Katalytische C-C-, C-N- und C-O-Ullmann-Kupplungen

Anilines Formation via Molybdenum-Catalyzed Intermolecular Reaction of Ynones with Allylic Amines

The multi-substituted anilines are widely found in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry and material science. The quest for robust and efficient methods to construct a diverse array of these compounds using readily accessible starting materials under simple reaction conditions is of utmost importance. Here, we report an unprecedented and efficient approach for the synthesis of 2,4-di and 2,4,6-trisubstituted anilines. With a simple molybdenum(VI) catalyst, a wide range of 2,4-di and 2,4,6-trisubstituted anilines were efficiently prepared in generally good to excellent yields from readily accessible ynones and allylic amines. The synthetic potential of this methodology was further underscored by its applications in several synthetic transformations, gram-scale reactions, and derivatization of bioactive molecules. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that this aniline formation might involve a cascade of aza-Michael addition, [1,6]-proton shift, cyclization, dehydration, 6π-electrocyclization, and aromatization. This novel strategy provided a robust, simple, and modular approach for the syntheses of various valuable di- or trisubstituted anilines, some of which were otherwise challenging to access.

Room-Temperature Dialkylamination of Chloroheteroarenes Using a Cu(II)/PTABS Catalytic System

The dimethylamino functionality has significant importance in industrially relevant molecules and methodologies to install these efficiently are highly desirable. We report herein a highly efficient, room-temperature dimethylamination of chloroheteroarenes performed via the in-situ generation of dimethylamine using N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as precursor wiith a large substrate scope that includes various heteroarenes, purines as well as commercially relevant drugs such as altretamine, ampyzine and puromycin precursor.

Regioselective Biocatalytic C4-Prenylation of Unprotected Tryptophan Derivatives

Regioselective carbon-carbon bond formation belongs to the challenging tasks in organic synthesis. In this context, C-C bond formation catalyzed by 4-dimethylallyltryptophan synthases (4-DMATSs) represents a possible tool to regioselectively synthesize C4-prenylated indole derivatives without site-specific preactivation and circumventing the need of protection groups as used in chemical synthetic approaches. In this study, a toolbox of 4-DMATSs to produce a set of 4-dimethylallyl tryptophan and indole derivatives was identified. Using three wild-type enzymes as well as variants, various C5-substituted tryptophan derivatives as well as N-methyl tryptophan were successfully prenylated with conversions up to 90 %. Even truncated tryptophan derivatives like tryptamine and 3-indole propanoic acid were regioselectively prenylated in position C4. The acceptance of C5-substituted tryptophan derivatives was improved up to 5-fold by generating variants (e. g. T108S). The feasibility of semi-preparative prenylation of selected tryptophan derivatives was successfully demonstrated on 100 mg scale at 15 mM substrate concentration, allowing to reduce the previously published multistep chemical synthetic sequence to just a single step.

Copper(II) NHC Catalyst for the Formation of Phenol from Arylboronic Acid

Arylboronic acids are commonly used in modern organic chemistry to form new C-C and C-heteroatom bonds. These activated organic synthons show reactivity with heteroatoms in a range of substrates under ambient oxidative conditions. This broad reactivity has limited their use in protic, renewable solvents like water, ethanol, and methanol. Here, we report our efforts to study and optimize the activation of arylboronic acids by a copper(II) N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complex in aqueous solution and in a range of alcohols to generate phenol and aryl ethers, respectively. The optimized reactivity showcases the ability to make targeted C-O bonds, but also identifies conditions where water and alcohol activation could be limiting for C-C and C-heteroatom bond-forming reactions. This copper(II) complex shows strong reactivity toward arylboronic acid activation in aqueous medium at ambient temperature. The relationship between product formation and temperature and catalyst loading are described. Additionally, the effects of buffer, pH, base, and co-solvent are explored with respect to phenol and ether generation reactions. Characterization of the new copper(II) NCN-pincer complex by X-ray crystallography, HR-MS, cyclic voltammetry, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectral studies is reported.

Iron-Catalyzed Oxidative C-O and C-N Coupling Reactions Using Air as Sole Oxidant

We describe the oxygenation of tertiary arylamines, and the amination of tertiary arylamines and phenols. The key step of these coupling reactions is an iron-catalyzed oxidative C-O or C-N bond formation which generally provides the corresponding products in high yields and with excellent regioselectivity. The transformations are accomplished using hexadecafluorophthalocyanine-iron(II) (FePcF16 ) as catalyst in the presence of an acid or a base additive and require only ambient air as sole oxidant.

