Formation of Isolable Dearomatized [4 + 2] Cycloadducts from Benzenes, Naphthalenes, and N-Heterocycles Using 1,2-Dihydro-1,2,4,5-tetrazine-3,6-diones as Arenophiles under Visible Light Irradiation.

We report that the dearomative [4 + 2] cycloaddition between 1,2-dihydro-1,2,4,5-tetrazine-3,6-diones (TETRADs) and benzenes, naphthalenes, or N-heteroaromatic compounds under visible light irradiation affords the corresponding isolable cycloadducts. Several synthetic transformations including transition-metal-catalyzed allylic substitution reactions using the isolated cycloadducts at room temperature or above were demonstrated. Computational studies revealed that the retro-cycloaddition of the benzene-TETRAD adduct proceeds via an asynchronous concerted mechanism, while that of the benzene-MTAD adduct (MTAD = 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione) proceeds via a synchronous mechanism.

Synthesis of Polysubstituted Enamides by Hydrogen Atom Transfer Alkene Isomerization Using Dual Cobalt/Photoredox Catalysis.

M-HAT isomerization is a highly reliable method to access thermodynamically stable alkenes with high functional group tolerance. However, synthesis of heteroatom-substituted alkenes by M-HAT isomerization reaction is still underdeveloped. Herein, we report an enamide synthesis using M-HAT via a combination of cobalt and photoredox catalysis. This method tolerates a variety of functional groups including haloarenes, heteroarenes, free hydroxy groups, non-protected indoles, and drug derivatives. Furthermore, this method can isomerize styrene derivatives in good yield and E/Z selectivity.

Noble-Metal-Free C-H Allylation of Tetrahydroisoquinolines Using a Cobalt-Organophotoredox Dual Catalyst System.

Metallaphotoredox-catalyzed allylation represents an emerging synthetic methodology that enables allylic substitution using nucleophilic radical species. The C-H allylation of N-aryl tetrahydroisoquinolines is an innovative example in this area and allows access to synthetically useful precursors for the further derivatization of tetrahydroisoquinolines. However, previous methods have required the use of noble metals, which has hampered their application due to concerns over their sustainability. Here we report the C-H allylation of N-aryl tetrahydroisoquinolines using a cobalt/organophotoredox dual catalyst system. Based on precedent, control experiments and controlled irradiation experiments, a mechanism for the cobalt/photoredox-catalyzed allylation that involves a π-allyl cobalt complex is proposed.

Photocatalytic Deuterium Atom Transfer Deuteration of Electron-Deficient Alkenes with High Functional Group Tolerance.

Due to its mild reaction conditions and unique chemoselectivity, hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) hydrogenation represents an indispensable method for the synthesis of complex molecules. Its analog using deuterium, deuterium atom transfer (DAT) deuteration, is expected to enable access to complex deuterium-labeled compounds. However, DAT deuteration has been scarcely studied for synthetic purposes, and a method that possesses the favorable characteristics of HAT hydrogenations has remained elusive. Herein, we report a protocol for the photocatalytic DAT deuteration of electron-deficient alkenes. In contrast to the previous DAT deuteration, this method tolerates a variety of synthetically useful functional groups including haloarenes. The late-stage deuteration also allows access to deuterated amino acids as well as donepezil-d2 . Thus, this work demonstrates the potential of DAT chemistry to become the alternative method of choice for preparing deuterium-containing molecules.

Enantioselective Synthesis of 1,2-Benzothiazine 1-Imines via RuII /Chiral Carboxylic Acid-Catalyzed C-H Alkylation/Cyclization.

Sulfondiimines are diaza-analogues of sulfones with a chiral sulfur center. Compared to sulfones and sulfoximines, their synthesis and transformations have so far been studied to a lesser extent. Here, we report the enantioselective synthesis of 1,2-benzothiazine 1-imines, i.e., cyclic sulfondiimine derivatives from sulfondiimines and sulfoxonium ylides via C-H alkylation/cyclization reactions. The combination of [Ru(p-cymene)Cl2 ]2 and a newly developed chiral spiro carboxylic acid is key to achieving high enantioselectivity.

