Ruthenium-Catalyzed ortho-C–H Mono- and Di-imidation of Arenes with N-Tosyloxyphthalimide

Copper(II)-catalyzed, site-selective C(sp)2-H amination using 8-aminoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine (8-AIP) as a directing group

An efficient copper(II)-catalyzed regioselective ortho C(sp2)-H amination of arenes/heteroarenes has been developed with the assistance of 8-AIP (8-aminoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine) as an efficacious 6,5-fused bicyclic removable chelating auxiliary. This operationally simple approach is scalable, has a broad substrate scope, and is highly compatible with functional groups. Furthermore, post-diversification of the synthesized derivatives demonstrates the methodology's synthetic adaptability.

A rhodium-catalyzed cascade C-H activation/annulation strategy for the expeditious assembly of pyrrolidinedione-fused 1,2-benzothiazines

A cascade annulation strategy triggered by rhodium(III)-catalyzed C-H activation has been reported for the expeditious assembly of pyrrolidinedione-fused 1,2-benzothiazines from free NH-sulfoximines with maleimides under mild conditions. Without the need for inert atmosphere protection, a broad range of sulfoximines with maleimides were well tolerated, producing diverse fused-thiazine derivatives in moderate to good yields. Additionally, the late-stage transformation of the target product demonstrated the potential synthetic value of this protocol.

Electrochemical N-Acylation of Sulfoximine with Hydroxamic Acid

Despite the widespread applications of sulfoximines, green and efficient access to functionalized sulfoximines remains a challenge. By employing an electrochemical strategy, we describe an approach for the construction of N-aroylsulfoximines, which features a broad substrate scope, mild reaction conditions, safety on a gram scale, and no need for an external oxidant and transition metal catalysts.

Thionyl Fluoride-Mediated One-Pot Substitutions and Reductions of Carboxylic Acids

Thionyl fluoride (SOF₂) is an underutilized reagent that is yet to be extensively studied for its synthetic applications. We previously reported that it is a powerful reagent for both the rapid syntheses of acyl fluorides and for one-pot peptide couplings, but the full scope of these nucleophilic acyl substitutions had not been explored. Herein, we report one-pot thionyl fluoride-mediated syntheses of peptides and amides (35 examples, 45-99% yields) that were not explored in our previous study. The scope of thionyl fluoride-mediated nucleophilic acyl substitutions was also expanded to encompass esters (24 examples, 64-99% yields) and thioesters (11 examples, 24-96% yields). In addition, we demonstrate that the scope of thionyl fluoride-mediated one-pot reactions can be extended beyond nucleophilic acyl substitutions to mild reductions of carboxylic acids using NaBH₄ (13 examples, 33-80% yields).

Synthesis of Six-Membered N-Heterocycle Frameworks Based on Intramolecular Metal-Free N-Centered Radical Chemistry

The formation of intramolecular C-N bond represents a powerful strategy in organic transformation as the great importance of N-heterocycles in the fields of natural products and bioactive molecules. This personal account describes the synthesis of cyclic phosphinamidation, benzosultam, benzosulfoximine, phenanthridine and their halogenated compounds through transition-metal-free intramolecular oxidative C-N bond formation. Mechanism study reveals that N-X bond is initially formed under the effect of hypervalent halogen, which is very unstable and easily undergoes thermal or light homolytic cleavage to generate nitrogen radical. Then the nitrogen radical is trapped by the arene to give aryl radical. Rearomatization of aryl radical under the oxidant to provide corresponding N-heterocycle. Under suitable conditions, the N-heterocycles can be further transformed to halogenated N-heterocycles.

Visible light-induced C-C bond cleavage in a multicomponent reaction cascade allowing acylations of sulfoximines with ketones

Visible light induces C-C-bond cleavage reactions of ketones, which can be utilized for N-acylations of sulfoximines. No (photo)catalyst is required, and the reactions occur at ambient temperature in air. The substrate scope is broad for both ketones and sulfoximines. For converting NH-sulfoximines, the presence of NBS is essential.

