Palladium-Catalyzed Vicinal Difunctionalization of Internal Alkenes: Diastereoselective Synthesis of Diamines

Photoredox-catalyzed unsymmetrical diamination of alkenes for access to vicinal diamines

A photoredox-catalyzed unsymmetrical diamination of alkenes by using N-aminopyridinium salts and nitriles as the amination reagents has been developed. Various vicinal diamines were obtained in moderate to excellent yields under mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, this protocol could be applied in the late-stage modification of pharmaceuticals and natural products. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggested that this methodology may undergo a radical pathway followed by a Ritter-type reaction.

Transition-Metal-Catalyzed 1,2-Diaminations of Olefins: Synthetic Methodologies and Mechanistic Studies

1,2-Diamines are synthetically important motifs in organo-catalysis, natural products, and drug research. Continuous utilization of transition-metal based catalyst in direct 1,2-diamination of olefines, in contrast to metal-free transformations, with numerous impressive advances made in recent years (2015-2023). This review summarized contemporary research on the transition-metal catalyzed/mediated [e. g., Cu(II), Pd(II), Fe(II), Rh(III), Ir(III), and Co(II)] 1,2-diamination (asymmetric and non-asymmetric) especially emphasizing the recent synthetic methodologies and mechanistic understandings. Moreover, up-to-date discussion on (i) paramount role of oxidant and catalyst (ii) key achievements (iii) generality and uniqueness, (iv) synthetic limitations or future challenges, and (v) future opportunities are summarized related to this potential area.

Regiospecific Alkene Aminofunctionalization via an Electrogenerated Dielectrophile

Modular strategies to rapidly increase molecular complexity have proven immensely synthetically valuable. In principle, transformation of an alkene into a dielectrophile presents an opportunity to deliver two unique nucleophiles across an alkene. Unfortunately, the selectivity profiles of known dielectrophiles have largely precluded this deceptively simple synthetic approach. Herein, we demonstrate that dicationic adducts generated through electrolysis of alkenes and thianthrene possess a unique selectivity profile relative to more conventional dielectrophiles. Specifically, these species undergo a single and perfectly regioselective substitution reaction with phthalimide salts. This observation unlocks an appealing new platform for aminofunctionalization reactions. As an illustrative example, we implement this new reactivity paradigm to address a longstanding synthetic challenge: alkene diamination with two distinct nitrogen nucleophiles. Studies into the mechanism of this process reveal a key alkenyl thianthrenium salt intermediate that controls the exquisite regioselectivity of the process and highlight the importance of proton sources in controlling the reactivity of alkenyl sulfonium salt electrophiles.

Palladium-Catalyzed Organic Reactions Involving Hypervalent Iodine Reagents

The chemistry of polyvalent iodine compounds has piqued the interest of researchers due to their role as important and flexible reagents in synthetic organic chemistry, resulting in a broad variety of useful organic molecules. These chemicals have potential uses in various functionalization procedures due to their non-toxic and environmentally friendly properties. As they are also strong electrophiles and potent oxidizing agents, the use of hypervalent iodine reagents in palladium-catalyzed transformations has received a lot of attention in recent years. Extensive research has been conducted on the subject of C—H bond functionalization by Pd catalysis with hypervalent iodine reagents as oxidants. Furthermore, the iodine(III) reagent is now often used as an arylating agent in Pd-catalyzed C—H arylation or Heck-type cross-coupling processes. In this article, the recent advances in palladium-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling reactions employing hypervalent iodine reagents are reviewed in detail.

Regio- and diastereoselective Pd-catalyzed aminochlorocyclization of allylic carbamates: scope, derivatization, and mechanism

The regio- and diastereoselective synthesis of oxazolidinones via a Pd-catalyzed vicinal C-N/C-Cl bond-forming reaction from internal alkenes of allylic carbamates is reported. The oxazolidinones are obtained in yields of 44 to 95% with high to excellent diastereoselectivities (from 6 : 1 to >20 : 1 dr) from readily available precursors. This process is scalable, and the products are suitable for the synthesis of useful amino alcohols. A detailed theoretical and experimental mechanistic study was carried out to describe that the reaction proceeds through an anti-aminopalladation of the alkene followed by an oxidative C-Pd(ii) cleavage with retention of the carbon stereochemistry to yield the major diastereomer. The role of Cu(ii) in a C-Cl bond-forming mechanism step has also been proposed.

