Indirect electroreductive cyclization and electrohydrocyclization using catalytic reduced nickel(II) salen

Electrocatalytic Semihydrogenation of Terminal Alkynes Using Ligand-Based Transfer of Protons and Electrons

Alkyne semihydrogenation is a broadly important transformation in chemical synthesis. Here, we introduce an electrochemical method for the selective semihydrogenation of terminal alkynes using a dihydrazonopyrrole Ni complex capable of storing an H2 equivalent (2H+ + 2e-) on the ligand backbone. This method is chemoselective for the semihydrogenation of terminal alkynes over internal alkynes or alkenes. Mechanistic studies reveal that the transformation is concerted and Z-selective. Calculations support a ligand-based hydrogen-atom transfer pathway instead of a hydride mechanism, which is commonly invoked for transition metal hydrogenation catalysts. The synthesis of the proposed intermediates demonstrates that the catalytic mechanism proceeds through a reduced formal Ni(I) species. The high yields for terminal alkene products without over-reduction or oligomerization are among the best reported for any homogeneous catalyst. Furthermore, the metal-ligand cooperative hydrogen transfer enabled with this system directs the efficient flow of H atom equivalents toward alkyne reduction rather than hydrogen evolution, providing a blueprint for applying similar strategies toward a wide range of electroreductive transformations.

Intercepting Hydrogen Evolution with Hydrogen-Atom Transfer: Electron-Initiated Hydrofunctionalization of Alkenes

Hydrogen-atom transfer mediated by earth-abundant transition-metal hydrides (M-Hs) has emerged as a powerful tool in organic synthesis. Current methods to generate M-Hs most frequently rely on oxidatively initiated hydride transfer. Herein, we report a reductive approach to generate Co-H, which allows for canonical hydrogen evolution reactions to be intercepted by hydrogen-atom transfer to an alkene. Electroanalytical and spectroscopic studies provided mechanistic insights into the formation and reactivity of Co-H, which enabled the development of two new alkene hydrofunctionalization reactions.

Designing Sites in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Are We Reaching Selectivities Competitive With Those of Homogeneous Catalysts?

A critical review of different prominent nanotechnologies adapted to catalysis is provided, with focus on how they contribute to the improvement of selectivity in heterogeneous catalysis. Ways to modify catalytic sites range from the use of the reversible or irreversible adsorption of molecular modifiers to the immobilization or tethering of homogeneous catalysts and the development of well-defined catalytic sites on solid surfaces. The latter covers methods for the dispersion of single-atom sites within solid supports as well as the use of complex nanostructures, and it includes the post-modification of materials via processes such as silylation and atomic layer deposition. All these methodologies exhibit both advantages and limitations, but all offer new avenues for the design of catalysts for specific applications. Because of the high cost of most nanotechnologies and the fact that the resulting materials may exhibit limited thermal or chemical stability, they may be best aimed at improving the selective synthesis of high value-added chemicals, to be incorporated in organic synthesis schemes, but other applications are being explored as well to address problems in energy production, for instance, and to design greener chemical processes. The details of each of these approaches are discussed, and representative examples are provided. We conclude with some general remarks on the future of this field.

Transition metal-catalyzed organic reactions in undivided electrochemical cells

Transition metal-catalyzed organic electrochemistry is a rapidly growing research area owing in part to the ability of metal catalysts to alter the selectivity of a given transformation. This conversion mainly focuses on transition metal-catalyzed anodic oxidation and cathodic reduction and great progress has been achieved in both areas. Typically, only one of the half-cell reactions is involved in the organic reaction while a sacrificial reaction occurs at the counter electrode, which is inherently wasteful since one electrode is not being used productively. Recently, transition metal-catalyzed paired electrolysis that makes use of both anodic oxidation and cathodic reduction has attracted much attention. This perspective highlights the recent progress of each type of electrochemical reaction and relatively focuses on the transition metal-catalyzed paired electrolysis, showcasing that electrochemical reactions involving transition metal catalysis have advantages over conventional reactions in terms of controlling the reaction activity and selectivity and figuring out that transition metal-catalyzed paired electrolysis is an important direction of organic electrochemistry in the future and offers numerous opportunities for new and improved organic reaction methods.