Decoding Directing Groups and Their Pivotal Role in C-H Activation

Synthetic organic chemistry has witnessed a plethora of functionalization and defunctionalization strategies. In this regard, C-H functionalization has been at the forefront due to the multifarious applications in the development of simple to complex molecular architectures and holds a brilliant prospect in drug development and discovery. Despite been explored tremendously by chemists, this functionalization strategy still enjoys the employment of novel metal catalysts as well metal-free organic ligands. Moreover, the switch to photo- and electrochemistry has widened our understanding of the alternative pathways via which a reaction can proceed and these strategies have garnered prominence when applied to C-H activation. Synthetic chemists have been foraging for new directing groups and templates for the selective activation of C-H bonds from a myriad of carbon-hydrogen bonds in aromatic as well as aliphatic systems. As a matter of fact, by varying the templates and directing groups, scientists found the answer to the challenge of distal C-H bond activation which remained an obstacle for a very long time. These templates have been frequently harnessed for selectively activating C-H bonds of natural products, drugs, and macromolecules decorated with multiple C-H bonds. This itself was a challenge before the commencement of this field as functionalization of a site other than the targeted site could modify and hamper the biological activity of the pharmacophore. Total synthesis and pharmacophore development often faces the difficulty of superfluous reaction steps towards selective functionalization. This obstacle has been solved by late-stage functionalization simply by harnessing C-H bond activation. Moreover, green chemistry and metal-free reaction conditions have seen light in the past few decades due to the rising concern about environmental issues. Therefore, metal-free catalysts or the usage of non-toxic metals have been recently showcased in a number of elegant works. Also, research groups across the world are developing rational strategies for directing group free or non-directed protocols that are just guided by ligands. This review encapsulates the research works pertinent to C-H bond activation and discusses the science devoted to it at the fundamental level. This review gives the readers a broad understanding of how these strategies work, the execution of various metal catalysts, and directing groups. This not only helps a budding scientist towards the commencement of his/her research but also helps a matured mind searching out for selective functionalization. A detailed picture of this field and its progress with time has been portrayed in lucid scientific language with a motive to inculcate and educate scientific minds about this beautiful strategy with an overview of the most relevant and significant works of this era. The unique trait of this review is the detailed description and classification of various directing groups and their utility over a wide substrate scope. This allows an experimental chemist to understand the applicability of this domain and employ it over any targeted substrate.

Ruthenium-catalyzed C-H amination of aroylsilanes

Acylsilane represents a valuable synthon in synthetic chemistry. We report on ruthenium(ii)-catalyzed ortho-C-H amination of aroylsilanes to provide facile access to synthetically useful imidobenzoylsilanes and tosyl-amidobenzoylsilanes. The protocols, with broad substrate scope and excellent functional group tolerance, are enabled with the weak chelation-assistance of acylsilane via C-H cyclometallation.

Monodentate Transient Directing Group Assisted Ruthenium(II)-Catalyzed Direct ortho-C-H Imidation of Benzaldehydes for Diverse Synthesis of Quinazoline and Fused Isoindolinone

2-Fluoro-5-(trifluoromethyl)aniline was found to be a suitable monodentate transient directing group (MonoTDG) to enable Ru(II)-catalyzed intermolecular direct ortho-C(sp²)-H imidation of benzaldehydes. N-Tosyloxyphthalimide was used as an alternative azide-free amidation reagent to achieve high efficiency and good functional group tolerance. Moreover, the reaction could be enlarged to gram scale, and the amidated product could be readily converted into useful quinazoline and fused isoindolinone scaffolds by one-step derivatization.

Directing Group Assisted Unsymmetrical Multiple Functionalization of Arene C-H Bonds

Multiple C-H bond functionalizations promptly install diverse groups on the molecular framework and consequently fabricate complex molecular entities. This review briefly surveys the conceptual development of directing group assisted unsymmetrical multiple functionalization of arene C(sp² )-H bonds, which is exceedingly appealing and highly important.

Copper-catalyzed ortho-C(sp2)-H amination of benzamides and picolinamides with alkylamines using oxygen as a green oxidant

A versatile Cu-catalyzed direct ortho-C(sp2)-H amination of benzamides and picolinamides with alkylamines has been achieved. This method employs cheap and eco-friendly copper as a catalyst and oxygen as an oxidant, and also has the advantages of straightforward steps and excellent functional group compatibility. Further application of our approach was demonstrated by the synthesis of TCMDC-125116, SPHINX, and SRPIN340.