Copper-Catalyzed Diamination of Unactivated Alkenes With Electron-Rich Amino Sources

The catalytic intermolecular diamination of unactivated alkenes with electron-rich amino sources is a challenge. Herein, by employing a directing-group strategy, a copper-catalyzed diamination of unactivated alkenes was realized. Symmetrical diamines were efficiently produced in a highly diastereoselective manner with readily available dialkylamines as amino sources, while a one-pot and two-step operation was necessary to produce the unsymmetrical diamines. These reactions were proposed to proceed through aziridinium intermediates.

Regioselective Three-Component Synthesis of Vicinal Diamines via 1,2-Diamination of Styrenes

The vicinal diamine motif plays a significant role in natural products, drug design, and organic synthesis, and development of synthetic methods for the synthesis of diamines is a long-standing interest. Herein, we report a regioselective intermolecular three-component vicinal diamination of styrenes with acetonitrile and azodicarboxylates. The diamination products can be produced in moderate to excellent yields via the Ritter reaction. Synthetic applications and theoretical studies of this reaction have been conducted.

Hypervalent Iodine Reagents in Palladium-Catalyzed Oxidative Cross-Coupling Reactions

Hypervalent iodine compounds are valuable and versatile reagents in synthetic organic chemistry, generating a diverse array of useful organic molecules. Owing to their non-toxic and environmentally friendly features, these reagents find potential applications in various oxidative functionalization reactions. In recent years, the use of hypervalent iodine reagents in palladium-catalyzed transformations has been widely studied as they are strong electrophiles and powerful oxidizing agents. For instance, extensive work has been carried out in the field of C–H bond functionalization via Pd-catalysis using hypervalent iodine reagents as oxidants. In addition, nowadays, iodine(III) reagents have been frequently employed as arylating agents in Pd-catalyzed C–H arylation or Heck-type cross-coupling reactions. In this review, recent advancements in the area of palladium-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling reactions using hypervalent iodine reagents are summarized in detail.

Paper-Based Microfluidics for Electrochemical Applications

Paper-based microfluidics is characteristic of fluid transportation through spontaneous capillary action of paper and has exhibited great promise for a variety of applications especially for sensing. Furthermore, paper-based microfluidics enables the design of miniaturized electrochemical devices to be applied in the energy sector, which is especially attractive for the rapid growing market of small size disposable electronics. This review gives a brief summary on the basics of paper chemistry and capillary-driven microfluidic behavior, and highlights recent advances of paper-based microfluidics in developing electrochemical sensing devices and miniaturized energy storage/conversion devices. Their structural features, working principles and exemplary applications are comprehensively elaborated and discussed. Additionally, this review also points out the existing challenges and future opportunities of paper-based microfluidic electronics.

Ligand-enabled gold-catalyzed 1,2-heteroarylation of alkenes

By adopting the interplay between ligand-enabled Au(i)/Au(iii) catalysis and the unique π-activation mode of gold complexes, a highly coveted 1,2-heteroarylation of alkenes has been accomplished.

Selenophosphoramide-catalyzed diamination and oxyamination of alkenes

Scavenging fluoride from a selenophosphoramide-catalyzed alkene oxidation reaction suppresses the known syn-elimination pathway, enabling alkene diamination/oxyamination reactions via substitution.

A new selenophosphoramide-catalyzed diamination of terminal- and trans-1,2-disubstituted olefins is presented. Key to the success of this transformation was the introduction of a fluoride scavenger, trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (TMSOTf), to prevent a competitive syn-elimination pathway, as was the use of a phosphoramide ligand on selenium to promote the desired substitution reaction. A screen of catalysts revealed that more electron-rich phosphine ligands resulted in higher yields of the desired product, with selenophosphoramides giving the optimal results. A broad range of substrates and functional groups were tolerated and yields were generally good to excellent. For (E)-1,2-disubstituted olefins, diastereoselectivities were always high, giving exclusively anti products. The conditions were also applied to substrates bearing internal nucleophiles such as esters and carbonates, giving rise to 1,2-aminoesters and cyclic carbonates, respectively.

