C?C Bond Formation via C?H Activation and C?N Bond Formation via Oxidative Amination Catalyzed by Palladium‐ Polyoxometalate Nanomaterials Using Dioxygen as the Terminal Oxidant

An efficient heterogeneous palladium‐polyoxometalate catalyst with the formula Pd‐H₆PV₃Mo₉O₄₀/C has been successfully developed for carbon‐carbon (C C) bond formation via carbon‐hydrogen (C H) activation and carbon‐nitrogen (C N) bond formation via oxidative amination using oxygen as the terminal oxidant. The coupling processes are simple, and use relatively mild conditions to form the desired products. In addition, less waste is generated as no additional reagents such as organic/inorganic oxidants are required, and water is the only by‐product generated.     

Rhodium‐Catalyzed C?H Olefination of Aryl Weinreb Amides

A rhodium(III)‐catalyzed oxidative C H olefination directed by Weinreb amides, a class of well developed versatile building blocks in organic synthesis, has been developed with air as the terminal oxidant. The reactions proceed with excellent reactivity, good functional group tolerance and high yields.     

Iron‐Catalyzed C?C Bond Cleavage and C?N Bond Formation

A novel approach for C N bond formation was developed by iron‐catalyzed C C bond cleavage. Anilines and sulfonamides reacted smoothly with 2‐substituted 1,3‐diphenylpropane‐1,3‐diones to afford N‐alkylation products, in which the 1,3‐dicarbonyl group acts as a leaving group in the presence of an iron catalyst. The reversible C C bond cleavage plays a driving force to give the thermodynamically stable products. The method is complementary to the previous methods for C N bond formation.     

Transition Metal‐Catalyzed C?H Activation of Indoles

The last decades have seen a tremendous expanse in the application of C H activation of many different substrate classes, including the invaluable indole scaffold. Following the exciting emergence of C H activation as a multi‐faceted platform for functionalization, a versatile tool box has been developed for the preparation of structurally diverse indoles. This review article discusses recent advances and strategies for transition metal‐catalyzed C H activation of indoles.

     

Ruthenium(II)‐Catalyzed Oxidative Annulation Reactions of Arylimidazolium Salts via N‐Heterocyclic Carbene‐Directed C?H Activation

An efficient ruthenium(II)‐catalyzed oxidative annulation reaction of various arylimidazolium salts with alkynes via N‐heterocyclic carbene‐directed C H activation to obtain substituted benzo[ij]imidazo[2,1,5‐de]quinolizinium salts is reported. This catalytic reaction proceeds in an excellent regioselective manner when using unsymmetrical alkynes as reactants. The intermediate mono‐annulated products can be obtained by reducing the amount of catalyst. Two catalytically competent N‐heterocyclic carbene‐based cyclometallated ruthenium(II) complexes have been isolated and characterized, which represent the key intermediates in the catalytic cycle. Moreover, most of the products show a strong fluorescent property, indicating their potential for making new light‐emitting materials.

     

Carbon Nitride‐Catalyzed Photoredox C?C Bond Formation with N‐Aryltetrahydroisoquinolines

In this communication we describe the oxidative C C bond formation of tertiary amines with various nucleophiles under very mild and environmental friendly conditions by using mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (mpg‐C₃N₄) semiconductor as a heterogeneous, metal‐free photosensitizer in combination with visible light and oxygen as the terminal oxidation agent. This system can be further combined with proline‐organocatalysis to achieve oxidative tandem photocatalysis, demonstrating a rich cascade of chemical possibilities of the current photosynthesis system.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Direct Arylselenation of Anilines by C?H Bond Cleavage

We describe here an efficient and regioselective synthesis of arylselanyl anilines by copper‐catalyzed direct arylselenation of arylamines. Using a catalytic amount of copper iodide in dimethyl sulfoxide at 110 °C under an air atmosphere, a range of arylselanyl anilines was obtained directly from substituted diaryl diselenides in moderate to good yields via C H bond cleavage of aryl amines.

     

Grignard‐Type Arylation of Aldehydes via a Rhodium‐Catalyzed C?H Activation under Mild Conditions

An efficient Grignard‐type arylation of aldehydes via aryl C H activation was achieved under mild conditions catalyzed by rhodium. The reaction provides an easy access to a wide variety of benzyl alcohols and can tolerate various functional groups as well as air and water.     

C?H Bond Arylation of Diamondoids Catalyzed by Palladium(II) Acetate

We have developed an effective approach to 1,2‐disubstituted diamondoids by palladium(II) acetate catalyzed functionalization of C H bond. Selective mono‐arylation of the adamantane framework was achieved using picolylamide as a directing group in yields up to 87 %. Kinetic studies in combination with deuterium labeling experiments, competitive experiments and mass spectrometry contribute to the mechanistic understanding of the arylation process of alkanes with number of C H bonds neighboring the directing group. Triflic anhydride promoted cyclization of the directing group generates imidazo[1,5‐a]pyridine derivatives. Acid‐mediated removal of the directing group provides access to 2‐aryl diamondoid carboxylic acids, which are common precursors for the synthesis of various bioactive compounds (drug candidates).

