C-Propargylation Overrides O-Propargylation in Reactions of Propargyl Chloride with Primary Alcohols: Rhodium-Catalyzed Transfer Hydrogenation

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Propargyl Derivatives, and Their Application as Synthetic Intermediates and Building Blocks

The propargyl group is a highly versatile moiety whose introduction into small-molecule building blocks opens up new synthetic pathways for further elaboration. The last decade has witnessed remarkable progress in both the synthesis of propargylation agents and their application in the synthesis and functionalization of more elaborate/complex building blocks and intermediates. The goal of this review is to highlight these exciting advances and to underscore their impact.

Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Anti-Markovnikov Hydroamidation of Unactivated Alkenes Using Dioxazolones as Amidating Reagents

The amide is one of the most prevalent functional groups in all of pharmaceuticals, and for this reason, reactions that introduce the amide moiety are of particular value. Intermolecular hydroamidation of alkenes remains an underexplored method for the synthesis of amide-containing compounds. The majority of hydroamidation procedures exhibit Markovnikov regioselectivity, while current methods for anti-Markovnikov hydroamidation are somewhat limited to activated alkene substrates or radical processes. Herein, we report a general method for the intermolecular anti-Markovnikov hydroamidation of unactivated alkenes under mild conditions, utilizing Rh(III) catalysis in conjunction with dioxazolone amidating reagents and isopropanol as an environmentally friendly hydride source. The reaction tolerates a wide range of functional groups and efficiently converts electron-deficient alkenes, styrenes, and 1,1-disubstituted alkenes, in addition to unactivated alkenes, to their corresponding linear amides. Mechanistic studies reveal a reversible rhodium hydride migratory insertion step, leading to exquisite selectivity for the anti-Markovnikov product.

Historical perspective on ruthenium-catalyzed hydrogen transfer and survey of enantioselective hydrogen auto-transfer processes for the conversion of lower alcohols to higher alcohols

Ruthenium-catalyzed hydrogen auto-transfer reactions for the direct enantioselective conversion of lower alcohols to higher alcohols are surveyed. These processes enable completely atom-efficient carbonyl addition from alcohol proelectrophiles in the absence of premetalated reagents or metallic reductants. Applications in target-oriented synthesis are highlighted, and a brief historical perspective on ruthenium-catalyzed hydrogen transfer processes is given.

From Hydrogenation to Transfer Hydrogenation to Hydrogen Auto-Transfer in Enantioselective Metal-Catalyzed Carbonyl Reductive Coupling: Past, Present, and Future

Atom-efficient processes that occur via addition, redistribution or removal of hydrogen underlie many large volume industrial processes and pervade all segments of chemical industry. Although carbonyl addition is one of the oldest and most broadly utilized methods for C-C bond formation, the delivery of non-stabilized carbanions to carbonyl compounds has relied on premetalated reagents or metallic/organometallic reductants, which pose issues of safety and challenges vis-à-vis large volume implementation. Catalytic carbonyl reductive couplings promoted via hydrogenation, transfer hydrogenation and hydrogen auto-transfer allow abundant unsaturated hydrocarbons to serve as substitutes to organometallic reagents, enabling C-C bond formation in the absence of stoichiometric metals. This perspective (a) highlights past milestones in catalytic hydrogenation, hydrogen transfer and hydrogen auto-transfer, (b) summarizes current methods for catalytic enantioselective carbonyl reductive couplings, and (c) describes future opportunities based on the patterns of reactivity that animate transformations of this type.

Photoredox Propargylation of Aldehydes Catalytic in Titanium

A practical and effective photoredox propargylation of aldehydes promoted by 10 mol % of [Cp₂TiCl₂] is presented. No stoichiometric metals or scavengers are used for the process. A catalytic amount of the cheap and simply prepared organic dye 3DPAFIPN is used as the reductant for titanium. The reaction displayed a broad scope, and no traces of allenyl isomers were detected for simple propargyl bromide, whereas mixtures of propargyl and allenyl isomers were observed for substituted propargyl bromides.

Radical Carbonyl Propargylation by Dual Catalysis

Carbonyl propargylation has been established as a valuable tool in the realm of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. The 1,3-enyne moiety has been recognized as an alternative pronucleophile in the above transformation through an ionic mechanism. Herein, we report for the first time, the radical carbonyl propargylation through dual chromium/photoredox catalysis. A library of valuable homopropargylic alcohols bearing all-carbon quaternary centers could be obtained by a catalytic radical three-component coupling of 1,3-enynes, aldehydes and suitable radical precursors (41 examples). This redox-neutral multi-component reaction occurs under very mild conditions and shows high functional group tolerance. Remarkably, bench-stable, non-toxic, and inexpensive CrCl₃ could be employed as a chromium source. Preliminary mechanistic investigations suggest a radical-polar crossover mechanism, which offers a complementary and novel approach towards the preparation of valuable synthetic architectures from simple chemicals.

