Homometathesis and cross-metathesis coupling of phosphine-borane templates with electron-rich and electron-poor olefins

Facile Energy Release from Substituted Dewar Isomers of 1,2-Dihydro-1,2-Azaborinines Catalyzed by Coinage Metal Lewis Acids

Molecular solar thermal systems (MOST) represent an auspicious solution for the storage of solar energy. We report silver salts as a unique class of catalysts, capable of releasing the stored energy from the promising 1,2-dihydro-1,2-azaborinine based MOST system. Mechanistic investigations provided insights into the silver catalyzed thermal backreaction, concurrently unveiling the first crystal structure of a 2-aza-3-borabicyclo[2.2.0]hex-5-ene, the Dewar isomer of 1,2-dihydro-1,2-azaborinine. Quantification of activation energies by kinetic experiments has elucidated the advantageous energy change associated with Lewis acid catalysts, a phenomenon corroborated through computational analysis. By means of low temperature NMR spectroscopy, mechanistic insights into the coordination of Ag+ to the 1,2-dihydro-1,2-azaborinine were gained.

Synthesis of 3-stannyl and 3-silyl propargyl phosphanes and the formation of a phosphinoallene

The group 14 chloropropargyls R3EC ≡ CCH2Cl (R3E = (n)Bu3Sn, Ph3Sn, Me2PhSi, (i)Pr3Si, (n)Pr3Si, (n)Bu3Si), obtained by a modified literature procedure, react with LiPPh2 to afford the novel propargyl phosphanes Ph2PCH2C ≡ CER3 in high yield, as viscous oils; (Me3Si)2PCH2C ≡ CSiPhMe2 is similarly obtained from LiP(SiMe3)2. In contrast, the reaction of PhC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CCH2MgCl with ClP(NEt2)2 fails to produce a comparable propargyl phosphane, but generates preferentially (>70%) the novel phosphinoallene (Et2N)2PC(Ph) = C = CH2, which is characterised spectroscopically, and through its reaction with HCl. The coordination chemistry of representative phosphanes is explored with respect to platinum and palladium for the first time.

Tandem phenolic oxidative amidation-intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction: an approach to the himandrine core

An oxidative cyclization of dienic sulfonamides mediated by iodobenzene diacetate in TFA, followed by a tandem intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction, achieves desymmetrization of a "locally symmetrical" dienone with good levels of diastereoselectivity and leads to valuable synthetic intermediates for the himandrine alkaloids.

Ortho-TMS benzaldehyde: an effective linchpin for type II anion relay chemistry (ARC)

Ortho -TMS benzaldehyde, an effective bifunctional linchpin for Type II Anion Relay Chemistry (ARC), permits efficient multi-component union of a variety of nucleophiles and electrophiles, including the first example of a Pd-mediated ARC Type II process. To demonstrate the utility of the Type II ARC protocol, a “proof of concept” synthetic sequence was designed and implemented for construction of a focused library of “natural product-like” compounds.