Removal of the Pyridine Directing Group from α-Substituted N-(Pyridin-2-yl)piperidines Obtained via Directed Ru-Catalyzed sp3 C–H Functionalization

Hydrogenation of functionalised pyridines with a rhodium oxide catalyst under mild conditions

Piperidines are one of the most widely used building blocks in the synthesis of pharmaceutical and agrochemical compounds. The hydrogenation of pyridines is a convenient method to synthesise such compounds as it only requires reactant, catalyst, and a hydrogen source. However, this reaction still remains difficult for the reduction of functionalised and multi-substituted pyridines. Here we report the use of a stable, commercially available rhodium compound, Rh2O3, for the reduction of various unprotected pyridines. The reaction only requires mild conditions, and the substrate scope is broad, making it practically useful.

Synthesis of Unnatural α-Amino Acids from (Pyridin-2-yl) Carbamate via CIPE-Induced Carbonyl Migration

Synthetic methods of unnatural α-amino acids have always been the focus of extensive research due to their significant bioactivities. However, convenient transition-metal-free catalyzed methods are still in demand. Herein, we report a novel strategy for the construction of an unnatural α-amino acid skeleton via intramolecular rearrangement of carbamates, which are readily available from amines and their common protecting groups. This rearrangement could afford a variety of amino ester products in up to 98% yield, even in gram-scale reaction. The reaction mechanism was studied in detail through experiments and theoretical calculations. The complex-induced proximity effect (CIPE) from the 2-pyridyl group is shown to be indispensable for this transformation.

Hydroaminoalkylation for the Catalytic Addition of Amines to Alkenes or Alkynes: Diverse Mechanisms Enable Diverse Substrate Scope

Hydroaminoalkylation is a powerful, atom-economic catalytic reaction for the reaction of amines with alkenes and alkynes. This C-H functionalization reaction allows for the atom-economic alkylation of amines using simple alkenes or alkynes as the alkylating agents. This transformation has significant potential for transformative approaches in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and fine chemical industries in the preparation of selectively substituted amines and N-heterocycles and shows promise in materials science for the synthesis of functional and responsive aminated materials. Different early transition-metal, late transition-metal, and photoredox catalysts mediate hydroaminoalkylation by distinct mechanistic pathways. These mechanistic insights have resulted in the development of new catalysts and reaction conditions to realize hydroaminoalkylation with a broad range of substrates: activated and unactivated, terminal and internal, C-C double and triple bonds with aryl or alkyl primary, secondary, or tertiary amines, including N-heterocyclic amines. By deploying select catalysts with specific substrate combinations, control over regioselectivity, diastereoselectivity, and enantioselectivity has been realized. Key barriers to widespread adoption of this reaction include air and moisture sensitivity for early transition-metal catalysts as well as a heavy dependence on amine protecting or directing groups for late transition-metal or photocatalytic routes. Advances in improved catalyst robustness, substrate scope, and regio-/stereoselective reactions with early- and late transition-metal catalysts, as well as photoredox catalysis, are highlighted, and opportunities for further catalyst and reaction development are included. This perspective shows that hydroaminoalkylation has the potential to be a disruptive and transformative strategy for the synthesis of selectively substituted amines and N-heterocycles from simple amines and alkenes.

Enantioselective hydroamination of unactivated terminal alkenes

Asymmetric alkene hydroamination could be a direct route to valuable chiral amines from abundant feedstocks. However, most asymmetric hydroaminations have limited synthetic value because they require a large excess of alkene, occur with modest enantioselectivity, and proceed with limited tolerance of functional groups. We report an enantioselective, intermolecular hydroamination of unactivated terminal alkenes that occurs with equimolar amounts of alkene and amine, tolerates many functional groups, and occurs in high yield, with high enantioselectivity and turnover numbers. Mechanistic studies revealed factors, including reversibility of the addition, reversible oxidation of the product amine, competing isomerization of the alkene reactant, and unfavorable replacement of sacrificial ligands in standard catalyst precursors by the chiral bisphosphine, that needed to be addressed to achieve enantioselective N-H additions to alkenes.

