Effect of Alcohol Structure on the Kinetics of Etherification and Dehydration over Tungstated Zirconia.

Linear and branched ether molecules have attracted recent interest as diesel additives and lubricants that can be produced from biomass-derived alcohols. In this study, tungstated zirconia was identified as a selective and green solid acid catalyst for the direct etherification of primary alcohols in the liquid phase, achieving ether selectivities of >94 % for C6 -C12 linear alcohol coupling at 393 K. The length of linear primary alcohols (C6 -C12 ) was shown to have a negligible effect on apparent activation energies for etherification and dehydration, demonstrating the possibility to produce both symmetrical and asymmetrical linear ethers. Reactions over a series of C6 alcohols with varying methyl branch positions indicated that substituted alcohols (2°, 3°) and alcohols with branches on the ß-carbon readily undergo dehydration, but alcohols with branches at least three carbons away from the -OH group are highly selective to ether. A novel model compound, 4-hexyl-1dodecanol, was synthesized and tested to further demonstrate this structure-activity relationship. Trends in the effects of alcohol structure on selectivity were consistent with previously proposed mechanisms for etherification and dehydration, and help to define possible pathways to selectively form ethers from biomass-derived alcohols.

Parameterization of Acyclic Diaminocarbene Ligands Applied to a Gold(I)-Catalyzed Enantioselective Tandem Rearrangement/Cyclization.

Computed descriptors for acyclic diaminocarbene ligands are developed in the context of a gold catalyzed enantioselective tandem [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement-[2+2]-cyclization. Surrogate structures enable the rapid identification of parameters that reveal mechanistic characteristics. The observed selectivity trends are validated in a robust multivariate analysis facilitating the development of a highly enantioselective process.

Asymmetric Carbamoyl Anion Additions to Chiral N-Phosphonyl Imines via the GAP Chemistry Process and Stereoselectivity Enrichments.

Carbamoyl anions were found to smoothly react with chiral N-phosphonyl imines in toluene at -78 °C to r.t. using LiHMDS as the base. Group-assisted purification (GAP) has been utilized to give the pure amides without using column chromatography or recrystallization. The asymmetric reaction resulted in chiral N-phosphonyl amino amides with good to excellent yields (71-99%) and good crude diastereoselectivities (dr 84:16-95:5). In this GAP procedure, the crude solids are washed with diethyl ether to afford the pure products, as revealed by (1)H NMR analysis; GAP washing consistently increases the diastereopurity of the products, resulting in excellent diastereoselectivities, often with final dr > 99:1. Interestingly, the diastereoenriched products can be obtained either in the ether solution or as the suspended solid, depending on the substrate.

Design, synthesis, and applications of chiral N-2-phenyl-2-propyl sulfinyl imines for group-assisted purification (GAP) asymmetric synthesis.

A new chiral (Rs)-2-phenyl-2-propyl sulfinamide has been designed and synthesized; its derived aldimines and ketimines have been applied for asymmetric addition reaction with allylmagnesium bromide. The reaction was conveniently performed at room temperature to give a series of homoallylic amines in high yields (up to quant) and diastereoselectivity (up to >99% de). The pure products were obtained by relying on group-assisted purification (GAP) chemistry to avoid traditional purification methods of column chromatography or recrystallization. The conversion of disulfide to (R(s))-thiosulfinate which contains a newly generated polar group was also confirmed to be of the GAP chemistry in which washing crude product can generate pure enantiomer. The absolute stereochemistry has been determined by X-ray analysis.

Asymmetric catalytic aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction for the synthesis of 3-substituted-3-aminooxindoles with chiral quaternary carbon centers.

The asymmetric catalytic aza-Morita-Baylis-Hillman (aza-MBH) reaction of isatin-derived ketimines with MVK has been established by using chiral amino and phosphino catalysts. The reaction resulted in biomedically important 3-substituted 3-amino-2-oxindoles in good yields (>80% for most cases) and with excellent enantioselectivity (90-99% ee). Twenty-eight cases assembled with chiral quaternary stereogenic centers have been examined under convenient systems.

Efficient domino approaches to multifunctionalized fused pyrroles and dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-1-ones.

