Palladium-Catalyzed Hydroarylation, Hydroalkenylation, and Hydrobenzylation of Ynol Ethers with Organohalides: A Regio- and Stereoselective Entry to α,β- and β,β-Disubstituted Alkenyl Ethers

Modular Synthesis of Fully-Substituted and Configuration-Defined Alkyl Vinyl Ethers Enabled by Dual-Functional Copper Catalysis

Here we present a modular, chemo-, regio-, and stereoselective synthesis of fully-substituted and configuration-defined alkyl vinyl ethers (AVEs) using simple chemical feedstocks. The distinctive approach involves the chemo- and regioselective functionalization of the CF2 unit in gem-difluorinated cyclopropanes with O-H and C-H nucleophiles in a specific order. The resulting highly functionalized cyclopropanyl ethers then undergo a stereoselective ring-opening process to produce fully-substituted and configuration-defined AVEs. These AVEs are rarely accessible through conventional methods and are easily transformable. Mechanistic experiments indicate that the success of this method relies on the use of dual-functional copper catalysis, which is involved in both the functionalization of the CF2 unit and the subsequent ring-opening process.

Access to Substituted Indenol Ethers via a Regioselective Intermolecular Carbopalladation Cascade

Alkyne carbopalladation reactions can rapidly generate multiple new C-C bonds; however, regioselectivity is challenging for intermolecular variants. Using ynol ethers, we observe complete regiocontrol of migratory insertion followed by a second migratory insertion with a pendant alkene to turn-over the catalytic cycle. The resulting products are oligosubstituted 1-indenol ethers with defined stereochemistry based on the initial alkene geometry. Blocking β-hydride elimination allowed for C-H and C-C reductive elimination steps for catalyst turnover.

Direct Access to 2,3-Disubstituted Amido-Indenones through Annulation of 2-Iodobenzaldehydes with Ynamides

In this paper we report the annulation reaction between 2-iodobenzaldehyde derivatives and various ynamides. This palladium-catalyzed reaction leads to rare polysubstituted amino-indenones in good yields with a regioselectivity up to complete. Remarkably, a regiodivergent selectivity has been identified between aryl and alkyl or silyl ynamides, with the first leading mainly to 2-amido-indenones and the second to 3-amido-indenones.

Accessing 4-oxy-substituted isoquinolinones via C-H activation and regioselective migratory insertion with electronically biased ynol ethers

The rhodium-catalyzed C-H activation and annulation with ynol ethers to directly provide 4-oxy substituted isoquinolinones is reported. The polarized nature of ynol ethers provides an electronic bias for controlling the regioselectivity of the migratory insertion process. While the highly reactive nature of ynol ethers presents a challenge, mild conditions were found to provide product in moderate to good yield. Utility was demonstrated by application in the synthesis of a prolyl-4-hydroxylase inhibitor framework.

Pd-Catalyzed reductive heck reaction of olefins with aryl bromides for Csp2-Csp3 bond formation

We developed a Pd-catalyzed intermolecular reductive Heck reaction to construct Csp2-Csp3 bonds between aryl bromides and olefins. Various styrene derivatives, acyclic and cyclic alkenes, were well tolerated to couple with varied aryl bromides in linear selectivity. Kinetic and deuterium labeling experiments suggested that i-PrOH provides a hydride through β-H elimination.

Evolution of two routes for asymmetric total synthesis of tetrahydroprotoberberine alkaloids

Two routes were developed for the catalytic asymmetric total synthesis of tetrahydroprotoberberine alkaloids.

A stereoselective thiocyanate conjugate addition to electron deficient alkynes and concomitant cyclization to N,S-heterocycles

A regio- and stereoselective thiocyanate addition to ynones and the concomitant cyclizations of resultant vinyl thiocyanate to access thio-aza heterocycles are achieved using KSCN in AcOH without the need of any metal catalyst.