Solid-State C-N Cross-Coupling Reactions with Carbazoles as Nitrogen Nucleophiles Using Mechanochemistry

The palladium-catalyzed solid-state C-N cross-coupling of carbazoles with aryl halides via a high-temperature ball-milling technique has been reported. This reaction allowed simple, fast, and efficient synthesis of N-arylcarbazole derivatives in good to excellent yields without the use of large amounts of organic solvents in air. Importantly, the developed solid-state coupling approach enabled the cross-coupling of poorly soluble aryl halides with large polyaromatic structures that are barely reactive under conventional solution-based conditions.

Structural Elucidation, Aggregation, and Dynamic Behaviour of N,N,N,N-Copper(I) Schiff Base Complexes in Solid and in Solution: A Combined NMR, X-ray Spectroscopic and Crystallographic Investigation

A series of Cu(I) complexes of bidentate or tetradentate Schiff base ligands bearing either 1-H-imidazole or pyridine moieties were synthesized. The complexes were studied by a combination of NMR and X-ray spectroscopic techniques. The differences between the imidazole- and pyridine-based ligands were examined by 1H, 13C and 15N NMR spectroscopy. The magnitude of the 15Nimine coordination shifts was found to be strongly affected by the nature of the heterocycle in the complexes. These trends showed good correlation with the obtained Cu-Nimine bond lengths from single-crystal X-ray diffraction measurements. Variable-temperature NMR experiments, in combination with diffusion ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) revealed that one of the complexes underwent a temperature-dependent interconversion between a monomer, a dimer and a higher aggregate. The complexes bearing tetradentate imidazole ligands were further studied using Cu K-edge XAS and VtC XES, where DFT-assisted assignment of spectral features suggested that these complexes may form polynuclear oligomers in solid state. Additionally, the Cu(II) analogue of one of the complexes was incorporated into a metal-organic framework (MOF) as a way to obtain discrete, mononuclear complexes in the solid state.

Catalytic Reductive Alcohol Etherifications with Carbonyl-Based Compounds or CO2 and Related Transformations for the Synthesis of Ether Derivatives

Ether derivatives have myriad applications in several areas of chemical industry and academia. Hence, the development of more effective and sustainable protocols for their production is highly desired. Among the different methodologies reported for ether synthesis, catalytic reductive alcohol etherifications with carbonyl-based moieties (aldehydes/ketones and carboxylic acid derivatives) have emerged in the last years as a potential tool. These processes constitute appealing routes for the selective production of both symmetrical and asymmetrical ethers (including O-heterocycles) with an increased molecular complexity. Likewise, ester-to-ether catalytic reductions and hydrogenative alcohol etherifications with CO2 to dialkoxymethanes and other acetals, albeit in less extent, have undergone important advances, too. In this Review, an update of the recent progresses in the area of catalytic reductive alcohol etherifications using carbonyl-based compounds and CO2 have been described with a special focus on organic synthetic applications and catalyst design. Complementarily, recent progress made in catalytic acetal/ketal-to-ether or ester-to-ether reductions and other related transformations have been also summarized.

Low-Temperature Nickel-Catalyzed C-N Cross-Coupling via Kinetic Resolution Enabled by a Bulky and Flexible Chiral N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligand

The transition-metal-catalyzed C-N cross-coupling has revolutionized the construction of amines. Despite the innovations of multiple generations of ligands to modulate the reactivity of the metal center, ligands for the low-temperature enantioselective amination of aryl halides remain a coveted target of catalyst engineering. Designs that promote one elementary reaction often create bottlenecks at other steps. We here report an unprecedented low-temperature (as low as -50 °C), enantioselective Ni-catalyzed C-N cross-coupling of aryl chlorides with sterically hindered secondary amines via a kinetic resolution process (s factor up to >300). A bulky yet flexible chiral N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand is leveraged to drive both oxidative addition and reductive elimination with low barriers and control the enantioselectivity. Computational studies indicate that the rotations of multiple σ-bonds on the C₂ -symmetric chiral ligand adapt to the changing needs of catalytic processes. We expect this design would be widely applicable to diverse transition states to achieve other challenging metal-catalyzed asymmetric cross-coupling reactions.

