Catalytic Synthesis of Cyclic Guanidines via Hydrogen Atom Transfer and Radical-Polar Crossover

Regioselective 5-exo-dig (halo)cyclization of N-propargyloxycarbonyl guanidine derivatives under mild conditions

A highly regioselective 5-exo-dig cyclization of aromatic N-propargyloxycarbonyl guanidines was developed via an Ag(I)-catalyzed intramolecular hydroamination reaction. This method features a fast reaction rate and mild reaction conditions. Furthermore, it was extended to access halogenated analogues via a one-pot Ag(I)-catalyzed bromocyclization reaction or an I2-mediated iodocyclization reaction with high E/Z selectivity.

Photo- and Cobalt-Catalyzed Synthesis of Heterocycles via Cycloisomerization of Unactivated Olefins

We report a general, intramolecular cycloisomerization of unactivated olefins with pendant nucleophiles. The reaction proceeds under mild conditions and tolerates ethers, esters, protected amines, acetals, pyrazoles, carbamates, and arenes. It is amenable to N-, O-, as well as C-nucleophiles, yielding a number of different heterocycles including, but not limited to, pyrrolidines, piperidines, oxazolidinones, and lactones. Use of both a benzothiazinoquinoxaline as organophotocatalyst and a Co-salen catalyst obviates the need for stoichiometric oxidant or reductant. We showcase the utility of the protocol in late-stage drug diversification and synthesis of several small natural products.

Mechanism of Alkene Hydrofunctionalization by Oxidative Cobalt(salen) Catalyzed Hydrogen Atom Transfer

Oxidative MHAT hydrofunctionalization of alkenes provides a mild cobalt-catalyzed route to forming C-N and C-O bonds. Here, we characterize relevant salen-supported cobalt complexes and their reactions with alkenes, silanes, oxidant, and solvent. These stoichiometric investigations are complemented by kinetic studies of the catalytic reaction and catalyst speciation. We describe the solution characterization of an elusive cobalt(III) fluoride complex, which surprisingly is not the species that reacts with silane under catalytic conditions; rather, a cobalt(III) aquo complex is more active. Accordingly, the addition of water (0.15 M) speeds the catalytic reaction, and kinetic studies show that water addition enables catalytic product formation in 2 h at -50 °C in acetone. Under these conditions, cobalt(III) resting states can be observed by UV-vis spectrophotometry, including a cobalt(III)-alkyl complex. It comes from a transient cobalt(III) hydride complex that is formed in the turnover-limiting step of the catalytic cycle. This hydride readily degrades but not to H2; it releases H+ through a bimetallic pathway that explains the [Co]2 dependence of the off-cycle reaction. In contrast, the rate of the catalytic reaction follows the power law kobs[Co]1[silane]1. Because of the different [Co] dependence of the catalytic reaction and the degradation reaction, lower catalyst loading improves the yield of the catalytic reaction by reducing the relative rate of unproductive silane/oxidant consumption. These studies illuminate mechanistic details of oxidative MHAT hydrofunctionalization of alkenes and lay the groundwork for understanding other catalytic reactions mediated by cobalt hydride and cobalt alkyl complexes.

Silver acetate-catalyzed synthesis of cyclic sulfonyl guanidine with exocyclic double bond

An efficient protocol for the synthesis of cyclic guanidine with exocyclic double bond has been developed. The synthesis has been achieved via intramolecular hydroamination of an intermediate propargyl guanidine by using silver acetate as catalyst in the presence of acetic acid. The reaction proceeds via the formation of acyclic propargyl guanidine in a one-pot reaction of N,N-dibromoarylsulfonamides, isonitriles, and propargylamine in the presence of K2CO3. In the second stage of the synthesis, the acyclic guanidine selectively undergoes 5-exo-dig cyclization in the presence of silver acetate and acetic acid to produce the five-membered cyclic guanidine framework having an exocyclic double bond as the constituent part. Short reaction time, wide substrate scope with good to high yields, and good functional group tolerance are the remarkable achievement of the present protocol.