Regio- and Enantioselective Formal Hydroamination of Enamines for the Synthesis of 1,2-Diamines

The asymmetric formal hydroamination of enamines using a CuH catalyst is reported. The method provides a straightforward and efficient approach to the synthesis of chiral 1,2-dialkyl amines in good yields with high levels of enantioselectivities for a broad range of substrates, and should have significant value for the preparation of molecules bearing a 1,2-diamine motif.

Electrochemically Promoted Fluoroalkylation-Distal Functionalization of Unactivated Alkenes

Difunctionalization of olefins represents a powerful synthetic tool and yet a challenging task. This work describes an electrochemically enabled fluoroalkylation-migration reaction of unactivated olefins in the absence of a strong oxidant or heavy metal catalyst, affording fluorinated (hetero)aryl ketones in good yields and excellent regioselectivities. The efficient and sustainable electrochemical strategy provides a rapid access to a dual functionalized fluorine-containing heterocyclic manifold.

Promoting Intermolecular C-N Bond Formation under the Auspices of Iodine(III)

The quest for the development of new protocols that provide general conditions for oxidative carbon-nitrogen bond formation has grown over recent years. Within this context, due to feasibility and benignity considerations in biochemical sciences, reactions that rely on main group oxidants as the only promoters have received particular interest. We have recently found that simple protonolysis events enable the incorporation of nitrogenated groups of the bissulfonimide family into the coordination sphere of common iodine(III) complexes such as diacetoxy iodobenzene. The products of the type ArI(OAc)(NTs₂) represent rare examples of iodine(III) compounds displaying reactive iodine-nitrogen single bonds. Further protonolysis furnishes the corresponding iodine(III) compounds ArI(NTs₂)₂ containing two defined iodine-nitrogen single bonds for unprecedented dual transfer of both nitrogenated groups. It is of great synthetic importance that these new compounds contain iodine-nitrogen entities, which upon dissociation in solution lead to electrophilic iodine centers and nucleophilic nitrogen groups. This has enabled the development of a body of conceptually new amination reactions, which do not rely on conventional electrophilic nitrogen reagents but rather employ iodine(III) as an electrophilic activator and bissulfonimides as the source of subsequent nucleophilic amination. Additional diversification arises from the ambident nature of bissulfonimines enabling oxygenation pathways. The exciting chemistry covered in this Account comprises structural features of the reagents (including X-ray analysis), scope and limitation in synthetic amination of different hydrocarbons (including sp-, sp²-, and sp³-hybridized centers as in acetylenes, alkenes, enols, butadienes, allenes, arenes, and alkylketones), and physical-organic and theoretical analysis of the underlying reaction mechanisms. The oxidative transformations with all their rich diversifications originate from the versatile redox chemistry of the iodine(III) and iodine(I) pair, which shares several aspects of transition metal high oxidation state chemistry. For the present aryliodine(III) reagents, steric and electronic fine-tuning is possible through accurate engineering of the arene substituent. In addition to the general reactivity of the I-N bond, chiral aryliodine(III) reagents with defined stereochemical information in the aryl backbone are conceptually compatible with this approach. Thus, the development of enantioselective amination reactions with up to 99% ee was also successful. Several of the active enantioselective reagents have been isolated and structurally characterized. Following this approach for the important class of chiral vicinal diamines, an unprecedented direct diamination of alkenes could be conducted in an enantioselective catalytic manner under full intermolecular reaction control. This latter reaction is based on the precise engineering of a chiral aryliodine(III) catalyst in combination with bismesylimide as nitrogen source. It is the consequence of the precise understanding of the reaction behavior of structurally defined bisimidoiodine(III) reagents.

Copper-Catalyzed Ligand-Free Diazidation of Olefins with TMSN3 in CH3CN or in H2O

An environmentally benign, copper-catalyzed diazidation of a broad range of olefins, including vinylarenes, unactivated alkenes, allene, and dienes, under mild conditions with TMSN₃ (trimethylazidosilane) as azido source, has been developed. This reaction can be carried out in organic solvent or in aqueous solution where water is the sole solvent. The functional group compatibility of this reaction is good, which is proved by late-stage functionalizations of complex substrates.

