A copper‐catalyzed cascade reaction involving trifluoromethylation of acrylamides coupled with ring closure and indole dearomatization is reported. This facile transformation was highly regioselective and proceeded under mild conditions, allowing efficient access to trifluoromethyl‐substituted spiro[indole‐3,3′‐pyrrolidine] derivatives, which are of increasing interest to the pharmaceutical industry.
A chemoselective reduction of α‐keto amides to biologically important α‐hydroxy amides (mandelamides) by polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) using 5 mol% potassium phosphate (K3PO4) as catalyst has been developed. This transition metal‐free protocol discloses excellent chemoselectivity for the ketone reduction of α‐keto amides in the presence of other reducible functionalities like ketone, nitro, halides, nitrile and amide. Also, the chemoselectively reduced α‐hydroxy amide has been derivatized to isocyanide‐free Passerini adducts. The N‐alkyl‐α‐hydroxy amides have been successfully converted to 3‐phenyloxindole derivatives by treatment with methanesulfonyl cholride and triethylamine.
A novel method for the synthesis of 3‐iodoquinolines was developed by copper‐catalyzed tandem annulation from diaryliodoniums, nitriles, and 1‐iodoalkynes. It is a method that is characterized by the most convenient operation and wide molecular diversity.
An efficient palladium(II)‐catalyzed method for the synthesis of alkylated pyridine‐substituted pyrroles has been developed by a one‐pot three component reaction of β‐bromovinyl aldehydes, primary amines and 2‐alkynylpyridines in good yields. The reactions can also provide an efficient route to 2‐picolinoylpyrroles by slightly altering the reaction conditions.
An asymmetric Michael addition of 5H‐oxazol‐4‐ones to vinyl sulfones has been developed. In the presence of 10 mol % of quinine‐based benzyl‐substituted thiourea as catalyst at 0 °C, the products could be obtained with excellent enantio‐ and diastereoselectivity (up to>99 % ee and>20:1 dr). 1.0 mol % of catalyst also produced the corresponding adducts with similar stereoselective results when the temperature was increased to 25 °C. The obtained adducts have been demonstrated as significant synthetic fragments to conveniently access the monofluorinated analogs of biologically important 2‐tertiary hydroxyl‐3‐methyl‐substituted carboxylic acid derivatives.
A convenient gold‐catalyzed strategy for the synthesis of imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine derivatives has been developed via gold carbene complexes. This transformation opens a new synthetic route to a variety of 3‐carbonyl‐substituted imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridines using air as oxidant affording the products in good yields.
We report here that the silver triflate‐catalyzed cyclization of 2‐amino‐6‐propargylamineazines affords new and highly functionalized iminoimidazoazines. We have investigated the scope and limitations of the present methodology, and some aspects of the reactivity of the resulting iminoimidazopyridines have been explored, and a DFT‐based mechanistic analysis of the silver triflate‐catalyzed cyclization has been undertaken.
The synthesis of xanthones via a multicomponent reaction of isocyanides is described for the first time. In this one‐pot process, a tandem [4+1] plus [4+2] cycloaddition leads to polysubstituted 4‐aminoxanthones in excellent to quantitative yields at room temperature in a non‐catalyzed reaction.
An enantioselective aza‐Friedel–Crafts (F‐C) reaction of indoles with cyclic N‐acylketimines has been developed. By using chiral phosphoric acid catalysts, a wide range of enantioenriched trifluoromethyldihydroquinazolines was obtained in excellent yields (up to 98%) with good to high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee).
Product selectivity control for the synthesis of imidoylindoles and 4‐alkylidenedihydroquinazolines from N‐imidoyl‐o‐alkynylanilines via silver triflate‐catalyzed cycloisomerization or tetrabutylammonium fluoride‐promoted cyclization is described. The product selectivity depends mainly on the catalyst/promoter used, and on the substituents on the alkyne and amidine functions of the substrates.
A synthetically useful 1,3‐insertion reaction of a rhodium‐carbenoid into the C(sp2) H bond of simple indole is disclosed, which produces structurally divergent 2‐indolylenamides in good to excellent yields and decent chemo‐ and regioselectivities. The obtained tryptamine vinylogues can be transformed into biologically important tryptamine derivatives or 3,3′‐biindoles with ease.
The catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of 2‐arylidene‐1,3‐diketones using aqueous 30% H2O2 as oxidant has been successfully realized by a N,N′‐dioxide–scandium(III) triflate [Sc(OTf)3] complex, giving the corresponding products in moderate to good yields (up to 85%) with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) under mild reaction conditions without extra additives.
The first room‐temperature copper‐catalyzed arylations of dimethylamine and methylamine in neat water have been developed. Using a combination of CuI and 6,7‐dihydroquinolin‐8(5 H)‐one oxime as catalyst, dimethylamine is arylated with various aryl halides to give the corresponding products in good to excellent yields. Further, this catalysis enables the selective arylation of methylamine to afford the high yields of monoarylated methylamines as the sole products.
A synthetic method for the construction of fully substituted enantioenriched 1,4‐dihydroquinolines using an organocatalytic aza‐Michael/Michael cascade reaction has been developed. The asymmetric reaction of 2‐(tosylamino)phenyl α,β‐unsaturated ketones with alkynyl aldehydes, promoted by diphenylprolinol O‐TMS ether as an organocatalyst, generated chiral 1,4‐dihydroquinolines in good to high yields with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 97 % ee).
A practical and environmentally friendly strategy for generating alkoxycarbonyl radicals from readily available carbazates under metal‐free conditions has been developed. In the presence of tetrabutylammonium iodide and tert‐butyl hydroperoxide, 2‐isocyanobiphenyls smoothly underwent radical alkoxycarbonylation with carbazates to afford phenanthridine‐6‐carboxylates.
An electrochemical method for the decarboxylative coupling of α‐keto acids with ortho‐phenylenediamines was developed. The reaction proceeded smoothly in aqueous solution under air and metal catalyst‐free conditions to afford 2‐substituted benzimidazoles in good yields. Benzothiazoles could also be synthesized by this protocol.
