Catalytic C−H Insertions Using Iron(III) Porphyrin Complexes

Synthesis and Characterization of Donor-Acceptor Iron Porphyrin Carbenes and Their Reactivities in N-H Insertion and Related Three-Component Reaction

Iron porphyrin carbenes (IPCs) have been extensively recognized as the reactive intermediates in various iron porphyrin-catalyzed carbene transfer reactions. While donor-acceptor diazo compounds have been frequently used for such transformations, the structures and reactivities of donor-acceptor IPCs are less explored. To date, no crystal structures of donor-acceptor IPC complexes have been reported, and therefore, the involvement of IPC intermediacy for such transformations lacks direct evidence. Here we report the synthesis and NMR characterization of several donor-acceptor IPC complexes from iron porphyrin and corresponding donor-acceptor diazo compounds. The X-ray crystal structure of an IPC complex derived from a morpholine-substituted diazo amide was obtained. The carbene transfer reactivities of those IPCs were tested by the N-H insertion reactions with aniline or morpholine as well as the three-component reaction with aniline and γ,δ-unsaturated α-keto ester based on electrophilic trapping of an ammonium ylide intermediate. Based on these results, IPCs were identified as the real intermediates for iron porphyrin-catalyzed carbene transfer reactions from donor-acceptor diazo compounds.

Highly Site-Selective Direct C-H Bond Functionalization of Unactivated Arenes with Propargyl α-Aryl-α-diazoacetates via Scandium Catalysis

Highly chemo- and regio-selective C-H bond functionalization of unactivated arenes with propargyl α-aryl-α-diazoacetates has been developed using scandium catalysis. A variety of unactivated, mildly deactivated, and electronically activated arenes have been functionalized using this protocol. The synergistic combination of scandium triflate as a catalyst and propargyl α-aryl-α-diazoacetate as a reagent played a pivotal role in the effective C-H bond functionalization of arenes without the assistance of any directing group or ligand. The practicality of the protocol has been demonstrated by the gram-scale synthesis of very useful α,α-diarylacetates including antispasmodic drug-adiphenine. Based on the experimental observations, labeling experiment, and density functional theory calculations, a plausible reaction mechanism has been outlined.

Recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed carbene insertion to C-H bonds

C-H functionalization has been emerging as a powerful method to establish carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Many efforts have been devoted to transition-metal-catalyzed direct transformations of C-H bonds. Metal carbenes generated in situ from transition-metal compounds and diazo or its equivalents are usually applied as the transient reactive intermediates to furnish a catalytic cycle for new C-C and C-X bond formation. Using this strategy compounds from unactivated simple alkanes to complex molecules can be further functionalized or transformed to multi-functionalized compounds. In this area, transition-metal-catalyzed carbene insertion to C-H bonds has been paid continuous attention. Diverse catalyst design strategies, synthetic methods, and potential applications have been developed. This critical review will summarize the advance in transition-metal-catalyzed carbene insertion to C-H bonds dated up to July 2021, by the categories of C-H bonds from aliphatic C(sp³)-H, aryl (aromatic) C(sp²)-H, heteroaryl (heteroaromatic) C(sp²)-H bonds, alkenyl C(sp²)-H, and alkynyl C(sp)-H, as well as asymmetric carbene insertion to C-H bonds, and more coverage will be given to the recent work. Due to the rapid development of the C-H functionalization area, future directions in this topic are also discussed. This review will give the authors an overview of carbene insertion chemistry in C-H functionalization with focus on the catalytic systems and synthetic applications in C-C bond formation.