Efficient domino approaches for the synthesis of multifunctionalized tricyclic fused pyrroles and dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-1-ones have been established. The reaction pathways were controlled by varying enaminones with different substituted patterns to give a series of new fused pyrroles and dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-1-ones selectively. The complete anti diastereoselectivity was achieved for the first reaction.

A multi-component domino reaction for the direct access to polyfunctionalized indoles via intermolecular allylic esterification and indolation.

A novel multi-component reaction for the synthesis of polyfunctionalized indoles and bis-indoles has been established. The reaction pathways were controlled by varying enamines with different substitution patterns to give polyfunctionalized indoles and bis-indoles selectively. The reaction proceeds at a fast speed within 15-30 min with water as the major byproduct, which makes work-up convenient.

Asymmetric synthesis of α-amino-1,3-dithianes via chiral N-phosphonyl imine-based Umpolung reaction without using chromatography and recrystallization.

A series of α-amino-1,3-dithianes have been synthesized via the asymmetric Umpolung reaction of 2-lithio-1,3-dithianes with chiral N-phosphonyl imines in good chemical yields (up to 82%) and good to excellent diastereoselectivities (>99:1). The manner by which chiral N-phosphonyl imines are slowly added into the solution of 2-lithio-1,3-dithiane was found to be crucial for achieving excellent diastereoselectivity. The current synthesis was proven to follow the GAP chemistry (group-assistant-purification chemistry) process, which avoids traditional purification techniques of chromatography or recrystallization, i.e., the pure chiral α-amino-1,3-dithianes attached with the chiral N-phosphonyl group were readily obtained by washing the solid crude products with hexane or a mixture of hexane-ethyl acetate.

N-phosphinyl imine chemistry (I): design and synthesis of novel N-phosphinyl imines and their application to asymmetric aza-Henry reaction.

Novel chiral N-phosphinamide and N-phosphinyl imines have been designed, synthesized and applied to asymmetric aza-Henry reaction to give excellent chemical yields (92%- quant.) and diastereoselectivity (91% to >99%de). The reaction showed a great substrate scope in which aromatic/aliphatic aldehyde- and ketone-derived N-phosphinyl imines can be employed as electrophiles. The chiral N-phosphinamide can be stored at room temperature for more than 2 months without inert gas protection, and chiral N-phosphinyl imines were also proven to be highly stable at room temperature for a long period under inert gas protection. The N-phosphinyl group enabled the product purification to be performed simply by washing crude product with EtOAc and hexane. This reaction joined other eight GAP (Group-Assistant-Purification) chemistry processes that were developed in our laboratories. The absolute configuration has been unambiguously determined by converting a ß-nitroamine product into a known N-Boc sample.

Asymmetric catalytic N-phosphonyl imine chemistry: the use of primary free amino acids and Et2AlCN for asymmetric catalytic Strecker reaction.

The new asymmetric catalytic Strecker reaction of achiral N-phosphonyl imines has been established. Excellent enantioselectivity (95.2-99.7% ee) and yields (89-97%) have been achieved by using primary free natural amino acids as catalysts and Et(2)AlCN as nucleophile. This work also presents the novel use of nonvolatile and inexpensive Et(2)AlCN in asymmetric catalysis. The N-phosphonyl protecting group enabled simple product purification to be achieved simply by washing the crude products with hexane, which is defined as the GAP chemistry (GAP: Group-Assistant-Purification). It can also be readily cleaved and recycled under mild condition to give a quantitative recovery of N,N'-bis(naphthalen-1-ylmethyl)ethane-1,2-diamine. A new mechanism was proposed for this reaction and was supported by experimental observations.

Asymmetric catalytic Strecker reaction of N-phosphonyl imines with Et2AlCN using amino alcohols and BINOLs as catalysts.

The asymmetric catalytic Strecker reaction of achiral N-phosphonyl imines with Et(2)AlCN has been established. Both free amino alcohols and BINOLs have been proven to be effective catalysts to afford excellent enantioselectivities and yields. The N-phosphonyl group can be readily cleaved under mild conditions and enable purification of crude products by simple washing with hexane. The cleaved N,N-dialkyl diamine auxiliary can be recovered quantitatively via n-BuOH extraction. The scope for both N-phosphonyl imines and catalysts was vastly studied for this new catalytic system.