Nitrogen-to-functionalized carbon atom transmutation of pyridine

The targeted and selective replacement of a single atom in an aromatic system represents a powerful strategy for the rapid interconversion of molecular scaffolds. Herein, we report a pyridine-to-benzene transformation via nitrogen-to-carbon skeletal editing. This approach proceeds via a sequence of pyridine ring-opening, imine hydrolysis, olefination, electrocyclization, and aromatization to achieve the desired transmutation. The most notable features of this transformation are the ability to directly install a wide variety of versatile functional groups in the benzene scaffolding, including ester, ketone, amide, nitrile, and phosphate ester fragments, as well as the inclusion of meta-substituted pyridines which have thus far been elusive for related strategies.

Decarboxylative Nucleophilic Fluorination of Aliphatic Carboxylic Acids

Herein, we present a decarboxylative nucleophilic fluorination of carboxylic acids with a silver catalyst. This strategy enables the synthesis of a myriad of diverse and valuable fluorinated motifs under mild conditions, demonstrating good functional-group tolerance and utility in late-stage functionalization. In contrast to traditional electrophilic fluorination, this nucleophilic method utilizes a more readily available nucleophilic fluorinating reagent, providing substantial advantages in terms of cost efficiency, broad substrate scope, and functional-group compatibility.

Regioselective Arylation of Amidoaryne Precursors via Ag-Mediated Intramolecular Oxy-Argentation

An unprecedented silver-mediated intramolecular oxy-argentation of 3-amidoaryne precursors that quickly generates a heteroarylsilver species is developed. AgF acts as both a stoichiometric fluoride source and a reagent for the formation of a benzoxazolylsilver intermediate via aryne generation. Pd-catalyzed coupling reactions of (hetero)aryl iodides with a silver species, generated in situ, allow for the synthesis of various C7-arylated benzoxazoles. As a result, an aryl group is selectively introduced into the meta-position of 3-amidobenzyne precursors. Mechanistic studies have indicated the presence of a benzoxazolylsilver intermediate and revealed that the reaction proceeds via an intramolecular oxy-argentation process, which is initiated by a direct fluoride attack on the silyl group.

Decarboxylation and Tandem Reduction/Decarboxylation Pathways to Substituted Phenols from Aromatic Carboxylic Acids Using Bimetallic Nanoparticles on Supported Ionic Liquid Phases as Multifunctional Catalysts

Valuable substituted phenols are accessible via the selective decarboxylation of hydroxybenzoic acid derivatives using multifunctional catalysts composed of bimetallic iron-ruthenium nanoparticles immobilized on an amine-functionalized supported ionic liquid phase (Fe25Ru75@SILP+IL-NEt2). The individual components of the catalytic system are assembled using a molecular approach to bring metal and amine sites into close contact on the support material, providing high stability and high decarboxylation activity. Operating under a hydrogen atmosphere was found to be essential to achieve high selectivity and yields. As the catalyst materials enable also the selective hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation of various additional functional groups (i.e., formyl, acyl, and nitro substituents), direct access to the corresponding phenols can be achieved via integrated tandem reactions. The approach opens versatile synthetic pathways for the production of valuable phenols from a wide range of readily available substrates, including compounds derived from lignocellulosic biomass.

Rapid planning and analysis of high-throughput experiment arrays for reaction discovery

High-throughput experimentation (HTE) is an increasingly important tool in reaction discovery. While the hardware for running HTE in the chemical laboratory has evolved significantly in recent years, there remains a need for software solutions to navigate data-rich experiments. Here we have developed phactor™, a software that facilitates the performance and analysis of HTE in a chemical laboratory. phactor™ allows experimentalists to rapidly design arrays of chemical reactions or direct-to-biology experiments in 24, 96, 384, or 1,536 wellplates. Users can access online reagent data, such as a chemical inventory, to virtually populate wells with experiments and produce instructions to perform the reaction array manually, or with the assistance of a liquid handling robot. After completion of the reaction array, analytical results can be uploaded for facile evaluation, and to guide the next series of experiments. All chemical data, metadata, and results are stored in machine-readable formats that are readily translatable to various software. We also demonstrate the use of phactor™ in the discovery of several chemistries, including the identification of a low micromolar inhibitor of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease. Furthermore, phactor™ has been made available for free academic use in 24- and 96-well formats via an online interface.