Hypervalent Iodine Reagents in High Valent Transition Metal Chemistry

Over the last 20 years, high valent metal complexes have evolved from mere curiosities to being at the forefront of modern catalytic method development. This approach has enabled transformations complimentary to those possible via traditional manifolds, most prominently carbon-heteroatom bond formation. Key to the advancement of this chemistry has been the identification of oxidants that are capable of accessing these high oxidation state complexes. The oxidant has to be both powerful enough to achieve the desired oxidation as well as provide heteroatom ligands for transfer to the metal center; these heteroatoms are often subsequently transferred to the substrate via reductive elimination. Herein we will review the central role that hypervalent iodine reagents have played in this aspect, providing an ideal balance of versatile reactivity, heteroatom ligands, and mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, these reagents are environmentally benign, non-toxic, and relatively inexpensive compared to other inorganic oxidants. We will cover advancements in both catalysis and high valent complex isolation with a key focus on the subtle effects that oxidant choice can have on reaction outcome, as well as limitations of current reagents.

Oxidative 1,2-carboamination of alkenes with alkyl nitriles and amines toward γ-amino alkyl nitriles

Difunctionalization of alkenes has become a powerful tool for quickly increasing molecular complexity in synthesis. Despite significant progress in the area of alkene difunctionalization involving the incorporation of a nitrogen atom across the C-C double bonds, approaches for the direct 1,2-carboamination of alkenes to produce linear N-containing molecules are scarce and remain a formidable challenge. Here we describe a radical-mediated oxidative intermolecular 1,2-alkylamination of alkenes with alkyl nitriles and amines involving C(sp³)-H oxidative functionalization catalysed by a combination of Ag₂CO₃ with iron Lewis acids. This three-component alkene 1,2-alkylamination method is initiated by the C(sp³)-H oxidative radical functionalization, which enables one-step formation of two new chemical bonds, a C-C bond and a C-N bond, to selectively produce γ-amino alkyl nitriles.

Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Oxidative Difunctionalization of Alkenes: Bond Forming at a High-Valent Palladium Center

Difunctionalization of alkenes to incorporate two functional groups across a double bond has emerged as a powerful transformation to greatly increase molecular complexity in organic synthesis with improved efficiency. Historically, palladium-catalyzed difunctionalization of alkenes has suffered from difficulties with introducing a second functional group through reductive elimination of a Pd(II) intermediate and competing β-hydride elimination reactions. To overcome these challenges, one strategy involves utilizing a steric bulky ligand to promote the reductive elimination steps from the Pd(II) center and impeding the β-hydride elimination reactions, which are beyond the scope of this Account. Alternatively, strong oxidants have been utilized to generate high-valent palladium species, which are prone to undergo reductive elimination to form a second C-X bond. This new strategy has been extensively applied to explore the difunctionalization of alkenes with enriched functional group diversity over the past decade. In this Account, we discuss our exploration and application of a "high-valent palladium strategy" for the synthesis of fluorine-containing organic molecules that are typically inaccessible from other methods. These studies were focused on the difunctionalization of alkenes that was initiated by nucleopalladation to form the alkyl C-Pd(II) species in high exo/endo regioselectivity. In the presence of nucleophilic fluorine-containing reagents (e.g., AgF, TMSCF₃, and AgOCF₃) and strong oxidants (hypervalent iodine and electrophilic fluorinating reagents), the in situ generated fluorine-containing high-valent Pd(IV) intermediates undergo reductive elimination to provide the corresponding alkyl C-F, C-CF₃, and C-OCF₃ bonds. Using these methods, we synthesized a variety of heterocycles containing fluorine, trifluoromethyl, and trifluoromethoxyl moieties from alkene substrates under mild reaction conditions. Besides hypervalent iodine reagents and electrophilic fluorinating reagents, our group has demonstrated that hydrogen peroxide, which is an environmentally friendly oxidant, can oxidize alkyl C-Pd(II) species to form high-valent alkyl C-Pd intermediates, and based on this observation, several catalytic difunctionalizations of alkenes, such as aminochlorination, aminoacetoxylation, and aminohydroxylation reactions, have been successfully developed. In addition, water was the only waste derived from the oxidant. All of these studies provide attractive methods for the stereoselective introduction of C-N and C-O bonds across double bonds via high-valent palladium intermediates. To gain a deeper understanding of this "high-valent palladium strategy", systematic mechanistic studies were performed to illustrate the stereochemistry of aminopalladation and reductive elimination. These results are summarized in the final section and serve as a guide for further exploration of novel alkene transformation as well as in other areas, such as Pd-catalyzed C-H bond functionalization reactions.

