Branch-Selective, Iridium-Catalyzed Hydroarylation of Monosubstituted Alkenes via a Cooperative Destabilization Strategy

Transition metal-catalyzed ketone-directed or mediated C-H functionalization

Transition metal-catalyzed C-H functionalization has evolved into a prominent and indispensable tool in organic synthesis. While nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur-based functional groups (FGs) are widely employed as effective directing groups (DGs) to control the site-selectivity of C-H activation, the use of common FGs (e.g. ketone, alcohol and amine) as DGs has been continuously pursued. Ketones are an especially attractive choice of DGs and substrates due to their prevalence in various molecules and versatile reactivity as synthetic intermediates. Over the last two decades, transition metal-catalyzed C-H functionalization that is directed or mediated by ketones has experienced vigorous growth. This review summarizes these advancements into three major categories: use of ketone carbonyls as DGs, direct β-functionalization, and α-alkylation/alkenylation with unactivated olefins and alkynes. Each of these subsections is discussed from the perspective of strategic design and reaction discovery.

Efficient hydroarylation and hydroalkenylation of vinylarenes by Brønsted acid catalysis

Brønsted acid Tf₂NH-catalyzed hydroarylation and hydroalkenylation of 4 vinylarenes under mild reaction conditions is herein shown to provide access to 1,1-diarylalkane scaffolds and trans-1,3-diaryl-1-butenes in high yields and with excellent regioselectivity.

Rhodium-catalyzed regioselective addition of the ortho C-H bond in aromatic amides to the C-C double bond in α,β-unsaturated γ-lactones and dihydrofurans

An unprecedented C-H alkylation using α,β-unsaturated γ-lactones (butenolides) and dihydrofurans was achieved by the Rh-catalyzed reaction of benzamides. C-C bond formation occurs between the ortho-position of the benzamide derivative and the γ-position of the butenolide or the α-position of the dihydrofuran. The presence of an 8-aminoquinoline directing group is crucial for the success of the reaction. The results of deuterium labeling experiments indicate that the cleavage of the C-H bond is reversible and suggest that a migratory carbene insertion is involved as the key step.

Palladium catalyzed selective distal C–H olefination of biaryl systems

In this report, we disclose the distal C–H olefination of biphenyl systems with high regio- and stereo-selectivity and useful synthetic yields.

Mechanism of iridium-catalysed branched-selective hydroarylation of vinyl ethers: a computational study

An unconventional modified Chalk–Harrod-type mechanism was revealed by DFT calculations for the iridium-catalysed branched-selective hydroarylation of vinyl ethers.

Branch-Selective Alkene Hydroarylation by Cooperative Destabilization: Iridium-Catalyzed ortho-Alkylation of Acetanilides

An iridium(I) catalyst system, modified with the wide-bite-angle and electron-deficient bisphosphine d(F) ppb (1,4-bis(di(pentafluorophenyl)phosphino)butane) promotes highly branch-selective hydroarylation reactions between diverse acetanilides and aryl- or alkyl-substituted alkenes. This provides direct and ortho-selective access to synthetically challenging anilines, and addresses long-standing issues associated with related Friedel-Crafts alkylations.

Intramolecular cyclization of a diruthenium complex: insight into the mechanism of heteroatom-directed intramolecular C-H/olefin coupling reactions

Complex 2, synthesized by the reaction of {(C5H4N)(μ2-η(5):η(1)-C9H5)}Ru3(CO)9 (1) with 1,5-hexadiene, could further transform to another diruthenium complex 3via intramolecular carbometalation. The results are relevant to the mechanism of transition-metal catalyzed heteroatom-directed intramolecular C-H/olefin coupling reactions.

Cationic Iridium/S-Me-BIPAM-Catalyzed Direct Asymmetric Intermolecular Hydroarylation of Bicycloalkenes

Highly enantioselective cationic iridium-catalyzed hydroarylation of bicycloalkenes, by carbonyl-directed C-H bond cleavage, was accomplished using a newly synthesized sulfur-linked bis(phosphoramidite) ligand (S-Me-BIPAM). The reaction provides alkylated acetophenone or benzamide derivatives in moderate to excellent yields and good to excellent enantioselectivities. Notably, the hydroarylation reaction of 2-norbornene with N,N-dialkylbenzamide proceeds with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99% ee) and high selectivity for the mono-ortho-alkylation product.

Nickel-Catalyzed Insertion of Alkynes and Electron-Deficient Olefins into Unactivated sp(3) C-H Bonds

Insertion of unsaturated systems such as alkynes and olefins into unactivated sp(3) C-H bonds remains an unexplored problem. We herein address this issue by successfully incorporating a wide variety of functionalized alkynes and electron-deficient olefins into the unactivated sp(3) C-H bond of pivalic acid derivatives with excellent syn- and linear- selectivity. A strongly chelating 8-aminoquinoline directing group proved beneficial for these insertion reactions, while an air-stable and inexpensive Ni(II) salt has been employed as the active catalyst.

Lewis acid activation of carbodicarbene catalysts for Rh-catalyzed hydroarylation of dienes

The activation of carbodicarbene (CDC)-Rh(I) pincer complexes by secondary binding of metal salts is reported for the catalytic site-selective hydro-heteroarylation of dienes (up to 98% yield and >98:2 γ:α). Reactions are promoted by 5 mol % of a readily available tridentate (CDC)-Rh complex in the presence of an inexpensive lithium salt. The reaction is compatible with a variety of terminal and internal dienes and tolerant of ester, alkyl halide, and boronate ester functional groups. X-ray data and mechanistic experiments provide support for the role of the metal salts on catalyst activation and shed light on the reaction mechanism. The increased efficiency (120 to 22 °C) made available by catalytic amounts of metal salts to catalysts containing C(0) donors is a significant aspect of the disclosed studies.

Iridium-Catalyzed Branch-Selective Hydroarylation of Vinyl Ethers via C-H Bond Activation

Iridium-catalyzed hydroarylation of vinyl ethers via a directed C-H bond activation of aromatic compounds gave high yields of the corresponding addition products with high branch selectivity.

Transition metal-catalyzed C–H bond functionalizations by the use of diverse directing groups

In this review, a summary of transition metal-catalyzed C–H activation by utilizing the functionalities as directing groups is presented.