Photoinduced α-Aminoalkylation of Sulfonylarenes with Alkylamines.

α-Aminoalkylation of sulfonylarenes with alkylamines was found to be induced by photoirradiation. Here various types of alkylamines, such as trialkylamines, dialkylamines, N,N-dialkylanilines and N-alkylanilines as well as sulfonylarenes containing an azole, azine, heterole or benzene ring are available. The reaction proceeds through a homolytic aromatic substitution (HAS) process consisting of addition of an α-aminoalkyl radical to a sulfonylarene and elimination of the sulfonyl radical to give the α-arylalkylamine, where photoirradiation is considered to induce homolysis of sulfonylarenes leading to the generation of α-aminoalkyl radicals that make a radical chain operative.

Chemistry of Tertiary Carbon Center in the Formation of Congested C-O Ether Bonds.

Nucleophilic substitutions, including SN 1 and SN 2, are classical and reliable reactions, but a serious drawback is their intolerance for both bulky nucleophiles and chiral tertiary alkyl electrophiles for the synthesis of a chiral quaternary carbon center. An SRN 1 reaction via a radical species is another conventional method used to carry out substitution reactions of bulky nucleophiles and alkyl halides, but chiral tertiary alkyl electrophiles cannot be used. Therefore, a stereospecific nucleophilic substitution reaction using chiral tertiary alkyl electrophiles and bulky nucleophiles has not yet been well studied. In this paper, we describe the reaction of tertiary alkyl alcohols and non-chiral or chiral α-bromocarboxamides as a tertiary alkyl source for the formation of congested ether compounds possessing two different tertiary alkyl groups on the oxygen atom with stereoretention.

Electron-Catalyzed Coupling of Magnesium Amides with Aryl Iodides.

An electron was found to catalyze the coupling of magnesium diarylamides with aryl iodides giving triarylamines through a radical-anion intermediate. The transformation requires no transition metal catalysts or additives, and a wide array of products are formed in good-to-excellent yields.

Electron-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Arylboron Compounds with Aryl Iodides.

Arylboroxines in combination with zinc chloride and potassium tert-butoxide were found to undergo the electron-catalyzed cross-coupling with aryl iodides to give the corresponding biaryls without the aid of transition-metal catalysis.

Base-promoted dehydrogenative coupling of benzene derivatives with amides or ethers.

Benzene derivatives are introduced into the dehydrogenative coupling via homolytic aromatic substitution (HAS) as arenes that couple with amides/ethers. NaOt-Bu is used as a critical promoter of HAS in combination with t-BuOOt-Bu as an oxidant.

Single-electron-transfer-induced coupling of arylzinc reagents with aryl and alkenyl halides.

Arylzinc reagents, prepared from aryl halides/zinc powder or aryl Grignard reagents/zinc chloride, were found to undergo coupling with aryl and alkenyl halides without the aid of transition-metal catalysis to give biaryls and styrene derivatives, respectively. In this context, we have already reported the corresponding reaction using aryl Grignard reagents instead of arylzinc reagents. Compared with the Grignard cross-coupling, the present reaction features high functional-group tolerance, whereby electrophilic groups such as alkoxycarbonyl and cyano groups are compatible as substituents on both the arylzinc reagents and the aryl halides. Aryl halides receive a single electron and thereby become activated as the corresponding anion radicals, which react with arylzinc reagents, thus leading to the cross-coupling products.

Indium-catalyzed annulation of 3-aryl- and 3-heteroarylindoles with propargyl ethers: synthesis and photoluminescent properties of aryl- and heteroaryl[c]carbazoles.

Treatment of 3-aryl- and 3-heteroarylindoles with propargyl ethers under indium catalysis successfully provided aryl- and heteroaryl[c]carbazoles, which were found to be more efficient emitters compared with the corresponding [a]-analogs.

Electrochemical Direct α-Arylation of Alkylamines with Sulfonylarenes.

The electrochemical α-arylation of alkylamines with sulfonylarenes has been developed. Here, diverse trialkylamines and aryl(dimethyl)amines are applicable to the α-arylation with sulfonylarenes having an azole, azine, and benzene nucleus. The α-arylation was scaled up using an electrolysis flow cell. Mechanistic studies show that anodic oxidation of an alkylamine with a sulfinate as a mediator followed by deprotonation gives an α-aminoalkyl radical, which undergoes homolytic aromatic substitution (HAS) on a sulfonylarene to give the corresponding α-arylalkylamine.

