Atom-Economical Route to Substituted Pyridines via a Scandium Imide

Triamidoamine-Supported Zirconium Compounds in Main Group Bond-Formation Catalysis

The rationale to pursue long-term study of any system must be sound. Quick discoveries and emergent fields are more than temptations. They remind us to ask what are we gaining through continued study of any system. For triamidoamine-supported zirconium, there has been a great deal gained with yet more ahead. Initial study of the system taught much that is applied to catalysis. Cyclometalation of a trimethylsilyl substituent of the ancillary ligand, abbreviated (N₃N) when not metalated for simplicity, via C-H bond activation is facile and highly reversible. It has allowed for the synthesis of a range of Zr-E bonds, which are of fundamental interest. More germane, cyclometalation has emerged as our primary product liberation step in catalysis. Cyclometalation also appears to be a catalyst resting state, despite how cyclometalation is a known deactivation step for many a compound in other circumstances. Catalysis with triamidoamine-supported zirconium has been rich. Rather than summarizing the breadth of reactions, a more detailed report on the dehydrocoupling of phosphines and hydrophosphination is provided. Both reactions demonstrate the outward impact that the study of (N₃N)Zr-based catalysis has afforded. Dehydrocoupling catalysis, or bond formation via loss of hydrogen, is particular to 3p and heavier main group elements. The reaction has been important in the formation of E-E and E-E' bonds in the main group for molecular species and materials. While study of this reaction at (N₃N)Zr compounds provides key insights into mechanism, discoveries in the area of P-P and Si-Si bond formation with (N₃N)Zr derivatives as catalysts have greater reach than merely the synthesis of main group element containing products. For example, that work has informed design principles for the identification of catalysts that transfer low-valent fragments. The successful application of these principles was evident in the discovery of a catalyst that transfers phosphinidene ("PR") to unsaturated substrates. Hydrophosphination exhibits perfect atom economy in the formation of P-C bonds. The reaction can proceed without a catalyst, but the purpose of a catalyst is enhanced reactivity and selectivity. Nevertheless, significant challenges in this reaction remain. In particular, (N₃N)Zr compounds have demonstrated high activity in hydrophosphination and readily utilize unactivated unsaturated organic molecules, challenging substrates for any heterofunctionalization reaction. This activity has led to not only impressive metrics in the catalysis but access to previously untouched substrates and formation of unique products. The particular properties of the (N₃N)Zr system that engage in this reactivity may influence other heterofunctionalization reactions. The recently discovered photocatalytic hydrophosphination with (N₃N)ZrPRR' compounds already appears to be general rather than unique and may drive additional bond formation catalysis among early transition-metal compounds.

Rare-earth metal and actinide organoimide chemistry

Elaborate synthesis schemes pave the way to f-element and group 3 complexes with multiply bonded imido ligands displaying intriguing reactivity.

