Project description:Unactivated olefins are converted to alkyl azides with bench-stable NaN3 in the presence of FeCl3·6H2O under blue-light irradiation. The products are obtained with anti-Markovnikov selectivity, and the reaction can be performed under mild ambient conditions in the presence of air and moisture. The transformation displays broad functional group tolerance, which renders it suitable for functionalization of complex molecules. Mechanistic investigations are conducted to provide insight into the hydroazidation reaction and reveal the role of water from the iron hydrate as the H atom source.
Project description:We have developed a nickel-catalyzed hydroarylation of alkenes using aryl halides as coupling partners. Excellent anti-Markovnikov selectivity is achieved with aryl-substituted alkenes and enol ethers. We also show that hydroarylation occurs with alkyl substituted alkenes to yield linear products. Preliminary examination of the reaction mechanism suggests irreversible hydrometallation as the selectivity determining step of the hydroarylation.
Project description:Transition metal-catalyzed reductive difunctionalization of alkenes with alkyl halides is a powerful method for upgrading commodity chemicals into densely functionalized molecules. However, super stoichiometric amounts of metal reductant and the requirement of installing a directing group into alkenes to suppress the inherent β-H elimination bring great limitations to this type of reaction. We demonstrate herein that the difunctionalization of alkenes with two different alkyl halides is accessible via a radical-anion relay with Na2S2O4 as both reductant and sulfone-source. The Na2S2O4 together with the electron-shuttle catalyst is crucial to divert the mechanistic pathway toward the formation of alkyl sulfone anion instead of the previously reported alkylmetal intermediates. Mechanistic studies allow the identification of carbon-centered alkyl radical and sulfur-centered alkyl sulfone radical, which are in equilibrium via capture or extrusion of SO2 and could be converted to alkyl sulfone anion accelerated by iron electron-shuttle catalysis, leading to the observed high chemoselectivity.
Project description:We herein report a direct intermolecular anti-Markovnikov hydroazidation method for unactivated olefins, which is promoted by a catalytic amount of bench-stable benziodoxole at ambient temperature. This method facilitates previously difficult, direct addition of hydrazoic acid across a wide variety of unactivated olefins in both complex molecules and unfunctionalized commodity chemicals. It conveniently fills a synthetic chemistry gap of existing olefin hydroazidation procedures, and thereby provides a valuable tool for azido-group labeling in organic synthesis and chemical biology studies.
Project description:Enantioselective synthesis of β-chiral amines has been achieved via copper-catalyzed hydroamination of 1,1-disubstituted alkenes with hydroxylamine esters in the presence of a hydrosilane. This mild process affords a range of structurally diverse β-chiral amines, including β-deuterated amines, in excellent yields with high enantioselectivities. Furthermore, catalyst loading as low as 0.4 mol% could be employed to deliver product in undiminished yield and selectivity, demonstrating the practicality of this method for large-scale synthesis.
Project description:We report the first enantioselective Rh-catalyzed Markovnikov hydroboration of unactivated terminal alkenes. Using a novel sp2-sp3 hybridized diboron reagent and water as a proton source, a broad range of alkenes undergo hydroboration to provide secondary boronic esters with high regio- and enantiocontrol.
Project description:Herein we report a metal-free method for the direct anti-Markovnikov hydroamination of unsaturated amines. Irradiation of the amine substrates with visible light in the presence of catalytic quantities of easily synthesized 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium tetrafluoroborate and thiophenol as a hydrogen-atom donor furnished the nitrogen-containing heterocycles with complete regiocontrol. Two examples of intermolecular anti-Markovnikov alkene hydroamination are also disclosed.
Project description:Organic azides serve as synthetically useful surrogates for primary amines, a functional group which is ubiquitous in bioactive and medicinally relevant molecules. Historically, the formal hydroazidation of simple activated olefins and styrenes has proven difficult due to the inherent propensity of these compounds to oligomerize. Herein is disclosed a method for the anti-Markovnikov hydroazidation of activated olefins, catalyzed by an organic acridinium salt under irradiation from blue LEDs. This method is applicable to a variety of substituted and terminal styrenes and several vinyl ethers, yielding synthetically versatile hydroazidation products in moderate to excellent yield.
Project description:Experimental 13C kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) provide unprecedented mechanistic insight into three intermolecular anti-Markovnikov alkene hydrofunctionalization reactions─hydroesterification, hydroamination, and hydroetherification─enabled by organophotoredox catalysis. All three reactions are found to proceed via initial oxidation of the model alkenes to form a radical cation intermediate, followed by sequential nucleophilic attack and hydrogen-atom transfer to deliver the hydrofunctionalized product. A normal 13C KIE on the olefinic carbon that undergoes nucleophilic attack provides qualitative evidence for rate-limiting nucleophilic attack in all three reactions. Comparison to predicted 13C KIE values obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations for this step reveals that alkene oxidation has partial rate-limiting influence in hydroesterification and hydroamination, while the nucleophilic attack is solely rate-limiting in the hydroetherification reaction. The basic additive (2,6-lutidine) activates the nucleophile via deprotonation and is an integral part of the transition state for nucleophilic attack on the radical cation, providing an important design principle for the development of asymmetric versions of these reactions. A more electron-rich pyridine base (2,6-dimethoxypyridine) exhibits considerable rate enhancements in both inter- and intramolecular hydrofunctionalization reactions.
Project description:The amide is one of the most prevalent functional groups in all of pharmaceuticals, and for this reason, reactions that introduce the amide moiety are of particular value. Intermolecular hydroamidation of alkenes remains an underexplored method for the synthesis of amide-containing compounds. The majority of hydroamidation procedures exhibit Markovnikov regioselectivity, while current methods for anti-Markovnikov hydroamidation are somewhat limited to activated alkene substrates or radical processes. Herein, we report a general method for the intermolecular anti-Markovnikov hydroamidation of unactivated alkenes under mild conditions, utilizing Rh(III) catalysis in conjunction with dioxazolone amidating reagents and isopropanol as an environmentally friendly hydride source. The reaction tolerates a wide range of functional groups and efficiently converts electron-deficient alkenes, styrenes, and 1,1-disubstituted alkenes, in addition to unactivated alkenes, to their corresponding linear amides. Mechanistic studies reveal a reversible rhodium hydride migratory insertion step, leading to exquisite selectivity for the anti-Markovnikov product.