An Electron-Deficient CpE Iridium(III) Catalyst: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application to Ether-Directed C-H Amidation.

The synthesis, characterization, and catalytic performance of an iridium(III) catalyst with an electron-deficient cyclopentadienyl ligand ([CpE IrI2 ]2 ) are reported. The [CpE IrI2 ]2 catalyst was synthesized by complexation of a precursor of the CpE ligand with [Ir(cod)OAc]2 , followed by oxidation, desilylation, and removal of the COD ligand. The electron-deficient [CpE IrI2 ]2 catalyst enabled C-H amidation reactions assisted by a weakly coordinating ether directing group. Experimental mechanistic studies and DFT calculations suggested that the high catalytic performance of [CpE IrI2 ]2 is due to its electron-deficient nature, which accelerates both C-H activation and IrV -nitrenoid formation.

Achiral Cp*Rh(III)/Chiral Lewis Base Cooperative Catalysis for Enantioselective Cyclization via C-H Activation.

An enantioselective [4+3] cyclization via C(sp2)-H activation with a cooperative catalytic system consisting of a Cp*Rh(III) complex and a chiral Lewis base is described. An α,ß-unsaturated acyl ammonium intermediate is generated from a chiral isochalcogenurea catalyst and an acyl fluoride reacts with a metallacycle generated from the Cp*Rh catalyst and a benzylamine derivative. This cooperative catalytic system gives a variety of benzolactams in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99:1 er). The results demonstrated that chiral Lewis base catalysis is a powerful tool for controlling the enantioselectivity of transition metal-catalyzed C-H functionalizations.

Iron/Photosensitizer Hybrid System Enables the Synthesis of Polyaryl-Substituted Azafluoranthenes.

Photosensitization of organometallics is a privileged strategy that enables challenging transformations in transition-metal catalysis. However, the usefulness of such photocatalyst-induced energy transfer has remained opaque in iron-catalyzed reactions despite the intriguing prospects of iron catalysis in synthetic chemistry. Herein, we demonstrate the use of iron/photosensitizer-cocatalyzed cycloaddition to synthesize polyarylpyridines and azafluoranthenes, which have been scarcely accessible using the established iron-catalyzed protocols. Mechanistic studies indicate that triplet energy transfer from the photocatalyst to a ferracyclic intermediate facilitates the thermally demanding nitrile insertion and accounts for the distinct reactivity of the hybrid system. This study thus provides the first demonstration of the role of photosensitization in overcoming the limitations of iron catalysis.

1,2-Disubstituted 1,2-Dihydro-1,2,4,5-tetrazine-3,6-dione as a Dynamic Covalent Bonding Unit at Room Temperature.

Dynamic covalent bonds are useful tools in a wide range of applications. Although various reversible chemical reactions have been studied for this purpose, the requirement for harsh conditions, such as high temperature and low or high pH, to activate generally stable covalent bonds limits their potential applications involving biomolecules or household utilization. Here, we report the design, synthesis, characterization, and dynamic covalent bonding properties of 1,2-disubstituted 1,2-dihydro-1,2,4,5-tetrazine-3,6-dione (TETRAD). Hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of TETRAD with furan derivatives and their retro-reactions proceeded rapidly at room temperature under neutral conditions, enabling a chemically induced sol-gel transition system.

Carbon dioxide utilization via carbonate-promoted C-H carboxylation.

