Chemoselective Switch Research Articles

Chemoselectivity Switch between Enantioselective [2,3]-Wittig Rearrangement and Conia-Ene-Type Reactions of Propargyloxyoxindoles.

Despite the existence of three competing reactions for propargyloxyoxindoles, we report a chemoselectivity switch between enantioselective propargyl [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement and Conia-ene-type reactions, with suppression of the [1,2]-Wittig-type rearrangement. Using C1-symmetric imidazolidine-pyrroloimidazolone pyridine as the ligand and Ni(acac)2 as the Lewis acid, diverse 3-hydroxy 3-substituted oxindoles containing allenyl groups were obtained in up to 98 % yield and 99 % ee via asymmetric propargyl [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement. In the presence of AgOTf-Duanphos, chiral spiro dihydrofuran oxindoles were given in up to 98 % yield and 91 % ee through a Conia-ene-type reaction.

Enantioselective Catalytic Aldol Reactions in the Presence of Knoevenagel Nucleophiles: A Chemoselective Switch Optimized in Deep Eutectic Solvents Using Mechanochemistry.

In the presence of different nucleophilic Knoevenagel competitors, cyclic and acyclic ketones have been shown to undergo highly chemoselective aldol reactions with aldehydes. In doing so, the substrate breadth for this emerging methodology has been significantly broadened. The method is also no longer beholden to proline-based catalyst templates, e.g., commercially available O-t-Bu-L-threonine is advantageous for acyclic ketones. The key insight was to exploit water-based mediums under conventional (in-water) and non-conventional (deep eutectic solvents) conditions. With few exceptions, high aldol-to-Knoevenagel chemoselectivity (>10:1) and good product profiles (yield, dr, and ee) were observed, but only in DESs (deep eutectic solvents) in conjunction with ball milling did short reaction times occur.

Escape from Hydrofunctionalization: Palladium Hydride‐Enabled Difunctionalization of Conjugated Dienes and Enynes

AbstractPalladium hydrides are traditionally employed in hydrofunctionalization (i.e. monofunctionalization) of conjugated dienes and enynes, owning to its facile protic hydropalladation of electron‐rich (or neutral) unsaturated bonds. Herein, we report a mild PdH‐catalyzed difunctionalization of conjugated dienes and enynes. This protocol is enabled by the chemoselectivity switch of the initial hydropalladation step achieved by visible light enhancement of hydricity of PdH species. This method allows for cascade annulation of dienes and enynes with various easily available and abundant substrates, such as acrylic acids, acrylic amides, and Baylis–Hillman adducts, toward a wide range of alkenyl or alkynyl lactones, lactams, and tetrahydrofurans. This protocol also provides an easy access to complex spiro‐fused tricyclic frameworks.

Escape from Hydrofunctionalization: Palladium Hydride-Enabled Difunctionalization of Conjugated Dienes and Enynes.

Palladium hydrides are traditionally employed in hydrofunctionalization (i.e. monofunctionalization) of conjugated dienes and enynes, owning to its facile protic hydropalladation of electron-rich (or neutral) unsaturated bonds. Herein, we report a mild PdH-catalyzed difunctionalization of conjugated dienes and enynes. This protocol is enabled by the chemoselectivity switch of the initial hydropalladation step achieved by visible light enhancement of hydricity of PdH species. This method allows for cascade annulation of dienes and enynes with various easily available and abundant substrates, such as acrylic acids, acrylic amides, and Baylis-Hillman adducts, toward a wide range of alkenyl or alkynyl lactones, lactams, and tetrahydrofurans. This protocol also provides an easy access to complex spiro-fused tricyclic frameworks.

Understanding the chemoselectivity switch in CO2 reduction catalyzed by Co and Fe complexes bearing a pentadentate N5 ligand

The Co and Fe complexes bearing a pentadentate N5 ligand could efficiently catalyze the photochemical CO2 reduction with excellent chemoselectivity favoring CO (Co catalysis) and formate (Fe catalysis). Density functional calculations were carried out to gain mechanistic insights and uncover the origin of the selectivity of these reactions. The pentadentate N5 ligand was delineated to be redox noninnocent that can accept electrons and protons, and the oxidation state of Co and Fe remained at +2 during the reduction. The theoretically established catalytic mechanisms suggest that, for the Co (1) catalysis, a nucleophilic attack on CO2 takes place by the double-reduced catalyst (formally Co0) to generate a CoII-carboxylate complex. Then, a proton is transferred from Et3NH+ to CoII-carboxylate to generate a CoII-COOH intermediate, which was further protonated on its hydroxyl group to cleave the C-O bond and release the CO molecule. For the Fe (2) catalysis, the nucleophilic attack on CO2 by a protonated and double-reduced species (formally Fe0-N-H) generates HCOO-. In this step, two electrons and one proton are transferred to the CO2 moiety from the N5 ligand. Such an orthogonal hydride (electron/proton) transfer mechanism is similar to the formate dehydrogenase metalloenzyme catalysis. The CO formation pathway is favored over the formic acid formation pathway in the Co-catalysis. However, the chemoselectivity reverses when changing the metal of the catalyst from Co to Fe, which promotes the formation of formic acid over CO by the orthogonal hydride transfer mechanism.

