PPh3-catalyzed synthesis of multifunctional vinylesters from terminal alkynoates and aromatic aldehydes

Acyl Transfer-Driven Rauhut-Currier Dimerization of Morita-Baylis-Hillman Ketones

A serendipitous Rauhut-Currier dimerization of 1,1-disubstituted activated olefins derived from Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts was observed in the presence of DABCO. The reaction is driven by the migration of an acyl group and produces multifunctionalized enol esters in yields greater than 90% in most cases, without necessitating column chromatographic purification. The acyl transfer is thought to proceed via a transition state typical of a Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction, supported by a brief mechanistic study involving computational calculations.

Phosphine-catalyzed divergent reactivity of alkynoates with acid anhydrides: chemo- and stereoselective synthesis of polysubstituted olefins and dienes

Unprecedented phosphine-catalyzed chemoselective acylesterification, tandem addition and Michael type reaction between alkynoates and acid anhydrides have been developed, enabling efficient synthesis of either the polysubstituted olefins or the multifunctional dienes.

Diversity-oriented synthesis of benzofuro[3,2-b]pyridine derivatives from aurone-derived α,β-unsaturated imines and activated terminal alkynes

An efficient annulation reaction of aurone-derived α,β-unsaturated imines and activated terminal alkynes mediated by triethylamine is described, which enables the facile synthesis of 1,4-dihydrobenzofuro[3,2-b]pyridines in high yields. When the nucleophile of triethylamine was replaced with triphenylphosphine, another class of 1,4-dihydrobenzofuro[3,2-b]pyridines tethered with an additional acrylate motif were obtained instead. These two types of 1,4-dihydrobenzofuro[3,2-b]pyridines could be aromatized in the presence of DBU to afford benzofuro[3,2-b]pyridines, which could also be accessed via a one-pot procedure.

Phosphine Organocatalysis

The hallmark of nucleophilic phosphine catalysis is the initial nucleophilic addition of a phosphine to an electrophilic starting material, producing a reactive zwitterionic intermediate, generally under mild conditions. In this Review, we classify nucleophilic phosphine catalysis reactions in terms of their electrophilic components. In the majority of cases, these electrophiles possess carbon-carbon multiple bonds: alkenes (section 2), allenes (section 3), alkynes (section 4), and Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) alcohol derivatives (MBHADs; section 5). Within each of these sections, the reactions are compiled based on the nature of the second starting material-nucleophiles, dinucleophiles, electrophiles, and electrophile-nucleophiles. Nucleophilic phosphine catalysis reactions that occur via the initial addition to starting materials that do not possess carbon-carbon multiple bonds are collated in section 6. Although not catalytic in the phosphine, the formation of ylides through the nucleophilic addition of phosphines to carbon-carbon multiple bond-containing compounds is intimately related to the catalysis and is discussed in section 7. Finally, section 8 compiles miscellaneous topics, including annulations of the Hüisgen zwitterion, phosphine-mediated reductions, iminophosphorane organocatalysis, and catalytic variants of classical phosphine oxide-generating reactions.