High Magnetic Anisotropy of a Square-Planar Iron-Carbene Complex

Among Earth-abundant catalyst systems, iron-carbene intermediates that perform C-C bond forming reactions such as cyclopropanation of olefins and C-H functionalization via carbene insertion are rare. Detailed descriptions of the possible electronic structures for iron-carbene bonds are imperative to obtain better mechanistic insights and enable rational catalyst design. Here, we report the first square-planar iron-carbene complex (^MesPDP^Ph)Fe(CPh₂), where [^MesPDP^Ph]^2- is the doubly deprotonated form of [2,6-bis(5-(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)-3-phenyl-1H-pyrrol-2-yl)pyridine]. The compound was prepared via reaction of the disubstituted diazoalkane N₂CPh₂ with (^MesPDP^Ph)Fe(thf) and represents a rare example of a structurally characterized, paramagnetic iron-carbene complex. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements and applied-field Mössbauer spectroscopic studies revealed an orbitally near-degenerate S = 1 ground state with large unquenched orbital angular momentum resulting in high magnetic anisotropy. Spin-Hamiltonian analysis indicated that this S = 1 spin system has uniaxial magnetic properties arising from a ground M_S = ±1 non-Kramers doublet that is well-separated from the M_S = 0 sublevel due to very large axial zero-field splitting (D = -195 cm^-1, E/D = 0.02 estimated from magnetic susceptibility data). This remarkable electronic structure gives rise to a very large, positive magnetic hyperfine field of more than +60 T for the ⁵⁷Fe nucleus along the easy magnetization axis observed by Mössbauer spectroscopy. Computational analysis with complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) calculations provides a detailed electronic structure analysis and confirms that (^MesPDP^Ph)Fe(CPh₂) exhibits a multiconfigurational ground state. The majority contribution originates from a configuration best described as a singlet carbene coordinated to an intermediate-spin Fe^II center with a (d_xy)²{(d_xz),(d_z²)}³(d_yz)¹(d_x²-y²)⁰ configuration featuring near-degenerate d_xz and d_z² orbitals.

Directed Evolution: Methodologies and Applications

Directed evolution aims to expedite the natural evolution process of biological molecules and systems in a test tube through iterative rounds of gene diversifications and library screening/selection. It has become one of the most powerful and widespread tools for engineering improved or novel functions in proteins, metabolic pathways, and even whole genomes. This review describes the commonly used gene diversification strategies, screening/selection methods, and recently developed continuous evolution strategies for directed evolution. Moreover, we highlight some representative applications of directed evolution in engineering nucleic acids, proteins, pathways, genetic circuits, viruses, and whole cells. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future perspectives in directed evolution.

A computational approach to understand the role of metals and axial ligands in artificial heme enzyme catalyzed C-H insertion

Engineered heme enzymes such as myoglobin and cytochrome P450s metalloproteins are gaining widespread importance due to their efficiency in catalyzing non-natural reactions. In a recent strategy, the naturally occurring Fe metal in the heme unit was replaced with non-native metals such as Ir, Rh, Co, Cu, etc., and axial ligands to generate artificial metalloenzymes. Determining the best metal-ligand for a chemical transformation is not a trivial task. Here we demonstrate how computational approaches can be used in deciding the best metal-ligand combination which would be highly beneficial in designing new enzymes as well as small molecule catalysts. We have used Density Functional Theory (DFT) to shed light on the enhanced reactivity of an Ir system with varying axial ligands. We look at the insertion of a carbene group generated from diazo precursors via N2 extrusion into a C-H bond. For both Ir(Me) and Fe systems, the first step, i.e., N2 extrusion is the rate determining step. Strikingly, neither the better ligand overlap with 5d orbitals on Ir nor the electrophilicity on the carbene centre play a significant role. A comparison of Fe and Ir systems reveals that a lower distortion in the Ir(Me)-porphyrin on moving from the reactant to the transition state renders it catalytically more active. We notice that for both metal porphyrins, the free energy barriers are affected by axial ligand substitution. Further, for Fe porphyrin, the axial ligand also changes the preferred spin state. We show that for the carbene insertion into the C-H bond, Fe porphyrin systems undergo a stepwise HAT (hydrogen atom transfer) instead of a concerted hydride transfer process. Importantly, we find that the substitution of the axial Me ligand on Ir to imidazole or chloride, or without an axial substitution changes the rate determining step of the reaction. Therefore, an optimum ligand that can balance the barriers for both steps of the catalytic cycle is essential. We subsequently used the QM cluster approach to delineate the protein environment's role and mutations in improving the catalytic activity of the Ir(Me) system.

