Highly Efficient Synthesis of Phenols by Copper-Catalyzed Oxidative Hydroxylation of Arylboronic Acids at Room Temperature in Water

Rapid and General Amination of Aryl Boronic Acids and Esters Using O-(Diphenylphosphinyl)hydroxylamine (DPPH)

O-(Diphenylphosphinyl)hydroxylamine (DPPH) is a general reagent for the conversion of (hetero)aryl boronic acids and esters to primary anilines. The transformation proceeds rapidly at rt and exhibits a broad substrate scope and exceptional functional-group tolerance. In terms of rate, the reaction is relatively insensitive to the electronic properties of the substrate, in contrast to similar reactions using electrophilic amination reagents such as hydroxylamine-O-sulfonic acid. Consequently, this protocol is particularly useful for accessing electron-deficient (hetero)aryl anilines, which had been challenging to prepare using prior methods.

Formal Transformation of Benzylic Carboxylic Acids to Phenols

Phenols play a crucial role as core structural motifs in natural products and also serve as fundamental building blocks in synthetic chemistry. Apart from the known protocols for the conversion of aryl precursors to phenols (i. e., decarboxylative oxygenation), we report here the efficient synthesis of phenols from the stable and readily available benzylic carboxylic acids under mild reaction conditions. The photocatalytic conversion of carboxylic acids to peroxides is a crucial step in this strategy, allowing the subsequent C-O bond formation via Hock rearrangement.

A para- to meta-isomerization of phenols

Phenols and their derivatives are ubiquitous in nature and critically important industrial chemicals. Their properties are intimately linked to the relative substitution pattern of the aromatic ring, reflecting well-known electronic effects of the OH group. Because of these ortho-, para-directing effects, meta-substituted phenols have historically been more difficult to synthesize. Here we describe a procedure to transpose phenols that hinges on a regioselective diazotization of the corresponding ortho-quinone. The procedure affords the meta-substituted phenol directly from its more common and accessible para-substituted isomer, and demonstrates good chemoselectivity that enables its application in late-stage settings. By changing the electronic effect of the OH group and its trajectory of hydrogen bonding, our transposition can be used to diversify natural products and existing chemical libraries, and potentially shorten the length and cost of producing underrepresented arene isomers.

Synthesis of meta-carbonyl phenols and anilines

Phenols and anilines are of extreme importance for medicinal chemistry and material science. The development of efficient approaches to prepare both compounds has thus long been a vital research topic. The utility of phenols and anilines directly reflects the identity and pattern of substituents on the benzenoid ring. Electrophilic substitutions remain among the most powerful synthetic methods to substituted phenols and anilines, yet in principle achieving ortho- and para-substituted products. Therefore, the selective preparation of meta-substituted phenols and anilines is the most significant challenge. We herein report an efficient copper-catalyzed dehydrogenation strategy to exclusively synthesize meta-carbonyl phenols and anilines from carbonyl substituted cyclohexanes. Mechanistic studies indicate that this transformation undergoes a copper-catalyzed dehydrogenation/allylic hydroxylation or amination/oxidative dehydrogenation/aromatization cascade process.

Aerobic Oxidative Hydroxylation of Arylboronic Acids under Visible-Light Irradiation without Metal Catalysts or Additives

Phenols are versatile synthetic intermediates and key structural motifs in many natural products and biologically active compounds. We herein report a visible-light-induced aerobic oxidative hydroxylation of arylboronic acids/pinacol esters using air as oxidant and without using any catalysts and base, etc., additives, providing a green entry to a variety of phenols in a highly efficient and concise fashion. This novel reaction is enabled by photoactivation of an electron donor-acceptor complex, in which THF serves as both the solvent and electron donor. DFT studies indicated that the oxidation process involves a concerted hydrogen abstraction transfer from THF and dehydroxylation of boronic acid undergoing spin crossover from triplet to singlet to produce an active peroxoboronic acid intermidiate. Salient merits of this chemistry include broad substrate scope and excellent functional group tolerance, gram-scale synthesis, and versatile late-stage functionalizations as well as the use of air, visible light, and catalyst- and additive-free conditions. This strategy introduces a novel photoreaction mode with the aid of a solvent, offering a succinct and environmentally sustainable route for synthesizing phenols. The strong practicability and highly efficient access to modifying complex biorelevant molecules bode well for the potential applications of this chemistry in pharmaceutical chemistry.

