N-heterocyclic carbene-palladium(II)-1-methylimidazole complex-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of benzyl sulfonates with arylboronic acids

Palladium-catalysed difluoroolefination of benzyl tosylates toward the synthesis of gem-difluoro-2-trifluromethyl styrene derivatives

We have presented an efficient method to access gem-difluoro-2-trifluromethyl styrene derivatives via palladium catalysis. This method features mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope and good product yields. Moreover, gram–scale reactions demonstrated the robustness and potential of this method. Control experiments revealed that the –CF₃ group was essential to the success of this transformation. Finally, the practicality of this method was successfully proven by three synthetic applications.

We presented an efficient method to access gem-difluoro-2-trifluromethyl styrene derivatives via palladium catalysis, which features mild reaction conditions and broad substrate scope.

Nickel-Catalyzed Arylative Substitution of Homoallylic Alcohols

Direct coupling of unactivated alcohols remains a challenge in synthetic chemistry. Current approaches to cross-coupling of alcohol-derived electrophiles often involve activated alcohols such as tosylates or carbonates. We report the direct arylative substitution of homoallylic alcohols catalyzed by a nickel-bisphosphine complex as a facile method to generate allylic arenes. These reactions proceed via formation of an allylic alcohol intermediate. Subsequent allylic substitution with arylboroxine nucleophiles enables the formation of a variety of allylic arenes. The presence of p-methoxyphenylboronic acid is crucial to activate the allylic alcohol to achieve high product yields.

Arylative substitutions of homoallylic alcohols with arylboron nucleophiles demonstrate the utility of unactivated alcohols as coupling partners in transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling chemistry.

Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Couplings by C-O Bond Activation

Although palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of aryl halides and reactive pseudohalides has revolutionized the way organic molecules are constructed today across various fields of chemistry, comparatively less progress has been made in the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of less reactive C-O electrophiles. This is despite the fact that the use of phenols and phenol derivatives as bench-stable cross-coupling partners has been well-recognized to bring about major advantages over aryl halides, such as (1) natural abundance of phenols, (2) avoidance of toxic halides, (3) orthogonal cross-coupling conditions, (4) prefunctionalization of phenolic substrates by electrophilic substitution or C-H functionalization, (5) ready availability of phenols from a different pool of precursors than aryl halides. In this review, we present an overview of recent advances made in the field of palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of C-O electrophiles with a focus on (1) catalytic systems, (2) reaction type, and (3) class of C-O coupling partners. Although the field has been historically dominated by nickel catalysis, it is now evident that the use of more versatile, more functional group tolerant and highly active palladium catalysts supported by appropriately designed ancillary ligands enables the cross-coupling with improved substrate scope and generality, and likely represents a practical solution to the broadly applicable cross-coupling of various C-O bonds across diverse chemical disciplines. The review covers the period through June 2020.

A new bifunctional heterogeneous nanocatalyst for one-pot reduction-Schiff base condensation and reduction–carbonylation of nitroarenes

In this work, synthesis of Pd–NHC-γ-Fe₂O₃-n-butyl-SO₃H and its activity as a bifunctional heterogeneous nanocatalyst containing Pd–NHC and acidic functional groups, are described. This newly synthesized nanomagnetic catalyst is fully characterized by different methods such as FT-IR, XPS, TEM, VSM, ICP and TG analysis. At first, the catalytic activity of Pd–NHC-γ-Fe₂O₃-n-butyl-SO₃H is evaluated for the reduction of nitroarenes in aqueous media using NaBH₄ as a clean source of hydrogen generation at ambient temperature. Using the promising results obtained from the nitroarene reduction, this catalytic system is used for two one-pot protocols including reduction-Schiff base condensation and reduction–carbonylation of various nitroarenes. In these reactions the in situ formed amines are further reacted with aldehydes to yield imines or carbonylated to amides. The desired products are obtained in good to high yields in the presence of Pd–NHC-γ-Fe₂O₃-n-butyl-SO₃H as a bifunctional catalyst. The catalyst is reused with the aid of a magnetic bar for up to six consecutive cycles without any drastic loss of its catalytic activity.