Easy Access to Enantiomerically Pure Heterocyclic Silicon-Chiral Phosphonium Cations and the Matched/Mismatched Case of Dihydrogen Release.

Phosphonium ions are widely used in preparative organic synthesis and catalysis. The provision of new types of cations that contain both functional and chiral information is a major synthetic challenge and can open up new horizons in asymmetric cation‐directed and Lewis acid catalysis. We discovered an efficient methodology towards new Si‐chiral four‐membered CPSSi* heterocyclic cations. Three synthetic approaches are presented. The stereochemical sequence of anchimerically assisted cation formation with B(C6F5)3 and subsequent hydride addition was fully elucidated and proceeds with excellent preservation of the chiral information at the stereogenic silicon atom. Also the mechanism of dihydrogen release from a protonated hydrosilane was studied in detail by the help of Si‐centered chirality as stereochemical probe. Chemoselectivity switch (dihydrogen release vs. protodesilylation) can easily be achieved through slight modifications of the solvent. A matched/mismatched case was identified and the intermolecularity of this reaction supported by spectroscopic, kinetic, deuterium‐labeling experiments, and quantum chemical calculations.

Visible Light-Enabled sp3 -C-H Functionalization with Chloro- and Bromoalkynes: Chemoselective Route to Vinylchlorides or Alkynes.

An unprecedented direct atom‐economic chemo‐ and regioselective hydroalkylation of chloroalkynes and an sp3‐C−H alkynylation of bromoalkynes was achieved. The reaction partners are unfunctionalized ethers, alcohols, amides, and even non‐activated hydrocarbons. We found that a household fluorescent bulb was able to excite a diaryl ketone, which then selectively abstracts a H‐atom from an sp3‐C−H bond. The product of a formal alkyne insertion into the sp3‐C−H bond was obtained with chloroalkynes, providing valuable vinyl chlorides. The photo‐organocatalytic hydrogen atom transfer strategy gives rise to a broad range of diversely functionalized olefins. When bromoalkynes are applied in the presence of a base, a chemoselectivity switch to an alkynylation is observed. This reaction can even be performed for the alkynylation of unactivated sp3‐C−H bonds, in this case with a preference of the more substituted carbon. Accompanying quantum chemical calculations indicate a vinyl radical intermediate with pronounced linear coordination of the carbon radical center, thus enabling the formation of both diastereoisomers after H‐atom abstraction, suggesting that the (Z)‐diastereoisomer is preferred, which supports the experimentally observed (E/Z)‐distribution.

Chelate ring size effects of Ir(P,N,N) complexes: Chemoselectivity switch in the asymmetric hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated ketones

A novel, highly modular approach has been developed for the synthesis of new chiral P,N,N ligands with the general formula Ph2P(CH3)CH(CH2)mCH(CH3)NHCH2CH2(CH2)nN(CH3)2 and Ph2P(CH3)CHCH2CH(CH3)NHCH2(CH2)n-2-Py (m, n = 0, 1). The systematic variation of their PN and NN backbone led to the conclusion that the activity, chemo- and enantioselectivity in the hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated ketones are highly dependent on the combination of the two bridge lengths. It has been found that a minor change in the ligand's structure, i. e. varying the value of m from 1 to 0, can switch the chemoselectivity of the reaction, from 80% CO to 97% CC selectivity.

2+2+2] Annulation of N-(1-Naphthyl)acetamide with Two Alkynoates via Cleavage of Adjacent C⁻H and C⁻N Bonds Catalyzed by an Electron-Deficient Rhodium(III) Complex.

