Room-Temperature Cascade Electrophilic Addition/Cyclization/Oxidation Reactions: Divergent Selective Synthesis of Brominated 2H-Chromenes, 2H-Chromen-2-ols and 2H-Chromen-2-ones.

The room temperature metal-free cascade electrophilic addition/cyclization/oxidation reactions of (3-phenoxyprop-1-yn-1-yl)benzenes to divergently synthesize various brominated benzopyran derivatives (3-bromo-2H-chromenes, 3-bromo-2H-chromen-2-ols and 3-bromo coumarins) by tuning the amount of Br2 and H2O have been developed. The method exhibited high selectivity, mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, high efficiency, and the applicability for derivatization of the brominated products. The importance of the strategies provides a great advantage for selective synthesis of brominated benzopyran derivatives.

Exploring Electrophilic Hydrophosphination via Metal Phosphenium Intermediates.

Two Mo(0) phosphenium complexes containing ancillary secondary phosphine ligands have been investigated with respect to their ability to participate in electrophilic addition at unsaturated substrates and subsequent P-H hydride transfer to "quench" the resulting carbocations. These studies provide stoichiometric "proof of concept" for a proposed new metal-catalyzed electrophilic hydrophosphination mechanism. The more strongly Lewis acidic phosphenium complex, [Mo(CO)4(PR2H)(PR2)]+ (R=Ph, Tolp), cleanly hydrophosphinates 1,1-diphenylethylene, benzophenone, and ethylene, while other substrates react rapidly to give products resulting from competing electrophilic processes. A less Lewis acidic complex, [Mo(CO)3(PR2H)2(PR2)]+, generally reacts more slowly but participates in clean hydrophosphination of a wider range of unsaturated substrates, including styrene, indene, 1-hexene, and cyclohexanone, in addition to 1,1-diphenylethylene, benzophenone, and ethylene. Mechanistic studies are described, including stoichiometric control reactions and computational and kinetic analyses, which probe whether the observed P-H addition actually does occur by the proposed electrophilic mechanism, and whether hydridic P-H transfer in this system is intra- or intermolecular. Preliminary reactivity studies indicate challenges that must be addressed to exploit these promising results in catalysis.

Understanding and Controlling Fluorinated Diacyl Peroxides and Fluoroalkyl Radicals in Alkene Fluoroalkylations.

The demand for practical methods for the synthesis of novel fluoroalkyl molecules is increasing owing to their diverse applications. Our group has achieved efficient difunctionalizing fluoroalkylations of alkenes using fluorinated carboxylic anhydrides as user-friendly fluoroalkyl sources. Fluorinated diacyl peroxide, prepared in situ from carboxylic anhydrides, enables the development of novel reactions when used as a radical fluoroalkylating reagent. In this account, we aim to provide an in-depth understanding of the structure, bonding, and reactivity of fluorinated diacyl peroxides and radicals as well as their control in fluoroalkylation reactions. In the first part of this account, the physical properties and reactivity of diacyl peroxides and fluoroalkyl radicals are described. In the subsequent part, we categorize the reactions into copper-catalyzed and metal-free methods utilizing the oxidizing properties of fluorinated diacyl peroxides. We also outline examples and mechanisms.

Haloboration of o-Alkynyl Phenols Generates Halogenated Bicyclic-Boronates.

Benzoxaborinines are intermediates en-route to bicyclic boronates that are important active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Herein, the haloboration of o-alkynyl-phenols using BX3 (X=Cl or Br) is disclosed as a route to form C4-X-benzoxaborinines with good functional group tolerance. Computational studies indicated that there are two similar in barrier mechanisms: (i) double alkyne haloboration followed by retro-haloboration; (ii) concerted trans-haloboration involving an exogenous chloride source. The C4-halide in these benzoxaborinines is useful, with a one-pot haloboration-Negishi cross coupling protocol effective to form benzoxaborinines with an alkyl or an aryl at C4. Therefore this method is a useful addition to the toolbox for synthesising bicyclic-boronates that are attracting increasing attention as APIs.

Brønsted Acid versus Phase-Transfer Catalysis in the Enantioselective Transannular Aminohalogenation of Enesultams.

We have studied the enantioselective transannular aminohalogenation reaction of unsaturated medium-sized cyclic benzosulfonamides by using both chiral Brønsted acid and phase-transfer catalysis. Under optimized conditions, a variety of bicyclic adducts can be obtained with good yields and high enantioselectivities. The mechanism of the reaction was also studied by using computational tools; we observed that the reaction involves the participation of a conformer of the nine-membered cyclic substrate with planar chirality in which the stereochemical outcome is controlled by the relative reactivity of the two pseudorotational enantiomers when interacting with the chiral catalyst.