Using carbon dioxide (CO2) as a feedstock for commodity synthesis is an attractive means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and a possible stepping-stone towards renewable synthetic fuels. A major impediment to synthesizing compounds from CO2 is the difficulty of forming carbon-carbon (C-C) bonds efficiently: although CO2 reacts readily with carbon-centred nucleophiles, generating these intermediates requires high-energy reagents (such as highly reducing metals or strong organic bases), carbon-heteroatom bonds or relatively acidic carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds. These requirements negate the environmental benefit of using CO2 as a substrate and limit the chemistry to low-volume targets. Here we show that intermediate-temperature (200 to 350 degrees Celsius) molten salts containing caesium or potassium cations enable carbonate ions (CO3(2-)) to deprotonate very weakly acidic C-H bonds (pKa > 40), generating carbon-centred nucleophiles that react with CO2 to form carboxylates. To illustrate a potential application, we use C-H carboxylation followed by protonation to convert 2-furoic acid into furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA)--a highly desirable bio-based feedstock with numerous applications, including the synthesis of polyethylene furandicarboxylate (PEF), which is a potential large-scale substitute for petroleum-derived polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Since 2-furoic acid can readily be made from lignocellulose, CO3(2-)-promoted C-H carboxylation thus reveals a way to transform inedible biomass and CO2 into a valuable feedstock chemical. Our results provide a new strategy for using CO2 in the synthesis of multi-carbon compounds.

Cobalt(III)/Chiral Carboxylic Acid-Catalyzed Enantioselective Synthesis of Benzothiadiazine-1-oxides via C-H Activation.

Among sulfoximine derivatives containing a chiral sulfur center, benzothiadiazine-1-oxides are important for applications in medicinal chemistry. Here, we report that the combination of an achiral cobalt(III) catalyst and a pseudo-C2 -symmetric H8 -binaphthyl chiral carboxylic acid enables the asymmetric synthesis of benzothiadiazine-1-oxides from sulfoximines and dioxazolones via enantioselective C-H bond cleavage. With the optimized protocol, benzothiadiazine-1-oxides with several functional groups can be accessed with high enantioselectivity.

Native Amide-Directed C(sp3 )-H Amidation Enabled by Electron-Deficient RhIII Catalyst and Electron-Deficient 2-Pyridone Ligand.

Trivalent group-9 metal catalysts with a cyclopentadienyl-type ligand (CpMIII ; M=Co, Rh, Ir, Cp=cyclopentadienyl) have been widely used for directed C-H functionalizations, albeit that their application to challenging C(sp3 )-H functionalizations suffers from the limitations of the available directing groups. In this report, we describe directed C(sp3 )-H amidation reactions of simple amide substrates with a variety of substituents. The combination of an electron-deficient CpE Rh catalyst (CpE =1,3-bis(ethoxycarbonyl)-substituted Cp) and an electron-deficient 2-pyridone ligand is essential for high reactivity.

Chemoselective Cleavage of Si-C(sp3) Bonds in Unactivated Tetraalkylsilanes Using Iodine Tris(trifluoroacetate).

Organosilanes are synthetically useful reagents and precursors in organic chemistry. However, the typical inertness of unactivated Si-C(sp3) bonds under conventional reaction conditions has hampered the application of simple tetraalkylsilanes in organic synthesis. Herein we report the chemoselective cleavage of Si-C(sp3) bonds of unactivated tetraalkylsilanes using iodine tris(trifluoroacetate). The reaction proceeds smoothly under mild conditions (-50 °C to room temperature) and tolerates various polar functional groups, thus enabling subsequent Tamao-Fleming oxidation to provide the corresponding alcohols. NMR experiments and density functional theory calculations on the reaction indicate that the transfer of alkyl groups from Si to the I(III) center and the formation of the Si-O bond proceed concertedly to afford an alkyl-λ3-iodane and silyl trifluoroacetate. The developed method enables the use of unactivated tetraalkylsilanes as highly stable synthetic precursors.

Transition-metal-free nucleophilic 211At-astatination of spirocyclic aryliodonium ylides.

The transition-metal-free 211At-astatination of spirocyclic aryliodonium ylides via a nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction is described. This method enables the preparation of 211At-radiolabeled compounds derived from multi-functionalized molecules and heteroarenes in good to excellent radiochemical yields.

Diverse Approaches for Enantioselective C-H Functionalization Reactions Using Group†9 Cpx MIII Catalysts.

