Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer: Transition-Metal-Free Selective Reduction of Chalcones and Alkynes Using Xanthate/Formic Acid.

Highly chemoselective reduction of α,β-unsaturated ketones to saturated ketones and stereoselective reduction of alkynes to ( E)-alkenes has been developed under a transition-metal-free condition using a xanthate/formic acid mixture through proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET). Mechanistic experiments and DFT calculations support the possibility of a concerted proton electron-transfer (CPET) pathway. This Birch-type reduction demonstrates that a small nucleophilic organic molecule can be used as a single electron-transfer (SET) reducing agent with a proper proton source.

4-[4-(4-Chloro-benzo-yl)-2,3-diphenyl-isoxazolidin-5-yl]-1-(4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-3-phenyl-azetidin-2-one.

In the title compound, C(38)H(31)ClN(2)O(4), the isoxazole ring adopts an envelope conformation with the N atom as the flap. The crystal packing is stabilized by C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains running along the c-axis direction.