Toolbox for Distal C-H Bond Functionalizations in Organic Molecules

Transition metal catalyzed C-H activation has developed a contemporary approach to the omnipresent area of retrosynthetic disconnection. Scientific researchers have been tempted to take the help of this methodology to plan their synthetic discourses. This paradigm shift has helped in the development of industrial units as well, making the synthesis of natural products and pharmaceutical drugs step-economical. In the vast zone of C-H bond activation, the functionalization of proximal C-H bonds has gained utmost popularity. Unlike the activation of proximal C-H bonds, the distal C-H functionalization is more strenuous and requires distinctly specialized techniques. In this review, we have compiled various methods adopted to functionalize distal C-H bonds, mechanistic insights within each of these procedures, and the scope of the methodology. With this review, we give a complete overview of the expeditious progress the distal C-H activation has made in the field of synthetic organic chemistry while also highlighting its pitfalls, thus leaving the field open for further synthetic modifications.

Cascade Oxidative C-H Annulation of Thiophenes: Heck-Type Pathway Enables Concise Access to Thienoacenes

The pursuit of efficient synthetic route to thienoacenes represents an appealing yet challenging task in the fields of both organic synthetic chemistry and organic functional materials. In this work, we disclose a rhodium-catalyzed cascade C-H annulation of phenacyl phosphoniums with (benzo)thiophenes via a Heck-type pathway to provide a new class of planar thienoacenes, which involves the formation of three C_aryl -C_aryl bonds and one C_aryl -O bond in a single operation. The neutral S,O-heteroacenes exhibit superior stability and adopt a herringbone-like packing mode with efficient π-π stacking in the crystals, suggesting their potential in organic semiconducting materials. This work first exemplifies the superiority of cascade oxidative C-H annulation involving a Heck-type pathway in the development of concise access to heteroacenes.

Concerted vs Nonconcerted Metalation-Deprotonation in Orthogonal Direct C-H Arylation of Heterocycles with Halides: A Computational Study

A computational study on the base-assisted orthogonal C-H arylation of azoles with halides is reported. Although concerted metalation-deprotonation (CMD) is favored under acetate assistance at the C5 site that displays the best balance of nucleophilic and acidic character, the most acidic C2 site may be selectively targeted under carbonate assistance by taking advantage of a carbanionic-type (or non-concerted) metalation-deprotonation mechanism (nCMD). For the latter, several experimental probes including base, ligand, and solvent effects have been collected in favor of an outer-sphere deprotonation process after the formation of a [(L_n)(N1-heteroaryl)PdArX] complex. However, no computational analysis of this fundamental elementary step has been so far provided. We have carried out a series of density functional theory (DFT) calculations that delineate the structural and energetic aspects of the nCMD pathway. Starting with the oxa(thia)zole-4-carboxylates selected in our group to engineer the competitive C2 vs C5 arylation in azoles, we show that the energy barrier of the C2 anion generation is lying unexpectedly lower than the prior heterocycle coordination to Pd that is eventually identified as the rate-determining step. These calculations provide satisfactory explanations for the experimental observations of the divergence between nCMD and CMD reactivity, and notably a lower barrier at the C2 site for the nCMD process. On the other hand, the nCMD process is ineffective at the C5 site. Evaluation of various azoles reveals that the nCMD mechanism at C2 is viable from the most acidic (benzo)oxazoles to moderately acidic (benzo)thiazoles, as well as weakly acidic imidazoles. In all cases, in accordance with previously reported experimental data in orthogonal direct C-H arylation of azoles, the nCMD route is found energetically competitive to the CMD one at C5 for all azoles, except for imidazole which needs stronger basic conditions than simple carbonate assistance. Additionally, the acetate ligand, which is the base of choice for CMD, was found inefficient for nCMD and the comparative performance of acetate vs carbonate to assist CMD in the azole series reveals also considerable changes from electronically close but environmentally divergent C5-H vs C2-H bonds.

Strategic Advances in Sequential C-Arylations of Heteroarenes

Sequence-specific C-arylation strategies have important applications in medicinal and material research. These strategies allow C-C bond formations in a regioselective manner to synthesize large molecular libraries for studying structure-activity profiles. The past decade has seen the development of single C-C bond forming reactions using various transition-metal catalysts, cryogenic metalation strategies, and metal-free methods. Sequential arylations of heterocycles allow for the formation of multiaryl derivatives and are a preferred choice over de novo synthetic routes. This perspective sheds light on recent strategic advances to develop various sequential synthetic routes for the multiarylation of heteroarenes. This perspective addresses many challenges in optimizing sequential routes with respect to catalysts, reaction parameters, and various strategies adopted to obtain diversely arylated products.

Computational Studies of Carboxylate-Assisted C-H Activation and Functionalization at Group 8-10 Transition Metal Centers

Computational studies on carboxylate-assisted C-H activation and functionalization at group 8-10 transition metal centers are reviewed. This Review is organized by metal and will cover work published from late 2009 until mid-2016. A brief overview of computational work prior to 2010 is also provided, and this outlines the understanding of carboxylate-assisted C-H activation in terms of the "ambiphilic metal-ligand assistance" (AMLA) and "concerted metalation deprotonation" (CMD) concepts. Computational studies are then surveyed in terms of the nature of the C-H bond being activated (C(sp²)-H or C(sp³)-H), the nature of the process involved (intramolecular with a directing group or intermolecular), and the context (stoichiometric C-H activation or within a variety of catalytic processes). This Review aims to emphasize the connection between computation and experiment and to highlight the contribution of computational chemistry to our understanding of catalytic C-H functionalization based on carboxylate-assisted C-H activation. Some opportunities where the interplay between computation and experiment may contribute further to the areas of catalytic C-H functionalization and applied computational chemistry are identified.

