Regiospecific α-methylene functionalisation of tertiary amines with alkynes via Au-catalysed concerted one-proton/two-electron transfer to O2

Regioselective transformations of tertiary amines, which are ubiquitously present in natural products and drugs, are important for the development of novel medicines. In particular, the oxidative α-C-H functionalisation of tertiary amines with nucleophiles via iminium cations is a promising approach because, theoretically, there is almost no limit to the type of amine and functionalisation. However, most of the reports on oxidative α-C-H functionalisations are limited to α-methyl-selective or non-selective reactions, despite the frequent appearance of α-methylene-substituted amines in pharmaceutical fields. Herein, we develop an unusual oxidative regiospecific α-methylene functionalisation of structurally diverse tertiary amines with alkynes to synthesise various propargylic amines using a catalyst comprising Zn salts and hydroxyapatite-supported Au nanoparticles. Thorough experimental investigations suggest that the unusual α-methylene regiospecificity is probably due to a concerted one-proton/two-electron transfer from amines to O₂ on the Au nanoparticle catalyst, which paves the way to other α-methylene-specific functionalisations.

Amidoxime fibers-copper–catalyzed cross-dehydrogenative coupling of N,N-dimethylanilines and aromatic terminal alkynes

A heterogeneous Cu(II)-AOFs catalyst, Cu(II) supported on amidoxime fibers (AOFs), is successfully applied to the cross-dehydrogenative coupling of aromatic terminal alkynes and N,N-dimethylanilines to form propargylamines. The Cu(II)-AOFs catalyst shows high catalytic activity with the yields of the corresponding propargylamines reaching 90% at 70 °C for 4 h without the protection of an inert gas. The Cu(II)-AOFs coordinate with the imine ion intermediate generated during the reaction, making the coupling facile. X-ray photoelectron spectrometer, scanning electron microscope, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results show that Cu(II) successfully coordinates with N and O atoms on the surface of the fibers with the mutual conversion between monovalent and divalent Cu in the Cu-AOFs being the catalytically active center. The catalyst can be recycled more than four times, and the catalytic activity is not obviously reduced. This process represents a new pathway for the formation of propargylamines using a Cu(II)-AOFs catalyst.

Cross-Dehydrogenative Alkynylation: A Powerful Tool for the Synthesis of Internal Alkynes

Alkynes are among the most fundamentally important organic compounds and are widely used in synthetic chemistry, biochemistry, and materials science. Thus, the development of an efficient and sustainable method for the preparation of alkynes has been a central concern in organic synthesis. Cross-dehydrogenative coupling utilizing E-H and Z-H bonds in two different molecules can avoid the need for prefunctionalization of starting materials and has become one of the most straightforward methods for the construction of E-Z chemical bonds. This Review summarizes recent progress in the preparation of internal alkynes by cross-dehydrogenative coupling with terminal alkynes.

Cyclopentyl Methyl Ether: An Elective Ecofriendly Ethereal Solvent in Classical and Modern Organic Chemistry

Solvents represent one of the major contributions to the environmental impact of fine-chemical synthesis. As a result, the use of environmentally friendly solvents in widely employed reactions is a challenge of vast real interest in contemporary organic chemistry. Within this Review, a great variety of examples showing how cyclopentyl methyl ether has been established as particularly useful for this purpose are reported. Indeed, its low toxicity, high boiling point, low melting point, hydrophobicity, chemical stability towards a wide range of conditions, exceptional stability towards the abstraction of hydrogen atoms, relatively low latent heat of vaporization, and the ease with which it can be recovered and recycled enable its successful employment as a solvent in a wide range of synthetic applications, including organometallic chemistry, catalysis, biphasic reactions, oxidations, and radical reactions.

Heterogeneous Catalytic Oxidation of Amides to Imides by Manganese Oxides

Herein, we report a one-step peroxide mediated heterogeneous catalytic oxidation of amides to imides utilizing a series of manganese oxides. Among them, Cs/Mn2O3 was found to be the most active catalyst for the selective partial oxidation of N-benzylbenzamide to diphenyl imide. We have been able to apply an optimized oxidation method to other aromatic substrates. The feasibility of using air as an oxidant, the heterogeneous nature, inexpensive catalytic materials, respectable turnover numbers, and chemoselectivity to imides make this methodology an attractive choice for functional group transformations of amides to imides.

Heterogeneous oxidative synthesis of quinazolines over OMS-2 under ligand-free conditions

OMS-2 is employed to synthesize heterocycles through selective oxidation without the help of ligands.

Iron-catalyzed alkynylation of tertiary aliphatic amines with 1-iodoalkynes to synthesize propargylamines

An alkynylation of tertiary aliphatic amines with 1-iodoalkynes has been developed in the presence of FeCl₂ as a catalyst and tert-butyl hydroperoxide as an oxidant.

Copper supported on H+-modified manganese oxide octahedral molecular sieves (Cu/H-OMS-2) as a heterogeneous biomimetic catalyst for the synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]-N-heterocycles

A combination of Cu and H-OMS-2 is employed to synthesize heterocycles through multistep oxidation under a low-energy pathway.

Iminoiodane- and Brønsted base-mediated cross dehydrogenative coupling of cyclic ethers with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds

A one-pot, two-step approach to prepare 2-tetrahydrofuran and -pyran substituted 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds by PhI=NTs-mediated amination/Brønsted base-catalyzed cross dehydrogenative coupling (CDC) reaction of the cyclic ether and 1,3-dicarbonyl derivative under mild conditions is reported. The reaction is compatible with a variety of cyclic ethers and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, affording the corresponding coupled products in moderate to good yields of up to 80% over two steps.

Heterogeneous biomimetic aerobic synthesis of 3-iodoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines via CuOx/OMS-2-catalyzed tandem cyclization/iodination and their late-stage functionalization

Heterogeneous catalysis performs well in biomimetic oxidation to generate a low-energy pathway for the synthesis of 3-iodoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines.

Heterogeneous Cu/OMS-2 as an efficient catalyst for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted 1,4-enediones and 4H-pyrido[1,2-a]-pyrimidin-4-ones

Copper supported on OMS-2: a heterogeneous catalyst Cu/OMS-2 was prepared for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted 1,4-enediones and 4H-pyrido[1,2-a]-pyrimidin-4-ones under the same conditions with air as the oxidant.