Bridging and axial carbene binding modes in cobalt corrole complexes: effect on carbene transfer

Catalytically relevant intermediates in carbene transfer reactions from a diazo precursor were investigated using cobalt corrole complexes. Two divergent mechanisms are proposed depending on the oxidation state of the cobalt center. Mechanistically driven factors for the usage of cobalt corroles in carbene transfer reactions are discussed.

Multireference Ground and Excited State Electronic Structures of Free- versus Iron Porphyrin-Carbenes

Iron porphyrin carbenes (IPCs) are important reaction intermediates in engineered carbene transferase enzymes and homogeneous catalysis. However, discrepancies between theory and experiment complicate the understanding of IPC electronic structure. In the literature, this has been framed as whether the ground state is an open- vs closed-shell singlet (OSS vs CSS). Here we investigate the structurally dependent ground and excited spin-state energetics of a free carbene and its IPC analogs with variable trans axial ligands. In particular, for IPCs, multireference ab initio wave function methods are more consistent with experiment and predict a mixed singlet ground state that is dominated by the CSS (Fe(II) ← {:C(X)Y}⁰) configuration (i.e., electrophilic carbene) but that also has a small, non-negligible contribution from an Fe(III)-{C(X)Y}^-• configuration (hole in d(xz), i.e., radical carbene). In the multireference approach, the "OSS-like" excited states are metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) in nature and are energetically well above the CSS-dominated ground state. The first, lowest energy of these "OSS-like" excited states is predicted to be heavily weighted toward the Fe(III)-{C(X)Y}^-• (hole in d(yz)) configuration. As expected from exchange considerations, this state falls energetically above a triplet of the same configuration. Furthermore, potential energy surfaces (PESs) along the IPC Fe-C(carbene) bond elongation exhibit increasingly strong mixings between CSS/OSS characters, with the Fe(III)-{C(X)Y}^-• configuration (hole in d(xz)) growing in weight in the ground state during bond elongation. The relative degree of electrophilic/radical carbene character along this structurally relevant PES can potentially play a role in reactivity and selectivity patterns in catalysis. Future studies on IPC reaction coordinates should evaluate contributions from ground and excited state multireference character.

How CuCl and CuCl2 Insert into C-N Bonds of Diazo Compounds: An Electronic Structure and Mechanistic Study

The transition-metal Cu catalysts CuCl and CuCl₂ have been widely employed to catalyze a series of chemical reactions with diazo compounds because of their high efficiency and selectivity. However, how to yield the active Cu carbene species from the Cu catalysts and diazo compounds still remains unclear. In this work, we performed a comprehensive theoretical investigation on the electronic structures of CuCl and CuCl₂ in solution. The results indicate that the most stable structures for CuCl and CuCl₂ are dimer and monomer, respectively. The C-N bond insertion of aryldiazoacetate by CuCl yields a stable bimetallic carbene species, which differs from the monometallic carbene generated from CuCl₂.

C-H Functionalization via Iron-Catalyzed Carbene-Transfer Reactions

The direct C-H functionalization reaction is one of the most efficient strategies by which to introduce new functional groups into small organic molecules. Over time, iron complexes have emerged as versatile catalysts for carbine-transfer reactions with diazoalkanes under mild and sustainable reaction conditions. In this review, we discuss the advances that have been made using iron catalysts to perform C-H functionalization reactions with diazoalkanes. We give an overview of early examples employing stoichiometric iron carbene complexes and continue with recent advances in the C-H functionalization of C(sp²)-H and C(sp³)-H bonds, concluding with the latest developments in enzymatic C-H functionalization reactions using iron-heme-containing enzymes.

Spin modification of iron(ii) complexes via covalent (dative) and dispersion guided non-covalent bonding with N-heterocyclic carbenes: DFT, DLPNO-CCSD(T) and MCSCF studies

Spin crossover from high spin Fe(ii)-phthalocyanine to low or intermediate spin via either dative covalent or non-covalent interaction by just varying the substituent using the same core ligand.