Transition-metal-catalyzed C-H functionalization reactions with Cp*MIII catalysts (M=Co, Rh, Ir) have found a wide variety of applications in organic synthesis. Albeit the intrinsic difficulties in achieving catalytic stereocontrol using these catalysts due to their lack of additional coordination sites for external chiral ligands and the conformational flexibility of the Cp ligand, catalytic enantioselective C-H functionalization reactions using the Group 9 metal triad with Cp-type ligands have been intensively studied since 2012. In this minireview, the progress in these reactions according to the type of the chiral catalyst used are summarized and discussed. The development of chiral Cpx ligands the metal complexes thereof, artificial metalloenzymes, chiral carboxylate-assisted enantioselective C-H activations, enantioselective alkylations assisted by chiral carboxylic acids or chiral sulfonates, and chiral transient directing groups are discussed.

Iridium(III) Catalysts with an Amide-Pendant Cyclopentadienyl Ligand: Double Aromatic Homologation Reactions of Benzamides by Fourfold C-H Activation.

The synthesis, characterization, and catalytic performance of iridium(III) catalysts that bear an amide-pendant cyclopentadienyl ligand ([CpA IrI2 ]2 ) is reported. These [CpA IrI2 ]2 catalysts were obtained from the complexation of a CpA ligand precursor with [Ir(cod)OAc]2 followed by oxidation. Double aromatic homologation reactions of benzamides with alkynes by fourfold C-H activation proceeded in good to high yield with these [CpA IrI2 ]2 catalysts, demonstrating their superior catalytic performance in this challenging transformation.

Synthesis of Functionalized Monoaryl-λ3 -iodanes through Chemo- and Site-Selective ipso-Substitution Reactions.

Monoaryl-λ3 -iodanes are potentially attractive arylating agents. They are generally synthesized from aryl iodides via oxidation, which can cause functional group incompatibility, especially when polyfunctionalized derivatives are desired. This work describes the direct synthesis of monoaryl-λ3 -iodanes through a chemoselective ipso-substitution reaction of arylgermanes and arylstannanes with iodine tris(trifluoroacetate). The generated iodanes were converted to iodonium ylides or used for further transformations in one pot. The presented method enables the preparation of polyfunctionalized monoaryl-λ3 -iodanes.

Imidate as the Intact Directing Group for the Cobalt-Catalyzed C-H Allylation.

Cobalt-catalyzed C-H allylation reactions of NH-free benzimidates using vinylcyclopropanes or allyl carbonate are reported. The reactive and relatively unstable imidate groups remain intact during the C-H allylations to afford functionalized imidates without dealcoholizations. The thus obtained allylated imidate was subsequently converted into other heterocyclic structures through a following C-H functionalization reaction, demonstrating the synthetic utility of this method.

Catalytic Enantioselective Methylene C(sp3 )-H Amidation of 8-Alkylquinolines Using a Cp*RhIII /Chiral Carboxylic Acid System.

Catalytic enantioselective directed methylene C(sp3 )-H amidation reactions of 8-alkylquinolines using a Cp*RhIII /chiral carboxylic acid (CCA) hybrid catalytic system are described. A binaphthyl-based chiral carboxylic acid efficiently differentiates between the enantiotopic methylene C-H bonds, which leads to the formation of C-N bonds with good enantioselectivity.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Allylic Alkylation Enabled by Organophotoredox Catalysis.

Co-catalyzed allylic substitution reactions have received little attention, arguably because of the lack of any known advantage of Co catalysis over either Rh or Ir catalysis. Described here is a general and regioselective Co-catalyzed allylic alkylation using an in situ catalyst activation by organophotoredox catalysis. This noble-metal-free catalytic system exhibits unprecedentedly high reactivities and regioselectivities for the allylation with an allyl sulfone, for the first time, representing the unique synthetic utility of the Co-catalyzed method compared to the related Rh- and Ir-catalyzed reactions.