This paper presents synthesis of Pd–NHC-γ-Fe₂O₃-n-butyl-SO₃H and its activity as bifunctional heterogeneous nanocatalyst containing Pd–NHC and acidic functional groups.

Cross coupling of benzylammonium salts with boronic acids using a well-defined N-heterocyclic carbene–palladium(ii) precatalyst

N-heterocyclic carbene–palladium(ii)-catalyzed cross-coupling of benzylammonium salts with arylboronic acids for the synthesis of diarylmethane derivatives via C–N bond activation has been developed. Notably, in the presence of the easily prepared and bench-stable Pd-PEPPSI precatalyst, the Csp³–N bond activation of the benzylammonium salt even proceeded smoothly in isopropanol at room temperature.

N-heterocyclic carbene–palladium(ii)-catalyzed cross-coupling of benzylammonium salts with arylboronic acids for the synthesis of diarylmethane derivatives via C–N bond activation has been developed.

Substrate switchable Suzuki–Miyaura coupling for benzyl ester vs. benzyl halide

Two reaction conditions were developed to accomplish the substrate switchable (benzyl esters vs. benzyl halides) Suzuki–Miyaura coupling.

Selective Synthesis of (Benzyl)biphenyls by Successive Suzuki-Miyaura Coupling of Phenylboronic Acids with 4-Bromobenzyl Acetate under Air Atmosphere

An efficient Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of phenylboronic acids and benzyl carbonates was developed, producing diarylmethanes. Benzyl acetates could also be used as coupling partners instead of benzyl carbonates, affording diarylmethanes in comparable yields. This reaction can be conducted under air atmosphere without any care for moisture and oxygen. The ester function showed an intermediate reactivity between chloro and bromo groups. This property facilitated the selective synthesis of diverse (benzyl)biphenyls by successive Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions using bromo- and chloro-substituted benzyl esters with two types of boronic acids.

The crystal structure of 1,3-bis(2,6-diiso-propylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene)-dibromido-(1-methyl-1H-imidazole-κ1N)palladium(II) – ethyl acetate – water (1/1/1), C31H42Br2N4Pd

C31H42Br2N4Pd, monoclinic, P21/c, a = 12.3093(14)Å, b = 15.2805(18) Å, c = 20.3205(17) Å, β = 112.213(5)°, V = 3538.5(7) Å3, Z = 4, R gt(F) = 0.0540, wR ref(F 2) = 0.1528, T = 298(2)K.

Diarylmethanes through an Unprecedented Palladium-Catalyzed C-C Cross-Coupling of 1-(Aryl)methoxy-1 H-Benzotriazoles with Arylboronic Acids

1-(Aryl)methoxy-1H-benzotriazoles (ArCH2OBt) are bench-stable reagents that are prepared readily from 1H-benzotriazol-1-yl-4-methylbenzenesulfonate (BtOTs) and benzylic alcohols. These compounds, which contain a N-O-C bond, undergo cross-coupling with arylboronic acids by C-O bond scission with catalysts that comprise Pd(OAc)2 and biarylphosphine ligands. Such reactivity of ArCH2OBt derivatives, leading to diarylmethanes, has not been described previously and constitutes a new activation of benzylic alcohols. With regard to the various ligands-metal complexes that support catalytic activity, it appears that those with smaller "percent buried volumes" (%Vbur) provide better outcomes. This factor has been evaluated in the initial optimization studies and in further reactions with difficult coupling partners. Ligand electronics of the biaryl moiety seem to play a lesser role in this type of reaction. The bis-coordinating bis[(2-diphenylphosphino)phenyl]ether appears to be suitable to improve the yields of low-yielding reactions.

N-Heterocyclic carbene-palladium(ii)-1-methylimidazole complex-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of benzyl carbamates with arylboronic acids

The Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of benzyl carbamates with arylboronic acids was achieved in an environmentally benign medium. Using water as the sole solvent, such transformation took place very well to give the desired diarylmethane derivatives in good to almost quantitative yields in the presence of a well-defined NHC-Pd(ii)-Im complex under mild conditions. It is worth noting here that this is the first example of benzyl carbamates used in coupling reaction, thus affording a new method for the formation of diarylmethanes by palladium-catalyzed C-O bond activation.