Phosphine-Catalyzed Dearomative [3 + 2] Cycloaddition of Benzoxazoles with a Cyclopropenone

Phosphine-catalyzed dearomative [3+2] cycloaddition of 4-nitroisoxazoles with allenoates or Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates

An efficient phosphine-catalyzed dearomative [3+2] annulation of 4-nitroisoxazoles with allenoates or Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates has been established for the convenient synthesis of bicyclic isoxazoline derivatives. This reaction approach showed a broad substrate scope, high functional group compatibility, and excellent regioselectivity and diastereoselectivity. Furthermore, the success at the gram-scale and synthetic applications of the obtained compound 3a demonstrate the great potential of this methodology for practical applications in organic synthesis.

Expedient access to polysubstituted acrylamides via strain-release-driven dual phosphine and palladium catalysis

Polysubstituted acrylamides are ubiquitous in bioactive molecules and natural products. However, synthetic methods for the assembly of these important motifs remain underdeveloped. Herein, we report the expedient synthesis of structurally diverse and synthetically challenging polysubstituted acrylamides from readily available aromatic amines, cyclopropenones (CpOs), and aryl halides via the synergistic merging of nucleophilic phosphine-mediated amidation and palladium-catalyzed C-H arylation. The reaction is scalable, and some obtained acrylamides proved to be solid state luminogens with obvious aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties, demonstrating the synthetic potential in drug discovery and material development.

Phosphine-Promoted Ring Opening/Recyclization of Cyclopropyl Ketones to Access Hydrofluorenones

The ring-reorganizing transformations of activated cyclopropanes are typically achieved under acidic conditions. This Letter describes the first acid-free and Lewis base-mediated cascade ring opening/recyclization of designed cyclopropyl ketones to access tetrahydrofluorenones. We rationally merged the nucleophilic features of phosphines with the electronically biased cyclopropanes to synthesize several new classes of hydrofluorenones. We have also demonstrated the synthetic utility of the products in accessing highly functionalized molecular scaffolds.

Pyridine-catalyzed ring-opening reaction of cyclopropenone with bromomethyl carbonyl compounds toward furan-2(5H)-ones

We developed a pyridine-catalyzed annulation of diaryl cyclopropenone with bromomethyl carbonyl compounds leading to 5-carbonyl furan-2(5H)-ones. Pyridinium, derived from the reaction of bromomethyl carbonyl and pyridine, triggered the reaction by the inter-molecular Michael addition to cyclopropenone. This procedure was sensitive neither to air nor moisture and proceeded at room temperature with broad substrate scopes and good functional group tolerance in moderate-to-good yields. As such, it represents a facile and practical pathway leading to 5-carbonyl furan-2(5H)-one derivatives.

Synthesis of Phosphet-2-one Derivatives via Phosphinidene Transfer to Cyclopropenones

We report the first synthesis and structural characterization of free, uncomplexed phosphet-2-ones. These unsaturated four-membered phosphacycles were prepared by phosphinidene transfer from dibenzo-7-phosphanorbornadiene compounds, RPA (A = C14H10, anthracene), to cyclopropenones in yields of up to 89%. Theoretical studies suggest that the reaction proceeds through ketene-ylide and ketene-phosphaalkene intermediates. Further transformations of the phosphet-2-ones led to the isolation of more phosphet-2-ones and 1,2-dihydrophosphetes, including two furanone derivatives which are postulated to be produced by intramolecular phosphine-catalyzed [3 + 2] annulations.

Phosphine-catalyzed ring-opening reaction of cyclopropenones with dicarbonyl compounds

We developed a phosphine-catalyzed ring-opening reaction of cyclopropenones with dicarbonyl compounds as C-nucleophiles, leading to 1,3,3'-tricarbonyl compounds. During this neutral procedure, C-acylation is more dominant than O-acylation. This transition-metal free procedure features mild and neutral reaction conditions with good atom economy. As such, it represents a facile pathway to access 1,3,3'-tricarbonyl derivatives.

Silver-Catalyzed Domino Reaction of CF3-Substituted N-Allenamides with Primary Amines for the Construction of 2-Amido-5-fluoropyrroles

We report herein a domino reaction to construct 2-amido-5-fluoropyrroles from CF₃-substituted N-allenamides. The in situ generated gem-difluorinated ene-ynamides derived from CF₃-substituted N-allenamides, when subjected to silver catalysis with a primary amine, undergo simultaneous hydroamination of the ynamide moiety followed by a 5-endo-trig addition/β-fluoride elimination sequence, enabling the construction of 2-amido-5-fluoropyrroles. This transformation features excellent functional group compatibility. By employing 2-aminophenols, functionalized benzo-oxazoles were produced.

NaI/PPh3-catalyzed visible-light-mediated decarboxylative radical cascade cyclization of N-arylacrylamides for the efficient synthesis of quaternary oxindoles

A practical NaI/PPh3-catalyzed decarboxylative radical cascade cyclization of N-arylacrylamides with redox-active esters is described, which is mediated by visible light irradiation. A wide range of substrates bearing different substituents and derived from ubiquitous carboxylic acids, including α-amino acids, were synthesized and examined under this very mild, efficient, and cost effective transition-metal-free synthetic method. These afforded various functionalized oxindoles featuring a C3 quaternary stereogenic center. Mechanistic experiments suggest a radical mechanism.

Phosphine-catalyzed activation of cyclopropenones: a versatile C3 synthon for (3+2) annulations with unsaturated electrophiles

We herein report a phosphine-catalyzed (3 + 2) annulation of cyclopropenones with a wide variety of electrophilic π systems, including aldehydes, ketoesters, imines, isocyanates, and carbodiimides, offering products of butenolides, butyrolactams, maleimides, and iminomaleimides, respectively, in high yields with broad substrate scope. An α-ketenyl phosphorous ylide is validated as the key intermediate, which undergoes preferential catalytic cyclization with aldehydes rather than stoichiometric Wittig olefinations. This phosphine-catalyzed activation of cyclopropenones thus supplies a versatile C3 synthon for formal cycloadditon reactions.

Heterocycles from cyclopropenones

Great attention has been paid to cyclopropenones as they are present in many natural sources. Various synthesized cyclopropenone derivatives also show a wide range of biological activities. The cyclopropenone derivatives undergo a variety of reactions such as ring-opening reactions, isomerization reactions, C-C coupling reactions, C-H activation, cycloaddition reactions, thermal and photo-irradiation reactions, and acid-base-catalyzed reactions under the influence of various chemical reagents (electrophiles, nucleophiles, radicals, and organometallics) and external forces (heat and light). Many previous reviews have dealt with the chemistry and reactions of cyclopropenones. However and to the best of our knowledge, the utility of cyclopropenones in the synthesis of heterocycles has not been reported before. Therefore, it would be interesting to shed light on this new topic. The present review article provides, for the first time, a comprehensive compilation of synthetic methods for the synthesis of various heterocyclic ring systems, as a significant family in the field of organic chemistry.