Scandium Terminal Imido Chemistry

Research into transition metal complexes bearing multiply bonded main-group ligands has developed into a thriving and fruitful field over the past half century. These complexes, featuring terminal M═E/M≡E (M = transition metal; E = main-group element) multiple bonds, exhibit unique structural properties as well as rich reactivity, which render them attractive targets for inorganic/organometallic chemists as well as indispensable tools for organic/catalytic chemists. This fact has been highlighted by their widespread applications in organic synthesis, for example, as olefin metathesis catalysts. In the ongoing renaissance of transition metal-ligand multiple-bonding chemistry, there have been reports of M═E/M≡E interactions for the majority of the metallic elements of the periodic table, even some actinide metals. In stark contrast, the largest subgroup of the periodic table, rare-earth metals (Ln = Sc, Y, and lanthanides), have been excluded from this upsurge. Indeed, the synthesis of terminal Ln═E/Ln≡E multiple-bonding species lagged behind that of the transition metal and actinide congeners for decades. Although these species had been pursued since the discovery of a rare-earth metal bridging imide in 1991, such a terminal (nonpincer/bridging hapticities) Ln═E/Ln≡E bond species was not obtained until 2010. The scarcity is mainly attributed to the energy mismatch between the frontier orbitals of the metal and the ligand atoms. This renders the putative terminal Ln═E/Ln≡E bonds extremely reactive, thus resulting in the formation of aggregates and/or reaction with the ligand/environment, quenching the multiple-bond character. In 2010, the stalemate was broken by the isolation and structural characterization of the first rare-earth metal terminal imide-a scandium terminal imide-by our group. The double-bond character of the Sc═N bond was unequivocally confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Theoretical investigations revealed the presence of two p-d π bonds between the scandium ion and the nitrogen atom of the imido ligand and showed that the dianionic [NR]^2- imido ligand acts as a 2σ,4π electron donor. Subsequent studies of the scandium terminal imides revealed highly versatile and intriguing reactivity of the Sc═N bond. This included cycloaddition toward various unsaturated bonds, C-H/Si-H/B-H bond activations and catalytic hydrosilylation, dehydrofluorination of fluoro-substituted benzenes/alkanes, CO₂ and H₂ activations, activation of elemental selenium, coordination with other transition metal halides, etc. Since our initial success in 2010, and with contributions from us and across the community, this young, vibrant research field has rapidly flourished into one of the most active frontiers of rare-earth metal chemistry. The prospect of extending Ln═N chemistry to other rare-earth metals and/or different metal oxidation states, as well as exploiting their stoichiometric and catalytic reactivities, continues to attract research effort. Herein we present an account of our investigations into scandium terminal imido chemistry as a timely summary, in the hope that our studies will be of interest to this readership.

Reactivity of highly Lewis acidic diborane(4) towards pyridine and isocyanide: formation of boraalkene-pyridine complex and ortho-functionalized pyridine derivatives

The reaction of pinB-BMes2 (pin = pinacolato, Mes = 2,4,6-Me3C6H2) with Xyl-NC (Xyl = 2,6-Me2C6H3) and pyridine results in the formation of a pyridine-coordinated boraalkene that exhibits an intense color caused by an intramolecular charge-transfer interaction. In the presence of an excess of pyridine, the ortho C-H bond of pyridine was selectively functionalized to afford a quinoid compound or an isocyanide-coupled product. Based on the concentration effect, the reaction stoichiometry, and previously reported DFT calculations, a reaction mechanism that involves several rearrangement reactions was proposed. Using the present method, substituted pyridines and N-heterocycles afforded the corresponding functionalized derivatives. A subsequent hydrolysis of one of the resulting products furnished an aminomethylated pyridine derivative in two steps from parent pyridine.

Metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization involving isocyanides

This review demonstrates the metal-catalyzed incorporation of isocyanides into C–H functionalization to establish complicated reactions utilizing synergistic effects.

Catalytic Isonitrile Insertions and Condensations Initiated by RNC-X Complexation

Isonitriles are delicately poised chemical entities capable of being coaxed to react as nucleophiles or electrophiles. Directing this tunable reactivity with metal and non-metal catalysts provides rapid access to a large array of complex nitrogenous structures ideally functionalized for medicinal applications. Isonitrile insertion into transition metal complexes has featured in numerous synthetic and mechanistic studies, leading to rapid deployment of isonitriles in numerous catalytic processes, including multicomponent reactions (MCR). Covering the literature from 1990-2014, the present review collates reaction types to highlight reactivity trends and allow catalyst comparison.

Direct functionalization of unactivated C-H bonds catalyzed by group 3-5 metal alkyl complexes

This perspective summarizes direct C-H bond functionalization reactions catalyzed by group 3-5 metal alkyl complexes. Metal-carbon bonds of group 3-5 metals have potentially high reactivity toward both C-H bond activation reactions through the intrinsic σ-bond metathesis pathway and insertion of unsaturated organic molecules. Upon the combination of these two elemental steps, direct C-H bond functionalization reactions of (hetero)aromatic compounds, methane, alkylamines, and terminal alkynes, proceed through C(sp)-H, C(sp(2))-H, and C(sp(3))-H bond activation reactions. Here we review as catalysts for these transformations not only simple metallocene complexes but also non-metallocene complexes supported by a variety of ligands, which are often superior in terms of catalyst design and catalytic activity.