Oxalohydrazide Ligands for Copper-Catalyzed C-O Coupling Reactions with High Turnover Numbers

Here, we report a class of ligands based on oxalohydrazide cores and N-amino pyrrole and N-amino indole units that generates long-lived copper catalysts for couplings that form the C-O bonds in biaryl ethers. These Cu-catalyzed coupling of phenols with aryl bromides occurred with turnovers up to 8000, a value which is nearly two orders of magnitude higher than those of prior couplings to form biaryl ethers and nearly an order of magnitude higher than those of any prior copper-catalyzed coupling of aryl bromides and chlorides. This ligand also led to copper systems that catalyze the coupling of aryl chlorides with phenols and the coupling of aryl bromides and iodides with primary benzylic and aliphatic alcohols. A wide variety of functional groups including nitriles, halides, ethers, ketones, amines, esters, amides, vinylarenes, alcohols and boronic acid esters were tolerated, and reactions occurred with aryl bromides in pharmaceutically related structures.

Transition Metal Exchanged Hydroxyapatite/Fluorapatite Catalysts for C-C and C-N Bond Forming Reactions

Transition metal (Cu, Zn, Rh, Pd) exchanged hydroxyapatite (HAP)/fluorapatite (FAP) materials have been synthesized by ion-exchange method resulting in incorporation of the metal ions in the HAP/FAP structure. C-C and C-N bond forming reactions are important in synthetic organic chemistry as these organic transformations are very critical. Transition metal exchanged FAP provides an efficient catalytic system for N-arylation of haloarenes and Suzuki and Heck coupling of haloarenes. By designing such catalytic materials, our group has developed synthetic methods which allow higher product yields and easy separation with the use of a small amount of catalyst in a shorter reaction time. This account addresses the work carried out in last two decades in the area of C-C and C-N bond forming reactions using transition metal exchanged fluorapatite.

Self-Assembly of Benzimidazole-Derived Tris-NHC Ligands and AgI -Ions to Hexanuclear Organometallic Cages and Their Unusual Transmetalation Chemistry

Multi-ligand self-assembly to attain the Ag^I -N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-built hexanuclear organometallic cages of composition [Ag₆ (3 a,b)₄ ](PF₆ )₆ from the reaction of benzimidazole-derived tris(azolium) salts [H₃ -3 a,b](PF₆ )₃ with Ag₂ O was achieved. The molecular structures of the cages were established by X-ray diffraction studies along with NMR and MS analyses. The existence of a single assembly in solution was supported by diffusion-ordered spectroscopy (DOSY) ¹ H NMR spectra. Further, transmetalation reactions of these self-assembled complexes, [Ag₆ (3 a,b)₄ ](PF₆ )₆ , with Cu^I /Au^I -ions provided various coinage metal-NHC complexes having diverse molecular compositions, which included the first example of a hexanuclear Cu^I -dodecacarbene complex, [Cu₆ (3 b)₄ ](PF₆ )₆ .

Visible-Light-Enabled Direct Decarboxylative N-Alkylation

The development of efficient and selective C-N bond-forming reactions from abundant feedstock chemicals remains a central theme in organic chemistry owing to the key roles of amines in synthesis, drug discovery, and materials science. Herein, we present a dual catalytic system for the N-alkylation of diverse aromatic carbocyclic and heterocyclic amines directly with carboxylic acids, by-passing their preactivation as redox-active esters. The reaction, which is enabled by visible-light-driven, acridine-catalyzed decarboxylation, provides access to N-alkylated secondary and tertiary anilines and N-heterocycles. Additional examples, including double alkylation, the installation of metabolically robust deuterated methyl groups, and tandem ring formation, further demonstrate the potential of the direct decarboxylative alkylation (DDA) reaction.

Tuning the copper(II)/copper(I) redox potential for more robust copper-catalyzed C-N bond forming reactions

Complexes of copper and 1,10-phenanthroline have been utilized for organic transformations over the last 50 years. In many cases these systems are impacted by reaction conditions and perform best under an inert atmosphere. Here we explore the role the 1,10-phenanthroline ligand plays on the electronic structure and redox properties of copper coordination complexes, and what benefit related ligands may provide to enhance copper-based coupling reactions. Copper(II) triflate complexes bearing 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), ([Cu(phen)₂(OTf)]OTf, 1) and oxidized derivatives of phen including [Cu(edhp)₂](OTf)₂ (2), [Cu(pdo)₂](OTf)₂ (3), [Cu(dafo)₂](OTf)₂ (4) were prepared and characterized. X-ray crystallographic data show these related ligands subtly impacted the coordination geometry of the copper(II) ion. Complexes 1-3 had only incremental changes to the redox properties of the copper ions, complex 4 showed a drastically different redox potential affording a remarkably air stable copper(I) complex. These complexes 1-4 were then used to catalyze the C-N bond forming cross coupling between imidazole and various boronic acid substrates, where the increased stability of the copper(I) species in complex 4 appears to better support these CEL cross couplings.