Catalytic Enantioselective Carbonyl Propargylation Beyond Preformed Carbanions: Reductive Coupling and Hydrogen Auto-Transfer

Chiral metal complexes catalyze enantioselective carbonyl propargylation via reductive coupling or as hydrogen auto-transfer processes, in which reactant alcohols serve dually as reductant and carbonyl proelectrophile. Unlike classical propargylation protocols, which rely on allenylmetal reagents or metallic reductants (e.g. NHK reactions), reductive protocols for carbonyl propargylation can occur in the absence of stoichiometric metals, precluding generation of metallic byproducts. Propargylations of this type exploit both enyne and propargyl halide pronucleophiles.

Tandem Catalysis: Transforming Alcohols to Alkenes by Oxidative Dehydroxymethylation

We report a Rh-catalyst for accessing olefins from primary alcohols by a C-C bond cleavage that results in dehomologation. This functional group interconversion proceeds by an oxidation-dehydroformylation enabled by N, N-dimethylacrylamide as a sacrificial acceptor of hydrogen gas. Alcohols with diverse functionality and structure undergo oxidative dehydroxymethylation to access the corresponding olefins. Our catalyst protocol enables a two-step semisynthesis of (+)-yohimbenone and dehomologation of feedstock olefins.

Copper-catalyzed synthesis of allenylboronic acids. Access to sterically encumbered homopropargylic alcohols and amines by propargylboration

Tri- and tetrasubstituted allenylboronic acids were prepared via a new versatile copper-catalyzed methodology. The densely functionalized allenylboronic acids readily undergo propargylboration reactions with ketones and imines without any additives. Catalytic asymmetric propargylborylation of ketones is demonstrated with high stereoselectivity allowing for the synthesis of highly enantioenriched tertiary homopropargyl alcohols. The reaction is suitable for kinetic resolution of racemic allenylboronic acids affording alkynes with adjacent quaternary stereocenters.

Reductive C-C Coupling via Hydrogenation and Transfer Hydrogenation: Departure from Stoichiometric Metals in Carbonyl Addition

Metal catalyzed reductive couplings of π-unsaturated reagents with carbonyl compounds via hydrogenation or transfer hydrogenation has emerged as an alternative to the use of stoichiometric organometallic reagents in carbonyl addition.

Catalytic Enantioselective Carbonyl Allylation and Propargylation via Alcohol-Mediated Hydrogen Transfer: Merging the Chemistry of Grignard and Sabatier

Merging the characteristics of transfer hydrogenation and carbonyl addition, we have developed a new class of catalytic enantioselective C-C bond formations. In these processes, hydrogen transfer between alcohols and π-unsaturated reactants generates carbonyl-organometal pairs that combine to deliver products of addition. On the basis of this mechanistic paradigm, lower alcohols are converted directly to higher alcohols in the absence of premetalated reagents or discrete alcohol-to-carbonyl redox reactions. In certain cases, due to a pronounced kinetic preference for primary versus secondary alcohol dehydrogenation, diols and higher polyols are found to engage in catalytic stereo- and site-selective C-C bond formation-a capability that further enhances efficiency by enabling skeletal construction events without extraneous manipulations devoted to the installation and removal of protecting groups. While this Account focuses on redox-neutral couplings of alcohols, corresponding aldehyde reductive couplings mediated by 2-propanol were developed in parallel for most of the catalytic transformations reported herein. Mechanistically, two distinct classes of alcohol C-H functionalizations have emerged, which are distinguished by the mode of pronucleophile activation, specifically, processes wherein alcohol oxidation is balanced by (a) π-bond hydrometalation or (b) C-X bond reductive cleavage. Each pathway offers access to allylmetal or allenylmetal intermediates and, therefrom, enantiomerically enriched homoallylic or homopropargylic alcohol products, respectively. In the broadest terms, carbonyl addition mediated by premetalated reagents has played a central role in synthetic organic chemistry for well over a century, but the requisite organometallic reagents pose issues of safety, require multistep syntheses, and generate stoichiometric quantities of metallic byproducts. The concepts and catalytic processes described in this Account, conceived and developed wholly within the author's laboratory, signal a departure from the use of stoichiometric organometallic reagents in carbonyl addition. Rather, they reimagine carbonyl addition as a hydrogen autotransfer process or cross-coupling in which alcohol reactants, by virtue of their native reducing ability, drive the generation of transient organometallic nucleophiles and, in doing so, serve dually as carbonyl proelectrophiles. The catalytic allylative and propargylative transformations developed to date display capabilities far beyond their classical counterparts, and their application to the total synthesis of type-I polyketide natural products have evoked a step-change in efficiency. More importantly, the present data suggest that diverse transformations traditionally reliant on premetalated reagents may now be conducted catalytically without stoichiometric metals. This Account provides the reader and potential practitioner with a catalog of enantioselective alcohol-mediated carbonyl additions-a user's guide, 10-year retrospective, and foundation for future work in this emerging area of catalytic C-C bond formation.

Copper-Catalyzed Asymmetric Propargylation of Cyclic Aldimines

The copper-catalyzed asymmetric propargylation of cyclic aldimines is reported. The influence of the imine trimer to inhibit the reaction was identified, and equilibrium constants between the monomer and trimer were determined for general classes of imines. Asymmetric propargylation of a diverse series of N-alkyl and N-aryl aldimines was achieved with good to high asymmetric induction. The utility was demonstrated by a titanium catalyzed hydroamination and reduction to generate the chiral indolizidines (-)-crispine A and (-)-harmicine.