Tandem Bond-Forming Reactions of 1-Alkynyl Ethers

Electron-rich alkynes, such as ynamines, ynamides, and ynol ethers, are functional groups that possess significant potential in organic chemistry for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds. While the synthetic utility of ynamides has recently been expanded considerably, 1-alkynyl ethers, which possess many of the reactivity features of ynamides, have traditionally been far less investigated because of concerns about their stability. Like ynamides, ynol ethers are relatively unhindered to approach by functional groups present in the same or different molecules because of their linear geometry, and they can potentially form up to four new bonds in a single transformation. Ynol ethers also possess unique reactivity features that make them complementary to ynamides. Research over the past decade has shown that ynol ethers formed in situ from stable precursors engage in a variety of useful carbon-carbon bond-forming processes. Upon formation at -78 °C, allyl alkynyl ethers undergo a rapid [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement to form allyl ketene intermediates, which may be trapped with alcohol or amine nucleophiles to form γ,δ-unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives. The process is stereospecific, takes place in minutes at cryogenic temperatures, and affords products containing (quaternary) stereogenic carbon atoms. Trapping of the intermediate allyl ketene with carbonyl compounds, epoxides, or oxetanes instead leads to complex α-functionalized β-, γ-, or δ-lactones, respectively. [3,3]-Sigmatropic rearrangement of benzyl alkynyl ethers also takes place at temperatures ranging from -78 to 60 °C to afford substituted 2-indanones via intramolecular carbocyclization of the ketene intermediate. tert-Butyl alkynyl ethers containing pendant di- and trisubstituted alkenes and enol ethers are stable to chromatographic isolation and undergo a retro-ene/[2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction upon mild thermolysis (90 °C) to afford cis-fused cyclobutanones and donor-acceptor cyclobutanones in good to excellent yields and diastereoselectivities. This process, which takes place under neutral conditions and proceeds through an aldoketene intermediate, obviates the need to employ moisture-sensitive and/or unstable acid chlorides under basic conditions for intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions. Furthermore, Lewis acid-catalyzed intramolecular condensations of both ethyl and tert-butyl ynol ethers with tethered acetals efficiently provide protected five-, six-, and seven-membered cyclic Baylis-Hilman adducts. Metalated ethoxyacetylene can also participate in multiple bond-forming reactions that avoid isolation of the alkynyl ether intermediate. Lewis acid-promoted tandem additions employing epoxides/oxetanes and carbonyl compounds give rise to (Z)-α-alkylidene and α-benzylidene lactones stereoselectively in high overall yields. Three new carbon-carbon bonds and a ring are formed in this atom-economical single-flask transformation, resulting in a significant increase in molecular complexity. This Account provides a detailed overview of these useful transformations with the intention of stimulating further interest in and research on ynol ethers and their application in organic synthesis.

HOTf-Catalyzed, Solvent-Free Oxyarylation of Ynol Ethers and Thioethers

A novel HOTf-catalyzed oxyarylation of ynol ethers and thioethers has been realized with aryl sulfoxides as the oxyarylating reagents, providing α-arylated esters or thioesters in good to excellent yields. Notably, all atoms of the starting materials were incorporated in the product (100% atom economy) and the reaction proceeded under very mild conditions. It was found that the reaction can be ran under air and that the best yields are obtained under solvent-free conditions.

Synthetic Transformations through Alkynoxy-Palladium Interactions and C-H Activation