Multimetallic-Catalyzed C-C Bond-Forming Reactions: From Serendipity to Strategy

The use of two or more metal catalysts in a reaction is a powerful synthetic strategy to access complex targets efficiently and selectively from simple starting materials. While capable of uniting distinct reactivities, the principles governing multimetallic catalysis are not always intuitive, making the discovery and optimization of new reactions challenging. Here, we outline our perspective on the design elements of multimetallic catalysis using precedent from well-documented C-C bond-forming reactions. These strategies provide insight into the synergy of metal catalysts and compatibility of the individual components of a reaction. Advantages and limitations are discussed to promote further development of the field.

Chemoselective Decarboxylative Protonation Enabled by Cooperative Earth-Abundant Element Catalysis

Decarboxylative protonation is a general deletion tactic to replace polar carboxylic acid groups with hydrogen or its isotope. Current methods rely on the pre-activation of acids, non-sustainable hydrogen sources, and/or expensive/highly oxidizing photocatalysts, presenting challenges to their wide adoption. Here we show that a cooperative iron/thiol catalyst system can readily achieve this transformation, hydrodecarboxylating a wide range of activated and unactivated carboxylic acids and overcoming scope limitations in previous direct methods. The reaction is readily scaled in batch configuration and can be directly performed in deuterated solvent to afford high yields of d-incorporated products with excellent isotope incorporation efficiency; characteristics not attainable in previous photocatalyzed approaches. Preliminary mechanistic studies indicate a radical mechanism and kinetic results of unactivated acids (KIE=1) are consistent with a light-limited reaction.

Synthesis of Benzylic Alcohols by Decarboxylative Hydroxylation

Herein, we demonstrate an efficient method for the decarboxylative hydroxylation of carboxylic acids with silver(I) as the catalyst and cerium ammonium nitrate as the oxidant and its utility in chemoselective late-stage functionalization of natural products and drug molecules. The chemoselectivity of this protocol arises from a benzylic nitrate intermediate that retards further oxidation and is hydrolyzed to the final benzylic alcohol product. Mechanistic investigation reveals that the facile oxidation of silver carboxylate affords silver(II) species as an intermediate oxidant responsible for decarboxylation.

A Unified Approach to Decarboxylative Halogenation of (Hetero)aryl Carboxylic Acids

Aryl halides are a fundamental motif in synthetic chemistry, playing a critical role in metal-mediated cross-coupling reactions and serving as important scaffolds in drug discovery. Although thermal decarboxylative functionalization of aryl carboxylic acids has been extensively explored, the scope of existing halodecarboxylation methods remains limited, and there currently exists no unified strategy that provides access to any type of aryl halide from an aryl carboxylic acid precursor. Herein, we report a general catalytic method for direct decarboxylative halogenation of (hetero)aryl carboxylic acids via ligand-to-metal charge transfer. This strategy accommodates an exceptionally broad scope of substrates. We leverage an aryl radical intermediate toward divergent functionalization pathways: (1) atom transfer to access bromo- or iodo(hetero)arenes or (2) radical capture by copper and subsequent reductive elimination to generate chloro- or fluoro(hetero)arenes. The proposed ligand-to-metal charge transfer mechanism is supported through an array of spectroscopic studies.

