Alkyl Formates as Transfer Hydroalkylation Reagents and Their Use in the Catalytic Conversion of Imines to Alkylamines.

Easily accessible via a simple esterification of alcohols with formic acid, alkyl formates are used as a novel class of transfer hydroalkylation reagents, CO2 acting as a traceless linker. As a proof-of-concept, their reactivity in the transfer hydroalkylation of imines is investigated, using a ruthenium-based catalyst and LiI as promoter to cleave the C-O σ-bond of the formate scaffold. Providing tertiary amines, the reaction displays a divergent regioselectivity compared to previously reported transfer hydroalkylation strategies.

Silyl formates as hydrosilane surrogates for the transfer hydrosilylation of ketones.

A transfer hydrosilylation of ketones employing silyl formates as hydrosilane surrogates under mild conditions is presented. A total of 24 examples of ketones have been successfully converted to their corresponding silyl ethers with 61-99% yields in the presence of a PNHP-based ruthenium catalyst and silyl formate reagent. The crucial role of the ligand for the transformation is demonstrated.

A Copper(I)-Catalyzed Sulfonylative Hiyama Cross-Coupling.

An air-tolerant Cu-catalyzed sulfonylative Hiyama cross-coupling reaction enabling the formation of diaryl sulfones is described. Starting from aryl silanes, DABSO and aryliodides, the reaction tolerates a large variety of polar functional groups (amines, ketones, esters, aldehydes). Control experiments coupled with DFT calculations shed light on the mechanism, characterized by the formation of a Cu(I)-sulfinate intermediate via fast insertion of a SO2 molecule.

Photocatalytic deoxygenation of N-O bonds with rhenium complexes: from the reduction of nitrous oxide to pyridine N-oxides.

The accumulation of nitrogen oxides in the environment calls for new pathways to interconvert the various oxidation states of nitrogen, and especially their reduction. However, the large spectrum of reduction potentials covered by nitrogen oxides makes it difficult to find general systems capable of efficiently reducing various N-oxides. Here, photocatalysis unlocks high energy species able both to circumvent the inherent low reactivity of the greenhouse gas and oxidant N2O (E 0(N2O/N2) = +1.77 V vs. SHE), and to reduce pyridine N-oxides (E 1/2(pyridine N-oxide/pyridine) = -1.04 V vs. SHE). The rhenium complex [Re(4,4'-tBu-bpy)(CO)3Cl] proved to be efficient in performing both reactions under ambient conditions, enabling the deoxygenation of N2O as well as synthetically relevant and functionalized pyridine N-oxides.

SO2 conversion to sulfones: development and mechanistic insights of a sulfonylative Hiyama cross-coupling.

A Pd-catalyzed Hiyama cross-coupling reaction using SO2 is described. The use of silicon-based nucleophiles leads to the formation of allyl sulfones under mild conditions with a broad functional group tolerance. Control experiments coupled with DFT calculations shed light on the key steps of the reaction mechanism, revealing the crucial role of a transient sulfinate anion.

The Halogen-Samarium Exchange Reaction: Synthetic Applications and Kinetics.

Fast I/Sm and Br/Sm exchanges take place when various aromatic or heterocyclic iodides and bromides are treated with nBu2 SmCl⋅4 LiCl and nBu3 Sm⋅5 LiCl, respectively. The resulting organosamarium reagents were efficiently quenched with aldehydes, ketones, and imines. Also, they undergo acylations when treated with N,N-dimethylamides leading to ketones. The rate of the Br/Sm exchange for a typical aryl bromide was determined and found to be 8.5×105 faster than the Br/Mg exchange, indicating that the rate of a metal-exchange is related to the ionic character of the carbon-metal bond and to the metal electronegativity.

Synthesis of Polyfunctionalized Triaryllanthanum Reagents by Using Ph3 La and Related Species as Exchange Reagents.

Ph3 La⋅5 LiCl and the related (m-xylyl)3 La⋅5 LiCl were used as Hal/La exchange reagents (Hal=Br, I) for the preparation of various triaryl- and triheteroaryl-lanthanum derivatives. These new exchange reagents are compatible with isoquinolines and some functional groups such as a nitrile or an ester. The reactivity of the resulting lanthanum compounds towards electrophiles, such as ketones, aldehydes, N,N-dimethylamides, and primary alkyl halides was investigated. Additionally, a Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling procedure with aryl bromides was developed.

Chemoselective Reduction: Xanthates as Traceless Precursors of Polyfunctionalized α,α-Dichloroketones.

The use of BEt3·H2O has allowed the chemoselective reductive dexanthylation in the presence of the very fragile α,α-dichloroketone motif. This has solved a major hurdle in our approach to this important, but hitherto grossly understudied, family of compounds and opened access to a number of very useful synthetic transformations.

Preparation of Functionalized Diaryl- and Diheteroaryllanthanum Reagents by Fast Halogen-Lanthanum Exchange.

Aryl and heteroaryl halides (X=Br, I) undergo a fast and convenient halogen-lanthanum exchange with nBu2 LaMe, which leads to functionalized diaryl- and diheteroaryllanthanum derivatives. Subsequent trapping reactions with selected electrophiles, such as ketones, aldehydes, or amides, proceeded smoothly at -50 °C in THF, affording polyfunctionalized alcohols and carbonyl derivatives. Kinetic competition experiments revealed a similar reactivity trend as for Br/Mg exchange, but 106 -times higher rates, making it comparable to Br/Li exchange.

A Radical Bidirectional Fragment Coupling Route to Unsymmetrical Ketones.

A powerful strategy for the regioselective bidirectional synthesis of unsymmetrically substituted ketones is described, relying on the fact that the exchange of a xanthate is much faster than the radical addition to an unactivated alkene. The use of an alkene as the formal "alkylating" agent associated with the tolerance for numerous functional groups and the mildness of the experimental conditions removes many of the problems associated with the classical ionic and transition-metal-based approaches.