Aqueous Chlorination of D-Limonene.

Limonene (1-methyl-4-(1-methylethenyl)-cyclohexene) is one of the most widespread monocyclic terpenes, being both a natural and industrial compound. It is widely present in the environment, including in water supplies. Therefore, it may be subjected to aqueous chlorination at water treatment stations during drinking water preparation. Besides, being a component of numerous body care and cosmetic products, it may present at high levels in swimming pool waters and could also be subjected to aqueous chlorination. Laboratory experiments with aqueous chlorination of D-limonene demonstrated the prevalence of the conjugated electrophilic addition of HOCl molecule to the double bonds of the parent molecule as the primary reaction. The reaction obeys the Markovnikov rule, as the levels of the corresponding products were higher than those of the alternative ones. Fragmentation pattern in conditions of electron ionization enabled the assigning of the structures for four primary products. The major products of the chlorination are formed by the addition of two HOCl molecules to limonene. The reactions of electrophilic addition are usually accompanied by the reactions of elimination. Thus, the loss of water molecules from the products of various generations results in the reproduction of the double bond, which immediately reacts further. Thus, a cascade of addition-elimination reactions brings the most various isomeric polychlorinated species. At a ratio of limonene/active chlorine higher than 1:10, the final products of aqueous chlorination (haloforms) start forming, while brominated haloforms represent a notable portion of these products due to the presence of bromine impurities in the used NaOCl. It is worth mentioning that the bulk products of aqueous chlorination are less toxic in the bioluminescence test on V. fischeri than the parent limonene.

Critical Computational Evidence Regarding the Long-Standing Controversy over the Main Electrophilic Species in Hypochlorous Acid Solution.

Although hypochlorous acid (HOCl) solution has become a popular electrophilic reagent for industrial uses, the question of which molecule (HOCl or Cl2) undergoes electrophilic addition with olefins remains a controversial issue in some literature and textbooks, and this problem has been largely underexplored in theoretical studies. In this work, we computationally studied the electrophilic addition mechanism of olefins using three experimentally predicted effective electrophilic chlorinating agents, i.e., HOCl, Cl2, and Cl2O molecules. Our results demonstrate that Cl2 and Cl2O are the main electrophilic agents in HOCl solution, whereas the HOCl molecule cannot be the electrophile since the energy barrier when directly adding HOCl molecule to olefins is too high to overcome and the "anti-Markovnikov" regioselectivity for tri-substituted olefin is not consistent with experiments. Notably, the HOCl molecule prefers to form oxonium ion intermediate with a double bond, rather than the generally believed chlorium ion intermediate. This work could benefit mechanistic studies of critical biological and chemical processes with HOCl solution and may be used to update textbooks.

An Iron-Catalyzed Route to Dewar 1,3,5-Triphosphabenzene and Subsequent Reactivity.

The application of an alkyne cyclotrimerization regime with an [Fe(salen)]2 -µ-oxo (1) catalyst to triphenylmethylphosphaalkyne (2) yields gram-scale quantities of 2,4,6-tris(triphenylmethyl)-Dewar-1,3,5-triphosphabenzene (3). Bulky lithium salt LiHMDS facilitates a rearrangement of 3 to the 1,3,5-triphosphabenzene valence isomer (3'), which subsequently undergoes an intriguing phosphorus migration reaction to form the ring-contracted species (3''). Density functional theory calculations provide a plausible mechanism for this rearrangement. Given the stability of 3, a diverse array of unprecedented transformations was investigated. We report novel crystallographically characterized products of successful nucleophilic/electrophilic addition and protonation/oxidation reactions.

Enantioselective Dihalogenation of Alkenes.

The dihalogenation of alkenes is one of the classic reactions in organic chemistry and a prime example of an electrophilic addition reaction. The often observed anti-selectivity in this addition reaction can be explained by the formation of a haliranium-ion intermediate. Although dihalogenations have been studied for more than a century, the development of reagent-controlled, enantioselective dihalogenation has proved to be very difficult. Only recently, significant progress has been achieved. In this review, an overview on current method development in enantioselective dihalogenation is provided and mechanistic aspects that render this transformation challenging are discussed.

Exohedral Addition Chemistry of the Fullerenide Anions C60 2- and C60 ⋠.