Decarboxylative Borylation and Cross-Coupling of (Hetero)aryl Acids Enabled by Copper Charge Transfer Catalysis

We report a copper-catalyzed strategy for arylboronic ester synthesis that exploits photoinduced ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) to convert (hetero)aryl acids into aryl radicals amenable to ambient-temperature borylation. This near-UV process occurs under mild conditions, requires no prefunctionalization of the native acid, and operates broadly across diverse aryl, heteroaryl, and pharmaceutical substrates. We also report a one-pot procedure for decarboxylative cross-coupling that merges catalytic LMCT borylation and palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura arylation, vinylation, or alkylation with organobromides to access a range of value-added products. The utility of these protocols is highlighted through the development of a heteroselective double-decarboxylative C(sp²)-C(sp²) coupling sequence, pairing copper-catalyzed LMCT borylation and halogenation processes of two distinct acids (including pharmaceutical substrates) with subsequent Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling.

Decarboxylative Amination of Benzoic Acids Bearing Electron-Donating Substituents and Non-Activated Amines

Efficient methods for decarboxylative activation of benzoic acids into great valuable products are highly sought after. Here we report a highly desirable and straightforward decarboxylative amination of readily available benzoic...

Computational Study on Homolytic Bond Energies of the Ag-X (X = C, O, and H) Complexes and Hammett-Type Analysis of Reactivity

Thirty-seven calculation methods were benchmarked against the available experimental bond lengths and energies data regarding the Ag-X bonds. The theoretical protocol PBE0/VDZ//ωB97x-D/mVTZ was found to be capable of accurately predicting the homolytic bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of Ag-X complexes with a precision of 1.9 kcal/mol. With the available method in hand, a wide range of different Ag-X BDEs were estimated. BDE(Ag-CH₂X), BDE(Ag-PhX), BDE(Ag-OPhX), and BDE(Ag-OCOPhX) (X = NH₂, OMe, Me, H, Cl, and NO₂) were found to be in the ranges of 27-47, 51-54, 19-39, and 64-70 kcal/mol, respectively. Subsequently, Hammett-type analysis was carried out with reactivity parameters. Good positive linear relationships were found for BDE of Ag-O bands and decarboxylation barriers of Ag-OCOPhX with the Hammett constant σ. It suggested that electron-donating substituents could promote either the homolytic cleavage of the Ag-OPhX bond to undergo a radical process or Ag-OCOPhX decarboxylation. Moreover, ligand effects on Ag-H bonds were investigated using BDE(Ag-H) and related NPA charges on Ag. In the case of P-ligands, carbene ligands, and other small molecule ligands (i.e., CO, CO₂, and H₂O), a good negative linear relationship was found. In contrast, N-ligands could have a reverse effect. Understanding the intrinsic relationships of BDE(Ag-X) with related reactivity parameters might help gain insights into the structure-reactivity relationships in Ag-X-assisted C-H activation/decarboxylation.

ORGANOMETALLIC GAS-PHASE ION CHEMISTRY AND CATALYSIS: INSIGHTS INTO THE USE OF METAL CATALYSTS TO PROMOTE SELECTIVITY IN THE REACTIONS OF CARBOXYLIC ACIDS AND THEIR DERIVATIVES

Carboxylic acids are valuable organic substrates as they are widely available, easy to handle, and exhibit structural and functional variety. While they are used in many standard synthetic protocols, over the past two decades numerous studies have explored new modes of metal-mediated reactivity of carboxylic acids and their derivatives. Mass spectrometry-based studies can provide fundamental mechanistic insights into these new modes of reactivity. Here gas-phase models for the following catalytic transformations of carboxylic acids and their derivatives are reviewed: protodecarboxylation; dehydration; decarbonylation; reaction as coordinated bases in C-H bond activation; remote functionalization and decarboxylative C-C bond coupling. In each case the catalytic problem is defined, insights from gas-phase studies are highlighted, comparisons with condensed-phase systems are made and perspectives are reached. Finally, the potential role for mechanistic studies that integrate both gas- and condensed-phase studies is highlighted by recent studies on the discovery of new catalysts for the selective decomposition of formic acid and the invention of the new extrusion-insertion class of reactions for the synthesis of amides, thioamides, and amidines. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Mass Spec Rev.