Integrating CuO-Fe2 O3 Nanocomposites and Supramolecular Assemblies of Phenazine for Visible-Light Photoredox Catalysis

A photoredox catalytic ensemble consisting of CuO-Fe₂ O₃ nanocomposites and oligomeric derivative of phenazine has been developed. The prepared system acts as an efficient photoredox catalyst for C-N bond formation reaction via SET mechanism under 'green' conditions (aerial environment, mixed aqueous media, recyclable), requiring less equivalents of base and amine substrate. The present study demonstrates the significant role of supramolecular assemblies as photooxidants and reductants upon irradiation and their important contribution towards the activation of the metallic centre through energy transfer and electron transfer pathways. The potential of oligomer 4: CuO-Fe₂ O₃ has also been explored for C-C bond formation reactions via the Sonogashira protocol.

Nickela-electrocatalyzed C-H Alkoxylation with Secondary Alcohols: Oxidation-Induced Reductive Elimination at Nickel(III)

Nickela-electrooxidative C-H alkoxylations with challenging secondary alcohols were accomplished in a fully dehydrogenative fashion, thereby avoiding stoichiometric chemical oxidants, with H2 as the only stoichiometric byproduct. The nickela-electrocatalyzed oxygenation proved viable with various (hetero)arenes, including naturally occurring secondary alcohols, without racemization. Detailed mechanistic investigation, including DFT calculations and cyclovoltammetric studies of a well-defined C-H activated nickel(III) intermediate, suggest an oxidation-induced reductive elimination at nickel(III).

Gold-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions: An Overview of Design Strategies, Mechanistic Studies, and Applications

Transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are central to many organic synthesis methodologies. Traditionally, Pd, Ni, Cu, and Fe catalysts are used to promote these reactions. Recently, many studies have showed that both homogeneous and heterogeneous Au catalysts can be used for activating selective cross-coupling reactions. Here, an overview of the past studies, current trends, and future directions in the field of gold-catalyzed coupling reactions is presented. Design strategies to accomplish selective homocoupling and cross-coupling reactions under both homogeneous and heterogeneous conditions, computational and experimental mechanistic studies, and their applications in diverse fields are critically reviewed. Specific topics covered are: oxidant-assisted and oxidant-free reactions; strain-assisted reactions; dual Au and photoredox catalysis; bimetallic synergistic reactions; mechanisms of reductive elimination processes; enzyme-mimicking Au chemistry; cluster and surface reactions; and plasmonic catalysis. In the relevant sections, theoretical and computational studies of Au^I /Au^III chemistry are discussed and the predictions from the calculations are compared with the experimental observations to derive useful design strategies.

An Organic Molecular Photocatalyst Releasing Oxygen from Water

Artificial photosynthesis employing solar energy is one of the best means of reaching a sustainable energy cycle, in which water is oxidized to oxygen and supplies electrons for fuel generation. The development of suitable oxygen evolution materials driven by sunlight is hence the most challenging research topic in the field of photocatalysis. Herein, photocatalytic O₂ production from water at a rate of 22.6 μmol h^-1 was performed by using a pyrene-based organic molecule constructed through the Ullmann coupling reaction. Its significantly improved light-harvesting ability and notably accelerated separation and transfer of photogenerated charges enhanced the O₂ evolution efficiency. This study highlights the structural design of organic molecules applied to photocatalytic water splitting.

The Buchwald-Hartwig Amination After 25 Years

The Pd-catalyzed coupling of aryl (pseudo)halides and amines is one of the most powerful approaches for the formation of C(sp² )-N bonds. The pioneering reports from Migita and subsequently Buchwald and Hartwig on the coupling of aminostannanes and aryl bromides rapidly evolved into general and practical tin-free protocols with broad substrate scope, which led to the establishment of what is now known as the Buchwald-Hartwig amination. This Minireview summarizes the evolution of this cross-coupling reaction over the course of the past 25 years and illustrates some of the most recent applications of this well-established methodology.