Cobalt-Bisoxazoline-Catalyzed Enantioselective Cross-Coupling of α-Bromo Esters with Alkenyl Grignard Reagents

Metal-Catalyzed Enantioconvergent Transformations

Enantioconvergent catalysis has expanded asymmetric synthesis to new methodologies able to convert racemic compounds into a single enantiomer. This review covers recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed transformations, such as radical-based cross-coupling of racemic alkyl electrophiles with nucleophiles or racemic alkylmetals with electrophiles and reductive cross-coupling of two electrophiles mainly under Ni/bis(oxazoline) catalysis. C-H functionalization of racemic electrophiles or nucleophiles can be performed in an enantioconvergent manner. Hydroalkylation of alkenes, allenes, and acetylenes is an alternative to cross-coupling reactions. Hydrogen autotransfer has been applied to amination of racemic alcohols and C-C bond forming reactions (Guerbet reaction). Other metal-catalyzed reactions involve addition of racemic allylic systems to carbonyl compounds, propargylation of alcohols and phenols, amination of racemic 3-bromooxindoles, allenylation of carbonyl compounds with racemic allenolates or propargyl bromides, and hydroxylation of racemic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds.

Streamlined Strategy for Scalable and Enantioselective Total Syntheses of the Eburnane Alkaloids

A general, concise, and efficient strategy for the enantioselective synthesis of the eburnane alkaloid family of natural products is disclosed. Specifically, 13 members of the natural product family were prepared from commercially available and inexpensive starting materials. The brevity and modularity of the route are largely on account of a two-phase synthesis logic and a key catalytic enantioconvergent cross-coupling to establish the C20 stereogenic center. The strategies described here are expected to facilitate in-depth biological studies and provide access to new anticancer eburnane analogues.

Recent advances in the synthesis of insect pheromones: an overview from 2013 to 2022

Covering: 2013 to June 2022Pheromones are usually produced by insects in sub-microgram amounts, which prevents the elucidation of their structures by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Instead, a synthetic reference material is needed to confirm the structure of the natural compounds. In addition, the provision of synthetic pheromones enables large-scale field trials for the development of environmentally friendly pest management tools. Because of these potential applications in pest control, insect pheromones are attractive targets for the development of synthetic procedures and the synthesis of these intraspecific chemical messengers has been at the core of numerous research efforts in the field of pheromone chemistry. The present review is a quick reference guide for the syntheses of insect pheromones published from 2013 to mid-2022, listing the synthesized compounds and highlighting current methodologies in organic synthesis, such as carbon-carbon coupling reactions, organo-transition metal chemistry including ring-closing olefin metathesis, asymmetric epoxidations and dihydroxylations, and enzymatic reactions.

Design of Hemilabile N,N,N-Ligands in Copper-Catalyzed Enantioconvergent Radical Cross-Coupling of Benzyl/Propargyl Halides with Alkenylboronate Esters

The enantioconvergent radical C(sp³)-C(sp²) cross-coupling of alkyl halides with alkenylboronate esters is an appealing tool in the assembly of synthetically valuable enantioenriched alkenes owing to the ready availability, low toxicity, and air/moisture stability of alkenylboronate esters. Here, we report a copper/chiral N,N,N-ligand catalytic system for the enantioconvergent cross-coupling of benzyl/propargyl halides with alkenylboronate esters (>80 examples) with good functional group tolerance. The key to the success is the rational design of hemilabile N,N,N-ligands by mounting steric hindrance at the ortho position of one coordinating quinoline ring. Thus, the newly designed ligand could not only promote the radical cross-coupling process in the tridentate form but also deliver enantiocontrol over highly reactive alkyl radicals in the bidentate form. Facile follow-up transformations highlight its potential utility in the synthesis of various enantioenriched building blocks as well as in the late-stage functionalization for drug discovery.

Enantioselective Cross-couplings between Halide Derivatives and Organometallics by Using Iron and Cobalt Catalysts: Formation of C-C Bonds

This review highlights the recent achievements of iron- and cobalt-catalyzed enantioselective cross-couplings of halide derivatives with organometallic reagents for the construction of C-C bonds. Synthetic applications of enantioselective cross-couplings to natural products and biologically active compounds are also covered showing the power of these cross-couplings in organic synthesis.

Photoinduced α-Alkenylation of Katritzky Salts: Synthesis of β,γ-Unsaturated Esters

β,γ-Unsaturated esters are building blocks in biologically important compounds, pharmaceuticals, and natural products. Because the current synthetic methods often require transition-metal catalysts or lack general variants, we herein describe a simple NaI-involved photoinduced deaminative alkenylation for their synthesis in the absence of photocatalysts and additives. The density functional theory study unveils that the electrostatic interaction of NaI with Katritzky salts is the key to forming the photoactive electron donor-acceptor complex, thus leading to the alkyl radicals for the alkenylation.

Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions of Grignard Reagents

Transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling of organo­halides, ethers, sulfides, amines, and alcohols (and derivatives thereof) with Grignard reagents, known as the Kumada–Tamao–Corriu reaction, can be used to prepare important intermediates in the synthesis of numerous­ biologically active compounds. The most frequently used transition metals are nickel, palladium, and iron, but there are several examples for cross-coupling reactions catalyzed by copper, cobalt, manganese, chromium, etc. salts and complexes. The aim of this review is to summarize the most important transition-metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions realized in the period 2000 to 2020.

1 Introduction

2 Nickel Catalysis

3 Palladium Catalysis

4 Iron Catalysis

5 Catalysis by Other Transition Metals

5.1 Cobalt Catalysis

5.2 Copper Catalysis

5.3 Manganese Catalysis

5.4 Chromium Catalysis

6 Conclusion

Formation of quaternary carbons through cobalt-catalyzed C(sp3)-C(sp3) Negishi cross-coupling

Formation of all-carbon-substituted quaternary carbons is a key challenge in organic and medicinal chemistry. We report a cobalt-catalyzed C(sp3)-C(sp3) cross-coupling that allows for the introduction of benzyl, heteroarylmethylzinc and allyl groups to halo-carbonyl substrates. The cross-coupling reaction is selective for C(sp3)-over C(sp2)-halides, in contrast to most used catalytic metals, and allows access to novel scaffolds of pharmaceutical interest. NMR mechanistic studies suggest the presence of Co(0) complexes as catalytic species.