Recent Progress in Coupling of Two Heteroarenes

The Suzuki reaction applied to the synthesis of novel pyrrolyl and thiophenyl indazoles

The paper describes the Suzuki cross-coupling of a variety of N and C-3 substituted 5-bromoindazoles with N-Boc-2-pyrrole and 2-thiopheneboronic acids. The reactions, performed in the presence of K(2)CO(3), dimethoxyethane and Pd(dppf)Cl(2) as catalyst, gave the corresponding adducts in good yields. The methodology allows the facile production of indazole-based heteroaryl compounds, a unique architectural motif that is ubiquitous in biologically active molecules.

Copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidative C-H functionalizations: trends and mechanistic insights

The selective oxidation of C-H bonds and the use of O(2) as a stoichiometric oxidant represent two prominent challenges in organic chemistry. Copper(II) is a versatile oxidant, capable of promoting a wide range of oxidative coupling reactions initiated by single-electron transfer (SET) from electron-rich organic molecules. Many of these reactions can be rendered catalytic in Cu by employing molecular oxygen as a stoichiometric oxidant to regenerate the active copper(II) catalyst. Meanwhile, numerous other recently reported Cu-catalyzed C-H oxidation reactions feature substrates that are electron-deficient or appear unlikely to undergo single-electron transfer to copper(II). In some of these cases, evidence has been obtained for the involvement of organocopper(III) intermediates in the reaction mechanism. Organometallic C-H oxidation reactions of this type represent important new opportunities for the field of Cu-catalyzed aerobic oxidations.