Activation of Aryl Carboxylic Acids by Diboron Reagents towards Nickel-Catalyzed Direct Decarbonylative Borylation

The Ni-catalyzed decarbonylative borylation of (hetero)aryl carboxylic acids with B₂ cat₂ has been achieved without recourse to any additives. This Ni-catalyzed method exhibits a broad substrate scope covering poorly reactive non-ortho-substituted (hetero)aryl carboxylic acids, and tolerates diverse functional groups including some of the groups active to Ni⁰ catalysts. The key to achieve this decarbonylative borylation reaction is the choice of B₂ cat₂ as a coupling partner that not only acts as a borylating reagent, but also chemoselectively activates aryl carboxylic acids towards oxidative addition of their C(acyl)-O bond to Ni⁰ catalyst via the formation of acyloxyboron compounds. A combination of experimental and computational studies reveals a detailed plausible mechanism for this reaction system, which involves a hitherto unknown concerted decarbonylation and reductive elimination step that generates the aryl boronic ester product. This mode of boron-promoted carboxylic acid activation is also applicable to other types of reactions.

Exploiting a silver–bismuth hybrid material as heterogeneous noble metal catalyst for decarboxylations and decarboxylative deuterations of carboxylic acids under batch and continuous flow conditions

A silver-containing hybrid material is reported as a heterogeneous noble metal catalyst for protodecarboxylations and decarboxylative deuterations of carboxylic acids.

Traceless directing groups: a novel strategy in regiodivergent C-H functionalization

The use of functional groups as internal ligands for assisting C-H functionalization, termed the chelation assisted strategy, is emerging as one of the most powerful tools for construction of C-C and C-X bonds from inert C-H bonds. However, there are various directing groups which cannot be either removed after functionalization or require some additional steps or reagents for their removal, thereby limiting the scope of structural diversity of the products, and the step and atom economy of the system. These limitations are overcome by the use of the traceless directing group (TDG) strategy wherein functionalization of the substrate and removal of the directing group can be carried out in a one pot fashion. Traceless directing groups serve as the most ideal chelation assisted strategy with a high degree of reactivity and selectivity without any requirement for additional steps for their removal. The present review overviews the use of various functional groups such as carboxylic acids, aldehydes, N-oxides, nitrones, N-nitroso amines, amides, sulfoxonium ylides and silicon tethered directing groups for assisting transition metal catalyzed C-H functionalization reactions in the last decade.

Gold Catalyzed Decarboxylative Cross-Coupling of Iodoarenes

This report details a decarboxylative cross-coupling of (hetero)aryl carboxylates with iodoarenes in the presence of a gold catalyst (>25 examples, up to 96% yield). This reaction is site specific, which overcomes prior limitations associated with gold catalyzed oxidative coupling reactions. The reactivity of the (hetero)aryl carboxylate correlates qualitatively to the field effect parameter (F_ortho). Reactions with isolated gold complexes and DFT calculations support a mechanism proceeding through oxidative addition at a gold(I) cation with decarboxylation being viable at either a gold(I) or a silver(I) species.

Organophotoredox/palladium dual catalytic decarboxylative Csp3-Csp3 coupling of carboxylic acids and π-electrophiles

A dual catalytic decarboxylative allylation and benzylation method for the construction of new C(sp³)-C(sp³) bonds between readily available carboxylic acids and functionally diverse carbonate electrophiles has been developed. The new process is mild, operationally simple, and has greatly improved upon the efficiency and generality of previous methodology. In addition, new insights into the reaction mechanism have been realized and provide further understanding of the harnessed reactivity.

Single Electron Activation of Aryl Carboxylic Acids

Aryl carboxylic acids are stable and readily available in great structural diversity both from natural and well-established synthetic procedures, which make them promising starting materials in organic synthesis. The conversion of benzoic acids into high-value molecules is of great importance and have gained much interest of synthetic chemists. The recent development of single-electron (1e⁻) activation strategy has been esteemed as a complementary method for the transformation of benzoic acids. In this context, carboxylate groups can be selectively transferred into reactive aryl carboxylic radical, aryl radical, and acyl radical by electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, or in the presence of some SET oxidants. Based on these radical species, remarkable advancements have been achieved for the rapid formation of various chemical bonds over the past 10 years. In this review, we summarize recent advances in single electron activation of aryl carboxylic acids, with an emphasis on reaction scope, catalytic system, limitation, and underlying reaction mechanism.