Iron catalysts with N-ligands for carbene transfer of diazo reagents

This review provides an overview of the catalytic activity of iron complexes of nitrogen ligands in driving carbene transfers towards CC, C–H and X–H bonds. The reactivity of diazo reagents is discussed as well as the proposed reaction mechanisms.

Iron- and cobalt-catalyzed C(sp3)–H bond functionalization reactions and their application in organic synthesis

This review highlights the developments in iron and cobalt catalyzed C(sp³)–H bond functionalization reactions with emphasis on their applications in organic synthesis, i.e. natural products and pharmaceuticals synthesis and/or modification.

Carbene insertion to N–H bonds of 2-aminothiazole and 2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole derivatives catalyzed by iron phthalocyanine

Iron(III) phthalocyaninate decorated with crown ether substituents, [(15C5)4PcFe]Cl, efficiently catalyzed the insertion of carbene derived from ethyl diazoacetate to six amines functionalized with thiazole, thiazoline and thiadiazole heterocycles. The reactions were carried out under practical conditions using EDA:amine stoechiometric ratio with 0.05 mol% catalyst loading. Turnover numbers up to 3360 have been achieved. The aminoacid derivatives bearing heterocyclic moieties were obtained under catalytic conditions for the first time with 36–69% yields in the case of single N–H insertion products and up to 77% in the case of double N–H insertion products.

FeII-catalysed insertion reaction of α-diazocarbonyls into X–H bonds (X = Si, S, N, and O) in dimethyl carbonate as a suitable solvent alternative

The insertion reaction of a broad range of diazo compounds into Si–H bonds was found to be efficiently catalysed by Fe(OTf)₂ in an emerging green solvent i.e. dimethyl carbonate (DMC).

Catalytic alkylation of unactivated C(sp3)–H bonds for C(sp3)–C(sp3) bond formation

This review summarizes recent advancements in catalytic direct transformation of unactivated C(sp³)–H bonds into C(sp³)–C(sp³) bonds.

Enzymatic assembly of carbon-carbon bonds via iron-catalysed sp3 C-H functionalization

Although abundant in organic molecules, carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds are typically considered unreactive and unavailable for chemical manipulation. Recent advances in C-H functionalization technology have begun to transform this logic, while emphasizing the importance of and challenges associated with selective alkylation at a sp³ carbon^1,2. Here we describe iron-based catalysts for the enantio-, regio- and chemoselective intermolecular alkylation of sp³ C-H bonds through carbene C-H insertion. The catalysts, derived from a cytochrome P450 enzyme in which the native cysteine axial ligand has been substituted for serine (cytochrome P411), are fully genetically encoded and produced in bacteria, where they can be tuned by directed evolution for activity and selectivity. That these proteins activate iron, the most abundant transition metal, to perform this chemistry provides a desirable alternative to noble-metal catalysts, which have dominated the field of C-H functionalization^1,2. The laboratory-evolved enzymes functionalize diverse substrates containing benzylic, allylic or α-amino C-H bonds with high turnover and excellent selectivity. Furthermore, they have enabled the development of concise routes to several natural products. The use of the native iron-haem cofactor of these enzymes to mediate sp³ C-H alkylation suggests that diverse haem proteins could serve as potential catalysts for this abiological transformation, and will facilitate the development of new enzymatic C-H functionalization reactions for applications in chemistry and synthetic biology.

3d Transition Metals for C-H Activation

C-H activation has surfaced as an increasingly powerful tool for molecular sciences, with notable applications to material sciences, crop protection, drug discovery, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. Despite major advances, the vast majority of these C-H functionalizations required precious 4d or 5d transition metal catalysts. Given the cost-effective and sustainable nature of earth-abundant first row transition metals, the development of less toxic, inexpensive 3d metal catalysts for C-H activation has gained considerable recent momentum as a significantly more environmentally-benign and economically-attractive alternative. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview on first row transition metal catalysts for C-H activation until summer 2018.

