Redox-Active Esters in Fe-Catalyzed C-C Coupling.

Cross-couplings of alkyl halides and organometallic species based on single electron transfer using Ni and Fe catalyst systems have been studied extensively, and separately, for decades. Here we demonstrate the first couplings of redox-active esters (both isolated and derived in situ from carboxylic acids) with organozinc and organomagnesium species using an Fe-based catalyst system originally developed for alkyl halides. This work is placed in context by showing a direct comparison with a Ni catalyst for >40 examples spanning a range of primary, secondary, and tertiary substrates. This new C-C coupling is scalable and sustainable, and it exhibits a number of clear advantages in several cases over its Ni-based counterpart.

Rhodium-catalyzed acyl-transfer reaction between benzyl ketones and thioesters: synthesis of unsymmetric ketones by ketone CO-C bond cleavage and intermolecular rearrangement.

In the presence of catalytic amounts of RhH(CO)(PPh3)3 and 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)benzene (dppBz), acyl groups were transferred between benzyl ketones and thioesters/aryl esters. The rhodium complex catalyzed the cleavage of ketone CO-C bonds and intermolecular rearrangement giving unsymmetric ketones. The acyl-transfer reaction also occurred with 1-(p-chlorophenyl)-3-(p-cyanophenyl)propane-2-one giving unsymmetric ketones.

Rhodium-catalyzed organothio exchange reaction of α-organothioketones with disulfides.

RhH(PPh(3))(4) and 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (dppe) catalyzed the organothio exchange reaction of α-organothioketones and organic disulfides. The reaction was affected by the structure of the substrate: α-phenylthio and α-alkylthio aryl ketones reacted effectively with diaryl and dialkyl disulfides; α-phenylthio dialkyl ketones reacted with diaryl disulfides but not with dialkyl disulfides; diaryl disulfides with electron-donating p-substituents were more reactive than those with electron-withdrawing p-substituents.