The First Cyanomethyl Complex of Gold, Synthesized by Reaction of a AuI Complex with Acetonitrile in the Presence of a New Guanidine N-Superbase

Redox-Induced Aromatic Substitution: A Study on Guanidino-Functionalized Aromatics

Aromatic substitution of redox-active aromatic compounds could be initiated by a preceding redox step. We report on the different reaction pathways of such redox-induced substitution (RIAS) reactions between a redox-active guanidino-functionalized aromatic molecule (GFA) and an amine or guanidine. Oxidation of the GFA leads to an umpolung of the guanidine from a nucleophile to an electrophile and thereby enables addition of the amine or guanidine. Several examples are given, demonstrating the use of redox substitution in synthetic chemistry, e. g. for the convenient synthesis of novel N-heteropolycyclic molecules and unsymmetrically-substituted aromatics.

Orthoamide und Iminiumsalze, IIC. Darstellung von N-(ω-Ammonioalkyl)-N,N′,N′,N″,N″-peralkylierten Guanidiniumsalzen und N-(ω-Aminoalkyl)-N′,N′,N″,N″-tetramethylguanidinen

N,N,N′,N′-Tetraalkylchlorformamidiniumchlorides 1a, b react with ω-dimethylaminoalkylamines 19, 20 to give mixtures of N-(ω-dimethylammonioalkyl)-guanidinium salts 12, 13 and N-(ω-dimethylaminoalkyl)-guanidinium salts 21, 22. These mixtures are transformed to mixtures of the ureas 15, 17 and N-(ω-dimethylaminoalkyl)-guanidines 23, 25 on treatment with aqueous sodium hydroxide. The reaction of N-(3-dimethylammoniopropyl)-guanidin 25a with dimethylsulfate in a molar ratio of 1:1 delivers a mixture of the N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N,N,N′,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyl-guanidinium salt 29a and the N-(3-dimethylammoniopropyl)-N,N′,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyl-guanidinium-bis (methylsulfate) 33a. The action of dimethylsulfate on the guanidines 23a, 25a in a molar ratio of 2:1 affords the bisquarternary salts 32a, 33a. Alkylating reagents as methyliodide, benzylbromide, allylbromide and chloroacetonitrile attack N-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)-N′,N′,N″,N″-tetraethylguanidine (23b) in a molar ratio of 1:1 cleanly at the dimethylaminoethylgroup to give the ammonium salts 30a–d. As a strong base the guanidine 23b dehydrochlorinates β-Chlorpropionitrile and chloroacetone under formation of the guanidinium salt 21c. In contrast to this the reaction of ethyl bromoacetate with the N-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)guanidine 23b occurs at the guanidinogroup giving the guanidinium salt 28c. The methylation of the guanidinium chlorides 21a, 22a with dimethyl sulfate affords the bis-quaternary salts 35b, 36b with mixed anions. From the heterocyclic guanidines 14, 16 and the alkylating reagents benzylbromide and ethyl bromoacetate the heterocyclic guanidinium salts 37a, b, 39a, b can be obtained. The reactions with ethyl chloroformiate proceed in an analogous way giving the guanidinium salts 37c, 39c. The N-alkyl-N,N,N′,N′-tetramethyl-(3-ureidopropyl)guanidinium salts 41a, b can be prepared from the N′,N′,N″,N″-tetramethyl-N′′-(3-ureidopropyl) guanidine 17a and the alkylating compounds dimethyl sulfate and benzyl bromide. Several compounds obtained that way were transformed to the corresponding tetraphenyloborates and bis(tetraphenylborates), respectively.

