A Fast, High-Yield Preparation of Vicinal Dinitro Compounds Using HOF·CH3CN

Copper-Catalyzed α-Arylation of Nitroalkanes with (Hetero)aryl Bromides/Iodides

α-Aryl substituted nitroalkanes are valuable synthetic building blocks that can be easily converted into α-aryl substituted aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, as well as amines. Herein, an efficient Cu/oxalamide-catalyzed coupling between nitroalkanes and (hetero)aryl halides (Br, I) was developed to direct access highly diverse α-aryl substituted nitroalkanes. Compared with the current state of art, this protocol is more environmentally friendly and practical for synthetic chemists. This approach is characterized by a broad substrate scope on both nitroalkane part (primary nitroalkanes and nitromethane) and sp2 halide part ((hetero)aryl bromides/iodides and alkenyl bromides/iodides). The excellent functional group tolerance was observed, which would enable real world synthetic applications. More importantly, TON of current transformation reached to 3640, when some aryl iodides were used as coupling partners. This represents currently the highest catalyst turnover for transition-metal catalyzed α-arylation of nitroalkanes. Furthermore, the successful application in late-stage modification of complex molecules and synthesis of a known retinoid X receptor (RXR) antagonist exemplified its synthetic potential.

Synthesis of Nitroarenes by Oxidation of Aryl Amines

Nitro compounds are an important class of organic molecules with broad application in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, and materials science. Among the variety of methodologies available for their synthesis, the direct oxidation of primary amines represents an attractive alternative route. Efforts towards the development of oxidative procedures for the synthesis of nitro derivatives have spanned over the past decades, leading to a wide variety of protocols for the selective oxidative conversion of amines to nitro derivatives. Methods for the synthesis of nitroarenes via oxidation of aryl amines, with particular emphasis on recent advances in the field, are summarised in this review.

HOF·CH3CN: probably the best oxygen transfer agent organic chemistry has to offer

The complex HOF·CH3CN is readily obtained by bubbling dilute fluorine into aqueous acetonitrile solution. It does not have to be purified or isolated, and its solution can react as is, after the concentration has been establish by any iodometric method. It is the only reagent possessing a distinctive positive oxygen species. This enables electrophilic oxygen transfer with results no other reagent can match. HOF·CH3CN demonstrates its ability in epoxidations that either could not be performed before or could only obtained 5 orders of magnitude slower. This complex is also an excellent tool for oxygenation of compounds at the α position of a carbonyl, including the synthesis of some hard-to-come-by indanediones, which are important for fingerprint visualization on paper. HOF·CH3CN proves itself as a very efficient reagent for oxygenating tertiary nitrogen atoms both in aliphatic (including azides) and in aromatic amines, which could not be accomplished despite many attempts in the last 50 years. Oxygenation of two tertiary nitrogen atoms in the same molecule also becomes feasible as demonstrated for various phenanthrolines, bipyridines, diazafluorenones, and quinoxalines. It was also used to oxygenate primary amines, and because of the exceptionally mild conditions, it could transform vicinal aliphatic diamines to vicinal dinitro derivatives as well as amino acids to the corresponding nitro ones, practically unknown transformations before. Its ability to react with azines and hydrazones and convert them to the original carbonyls helped to establish these groups as good protecting tools for a variety of carbonyls. HOF·CH3CN excels in oxygenation of various sulfur and selenium compounds that could not be oxygenated in the past. The selectivity of the oxidation is quite good, and if there are alcohols, double bonds, and sulfides in the same molecule, usually the sulfur atom will be attacked first. Of special interest is the reaction with oligothiophenes resulting at will in either [all]-S,S-dioxooligothiophenes or in partially oxygenated ones. Some of these last derivatives have the narrowest HOMO-LUMO gap of all oligothiophenes tested, a very desirable feature. This reagent can also oxidize thiols or disulfides to either sulfonic or sulfinic acids at will, all in seconds and in very high yields. Since the oxygen atom of HOF·CH3CN originates in water, it is very easy and relatively inexpensive to introduce the heavy oxygen isotope in many sites of a variety of molecules, some of them quite important. The (18)O tirapazamine and any desirable alcohol, R(Ar)(18)OH, are two examples.

Oxidation of azides by the HOF.CH3CN: a novel synthesis of nitro compounds

The HOF.CH3CN complex, readily prepared by passing F2 through aqueous acetonitrile, is an exceptionally efficient oxygen transfer agent. It is unique in its capacity to oxidize various azides into the corresponding nitro derivatives. This method requires short reactions times and room temperature or below, and the desired nitro compounds were usually isolated in very good yields. The respective nitroso derivatives are believed to be the intermediates in this reaction. Functional groups such as aromatic rings, ketones, nitriles, halides, alcohols, and esters are tolerated. Sulfides react with HOF.CH3CN usually at the same rate as azides. Amines and olefins, however, react faster, so they have to be protected first. Nitro derivatives with various oxygen isotopes can be made using the labeled H18OF.CH3CN. In the case of chiral azides the stereochemistry around the nitrogen-bonded carbons is retained.

A New Efficient Route for the Formation of Quinoxaline N-Oxides and N,N‘-Dioxides Using HOF·CH3CN

HOF.CH3CN, a very efficient oxygen-transfer agent made readily from fluorine and aqueous acetonitrile, was reacted with various quinoxaline derivatives to give the corresponding mono N-oxides and especially the N,N'-dioxides in very good yields under mild conditions and short reaction times.

Easy access to the family of thiazole N-oxides using HOF x CH3CN

An efficient procedure for transferring an oxygen atom to thiazole-containing compounds, resulting in the corresponding N-oxides, was developed by using HOF x CH3CN; mild reaction conditions, high yields and easy purification are the main features of this novel route, while X-ray structural analysis reveals a hydrogen bond between the N-oxide functionality and a water molecule.

Rozen's Epoxidation Reagent, CH3CN·HOF: A Theoretical Study of Its Structure, Vibrational Spectroscopy, and Reaction Mechanism

Rozen's epoxidation reagent, CH(3)CN.HOF, and a prototype epoxidation reaction employing it, have been subjected to an extensive ab initio and density functional study. Its anharmonic force field reveals a very strong red shift for the OH stretch and a strong blue shift for the HOF bend, in semiquantitative agreement with experiment. The very strong hydrogen bond (8.20 kcal/mol at the W1 level) not only serves to stabilize the reactant but also considerably lowers the barrier height for epoxidation of ethylene. Moreover, the reaction byproduct HF is found to act autocatalytically. The OH moiety acquires HO(+) character in the transition state. Our W1 benchmark data for the reaction profile allow the performance of various DFT functionals to be assessed. In general, "kinetics" functionals overestimate barrier heights, the BMK functional less so than the others. The B1B95 and TPSS33B95 meta-GGA functionals both perform very well, whereas general-purpose hybrid GGAs underestimate barrier heights. The simple PBE0 functional does reasonably well.

Synthesis of 1,10-N,N‘-Phenanthroline Dioxides Using HOF·CH3CN Complex

[reaction: see text] HOF.CH(3)CN, a very efficient oxygen-transfer agent, made readily from F(2), H(2)O, and CH(3)CN, was reacted with various 1,10-phenanthroline derivatives to form the corresponding N,N'-dioxides in good yields and short reaction times.