Oxo-Thiolation of Cationically Polymerizable Alkenes Using Flow Microreactors.

The present study describes the cationic oxo-thiolation of polymerizable alkenes by using highly reactive cationic species generated by anodic oxidation. These highly reactive cations were able to activate alkenes before their polymerization. Fast mixing in flow microreactors effectively controlled chemoselectivity, enabling higher reaction temperatures.

Niobium(v)-catalyzed defluorinative triallylation of α,α,α-trifluorotoluene derivatives by triple C-F bond activation.

The catalytic defluorinative triallylation of α,α,α-trifluorotoluene derivatives via C-F bond activation has been achieved by the use of the NbCl5 catalyst and allyltrimethylsilane as a nucleophile. Several control experiments have suggested the importance of the conjugation between the fluorine atoms and the carbocation center in this reaction.

Stereospecific Decarboxylative Nazarov Cyclization Mediated by Carbon Dioxide for the Preparation of Highly Substituted 2-Cyclopentenones.

Highly substituted 2-cyclopentenones were stereospecifically and regioselectively constructed with high catalytic efficiency through Lewis-acid catalyzed decarboxylative Nazarov cyclization of the cyclic carbonate derivative, which is prepared by reacting the propargyl alcohol with carbon dioxide in the presence of a silver catalyst. The stereochemistry of the 2-cyclopentenone is strictly controlled by the geometry of the alkene in the starting material. This method is applicable for various substrates.

Benzothiazoline: versatile hydrogen donor for organocatalytic transfer hydrogenation.

CONSPECTUS: The asymmetric reduction of ketimines is an important method for the preparation of amines in optically pure form. Inspired by the biological system using NAD(P)H, Hantzsch ester has been extensively employed as a hydrogen donor in combination with chiral phosphoric acid for the transfer hydrogenation of ketimines to furnish amines with high to excellent enantioselectivities. We focused on 2-substituted benzothiazoline as a hydrogen donor in the phosphoric acid catalyzed transfer hydrogenation reaction of ketimines for the following reasons: (1) benzothiazoline is readily prepared just by mixing 2-aminobenzenethiol and aldehyde, (2) both reactivity (hydrogen donating ability) and enantioselectivity would be controlled by tuning the 2-substituent of benzothiazoline, and (3) benzothiazoline can be stored in a refrigerator under inert atmosphere without conceivable decomposition. Both the 2-position of benzothiazoline and the 3,3'-position of phosphoric acid are tunable in order to achieve excellent enantioselectivity. Benzothiazoline proved to be useful hydrogen donor in combination with chiral phosphoric acid for the transfer hydrogenation reaction of ketimine derivatives to afford the corresponding amines with high to excellent enantioselectivities by tuning the 2-substituent of benzothiazoline. Ketimines derived from acetophenone, propiophenone, α-keto ester, trifluoromethyl ketone, and difluoromethyl ketone derivatives proved to be suitable substrates. Benzothiazoline could be generated in situ starting from 2-aminobenzenethiol and aromatic aldehyde in the presence of ketimine and chiral phosphoric acid and successfully worked in the sequential transfer hydrogenation reaction. The reductive amination of dialkyl ketones also proceeded with high enantioselectivities. Use of 2-deuterated benzothiazoline led to the formation of α-deuterated amines with excellent enantioselectivities. The kinetic isotope effect (kH/kC = 3.8) was observed in the competitive reaction between H- and D-benzothiazoline, which explicitly implies that the cleavage of the C-H (C-D) bond is the rate-determining step in the transfer hydrogenation reaction. Benzothiazoline yielded products with higher enantioselectivity in the transfer hydrogenation reaction of ketimines, particularly ketimines derived from propiophenone derivatives, than Hantzsch ester. DFT study elucidated the mechanism, as well as the difference in selectivity, between benzothiazoline and Hantzsch ester. The chiral phosphoric acid activates ketimines and benzothiazoline by means of the Brønsted acidic site (proton) and the Brønsted basic site (phosphoryl oxygen), respectively, to accelerate the hydride transfer reaction.