Enhancing Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Upconversion of Pyrene Derivatives for Photoredox Catalysis via Molecular Engineering

Triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) has the potential to enhance photoredox catalysis yield. It includes a sensitizer and an annihilator. Efficient and stable annihilators are essential for photoredox catalysis, yet only a few examples are reported. Herein, we designed four novel pyrene annihilators (1, 2, 3 and 4) via introducing aryl-alkynyl groups onto pyrene to systematically modulate their singlet and triplet energies. Coupled with platinum octaethylporphyrin (PtOEP), the TTA-UC efficiency is enhanced gradually as the number of aryl-alkynyl group increases. When combining 4 with palladium tetraphenyl-tetrabenzoporphyrin (PdTPTBP), we achieved the highest red-to-green upconversion efficiency (22.4±0.3 %) (out of a 50 % maximum) so far. Then, this pair was used to activate photooxidation of aryl boronic acid under red light (630 nm), which achieved a great improved reaction yield compared to that activated by green light directly. The results not only provide a design strategy for efficient annihilators, but also show the advantage of applying TTA-UC into improving the photoredox catalysis yield.

Surface Nanoarchitectonics of Boron Nitride Nanosheets for Highly Efficient and Sustainable ipso-Hydroxylation of Arylboronic Acids

One of the important industrial processes commonly employed in the pharmaceutical, explosive, and plastic manufacturing industries is ipso-hydroxylation of arylboronic acids. In this work, a straightforward, metal-free methodology for the synthesis of phenols from arylboronic acids has been demonstrated using hydroxyl functionalized boron nitride (BN-OH) nanosheets. The functionalized hydroxyl groups on the BN nanosheets act as the active sites for the hydroxylation reaction to take place. The detailed optimization of reaction parameters was done in order to attain high catalytic efficiency, and the reactions were conducted in water, which eliminates the use of toxic solvents. The as-synthesized catalysts exhibited excellent recyclability and reusability in addition to high product yields and good turnover numbers. The green metrics parameters were also evaluated for the model reaction to examine the sustainable nature of the developed protocol. The use of BN-OH catalysts for the ipso-hydroxylation reactions under base-free and metal-free conditions using environmentally benign solvents is utmost desired for industrial processes and can pave a way toward sustainable organic catalysis.

A "turn-on" ESIPT fluorescence probe of 2-(aminocarbonyl)phenylboronic acid for the selective detection of Cu(ii)

Herein, we report a highly selective fluorescent probe for the detection of Cu(ii). The detection mechanism relies on the Cu(ii)-catalyzed oxidative hydroxylation of 2-(aminocarbonyl)phenylboronic acid into salicylamide, thus recovering the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) effect and inducing more than 35-fold fluorescence enhancement. The simple structure and readily available fluorescent probe give a novel method for quantitatively detecting Cu(ii) in the linear range of 0-22 μM, with a limit of detection down to 68 nM, and exhibiting high selectivity for Cu(ii) over 16 other metal ions.

Simple and Practical Conversion of Benzoic Acids to Phenols at Room Temperature

Phenols are important organic molecules because they have found widespread applications in many fields. Herein, an efficient and practical approach to prepare phenols from benzoic acids via simple organic reagents at room temperature is reported. This approach is compatible with various functional groups and heterocycles and can be easily scaled up. To demonstrate its synthetic utility, bioactive molecules and unsymmetrical hexaarylbenzenes have been prepared by leveraging this transformation as strategic steps. Mechanistic investigations suggest that the key migration step involves a free carbocation instead of a radical intermediate. Considering the abundance of benzoic acids and the utility of phenols, it is anticipated that this method will find broad applications in organic synthesis.

Copper-Catalyzed Direct Syntheses of Phenoxypyrimidines from Chloropyrimidines and Arylboronic Acids: A Cascade Avenue and Unconventional Substrate Pairs

This letter describes the first synthetic methodology for phenoxypyrimidines that avoids the direct use of phenols or their salts. In contrast to the general trend of delivering Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling products in reactions between aryl or alky halides and arylboronic acids, the substrate pairs used herein (chloropyrimidines and arylboronic acids) led to C-O bond formation under the reaction conditions. In total, 25 phenoxypyrimidines were successfully synthesized using the described protocol, 6 of which had a structural resemblance to etravirine.

Application of Raw and Chemically Modified Biomasses for Heterogeneous Cu-Catalysed Conversion of Aryl boronic Acids to Phenols Derivatives

This work describes the application of raw and chemically modified cellulose and sugarcane bagasse for ipso-hydroxylation of aryl boronic acids in environmentally friendly reaction conditions. The catalytic efficiency of five support-[Cu] materials was compared in forming phenols from aryl boronic acids. Our investigation highlights that the CEDA-[Cu] material (6-deoxy-6-aminoethyleneamino cellulose loaded with Cu) leads to the best results under very mild reaction conditions. The optimized catalytic sequence, allowing a facile transformation of boronic acids to phenols, required the mandatory and joint presence of the support, Cu2O, and KOH at room temperature. CEDA-[Cu] was characterized using 13C solid-state NMR, ICP, and FTIR. The use of CEDA-[Cu] accounts for the efficacious synthesis of variously substituted phenol derivatives and presents very good recyclability after five catalytic cycles.