A systematic screening study of the exohedral reactivity of the reduced fullerenes (fullerenides) C60 2- and C60 ⋅- is reported. These doubly and singly negatively charged carbon cages were prepared by two-fold reduction of C60 with potassium, leading to K2 C60 , or by in situ monoreduction with the radical anion of benzonitrile PhCN⋅- , respectively. Several series of electrophiles, including geminal and distant dihalides, benzyl bromides, and diazonium compounds, were employed as addition partners. In general, the investigated bromides proved to be the most suitable reaction partners. A series of fullerene adducts and cycloadducts involving either 1,2- or 1,4-addition patterns, depending on the precise architecture and the steric demand of the addends, were synthesized and fully characterized. Some of the reaction products are unprecedented and inaccessible forms of neutral C60 . The fullerenide chemistry presented here closely resembles related reactions of graphenides and carbon nanotubides, which are the most powerful methods for the functionalization of these macromolecular forms of synthetic carbon allotropes (SCAs). Activation of C60 by negative charging represents a little explored concept of fullerene chemistry, providing both new insights of fullerene reactivity itself and new types of exohedral derivatives.

Iodinated curcumin bearing dermal cream augmented drug delivery, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.

OBJECTIVES: Curcumin (Cur) exhibits weak microbicidal activity owing to high lipophilicity and low cell permeability. Therefore, in the present investigation, Cur was iodinated using elemental iodine (I2) to synthesise Cur-I2 powder that was later formulated as Cur-I2 dermal cream and characterised in vitro for antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. METHODS AND RESULTS: Electrophilic addition of I2 saturated the olefinic bonds of Cur, as confirmed by UV/visible spectroscopy, FT-IR, 1H NMR and DSC techniques. In addition, in vitro skin permeation and retention analysis indicated that Cur-I2 cream followed the first order and Higuchi model for drug release through the rat skin. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of Cur-I2 powder was measured to be 60 and 90 µg/ml significantly (p < 0.05) lower than 150 and 120 µg/ml of Cur against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively. Moreover, Cur-I2 also exhibited strong antioxidant potential. CONCLUSIONS: Cur-I2 cream warrants further in vivo study to scale up the technology for clinical translation.

Optimization of Caged Electrophiles for Improved Monitoring of Cysteine Reactivity in Living Cells.

Cysteine residues play critical roles in protein function and are susceptible to numerous post-translational modifications (PTMs) that serve to modulate the activity and localization of diverse proteins. Many of these PTMs are highly transient and labile, thus necessitating methods to study these modifications directly within the context of living cells. We previously reported a caged electrophilic probe, CBK1, that can be activated by UV for temporally controlled covalent modification of cysteine residues in living cells. To improve upon the number of cysteine residues identified in cellular cysteine-profiling studies, the reactivity and uncaging efficiency of a panel of caged electrophiles were explored. We identified an optimized caged electrophilic probe, CIK4, that affords significantly improved coverage of cellular cysteine residues. The broader proteome coverage afforded by CIK4 renders it a useful tool for the biological investigation of cysteine-reactivity changes and PTMs directly within living cells and highlights design elements that are critical to optimizing photoactivatable chemical probes for cellular labeling.

Stable Bromiranium Ions with Weakly-Coordinating Counterions as Efficient Electrophilic Brominating Agents.

Electrophilic halogenating agents are an important class of reagents in chemical synthesis. Herein, we show that sterically demanding bromiranium ions with weakly coordinating counterions are highly reactive electrophilic brominating agents. Despite their high reactivity these reagents are stable, in one case even under ambient conditions and can be applied in electrophilic halogenations of alkenes as well as heteroatoms.

The Versatile Behavior of Platinum Alkyne Complexes towards XeF2 : Formation of Fluorovinyl and Fluorido Complexes.

Reactions of platinum(0) tolane complexes, bearing a chelating ligand with P and N donor atoms, with the electrophilic fluorinating agent XeF2 give facile access to platinum(II) ß-fluorovinyl fluorido complexes. A series of new platinum(II) ß-fluorovinyl complexes have been synthesized and were structurally characterized. Further oxidation with XeF2 led to ortho-metalated platinum(IV) fluorido compounds. Additional reactions of platinum(0) tolane complexes, bearing a chelating P,P donor ligand, with XeF2 led to a variety of fluorido and fluorovinyl complexes.

An Experimental Radical Electrophilicity Index.

We present an experimental electrophilicity index (Ï») for the classification of radicals. The Ï»-scale is based on the equilibrium constant determined for the reversible addition of a radical R. to an aromatic radicophile (HisNH2 ). This experimental approach is in excellent agreement with the computed global electrophilicity index ω and serves to validate the latter.