The Expanding Utility of Rhodium-Iminocarbenes: Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Natural Products and Related Scaffolds

Rhodium-iminocarbenes that are derived from N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles have become an important class of reactive species and useful intermediates in organic synthesis. Over the last several years, many practical and versatile approaches involving rhodium-iminocarbene intermediates to synthetically challenging molecules (scaffolds) have been developed. This Minireview mainly summarizes the recent advance of rhodium-iminocarbene involved reactions in the synthesis of natural products and their related scaffolds by the end of 2017. Several applications in important pharmaceuticals are documented as well.

Cyclopropanations via Heme Carbenes: Basic Mechanism and Effects of Carbene Substituent, Protein Axial Ligand, and Porphyrin Substitution

Catalytic carbene transfer to olefins is a useful approach to synthesize cyclopropanes, which are key structural motifs in many drugs and biologically active natural products. While catalytic methods for olefin cyclopropanation have largely relied on rare transition-metal-based catalysts, recent studies have demonstrated the promise and synthetic value of iron-based heme-containing proteins for promoting these reactions with excellent catalytic activity and selectivity. Despite this progress, the mechanism of iron-porphyrin and hemoprotein-catalyzed olefin cyclopropanation has remained largely unknown. Using a combination of quantum chemical calculations and experimental mechanistic analyses, the present study shows for the first time that the increasingly useful C=C functionalizations mediated by heme carbenes feature an Fe^II-based, nonradical, concerted nonsynchronous mechanism, with early transition state character. This mechanism differs from the Fe^IV-based, radical, stepwise mechanism of heme-dependent monooxygenases. Furthermore, the effects of the carbene substituent, metal coordinating axial ligand, and porphyrin substituent on the reactivity of the heme carbenes was systematically investigated, providing a basis for explaining experimental reactivity results and defining strategies for future catalyst development. Our results especially suggest the potential value of electron-deficient porphyrin ligands for increasing the electrophilicity and thus the reactivity of the heme carbene. Metal-free reactions were also studied to reveal temperature and carbene substituent effects on catalytic vs noncatalytic reactions. This study sheds new light into the mechanism of iron-porphyrin and hemoprotein-catalyzed cyclopropanation reactions and it is expected to facilitate future efforts toward sustainable carbene transfer catalysis using these systems.

Selective Functionalization of Aromatic C(sp2 )-H Bonds in the Presence of Benzylic C(sp3 )-H Bonds by Electron-Deficient Carbenoids Generated from 4-Acyl-1-Sulfonyl-1,2,3-Triazoles

A rhodium(II)-catalyzed reaction of newly prepared 4-acyl-1-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles with benzene, and its derivatives, is investigated. Acceptor/acceptor carbenoids generated from 4-acyltriazoles undergo selective insertion at aromatic C(sp² )-H bonds in the presence of benzylic C(sp³ )-H bonds to produce N-sulfonylenaminones.

C-H Insertions by Iron Porphyrin Carbene: Basic Mechanism and Origin of Substrate Selectivity

Recent experimental reports of heme carbene C-H insertions show promising results for sustainable chemistry due to good yield and selectivity, low cost of iron, and low/no toxicity of hemes. But mechanistic details are mostly unknown. Despite structural similarity and isoelectronic nature between heme carbene and the Fe^IV =O intermediate, our quantum chemical studies with detailed geometric and electronic information for the first time reveal an Fe^II -based, concerted, hydride-transfer mechanism, which is different from the Fe^IV -based stepwise hydrogen atom transfer mechanism for C-H functionalization by native heme enzymes. A trend of broad range experimental C-H insertion yields (0-88 %) of five different C-H bonds, including mostly non-functionalized moieties, was well reproduced. Results suggest that the substrate selectivity originates from the hydride formation capability. The predicted kinetic isotope effects were also in excellent agreement with experiment. Useful geometry, charge, and energy parameters well correlated with barriers were reported. These results provide the first theoretical evidence that carbene formation is the overall rate-limiting step, and suggest a key role of the formation of strong electrophilic heme carbene in developing heme-based C-H insertion catalysts and biocatalysts.