It has been established that an electron-deficient cationic CpE-rhodium(III) complex catalyzes the non-oxidative [2+2+2] annulation of N-(1-naphthyl)acetamide with two alkynoates via cleavage of the adjacent C–H and C–N bonds to give densely substituted phenanthrenes under mild conditions (at 40 °C under air). In this reaction, a dearomatized spiro compound was isolated, which may support the formation of a cationic spiro rhodacycle intermediate in the catalytic cycle. The use of N-(1-naphthyl)acetamide in place of acetanilide switched the reaction pathway from the oxidative [2+2+2] annulation-lactamization via C–H/C–H cleavage to the non-oxidative [2+2+2] annulation via C–H/C–N cleavage. This chemoselectivity switch may arise from stabilization of the carbocation in the above cationic spiro rhodacycle by the neighboring phenyl and acetylamino groups, resulting in the nucleophilic C–C bond formation followed by β-nitrogen elimination.

Carbocation Catalyzed Bromination of Alkyl Arenes, a Chemoselective sp3vs. sp2 C−H functionalization.

AbstractThe versatility of the trityl cation (TrBF4) as a highly efficient Lewis acid organocatalyst is demonstrated in a light induced benzylic brominaion of alkyl‐arenes under mild conditions. The reaction was conducted at ambient temperature under common hood light (55 W fluorescent light) with catalyst loadings down to 2.0 mol% using N‐bromosuccinimide (NBS) as the brominating agent. The protocol is applicable to an extensive number of substrates to give benzyl bromides in good to excellent yields. In contrast to most previously reported strategies, this protocol does not require any radical initiator or extensive heating. For electron‐rich alkyl‐arenes, the trityl ion catalyzed bromination could be easily switched between benzylic sp3 C−H functionalization and arene sp2 C−H functionalization by simply alternating the solvent. This chemoselective switch allows for high substrate control and easy preparation of benzyl bromides and bromoarenes, respectively. The chemoselective switch was also applied in a one‐pot reaction of 1‐methylnaphthalene for direct introduction of both sp3 C−Br and sp2 C−Br functionality.magnified image

Radical Anions from Urea‐type Carbonyls: Radical Cyclizations and Cyclization Cascades

AbstractRadical anions generated from urea carbonyls by reductive electron transfer are exploited in carbon–carbon bond formation. New radical cyclizations of urea radical anions deliver complex nitrogen heterocycles and, depending upon the proton source used in the reactions, a chemoselective switch between reaction pathways can deliver two heterobicyclic scaffolds. A computational study has been used to investigate the selectivity of the urea radical processes. Furthermore, radical cyclization cascades involving urea radical anions deliver unusual spirocyclic aminal architectures.

Radical Anions from Urea-type Carbonyls: Radical Cyclizations and Cyclization Cascades.

Radical anions generated from urea carbonyls by reductive electron transfer are exploited in carbon-carbon bond formation. New radical cyclizations of urea radical anions deliver complex nitrogen heterocycles and, depending upon the proton source used in the reactions, a chemoselective switch between reaction pathways can deliver two heterobicyclic scaffolds. A computational study has been used to investigate the selectivity of the urea radical processes. Furthermore, radical cyclization cascades involving urea radical anions deliver unusual spirocyclic aminal architectures.

Chemoselective guest-triggered shaping of a polynuclear CuII calix[6]complex into a molecular host.

A new calix[6]arene scaffold bearing a tris-imidazole binding site at the small rim and three tetradentate aza ligands at the large rim was synthesized. The system binds three CuII ions at the large rim sites and is unable to bind a fourth one, which remains in solution. The charge repulsion between the complexes, together with the flexibility of the scaffold, disorganizes the small rim site for binding and prevents its use for host-guest studies. Although the presence of MeCN or DMF guests does not alter this state, the addition of a heptylamine guest, which further displays Brønsted basicity, restores its receptor ability by stabilizing the extra CuII ion at the tris-imidazole site with concomitant guest encapsulation and binding of an exo hydroxo ligand. This chemoselective nuclearity switch yields a tetranuclear complex in which the guest backbone is preorganized in front of three potentially reactive Cu(ii) complexes, reminiscent of polynuclear CuII enzyme active sites.

Visible Light Photocatalytic Aerobic Oxygenation of Indoles and pH as a Chemoselective Switch

An efficient chemodivergent strategy for visible light photocatalysis is developed. In the presence of a dicyanopyrazine-derived chromophore (DPZ) photocatalyst, aerobic photooxygenation of indoles could produce either isatins or formylformanilides in satisfactory yields by judiciously selecting inorganic salts or modulating the reaction pH. The current chemodivergent method is also effective with 2-substituted indoles, opening straightforward synthetic routes to valuable 2,2-disubstituted 3-oxindoles, formylformanilide derivatives, and benzoxazinones. Mechanistic investigations involving cyclic voltammetry studies further confirm that reaction pH influences the electrochemical properties of DPZ, thus affecting the oxidative pathway by which indoles are being transformed.