Manipulation of an electron by photoirradiation in the electron-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction.

An electron has recently been shown to catalyze the cross-coupling reaction of organometallic compounds with aryl halides. In terms of green and sustainable chemistry, the electron catalysis is much more desirable than the inevitably used transition metal catalysis but a high temperature of more than 100°C is required to achieve it. Here, we disclose that visible light photoirradiation accelerates the electron-catalyzed reaction of arylzinc reagents with aryl halides with the aid of a photoredox catalysis. Photoexcitation of a photoredox catalyst and an anion radical intermediate respectively affects the supply and transfer of the electron catalyst, promoting the cross-coupling reaction to proceed at room temperature. The supply of the electron catalyst by the photoredox catalysis makes the scope of aryl halides wider.

Ruthenium-catalyzed transformation of aryl and alkenyl triflates to halides.

Aryl triflates were transformed to aryl bromides/iodides simply by treating them with LiBr/NaI and [Cp*Ru(MeCN)(3)]OTf. The ruthenium complex also catalyzed the transformation of alkenyl sulfonates and phosphates to alkenyl halides under mild conditions. Aryl and alkenyl triflates undergo oxidative addition to a ruthenium(II) complex to form η(1)-arylruthenium and 1-ruthenacyclopropene intermediates, respectively, which are transformed to the corresponding halides.

Iron-copper cooperative catalysis in the reactions of alkyl Grignard reagents: exchange reaction with alkenes and carbometalation of alkynes.

Iron-copper cooperative catalysis is shown to be effective for an alkene-Grignard exchange reaction and alkylmagnesiation of alkynes. The Grignard exchange between terminal alkenes (RCH═CH(2)) and cyclopentylmagnesium bromide was catalyzed by FeCl(3) (2.5 mol %) and CuBr (5 mol %) in combination with PBu(3) (10 mol %) to give RCH(2)CH(2)MgBr in high yields. 1-Alkyl Grignard reagents add to alkynes in the presence of a catalyst system consisting of Fe(acac)(3), CuBr, PBu(3), and N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine to give ß-alkylvinyl Grignard reagents. The exchange reaction and carbometalation take place on iron, whereas copper assists with the exchange of organic groups between organoiron and organomagnesium species through transmetalation with these species. Sequential reactions consisting of the alkene-Grignard exchange and the alkylmagnesiation of alkynes were successfully conducted by adding an alkyne to a mixture of the first reaction. Isomerization of Grignard reagents from 2-alkyl to 1-alkyl catalyzed by Fe-Cu also is applicable as the first 1-alkyl Grignard formation step.

Iron-catalyzed oxidative coupling of alkylamides with arenes through oxidation of alkylamides followed by Friedel-Crafts alkylation.

FeCl(3) in combination with t-BuOOt-Bu as an oxidant was found to be an efficient catalyst for oxidation of alkylamides to α-(tert-butoxy)alkylamides. FeCl(2) and CuCl showed, respectively, almost the same and slightly lower activities compared with FeCl(3) in the tert-butoxylation of N-phenylpyrrolidone (1a), whereas no tert-butoxylated product was obtained by use of Fe(OTf)(3), RuCl(3), or Zr(OTf)(4). FeCl(3) was found to be effective also as a catalyst for the Friedel-Crafts alkylation with thus obtained α-(tert-butoxy)alkylamides. The Friedel-Crafts alkylation proceeded smoothly also in the presence of a catalytic amount of Fe(OTf)(3), RuCl(3), or Zr(OTf)(4). In contrast, FeCl(2) and CuCl, which showed certain activity toward the tert-butoxylation, failed to promote the Friedel-Crafts alkylation. Among the transition metal complexes thus far examined, only FeCl(3) showed high catalytic activities for both the oxidation and the Friedel-Crafts alkylation. The bifunctionality of FeCl(3) was utilized for the oxidative coupling of alkylamides with arenes through a tandem reaction consisting of oxidation of alkylamides to α-(tert-butoxy)alkylamides and the following Friedel-Crafts alkylation. The FeCl(3)-catalyzed oxidative coupling is applicable to a wide variety of alkylamides and arenes, though a combination of FeCl(3) with Fe(OTf)(3) was found to be effective for the reaction of arenes with low nucleophilicity. A Fe(II)-Fe(III) catalytic cycle is concerned with the tert-butoxylation, whereas a Fe(III) complex as a Lewis acid catalyzes the Friedel-Crafts alkylation.

tert-Butoxide-mediated arylation of benzene with aryl halides in the presence of a catalytic 1,10-phenanthroline derivative.

