation

A new class of chiral ruthenium catalysts is introduced in which ruthenium is cyclometalated by two 7-methyl-1,7-phenanthrolinium heterocycles, resulting in chelating pyridylidene remote N-heterocyclic carbene ligands (rNHCs). The overall chirality results from a stereogenic metal center featuring either a Λ or Δ absolute configuration. This work features the importance of the relative metal-centered stereochemistry. Only the non-C₂-symmetric chiral-at-ruthenium complexes display unprecedented catalytic activity for the intramolecular C(sp³)-H amidation of 1,4,2-dioxazol-5-ones to provide chiral γ-lactams with up to 99:1 er and catalyst loadings down to 0.005 mol % (up to 11 200 TON), while the C₂-symmetric diastereomer favors an undesired Curtius-type rearrangement. DFT calculations elucidate the origins of the superior C-H amidation reactivity displayed by the non-C₂-symmetric catalysts compared to related C₂-symmetric counterparts.

Transition metal-catalyzed sp3 C-H activation and intramolecular C-N coupling to construct nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds

Nitrogen heterocycles are of great medicinal importance, and the construction of nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds has been one of the focuses in synthetic organic chemistry. Recently, the strategy of transition metal-catalyzed sp3 C-H activation and intramolecular C-N coupling to construct nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds has been well developed. Palladium, copper, silver, nickel, cobalt, ruthenium and rhodium catalysis were successfully used for the construction of nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds, aziridines, azetidines, pyrrolidines, pyrrolidine-2,5-diones, indolines, isoindolines, isoindolinones, tetrahydropyridines, oxazolidinones, oxazinanones, β-lactams, γ-lactams etc., which have been synthesized by the sp3 C-H activation strategy. Here, we summarize the progress of transition metal-catalyzed sp3 C-H activation/intramolecular C-N bond formation, and introduce both the reaction development and mechanisms in numerous synthetically useful intramolecular sp3 C-H catalytic aminations/amidations.

Iodonitrene in Action: Direct Transformation of Amino Acids into Terminal Diazirines and 15N2-Diazirines and Their Application as Hyperpolarized Markers

A one-pot metal-free conversion of unprotected amino acids to terminal diazirines has been developed using phenyliodonium diacetate (PIDA) and ammonia. This PIDA-mediated transformation occurs via three consecutive reactions and involves an iodonitrene intermediate. This method is tolerant to most functional groups found on the lateral chain of amino acids, it is operationally simple, and it can be scaled up to provide multigram quantities of diazirine. Interestingly, we also demonstrated that this transformation could be applied to dipeptides without racemization. Furthermore, ¹⁴N₂ and ¹⁵N₂ isotopomers can be obtained, emphasizing a key trans-imination step when using ¹⁵NH₃. In addition, we report the first experimental observation of ¹⁴N/¹⁵N isotopomers directly creating an asymmetric carbon. Finally, the ¹⁵N₂-diazirine from l-tyrosine was hyperpolarized by a parahydrogen-based method (SABRE-SHEATH), demonstrating the products' utility as hyperpolarized molecular tag.

Catalytic Cascade Dehydrogenative Cross-Coupling of BH/CH and BH/NH: One-Pot Process to Carborano-Isoquinolinone

A proof-of-principle study of cascade dehydrogenative cross-coupling of carboranyl carboxylic acid with readily available benzamide has been achieved, resulting in the facile synthesis of previously inaccessible carborano-isoquinolinone derivatives in a simple one-pot process, in which two cage B-H, one aryl C-H, and one N-H bond were sequentially activated to construct efficiently new B-C and B-N bonds, respectively. Under suitable reaction conditions, such cascade cyclization can be stopped at the first B-H/C-H cross-coupling step to give a series of α-carboranyl benzamides, suggesting the preferential occurrence of B-C cross-coupling over that of B-N. The carboxylic acid directing group plays a key role in the B-C cross-coupling step, which is then removed through in situ decarboxylation. The CV results combined with control experiments indicate that high-valent Ir(V)-species may be involved in the reaction pathways, which is crucial for such cascade dehydrogenative cross-coupling reactions. The isolation and structural identification of a key intermediate, its controlled transformations, and deuterium labeling experiments support a new Ir-nitrene-mediated amination for B-H/N-H dehydrocoupling.

Transition-Metal- and Light-Free Directed Amination of Remote Unactivated C(sp3)-H Bonds of Alcohols

Due to the great value of amino alcohols, new methods for their synthesis are in high demand. Abundant aliphatic alcohols represent the ideal feedstock for the method development toward this important motif. To date, transition-metal-catalyzed approaches for the directed remote amination of alcohols have been well established. Yet, they have certain disadvantages such as the use of expensive catalysts and limited scope. Very recently, transition-metal-free visible-light-induced radical approaches have emerged as new powerful tools for directed remote amination of alcohols. Relying on 1,5-HAT reactivity, these methods are limited to β - or δ-amination only. Herein, we report a novel transition-metal- and visible-light-free room-temperature radical approach for remote β -, γ-, and δ-C(sp3)-N bond formation in aliphatic alcohols using mild basic conditions and readily available diazonium salt reagents.

Catalytic Enantioselective Intermolecular Benzylic C(sp3 )-H Amination

A practical general method for asymmetric intermolecular benzylic C(sp³ )-H amination has been developed by combining the pentafluorobenzyl sulfamate PfbsNH₂ with the chiral rhodium(II) catalyst Rh₂ (S-tfptad)₄ . Various substrates can be used as limiting components and converted to benzylic amines with excellent yields and high levels of enantioselectivity. Additional key features for the reaction are the low catalyst loading and the ability to remove the Pfbs group under mild conditions to give NH-free benzylic amines.

Uncatalyzed Oxidative C-H Amination of 9,10-Dihydro-9-Heteroanthracenes: A Mechanistic Study

A new method for the one‐step C−H amination of xanthene and thioxanthene with sulfonamides is reported, without the need for any metal catalyst. A benzoquinone was employed as a hydride (or two‐electron and one‐proton) acceptor. Moreover, a previously unknown and uncatalyzed reaction between iminoiodanes and xanthene, thioxanthene and dihydroacridines (9,10‐dihydro‐9‐heteroanthracenes or dihydroheteroanthracenes) is disclosed. The reactions proceed through hydride transfer from the heteroarene substrate to the iminoiodane or benzoquinone, followed by conjugate addition of the sulfonamide to the oxidized heteroaromatic compounds. These findings may have important mechanistic implications for metal‐catalyzed C−H amination processes involving nitrene transfer from iminoiodanes to dihydroheteroanthracenes. Due to the weak C−H bond, xanthene is an often‐employed substrate in mechanistic studies of C−H amination reactions, which are generally proposed to proceed via metal‐catalyzed nitrene insertion, especially for reactions involving nitrene or imido complexes that are less reactive (i.e., less strongly oxidizing). However, these substrates clearly undergo non‐catalyzed (proton‐coupled) redox coupling with amines, thus providing alternative pathways to the widely assumed metal‐catalyzed pathways.