Organic synthesis based on straightforward transformations is essential for environmentally benign manufacturing for the invention of novel pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and organoelectronic materials in order to ultimately realize a sustainable society. Metal-catalyzed C-H bond-cleaving functionalization has become a promising method for achieving the above goal. For site-selective C-H bond cleavage, so-called directing groups, i.e., ligands attached to substrates, are employed. Commonly utilized directing groups are carbonyls, imines, carboxyls, amides, and pyridyls, which σ-donate electron pairs to metals. On the other hand, unsaturated substrates such as alkenes and alkynes, which participate largely as reactants in organic synthesis, are prepared readily by a wide variety of synthetic transformations and are also employed as reactants in organometallic chemistry. Moreover, such unsaturated groups form complexes with some metals by ligation of their p orbitals via donation and back-donation. However, the use of unsaturated bonds as directing groups has not been studied extensively. We have been involved in the development of methods for the cleavage of C-H bonds by means of transition-metal catalysts to achieve new carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions and incidentally came to focus on the alkynoxy group (-OC≡C-), which shows a ketene-like resonance structure. We expected the alkynoxy group to interact electrophilically with a low-valent transition-metal complex in order to cleave adjacent C-H bonds. In this Account, we summarize our recent achievements on C-H activation based on interactions of palladium with the alkynoxy group in alkynyl aryl ethers. The alkynoxy group plays two roles in the transformation: as a directing group for adjacent C-H bond activation and as an acceptor for the carbon and hydrogen fragments. A typical example is palladium-catalyzed ortho-C-H bond activation in alkynoxyarenes followed by sequential insertion/annulation with internal alkynes and the alkynoxy group to produce 2-methylidene-2H-1-benzopyrans. Mechanistic studies have shown that the presence of both oxygen and alkynyl moieties is essential for selective ortho-C-H bond activation and subsequent annulation. In addition to internal alkynes, norbornene, allenes, isocyanates, and ketenes produce the corresponding oxacycles. It is worthy of note that benzoxadinones formed by the reaction with isocyanates exhibit solid-state luminescence. In addition, 2-methylphenyl alkynyl ethers and 2-alkynoxybiaryls undergo intramolecular annulation at the benzylic γ-position and aryl δ-position via C-H bond activation to give benzofurans and dibenzopyrans, respectively. The disclosed methods allow us to construct useful π-conjugated systems in a straightforward manner.

Construction of 1-Naphthols via Benzannulation Based on the Reaction of Aryl tert-Butyl Ynol Ethers with Ynamides or Ynol Ethers

A new version of benzannulation featuring the use of aromatic tert-butyl ynol ethers as the convenient precursors for arylketenes has been developed. Both ynamides and ynol ethers undergo this reaction smoothly, giving 3-amino and 3-alkoxy 1-naphthols in good to excellent yields under the heated reaction conditions. The high efficiency, excellent regioselectivity, good functional group compatibility, and broad substrate scope render this reaction particularly valuable for organic synthesis.

Nickel-promoted highly regioselective carboxylation of aryl ynol ether and its application to the synthesis of chiral β-aryloxypropionic acid derivatives

Nickel(0)-promoted carboxylation of aryl ynol ether proceeded in a highly regioselective manner to produce α-substituted-β-aryloxyacrylic acid derivatives. The α-substituted-β-aryloxyacrylic acids were transformed into the corresponding β-aryloxypropionic acid derivative as an optically active form via rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation.

A rapid and selective synthesis of α,α-fluorohalo esters via fluorohalogenative or difluorinative hydration of ynol ethers

A Selectfluor-mediated fluorohalogenative or difluorinative hydration of ynol ethers is described, giving various α,α-fluorohalo esters including α,α-bromofluoro, α,α-chlorofluoro, α,α-fluoroiodo, and α,α-difluoro esters in a highly selective manner under mild reaction conditions.

Silver-catalyzed regio- and stereoselective addition of carboxylic acids to ynol ethers

A silver-catalyzed trans addition of carboxylic acids to ynol ethers is described. The reaction has a broad scope with respect to carboxylic acids and ynol ethers, delivering (Z)-α-alkoxy enol esters in good yields with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity. Meaningfully, the Ni-catalyzed selective coupling of alkenyl C-OPiv bonds of (Z)-α-alkoxy enol esters with boronic acids enables a convenient route to the access of (E)-enol ethers. As such, the two-step procedure, consisted of a hydrocarboxylation and a subsequent Suzuki-Miyaura coupling, offers a formal trans hydroarylation of ynol ethers, thus providing a good complementary method to our previous report.