Unprecedented Access to β-Arylated Selenophenes through Palladium-Catalysed Direct Arylation

Several reported methods allow access to α-arylated selenophenes, whereas the synthesis of β-arylated selenophenes remains very challenging. Here, the Pd-catalysed coupling of benzenesulfonyl chlorides with selenophenes affording regiospecific β-arylated selenophenes is reported. The reaction proceeds with easily accessible catalyst, base and substrates, and tolerates a variety of substituents both on the benzene and selenophene moieties. This transformation allows the programmed synthesis of polyarylated selenophenes with potential applications in pharmaceutical and materials chemistry, as the installation of aryl groups at the desired positions can be achieved.

Mild and selective base-free C-H arylation of heteroarenes: experiment and computation

A mild and selective C-H arylation strategy for indoles, benzofurans and benzothiophenes is described. The arylation method engages aryldiazonium salts as arylating reagents in equimolar amounts. The protocol is operationally simple, base free, moisture tolerant and air tolerant. It utilizes low palladium loadings (0.5 to 2.0 mol% Pd), short reaction times, green solvents (EtOAc/2-MeTHF or MeOH) and is carried out at room temperature, providing a broad substrate scope (47 examples) and excellent selectivity (C-2 arylation for indoles and benzofurans, C-3 arylation for benzothiophenes). Mechanistic experiments and DFT calculations support a Heck-Matsuda type coupling mechanism.

Transition metal-catalyzed site- and regio-divergent C–H bond functionalization

The regioselectivity of C–H functionalization reactions can be redirected to obtain regioisomeric products form the same starting materials.

Room-Temperature Direct β-Arylation of Thiophenes and Benzo[b]thiophenes and Kinetic Evidence for a Heck-type Pathway

The first example of a regioselective β-arylation of benzo[b]thiophenes and thiophenes at room temperature with aryl iodides as coupling partners is reported. This methodology stands out for its operational simplicity: no prefunctionalization of either starting material is required, the reaction is insensitive to air and moisture, and it proceeds at room temperature. The mild conditions afford wide functional group tolerance, often with complete regioselectivity and high yields, resulting in a highly efficient catalytic system. Initial mechanistic studies, including ¹³C and ²H KIEs, suggest that this process occurs via a concerted carbo-palladation across the thiophene double bond, followed by a base-assisted anti-elimination.

Bulky α-diimine palladium complexes: highly efficient for direct C–H bond arylation of heteroarenes under aerobic conditions

Through the strategy to enhance the bulkiness on both the backbone and the N-aryl moieties, we designed and synthesized a type of bulky α-diimine palladium complex (i.e., {[Ar–NC(R)–C(R)N–Ar]PdCl₂, (Ar = 2-benzhydryl-4,6-dimethylphenyl)}, C1, R = H; C2, R = An; C3, R = Ph).

Developing ligands for palladium(II)-catalyzed C-H functionalization: intimate dialogue between ligand and substrate

Homogeneous transition-metal-catalyzed reactions are indispensable to all facets of modern chemical synthesis. It is thus difficult to imagine that for much of the early 20th century, the reactivity and selectivity of all known homogeneous metal catalysts paled in comparison to their heterogeneous and biological counterparts. In the intervening decades, advances in ligand design bridged this divide, such that today some of the most demanding bond-forming events are mediated by ligand-supported homogeneous metal species. While ligand design has propelled many areas of homogeneous catalysis, in the field of Pd(II)-catalyzed C-H functionalization, suitable ligand scaffolds are lacking, which has hampered the development of broadly practical transformations based on C-H functionalization logic. In this Perspective, we offer an account of our research employing three ligand scaffolds, mono-N-protected amino acids, 2,6-disubstituted pyridines, and 2,2'-bipyridines, to address challenges posed by several synthetically versatile substrate classes. Drawing on this work, we discuss principles of ligand design, such as the need to match a ligand to a particular substrate class, and how ligand traits such as tunability and modularity can be advantageous in reaction discovery.

Improvement of σ1 receptor affinity by late-stage C-H-bond arylation of spirocyclic lactones

The direct C-H-bond arylation of the complex spirocyclic lactones 13, 14, and 18 allows the introduction of diverse aryl moieties in the last step of the synthesis. A selective α-arylation of the thiophene moiety was performed with the catalytic system PdCl2/2,2'-bipyridyl/Ag2CO3, whereas the β-position of the thiophene ring was addressed by using the alternative catalytic system PdCl2/P[OCH(CF3)2]3/Ag2CO3. Due to electronic and steric reasons the arylation of the five-membered lactone 18 occurred in both α-positions providing 4'-mono-, 6'-mono- and 4',6'-diarylated thiophenes 22-26a-c. Compounds with an additional aryl moiety at the 'upper left (top)' position (1'-position of 13, 3'-position of 14, 4'-position of 18) showed increased σ1 affinity compared to the non-arylated parent compounds. A phenyl moiety at the 'left' position (2'-position in 20a) also increased the σ1 affinity but to a lower extent. A considerable reduction of σ1 affinity was observed after introducing an aryl moiety in 6'-position of 18, which might result from shielding the tertiary amine, which is crucial for interaction with the σ1 receptor. The discussion of the experimental results is supported by high-level quantum chemical DFT-calculations of the NBO-charges of 13 and 18 and the relative energies of the related arylated products.