34868-22-9

An organocatalytic method for the modular synthesis of diverse N-aryl and N-alkyl azaheterocycles (indoles, oxindoles, benzimidazoles, and quinoxalinediones) is reported. The method employs a small-ring organophosphorus-based catalyst (1,2,2,3,4,4-hexamethylphosphetane P-oxide) and a hydrosilane reductant to drive the conversion of ortho-functionalized nitroarenes into azaheterocycles through sequential intermolecular reductive C?N cross coupling with boronic acids, followed by intramolecular cyclization. This method enables the rapid construction of azaheterocycles from readily available building blocks, including a regiospecific approach to N-substituted benzimidazoles and quinoxalinediones.

A small-ring phosphacycloalkane (1,2,2,3,4,4-hexamethylphosphetane, 3) catalyzes intramolecular C-N bond forming heterocyclization of o-nitrobiaryl and -styrenyl derivatives in the presence of a hydrosilane terminal reductant. The method provides scalable access to diverse carbazole and indole compounds under operationally trivial homogeneous organocatalytic conditions, as demonstrated by 17 examples conducted on 1 g scale. In situ NMR reaction monitoring studies support a mechanism involving catalytic PIII/PV=O cycling, where tricoordinate phosphorus compound 3 represents the catalytic resting state. For the catalytic conversion of o-nitrobiphenyl to carbazole, the kinetic reaction order was determined for phosphetane catalyst 3 (first order), substrate (first order), and phenylsilane (zeroth order). For differentially 5-substituted 2-nitrobiphenyls, the transformation is accelerated by electron-withdrawing substituents (Hammett factor ? = +1.5), consistent with the accrual of negative charge on the nitro substrate in the rate-determining step. DFT modeling of the turnover-limiting deoxygenation event implicates a rate-determining (3 + 1) cheletropic addition between the phosphetane catalyst 3 and 2-nitrobiphenyl substrate to form an unobserved pentacoordinate spiro-bicyclic dioxazaphosphetane, which decomposes via (2 + 2) cycloreversion giving 1 equiv of phosphetane P-oxide 3·[O] and 2-nitrosobiphenyl. Experimental and computational investigations into the C-N bond forming event suggest the involvement of an oxazaphosphirane (2 + 1) adduct between 3 and 2-nitrosobiphenyl, which evolves through loss of phosphetane P-oxide 3·[O] to give the observed carbazole product via C-H insertion in a nitrene-like fashion.

A main group-catalyzed method for the synthesis of aryl- and heteroarylamines by intermolecular C-N coupling is reported. The method employs a small-ring organophosphorus-based catalyst (1,2,2,3,4,4-hexamethylphosphetane) and a terminal hydrosilane reductant (phenylsilane) to drive reductive intermolecular coupling of nitro(hetero)arenes with boronic acids. Applications to the construction of both Csp2-N (from arylboronic acids) and Csp3-N bonds (from alkylboronic acids) are demonstrated; the reaction is stereospecific with respect to Csp3-N bond formation. The method constitutes a new route from readily available building blocks to valuable nitrogen-containing products with complementarity in both scope and chemoselectivity to existing catalytic C-N coupling methods.

A small-ring phosphacycle, 1,2,2,3,4,4-hexamethylphosphetane, is found to catalyze deoxygenative N-N bond-forming Cadogan heterocyclization of o-nitrobenzaldimines, o-nitroazobenzenes, and related substrates in the presence of hydrosilane terminal reductant. The reaction provides a chemoselective catalytic synthesis of 2H-indazoles, 2H-benzotriazoles, and related fused heterocyclic systems with good functional group compatibility. On the basis of both stoichiometric and catalytic mechanistic experiments, the reaction is proposed to proceed via catalytic PIII/PV = O cycling, where DFT modeling suggests a turnover-limiting (3+1) cheletropic addition between the phosphetane catalyst and nitroarene substrate. Strain/distortion analysis of the (3+1) transition structure highlights the controlling role of frontier orbital effects underpinning the catalytic performance of the phosphetane.

We have developed the first catalytic (in phosphane) Wittig reaction (CWR). The utilization of an organosilane was pivotal for success as it allowed for the chemoselective reduction of a phosphane oxide. Protocol optimization evaluated the phosphane oxide precatalyst structure, loading, organosilane, temperature, solvent, and base. These studies demonstrated that to maintain viable catalytic performance it was necessary to employ cyclic phosphane oxide precatalysts of type 1. Initial substrate studies utilized sodium carbonate as a base, and further experimentation identified N,N-diisopropylethylamine (DIPEA) as a soluble alternative. The use of DIPEA improved the ease of use, broadened the substrate scope, and decreased the precatalyst loading. The optimized protocols were compatible with alkyl, aryl, and heterocyclic (furyl, indolyl, pyridyl, pyrrolyl, and thienyl) aldehydes to produce both di- and trisubstituted olefins in moderate-to-high yields (60-96 %) by using a precatalyst loading of 4-10 mol %. Kinetic E/Z selectivity was generally 66:34; complete E selectivity for disubstituted α,β-unsaturated products was achieved through a phosphane-mediated isomerization event. The CWR was applied to the synthesis of 54, a known precursor to the anti-Alzheimer drug donepezil hydrochloride, on a multigram scale (12.2 g, 74 % yield). In addition, to our knowledge, the described CWR is the only transition-/heavy-metal-free catalytic olefination process, excluding proton-catalyzed elimination reactions. A point of difference: By utilizing an organosilane to chemoselectively reduce a phosphane oxide precatalyst to a phosphane (see scheme), the first catalytic (in phosphane) Wittig reaction has been developed. The methodology has been applied to the synthesis of 22 disubstituted and 24 trisubstituted olefins, including a multigram synthesis of a precursor to the anti-Alzheimer drug donepezil hydrochloride.

New platinum complexes of the type cis-Pt(L)2Cl2 have been synthesized from five-and six-membered cyclic phosphines, which were prepared after deoxygenating a series of phosphine oxides (3-phospholene oxides, phospholane oxides, a 1,

A catalytic Wittig method utilizing a phosphine including the steps of providing a phosphine oxide precatalyst and reducing the phosphine oxide precatalyst to produce the phosphine; forming a phosphonium ylide precursor from the phosphine and a reactant; generating a phosphonium ylide from the phosphonium ylide precursor; reacting the phosphonium yiide precursor with the aldehyde, ketone, or ester to form the olefin and the phosphine oxide which then reenters the cycle. The invention is also directed to a Mitsunobu reaction catalytic in phosphine.

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The electronpoor double-bond of cyclic vinylphosphine oxides (1, 3 and 4) is easily reduced by borane in a selective manner to give the corresponding saturated derivatives (2, 4 and 5, respectively) Under forcing conditions, change of the functionality may also take place.

The reduction of (R,S)-1-phenyl-3-methyl-2-phospholene 1-oxide (3) with lithium aluminium hydride has been studied to explain some of the anomalies reported for the reduction of (3) with optically active alanes.Reductions of acyclic racemic chiral phosphines oxides using optically active alanes and lithium aluminium hydride doped with (S)-2-(anilinomethyl)-pyrrolidine is reported, both giving optically active phosphines with low enantiomeric excesses.