Revealing the Hidden Complexity and Reactivity of Palladacyclic Precatalysts: The P(o-tolyl)3 Ligand Enables a Cocktail of Active Species Utilizing the Pd(II)/Pd(IV) and Pd(0)/Pd(II) Pathways for Efficient Catalysis.

The ligand, P(o-tolyl)3, is ubiquitous in applied synthetic chemistry and catalysis, particularly in Pd-catalyzed processes, which typically include Pd(OAc)2 (most commonly used as Pd3(OAc)6) as a precatalyst. The Herrmann-Beller palladacycle [Pd(C^P)(µ2-OAc)]2 (where C^P = monocyclopalladated P(o-tolyl)3) is easily formed from reaction of Pd(OAc)2 with P(o-tolyl)3. The mechanisms by which this precatalyst system operates are inherently complex, with studies previously implicating Pd nanoparticles (PdNPs) as reservoirs for active Pd(0) species in arylative cross-coupling reactions. In this study, we reveal the fascinating, complex, and nontrivial behavior of the palladacyclic group. First, in the presence of hydroxide base, [Pd(C^P)(µ2-OAc)]2 is readily converted into an activated form, [Pd(C^P)(µ2-OH)]2, which serves as a conduit for activation to catalytically relevant species. Second, palladacyclization imparts unique stability for catalytic species under reaction conditions, bringing into play a Pd(II)/Pd(IV) cross-coupling mechanism. For a benchmark Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling (SMCC) reaction, there is a shift from a mononuclear Pd catalytic pathway to a PdNP-controlled catalytic pathway during the reaction. The activation pathway of [Pd(C^P)(µ2-OH)]2 has been studied using an arylphosphine-stabilized boronic acid and low-temperature NMR spectroscopic analysis, which sheds light on the preactivation step, with water and/or acid being critical for the formation of active Pd(0) and Pd(II) species. In situ reaction monitoring has demonstrated that there is a sensitivity to the structure of the arylboron species in the presence of pinacol. This work, taken together, highlights the mechanistic complexity accompanying the use of palladacyclic precatalyst systems. It builds on recent findings involving related Pd(OAc)2/PPh3 precatalyst systems which readily form higher order Pdn clusters and PdNPs under cross-coupling reaction conditions. Thus, generally, one needs to be cautious with the assumption that Pd(OAc)2/tertiary phosphine mixtures cleanly deliver mononuclear "Pd(0)Ln" species and that any assessment of individual phosphine ligands may need to be taken on a case-by-case basis.

A Mechanistic Investigation of the N-Hydroxyphthalimide Catalyzed Benzylic Oxidation Mediated by Sodium Chlorite.

A detailed investigation into the mechanistic course of N-hydroxyphthalimide catalyzed oxidation of benzylic centers using sodium chlorite as the stoichiometric oxidant is reported. Through a combination of experimental, spectroscopic, and computational techniques, the transformation is interrogated, providing improved reaction conditions and an enhanced understanding of the mechanism. Performing the transformation in the presence of acetic acid or a pH 4.5 buffer leads to extended reaction times but improves the catalyst lifetime, leading to the complete consumption of the starting material. Chlorine dioxide is identified as the active oxidant that is able to oxidize the N-hydroxyphthalimide anion to the phthalimide-N-oxyl radical, the proposed catalytically active species, which is able to abstract a hydrogen atom from the substrate. A second molecule of chlorine dioxide reacts with the resultant radical and, after loss of hypochlorous acid, leads to the observed product. Through a broad variety of techniques including UV/vis, EPR and Raman spectroscopy, isotopic labeling, and the use of radical traps, evidence for the mechanism is presented that is supported through electronic structural calculations.

Computer vision for non-contact monitoring of catalyst degradation and product formation kinetics.

We report a computer vision strategy for the extraction and colorimetric analysis of catalyst degradation and product-formation kinetics from video footage. The degradation of palladium(ii) pre-catalyst systems to form 'Pd black' is investigated as a widely relevant case study for catalysis and materials chemistries. Beyond the study of catalysts in isolation, investigation of Pd-catalyzed Miyaura borylation reactions revealed informative correlations between colour parameters (most notably ΔE, a colour-agnostic measure of contrast change) and the concentration of product measured by off-line analysis (NMR and LC-MS). The breakdown of such correlations helped inform conditions under which reaction vessels were compromised by air ingress. These findings present opportunities to expand the toolbox of non-invasive analytical techniques, operationally cheaper and simpler to implement than common spectroscopic methods. The approach introduces the capability of analyzing the macroscopic 'bulk' for the study of reaction kinetics in complex mixtures, in complement to the more common study of microscopic and molecular specifics.

Stereocontrolled synthesis of adjacent acyclic quaternary-tertiary motifs: application to a concise total synthesis of (-)-filiformin.

Lithiation/borylation methodology has been developed for the synthesis of acyclic quaternary-tertiary motifs with full control of relative and absolute stereochemistry, thus leading to all four possible isomers of a stereodiad. A novel intramolecular Zweifel-type olefination enabled acyclic stereocontrol to be transformed into cyclic stereocontrol. These key steps have been applied to the shortest enantioselective synthesis of (-)-filiformin to date (9 steps) with full stereocontrol.

Stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-giganin and its C10 epimer by using late-stage lithiation-borylation methodology.

The first total synthesis of (+)-giganin and its unnatural diastereoisomer (+)-C10-epi-giganin has been completed in a total of 13 linear steps, and 7 % and 8 % overall yield, respectively (see scheme; (-)-sp= (-)-sparteine, (+)-sps=(+)-sparteine surrogate). Lithiation-borylation methodology has been successfully applied in the key step, to couple together advanced intermediates with very high diastereoselectivity, thus demonstrating its power as a tool for total synthesis.

Osmium-mediated oxidative cyclizations: a study into the range of initiators that facilitate cyclization.

A general route to prepare substituted, saturated five-membered heterocycles has been developed. The application of a wide range of starting materials to the osmium-catalyzed oxidative cyclization reaction is described. Diols, hydroxy-amides, hydroxy-sulfonamides, and carbamates all cyclize in moderate to excellent yields to give cis-tetrahydrofurans and pyrrolidines, depending upon the position of the heteroatoms in the starting materials. These cyclizations all proceed with near total selectivity for the cis-heterocycles, and with stereospecific introduction of a hydroxy group adjacent to the ring. Moreover, routes to enantiopure starting materials are described, which give enantiopure products upon cyclization. Catalyst loadings of as low as one mol percent have been successfully employed for this transformation.