Catalytic Alkynylation of Cyclic Acetals and Ketals Enabled by Synergistic Gold(I)/Trimethylsilyl Catalysis.

A completely regioselective and challenging gold(I)-catalyzed ring-opening of cyclic 1,3-dioxolanes and dioxanes by trimethylsilyl alkynes to set diol-derived propargyl trimethylsilyl bis-ethers is reported. This unprecedented and not trivial transformation does not operate with the catalytic methodologies recently reported for catalytic alkynylation of acyclic acetals/ketals, and is uniquely enabled by the application of a recently introduced synergistic gold(I)-silicon catalysis concept capable of producing simultaneously catalytic amounts of two key players, a silicon-based Lewis superacid and a nucleophilic gold acetylide.

On the physicochemical properties of pyridohelicenes.

A comprehensive study on the physicochemical properties of a series of mono- and diaza[5]helicenes as well as mono- and diaza[6]helicenes is reported. Through the use of both computational and experimental methods, these helically chiral pyridohelicenes with the nitrogen atom(s) in various positions are characterised according to their inversion barriers, protonation constants and redox potentials. By using DFT calculations, kinetic measurements, UV/Vis titrations, cyclic voltammetry and EPR spectroscopy, a self-contained picture of their behaviour under conventional treatment by heat, acids and oxidising/reducing agents is provided.

The isolation of [Pd{OC(O)H}(H)(NHC)(PR3)] (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) and its role in alkene and alkyne reductions using formic acid.

The [Pd(SIPr)(PCy3)] complex efficiently promotes a tandem process involving dehydrogenation of formic acid and hydrogenation of C-C multiple bonds using H2 formed in situ. The isolation of a key catalytic hydridoformatopalladium species, [Pd{OC(O)H}(H)(IPr)(PCy3)], is reported. The complex plays a key role in the Pd(0)-mediated formation of hydrogen from formic acid. Mechanistic and computational studies delineate the operational role of the palladium complex in this efficient tandem sequence.

Mixed phosphine/N-heterocyclic carbene palladium complexes: synthesis, characterization and catalytic use in aqueous Suzuki-Miyaura reactions.

A series of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)/PR3 palladium(II) and palladium(0) complexes has been synthesized and fully characterized. X-ray crystallographic data have allowed comparison of ligand steric properties. The NHC ligand was found to vary its steric properties as a function of the phosphine co-ligand. These complexes display interesting catalytic properties in the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction performed in aqueous media. The pre-catalyst [PdCl2(IPr)(XPhos)] (IPr = N,N'-bis-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene; XPhos = 2-dicyclohexylphosphino-2',4',6'-triisopropylbiphenyl) was found to be the most efficient system, promoting the coupling of a wide range of aryl chlorides with boronic acids in aqueous media with a typical catalyst loading of 0.03 mol%.

Tandem ammonia borane dehydrogenation/alkene hydrogenation mediated by [Pd(NHC)(PR3)] (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) catalysts.

[Pd(NHC)(PR(3))] complexes were shown to be active catalysts in the dehydrogenation of ammonia borane and the subsequent hydrogenation of unsaturated compounds at very low catalyst loadings (0.05 mol% for some substrates).

An unusual cationic Ru(II) indenylidene complex and its Ru(III) derivative--efficient catalysts for high temperature olefin metathesis reactions.

The use of a mixed phosphite/N-heterocyclic carbene bearing ruthenium precursor permits the synthesis and characterisation of unprecedented four-coordinate Ru(II) and Ru(III) cationic complexes adopting an unusual sawhorse structure. The cationic Ru(II) complex performs very effectively on challenging substrates at high temperature in very short reaction times and low catalyst loadings.

New 1,3-amino alcohols derived from enantiopure bridgehead ß-aminobicyclo[2.2.2]oct-5-ene-2-carboxylic acids.

Constrained enantiopure bicyclic ß-amino acids derived from the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of the (R)-benzyl-4-(3-acryloyloxy-4,4-dimethyl-2-oxopyrrolidin-1-yl)-benzoate and the 1-(benzyloxycarbonylamino)cyclohexadiene provide original templates for the construction of new rigid enantiopure 1,3-amino alcohols.

A versatile synthesis of functionalized pentahelicenes.

A general synthetic methodology for the preparation of functionalized (hetero)helicenes has been developed. It employs the sequence of a double propargyl organometallics (Li, Mg, Ga/In) addition to a tolan-2,2'-dialdehyde-type intermediate, a cobalt-catalyzed/cobalt-mediated [2 + 2 + 2] cycloisomerization of a triyne intermediate, and a double silica gel-assisted acetic acid elimination to receive pentahelicene, 1,14-diazapentahelicene, and 3,12-dichloro-, 3,12-dichloro-7-trimethylsilyl-, and 3,12-di-tert-butylpentahelicene. 3,12-Dichloropentahelicene undergoes a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling with aryl boronic acids (or ester) under palladium catalysis to afford 3,12-diarylpentahelicenes.