ChemInform Abstract: Chemoselective Switch in the Asymmetric Organocatalysis of 5H‐Oxazol‐4‐ones and N‐Itaconimides: Addition—Protonation or [4 + 2] Cycloaddition.

AbstractThe use of chiral urea catalysts allow the selective formation of [4 + 2] cycloaddition products or tandem conjugate addition protonation products with high diastereo‐ and enantioselectivities.

Chemoselective Switch in the Asymmetric Organocatalysis of 5H‐Oxazol‐4‐ones and N‐Itaconimides: Addition–Protonation or [4+2] Cycloaddition

AbstractWe report a synthetic strategy for a chemoselective switch and a diastereo‐divergent approach for the asymmetric reaction of 5H‐oxazol‐4‐ones and N‐itaconimides catalyzed by l‐tert‐leucine‐derived tertiary amine–urea compounds. The reaction was modulated to harness either tandem conjugate addition–protonation or [4+2] cycloaddition as major product with excellent enantio‐ and diastereoselectivities. Subjecting the enantio‐enriched cycloaddition products to a basic silica gel reagent yields the diastereomer vis‐à‐vis the product directly obtained under conditions for addition–protonation, thus opening a diastereo‐divergent route for creating 1,3‐tertiary‐hetero‐quaternary stereocenters. Quantum chemical studies further provide stereochemical analysis for the [4+2] process and a plausible mechanism for this chemoselective switch is proposed.

Chemoselective Switch in the Asymmetric Organocatalysis of 5H-Oxazol-4-ones and N-Itaconimides: Addition-Protonation or [4+2] Cycloaddition.

We report a synthetic strategy for a chemoselective switch and a diastereo-divergent approach for the asymmetric reaction of 5H-oxazol-4-ones and N-itaconimides catalyzed by l-tert-leucine-derived tertiary amine-urea compounds. The reaction was modulated to harness either tandem conjugate addition-protonation or [4+2] cycloaddition as major product with excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivities. Subjecting the enantio-enriched cycloaddition products to a basic silica gel reagent yields the diastereomer vis-à-vis the product directly obtained under conditions for addition-protonation, thus opening a diastereo-divergent route for creating 1,3-tertiary-hetero-quaternary stereocenters. Quantum chemical studies further provide stereochemical analysis for the [4+2] process and a plausible mechanism for this chemoselective switch is proposed.

Switching between reaction pathways by an alcohol cosolvent effect: SmI2-ethylene glycol vs SmI2-H2O mediated synthesis of uracils.

A chemoselective switch between reaction pathways by an alcohol cosolvent effect in a general SmI2-mediated synthesis of uracil derivatives is described. The method relies on the use of coordinating solvents to increase the redox potential of Sm(II) and results in a chemoselective 1,2-reduction (SmI2-H2O) or 1,2-migration via in situ generated N-acyliminium ions (SmI2-ethylene glycol, EG). This work exploits the mild conditions of the SmI2-mediated monoreduction of barbituric acids and offers an attractive protocol for the synthesis of uracil derivatives with biological activity from readily accessible building blocks.

Substitution Controlled Functionalization ofortho-Bromobenzylic Alcohols via Palladium Catalysis: Synthesis of Chromenes and Indenols

An efficient domino Pd-catalyzed transformation of simple ortho-bromobenzyl tertiary alcohols to chromenes is presented. Their formation is believed to proceed via the formation of a five-membered palladacycle, which, in turn, involves in an intermolecular homocoupling with the second ortho-bromobenzyltertiary alcohol to yield the homo-biaryl bond followed by intramolecular C-O bond formation. Interestingly, when there is an allylic substituent on the benzylic carbon atom, a chemoselective switch was observed, which preferred intramolecular Heck coupling and gave indenols. Further, it has been confirmed that the tertiary alcohol functionality is indispensible to give the coupled products, whereas the use of primary/secondary benzylic alcohols furnished the simple carbonyl products via a possible reductive debromination followed by oxidation due to the availability of β-hydrogen(s).

ChemInform Abstract: Redox‐Neutral Atom‐Economic Rhodium‐Catalyzed Coupling of Terminal Alkynes with Carboxylic Acids Toward Branched Allylic Esters.

AbstractThe use of diphosphine ligand DPEphos instead of the recently applied 2‐(diphenylphosphinomethyl)pyridine in the title reaction leads to an almost complete chemoselectivity switch to the formation of branched allylic esters instead of (Z)‐enol esters.