Carbonyl-Olefin Metathesis.

This Review describes the development of strategies for carbonyl-olefin metathesis reactions relying on stepwise, stoichiometric, or catalytic approaches. A comprehensive overview of currently available methods is provided starting with Paternò-Büchi cycloadditions between carbonyls and alkenes, followed by fragmentation of the resulting oxetanes, metal alkylidene-mediated strategies, [3 + 2]-cycloaddition approaches with strained hydrazines as organocatalysts, Lewis acid-mediated and Lewis acid-catalyzed strategies relying on the formation of intermediate oxetanes, and protocols based on initial carbon-carbon bond formation between carbonyls and alkenes and subsequent Grob-fragmentations. The Review concludes with an overview of applications of these currently available methods for carbonyl-olefin metathesis in complex molecule synthesis.

Superelectrophilic Fe(III)-Ion Pairs as Stronger Lewis Acid Catalysts for ()-Selective Intermolecular Carbonyl-Olefin Metathesis.

An intermolecular carbonyl-olefin metathesis reaction is described that relies on superelectrophilic Fe(III)-based ion pairs as stronger Lewis acid catalysts. This new catalytic system enables selective access to ()-olefins as carbonyl-olefin metathesis products. Mechanistic investigations suggest the regioselective formation and stereospecific fragmentation of intermediate oxetanes to be the origin of this selectivity.

Catalytic Carbonyl-Olefin Metathesis of Aliphatic Ketones: Iron(III) Homo-Dimers as Lewis Acidic Superelectrophiles.

Catalytic carbonyl-olefin metathesis reactions have recently been developed as a powerful tool for carbon-carbon bond formation. However, currently available synthetic protocols rely exclusively on aryl ketone substrates while the corresponding aliphatic analogs remain elusive. We herein report the development of Lewis acid-catalyzed carbonyl-olefin ring-closing metathesis reactions for aliphatic ketones.

GaCl-Catalyzed Ring-Opening Carbonyl-Olefin Metathesis.

The development of a Lewis acid-catalyzed ring-opening cross-metathesis reaction which enables selective access to acyclic, unsaturated ketones as the carbonyl-olefin metathesis products is described. While catalytic amounts of FeCl were previously identified as optimal to catalyze ring-closing metathesis reactions, the complementary ring-opening metathesis between cyclic alkenes and carbonyl functionalities relies on GaCl as the superior Lewis acid catalyst.

A Visible-Light-Mediated Radical Smiles Rearrangement and its Application to the Synthesis of a Difluoro-Substituted Spirocyclic ORL-1 Antagonist.

A visible-light-mediated radical Smiles rearrangement has been developed to address the challenging synthesis of the gem-difluoro group present in an opioid receptor-like 1 (ORL-1) antagonist that is currently in development for the treatment of depression and/or obesity. This method enables the direct and efficient introduction of the difluoroethanol motif into a range of aryl and heteroaryl systems, representing a new disconnection for the synthesis of this versatile moiety. When applied to the target compound, the photochemical step could be conducted on 15 g scale using industrially relevant [Ru(bpy)3Cl2] catalyst loadings of 0.

AEE-active cyclic tetraphenylsilole derivatives with ∼100% solid-state fluorescence quantum efficiency.

Two new strongly AEE active (I/I0 ≈ 94) tetraphenylsilole-containing cyclosiloxanes with cyan emissions (λem = 500 nm) and ∼100% solid state fluorescence quantum yields are reported. The intra- and intermolecular C-Hπ interactions in the crystal play a major role in the observed high solid state fluorescence quantum yields.

Ring-shaped silafluorene derivatives as efficient solid-state UV-fluorophores: synthesis, characterization, and photoluminescent properties.

Four ring-shaped silafluorene-containing compounds (1-4) were synthesized and characterized as potentially promising monomers for fluorescent polymers. Their optical properties in solution and solid state (thin film and powder) were studied. These compounds have low quantum yields in solution (Φ(fl)=0.

High solid-state fluorescence in ring-shaped AEE-active tetraphenylsilole derivatives.

Three ring-shaped AEE-active silole-containing compounds were synthesized by mild condensation reactions. Cyclotrisiloxane compound 1 displays high solid-state quantum yield (Φfl = 0.86) with the fluorescence maximum at 512 nm.

Molecular control of the nanoscale: effect of phosphine-chalcogenide reactivity on CdS-CdSe nanocrystal composition and morphology.

We demonstrate molecular control of nanoscale composition, alloying, and morphology (aspect ratio) in CdS-CdSe nanocrystal dots and rods by modulating the chemical reactivity of phosphine-chalcogenide precursors. Specific molecular precursors studied were sulfides and selenides of triphenylphosphite (TPP), diphenylpropylphosphine (DPP), tributylphosphine (TBP), trioctylphosphine (TOP), and hexaethylphosphorustriamide (HPT). Computational (DFT), NMR ((31)P and (77)Se), and high-temperature crossover studies unambiguously confirm a chemical bonding interaction between phosphorus and chalcogen atoms in all precursors.