Dual Activation of Nucleophiles and Electrophiles by N-Heterocyclic Carbene Organocatalysis: Chemoselective N-Imination of Indoles with Isocyanides

Regioselective C3Alkylation of Indoles for the Synthesis of Bis(indolyl)methanes and 3-Styryl Indoles

Herein, we describe an efficient transition-metal-free regioselective C3alkylation of indoles for the synthesis of bis(indolyl)methanes and 3-styryl indoles. Nitrobenzene is employed as the oxidant to oxidize the alcohols in the presence of a strong base and the reaction avoids the use of transition metals such as Ru and Mn. The protocol provides a favorable route to access biologically active compounds such as arundine, vibrindole A, and turbomycin B.

Rationally designed conjugated microporous polymers for efficient photocatalytic chemical transformations of isocyanides

Click-based conjugated microporous polymers have been rationally designed and prepared for efficient N–H insertion like reaction of aryl isocyanides and photosynthesis of thiocarbamates.

Transition-metal and oxidant-free approach for the synthesis of diverse N-heterocycles by TMSCl activation of isocyanides

A highly efficient TMSCl-mediated addition of N-nucleophiles to isocyanides has been achieved. This transition-metal and oxidant-free strategy has been applied to the construction of various N-heterocyles such as quinazolinone, benzimidazole and benzothiazole derivatives by the use of distinct amino-based binucleophiles. The notable feature of this protocol includes its mild reaction condition, broad functional group tolerance and excellent yield.

A highly efficient TMSCl-mediated addition of N-nucleophiles to isocyanides has been achieved.

Chiral Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles Induced by Polymers Synthesized via Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization

Chiral inorganic nanomaterials are of great interest because of their excellent optical properties. Most of the attention has been focused on the utilization of biomolecules or their derivatives as linkers or templates to control the chiral structure of assembled inorganic nanoparticles. Chiral polymers are promising synthetic materials that can be used to replace their biological counterparts. Here, by using poly(methacrylate hydroxyethyl-3-indole propionate) (PIPEMA) and poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) synthesized via syndioselective reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization, we successfully realized chiral self-assembly of gold nanorods with strong circular dichroism response in the vis-NIR region. Moreover, the intensity of the chiral signal of the assemblies can be regulated by the molecular weight of the polymers. Notably, although the monomers are achiral and no chiral reagents are involved in their synthesis, the main chains of PIPEMA and PHEMA exhibit a preferred-handed helical conformation, which is the origin of chirality of the nanorod assemblies. The preferred-handed helical conformation of polymers is attributed to their syndiotacticity and stabilized by the steric hindrance of the side groups. The addition of chiral carbon atoms at the side groups does not change the preferred-handedness of the polymer main chain, resulting in the assembled nanorod structures with the same chirality. This strategy provides inspiration for the rational design and synthesis of optically active functional synthetic polymers for the preparation of promising chiral nanomaterials.

Oxidative organocatalytic chemoselective N-acylation of heterocycles with aromatic and conjugated aldehydes

The oxidative organocatalytic acylation of indoles with aldehydes serves as an alternative to sensitive acyl chlorides and coupling agents.