Development of Chiral Potassium Strong Brønsted Base Catalysts for Enantioselective Carbon–Carbon Bond-Forming Reactions

Chiral alkaline metal Brønsted bases are traditional and reliable promoters in enantioselective catalysis. Here, new chiral potassium strong base catalysts were developed for enantioselective carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions of weakly acidic...

Organocatalytic Silicon-Free SuFEx reactions for modular synthesis of sulfonate esters and sulfonamides

Sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) click chemistry provides a powerful tool for rapid construction of modular connections. Here, we report a novel catalytic silicon-free SuFEx reaction with sulfonyl fluorides. Under the catalysis of 10 mol% N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC), a range of phenols and alcohols react with different sulfonyl fluorides to afford sulfonate esters in 49-99% yields. In addition, Under the relay catalysis of 10 mol% N-heterocyclic carbene and 10 mol% 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt), a variety of primary and secondary amines react with different sulfonyl fluorides to produce sulfonamides in 58%-99% yields. More than 140 sulfonylated products, including 17 natural product derivatives have been prepared through this method. Mechanism study showed that NHCs might act as a carbon-centered Brønsted base to catalyse the SuFEx click reactions via the formation of hydrogen bonding with phenols or alcohols.

Anion-π Catalysis Enabled by the Mechanical Bond

We report a series of rotaxane-based anion-π catalysts in which the mechanical bond between a bipyridine macrocycle and an axle containing an NDI unit is intrinsic to the activity observed, including a [3]rotaxane that catalyses an otherwise disfavoured Michael addition in >60 fold selectivity over a competing decarboxylation pathway that dominates under Brønsted base conditions. The results are rationalized by detailed experimental investigations, electrochemical and computational analysis.

Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalysts Featuring N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands Tagged with Isonicotinic and 4-(Dimethylamino)benzoic Acid Rests: Evaluation of a Modular Synthetic Strategy

A modular and flexible strategy towards the synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands bearing Brønsted base tags has been proposed and then adopted in the preparation of two tagged NHC ligands bearing rests of isonicotinic and 4-(dimethylamino)benzoic acids. Such tagged NHC ligands represent an attractive starting point for the synthesis of olefin metathesis ruthenium catalysts tagged in non-dissociating ligands. The influence of the Brønsted basic tags on the activity of such obtained olefin metathesis catalysts has been studied.

Doubly Decarboxylative Synthesis of 4-(Pyridylmethyl)chroman-2-ones and 2-(Pyridylmethyl)chroman-4-ones under Mild Reaction Conditions

The doubly decarboxylative Michael–type addition of pyridylacetic acid to chromone-3-carboxylic acids or coumarin-3-carboxylic acids has been developed. This protocol has been realized under Brønsted base catalysis, providing biologically interesting 4-(pyridylmethyl)chroman-2-ones and 2-(pyridylmethyl)chroman-4-ones in good or very good yields. The decarboxylative reaction pathway has been confirmed by mechanistic studies. Moreover, attempts to develop an enantioselective variant of the cascade are also described.