Catalytic C(sp3)-H Alkylation via an Iron Carbene Intermediate

The catalytic transformation of a C(sp³)-H bond to a C(sp³)-C bond via an iron carbene intermediate represents a long-standing challenge. Despite the success of enzymatic and small molecule iron catalysts mediating challenging C(sp³)-H oxidations and aminations via high-valent iron oxos and nitrenes, C(sp³)-H alkylations via isoelectronic iron carbene intermediates have thus far been unsuccessful. Iron carbenes have been inert, or shown to favor olefin cyclopropanation and heteroatom-hydrogen insertion. Herein we report an iron phthalocyanine-catalyzed alkylation of allylic and benzylic C(sp³)-H bonds. Mechanistic investigations support that an electrophilic iron carbene mediates homolytic C-H cleavage and rebounds from the resulting organoiron intermediate to form the C-C bond; both steps are tunable via catalyst modifications. These studies suggest that for iron carbenes, distinct from other late metal carbenes, C-H cleavage is partially rate-determining and must be promoted to effect reactivity.

Iron-Catalyzed C-H Bond Activation

Catalytic C-H bond activation, which was an elusive subject of chemical research until the 1990s, has now become a standard synthetic method for the formation of new C-C and C-heteroatom bonds. The synthetic potential of C-H activation was first described for ruthenium catalysis and is now widely exploited by the use of various precious metals. Driven by the increasing interest in chemical utilization of ubiquitous metals that are abundant and nontoxic, iron catalysis has become a rapidly growing area of research, and iron-catalyzed C-H activation has been most actively explored in recent years. In this review, we summarize the development of stoichiometric C-H activation, which has a long history, and catalytic C-H functionalization, which emerged about 10 years ago. We focus in this review on reactions that take place via reactive organoiron intermediates, and we excluded those that use iron as a Lewis acid or radical initiator. The contents of this review are categorized by the type of C-H bond cleaved and the type of bond formed thereafter, and it covers the reactions of simple substrates and substrates possessing a directing group that anchors the catalyst to the substrate, providing an overview of iron-mediated and iron-catalyzed C-H activation reported in the literature by October 2016.

Computation Sheds Insight into Iron Porphyrin Carbenes' Electronic Structure, Formation, and N-H Insertion Reactivity

Iron porphyrin carbenes constitute a new frontier of species with considerable synthetic potential. Exquisitely engineered myoglobin and cytochrome P450 enzymes can generate these complexes and facilitate the transformations they mediate. The current work harnesses density functional theoretical methods to provide insight into the electronic structure, formation, and N-H insertion reactivity of an iron porphyrin carbene, [Fe(Por)(SCH3)(CHCO2Et)](-), a model of a complex believed to exist in an experimentally studied artificial metalloenzyme. The ground state electronic structure of the terminal form of this complex is an open-shell singlet, with two antiferromagnetically coupled electrons residing on the iron center and carbene ligand. As we shall reveal, the bonding properties of [Fe(Por)(SCH3)(CHCO2Et)](-) are remarkably analogous to those of ferric heme superoxide complexes. The carbene forms by dinitrogen loss from ethyl diazoacetate. This reaction occurs preferentially through an open-shell singlet transition state: iron donates electron density to weaken the C-N bond undergoing cleavage. Once formed, the iron porphyrin carbene accomplishes N-H insertion via nucleophilic attack. The resulting ylide then rearranges, using an internal carbonyl base, to form an enol that leads to the product. The findings rationalize experimentally observed reactivity trends reported in artificial metalloenzymes employing iron porphyrin carbenes. Furthermore, these results suggest a possible expansion of enzymatic substrate scope, to include aliphatic amines. Thus, this work, among the first several computational explorations of these species, contributes insights and predictions to the surging interest in iron porphyrin carbenes and their synthetic potential.