FMPhos: Expanding the Catalytic Capacity of Small-Bite-Angle Bisphosphine Ligands in Regioselective Alkene Hydrofunctionalizations

NiII, PdII and PtII pincer complexes of 2-(diphenylphosphanyl)-N-(2-(diphenyl-phosphanyl)benzyl)benzamide: synthesis, reactivity and catalytic studies

In this article, the synthesis of bis(phosphine), o-Ph2PC6H4C(O)N(H)CH2C6H4PPh2-o (1) (hereafter referred to as "PCNHCP" and its anionic form as "PCNCP") and its group 10 metal chemistry and catalytic studies are described. PCNHCP (1) on reaction with NiCl2(DME) and PdCl2(COD) afforded pincer complexes, [MCl{(PCNCP)κ3-P,N,P}] (M = Ni, 2; Pd, 3). A similar reaction of 1 with PtCl2(COD) yielded a chelate complex, [PtCl2{(PCNHCP)κ2-P,P}] (4), which on further treatment with LiHMDS produced the 1,2-azaphospholene-phosphine complex, [PtCl(Ph){(o-P(Ph)C6H4CONCH2C6H4PPh2-o)κ2-P,P}] (5) via P-C/P-N bond metathesis. Passing dry HCl gas through the solution of 5 resulted in benzene elimination to form [PtCl2{(o-P(Ph)C6H4CONCH2C6H4PPh2-o)κ2-P,P}] (6). Treatment of 1 with PtCl2(COD) and Pt(Cl)(Me)(COD) in the presence of a base resulted in pincer complexes [PtX{(PCNCP)κ3-P,N,P}] (X = Cl, 7; Me, 8). Nickel complex 2 catalyzed the Suzuki-Miyaura cross coupling reaction between bromobenzene and phenyl boronic acid to give the corresponding biphenyls in good yield. The platinum complex 5 showed good catalytic activity towards regio- and stereoselective hydroboration of terminal alkynes. Both the catalytic reactions were performed under mild reaction conditions with a very low catalyst loading.

Cascade Electrocatalytic and Thermocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to Propionaldehyde

Electrochemical CO2 reduction can convert CO2 to value-added chemicals, but its selectivity toward C3+ products are very limited. One possible solution is to run the reactions in hybrid processes by coupling electrocatalysis with other catalytic routes. In this contribution, we report the cascade electrocatalytic and thermocatalytic reduction of CO2 to propionaldehyde. Using Cu(OH)2 nanowires as the precatalyst, CO2 /H2 O is reduced to concentrated C2 H4 , CO, and H2 gases in a zero-gap membrane electrode assembly (MEA) reactor. The thermochemical hydroformylation reaction is separately investigated with a series of rhodium-phosphine complexes. The best candidate is identified to be the one with the 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane diphosphine ligand, which exhibits a propionaldehyde turnover number of 1148 under a mild temperature and close-to-atmospheric pressure. By coupling and optimizing the upstream CO2 electroreduction and downstream hydroformylation reaction, we achieve a propionaldehyde selectivity of ~38 % and a total C3 oxygenate selectivity of 44 % based on reduced CO2 . These values represent a more than seven times improvement over the best prior electrochemical system alone or over two times improvement over other hybrid systems.

Iridium-Catalyzed Remote Site-Switchable Hydroarylation of Alkenes Controlled by Ligands

An iridium-catalyzed remote site-switchable hydroarylation of alkenes was reported, delivering the products functionalized at the subterminal methylene and terminal methyl positions on an alkyl chain controlled by two different ligands, respectively, in good yields and with good to excellent site-selectivities. The catalytic system showed good functional group tolerance and a broad substrate scope, including unactivated and activated alkenes. More importantly, the regioconvergent transformations of mixtures of isomeric alkenes were also successfully realized. The results of the mechanistic studies demonstrate that the reaction undergoes a chain-walking process to give an [Ar-Ir-H] complex of terminal alkene. The subsequent processes proceed through the modified Chalk-Harrod-type mechanism via the migratory insertion of terminal alkene into the Ir-C bond followed by C-H reductive elimination to afford the hydrofunctionalization products site-selectively.

The synthesis of single-atom catalysts for heterogeneous catalysis

Heterogeneous catalysis is an important class of reactions in industrial production, especially in green chemical synthesis, and environmental and organic catalysis. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have emerged as promising candidates for heterogeneous catalysis, due to their outstanding catalytic activity, high selectivity, and maximum atomic utilization efficiency. The high specific surface energy of SACs, however, results in the migration and aggregation of isolated atoms under typical reaction conditions. The controllable preparation of highly efficient and stable SACs has been a serious challenge for applications. Herein, we summarize the recent progress in the precise synthesis of SACs and their different heterogeneous catalyses, especially involving the oxidation and reduction reactions of small organic molecules. At the end of this review, we also introduce the challenges confronted by single-atom materials in heterogeneous catalysis. This review aims to promote the generation of novel high-efficiency SACs by providing an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the current development in this research field.

Visible-light-initiated regio- and stereoselective C(sp2)–H phosphorylation of enamides under transition-metal-free conditions

A visible-light-induced stereo- and regioselective phosphorylation of enamides with phosphine oxides under transition-metal-free conditions has been disclosed.

Development and Mechanistic Studies of the Iridium-Catalyzed C-H Alkenylation of Enamides with Vinyl Acetates: A Versatile Approach for Ketone Functionalization

Ketone functionalization is a cornerstone of organic synthesis. Herein, we describe the development of an intermolecular C-H alkenylation of enamides with the feedstock chemical vinyl acetate to access diverse functionalized ketones. Enamides derived from various cyclic and acyclic ketones reacted efficiently, and a number of sensitive functional groups were tolerated. In this iridium-catalyzed transformation, two structurally and electronically similar alkenes-enamide and vinyl acetate-underwent selective cross-coupling through C-H activation. No reaction partner was used in large excess. The reaction is also pH- and redox-neutral with HOAc as the only stoichiometric by-product. Detailed experimental and computational studies revealed a reaction mechanism involving 1,2-Ir-C migratory insertion followed by syn-β-acetoxy elimination, which is different from that of previous vinyl acetate mediated C-H activation reactions. Finally, the alkenylation product can serve as a versatile intermediate to deliver a variety of structurally modified ketones.

Ligand-Controlled Regiodivergent Thiocarbonylation of Alkynes toward Linear and Branched α,β-Unsaturated Thioesters

Thiocarbonylation of alkynes offers an ideal procedure for the synthesis of unsaturated thioesters. A robust ligand-controlled regioselective thiocarbonylation of alkynes is developed. Utilizing boronic acid and 5-chlorosalicylic acid as the acid additive to in situ form 5-chloroborosalicylic acid (5-Cl-BSA), and bis(2-diphenylphosphinophenyl)ether (DPEphos) as the ligand, linear α,β-unsaturated thioesters were produced in a straightforward manner. Switching the ligand to tri(2-furyl)phosphine can turn the reaction selectivity to give branched products. Remarkably, this approach also represents the first example on thiocarbonylation of internal alkynes.

Photoinitiated stereoselective direct C(sp2)–H perfluoroalkylation and difluoroacetylation of enamides

Photoinitiated regio- and stereoselective C(sp²)–H perfluoroalkylation and difluoroacetylation of enamides are developed, furnishing biologically and physiologically privileged fluoro-containing enamide scaffolds.