Value-added Synthesis Research Articles

Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Aziridines with Thioesters toward Atom-Economic Synthesis of β-Sulfanyl Amides.

Thioesters have been recognized as a class of powerful bifunctional reagents, namely, great donors of acyl and sulfide moieties. However, such application in value-added synthesis is still very limited to date. Herein, a nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction system of aziridines with thioesters was developed under redox-neutral and mild conditions. This catalytic method provides an atom-economic route for the synthesis of diverse β-sulfanyl amide derivatives with wide substrate scope (43 examples), good functional group tolerance, and regioselectivity.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Regioselective Borylation of Arenes: N-Heterocyclic Silylene as an Electron Donor in the Metal-Mediated Activation of C-H Bonds.

C-H Borylation of arenes has been a subject of great interest recently because of its atom-economy and the wide applicability of borylated products in value-added synthesis. A new bis(silylene)cobalt(II) complex bearing a bis(N-heterocyclic silylene)-pyridine pincer ligand (SiNSi) has been synthesized and structurally characterized. It enabled the regioselective catalytic C-H borylation of pyridines, furans, and fluorinated arenes. Notably, it exhibited complementary regioselectivity for the borylation of fluorinated arenes compared to previously known catalytic systems, demonstrating that N-heterocyclic silylene donors have enormous potential in metal-catalyzed catalytic applications.