Selective cleavage of 3,5-bis-(trifluoromethyl)benzylcarbamate by SmI2-Et3N-H2O

Synthesis of Nitrogen Heterocycles Using Samarium(II) Iodide

Nitrogen heterocycles represent vital structural motifs in biologically-active natural products and pharmaceuticals. As a result, the development of new, convenient and more efficient processes to N-heterocycles is of great interest to synthetic chemists. Samarium(II) iodide (SmI₂, Kagan’s reagent) has been widely used to forge challenging C–C bonds through reductive coupling reactions. Historically, the use of SmI₂ in organic synthesis has been focused on the construction of carbocycles and oxygen-containing motifs. Recently, significant advances have taken place in the use of SmI₂ for the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles, enabled in large part by the unique combination of high reducing power of this reagent (E_1/2 of up to −2.8 V) with excellent chemoselectivity of the reductive umpolung cyclizations mediated by SmI₂. In particular, radical cross-coupling reactions exploiting SmI₂-induced selective generation of aminoketyl radicals have emerged as concise and efficient methods for constructing 2-azabicycles, pyrrolidines and complex polycyclic barbiturates. Moreover, a broad range of novel processes involving SmI₂-promoted formation of aminyl radicals have been leveraged for the synthesis of complex nitrogen-containing molecular architectures by direct and tethered pathways. Applications to the synthesis of natural products have highlighted the generality of processes and the intermediates accessible with SmI₂. In this review, recent advances involving the synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles using SmI₂ are summarized, with a major focus on reductive coupling reactions that enable one-step construction of nitrogen-containing motifs in a highly efficient manner, while taking advantage of the spectacular selectivity of the venerable Kagan’s reagent.

On the role of pre- and post-electron-transfer steps in the SmI2 /amine/H(2)O-mediated reduction of esters: new mechanistic insights and kinetic studies

The mechanism of the SmI2 -mediated reduction of unactivated esters has been studied using a combination of kinetic, radical clocks and reactivity experiments. The kinetic data indicate that all reaction components (SmI2 , amine, H2 O) are involved in the rate equation and that electron transfer is facilitated by Brønsted base assisted deprotonation of water in the transition state. The use of validated cyclopropyl-containing radical clocks demonstrates that the reaction occurs via fast, reversible first electron transfer, and that the electron transfer from simple Sm(II) complexes to aliphatic esters is rapid. Notably, the mechanistic details presented herein indicate that complexation between SmI2 , H2 O and amines affords a new class of structurally diverse, thermodynamically powerful reductants for efficient electron transfer to carboxylic acid derivatives as an attractive alternative to the classical hydride-mediated reductions and as a source of acyl-radical equivalents for CC bond forming processes.

Highly chemoselective reduction of amides (primary, secondary, tertiary) to alcohols using SmI2/amine/H2O under mild conditions

Highly chemoselective direct reduction of primary, secondary, and tertiary amides to alcohols using SmI2/amine/H2O is reported. The reaction proceeds with C-N bond cleavage in the carbinolamine intermediate, shows excellent functional group tolerance, and delivers the alcohol products in very high yields. The expected C-O cleavage products are not formed under the reaction conditions. The observed reactivity is opposite to the electrophilicity of polar carbonyl groups resulting from the n(X) → π*(C═O) (X = O, N) conjugation. Mechanistic studies suggest that coordination of Sm to the carbonyl and then to Lewis basic nitrogen in the tetrahedral intermediate facilitate electron transfer and control the selectivity of the C-N/C-O cleavage. Notably, the method provides direct access to acyl-type radicals from unactivated amides under mild electron transfer conditions.