Synthesis of chiral sulfilimines by organocatalytic enantioselective sulfur alkylation of sulfenamides.

Sulfilimines are versatile synthetic intermediates and important moieties in bioactive molecules. However, their applications in drug discovery are underexplored, and efficient asymmetric synthetic methods are highly desirable. Here, we report a transition metal-free pentanidium-catalyzed sulfur alkylation of sulfenamides with exclusive chemoselectivity over nitrogen and high enantioselectivity.

Nickel-Catalyzed Enantioselective Reductive Arylation and Heteroarylation of Aldimines via an Elementary 1,4-Addition.

Nickel catalysts of chiral pyrox ligands promoted enantioselective reductive arylation and heteroarylation of aldimines, using directly (hetero)aryl halides and sulfonates. The catalytic arylation can also be conducted with crude aldimines generated from condensation of aldehydes and azaaryl amines. Mechanistically, density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experiments pointed to an elementary step of 1,4-addition of aryl nickel(I) complexes to -azaaryl aldimines.

Nickel-Catalyzed Enantioselective Reductive Conjugate Arylation and Heteroarylation via an Elementary Mechanism of 1,4-Addition.

A nickel complex of isoquinox promoted enantioselective conjugate arylation and heteroarylation of enones using aryl and heteroaryl halides directly. The reaction was successfully applied to stereoselective syntheses of -turmerone, chiral fragments of (+)-tolterodine and AZD5672. Mechanistically, experiments and calculations supported that an arylnickel(I) complex inserted to enones via an elementary 1,4-addition.

Intramolecular C-H Activation as an Easy Toolbox to Synthesize Pyridine-Fused Bipolar Hosts for Blue Organic Light-Emitting Diodes.

The development of high-performance blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) remains a challenging task. While exploiting new blue emitters has attracted great interest, developing host materials that considerably determine device performance obviously lags behind. Herein, we present an ease of access to the structurally diverse benzoheteroaromatic-fused pyridine skeletons by the iridium-catalyzed intramolecular C-H/C-H coupling reaction, which unlocks an unparalleled opportunity to rapidly assemble a library of pyridine-fused bipolar host materials.

Asymmetric Reductive and Alkynylative Heck Bicyclization of Enynes to Access Conformationally Restricted Aza[3.1.0]bicycles.

Conformationally restricted azabicycles are becoming increasingly important in medicinal research. Asymmetric Heck bicyclization of enynes proceeds to give medicinally useful aza[3.1.

Rhodium-catalyzed -heteroarylation of phenols: directing group-enabled switching of the electronic bias for heteroaromatic coupling partner.

The directed oxidative C-H/C-H cross-coupling reactions between a functionalized arene and a heteroarene typically exhibit an electronic bias for the heteroaromatic coupling partner. Disclosed herein is a conception of directing group enabled-switching of the electronic bias for coupling partner from the electron-deficient to electron-rich heteroarene, demonstrating that the modification of the directing group may match the latent reactivity of heteroarene substrates caused by the distinctly different electronic nature. In this work, we develop a Rh(iii)-catalyzed -heteroarylation of phenols with greatly important electron-rich heteroarenes such as benzothiophene, benzofuran, thiophene, furan and pyrrole two-fold C-H activation, which presents broad substrate scopes of both phenols and electron-rich heteroarenes and shows the advantage of tolerance of reactive functional groups, especially halogen.

Oxidative C-H/C-H Cross-Coupling Reactions between N-Acylanilines and Benzamides Enabled by a Cp*-Free RhCl /TFA Catalytic System.

By making use of a dual-chelation-assisted strategy, a completely regiocontrolled oxidative C-H/C-H cross-coupling reaction between an N-acylaniline and a benzamide has been accomplished for the first time. This process constitutes a step-economic and highly efficient pathway to 2-amino-2'-carboxybiaryl scaffolds from readily available substrates. A Cp*-free RhCl /TFA catalytic system was developed to replace the [Cp*RhCl ] /AgSbF system generally used in oxidative C-H/C-H cross-coupling reactions between two (hetero)arenes (Cp*=pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, TFA=trifluoroacetic acid).

Copper- or Nickel-Enabled Oxidative Cross-Coupling of Unreactive C(sp)-H Bonds with Azole C(sp)-H Bonds: Rapid Access to β-Azolyl Propanoic Acid Derivatives.

β-Azolyl propanoic acid derivatives are frequently found in biologically active molecules and pharmaceuticals. Here, we report the oxidative heteroarylation of unactivated C(sp)-H bonds with azole C(sp)-H bonds via copper or nickel catalysis with the aid of removable bidentate auxiliary, which provides a rapid pathway to β-azolyl propanoic acid derivatives. A variety of azoles such as oxazole, benzoxazole, thiazole, benzothiazoles, benzimidazole, purine, and even [1,2,4]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidine could be engaged in this protocol.

Nickel-Catalyzed Aminoxylation of Inert Aliphatic C(sp)-H Bonds with Stable Nitroxyl Radicals under Air: One-Pot Route to α-Formyl Acid Derivatives.

Nickel-catalyzed aminoxylation of an unactivated C(sp)-H bond with a stable nitroxyl radical has been accomplished for the first time to offer various N-alkoxyamine derivatives, which further enables a one-pot approach to α-formyl acid derivatives. The aminoxylation process reported also provides direct evidence for the oxidative addition of a cyclometallic intermediate with a free radical, which is helpful for the reaction-mechanism study in transition-metal-catalyzed functionalization of inert C(sp)-H bonds.

Novel Ruthenium Sensitizers with a Phenothiazine Conjugated Bipyridyl Ligand for High-Efficiency Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Two efficient ruthenium sensitizers with a phenothiazine-modified bipyridine as an ancillary ligand, coded SCZ-1 and SCZ-2, have been developed as dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Both sensitizers exhibit low-energy metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) bands centered at 539 nm with high molar extinction coefficients of 1.77 × 10(4) M(-1) cm(-1) for SCZ-1 and 1.

Aerobic Ru-catalyzed direct C2-olefination of N-heteroarenes with alkenes directed by a removable N-dimethylcarbamoyl group.

A highly efficient and selective Ru-catalyzed direct C2-olefination of indoles, pyrroles, and carbazoles assisted by a removable N-dimethylcarbamoyl group has been developed by using O2 as the terminal oxidant. Both electron-deficient and unactivated alkenes are applicable to the protocol.