PMA‐SiO2: A Heterogenous Catalyst for O‐, S‐, and N‐Nucleophilic Substitution Reactions of Aryl Propargyl Alcohols

Taming Brønsted Acid Reactivity: Nucleophilic Substitutions of Propargylic Alcohols with N-Nucleophiles Mediated by Phosphorus-Based Brønsted Acid Catalysts

The activity of diethyl phosphite and diphenyl phosphate in propargylation reactions with N-nucleophiles of varying basicity is presented. A careful choice of the reaction conditions minimized undesired rearrangements and arylation processes, typical side reactions with Brønsted acid catalysis. These systems are compatible with technical solvents and presence of air, and they are also applicable to C-, O-, and S-nucleophiles.

Scope and advances in the catalytic propargylic substitution reaction

Nucleophilic displacement of the propargylic alcohol is one of the sought-after methods in the current scenario. The highly nucleophilic alkyne functional moiety along with its considerably acidic terminal hydrogen atom allows the propargylic unit to play a crucial role in organic synthesis by offering a handle for further synthetic transformations. Until 2000, the most fundamental propargylic substitution reaction was the Nicolas reaction, a multi-step transformation, developed in 1972, which involved cobalt as a stoichiometric promoter. Therefore, the direct catalytic substitution of propargylic alcohols was a highly desirable method for development. The pioneering work on the Ru-catalyzed propargylic substitution reaction in 2000 encouraged many researchers to develop several novel catalytic propargylic substitution reactions, which have made rapid progress since then. The purpose of this review is to emphasise the involvement of diverse types of Lewis acid, transition metal and Brønsted acid catalysts in the propargylic substitution reaction and provide an updated summary of the recent developments in this field. The selected examples presented here are the most significant and relevant ones and we believe that this will help the readers to comprehend the scope of the propargylic substitution reaction with diverse types of catalysts and will envisage the scientific community for the future developments in this field.

Direct nucleophilic displacement of the alpha-hydroxy of the propargylic alcohol is one of the sought-after methods in the current scenario. An updated summary of the recent developments in this field is presented here.

HBF4-Catalysed Nucleophilic Substitutions of Propargylic Alcohols

The activity of HBF4 (aqueous solution) as a catalyst in propargylation reactions is presented. Diverse types of nucleophiles were employed in order to form new C-O, C-N and C-C bonds in technical acetone and in air. Good to excellent yields and good chemoselectivities were obtained using low acid loading (typically 1 mol-%) under simple reaction conditions.

Gold-catalyzed propargylic substitutions: Scope and synthetic developments

This personal account summarizes our recent developments in gold-catalyzed direct substitutions on propargylic (allylic, benzylic) alcohols, with various nucleophiles (and bi-nucleophiles) based on the σ- and/or π-acidity of gold(III) complexes. Synthetic developments are also briefly described.