Sodium tert-butoxide mediates the coupling of aryl halides with benzene derivatives without the aid of transition metal catalysts but with a catalytic 1,10-phenanthroline derivative.

Iron-catalyzed carbolithiation of alkynes having no heteroatoms.

Alkyl- and aryllithium compounds were found to add to alkynes having no heteroatoms in the presence of an iron or iron-copper catalyst to give various trisubstituted vinyllithium compounds.

Indium-catalyzed annulation of 2-aryl- and 2-heteroarylindoles with propargyl ethers: concise synthesis and photophysical properties of diverse aryl- and heteroaryl-annulated[a]carbazoles.

Treatment of 2-aryl- and 2-heteroarylindoles with propargyl ethers in the presence of a catalytic amount of indium nonafluorobutanesulfonate [In(ONf)(3)] gave aryl- and heteroaryl-annulated[a]carbazoles in good yields. The synthetically attractive feature is reflected by its applicability to a wide range of 2-aryl- and 2-heteroarylindoles. In the annulation reaction, propargyl ethers act as C3 sources (HC[triple bond]C-CH(2)OR). Among these, two carbon atoms are incorporated into the product as members of a newly constructed aromatic ring and the remaining carbon atom forms a methyl group on the aromatic ring, where the methyl group is always located next to the C3 position of the indole nucleus. The methyl group can be easily removed through SeO(2) oxidation followed by decarbonylation with RhCl(CO)(PPh(3))(2)-Ph(2)P(CH(2))(3)PPh(2) as a catalyst. The new annulation strategy is applicable also to symmetrical dimers such as bithiophene and bifuran derivatives. Mechanistic studies suggest that the first step is addition reaction initiated by regioselective nucleophilic attack of the C3 of 2-aryl- and 2-heteroarylindoles to the internal carbon atom of the C[triple bond]C bond in propargyl ethers. The next stage is ring-closing S(N)2 process kicking out the alkoxy group and then aromatization via a 1,3-hydrogen shift is the final step. The two carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions achieved in one-pot contribute largely to the reduction in the number of steps for the synthesis of aryl- and heteroaryl-annulated[a]carbazoles. Furthermore, utilization of the Fischer indole synthesis for efficient supply of the substrates, 2-aryl- and 2-heteroarylindoles, is another important factor shortening the overall process. The development of the annulation with a wide substrate scope provided a unique opportunity to evaluate photophysical properties of a series of aryl- and heteroaryl-annulated[a]carbazoles. Almost all the compounds evaluated in this study were found to emit purple to green light in the visible region. Some interesting structure-property correlations are also described.

Fe-Cu cooperative catalysis in the isomerization of alkyl Grignard reagents.

Alkyl Grignard reagents were found to be isomerized to more stable ones in high isomerization ratios (>99%) under cooperative catalysis by iron and copper, which promote isomerization of alkyl groups and transmetalation between Fe-Mg, respectively.

α-Arylation of alkylamines with sulfonylarenes through a radical chain mechanism.

In the presence of a substoichiometric amount of a tert-butoxy radical precursor, the reaction of alkylamines with sulfonylarenes was found to give α-arylated alkylamines through homolytic aromatic substitution, where a radical chain is operative.

Iron-catalyzed arylmagnesiation of aryl(alkyl)acetylenes in the presence of an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand.

Addition of arylmagnesium bromides to aryl(alkyl)acetylenes proceeded in the presence of an iron catalyst and a N-heterocyclic carbene ligand to give high yields of the corresponding alkenylmagnesium reagents, which were transformed into tetrasubstituted alkenes by subsequent treatment with electrophiles. [reaction: see text]

Palladium-catalyzed conjugate reduction of enones into alpha,beta-dideuterioketones with hexamethyldisilane and deuterium oxide.

Conjugated enones are reduced by readily available Me(3)SiSiMe(3) and D(2)O in the presence of a catalytic amount of [PdCl(eta(3)-C(3)H(5))](2)-PPh(3) to give alpha,beta-dideuterioketones.

Cobalt-catalyzed cross-coupling of alkynyl Grignard reagents with alkenyl triflates.

Alkenyl triflates in combination with Co(acac)(3) as a catalyst were found to be excellent coupling partners of alkynyl Grignard reagents, where no special additives (even a phosphine ligand) but a common solvent, THF, are required to obtain variously substituted enynes.