Charge-enhanced thiourea catalysts as hydrogen bond donors for Friedel‒Crafts Alkylations

Abstract

Charge-enhanced catalysis has emerged as a powerful alternative to the mainstream use of neutral catalysis.With this in mind, we report a catalytic Friedel‒Crafts alkylation method catalyzed by a charged thiourea incorporating a cationic cyclopropenium moiety. Mechanistic studies, including density functional theory computational calculations, variable time normalization analysis, and 1H NMR binding studies, collectively reveal this charge-enhanced reactivity proceeds by a dual hydrogen bond-mediated LUMO-lowering mode of substrate activation. Key to these findings is the observed steady-state concentration of the catalyst with in situ derived monomeric catalytic species predominating under the reaction conditions.