The aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction: a mechanistic and kinetic study

Activated Self-Resolution and Error-Correction in Catalytic Reaction Networks*

Understanding the emergence of function in complex reaction networks is a primary goal of systems chemistry and origin-of-life studies. Especially challenging is to create systems that simultaneously exhibit several emergent functions that can be independently tuned. In this work, a multifunctional complex reaction network of nucleophilic small molecule catalysts for the Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction is demonstrated. The dynamic system exhibited triggered self-resolution, preferentially amplifying a specific catalyst/product set out of a many potential alternatives. By utilizing selective reversibility of the products of the reaction set, systemic thermodynamically driven error-correction could also be introduced. To achieve this, a dynamic covalent MBH reaction based on adducts with internal H-transfer capabilities was developed. By careful tuning of the substituents, rate accelerations of retro-MBH reactions of up to four orders of magnitude could be obtained. This study thus demonstrates how efficient self-sorting of catalytic systems can be achieved through an interplay of several complex emergent functionalities.

Synthesis of chiral 3-substituted 3-amino-2-oxindoles through enantioselective catalytic nucleophilic additions to isatin imines

This review collects the recent developments in the synthesis of chiral 3-substituted 3-amino-2-oxindoles based on enantioselective catalytic nucleophilic additions to isatin imines published since the beginning of 2015.

Primary Aminothiourea-Catalyzed Enantioselective Synthesis of Rauhut-Currier Adducts of 3-Arylcyclohexenone with a Tethered Enone on the Aryl Moiety at the Ortho-Position

An enantioselective synthesis of Rauhut-Currier (RC) adducts from 3-aryl cyclohexenone with a tethered enone moiety at the ortho-position on the aryl group is accomplished. This method provides a wide range of valuable synthetic building blocks having a unique [6-5-6] all-carbon-fused tricyclic skeleton. A primary amine-containing thiourea, a bifunctional organocatalyst, was found to be an efficient catalyst for this transformation. The primary amine counterpart of the catalyst possibly activates the aliphatic enone via dienamine formation (HOMO activation), whereas the thiourea counterpart activates the tethered enone (LUMO activation). Considering the difficulty in achieving an RC reaction of β,β-disubstituted (alkyl and aryl) enones, this method would be significantly rewarding.

Visible light catalyzed synthesis of quinolines from (aza)-Morita–Baylis–Hillman adducts

A mild and efficient protocol for the synthesis of quinoline scaffolds from (aza)-MBH adducts under visible light catalysis has been established.

Metal-Organic Frameworks Invert Molecular Reactivity: Lewis Acidic Phosphonium Zwitterions Catalyze the Aldol-Tishchenko Reaction

The influence of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as additives is herein described for the reaction of n-alkyl aldehydes in the presence of methylvinylketone and triphenylphosphine. In the absence of a MOF, the expected Morita–Baylis–Hillman product, a β-hydroxy enone, is observed. In the presence of MOFs with UMCM-1 and MOF-5 topologies, the reaction is selective to Aldol-Tishchenko products, the 1 and 3 n-alkylesters of 2-alkyl-1,3-diols, which is unprecedented in organocatalysis. The (3-oxo-2-butenyl)triphenylphosphonium zwitterion, a commonly known nucleophile, is identified as the catalytic active species. This zwitterion favors nucleophilic character in solution, whereas once confined within the framework, it becomes an electrophile yielding Aldol-Tishchenko selectivity. Computational investigations reveal a structural change in the phosphonium moiety induced by the steric confinement of the framework that makes it accessible and an electrophile.

Cooperative Trifunctional Organocatalysts for Proficient Proton Transfer Reactions

Cooperativity is essential to proficient catalysis, and designing biomimetic, cooperative catalysis is a major avenue to finding new and efficient chemical reactions with practical applications. One challenge in designed cooperative catalysis is to access high catalytic proficiency (large enhancement in both rate and enantioselectivity) as seen in biocatalysis. Here described is an approach of developing and investigating trifunctional organocatalysts with three distinct catalytic functionalities, in order to understand how cooperativity could be organized for enantioselective activation that confers the observed proficiency in a tandem Michael-aldol-proton transfer elimination model reaction. This in future may assist in finding not just cooperative but also regulated catalysis to expand the level of catalytic complexity and efficiency in biomimetic systems.

An enantioselective organocatalyzed aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction of isatin-derived ketimines with acrolein

A highly enantioselective aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman (aza-MBH) reaction of isatin-derived ketimines with acrolein was established using β-isocupreidine (β-ICD) or α-isocupreine (α-ICPN) as a chiral acid-base organocatalyst. The present protocol readily furnished (S) or (R)-aza-MBH adducts with a chiral tetrasubstituted carbon stereogenic center in up to 98% ee.