Synthesis of Tribenzo[b,d,f]azepines via Cascade π-Extended Decarboxylative Annulation Involving Cyclic Diaryliodonium Salts

Various functionalized tribenzo[b,d,f]azepines were prepared efficiently with the readily available 2-aminobenzoic acids and cyclic hypervalent diaryliodonium reagents as starting materials under Pd(II) catalysis. The key of this step-economical protocol is that the carboxylic acid functionality was employed as both a traceless directing group for the N-H activation/arylation and a functional handle for the tandem π-extended decarboxylative annulation.

Cascade π-Extended Decarboxylative Annulation Involving Cyclic Diaryliodonium Salts: Site-Selective Synthesis of Phenanthridines and Benzocarbazoles via a Traceless Directing Group Strategy

A novel cascade π-extended decarboxylative annulation (PEDA) involved with cyclic diaryliodonium salts is described. Via fine-tuning of the reaction conditions, the Pd(II)-catalyzed site-selective N1/C2 or C2/C3 annulation of commercially available indole-2-carboxylic acids can be achieved, affording valuable phenanthridines or benzocarbazoles, respectively. The key strategy is the carboxylic acid functionality being employed as both a traceless directing group for the ortho C-N or C-C coupling and a reactive group for the cascade π-extended decarboxylative annulation in a highly step economical manner.

Two-in-One Strategy for the Pd(II)-Catalyzed Tandem C-H Arylation/Decarboxylative Annulation Involved with Cyclic Diaryliodonium Salts

We report here a two-in-one strategy for the Pd(II)-catalyzed tandem C-H arylation/decarboxylative annulation between readily available cyclic diaryliodonium salts and benzoic acids. The carboxylic acid functionality can be used as both a directing group for the ortho-C-H arylation and the reactive group for the tandem decarboxylative annulation. By a step-economical double cross-coupling annulation procedure, the privileged triphenylene frameworks were efficiently constructed, which have potential applications in material chemistry.

Pd-Catalyzed Synthesis of Vinyl Arenes from Aryl Halides and Acrylic Acid

Acrylic acid is presented as an inexpensive, non-volatile vinylating agent in a palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative vinylation of aryl halides. The reaction proceeds through a Heck reaction of acrylic acid, immediately followed by protodecarboxylation of the cinnamic acid intermediate. The use of the carboxylate group as a deciduous directing group ensures high selectivity for monoarylated products. The vinylation process is generally applicable to diversely substituted substrates. Its utility is shown by the synthesis of drug-like molecules and the gram-scale preparation of key intermediates in drug synthesis.

Formation and reactions of the 1, 8-naphthyridine (napy) ligated geminally dimetallated phenyl complexes [(napy)Cu2(Ph)]+, [(napy)Ag2(Ph)]+ and [(napy)CuAg(Ph)]. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY (CHICHESTER, ENGLAND) 2019;25:30-43. [PMID: 30773925 DOI: 10.1177/1469066718795959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0]

Gas-phase ion trap mass spectrometry experiments and density functional theory calculations have been used to examine the routes to the formation of the 1,8-naphthyridine (napy) ligated geminally dimetallated phenyl complexes [(napy)Cu₂(Ph)]⁺, [(napy)Ag₂(Ph)]⁺ and [(napy)CuAg(Ph)]⁺ via extrusion of CO₂ or SO₂ under collision-induced dissociation conditions from their corresponding precursor complexes [(napy)Cu₂(O₂CPh)]⁺, [(napy)Ag₂(O₂CPh)]⁺, [(napy)CuAg(O₂CPh)]⁺ and [(napy)Cu₂(O₂SPh)]⁺, [(napy)Ag₂(O₂SPh)]⁺, [(napy)CuAg(O₂SPh)]⁺. Desulfination was found to be more facile than decarboxylation. Density functional theory calculations reveal that extrusion proceeds via two transition states: TS1 enables isomerization of the O, O-bridged benzoate to its O-bound form; TS2 involves extrusion of CO₂ or SO₂ with the concomitant formation of the organometallic cation and has the highest barrier. Of all the organometallic cations, only [(napy)Cu₂(Ph)]⁺ reacts with water via hydrolysis to give [(napy)Cu₂(OH)]⁺, consistent with density functional theory calculations which show that hydrolysis proceeds via the initial formation of the adduct [(napy)Cu₂(Ph)(H₂O)]⁺ which then proceeds via TS3 in which the coordinated H₂O is deprotonated by the coordinated phenyl anion to give the product complex [(napy)Cu₂(OH)(C₆H₆)]⁺, which then loses benzene.