Rhodium-catalyzed cascade C–H activation/annulation/1,6-acyl migration: direct construction of free N–H indoles under mild conditions

Rh-Catalyzed regioselective cascade C–H activation/annulation/1,6-acyl migration of N-acetanilides with alkynes via C–C/C–N/C–O bond formation is developed.

Directing group switch in copper-catalyzed electrophilic C–H amination/migratory annulation cascade: divergent access to benzimidazolone/benzimidazole

We present here a copper-catalyzed electrophilic ortho C–H amination of protected naphthylamines with N-(benzoyloxy)amines, cyclization with the pendant amide, and carbon to nitrogen 1,2-directing group migration cascade to access N,N-disubstituted 2-benzimidazolinones. Remarkably, this highly atom-economic tandem reaction proceeds through a C–H and C–C bond cleavage and three new C–N bond formations in a single operation. Intriguingly, the reaction cascade was altered by the subtle tuning of the directing group from picolinamide to thiopicolinamide furnishing 2-heteroaryl-imidazoles via the extrusion of hydrogen sulfide. This strategy provided a series of benzimidazolones and benzimidazoles in moderate to high yields with low catalyst loading (66 substrates with yields up to 99%). From the control experiments, it was observed that after the C–H amination an incipient tetrahedral oxyanion or thiolate intermediate is formed via an intramolecular attack of the primary amine to the amide/thioamide carbonyl. It undergoes either a 1,2-pyridyl shift with the retention of the carbonyl moiety or H₂S elimination for scaffold diversification. Remarkably, inspite of a positive influence of copper in the reaction outcome, from our preliminary investigations, the benzimidazolone product was obtained in good to moderate yields in two steps under metal-free conditions. The N-pyridyl moiety of the benzimidazolone was removed for further manipulation of the free NH group.

A novel directing group switch strategy is explored in a copper-catalyzed divergent synthesis of benzimidazolone via electrophilic C–H amination/cyclization/1,2-C → N directing group migration cascade and benzimidazole through the extrusion of H₂S.

NHC-Catalyzed Aza-Benzoin Condensation of N,N'-Dipyridin-2-yl Aminals with Aldehydes

α-Amino ketones are useful compounds because of their synthetic utility and bioactivities. After observing the ability of N,N'-dipyridin-2-yl aminals to form imines in situ, the synthesis of α-amino ketones using N,N'-dipyridin-2-yl aminals was proposed. Through the NHC-catalyzed aza-benzoin reaction between aromatic/aliphatic aldehydes and N,N'-dipyridin-2-yl aminals, α-amino ketones, including aromatic, heterocyclic, and aliphatic versions, were synthesized with yields up to 99%. A direct route toward N-Boc-protected α-amino ketones from N,N,N'-tris-Boc aminals was also discovered, yielding the desired N-Boc-protected α-amino ketones in yields up to 73%.

Direct, Catalytic α-Alkylation of N-Heterocycles by Hydroaminoalkylation: Substrate Effects for Regiodivergent Product Formation

Saturated N-heterocycles are prevalent in pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries, yet remain challenging to catalytically alkylate. Most strategies for C-H activation of these challenging substrates use protected amines or high loadings of precious metal catalysts. We report an early transition-metal system for the broad, robust, and direct alkylation of unprotected amine heterocycles with simple alkenes. Short reaction times are achieved using an in situ generated tantalum catalyst that avoids the use of bases, excess substrate, or additives. In most cases, this catalyst system is selective for the branched reaction product, including examples of products that are generated with excellent diastereoselectivity. Alkene electronic properties can be exploited for substrate-modified regioselectivity to access the alternative linear amine alkylation product with a group 5 catalyst. This method allows for the facile isolation of unprotected N-heterocyclic products, as useful substrates for further reactivity.