Mild Amide-Cleavage Reaction Mediated by Electrophilic Benzylation.

An extremely mild method for amide-cleavage by using the triazine-based benzylating reagent 4-(4,6-diphenoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)-4-benzylmorpholinium trifluoromethanesulfonate (DPT-BM), which spontaneously releases benzyl cation species when being dissolved at room temperature, has been developed. O-Benzylation of the amide with DPT-BM and the subsequent hydrolysis of the resulting intermediate benzyl imidate salt afford the corresponding amine and benzyl ester, which can be converted by hydrogenolysis into a carboxylic acid under neutral conditions. O-Benzylation proceeds depending on both steric and electronic factors around the amide group. Thus, some amides have been selectively cleaved over other amides. Furthermore, intramolecular chemoselective cleavage of an amide group in the presence of an ester group was achieved. Such selective hydrolytic reactions cannot be performed with Meerwein reagents as well as under acidic or basic hydrolytic conditions.

Structural elucidation of dioxa-cage compounds from tetrahydroisobenzofuran-1(3H)-one: analysis of NMR data and GIAO chemical shifts calculations.

The polycyclic compounds, especially the dioxa-cages, have attracted considerable attention in recent years. In our work, a series of 9ß-substituted 3-oxo-4,11-dioxatetracyclo[5.2.1.15,8 .02,6 ]undecane compounds were unexpectedly isolated during bromination, chlorination and epoxidation reactions of the 3-hydroxy-3a,4,7,7a-tetrahydro-4,7-methanoisobenzofuran-1(3H)-one. After careful analysis of the NMR data, the chemical shifts of the isolated and the expected products were predicted by theoretical calculations using density functional theory and gauge including atomic orbitals. The best correlation between calculated and experimental data was evaluated by comparing mean absolute errors and applying DP4 probability methodology. Results from both approaches indicated a correct structural elucidation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Direct Electrophilic (Benzenesulfonyl)Difluoromethylthiolation with a Shelf-Stable Reagent.

The (benzenesulfonyl)difluoromethylsulfanyl (PhSO2CF2S) group is a valuable substituent with specific properties which can provide access to new applications of fluoroalkylthiolated compounds. Direct introduction of this moiety can be performed by in an electrophilic manner by using a new shelf-stable reagent, namely a (benzenesulfonyl)difluoromethanesulfenamide. Furthermore, mild magnesium-mediated reduction of the PhSO2CF2S group leads to a facile synthesis of difluoromethylthiolated molecules and their deuterated analogs.

Efficient O-Functionalization of Carbohydrates with Electrophilic Reagents.

Novel methodology for O-functionalization of carbohydrate derivatives has been established using bench-stable and easily prepared iodonium(III) reagents. Both electron-withdrawing and electron-donating aryl groups were introduced under ambient conditions and without precautions to exclude air or moisture. Furthermore, the approach was extended both to full arylation of cyclodextrin, and to trifluoroethylation of carbohydrate derivatives. This is the first general approach to introduce traditionally non-electrophilic groups into any of the OH groups around the sugar backbone. The methodology will be useful both in synthetic organic chemistry and biochemistry, as important functional groups can be incorporated under simple and robust reaction conditions in a fast and efficient manner.

Electrophilic Addition to Alkenes: The Relation between Reactivity and Enthalpy of Hydrogenation: Regioselectivity is Determined by the Stability of the Two Conceivable Products.

Although electrophilic addition to alkenes has been well studied, some secrets still remain. Halogenations, hydrohalogenations, halohydrin formations, hydrations, epoxidations, other oxidations, carbene additions, and ozonolyses are investigated to elucidate the relation of alkene reactivities with their enthalpies of hydrogenation (ΔHhyd ). For addition of electrophiles to unconjugated hydrocarbon alkenes, ln(k) is a linear function of ΔHhyd , where k is the rate constant. Linear correlation coefficients are about 0.98 or greater. None of the many previously proposed correlations of ln(k) with the properties of alkenes or with linear free-energy relationships match the generality and accuracy of the simple linear relationship found herein. A notable exception is acid-catalyzed hydration in water or in solvents stabilizing relatively stable carbocation intermediates (e.g., tertiary, benzylic, or allylic). (13) C NMR chemical shifts of the two alkene carbons also predict regioselectivity. These effects have not been noted previously and are operative in general, including addition to heteroatom-substituted alkenes.