     

Synthesis of [60]Fullerene‐Fused Tetralones via Palladium‐ Catalyzed Ketone‐Directed sp2 C?H Activation and sp3 C?H Functionalization

The palladium‐catalyzed ketone‐directed dual sp² C H activation and sp³ C H functionalization has been applied for fullerene functionalization for the first time. The sec‐alkyl aryl ketones have been exploited to react with [60]fullerene (C₆₀) to provide the novel and scarce C₆₀‐fused tetralones. The combined use of a highly active cationic palladium(II) catalyst and trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is crucial for the improvement of the reaction yield. A plausible reaction mechanism leading to the observed products has been proposed, and the electrochemistry of the fullerene products has also been investigated.

     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Oxidative sp2 C?H Bond Acylation with Aldehydes

An efficient method was developed for the direct acylation of arene sp² C H bonds with aldehydes using palladium acetate as catalyst and peroxide as oxidant. The solvent‐free oxidative acylation reaction assisted by a pyridine directing group provides an easy access to aromatic, aliphatic, and optical active ketones.     

Copper‐Catalyzed or ‐Mediated C?H Bond Functionalizations Assisted by Bidentate Directing Groups

Copper salts, which are abundant, relatively inexpensive and possess low toxicity, have long been used as versatile catalysts for various reactions in organic synthesis. Recently, the development of Cu‐catalyzed or ‐mediated C H functionalization reactions has gained significant attention. Since the pioneering work of Daugulis on the introduction of 8‐aminoquinoline and picolinic acid auxiliaries as removable directing groups in transition metal‐catalyzed C H bond activations, the combination of copper salts with these bidentate directing groups has emerged as an innovative strategy for the construction of carbon‐carbon or carbon‐heteroatom bonds through C H bond cleavage. In addition to the 8‐aminoquinoline and picolinamide systems, several other bidentate directing groups including the 2‐aminophenyloxazoline group by Yu and Dai and the PIP system by Shi, have been developed as well. This review intends to cover most of the recent advances on copper‐catalyzed or ‐mediated direct sp² and sp³ C H bond functionalizations assisted by these bidentate directing groups. The major achievements in this area are discussed and catalogued by the type of bonds formed (C C, C O, C N, C S, C P etc.). Special attention is paid to the reaction mechanisms. Selected examples of substrates are listed as well. In addition, a personal outlook is given at the end.

     

Zinc‐Catalyzed Organic Synthesis: C?C,C?N,C?O Bond Formation Reactions

Zinc is the 24^th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust. Since the discovery of pure zinc metal in the 18^th century, the main application of zinc metal is as materials. Because zinc salts are abundant, cheap, non‐toxic, and exhibit environmentally benign properties, organic chemists have been interested in using zinc salts as catalysts in organic synthesis during the last three decades. Within this review, we have summarized the progress on applications of zinc salts in organic reactions. Our the target is to emphasize the special properties of zinc catalysts, and further promote the interest of organic chemists.     

Iron‐Catalyzed C?H Fuctionalization of Indoles

An easily available iron catalyst was developed to accomplish the C H functionalization of indoles with α‐aryl‐α‐diazoesters in high yields under mild conditions. The asymmetric C H functionalization of indoles was also realized by using iron complexes of chiral spiro bisoxazolines with up to 78% ee.     

Tandem Catalysis: Alcohol Oxidation and C?C Bond Formation via C?H Bond Activation

A tandem process involving oxidation of a benzylic alcohol functionality followed by hydroarylation is described. These two atom‐economic sequences are very convenient to access functionalized aromatic ketones, using simple ruthenium trichloride as catalyst precursor. Moreover they appear to be highly compatible, tolerant, and selective toward various functional groups, and the ease of the protocol should make it very convenient for synthetic purposes.     

Rhodium‐Catalyzed Tandem Annulation Reactions of 7‐Azaindoles with Electron‐Deficient Olefins via Double C?H Activation

Rhodium‐catalyzed tandem annulation reactions via olefination and subsequent intramolecular C‐Michael‐type cyclization represent an efficient approach for the direct construction of C C bonds. The simple and atom‐economic strategy produces various alkylation derivatives of 7‐azaindole with a quaternary carbon center from 7‐azaindoles and olefins.

     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Oxidative C?H Bond Acylation of Acetanilides with Benzylic Alcohols

An efficient and clean method to construct C C bonds has been developed via the acylation reaction of acetanilides with benzylic alcohols using tert‐butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant catalyzed by palladium acetate in the presence of triflic acid (TfOH). The acylation reactions exhibit excellent reactivities, and up to 95% yield of the corresponding aryl ketone could be obtained under the optimal conditions.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Intermolecular Amination of Acidic Aryl C?H Bonds with Primary Aromatic Amines

A copper‐catalyzed intermolecular aerobic oxidative C H bond amination of various polyfluorobenzenes with an array of primary aromatic amines was achieved for the first time. The reactivity of the polyfluorobenzenes was observed to depend on the acidity of C H bonds. Under similar reaction conditions, the C H bond amination of azoles also occurred.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed/Lewis Acid‐Promoted Alkene Dimerization and Cross‐Coupling with Alcohols via C?H Bond Activation

The cross‐couplings of alcohols to alkenes with the palladium/Lewis acid system are reported. This reaction occurs in a successive alkene dimerization, direct C H activation of alcohol and sp³ sp³ bond forming sequence via an interesting domino process.