Electrocatalysis as an enabling technology for organic synthesis

Electrochemistry has recently gained increased attention as a versatile strategy for achieving challenging transformations at the forefront of synthetic organic chemistry. Electrochemistry's unique ability to generate highly reactive radical and radical ion intermediates in a controlled fashion under mild conditions has inspired the development of a number of new electrochemical methodologies for the preparation of valuable chemical motifs. Particularly, recent developments in electrosynthesis have featured an increased use of redox-active electrocatalysts to further enhance control over the selective formation and downstream reactivity of these reactive intermediates. Furthermore, electrocatalytic mediators enable synthetic transformations to proceed in a manner that is mechanistically distinct from purely chemical methods, allowing for the subversion of kinetic and thermodynamic obstacles encountered in conventional organic synthesis. This review highlights key innovations within the past decade in the area of synthetic electrocatalysis, with emphasis on the mechanisms and catalyst design principles underpinning these advancements. A host of oxidative and reductive electrocatalytic methodologies are discussed and are grouped according to the classification of the synthetic transformation and the nature of the electrocatalyst.

Electroreductive Carbofunctionalization of Alkenes with Alkyl Bromides via a Radical-Polar Crossover Mechanism

Electrochemistry grants direct access to reactive intermediates (radicals and ions) in a controlled fashion toward selective organic transformations. This feature has been demonstrated in a variety of alkene functionalization reactions, most of which proceed via an anodic oxidation pathway. In this report, we further expand the scope of electrochemistry to the reductive functionalization of alkenes. In particular, the strategic choice of reagents and reaction conditions enabled a radical-polar crossover pathway wherein two distinct electrophiles can be added across an alkene in a highly chemo- and regioselective fashion. Specifically, we used this strategy in the intermolecular carboformylation, anti-Markovnikov hydroalkylation, and carbocarboxylation of alkenes-reactions with rare precedents in the literature-by means of the electroreductive generation of alkyl radical and carbanion intermediates. These reactions employ readily available starting materials (alkyl halides, alkenes, etc.) and simple, transition-metal-free conditions and display broad substrate scope and good tolerance of functional groups. A uniform protocol can be used to achieve all three transformations by simply altering the reaction medium. This development provides a new avenue for constructing Csp3-Csp3 bonds.

Dual electrocatalysis enables enantioselective hydrocyanation of conjugated alkenes

Chiral nitriles and their derivatives are prevalent in pharmaceuticals and bioactive compounds. Enantioselective alkene hydrocyanation represents a convenient and efficient approach for synthesizing these molecules. However, a generally applicable method featuring a broad substrate scope and high functional group tolerance remains elusive. Here, we address this long-standing synthetic problem using dual electrocatalysis. Using this strategy, we leverage electrochemistry to seamlessly combine two canonical radical reactions—cobalt-mediated hydrogen-atom transfer and copper-promoted radical cyanation—to accomplish highly enantioselective hydrocyanation without the need for stoichiometric oxidants. We also harness electrochemistry’s unique feature of precise potential control to optimize the chemoselectivity of challenging substrates. Computational analysis uncovers the origin of enantio-induction, for which the chiral catalyst imparts a combination of attractive and repulsive non-covalent interactions to direct the enantio-determining C–CN bond formation. This work demonstrates the power of electrochemistry in accessing new chemical space and providing solutions to pertinent challenges in synthetic chemistry.

Unprecedented reductive cyclisation of salophen ligands to tetrahydroquinoxalines during metal complex formation

The synthesis of novel tetrahydroquinoxalines by a metal induced one-electron reductive cyclisation of salophen ligands was found to occur when a salophen ligand was treated with chromium(ii) chloride or decamethylcobaltocene.

Transition metal-catalyzed electrochemical processes for C–C bond formation

A comprehensive electro-organometallic review has been carried out on C–C bond formation via variety of metals between 1984 and 2019.

Nickel-catalyzed electrochemical reductive decarboxylative coupling of N-hydroxyphthalimide esters with quinoxalinones

The first example of electrochemically enabled, NiCl₂-catalyzed reductive decarboxylative coupling of N-hydroxyphthalimide esters with quinoxalinones was developed.

A mild electroassisted synthesis of (hetero)arylphosphonates

The first example of a nickel-catalyzed electrochemical coupling between dimethyl phosphite and (hetero)aryl halides to furnish (hetero)arylphosphonates is described.

Synthetic Organic Electrochemical Methods Since 2000: On the Verge of a Renaissance

Electrochemistry represents one of the most intimate ways of interacting with molecules. This review discusses advances in synthetic organic electrochemistry since 2000. Enabling methods and synthetic applications are analyzed alongside innate advantages as well as future challenges of electroorganic chemistry.