Fe-Catalyzed Hydroallylation of Unactivated Alkenes with Vinyl Cyclopropanes

Catalytic, reductive C-C bond formation between alkenes and vinyl cyclopropane (VCP) through hydrogen atom transfer (MHAT) is developed. Despite VCP's use as probes in radical-clock experiments, translation of this manifold into synthetic methods for accessing elusive C-C bonds remains largely unexplored. This work represents the first foray into this front where the high chemoselectivity of MHAT for alkene over VCP was pivotal for realizing the strategy. This method exhibits a broad scope, high functional group tolerance, and useful applications.

Intermolecular Hydroalkoxylation and Hydrocarboxylation of 2-Azadienes with High Efficiency

Described here is a method for intermolecular hydroalkoxylation and hydrocarboxylation of 2-azadienes through cobalt-catalyzed hydrogen atom transfer and oxidation. This protocol provides a source of 2-azaallyl cation equivalents under mild conditions, is chemoselective in the presence of other C═C double bonds, and requires no excess amount of added alcohol or oxidant. Mechanistic studies suggest that the selectivity arises from lowering the transition state that leads to the highly stabilized 2-azaallyl radical.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Enantioselective Hydroamination of Arylalkenes with Secondary Amines

Catalytic asymmetric hydroamination of alkenes with Lewis basic amines is of great interest but remains a challenge in synthetic chemistry. Here, we developed a Co-catalyzed asymmetric hydroamination of arylalkenes directly using commercially accessible secondary amines. This process enables the efficient access to valuable α-chiral tertiary amines in good to excellent yields and enantioselectivities. Mechanistic studies suggest that the reaction includes a CoH-mediated hydrogen atom transfer (MHAT) with arylalkenes, followed by a pivotal catalyst controlled S_N 2-like pathway between in situ generated electrophilic cationic alkylcobalt(IV) species and free amines. This radical-polar crossover strategy not only provides a straightforward and alternative approach for the synthesis of enantioenriched α-tertiary amines, but also underpins the substantial opportunities in developing asymmetric radical functionalization of alkenes with various free nucleophiles in oxidative MHAT catalysis.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Asymmetric Alkylation of (Hetero)Arenes with Styrenes

An efficient and general intermolecular Cobalt(II)-catalyzed asymmetric alkylation of styrenes with (hetero)arenes including indoles, thiophene and electron rich arenes has been developed, providing straightforward access to enantioenriched alkyl(hetero)arenes with high enantioselectivity. Mechanistic studies suggest that the reaction underwent a CoH-mediated hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) with alkenes, followed by a pivotal catalyst-controlled S_N 2-like pathway between in situ generated organocobalt(IV) species and aromatic nucleophiles. This is the first CoH-catalyzed asymmetric hydrofunctionalization using carbon nucleophiles, providing a new strategy for asymmetric Friedel-Crafts type alkylation.

Cobalt-Carbon Bonding in a Salen-Supported Cobalt(IV) Alkyl Complex Postulated in Oxidative MHAT Catalysis

The catalytic hydrofunctionalization of alkenes through radical-polar crossover metal hydrogen atom transfer (MHAT) offers a mild pathway for the introduction of functional groups in sterically congested environments. For M = Co, this reaction is often proposed to proceed through secondary alkylcobalt(IV) intermediates, which have not been characterized unambiguously. Here, we characterize a metastable (salen)Co(isopropyl) cation, which is capable of forming C-O bonds with alcohols as proposed in the catalytic reaction. Electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopy of this formally cobalt(IV) species establishes the presence of the cobalt-carbon bond, and accompanying DFT calculations indicate that the unpaired electron is localized on the cobalt center. Both experimental and computational studies show that the cobalt(IV)-carbon bond is stronger than the analogous bond in its cobalt(III) analogue, which is opposite of the usual oxidation state trend of bond energies. This phenomenon is attributable to an inverted ligand field that gives the bond Co^δ--C^δ+ character and explains its electrophilic reactivity at the alkyl group. The inverted Co-C bond polarity also stabilizes the formally cobalt(IV) alkyl complex so that it is accessible at unusually low potentials. Even another cobalt(III) complex, [(salen)Co^III]⁺, is capable of oxidizing (salen)Co^III(iPr) to the formally cobalt(IV) state. These results give insight into the electronic structure, energetics, and reactivity of a key reactive intermediate in oxidative MHAT catalysis.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Cyclization of Unsaturated N-Acyl Sulfonamides: a Diverted Mukaiyama Hydration Reaction