Palladium-Catalyzed Chemoselective Protodecarboxylation of Polyenoic Acids

Conditions for the first palladium-catalyzed chemoselective protodecarboxylation of polyenoic acids to give the desired polyenes in good yields are presented. The reactions proceed under mild conditions using either a Pd(0) or Pd(II) catalyst and tolerate a variety of aryl and aliphatic substitutions. Unique aspects of the reaction include the requirement of phosphines, water, and a polyene adjacent to the carboxylic acid.

Metal-Free Decarboxylative Alkoxylation of 2-Picolinic Acid and Its Derivatives with Cyclic Ethers: One Step Construction of C-O and C-Cl Bonds

A new strategy for the metal-free decarboxylative alkoxylation of 2-picolinic acid and its derivatives is described. The three-component reaction of 2-picolinic acid or its derivatives, cyclic ethers, and ^tBuOCl proceeded smoothly in the presence of a catalytic amount of p-chloranil to produce 2-alkoxylated pyridines with an ω-chlorine atom in satisfactory to excellent yields. New C-O and C-Cl bonds were generated in one step. The ω-C-Cl bond can be easily transformed to a C-C or C-heteroatom bond, increasing the use of 2-alkoxylated pyridine products in organic synthesis. The electronic property of the substituent linked on the pyridine ring did not influence the reactivity of the 2-picolinic acid substrates.

A Predictive Model for the Decarboxylation of Silver Benzoate Complexes Relevant to Decarboxylative Coupling Reactions

Decarboxylative coupling reactions offer an attractive route to generate functionalized arenes from simple and readily available carboxylic acid coupling partners, yet they are underutilized due to limitations in the scope of carboxylic acid coupling partner. Here we report that the field effect parameter (F) has a substantial influence on the rate of decarboxylation of well-defined silver benzoate complexes. This finding provides the opportunity to surpass current substrate limitations associated with decarboxylation and to enable widespread utilization of decarboxylative coupling reactions.

Ru(II)-Catalyzed Oxidative Heck-Type Olefination of Aromatic Carboxylic Acids with Styrenes through Carboxylate-Assisted C-H Bond Activation

A straightforward synthesis of 2-styrylbenzoic acids from aryl carboxylic acids is disclosed through a carboxylate-assisted coupling under Ru(II) catalysis. This protocol is simple and exhibits broad scope with high tolerance of common organic functional groups, providing good to excellent yields of diverse olefinated products. The efficacy of this protocol has been showcased through sequential syntheses of isochromanone, isocoumarin, and formal synthesis of anacardic acid derivative in good yields.

Copper-catalyzed decarboxylative regioselective synthesis of 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles

A copper-catalyzed decarboxylative regioselective protocol for the synthesis of 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles via direct annulation of cinnamic acids with aryl azides has been developed. This is the first example of 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles using Cu(ii) as the catalyst, which were generally synthesized using a ruthenium(ii) catalyst.

Site-selective synthesis of functionalized dibenzo[f,h]quinolines and their derivatives involving cyclic diaryliodonium salts via a decarboxylative annulation strategy

An unprecedented site-selective synthesis of dibenzo[f,h]quinolines and their derivatives was reported via an acid directed decarboxylative annulation cascade.