A general procedure for the esterification of carboxylic acids with diazoalkanes generated in situ by the oxidation of N-tert-butyldimethylsilylhydrazones with (difluoroiodo)benzene.

The bimolecular reaction of carboxylic acids with diazoalkanes to form esters is among the mildest and most efficient of organic transformations but is seldom used in synthesis beyond the important case of methyl esterification. This is largely a consequence of the inaccessibility and poor stability of higher diazoalkanes as substrates. In this work we describe a new method for the synthesis of diazoalkanes by the oxidation of N-tert-butyldimethylsilylhydrazones (TBSHs) with (difluoroiodo)benzene, a reagent heretofore unexplored in the context of hydrazone oxidation. When conducted in the presence of a carboxylic acid substrate, the oxidation leads to efficient esterification in situ. In addition to greatly extending the range of diazoalkanes that are now available for esterifications, this new protocol offers significant advantages with regard to safety, for diazo intermediates are neither isolated nor achieve appreciable concentrations during the reaction.

Practical procedures for the preparation of N-tert-butyldimethylsilylhydrazones and their use in modified Wolff-Kishner reductions and in the synthesis of vinyl halides and gem-dihalides.

In this work we develop practical chemistry for the preparation of N-tert-butyldimethylsilylhydrazone (TBSH) derivatives from carbonyl-containing compounds and show that these products serve as superior alternatives to simple hydrazones in Wolff-Kishner-type reduction reactions, in the Barton vinyl iodide preparation, in the synthesis of vinyl bromides, and in the synthesis of gem-diiodides, gem-dibromides, and gem-dichlorides. In our new procedure for silyl hydrazone synthesis, aliphatic and aromatic ketones and aldehydes are shown to undergo highly efficient coupling (typically >95% yield) to form the corresponding TBSH derivatives when combined with equimolar amounts of 1,2-bis(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)hydrazine (BTBSH) and a catalytic quantity of scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate (typically, 0.01 mol %), neat, or in solvent. Optimized procedures are provided for the use of TBSH derivatives in a Wolff-Kishner-type reduction protocol that proceeds at low temperature (23-100 degrees C) and in a single reaction flask. Similarly, protocols for the use of TBSH derivatives as precursors to vinyl halides and gem-dihalides are described in detail.

Highly selective hydrolytic kinetic resolution of terminal epoxides catalyzed by chiral (salen)Co(III) complexes. Practical synthesis of enantioenriched terminal epoxides and 1,2-diols.

The hydrolytic kinetic resolution (HKR) of terminal epoxides catalyzed by chiral (salen)Co(III) complex 1 x OAc affords both recovered unreacted epoxide and 1,2-diol product in highly enantioenriched form. As such, the HKR provides general access to useful, highly enantioenriched chiral building blocks that are otherwise difficult to access, from inexpensive racemic materials. The reaction has several appealing features from a practical standpoint, including the use of H(2)O as a reactant and low loadings (0.2-2.0 mol %) of a recyclable, commercially available catalyst. In addition, the HKR displays extraordinary scope, as a wide assortment of sterically and electronically varied epoxides can be resolved to > or = 99% ee. The corresponding 1,2-diols were produced in good-to-high enantiomeric excess using 0.45 equiv of H(2)O. Useful and general protocols are provided for the isolation of highly enantioenriched epoxides and diols, as well as for catalyst recovery and recycling. Selectivity factors (k(rel)) were determined for the HKR reactions by measuring the product ee at ca. 20% conversion. In nearly all cases, k(rel) values for the HKR exceed 50, and in several cases are well in excess of 200.