A transition metal‐free direct arylation of 2‐substituted cyanoacetates with diaryliodonium salts was developed. With this approach, a wide range of α‐tolunitrile derivatives has been synthesized in good to excellent yields of 45–92%. Furthermore, the practicability of this approach is further manifested in the synthesis of a related bioactive agent of glutarimide.
Iron‐promoted cyclization of 1‐benzyl‐2‐alkynylbenzenes with diorganyl diselenides led to the synthesis of 9‐(organoselanyl)‐5H‐benzo[7]annulenes whereby the mutual action between diorganyl diselenides and iron(III) chloride in a 0.5:1.0 mol ratio was essential in order to achieve the maximal yields of the products. The cyclization reaction tolerated a variety of functional groups, such as trifluoromethyl, chloro, fluoro and methoxy, in both the 1‐benzyl‐2‐alkynylbenzenes and the diorganyl diselenides, giving the seven‐membered heterocyclic products exclusively via a 7‐endo‐dig cyclization process.
A regioselective synthesis of indole‐3‐carboxylic acid esters from anilines and diazo compounds has been realized by making use of the pyrimidyl group‐assisted rhodium‐catalyzed C H activation and C N bond formation. The reaction proceeds under mild conditions, exhibits good functional group tolerance and scalability. Reutilization of the pyrimidyl directing group in the resulting products provided an efficient strategy for further C‐7 functionalization of indoles. Moreover, the pyrimidyl moiety could be readily removed as a leaving group to offer various free N H indoles.
Recent progress in asymmetric organocatalysis has led to the development of several asymmetric transformations that employ various substrates. Among these, cyanoacetates have emerged as excellent nucleophiles in conjugate addition, alkylation, Mannich and α‐heterofunctionalization reactions. In this review we discuss the enantioselective functionalization of 2‐cyanoacetates through organocatalytic reactions.
A sequential one‐pot synthesis of Michael adducts of aroylmethylidenemalonates with activated aromatics is described. The method involves treatment of trans‐2‐aryl‐3‐nitro‐cyclopropane‐1,1‐dicarboxylates with boron trifluoride etherate to form aroylmethylidenemalonates in situ and then addition of activated aromatics such as indoles, carbazole, pyrrole, thiophenes, methoxybenzenes and benzodioxole followed by a catalytic amount of indium(III) triflate to the same reaction vessel. To prove the synthetic potential of the resulting Michael adducts, one of the adducts was transformed into a pharmaceutically interesting dihydropyridazinone derivative.
Modulating the diastereoselectivity of stereochemically complex molecules in asymmetric synthesis remains a challenge, especially when the reaction cycle produces no net change in the catalysts, ligands, substrates or additives. Here we accomplish a controlled diastereodivergence in the asymmetric synthesis of fully functionalized tetrahydropyrans by adjusting the sequence of an organocatalytic cascade reaction. We also show that this one‐pot operation provides two synthetically important architectures with excellent stereocontrol. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published kinetic resolution of MBH alcohols in an organocascade.
A new one‐pot palladium‐catalyzed process between N‐tosylhydrazones, N‐(dihalophenyl)‐imidates, and amines was designed. This reaction involves Barluenga cross‐coupling and N‐arylation followed by cyclization to produce functionalized benzimidazoles. During this transformation, one C C bond and two C N bonds were created by a single palladium‐catalyzed reaction. Depending on the starting materials, a library of 5‐(1‐arylvinyl)‐1H‐benzimidazoles was synthesized. Among several arylvinylbenzimidazole derivatives evaluated, one compound exhibits excellent antiproliferative activity in the nanomolar concentration range against human colon carcinoma cell lines (HCT‐116) and human lung adenocarcinoma epithelial cell lines (A549).
This review gives an overview of the generation of aryl radicals, mediated by transition metals, and their use for the C H arylation of heteroarenes. The different sources of aromatic derivatives able to generate aryl radicals via a metal‐assisted reduction or oxidation are discussed, with a critical view of the developed systems. The radical arylations of nitrogen‐, oxygen‐ or sulfur‐containing heterocycles are then described and mechanistic considerations are discussed as well.
A general method to generate umpolung of aldimines with cyanide was developed via the addition of cyanide to aldimines followed by a proton transfer from the carbon atom to the nitrogen atom in the resulting cyanide adducts. This novel method was successfully applied to the first imino‐Stetter reaction of aldimines obtained from 2‐aminocinnamic acid derivatives and aromatic aldehydes with cyanide, affording 2‐aryl‐substituted indole‐3‐acetic acid derivatives. Furthermore, the usefulness of this method was successfully demonstrated by the synthesis of an FPTase inhibitor, one of the biologically important 2‐arylindole‐3‐acetic acid derivatives.
Grignard reagents are probably the best organometallics to develop large‐scale eco‐friendly cross‐couplings compatible with the requirements of sustainable development. This account aims to highlight some reactions having an interesting industrial potential and gives the personal point of view of the authors on some attractive fields of research in this area.
A synthetic strategy has been developed for the synthesis of 2‐dialkylaminoquinolines from easily available quinoline N‐oxides, tertiary amines, diisopropyl H‐phosphonate and carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in one pot under metal‐free conditions at room temperature.
A concise synthesis of 1‐naphthols via cyclization of o‐iodoacetophenones and methyl ketones has been realized under very mild conditions. The cyclization process is initiated by a rare copper‐catalyzed arylation of simple methyl ketones with ortho‐iodoacetophenones.
A novel copper‐catalyzed selective semihydrogenation of terminal alkynes using hypophosphorous acid as hydrogen donor took place efficiently to afford the corresponding alkenes in high yields. A broad range of substituted terminal aromatic and aliphatic alkenes, including terminal dienes and enynes bearing internal triple bonds, can be efficiently synthesized by this reaction.
A new strategy for the enantioselective construction of chiral 2,3‐cis‐dimethyldihydrobenzofurans has been developed by a ruthenium‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of racemic α‐aryloxybutanone via dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR), combined with a palladium‐catalyzed intramolecular reductive Heck cyclization. Starting from optically active 2,3‐cis‐dimethyldihydrobenzofuran, the natural products (+)/(−)‐PI‐220 and (+)‐3‐epi‐furaquinocin C were synthesized in high yields.
Palladium(II) acetate in association with secondary phosphine oxides provides an efficient catalytic system for [2+1] cycloadditions starting from oxanorbornene derivatives and tertiary propargyl esters giving rise to vinylidenecyclopropanes. This reaction is specific to bidentate phosphinito–phosphinous acid ligands generated from secondary phosphine oxides. The [2+1] cycloaddition was found broad in scope with a high tolerance to various functional groups. Moreover, vinylidenecyclopropanes were straightforwardly converted into oxabicyclo[3.2.1]oct‐2‐ene derivatives through a palladium‐catalyzed ring‐expansion. Finally, the oxa bridge cleavage of oxatricyclic compounds yields functionalized 7‐membered carbocycles.