A Reusable CNT-Supported Single-Atom Iron Catalyst for the Highly Efficient Synthesis of C-N Bonds

C-N bond formation is regarded as a very useful and fundamental reaction for the synthesis of nitrogen-containing molecules in both organic and pharmaceutical chemistry. Noble-metal and homogeneous catalysts have frequently been used for C-N bond formation, however, these catalysts have a number of disadvantages, such as high cost, toxicity, and low atom economy. In this work, a low-toxic and cheap iron complex (iron ethylene-1,2-diamine) has been loaded onto carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to prepare a heterogeneous single-atom catalyst (SAC) named Fe-N_x /CNTs. We employed this SAC in the synthesis of C-N bonds for the first time. It was found that Fe-N_x /CNTs is an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of C-N bonds starting from aromatic amines and ketones. Its catalytic performance was excellent, giving yields of up to 96 %, six-fold higher than the yields obtained with noble-metal catalysts, such as AuCl₃ /CNTs and RhCl₃ /CNTs. The catalyst showed efficacy in the reactions of thirteen aromatic amine substrates, without the need for additives, and seventeen enaminones were obtained. High-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy in combination with X-ray absorption spectroscopy revealed that the iron species were well dispersed in the Fe-N_x /CNTs catalyst as single atoms and that Fe-N_x might be the catalytic active species. This Fe-N_x /CNTs catalyst has potential industrial applications as it could be cycled seven times without any significant loss of activity.

Palladium-Catalyzed Decarboxylative ortho-C(sp2 )-H Aroylation of N-Sulfoximine Benzamides at Room Temperature

A palladium-catalyzed method for the decarboxylative ortho C-H acylation of N-sulfoximine benzamides is developed at room temperature. The catalytic method enables easy access to various functionalized 2-aroylaromatic carboxylic acid derivatives in good isolated yields. Based on our mechanistic studies, a Pd(II)/Pd(IV) catalytic cycle that involves aroyl radical intermediate is proposed for the reaction.

Theoretical studies on the N–X (X = Cl, O) bond activation mechanism in catalytic C–H amination

A favorable S_N2-type N–Cl bond cleavage mechanism are proposed for Rh-catalysed C–H amination, which also works for N–O bond cleavage in Rh, Ru, and Pd analogous systems. These results could provide new understanding of C–H amination.

Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Oxidative [3 + 2] Annulation of 2-Acetyl-1-arylhydrazines with Maleimides: Synthesis of Pyrrolo[3,4-b]indole-1,3-diones

A rhodium-catalyzed oxidative [3 + 2] annulation of 2-acetyl-1-phenylhydrazines with maleimides was accomplished using AgNTf₂ and Ag₂CO₃ as additive and oxidant, respectively. A variety of 2-acetyl-1-phenylhydrazines with maleimides were converted into pyrrolo[3,4-b]indole-1,3-diones in satisfactory to excellent yields. Synthetically useful functional groups, such as halogen atoms (F, Cl, Br, and I), ester, cyano, and nitro, remained intact during tandem C-H activation and annulation reactions.

Cu(II)-Mediated Ortho-C-H Amination of Arenes with Free Amines

Copper-mediated direct ortho-C-H amination of arenes has been accomplished with the aid of easily removable bidentate pyridine N-oxide as a directing group. The use of free cyclic secondary amines and anilines as aminating agents and inexpensive copper acetate makes the strategy more effective and favorable from the economic point of view. This reaction is compatible with a wide range of functional groups to synthesize a variety of amine-containing products of high interest. This method also allows the short synthesis of the central scaffold of pharmaceutically relevant Staphylococcus aureus Sortase A inhibitors.

Electrochemically induced oxidative S–O coupling: synthesis of sulfonates from sulfonyl hydrazides and N-hydroxyimides or N-hydroxybenzotriazoles

A variety of sulfonates were synthesized from sulfonyl hydrazides and N-hydroxy compounds via electrochemically induced oxidative S–O bond formation.

Cobalt-catalysed unactivated C(sp3)–H amination: two-state reactivity and multi-reference electronic character

A remarkable two-state reactivity scenario and an unusual multi-reference character have been computationally found in Co-catalysed C(sp³)–H amination. In addition, the investigation on the additive, aminating reagent, metal center, and auxiliary ligand provides implications for development of new catalytic C–H functionalization systems.

Ruthenium-catalyzed ortho-selective CAr–H amination of heteroaryl arenes with di-tert-butyldiaziridinone

Application of an oxidative amination reagent (di-tert-butyldiaziridinone) to the Ru₃(CO)₁₂-catalyzed ortho-selective C_Ar–H amination reaction is described.

