Rhodium-catalyzed dehydrogenative coupling of phenylheteroarenes with alkynes or alkenes

Copper-catalysed dehydrogenative self-coupling/cyclization of 5-aminopyrazoles: synthesis and photophysical study of pyridazines

An interesting self-coupling/cyclization of 5-aminopyrazoles is revealed, which provides a variety of pyridazine cores in reasonable yields. In this reaction, C(sp²)-C(sp²) and N-N bond formation occurs simultaneously in one reaction vessel. The photophysical properties of the synthesized compounds were also studied and some of them exhibited fluorescence properties with good quantum yields. A radical mediated reaction mechanism is proposed with the help of control experiments.

Reaction of 1-acetonaphthones with anilines and elemental sulfur: rapid construction of 1-anilinonaphtho[2,1-b]thiophenes

1-Anilinonaphtho[2,1-b]thiophenes could be conveniently synthesized from a three-component reaction of 1-acetonaphthones with anilines and elemental sulfur under catalyst-free simple heating conditions.

Electrooxidative double C-H/C-H coupling of phenols with 3-phenylbenzothiophenes: facile access to benzothiophene derivatives

An efficient electrooxidative double C-H/C-H coupling of phenols with 3-phenylbenzothiophene has been developed under external oxidant- and catalyst-free conditions. This strategy could enable the highly tunable access to benzothiophene derivatives and exhibited broad substrate generality under mild conditions. The reaction is likely to proceed via the cross-coupling of the p-methoxylphenol radical and the 3-phenylbenzothiophene radical cation.

Domino Reaction of 2,4-Diyn-1-ols with 1,3-Dicarbonyl Compounds: Direct Access to Aryl/Heteroaryl-Fused Benzofurans and Indoles

A domino propargylation/furanylation (intramolecular exo-dig-cyclization)/benzannulation reaction of 2,4-diyn-1-ols with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds has been developed for the first time. This provides a novel and effective method for the preparation of aryl/heteroaryl-fused benzofurans from easily accessible starting materials in a single step. The methodology was extended to pyrrolyl-benzannulation to obtain aryl/heteroaryl-fused indoles. Further, application of this approach in the synthesis of eustifoline D and dictyodendrin structural frameworks has been demonstrated.

Ni-Catalyzed Dual C-H Annulation of Benzimidazoles with Alkynes for Synthesis of π-Extended Heteroarenes

Transition metal catalyzed dual C-H activation and annulation with alkynes was an attractive protocol to construct polycyclic π-extended structures. However, most of them were dominated by noble metal catalysts. Disclosed herein was the study of base-metal Ni-catalysis for dual C-H annulation of N-aromatic imidazole, which produced a range of desired polycyclic aza-quinolines in 48-95% yields. The use of bifunctional phosphine oxide ligand proved to be critical for success.

One-step synthesis of benzo[b]thiophenes by aryne reaction with alkynyl sulfides

An aryne reaction with alkynyl sulfides affording benzo[b]thiophenes is disclosed. A wide range of 3-substituted benzothiophenes were synthesized from easily available o-silylaryl triflates and alkynyl sulfides in a one-step intermolecular manner. The synthesis of diverse multisubstituted benzothiophene derivatives involving a pentacyclic compound was achieved by virtue of the good functional group tolerance and versatile C2 functionalizations.

Synthesis of thieno[2,3-h]-/[3,2-h]quinolines and thieno[2,3-f] quinolines by Brønsted acid mediated cycloisomerisation

Several thieno[2,3-h]-/[3,2-h]- and [2,3-f]quinolines have been synthesised from 2,3-dihalogenated pyridines or -quinolines by site-selective Pd catalysed cross-coupling reactions and Brønsted acid mediated cycloisomerisations as the final key step. This newly developed synthetic strategy is used in a modular way to synthesize diverse regioisomeric derivatives, tolerates various functional groups, and proceeds with high selectivity, and the desired final products have been isolated in high overall yields.

Annulation of Hydrazones and Alkynes via Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Dual C-H Activation: Synthesis of Pyrrolopyridazines and Azolopyridazines

Hydrazones readily synthesized from N-aminopyrroles or N-aminoazoles and aldehydes undergo Rh(III)-catalyzed dual C-H activation and coupling with aryl- and alkyl-substituted alkynes to give pyrrolopyridazines or azolopyridazines, respectively. This transformation represents a rare example of hydrazoyl C-H activation and proceeds without heteroatom functionality to direct C-H activation. Hydrazones derived from aromatic, alkenyl, and aliphatic aldehydes were effective inputs, and tethering the alkyne to the hydrazone enabled annulations to more complex, tricyclic products.