Dynamic Kinetic Resolution Approach for the Asymmetric Synthesis of Tetrahydrobenzodiazepines Using Transfer Hydrogenation by Chiral Phosphoric Acid.

Asymmetric synthesis of tetrahydrobenzodiazepines was achieved by transfer hydrogenation of dihydrobenzodiazepines with benzothiazoline having a hydrogen-bonding donor substituent by means of a newly synthesized chiral phosphoric acid. This method was applicable to various racemic dihydrobenzodiazepines to give the corresponding products in good yields with excellent diastereoselectivities and enantioselectivities taking advantage of the dynamic kinetic resolution. Furthermore, the effect of bulky substituent at 3,3'-position on the catalyst and hydrogen-bonding donor substituent on benzothiazoline was fully elucidated by the theoretical study.

Chiral Phosphoric Acid Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution of Indolines Based on a Self-Redox Reaction.

A strategy for oxidative kinetic resolution of racemic indolines was developed, employing salicylaldehyde derivative as the pre-resolving reagent and chiral phosphoric acid as the catalyst. The iminium intermediate, formed by the condensation reaction of an enantiomer of indoline with salicylaldehyde derivative, was hydrogenated by the same enantiomer of indoline to afford another enantiomer of indoline by a self-redox mechanism. The oxidative kinetic resolution of 2-aryl-substituted indolines proceeded to give enantiomers in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities.

Chiral phosphoric-acid-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of ethyl ketimine derivatives by using benzothiazoline.

Chiral phosphoric acid catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of ketimines derived from propiophenone derivatives and reductive amination of alkyl ethyl ketone derivatives were extensively examined in the presence of two representative hydrogen donors. The excellent enantioselective transfer hydrogenation was achieved by use of benzothiazoline as a hydrogen donor. The theoretical studies elucidated that the unsymmetrical structure of benzothiazoline plays an important role in high enantioselective hydrogenation.

Chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed oxidative kinetic resolution of indolines based on transfer hydrogenation to imines.

The oxidative kinetic resolution of 2-substituted indoline derivatives was achieved by hydrogen transfer to imines by means of a chiral phosphoric acid catalyst. The oxidative kinetic resolution was applicable to racemic alkyl- or aryl-substituted indolines, and the remaining indolines were obtained in good yields with excellent enantioselectivities.

Rhenium-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Coupling of Cyclic Enol Carbonates with Silyl Enol Ethers and Ketene Silyl Acetals.

The Lewis acid-catalyzed decarboxylative coupling of cyclic enol carbonates, prepared by the fixation of carbon dioxide onto propargyl alcohols, with silyl enol ethers including ketene silyl acetals, was developed to afford 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds in good-to-high yields. As the plausible reaction mechanism, it was proposed that the decarboxylative formation of an oxyallyl cation intermediate or its equivalent and the sequential nucleophilic addition of silyl enol ethers proceeded to afford 1,4-dicarbonyl products. In addition, the synthetic utility of the obtained-1,4-dicarbonyl compounds was also demonstrated by applying them to the construction of multisubstituted heterocycles.

Decarboxylative Intramolecular [3 + 2] Cycloaddition of Cyclic Enol Carbonates: Construction of a Bicyclo[3.3.0]octanone Skeleton.

Stereoselective synthesis of bicyclic cyclopentanones was achieved by sequential Tf2O-catalyzed decarboxylation and intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions of cyclic enol carbonates bearing an alkene unit. Four stereogenic centers in the obtained cyclopentanone were stereoselectively constructed. This method could be applied to the synthesis of various fused bicyclic products in moderate-to-good yields.

Decarboxylative 1,2-rearrangement of cyclic carbonates promoted by Lewis acid.

A Lewis acid-mediated decarboxylative 1,2-rearrangement reaction of cyclic carbonates was developed. The selectivity of the migration in the decarboxylative 1,2-rearrangement of cyclic carbonates was opposite to that of the corresponding 1,2-diols under the same reaction conditions. This contrasting selectivity of the migration was confirmed in a variety of substrates.

Silver-Catalyzed Carbon Dioxide Fixation on Alkynylindoles.

