A palladium-catalyzed synthesis of (hetero)aryl-substituted imidazoles from aryl halides, imines and carbon monoxide

Facile synthesis of fully substituted 1H-imidazoles from oxime esters via dual photoredox/copper catalyzed multicomponent reactions

A novel and efficient photoredox/copper cocatalyzed domino cyclization of oxime esters, aldehydes, and amines has been achieved, affording a broad range of fully substituted 1H-imidazoles in good yields.

Ligand-Controlled Copper-Catalyzed Regiodivergent Carbonylative Synthesis of α-Amino Ketones and α-Boryl Amides from Imines and Alkyl Iodides

Regioselective transformation is among the long-standing challenges in organic synthesis. In this communication, a copper-catalyzed selectivity controlled regiodivergent borocarbonylation of imines with alkyl iodides has been developed. Various α-amino ketones and α-boryl amides were produced in moderate to good yields from the same substrates. The choice of the ligand is key for the regioselectivity control: α-amino ketones were produced selectively in good yields with (p-CF₃ C₆ H₄ )₃ P as the ligand, whereas the corresponding α-boryl amides were obtained with high regioselectivities when using ^Me IMes as the ligand.

Palladium catalyzed synthesis of indolizines via the carbonylative coupling of bromopyridines, imines and alkynes

We report herein the development of a palladium-catalyzed, multicomponent synthesis of indolizines. The reaction proceeds via the carbonylative formation of a high energy, mesoionic pyridine-based 1,3-dipole, which can undergo spontaneous cycloaddition with alkynes. Overall, this provides a route to prepare indolizines in a modular fashion from combinations of commercially available or easily generated reagents: 2-bromopyridines, imines and alkynes.

A palladium catalyzed, multicomponent synthesis of indolizines is described via the carbon monoxide driven generation of reactive, pyridine-based 1,3-dipoles.

Controllable Site-Selective Construction of 4- and 5-Hydroxyalkyl-Substituted Imidazoles from Amidines, Ynals, and Water

The first example of controllable site-selective pathways to construct 4- and 5-hydroxyalkyl-substituted imidazoles through a three-component reaction of amidines, ynals, and water has been documented. Particularly, the high regioselectivity of the reaction was simply switched by changing the additives. In addition, further ¹⁸O-labeled experiments to probe a plausible mechanism and the gram-scale synthesis were studied.

Palladium catalyzed carbonylative generation of potent, pyridine-based acylating electrophiles for the functionalization of arenes to ketones

We describe here the design of a palladium catalyzed route to generate aryl ketones via the carbonylative coupling of (hetero)arenes and aryl- or vinyl-triflates. In this, the use of the large bite angle Xantphos ligand on palladium provides a unique avenue to balance the activation of the relatively strong C(sp²)–OTf bond with the ultimate elimination of a new class of potent Friedel–Crafts acylating agent: N-acyl pyridinium salts. The latter can be exploited to modulate reactivity and selectivity in carbonylative arene functionalization chemistry, and allow the efficient synthesis of ketones with a diverse array of (hetero)arenes.

A palladium catalyzed approach to the overall carbonylative functionalization of arenes to form ketones with aryl- and vinyl-triflates is described.

Nickel-Catalyzed Carbonylative Synthesis of Functionalized Alkyl Iodides

Functionalized alkyl iodides are important compounds in organic chemistry and biology. In this communication, we developed an interesting nickel-catalyzed carbonylative synthesis of functionalized alkyl iodides from aryl iodides and ethers. With Mo(CO)₆ as the solid CO source, both cyclic and acyclic ethers were activated, which is also a challenging topic in organic synthesis. Functionalized alkyl iodides were prepared in moderate to excellent yields with outstanding functional group tolerance. Besides the high value of the obtained products, all the atoms from the starting materials were incorporated in the final products and the reaction had high atom efficiency as well.

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Nickel-catalyzed carbonylative synthesis of functionalized alkyl iodides

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With Mo(CO)₆ as the solid CO source, carbonylative ether activation

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Good yields of functionalized alkyl iodides

Diastereodivergent Reductive Cross Coupling of Alkynes through Tandem Catalysis: Z- and E-Selective Hydroarylation of Terminal Alkynes

A diastereodivergent hydroarylation of terminal alkynes is accomplished using tandem catalysis. The hydroarylation allows highly selective synthesis of both E and Z diastereoisomers of aryl alkenes, from the same set of starting materials, using the same combination of palladium and copper catalysts. The selectivity is controlled by simple changes in the stoichiometry of the alcohol additive. The hydroarylation has excellent substrate scope and can be accomplished in the presence of various classes of compounds, including esters, nitriles, alkyl halides, epoxides, carbamates, acetals, ethers, silyl ethers, and thioethers. The Z-selective hydroarylation is accomplished using a new approach based on tandem Sonogashira coupling and catalytic semireduction. The E-selective hydroarylation involves an additional catalytic isomerization of the Z-alkene. Our explorations of the reaction mechanism explain the role of individual reaction components and how the subtle changes in the reaction conditions influence the rates of specific steps of the hydroarylation. Our studies also show that, although the Z- and E-selective hydroarylation reactions are mechanistically closely related, the roles of the palladium and copper catalysts in the two reactions are different.

Rh-catalyzed aerobic oxidative cyclization of anilines, alkynes, and CO

We describe a novel Rh-catalyzed C–H cyclization of a wide range of anilines with alkynes and CO. Particularly, simple primary anilines and readily prepared tertiary anilines can be easily converted to quinolin-2(1H)-ones via C–N bond cleavage.

Transition-metal-catalyzed oxidative C–H cyclization of anilines has been an attractive and powerful strategy for the efficient construction of N-heterocycles. However, primary and tertiary anilines are rarely employed in this strategy due to the relative instability with strong oxidants or the presence of three C–N bonds. We describe here a novel Rh-catalyzed C–H cyclization of a wide range of anilines with alkynes and CO, using an aerobic oxidative protocol. Particularly, the simple primary anilines and readily prepared tertiary anilines could be easily converted to quinolin-2(1H)-ones, which are high value-added, biologically significant N-heterocycles, via C–N bond cleavage.

Controllable access to multi-substituted imidazoles via palladium(ii)-catalyzed C–C coupling and C–N condensation cascade reactions

A novel and efficient protocol for the controllable synthesis of various di-, tri- and tetra-substituted imidazoles via cascade palladium catalyzed C–C coupling followed by intramolecular C–N bond formation was developed.