Rhodium-catalyzed C-C coupling reactions via double C-H activation

Various rhodium-catalyzed double C-H activations are reviewed. These powerful strategies have been developed to construct C-C bonds, which might be widely embedded in complex aza-fused heterocycles, polycyclic skeletons and heterocyclic scaffolds. In particular, rhodium(iii) catalysis shows good selectivity and reactivity to functionalize the C-H bond, generating reactive organometallic intermediates in most of the coupling reactions. Generally, intermolecular, intramolecular and multi-component coupling reactions via double C-H activations with or without heteroatom-assisted chelation are discussed in this review.

Synthesis of substituted benzo[ij]imidazo[2,1,5-de]quinolizine by rhodium(iii)-catalyzed multiple C–H activation and annulations

The cascade oxidative annulation reactions of aryl imidazoles with two molecules of alkynes via multiple C–H activation proceed efficiently in the presence of [Cp*RhCl₂]₂ and Cu(OAc)₂·H₂O to give substituted benzo[ij]imidazo[2,1,5-de]quinolizine-based polyheteroaromatic compounds.

RhI/RhIII catalyst-controlled divergent aryl/heteroaryl C-H bond functionalization of picolinamides with alkynes

The ability to establish switchable site-selectivity through catalyst control in the direct functionalization of molecules that contain distinct C-H bonds remains a demanding challenge that would enable the construction of diverse scaffolds from the same starting materials. Herein we describe the realization of this goal, namely a divergent heteroaryl/aryl C-H functionalization of aromatic picolinamide derivatives, targeting two distinct C-H sites, either at the pyridine ring or at the arene unit, to afford isoquinoline or ortho-olefinated benzylamine (or phenethylamine) derivatives. This complementary reactivity has been achieved on the basis of a RhIII/RhI switch in the catalyst, resulting in different mechanistic outcomes. Notably, a series of experimental and DFT mechanistic studies revealed important insights about the mechanism of the reaction and reasons behind the divergent regiochemical outcome.

Synthesis of Indolo[1,2-a][1,8]naphthyridines by Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Dehydrogenative Coupling via Rollover Cyclometalation

The rhodium-catalyzed dehydrogenative coupling of N-pyridylindoles with alkynes proceeds smoothly through rollover cyclometalation to produce indolo[1,2-a][1,8]naphthyridine derivatives. A number of tetra-, penta-, and hexacyclic N-containing heteroaromatics can also be readily constructed in a similar manner. The L-shaped π-conjugated molecules exhibit intense solid-state fluorescence.

Rhodium(iii)-catalyzed oxidative bicyclization of 4-arylbut-3-yn-1-amines with internal alkynes through C–H functionalization

A new Rh(iii)-catalyzed oxidative bicyclization through C–H functionalization is presented for the synthesis of benzo[g]indoles.

Rh-catalyzed oxidizing group-directed ortho C–H vinylation of arenes by vinylstannanes

An efficient method for the synthesis of functionalized vinyl arenes from the reaction of N-methoxybenzamides or N-phenoxyacetamides with vinylstannanes via rhodium(iii)-catalyzed C–H activation is described. The application of the methodology for the synthesis of a natural product thalactamine and a 7-membered ring oxepine are also demonstrated.

Rh(iii)-catalyzed cyclization reaction of azoles with alkynes: efficient synthesis of azole-fused-pyridines

A Rh(iii)-catalyzed cyclization of azoles with alkynes has been developed to construct azole-fused-pyridines in good to excellent yields.

A three-component synthesis of aryl(heteroaryl)acylamides

α-Heteroarylamides of diverse structures are assembled in a three-component reaction of azole or azineN-oxides, 1,1-difluorostyrenes and amines.

Diversity-oriented synthesis of tetrathia[8]circulenes by sequential C–H borylation and annulation

We have succeeded in the diversity-oriented synthesis of tetrathia[8]circulenes by sequential C–H borylation and annulation from cyclic tetrathiophene.

Rhodium(iii)-catalyzed cascade oxidative annulation reactions of aryl imidazolium salts with alkynes involving multiple C–H bond activation

The cascade oxidative annulation reactions of aryl imidazolium salts with alkynes proceed efficiently in the presence of [Cp*RhCl₂]₂ and Cu(OAc)₂·H₂O to give substituted imidazo[1,2-a]-quinolinium salts and benzo[ij]imidazo[2,1,5-de]quinolizinium salts.