Synthesis of 3-Substituted 2-Arylpyridines via Cu/Pd-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Cross-Coupling of Picolinic Acids with (Hetero)Aryl Halides.

A decarboxylative cross-coupling of 3-substituted picolinic acids with (hetero)aryl halides is presented. In the presence of catalytic CuO and Pd(1,5-cyclooctadiene)Cl with 2-dicyclohexylphosphino-2'-(N,N-dimethylamino)biphenyl as the ligand, both electron-rich and electron-deficient aryl bromides and chlorides as well as heteroaryl bromides were successfully coupled with various picolinate salts under mild conditions in yields up to 96%. This protocol provides an efficient entry to 2-(hetero)arylpyridines, an attractive substance class in drug discovery.

ortho-C-H Arylation of Benzoic Acids with Aryl Bromides and Chlorides Catalyzed by Ruthenium.

A system consisting of catalytic amounts of [(p-cym)RuCl ] /PEt ⋅HBF , K CO as the base, and NMP as the solvent efficiently mediates the ortho-C-H arylation of benzoic acids with aryl bromides at 100 °C. Replacing the phosphine ligand with the amino acid dl-pipecolinic acid enables the analogous transformation with aryl chlorides. The key advantage of this broadly applicable transformation is the use of an inexpensive ruthenium catalyst in combination with simple carboxylates as directing groups, which can either be tracelessly removed or used as anchor points for decarboxylative ipso substitutions.

Branched Arylalkenes from Cinnamates: Selectivity Inversion in Heck Reactions by Carboxylates as Deciduous Directing Groups.

A decarboxylative Mizoroki-Heck coupling of aryl halides with cinnamic acids has been developed in which the carboxylate group directs the arylation into its β-position before being tracelessly removed through protodecarboxylation. In the presence of a copper/palladium catalyst, both electron-rich and electron-deficient aryl bromides and chlorides bearing numerous functionalities were successfully coupled with broadly available cinnamates, with selective formation of 1,1-disubstituted alkenes. This reaction concept, in which the carboxylate acts as a deciduous directing group, ideally complements traditional 1,2-selective Heck reactions of styrenes.

Iridium-Catalyzed ortho-Arylation of Benzoic Acids with Arenediazonium Salts.

In the presence of catalytic [{IrCp*Cl2 }2 ] and Ag2 CO3 , Li2 CO3 as the base, and acetone as the solvent, benzoic acids react with arenediazonium salts to give the corresponding diaryl-2-carboxylates under mild conditions. This C-H arylation process is generally applicable to diversely substituted substrates, ranging from extremely electron-rich to electron-poor derivatives. The carboxylate directing group is widely available and can be removed tracelessly or employed for further derivatization.

Mechanism of Cu/Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-couplings: a DFT investigation.

The reaction mechanism of decarboxylative cross-couplings of benzoates with aryl halides to give biaryls, which is cooperatively catalyzed by copper/palladium systems, was investigated with DFT methods. The geometries and energies of all starting materials, products, intermediates, and transition states of the catalytic cycle were calculated for the two model reactions of potassium 2- and 4-fluorobenzoate with bromobenzene in the presence of a catalyst system consisting of copper(I)/1,10-phenanthroline and the anionic monophosphine palladium complex [Pd(PMe3)Br](-). Several neutral and anionic pathways were compared, and a reasonable catalytic cycle was identified.