Catalytic, Regioselective 1,4-Fluorodifunctionalization of Dienes

Determination of the Hammett Acidity of HF/Base Reagents

Harnessing the acidity of HF/base reagents is of paramount importance to improve the efficiency and selectivity of fluorination reactions. Yet, no general method has been reported to evaluate their acidic properties, and experimental designs are still relying on a trial-and-error approach. We report a new method based on 19F NMR spectroscopy which allows highly sensitive measures and short-time analyses. Advantageously, the basic properties of the indicators can be determined upstream by DFT calculations, affording a simple yet robust semiempirical approach. In particular, the indicators used in this study were rationally designed to fit on the conceptually appealing and commonly used Hammett scale. This method has been applied to commercially available and recently developed HF/base reagents.

A decade of lessons in the activation of ArIL2 species

Hypervalent iodine(iii) compounds of the general structure ArIL2 are widely used as oxidizing agents for a variety of applications across both organic and inorganic chemistry. Considerable work has been done on the activation of these compounds by tuning the ligands at the iodine centre. This perspective summarises the work of our and other groups on rectification of historically misidentified iodine(iii) reagents of this class, and the syntheses of activated species. Recent advances focusing on increasing the oxidative capacity of I(iii) moieties using Lewis and Brønsted acids and Lewis bases as well as the activation of halogens with I(iii) are discussed.

Asymmetric Fluorocyclization of Difluoroalkenes with Concomitant Formation of a Trifluoromethyl Group

Asymmetric electrophilic fluorination of difluoroalkenes remains undeveloped because of the poor reactivity of difluoroalkenes with electrophiles. However, such reactions, if feasible, are expected to be useful for the synthesis of chiral heterocyclic compounds with a trifluoromethyl group at the stereogenic center. In this Letter, we disclose the first example of asymmetric fluoroamide cyclization of difluoroalkenes using our dianionic phase-transfer catalyst. This reaction provides unique chiral trifluoromethylated oxazoline derivatives at a synthetically useful level.

para-Selective dearomatization of phenols by I(i)/I(iii) catalysis-based fluorination

The regio- and enantio-selective dearomatization of phenols has been achieved by I(i)/I(iii) catalysis enabled fluorination. The process is highly para-selective, guiding the fluoride nucleophile to the distal C4 position of the substrate to generate fluorinated cyclohexadienones in an operationally simple manner. Extensive optimization has revealed key parameters that orchestrate enantioselectivity in this historically challenging transformation. A range of diversely substituted substrates are disclosed (20 examples, up to 92 : 8 e.r.) and the reaction displays efficiency that is competitive with the current state of the art in hydroxylation chemistry: this provides a preparative platform to enable OH to F bioisosterism to be explored. Finally, the utility of the products in accessing densely functionalized cyclic scaffolds with five contiguous stereocenters is disclosed together with crystallographic analyses to unveil fluorine-carbonyl non-covalent interactions.

Photocatalytic redox-neutral selective single C(sp3)-F bond activation of perfluoroalkyl iminosulfides with alkenes and water

Visible-light-promoted site-selective and direct C-F bond functionalization of polyfluorinated iminosulfides was accomplished with alkenes and water under redox-neutral conditions, affording a diverse array of γ-lactams with a fluoro- and perfluoroalkyl-substituted carbon centre. A variety of perfluoroalkyl units, including C2F5, C3F7, C4F9, and C5F11 underwent site-selective defluorofunctionalization. This protocol allows high chemoselectivity control and shows excellent functional group tolerance. Mechanistic studies reveal that the remarkable changes of the electron geometries during the defluorination widen the redox window between the substrates and the products and ensure the chemoselectivity of single C(sp3)-F bond cleavage.

Forging Medium Rings via I(I)/I(III)-Catalyzed Diene Carbofunctionalization

A main-group catalysis-based strategy to access 8-membered carbocycles via the direct carbofunctionalization of 2-phenethyl-substituted 1,3-dienes is disclosed. Through the intervention of an I(I)/I(III) catalysis cycle, the synthesis of densely functionalized, fluorinated benzocyclooctenes can be achieved in an operationally simple manner. Modulating the oxidation/activation regime, and the external nucleophile, the process has been extended to unify the challenging cyclization with formation of allylic C-O, C-N, and C-C bonds (>30 examples). Derivatization of the product benzocyclooctenes is demonstrated together with X-ray conformational analysis, preliminary validation of enantioselective catalysis and a scalable resolution protocol.

Fluorotrifluoromethyl Group Installation: Tetrasubstituted Tertiary Stereocenters Containing C-F and C-CF3 Bonds via Copper-Mediated Allylic Substitution

Tetrasubstituted tertiary centers containing a fluorotrifluoromethyl (FTF) motif were obtained from secondary 3-fluoro-3-trifluoromethyl allylic phosphates by a copper(I)-mediated allylic substitution reaction using Grignard reagents. The reaction features a broad substrate scope, high γ-regioselectivity, and excellent (E)-stereoselectivity. Two examples of chirality transfer from enantiopure secondary fluorine-substituted allylic phosphates to the corresponding scalemic products indicate the stereoselective potential of the method to install FTF stereocenters.

Integrating I(I)/I(III) catalysis in reaction cascade design enables the synthesis of gem-difluorinated tetralins from cyclobutanols

Partially saturated, fluorine-containing rings are ubiquitous across the drug discovery spectrum. This capitalises upon the biological significance of the native structure and the physicochemical advantages conferred by fluorination. Motivated by the significance of aryl tetralins in bioactive small molecules, a reaction cascade has been validated to generate novel gem-difluorinated isosteres from 1,3-diaryl cyclobutanols in a single operation. Under the Brønsted acidity of the catalysis conditions, an acid-catalysed unmasking/fluorination sequence generates a homoallylic fluoride in situ. This species serves as the substrate for an I(I)/I(III) cycle and is processed, via a phenonium ion rearrangement, to an (isolable) 1,3,3-trifluoride. A final C(sp³)-F bond activation event, enabled by HFIP, forges the difluorinated tetralin scaffold. The cascade is highly modular, enabling the intermediates to be intercepted: this provides an expansive platform for the generation of structural diversity.