The cycloisomerization of β-, γ-, and δ-unsaturated N-acyl sulfonamides to N-sulfonyl lactams and imidates is reported. This transformation is effected in the presence of a Co^III(salen) catalyst using t-BuOOH or air as the oxidant. The method shows good functional group tolerance (alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, ether, N-Boc) and furnishes an underexplored class of cyclic building blocks. The strong solvent dependence of the transformation is investigated, and the synthetic versatility of the N-sulfonyl imidate product class is highlighted.

CoH-catalyzed radical hydroalkylation of alkenes with 1,3-dicarbonyls

Metal-hydride hydrogen atom transfer (MHAT) catalysis has emerged as a useful reaction platform for alkene hydrofunctionalization with high chemoselectivity and predictable branched selectivity. However, MHAT-mediated hydrofunctionalization involves carbon-carbon bond formation still confined to carbon electrophiles. Here, we describe a mild, general, scalable, and functional group tolerant CoH-catalyzed intermolecular hydroalkylation of alkenes with 1,3-dicarbonyls. This kind of CoH-catalyzed coupling of alkenes with carbon nucleophiles represents an important complement to the arsenal of MHAT-initiated hydrofunctionalization of alkenes.

Direct synthesis for N2-unprotected five-membered cyclic guanidines by regioselective [3+2] annulation of aziridines and cyanamides

A novel and efficient [3+2] annulation of 2-substituted aziridines and N-tosyl cyanamides via domino regioselective ring-opening/5-exo-dig cyclization procedure has been developed, allowing the direct preparation for N2-unprotected five-membered cyclic guanidines...

Co-catalyzed C(sp3)−C(sp2) bond cleavage via hydrogen atom transfer

The discovery of a new Co-catalyzed hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) C(sp3)-C(sp2) bond cleavage method to access ketones from alkenes is reported. This unprecedented transformation features mild reaction conditions and good...

Cobalt-catalyzed Divergent Markovnikov and Anti-Markovnikov Hydroamination

Catalytic hydroamination of the readily available alkenes is among the most straightforward means to construct diverse alkyl amines. To this end, the facile access to both regioselectivity, i.e., Markovnikov or anti-Markovnikov hydroamination, with minimum reaction-parameter alternation, remains challenging. Herein, we report a cobalt-catalyzed highly selective and divergent Markovnikov and anti-Markovnikov hydroamination of alkenes, in which the switch of regioselectivity is achieved simply by the variation of the addition sequence of 9-BBN.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Radical Hydroamination of Alkenes with N-Fluorobenzenesulfonimides

An efficient and general radical hydroamination of alkenes using Co(salen) as catalyst, N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) and its analogues as both nitrogen source and oxidant was successfully disclosed. A variety of alkenes, including aliphatic alkenes, styrenes, α, β-unsaturated esters, amides, acids, as well as enones, were all compatible to provide desired amination products. Mechanistic experiments suggest that the reaction underwent a metal-hydride-mediated hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) with alkene, followed by a pivotal catalyst controlled S_N 2-like pathway between in situ generated organocobalt(IV) species and nitrogen-based nucleophiles. Moreover, by virtue of modified chiral cobalt(II)-salen catalyst, an unprecedented asymmetric version was also achieved with good to excellent level of enantiocontrol. This novel asymmetric radical C-N bond construction opens a new door for the challenging asymmetric radical hydrofunctionalization.

Earth-Abundant 3d Transition Metal Catalysts for Hydroalkoxylation and Hydroamination of Unactivated Alkenes

This review summarizes the most noteworthy achievements in the field of C–O and C–N bond formation by hydroalkoxylation and hydroamination reactions on unactivated alkenes (including 1,2- and 1,3-dienes) promoted by earth-abundant 3d transition metal catalysts based on manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper and zinc. The relevant literature from 2012 until early 2021 has been covered.