Oxidative coupling of aromatic substrates with alkynes and alkenes under rhodium catalysis

Ruthenium-catalyzed C-H oxygenation on aryl Weinreb amides

Versatile ruthenium catalysts enabled unprecedented C-H bond oxygenations of aryl Weinreb amides with ample scope under exceedingly mild reaction conditions, thereby also giving access to valuable ortho-hydroxylated aldehydes. Mechanistic studies provided strong support for a kinetically relevant C-H bond activation.

Rhodium(III)-catalyzed alkenyl C-H bond functionalization: convergent synthesis of furans and pyrroles

Ring in the new: a new annulation for the efficient synthesis of substituted furans and pyrroles is reported. The Rh(III) -catalyzed reaction of O-methyl α,β-unsaturated oximes with aldehydes and N-tosyl imines affords secondary alcohol and amine intermediates, respectively. Cyclization and aromatization occurs under the reaction conditions to provide access to biologically relevant furans and pyrroles in good yields. Cp*=C(5)Me(5), DCE=1,2-dichloroethane, THF=tetrahydrofuran.

Toward polynuclear Ru-Cu catalytic dehydrogenative C-N bond formation, on the reactivity of carbazoles

The cooperative action of Ru and Cu catalysts enables direct polynuclear C-H and N-H activation for the dehydrogenative N-carbazolation of carbazoles, selectively at the C1 position. Initial mechanistic experiments are presented and discussed.

Ruthenium-catalyzed C-H bond oxygenations with weakly coordinating ketones

Ruthenium complexes enabled first C(sp(2))-H bond oxygenations of aromatic ketones with excellent functional group tolerance, and broad scope as well as high chemoselectivity and site selectivity.

Investigation and comparison of the mechanistic steps in the [(Cp*MCl2)2] (Cp* = C5Me5; M = Rh, Ir)-catalyzed oxidative annulation of isoquinolones with alkynes

The mechanism of the [(Cp*MCl(2))(2)] (M = Rh, Ir)-catalyzed oxidative annulation reaction of isoquinolones with alkynes was investigated in detail. In the first acetate-assisted C-H-activation process (cyclometalated step) and the subsequent mono-alkyne insertion into the M-C bonds of the cyclometalated compounds, both Rh and Ir complexes participated well. However, the desired final products, dibenzo[a,g]quinolizin-8-one derivatives, were only formed in high yield when the Rh species participated in the final oxidative coupling of the C-N bond. Moreover, a Rh(I) sandwich intermediate was isolated during this transformation. The iridium complexes were found to be inactive in the oxidative coupling processes. All of the relevant intermediates were fully characterized and determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Based on this mechanistic study, a Rh(III)→Rh(I)→Rh(III) catalytic cycle was proposed for this reaction.

Biotinylated Rh(III) complexes in engineered streptavidin for accelerated asymmetric C-H activation

Enzymes provide an exquisitely tailored chiral environment to foster high catalytic activities and selectivities, but their native structures are optimized for very specific biochemical transformations. Designing a protein to accommodate a non-native transition metal complex can broaden the scope of enzymatic transformations while raising the activity and selectivity of small-molecule catalysis. Here, we report the creation of a bifunctional artificial metalloenzyme in which a glutamic acid or aspartic acid residue engineered into streptavidin acts in concert with a docked biotinylated rhodium(III) complex to enable catalytic asymmetric carbon-hydrogen (C-H) activation. The coupling of benzamides and alkenes to access dihydroisoquinolones proceeds with up to nearly a 100-fold rate acceleration compared with the activity of the isolated rhodium complex and enantiomeric ratios as high as 93:7.