1,2,4,5-Tetrakis(tetramethylguanidino)-3,6-diethynyl-benzenes: Fluorescent Probes, Redox-Active Ligands and Strong Organic Electron Donors

In this work, the change of reactivity induced by the introduction of two para-ethynyl substituents (CCSi(iPr)3 or CCH) to the organic electron-donor 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(tetramethylguanidino)-benzene is evaluated. The redox-properties and redox-state dependent fluorescence are evaluated, and dinuclear CuI and CuII complexes synthesized. The Lewis-acidic B(C6 F5 )3 substitutes the proton of the ethynyl -CCH groups to give new anionic -CCB(C6 F5 )3 - substituents, leading eventually to a novel dianionic strong electron donor in its diprotonated form. Its two-electron oxidation with dioxygen in the presence of a copper catalyst yields the first redox-active guanidine that is neutral (instead of cationic) in its oxidized form.

Divergent 2-Chloroquinazolin-4(3H)-one Rearrangement: Twisted-Cyclic Guanidine Formation or Ring-Fused N-Acylguanidines via a Domino Process

A highly efficient 2-chloroquinazolin-4(3H)-one rearrangement was developed that predictably generates either twisted-cyclic or ring-fused guanidines in a single operation, depending on the presence of a primary versus secondary amine in the accompanying diamine reagent. Exclusive formation of twisted-cyclic guanidines results from pairing 2-chloroquinazolinones with secondary diamines. Use of primary amine-containing diamines permits a domino quinazolinone rearrangement/intramolecular cyclization, gated through (E)-twisted-cyclic guanidines, to afford ring-fused N-acylguanidines. This scalable, structurally tolerant transformation generated 55 guanidines and delivered twisted-cyclic guanidines with robust plasma stability and an abbreviated total synthesis of an antitumor ring-fused guanidine (4 steps, 55 % yield).

N-Heterocyclic Carbene Adducts of Main Group Elements and Their Use as Ligands in Transition Metal Chemistry

N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) are nowadays ubiquitous and indispensable in many research fields, and it is not possible to imagine modern transition metal and main group element chemistry without the plethora of available NHCs with tailor-made electronic and steric properties. While their suitability to act as strong ligands toward transition metals has led to numerous applications of NHC complexes in homogeneous catalysis, their strong σ-donating and adaptable π-accepting abilities have also contributed to an impressive vitalization of main group chemistry with the isolation and characterization of NHC adducts of almost any element. Formally, NHC coordination to Lewis acids affords a transfer of nucleophilicity from the carbene carbon atom to the attached exocyclic moiety, and low-valent and low-coordinate adducts of the p-block elements with available lone pairs and/or polarized carbon-element π-bonds are able to act themselves as Lewis basic donor ligands toward transition metals. Accordingly, the availability of a large number of novel NHC adducts has not only produced new varieties of already existing ligand classes but has also allowed establishment of numerous complexes with unusual and often unprecedented element-metal bonds. This review aims at summarizing this development comprehensively and covers the usage of N-heterocyclic carbene adducts of the p-block elements as ligands in transition metal chemistry.

Regression analysis of properties of [Au(IPr)(CHR2)] complexes

New [Au(IPr)(CHR₂)] complexes have been synthesised through protonolysis reactions of [Au(IPr)(OH)] with moderately acidic substrates, CH₂R₂.

Construction of copper chains with new fluorescent guanidino-functionalized naphthyridine ligands

A high charge and a low coordination number are the characteristics of fluorescent Cu₄ chain complexes with 2,7-bisguanidino-naphthyridine ligands.

Copper mediated decyano decarboxylative coupling of cyanoacetate ligands: Pesci versus Lewis acid mechanism

A combination of gas-phase ion trap multistage mass spectrometry (MSⁿ) experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to examine the mechanisms of the sequential decomposition reactions of copper cyanoacetate anions, [(NCCH₂CO₂)₂Cu]⁻.