RhIII -Catalyzed C6-Selective Oxidative C-H/C-H Crosscoupling of 2-Pyridones with Thiophenes

A rhodium(III)-catalyzed C6-selective dehydrogenative cross-coupling of 2-pyridones with thiophenes was developed for the synthesis of 6-thiophenyl pyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives. In this reaction, the excellent site selectivity was controlled by the 2-pyridyl directing group on the nitrogen of the pyridone ring. Control experiments indicated that the N-pyridyl was essential for the transformation. To the best of our knowledge, this procedure is the first successful example of the direct C6 heteroarylation of 2-pyridones with electron-rich thiophene derivatives. 4-Pyridone was also used as substrate to generate the corresponding C2 heteroarylated product. Moreover, this pyridyl directing group was readily removable to generate the biheteroaryl structures with a free N-H group.

A Guide to Directing Group Removal: 8-Aminoquinoline

The use of directing groups allows high levels of selectivity to be achieved in transition metal-catalyzed transformations. Efficient removal of these auxiliaries after successful functionalization, however, can be very challenging. This review provides a critical overview of strategies used for removal of Daugulis' 8-aminoquinoline (2005-2020), one of the most widely used N,N-bidentate directing groups. The limitations of these strategies are discussed and alternative approaches are suggested for challenging substrates. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive end-users' guide for chemists in academia and industry who want to harness the synthetic power of directing groups-and be able to remove them from their final products.

Removal and modification of directing groups used in metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization: the magical step of conversion into ‘conventional’ functional groups

This feature review is focused on recent approaches for removing versatile directing groups.

Absolute Configurations of Synthetic Molecular Scaffolds from Vibrational CD Spectroscopy

Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful techniques for the determination of absolute configurations (AC), as it does not require any specific UV/vis chromophores, no chemical derivatization, and no growth of suitable crystals. In the past decade, it has become increasingly recognized by chemists from various fields of synthetic chemistry such as total synthesis and drug discovery as well as from developers of asymmetric catalysts. This perspective article gives an overview about the most important experimental aspects of a VCD-based AC determination and explains the theoretical analysis. The comparison of experimental and computational spectra that leads to the final conclusion about the AC of the target molecules is described. In addition, the review summarizes unique VCD studies carried out in the period 2008-2018 that focus on the determination of unknown ACs of new compounds, which were obtained in its enantiopure form either through direct asymmetric synthesis or chiral chromatography.

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Reductive Arylation of N-(2-Pyridinyl)amides with Isopropanol and Arylboronate Esters

A new three-component reductive arylation of amides with stable reactants (iPrOH and arylboronate esters), making use of a 2-pyridinyl (Py) directing group, is described. The N-Py-amide substrates are readily prepared from carboxylic acids and PyNH₂ , and the resulting N-Py-1-arylalkanamine reaction products are easily transformed into the corresponding chlorides by substitution of the HN-Py group with HCl. The 1-aryl-1-chloroalkane products allow substitution and cross-coupling reactions. Therefore, a general protocol for the transformation of carboxylic acids into a variety of functionalities is obtained. The Py-NH₂ by-product can be recycled.

A comprehensive overview of directing groups applied in metal-catalysed C-H functionalisation chemistry

The present review is devoted to summarizing the recent advances (2015-2017) in the field of metal-catalysed group-directed C-H functionalisation. In order to clearly showcase the molecular diversity that can now be accessed by means of directed C-H functionalisation, the whole is organized following the directing groups installed on a substrate. Its aim is to be a comprehensive reference work, where a specific directing group can be easily found, together with the transformations which have been carried out with it. Hence, the primary format of this review is schemes accompanied with a concise explanatory text, in which the directing groups are ordered in sections according to their chemical structure. The schemes feature typical substrates used, the products obtained as well as the required reaction conditions. Importantly, each example is commented on with respect to the most important positive features and drawbacks, on aspects such as selectivity, substrate scope, reaction conditions, directing group removal, and greenness. The targeted readership are both experts in the field of C-H functionalisation chemistry (to provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made in the last years) and, even more so, all organic chemists who want to introduce the C-H functionalisation way of thinking for a design of straightforward, efficient and step-economic synthetic routes towards molecules of interest to them. Accordingly, this review should be of particular interest also for scientists from industrial R&D sector. Hence, the overall goal of this review is to promote the application of C-H functionalisation reactions outside the research groups dedicated to method development and establishing it as a valuable reaction archetype in contemporary R&D, comparable to the role cross-coupling reactions play to date.

