Selective reductions in the sphere of organophosphorus compounds

Main Group Redox Catalysis of Organopnictogens: Vertical Periodic Trends and Emerging Opportunities in Group 15

A growing number of organopnictogen redox catalytic methods have emerged-especially within the past 10 years-that leverage the plentiful reversible two-electron redox chemistry within Group 15. The goal of this Perspective is to provide readers the context to understand the dramatic developments in organopnictogen catalysis over the past decade with an eye toward future development. An exposition of the fundamental differences in the atomic structure and bonding of the pnictogens, and thus the molecular electronic structure of organopnictogen compounds, is presented to establish the backdrop against which organopnictogen redox reactivity-and ultimately catalysis-is framed. A deep appreciation of these underlying periodic principles informs an understanding of the differing modes of organopnictogen redox catalysis and evokes the key challenges to the field moving forward. We close by addressing forward-looking directions likely to animate this area in the years to come. What new catalytic manifolds can be developed through creative catalyst and reaction design that take advantage of the intrinsic redox reactivity of the pnictogens to drive new discoveries in catalysis?

Part I: the development of the catalytic Wittig reaction

We have developed the first catalytic (in phosphane) Wittig reaction (CWR). The utilization of an organosilane was pivotal for success as it allowed for the chemoselective reduction of a phosphane oxide. Protocol optimization evaluated the phosphane oxide precatalyst structure, loading, organosilane, temperature, solvent, and base. These studies demonstrated that to maintain viable catalytic performance it was necessary to employ cyclic phosphane oxide precatalysts of type 1. Initial substrate studies utilized sodium carbonate as a base, and further experimentation identified N,N-diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA) as a soluble alternative. The use of DIPEA improved the ease of use, broadened the substrate scope, and decreased the precatalyst loading. The optimized protocols were compatible with alkyl, aryl, and heterocyclic (furyl, indolyl, pyridyl, pyrrolyl, and thienyl) aldehydes to produce both di- and trisubstituted olefins in moderate-to-high yields (60-96%) by using a precatalyst loading of 4-10 mol%. Kinetic E/Z selectivity was generally 66:34; complete E selectivity for disubstituted α,β-unsaturated products was achieved through a phosphane-mediated isomerization event. The CWR was applied to the synthesis of 54, a known precursor to the anti-Alzheimer drug donepezil hydrochloride, on a multigram scale (12.2 g, 74% yield). In addition, to our knowledge, the described CWR is the only transition-/heavy-metal-free catalytic olefination process, excluding proton-catalyzed elimination reactions.

Stoichiometric and catalytic synthesis of alkynylphosphines

Alkynylphosphines or their borane complexes are available either through C–P bond forming reactions or through modification of the phosphorus or the alkynyl function of various alkynyl phosphorus derivatives. The latter strategy, and in particular the one involving phosphoryl reduction by alanes or silanes, is the method of choice for preparing primary and secondary alkynylphosphines, while the former strategy is usually employed for the synthesis of tertiary alkynylphosphines or their borane complexes. The classical C–P bond forming methods rely on the reaction between halophosphines or their borane complexes with terminal acetylenes in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of organometallic bases, which precludes the access to alkynylphosphines bearing sensitive functional groups. In less than a decade, efficient catalytic procedures, mostly involving copper complexes and either an electrophilic or a nucleophilic phosphorus reagent, have emerged. By proceeding under mild conditions, these new methods have allowed a significant broadening of the substituent scope and structure complexity.