A comprehensive overview of directing groups applied in metal-catalysed C-H functionalisation chemistry

The present review is devoted to summarizing the recent advances (2015-2017) in the field of metal-catalysed group-directed C-H functionalisation. In order to clearly showcase the molecular diversity that can now be accessed by means of directed C-H functionalisation, the whole is organized following the directing groups installed on a substrate. Its aim is to be a comprehensive reference work, where a specific directing group can be easily found, together with the transformations which have been carried out with it. Hence, the primary format of this review is schemes accompanied with a concise explanatory text, in which the directing groups are ordered in sections according to their chemical structure. The schemes feature typical substrates used, the products obtained as well as the required reaction conditions. Importantly, each example is commented on with respect to the most important positive features and drawbacks, on aspects such as selectivity, substrate scope, reaction conditions, directing group removal, and greenness. The targeted readership are both experts in the field of C-H functionalisation chemistry (to provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made in the last years) and, even more so, all organic chemists who want to introduce the C-H functionalisation way of thinking for a design of straightforward, efficient and step-economic synthetic routes towards molecules of interest to them. Accordingly, this review should be of particular interest also for scientists from industrial R&D sector. Hence, the overall goal of this review is to promote the application of C-H functionalisation reactions outside the research groups dedicated to method development and establishing it as a valuable reaction archetype in contemporary R&D, comparable to the role cross-coupling reactions play to date.

Radical-mediated direct C-H amination of arenes with secondary amines

Direct radical-based substitution of aryl C–H bonds allows one-pot access to valuable polycyclic aryl amines from simple secondary amines.

Aryl dialkyl amines, valuable subunits of a wide range of effect chemicals, are accessed by intramolecular amination of aromatic C–H bonds employing UV photolysis of N-chloroamines. The reactions show good functional group tolerance and allow access to a range of fused and bridged polycyclic structures. The homogeneous reaction conditions allow for the one-pot conversion of secondary amines to their arylated derivatives. Experimental and theoretical evidence supports the involvement of electrophilic aminium radicals which react via direct ortho-attack on the arene.

Ruthenium-catalyzed site-selective C-H arylation of 2-pyridones and 1-isoquinolinones

An efficient Ru(ii)-catalyzed site-selective C-H arylation of 2-pyridones and 1-isoquinolinones was achieved with boronic acids by using pyridine as a directing group. The developed protocol is general and provides rapid access to an array of C6-arylated 2-pyridones and C3-arylated 1-isoquinolinones in excellent yields. These designed arylated 2-pyridones and 1-isoquinolinones can serve as key structural motifs for accessing functionalized pyridines and isoquinolines.

An Orchestrated Unsymmetrical Annulation Episode of C(sp2)-H Bonds with Alkynes and Quinones: Access to Spiro-isoquinolones

A nontrivial Ru-catalyzed one-pot sequential oxidative coupling of a (hetero)arene/vinylic/chromene system with alkyne and quinone is presented; the methyl phenyl sulfoximine (MPS) directing group is vital. This cyclization forms four (two C-C and two C-N) bonds in a single operation and produces unusual spiro-fused-isoquinolones with a broad scope. The release of phenyl methyl sulfoxide makes the MPS group transformable. A deuterium scrambling study sheds light on the reaction path.

Transition Metal-Catalyzed C-H Amination: Scope, Mechanism, and Applications

Catalytic transformation of ubiquitous C-H bonds into valuable C-N bonds offers an efficient synthetic approach to construct N-functionalized molecules. Over the last few decades, transition metal catalysis has been repeatedly proven to be a powerful tool for the direct conversion of cheap hydrocarbons to synthetically versatile amino-containing compounds. This Review comprehensively highlights recent advances in intra- and intermolecular C-H amination reactions utilizing late transition metal-based catalysts. Initial discovery, mechanistic study, and additional applications were categorized on the basis of the mechanistic scaffolds and types of reactions. Reactivity and selectivity of novel systems are discussed in three sections, with each being defined by a proposed working mode.

Copper-catalyzed oxidative decarboxylative coupling of α-keto acids and sulfoximines

The formation of N-aroylsulfoximines via a copper-catalyzed oxidative decarboxylative coupling of α-keto acids with NH-sulfoximines is reported.

C–H imidation: a distinct perspective of C–N bond formation

The direct imidation strategy proficiently constructs C–N bonds and creates the useful amine functional group in the molecular template.