A Cooperative Strategy for the Highly Selective Intermolecular Oxycarbonylation Reaction of Alkenes using a Palladium Catalyst

A novel method for intermolecular functionalization of terminal and internal alkenes has been designed. The electrophilic reagent, hypervalent iodine, plays a key role in this process by activating the alkene C=C bond for nucleophilic addition of the palladium catalyst. This process generates an iodonium-containing palladium species which undergoes CO insertion. The new approach, intermolecular oxycarbonylaton reactions of alkenes, has been achieved and carried out under mild reaction conditions to produce the corresponding β-oxycarbonylic acids with excellent efficiencies and levels of regio- and diastereoselectivity.

A Metal-Free Protocol for Aminofunctionalization of Olefins Using TsNBr2

N,N-Dibromo-p-toluene sulfonamide (TsNBr2) has been found to be an effective reagent for various aminofunctionalization reactions. This reagent behaves both as an electrophilic bromine source as well as amine to react with olefins under different conditions to yield aminoether, imidazoline, diamine and amino bromine. The reaction proceeds rapidly under mild conditions with high regioselectivity. Olefins react with TsNBr2 in moist THF to form δ-amino ether at room temperature. Treatment of TsNBr2 with olefin in MeCN at room temperature produced imidazoline in high yield. Further modification of the reaction condition resulted in the development of a one-step procedure for the synthesis of N-acetyl,N'-tosyl diamine derivatives directly from olefin. When the olefin was treated with 2.4 mol equiv of TsNBr2 in the presence of K2CO3, N,N'-ditosyl diamine derivative was obtained in moderate yield. Instantaneous formation of aminobromine was observed when an olefin was treated with the reagent in dry CH2Cl2 at room temperature.

Regioselective Intermolecular Diamination and Aminooxygenation of Alkenes with Saccharin

Palladium catalysis enables the regioselective difunctionalization of alkenes using saccharin as the nitrogen source in the initial step of aminopalladation. Depending on the reaction conditions, diamination or aminooxygenation pathways can be accessed using hypervalent iodine reagents as the terminal oxidants. The aminooxygenation of allylic ethers originates from an unprecedented ambident behavior of saccharin. The participating palladium catalysts contain a palladium-saccharide unit. Two representative complexes of this type could be isolated and characterized.

Defined Palladium-Phthalimidato Catalysts for Improved Oxidative Amination

New palladium(II)-phthalimidato complexes have been synthesized, isolated, and structurally characterized. As demonstrated from over 30 examples, they constitute superior catalysts for oxidative amination reactions of alkenes with phthalimide as the nitrogen source. This work streamlines vicinal difunctionalization of alkenes and provides access to significantly improved and experimentally simplified synthetic protocols.

Palladium catalyzed domino reaction of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles via double C–H functionalization: one-pot synthesis of triazolo[1,5-f]phenanthridines

A palladium catalyzed domino reaction of 1,4-disubstituted triazoles involving homo- and heterocondensation is presented. The approach provides a simple, straight forward and a facile route to access triazolo[1,5-f]phenanthridines in high yields.

Intramolecular oxidative palladium-catalyzed diamination reactions of alkenyl sulfamates: an efficient synthesis of [1,2,5]thiadiazolo-fused piperazinones

A palladium-catalyzed diamination domino process of sulfamates arising from glycine allylamides is reported.

Copper-catalyzed endo-type trifluoromethylarylation of alkynes

A new copper-catalyzed trifluoromethylarylation reaction of alkynes has been developed. The transformation represents the first example of endo-type carbotrifluoromethylation of unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds and provides efficient access to a variety of CF3-substituted dihydronaphthalenes and chromenes.