Synthesis of 5-arylacetylenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles and their transformations under superelectrophilic activation conditions

Acetylene derivatives of 1,2,4-oxadiazoles, i.e., 5-(2-arylethynyl)-3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles, have been obtained, for the first time reported, from 5-(2-arylethenyl)-3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles by their bromination at the carbon–carbon double bond followed by di-dehydrobromination with NaNH2 in liquid NH3. The reaction of the acetylenyl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles with arenes in neat triflic acid TfOH (CF3SO3H) at room temperature for 1 h resulted in the formation of E/Z-5-(2,2-diarylethenyl)-3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles as products of regioselective hydroarylation of the acetylene bond. The addition of TfOH to the acetylene bond of these oxadiazoles quantitatively resulted in E/Z-vinyl triflates. The reactions of the cationic intermediates have been studied by DFT calculations and the reaction mechanisms are discussed.

Synthesis of 5-arylacetylene 1,2,4-oxadiazoles and their transformations under superelectrophilic activation conditions

Acetylene derivatives of 1,2,4-oxadiazoles, 5-(2-arylethynyl)-3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles, have been obtained, for the first time, from 5-(2-arylethenyl)-3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles by their bromination at the carbon-carbon double bond followed by di-dehydrobromination with NaNH2 in liquid NH3. Reaction of the acetylene 1,2,4-oxadiazoles with arenes in neat triflic acid TfOH (CF3SO3H) at room temperature for 1 h result in the formation of E-/Z-5-(2,2-diarylethenyl)-3-aryl-1,2,4-oxadiazoles as products of regioselective hydroarylation of the acetylene bond. Addition of TfOH to acetylene bond of these oxadiazoles gives rise quantitatively to E-/Z-vinyl triflates. Reaction cationic intermediates have been studied by DFT calculations. The reaction mechanisms have been discussed.

On differences in substituent effects in substituted ethene and acetylene derivatives and their boranyl analogs

This article is the first attempt to present different influence of substituent effects on double and triple bonds and, conversely, to present the impact of these bonds on the electronic structure of substituents. For this purpose, quantum-mechanical calculations were made for X-substituted derivatives of ethene and acetylene with 27 diverse substituents representing a wide spectrum of electronic properties, from strongly electron-accepting to strongly electron-donating ones. In addition to these systems, their boranyl derivatives are also investigated. It turns out that the Hammett substituent constants do not correctly describe changes in the CC bond length in any of the considered family of systems. However, the relationships with the CB bond length are significantly better. It is shown that the triple bond in acetylene derivatives is much more resistant to external perturbations than the double bond in the analogs containing an ethene unit. As a consequence, in acetylene derivatives, the substituent effects on CC bond length are about half of the substituent effects in ethene derivatives. We suggest that the observed lack of a clear linear correlation between the length of the CC triple bond in acetylene derivatives and the value of electron density on this bond is due to the disturbing additional interaction between the structure of the X substituent in the xy plane and the π bond being in the same plane in the acetylene unit—on the contrary, this interaction is not possible in ethene analogs.

Synthesis and Application of Tetrafluoroethylene (CF2CF2)-Containing Acetylene Derivatives

On treating 1,3,4-tribromo-1,1,2,2-tetrafluorobutane, readily prepared from commercially available 4-bromo-3,3,4,4-tetrafluorobut-1-ene, with 3.3 equivalents of LHMDS at 0 °C in THF, the corresponding lithium acetylide could be prepared quantitatively. The acetylide reacted well with various aldehydes, ketones, or chlorosilanes to give the corresponding acetylene derivatives in high yields. It was also found that various iodoarenes could participate in the cross-coupling reaction with the zinc acetylide, readily prepared from the lithium acetylide and ZnCl2·TMEDA complex, in the presence of Pd(PPh3)4 to bring about the adducts in high yields. Thus-obtained acetylene derivatives underwent smooth Diels–Alder reaction with various 1,3-dienes to afford the corresponding 1,4- or 1,3-cyclohexadiene derivatives. In addition, it was revealed that the oxidative aromatization of the resulting cyclohexadiene derivatives with DDQ took place very smoothly, providing the multi-substituted benzene derivatives having a tetrafluoro­ethylene group.

FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED ASPECTS OF THE CHEMISTRY OF ACETYLENYLQUINONES

In addition to the reported synthetic routes for the acetylene derivatives of quinones, a detailed analysis of the fundamental chemical, physicochemical, and biological properties of this class of compounds is presented herein. The advantages of Pd- and Cu-catalyzed cross-coupling of terminal alkynes with iodarenes via the Sonogashira reaction to produce new acetylenylquinones with predetermined properties are examined. Here, combining quinoid and acetylene residues into one molecule gives the resulting compounds chemical specificity, as demonstrated by several reported examples of non-trivial transformations. In particular, the presence of the quinoid cycle significantly increases the electrophilicity of the triple bond and determines the range of transformation possibilities. Moreover, acetylenylquinones have heightened sensitivity to both external (such as the reaction temperature and the nature of the solvent) and internal (e.g., the structure of substituents in the nucleus and the acetylene fragment) factors. For example, regioselective cleavage of a strong triple bond under the action of amines is possible in the absence of a metal catalyst. Peri-substituted acetylenyl-9,10-anthraquinones are most suited for the synthetic route because of the proximity of the acetylene and carbonyl groups. Mechanisms of reactions of selective alkynylquinones are described.

Dewar Heterocycles as Versatile Monomers for Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization

We report the utility of readily available heterocycles as precursors to unique ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) monomers. Photochemical valence isomerization reactions of pyridones, dihydropyridines, and pyrones dearomatize the parent heterocycles to their highly strained Dewar isomers, which readily engage in controlled ROMP reactions using Grubbs catalysts. This strategy is used to access novel polymer backbones that contain strained β-lactam and azetidine cores, which can be further derivatized using post-polymerization chemistries. We demonstrate this through the synthesis of water-soluble β-amino acid polymers and soluble poly(acetylene) derivatives.

Dewar Heterocycles as Versatile Monomers for Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization

We report the utility of readily available heterocycles as precursors to unique ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) monomers. Photochemical valence isomerization reactions of pyridones, dihydropyridines, and pyrones dearomatize the parent heterocycles to their highly strained Dewar isomers, which readily engage in controlled ROMP reactions using Grubbs catalysts. This strategy is used to access novel polymer backbones that contain strained β-lactam and azetidine cores, which can be further derivatized using post-polymerization chemistries. We demonstrate this through the synthesis of water-soluble β-amino acid polymers and soluble poly(acetylene) derivatives.

Chiral information harvesting in helical poly(acetylene) derivatives using oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene)s as spacers

A chiral harvesting transmission mechanism is described in poly(acetylene)s bearing oligo(p-phenyleneethynylene)s (OPEs) used as rigid achiral spacers and derivatized with chiral pendant groups.