Selective Palladium(II)-Catalyzed Carbonylation of Methylene β-C-H Bonds in Aliphatic Amines.

Palladium(II)-catalyzed C-H carbonylation reactions of methylene C-H bonds in secondary aliphatic amines lead to the formation of trans-disubstituted β-lactams in excellent yields and selectivities. The generality of the C-H carbonylation process is aided by the action of xantphos-based ligands and is important in securing good yields for the β-lactam products.

Annulative π-Extension (APEX): Rapid Access to Fused Arenes, Heteroarenes, and Nanographenes.

The annulative π-extension (APEX) reaction has the potential to have a tremendous impact on the fields of materials science and bioimaging, as well as on the pharmaceutical/agrochemical industries, since it allows access to fused aromatic systems from relatively simple aromatic compounds in a single step. Typically, an APEX reaction facilitates a one-pot π-extension without the need to prefunctionalize the aromatic compounds. This advantageous feature is extremely useful for tuning and modifying molecular properties in the last step of a synthesis.

Annulative π-Extension (APEX) of Heteroarenes with Dibenzosiloles and Dibenzogermoles by Palladium/o-Chloranil Catalysis.

Annulative π-extension (APEX) reactions of heteroarenes are described herein. A catalytic system comprising a cationic palladium species and o-chloranil using dimethyldibenzosiloles as π-extending agents enabled the extension of the π-system of benzo[b]thiophenes. π-Extended dibenzofurans and carbazoles could also be obtained from benzofuran and N-tosylindole, respectively, with dimethyldibenzogermole as a germanium-based π-extending agent.

One-Step Annulative π-Extension of Alkynes with Dibenzosiloles or Dibenzogermoles by Palladium/o-chloranil Catalysis.

Reliable and short synthetic routes to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and nanographenes are important in materials science. Herein, we report an efficient one-step annulative π-extension reaction of alkynes that provides access to diarylphenanthrenes and related nanographene precursors. In the presence of a cationic palladium/o-chloranil catalyst system and dibenzosiloles or dibenzogermoles as π-extending agents, a variety of diarylacetylenes are transformed successfully into 9,10-diarylphenanthrenes in a single step with good functional-group tolerance.

One-shot K-region-selective annulative π-extension for nanographene synthesis and functionalization.

The optoelectronic nature of two-dimensional sheets of sp(2)-hydridized carbons (for example, graphenes and nanographenes) can be dramatically altered and tuned by altering the degree of π-extension, shape, width and edge topology. Among various approaches to synthesize nanographenes with atom-by-atom precision, one-shot annulative π-extension (APEX) reactions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons hold significant potential not only to achieve a 'growth from template' synthesis of nanographenes, but also to fine-tune the properties of nanographenes. Here we describe one-shot APEX reactions that occur at the K-region (convex armchair edge) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by the Pd(CH3CN)4(SbF6)2/o-chloranil catalytic system with silicon-bridged aromatics as π-extending agents.