Discovery and development of organic super-electron-donors

Based on simple ideas of electron-rich alkenes, exemplified by tetrakis(dimethylamino)ethene, TDAE, and on additional driving force associated with aromatization, families of very powerful neutral organic super-electron-donors (SEDs) have been developed. In the ground state, they carry out metal-free reductions of a range of functional groups. Iodoarenes are reduced either to aryl radicals or, with stronger donors, to aryl anions. Reduction to aryl radicals allows the initiation of very efficient transition-metal-free coupling of haloarenes to arenes. The donors also reduce alkyl halides, arenesulfonamides, triflates, and triflamdes, Weinreb amides, and acyloin derivatives. Under photoactivation at 365 nm, they are even more powerful and reductively cleave aryl chlorides. They reduce unactivated benzenes to the corresponding radical anions and display original selectivities in preferentially reducing benzenes over malonates or cyanoacetates. Additionally, they reductively cleave ArC-X, ArX-C (X = N or O) and ArC-C bonds, provided that the two resulting fragments are somewhat stabilized.

Redox-controlled hydrogen bonding: turning a superbase into a strong hydrogen-bond donor

Herein the synthesis, structures and properties of hydrogen-bonded aggregates involving redox-active guanidine superbases are reported. Reversible hydrogen bonding is switched on by oxidation of the hydrogen-donor unit, and leads to formation of aggregates in which the hydrogen-bond donor unit is sandwiched by two hydrogen-bond acceptor units. Further oxidation (of the acceptor units) leads again to deaggregation. Aggregate formation is associated with a distinct color change, and the electronic situation could be described as a frozen stage on the way to hydrogen transfer. A further increase in the basicity of the hydrogen-bond acceptor leads to deprotonation reactions.

Stabilization of Complexes of Redox-Active Guanidino-Functionalized Aromatic Compounds (GFAs) by Hydrogen-Bonding

The guanidino-functionalized 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(N,N′-diisopropylguanidino)benzene could act as a redox-active switch, and reversibly forms hydrogen-bond aggregates upon two-electron oxidation. Herein the influence of hydrogen bonding on the structure and electronic properties of the first transition metal complexes of the neutral and oxidized compound are studied. Reaction with CuCl2 leads by coupled redox- and coordination processes to a dinuclear CuII complex of the dicationic guanidine, in which CuCl2– counterions are locked through strong hydrogen-bonds in positions above and below the C6 ring plane. The electronic situation in the electronic ground and excited states of this complex were analysed by quantum chemical calculations.

Reactivity of (Dicarboxamide)M(II)-OH (M = Cu, Ni) Complexes: Reaction with Acetonitrile to Yield M(II)-Cyanomethides

The complexes (Bu₄N)(L^MeM(II)-OH) (L^Me = 2,6-dimethylphenyl-substituted pyridine(dicarboxamide); M = Cu or Ni) react with CH₃CN to yield (Bu₄N)(L^MeM-CH₂CN), novel cyanomethide complexes that were fully characterized, including by X-ray crystallography. These conversions contrast with the usual reactions of metal-hydroxide complexes with nitriles, which typically involve attack at the nitrile carbon and formation of amides or carboxylic acids. Kinetic studies (M = Cu) revealed a first-order dependence on the complex and a kinetic isotope effect (k(CH₃CN)/k(CD₃CN) of 4. Various mechanisms involving either intra- or intermolecular deprotonation steps are proposed. In addition, (Bu₄N)(L^MeCu-OH) was oxidized by Fc⁺PF₆^- to a proposed Cu(III) complex L^MeCuOH at low temperature, and comparisons of its stability and reactivity with dihydroanthracene were drawn to its previously described congener having isopropyl substituents on the phenyl rings of the supporting ligand. The cyanomethide complex (Bu₄N)(L^MeCu(CH₂CN)) also was reversibly oxidized both electrochemically (E_1/2 = -0.345 V vs. Fc/Fc⁺) and chemically (Fc⁺PF₆^-, -25 °C). The product was formulated as L^MeCu(III)(CH₂CN), a novel Cu(III)-alkyl complex relevant to such species proposed during copper-catalyzed organic reactions.