Electrochemically Enabled, Nickel-Catalyzed Amination

Along with amide bond formation, Suzuki cross-coupling, and reductive amination, the Buchwald-Hartwig-Ullmann-type amination of aryl halides stands as one of the most employed reactions in modern medicinal chemistry. The work herein demonstrates the potential of utilizing electrochemistry to provide a complementary avenue to access such critical bonds using an inexpensive nickel catalyst under mild reaction conditions. Of note is the scalability, functional-group tolerance, rapid rate, and the ability to employ a variety of aryl donors (Ar-Cl, Ar-Br, Ar-I, Ar-OTf), amine types (primary and secondary), and even alternative X-H donors (alcohols and amides).

Room-temperature Cu-catalyzed N-arylation of aliphatic amines in neat water

A room-temperature copper-catalyzed N-arylation of aliphatic amines with great selectivity and substrate scope tolerance in neat water has been developed.

Varying structural motifs in the salen based metal complexes of Co(ii), Ni(ii) and Cu(ii): synthesis, crystal structures, molecular dynamics and biological activities

Four new metal complexes which demonstrates varying structural motifs from monomeric to dimeric to tetrameric complexes by slightly altering the reaction conditions and their biological applications.

Optimizing electron transfer mediators based on arylimidazoles by ring fusion: synthesis, electrochemistry, and computational analysis of 2-aryl-1-methylphenanthro[9,10-d]imidazoles

A significant improvement of the properties of redox catalysts based on the triarylimidazole framework can be achieved with a simple structural modification. By linking the ortho-carbons of the aromatics positioned at C-4 and C-5, a fused framework is generated, removing the distortion from planarity and enhancing the influence of the substituents on the redox properties. This modification leads not only to a much broader range of available redox potentials for the resulting phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazoles but also to improved stability of the corresponding radical cation. These concepts were verified with eight new phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole derivatives, using cyclic voltammetry and DFT calculations. For this purpose, an optimized and general synthetic route to the desired compounds was developed. An excellent linear correlation of the calculated effective ionization potentials with the experimental oxidation potentials was obtained, allowing for an accurate prediction of oxidation potentials of derivatives yet to be synthesized. Moreover, high catalytic activity was found for electro-oxidative C-H activation reactions.

Soluble-support-assisted electrochemical reactions: application to anodic disulfide bond formation

A soluble-support-assisted technique was successfully applied to electrochemical reactions, leading to anodic disulfide bond formation. The support-bound peptide was soluble in electrolyte solution, allowing electron transfer at the surface of the electrodes. After completion of the reaction, the support-bound product was recovered as a precipitate by simple dilution of the reaction mixture with poor solvent.

Novel triacsin C analogs as potential antivirals against rotavirus infections

Recently our group has demonstrated that cellular triglyceride (TG) levels play an important role in rotavirus replication. In this study, we further examined the roles of the key enzymes for TG synthesis (lipogenesis) in the replication of rotaviruses by using inhibitors of fatty acid synthase, long chain fatty acid acyl-CoA synthetase (ACSL), and diacylglycerol acyltransferase and acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase in association with lipid droplets of which TG is a major component. Triacsin C, a natural ACSL inhibitor from Streptomyces aureofaciens, was found to be highly effective against rotavirus replication. Thus, novel triacsin C analogs were synthesized and evaluated for their efficacies against the replication of rotaviruses in cells. Many of the analogs significantly reduced rotavirus replication, and one analog (1e) was highly effective at a nanomolar concentration range (ED(50) 0.1μM) with a high therapeutic index in cell culture. Our results suggest a crucial role of lipid metabolism in rotavirus replication, and triacsin C and/or its analogs as potential therapeutic options for rotavirus infections.

Radicals in transition metal catalyzed reactions? transition metal catalyzed radical reactions?: a fruitful interplay anyway: part 3: catalysis by group 10 and 11 elements and bimetallic catalysis

This review summarizes the current status of transition metal catalyzed reactions involving radical intermediates in organic chemistry. This part focuses on radical-based methods catalyzed by group 10 and group 11 metal complexes. Reductive and redox-neutral C-C bond formations catalyzed by low-valent metal complexes as well as catalytic oxidative methods are reviewed. Catalytic processes which rely on the combination of two metal complexes are also covered.

Prediction of reduction potentials from calculated electron affinities for metal-salen compounds

The electron affinities (EAs) of a training set of 19 metal-salen compounds were calculated using density functional theory. Concurrently, the experimental reduction potentials for the training set were measured using cyclic voltammetry. The EAs and reduction potentials were found to be linearly correlated by metal. The reduction potentials of a test set of 14 different metal-salens were then measured and compared to the predicted reduction potentials based upon the training set correlation. The method was found to work well, with a mean unsigned error of 99 mV for the entire test set. This method could be used to predict the reduction potentials of a variety of metal-salen compounds, an important class of coordination compounds used in synthetic organic electrochemistry as electrocatalysts.