Autocatalytic aerobic ipso-hydroxylation of arylboronic acid with Hantzsch ester and Hantzsch pyridine

ipso-Hydroxylation of arylboronic acids with Hantzsch ester has been developed. The by-product Hantzsch pyridine was found to promote the reaction in the presence of oxygen under ambient conditions.

Decarboxylative Hydroxylation of Benzoic Acids

Herein, we report the first decarboxylative hydroxylation to synthesize phenols from benzoic acids at 35 °C via photoinduced ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT)-enabled radical decarboxylative carbometalation. The aromatic decarboxylative hydroxylation is synthetically promising due to its mild conditions, broad substrate scope, and late-stage applications.

A mild and practical method for deprotection of aryl methyl/benzyl/allyl ethers with HPPh2 and tBuOK

A general method for the demethylation, debenzylation, and deallylation of aryl ethers using HPPh₂ and ^tBuOK is reported. The reaction features mild and metal-free reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, good functional group compatibility, and high chemical selectivity towards aryl ethers over aliphatic structures. Notably, this approach is competent to selectively deprotect the allyl or benzyl group, making it a general and practical method in organic synthesis.

Expanding the Tool Kit of Automated Flow Synthesis: Development of In-line Flash Chromatography Purification

Recent advancements in in-line extraction and purification technology have enabled complex multistep synthesis in continuous flow reactor systems. However, for the large scope of chemical reactions that yield mixtures of products or residual starting materials, off-line purification is still required to isolate the desired compound. We present the in-line integration of a commercial automated flash chromatography system with a flow reactor for the continuous synthesis and isolation of product(s). A proof-of-principle study was performed to validate the system and test the durability of the column cartridges, performing an automated sequence of 100 runs over 2 days. Three diverse reaction systems that highlight the advantages of flow synthesis were successfully applied with in-line normal- or reversed-phase flash chromatography, continuously isolating products with 97-99% purity. Productivity of up to 9.9 mmol/h was achieved, isolating gram quantities of pure product from a feed of crude reaction mixture. Herein, we describe the development and optimization of the systems and suggest guidelines for selecting reactions well suited to in-line flash chromatography.

The graphite-catalyzed ipso-functionalization of arylboronic acids in an aqueous medium: metal-free access to phenols, anilines, nitroarenes, and haloarenes

An efficient, metal-free, and sustainable strategy has been described for the ipso-functionalization of phenylboronic acids using air as an oxidant in an aqueous medium. A range of carbon materials has been tested as carbocatalysts. To our surprise, graphite was found to be the best catalyst in terms of the turnover frequency. A broad range of valuable substituted aromatic compounds, i.e., phenols, anilines, nitroarenes, and haloarenes, has been prepared via the functionalization of the C-B bond into C-N, C-O, and many other C-X bonds. The vital role of the aromatic π-conjugation system of graphite in this protocol has been established and was observed via numerous analytic techniques. The heterogeneous nature of graphite facilitates the high recyclability of the carbocatalyst. This effective and easy system provides a multipurpose approach for the production of valuable substituted aromatic compounds without using any metals, ligands, bases, or harsh oxidants.

One-Step Protein-Polymer Conjugates from Boronic-Acid-Functionalized Polymers

Polymer-protein conjugates are hybrid materials with interesting and useful properties. Methods to prepare diverse diblock materials of this sort often struggle to deal with the complexity and size of reagents, and so polymer-protein conjugation represents a stringent testing ground for nontraditional bioconjugation methods, such as metal-catalyzed arylation. This work demonstrates a simple Ni²⁺-promoted arylation of cysteine residues with end-functionalized polymer-boronic acid reagents, and explores some molecular and physical properties possible in these hybrid structures.

A scalable and green one-minute synthesis of substituted phenols

A mild, green and highly efficient protocol was developed for the synthesis of substituted phenols via ipso-hydroxylation of arylboronic acids in ethanol. The method utilizes the combination of aqueous hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant and H₂O₂/HBr as the reagent under unprecedentedly simple and convenient conditions. A wide range of arylboronic acids were smoothly transformed into substituted phenols in very good to excellent yields without chromatographic purification. The reaction is scalable up to at least 5 grams at room temperature with one-minute reaction time and can be combined in a one-pot sequence with bromination and Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling to generate more diverse, highly substituted phenols.

Oxidative Hydroxylation of Aryl Boronic Acid Catalyzed by Co-porphyrin Complexes via Blue-Light Irradiation

Oxidative reactions often require unstable and environmentally harmful oxidants; therefore, the investigation of safer alternatives is urgent. Here, the hydroxylation of aryl boronic acid in the presence of Co-complexes is demonstrated. Tetrakis(4-carboxyphenyl) Co(II)-porphyrin was combined with biodegradable polymers such as chitosan catalyzed hydroxylation of phenyl boronic acids to form phenol derivatives under blue-light irradiation. This catalytic system can be used as an eco-friendly oxidation process that does not release oxidizing agents into the atmosphere.