A silver-catalyzed carbon dioxide fixation reaction into 2-alkynylindole derivatives was developed to afford tricyclic indoles. Carbon dioxide was selectively fixed on the N atom of the indole, and only 6-endo-dig cyclization proceeded under mild reaction conditions. Carboxylation on C3 of the indole was not observed. This method was applicable for a variety of 2-alkynylindoles, and the corresponding products were obtained in high yields without the production of side products.

Platinum(II)-catalyzed generation and [3+2] cycloaddition reaction of α,ß-unsaturated carbene complex intermediates for the preparation of polycyclic compounds.

Pt(II)-catalyzed generation of unsaturated carbene complex intermediates from various propargyl ether derivatives based on electrophilic activation of alkynes was realized. These in situ generated unsaturated carbene complexes undergo [3+2] cycloaddition reaction with various vinyl ethers, leading to efficient formation of indoles, naphthols, and benzofuran fused with a five-membered ring in high yields.

Decarboxylation-triggered homo-Nazarov cyclization of cyclic enol carbonates catalyzed by rhenium complex.

Decarboxylative homo-Nazarov cyclization catalyzed by a Lewis acid was achieved using a cyclic enol carbonate bearing a cyclopropane moiety as a substrate. Various substrates were converted into the corresponding multi-substituted cyclohexenones in good yields via decarboxylation, followed by 6-membered ring formation involving cyclopropane-ring-opening.

Stereoselective amination via vinyl-silver intermediates derived from silver-catalyzed carboxylative cyclization of propargylamine.

The stereoselective synthesis of aminovinyloxazolidinones based on the electrophilic amination of a vinyl-silver intermediate, generated by silver-catalyzed carbon dioxide incorporation on a propargyl amine, was achieved. The geometry of the aminated product was determined by a single crystal X-ray analysis and NOE measurement and it was elucidated that the geometry was proved to be opposite to the geometry predicted from the previous silver-catalyzed carbon dioxide fixation on a propargyl amine derivative. This unexpected stereoselectivity could be successfully explained by a radical mechanism.

Silver-Catalyzed Carbon Dioxide Fixation on Alkynylindenes.

The synthesis of polycyclic indene derivatives via silver-catalyzed carbon dioxide fixation on 2-alkynylindene derivatives was achieved by nucleophilic addition of the indenyl anion to carbon dioxide involving carbon-carbon bond formation and subsequent intramolecular cyclization to the alkyne part activated by a silver catalyst. This cascade process could be applied to various substrates to obtain the corresponding products in high yields. The endo/exo selectivity of the cyclization could be controlled by the steric or electronic effect of the substituents on the substrates, and 6-endo-selective cyclization was realized to afford α-pyrone-fused indenes.

Oxidative Kinetic Resolution of Acyclic Amines Based on Equilibrium Control.

An oxidative kinetic resolution of racemic acyclic amines was developed using an imine derivative as the resolving reagent and chiral phosphoric acid as the catalyst to give enantiomers in good yields with high to excellent enantioselectivities. The key to success of the title reaction was the equilibrium control by adjusting the ratio of the resolving reagent, and unique enantiodivergence was observed depending on the equilibrium displacement.

Kolbe-Schmitt type reaction under ambient conditions mediated by an organic base.

The combined use of an organic base for resorcinols realized a Kolbe-Schmitt type reaction under ambient conditions. When resorcinols (3-hydroxyphenol derivatives) were treated with DBU under a carbon dioxide atmosphere, nucleophilic addition to carbon dioxide proceeded to afford the corresponding salicylic acid derivatives in high yields.

Decarboxylative Nazarov Cyclization-Based Chirality Transfer for Asymmetric Synthesis of 2-Cyclopentenones.

Asymmetric synthesis of 2-cyclopentenones was achieved by chirality transfer based on Lewis acid catalyzed decarboxylative Nazarov cyclization of optically active cyclic enol carbonates, which are prepared by silver-catalyzed carbon dioxide incorporation into optically pure propargyl alcohols. The stereochemistry at the 4,5-positions of the 2-cyclopentenones was cleanly constructed by reflecting the stereochemistry of the starting materials. This method could be applied to various substrates to obtain the corresponding products in high yields with highly efficient chirality transfer.