Rhodium-catalyzed C-H functionalization of heteroarenes using indoleBX hypervalent iodine reagents

The C–H indolation of heteroarenes was realized using the benziodoxolone hypervalent iodine reagents indoleBXs. Functionalization of the C–H bond in bipyridinones and quinoline N-oxides catalyzed by a rhodium complex allowed to incorporate indole rings into aza-heteroaromatic compounds. These new transformations displayed complete regioselectivity for the C-6 position of bipyridinones and the C-8 position of quinoline N-oxides and tolerated a broad range of functionalities, such as halogens, ethers, or trifluoromethyl groups.

Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Site-Selective C-H Alkylation and Arylation of Pyridones Using Organoboron Reagents

In this study we developed a method for the pyridine-directed, rhodium-catalyzed, site-selective C-H alkylation and arylation of pyridones using commercially available trifluoroborate reagents. This simple and versatile transformation proceeded smoothly under relatively mild conditions with perfect site selectivity. The coupling groups in the boron reagents can be extended to primary alkyl, benzyl, and cycloalkyl. Moreover, direct C-H arylation products could also be obtained under similar conditions.

Cu(ii)-catalyzed C6-selective C–H thiolation of 2-pyridones using air as the oxidant

Cu(II)-catalyzed C6-selective C–H thiolation of 2-pyridones with aryl and alkyl disulfides to provide functional thioethers has been achieved.

Regiocontrolled synthesis of (hetero)aryl and alkenyl dehydropyrrolidines, dehydropiperidines and azepenes by Ru-catalyzed, heteroatom-directed α-C–H activation/cross-coupling of cyclic enamides with boronic acids

The synthesis of α-aryl and alkenyl pyrrolidine-, piperidine-, and azepane derivatives by ruthenium-catalyzed, carbonyl-assisted, site-selective sp² C–H activation of cyclic enamides and concomitant cross-coupling with boronic acids is described.

Rhodium(iii)-catalyzed C7-position C–H alkenylation and alkynylation of indolines

A Rh(iii)-catalyzed regioselective C–H alkenylation and alkynylation of indolines is described. This protocol relies on the use of a removable pyridinyl directing group to access valuable C-7 functionalized indoline scaffolds with ample substrate scope and broad functional group tolerance.

Copper catalysed amidation of aryl halides through chelation assistance

Using 8-aminoquinoline-based alkyl and aryl carboxamides, the direct N-arylation was achieved in good yields in the presence of a copper catalyst via chelation-assisted reaction.

Unique regioselectivity in the C(sp3)-H α-alkylation of amines: the benzoxazole moiety as a removable directing group

The benzoxazol-2-yl- substituent was found to act as a removable activating and directing group in the Ir-catalyzed alkylation of C(sp(3))-H bonds adjacent to nitrogen in secondary amines. It can be easily introduced by oxidative coupling or by an SNAr reaction, and it can be removed by hydroxide or by hydride reduction. For 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines, activation exclusively takes place in the 3-position. A variety of activated as well as unactivated terminal olefins are suitable reaction partners.

Ruthenium(II)-catalyzed C(sp3)-H α-alkylation of pyrrolidines

A catalytic system comprising [RuCl2(PPh3)3], AgOTf, and BINAP enabled atom- and step-economical additions of C(sp(3))-H bonds onto unactivated alkenes 2 under comparably mild reaction conditions. The pyridyl directing group was easily removed to furnish the corresponding (NH)-free amines with ample scope.