Synthesis of Phenols via Metal-Free Hydroxylation of Aryl Boronic Acids with Aqueous TBHP

An alternate procedure for oxidative hydroxylation of aryl boronic acids with aqueous TBHP to access phenols is described. The protocol tolerated various functional groups substituted with aromatic rings. The reaction was performed in water and free from transition metal oxidants.

Trinuclear Mn2+/Zn2+ based microporous coordination polymers as efficient catalysts for ipso-hydroxylation of boronic acids

Two microporous coordination polymers based on hourglass trinuclear building units, [Mn₃(bpdc)₃(bpy)]·2DMF and [Zn₃(bpdc)₃(bpy)]·2DMF·4H₂O (bpdc = 4,4'-biphenyl dicarboxylic acid, bpy = 4,4'-bipyridine), have been synthesized under solvothermal conditions employing DMF as the solvent. Each structure consists of two crystallographically distinct M²⁺ (M1 and M2) centers that are connected via carboxylate bridges from six bpdc ligands, generating a trinuclear metal cluster, [M₃(bpdc)₃(bpy)]. Cluster representation of the structure resulted in an interpenetrated net of rare hex topological type. Catalytic activities of the CPs have been assessed for the oxidative hydroxylation of phenylboronic acids (PBAs) using aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Various substituted aryl/hetero-arylboronic acids RB(OH)₂ [R = phenyl, 2,4-difluorophenyl, 4-aminophenyl, 2-thiophene etc.] underwent ipso-hydroxylation smoothly at room temperature to generate the corresponding phenols in excellent yields. The main advantages of this protocol are the aqueous medium reaction, heterogeneous catalytic system, and short reaction time with excellent yield.

Synthesis of secondary and tertiary amides without coupling agents from amines and potassium acyltrifluoroborates (KATs)

Although highly effective for most amide syntheses, the activation of carboxylic acids requires the use of problematic coupling reagents and is often poorly suited for challenging cases such as N-methyl amino acids. As an alternative to both secondary and tertiary amides, we report their convenient synthesis by the rapid oxidation of trifluoroborate iminiums (TIMs). TIMs are easily prepared by acid-promoted condensation of potassium acyltrifluoroborates (KATs) and amines and are cleanly and rapidly oxidized to amides with hydrogen peroxide. The overall transformation can be conducted either as a one-pot procedure or via isolation of the TIM. The unique nature of the neutral, zwitterionic TIMs makes possible the preparation of tertiary amides via an iminium species that would not be accessible from other carbonyl derivatives and can be conducted in the presence of unprotected functional groups including acids, alcohols and thioethers. In preliminary studies, this approach was applied to the late-stage modifications of long peptides and the iterative synthesis of short, N-methylated peptides without the need for coupling agents.

Oxidative amidation of potassium acyltrifluoroborates (KATs) and amines via trifluoroborate iminiums (TIMs) delivers amides without coupling agents. This unusual approach to amides can be applied for the late-stage modification of bioactive molecules and for solid-phase peptide synthesis.

Aerobic photooxidative hydroxylation of boronic acids catalyzed by anthraquinone-containing polymeric photosensitizer

We report herein the synthesis of a polymeric photosensitizer and its application in aerobic photooxidative hydroxylation of boronic acids.

Theoretical Coupling and Stability of Boronic Acid Adducts with Catecholamines

Background:

Catecholamines combined with boric/boronic acids are attractive chemical agents in drug design because some of their adducts have shown interesting biological activity. Scant information exists about their stability.

Objective:

The aim of the present theoretical study was to explore the role of boron in molecules that combine catecholamines and boric/boronic acids, with a particular interest in examining stability.

Method:

The methodology was based on the US GAMESS program using DFT with the B3LYP exchange-correlation functional and the 6-31G (d,p) split-valence basis set.

Results:

According to the current findings, the boron-containing compounds (BCCs) exhibit weaker bonding to the hydroxyls on the ethylamine moiety than to those in the aromatic ring. The strongest binding site of a hydroxyl group was often found to be in meta-position (relative to ethylamine moiety) for boron-free compounds and in para-position for BCCs. Nonetheless, the methyl substituent in the amino group was able to induce changes in this pattern. We analyzed feasible boronsubstituted structures and assessed the relative strength of the respective C-B bonds, which allowed for the identification of the favorable points for reaction and stability.

Conclusion:

It is feasible to form adducts by bonding on the amine and catechol sides of catecholamines. The presence of boron stabilizes the adducts in para-position. Since some of these BCCs are promising therapeutic agents, understanding the mechanisms of reaction is relevant for drug design.