AuX3-Mediated Selective Head-to-Head Dimerization of Difluoropropargyl Amides

Sequential Modification of Pyrrole Ring with up to Three Different Nucleophiles

An umpolung strategy was used for the preparation of highly functionalized 3-pyrrolin-2-ones. This approach involves dearomative double chlorination of 1H-pyrroles to form highly reactive dichloro-substituted 2H-pyrroles. The resulting intermediate reacts selectively with wet alcohols to form the corresponding alkoxy-substituted 3-pyrrolin-2-ones via double nucleophilic substitution in up to 99% yield. The subsequent reaction with different N-, O-, and S-nucleophiles opens access to highly functionalized pyrrolinones bearing additional functionality. The overall outcome of the reported sequence is step-by-step nucleophilic modification of pyrroles with three different nucleophiles. All steps were found to be highly efficient and 100% regioselective. This transformation proceeds under mild conditions and does not require any catalyst to give final products in very high yields. The obtained experimental results are in perfect agreement with the data obtained by theoretical investigation of these reactions.

Photocatalytic Cyclization/Defluorination Domino Sequence to Access 3-Fluoro-1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2-one Scaffold

We herein report an unprecedented photoinduced cyclization/defluorination domino process of N-allylbromodifluoroacetamide with cyclic secondary amines. Consequently, a wide array of valuable 3-fluoro-1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2-ones were facilely prepared from readily available starting materials under mild conditions. Preliminary mechanistic investigations suggest that a radical chain propagation and amine-promoted defluorination pathway are presumably involved in this transformation.

Highly Efficient and Stereoselective Thioallylation of Alkynes: Possible Gold Redox Catalysis with No Need for a Strong Oxidant

Stereoselective thioallylation of alkynes under possible gold redox catalysis was accomplished with high efficiency (as low as 0.1 % catalyst loading, up to 99 % yield) and broad substrate scope (various alkynes, inter- and intramolecular fashion). The gold(I) catalyst acts as both a π-acid for alkyne activation and a redox catalyst for AuI/III coupling, whereas the sulfonium cation generated in situ functions as a mild oxidant. This novel methodology provides an exciting system for gold redox catalysis without the need for a strong oxidant.

One-pot cross-enyne metathesis (CEYM)-Diels-Alder reaction of gem-difluoropropargylic alkynes

Propargylic difluorides 1 were used as starting substrates in a combination of cross-enyne metathesis and Diels–Alder reactions. Thus, the reaction of 1 with ethylene in the presence of 2^nd generation Hoveyda–Grubbs catalyst generates a diene moiety which in situ reacts with a wide variety of dienophiles giving rise to a small family of new fluorinated carbo- and heterocyclic derivatives in moderate to good yields. This is a complementary protocol to the one previously described by our research group, which involved the use of 1,7-octadiene as an internal source of ethylene.

Synthesis of fluorinated δ-lactams via cycloisomerization of gem-difluoropropargyl amides

gem-Difluoro-1,7-enyne amides are suitable building blocks for the synthesis of difluorodihydropyridinones via a ring-closing metathesis reaction, and of 4,4-difluoro-3-oxoisoquinolines through a ring-closing metathesis–enyne metathesis tandem reaction. These products, in turn, undergo a Diels–Alder reaction to yield heterotricyclic systems in moderate to good yields.