Efficient Amination of Activated and Non-Activated C(sp3 )-H Bonds with a Simple Iron-Phenanthroline Catalyst.

A readily available catalyst consisting of iron dichloride in combination with 1,10-phenanthroline catalyzes the ring-closing C-H amination of N-benzoyloxyurea to form imidazolidin-2-ones in high yields. The C-H amination reaction is very general and applicable to benzylic, allylic, propargylic, and completely non-activated aliphatic C(sp3 )-H bonds, and it also works for C(sp2 )-H bonds. The surprisingly simple method can be performed under open flask conditions.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Complex Fused Heterocycles through Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalyzed Intramolecular Inverse-Electron-Demand Aza-Diels-Alder Reactions.

A stable asymmetric intramolecular Povarov reaction has been established to provide an efficient method to access structurally diverse trans,trans-trisubstituted tetrahydrochromeno[4,3-b]quinolines in high stereoselectivities of up to >99:1 diastereomeric ratio and 99 % enantiomeric excess, without any purification step. Additionally, to facilitate large-scale application of this method, a low catalyst loading protocol was employed, 0.2 mol % chiral phosphoric acid, which provided the cycloadducts without any loss in yield and enantioselectivity. Theoretical studies revealed that the reaction occurred through a sequential Mannich reaction and an intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reaction, wherein the phosphoric acid acted as a bifunctional catalyst to activate the para-phenolic dienophile and N-2-hydroxy-2-azadiene simultaneously.

Chiral-at-Iron Catalyst: Expanding the Chemical Space for Asymmetric Earth-Abundant Metal Catalysis.

A new class of chiral iron catalysts is introduced that contains exclusively achiral ligands with the overall chirality being the result of a stereogenic iron center. Specifically, iron(II) is cis-coordinated to two N-(2-pyridyl)-substituted N-heterocyclic carbene (PyNHC) ligands in a bidentate fashion in addition to two monodentate acetonitriles, and the dicationic complex is complemented by two hexafluorophosphate ions. Depending on the helical twist of the PyNHC ligands, the metal center adopts either a Λ or Δ absolute configuration. Importantly, the two PyNHC ligands are constitutionally and configurationally inert, while the two acetonitriles are labile and allow asymmetric transition metal catalysis. This is demonstrated with an enantioselective Cannizzaro reaction (96% yield, 88% ee) and an asymmetric Nazarov cyclization (89% yield, >20:1 dr, 83% ee).

Enantioselective Organocatalytic Intramolecular Aza-Diels-Alder Reaction.

A highly efficient catalytic enantioselective intramolecular Povarov reaction was developed with primary anilines as 2-azadiene precursors. A wide variety of angularly fused azacycles were obtained without column chromatography in high to excellent yields and with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivity (d.r.>99:1 and up to e.r. 99:1). Furthermore, the catalyst loading could be lowered to 1 mol %, and the obtained azacycles could be used as key intermediates for further transformations to generate additional molecular diversity.

Visible-Light Photoredox-Catalyzed Coupling Reaction of Azoles with α-Carbamoyl Sulfides.

A simple, straightforward strategy for the synthesis of N-substituted azoles is reported that involves a visible-light photoredox-catalyzed coupling reaction of azoles with α-carbamoyl sulfides. A variety of heterocyclic units, including pyrazoles, benzopyrazoles, benzoimidazoles, and purines, can be efficiently incorporated under mild reaction conditions in respectable yields.

Chiral oxazolidines acting as transient hydroxyalkyl-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbenes: an efficient route to air stable copper and gold complexes for asymmetric catalysis.

Optically pure oxazolidines were synthesized in nearly quantitative yields from chiral hydroxyalkyl-functionalized imidazolinium salts. Acting as transient chiral diamino N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), these oxazolidines allowed the efficient formation of well-defined copper(i) and gold(i) hydroxyalkyl-NHC complexes, which could be isolated, for the first time, as air stable complexes after silica gel chromatography. Interestingly, X-ray analysis of gold complexes revealed that the hydroxyl-function is not chelated to the metal. Computational studies suggested that both cyclisation to produce oxazolidine and O-H bond elimination to form the transient carbene (prior to coordination) occur through a concerted mechanism. The novel chiral copper-catalysts, as well as oxazolidines alone (copper free), demonstrated excellent performances in asymmetric conjugate addition and allylic alkylation with high regio- and enantio-selectivities (up to 99% ee).

Chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed enantioselective construction of structurally diverse benzothiazolopyrimidines.

A highly efficient catalytic enantioselective [4+2] cycloaddition was developed between 2-benzothiazolimines and enecarbamates. A wide range of benzothiazolopyrimidines bearing three contiguous stereogenic centers was obtained in high to excellent yields and with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities (d.r. > 98 : 2 and up to >99% ee). Furthermore, this chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed strategy was scalable and enabled access to a new class of optically pure Lewis base isothiourea derivatives.

Photoredox-Catalyzed Three-Component Tandem Process: An Assembly of Complex Trifluoromethylated Phthalans and Isoindolines.

A novel photoredox-mediated tandem three-component process afforded a wide variety of CF3-containing phthalans and isoindolines in respectable yields and with moderate to excellent diastereoselectivity.