Palladium-catalyzed direct arylations of heteroarenes with tosylates and mesylates

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/anie.200804517

(Chemical Equation Presented) A toss up: A highly active palladium complex enabled the first direct arylation of heteroarenes through C-H bond functionalization using tosylates or mesylates as electrophiles with ample scope.

Full text of DOI:10.1002/anie.200804517

Angewandte
Chemie
DOI: 10.1002/anie.200804517
ꢀ
C H Bond Functionalization
Palladium-Catalyzed Direct Arylations of Heteroarenes with Tosylates
and Mesylates**
Lutz Ackermann,* Andreas Althammer, and Sabine Fenner
Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions between
the Supporting Information). Interestingly, a catalytic system
comprising Pd(OAc)2 and the monophosphine
biphenyl ligand X-Phos (1),[11] as well as K2CO3
as the base, and DMF/tBuOH or 1,4-dioxane/
tBuOH solvent mixtures, gave optimal results.
Whereas the use of alcoholic solvents is rather
uncommon in direct arylation reactions,
tBuOH is often the (co)solvent of choice for
traditional cross-coupling reactions of aryl
tosylates.[7] Notably, the addition of
tBuCO2H[12] in catalytic amounts was benefi-
cial for the direct arylation of heteroarene 2a (Table 1).
organic halides or triflates and organometallic reagents are
2
ꢀ
among the most important tools for regioselective C(sp )
C(sp2) bond formations.[1–3] Particularly, their applications to
heteroaromatic substrates sets the stage for novel routes to
substituted heterocycles, which are valuable substructures of
compounds having activities that are relevant to material or
biological sciences.[4] The corresponding organometallic
nucleophilic starting materials are often not commercially
available and lead to the formation of undesired side
products. Therefore the research focus has shifted in recent
years to the direct arylation[5] of heteroarenes[6] by C H bond
ꢀ
functionalizations as ecologically and economically friendly
alternatives.
Table 1: Direct arylations of benzoxazole (2a) with tosylates 3.[a]
The use of tosylates or mesylates as electrophiles in cross-
coupling chemistry is highly desirable because they can be
prepared from readily available, inexpensive starting materi-
als. Furthermore, these sulfonates are easy to handle because
they are stable towards hydrolysis and are highly crystalline.
Infortunately, their improved stabilities translate into signifi-
cantly reduced reactivities in transition-metal-catalyzed
cross-coupling reactions. Generally applicable methodologies
for the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of these
sulfonates with organometallic nucleophiles have been devel-
oped only recently.[7] Despite this remarkable progress, more
sustainable palladium-catalyzed[8] direct arylations through
Entry
3
Product
Yield [%]
89
1
2
4a
4b
85[b]
3
4
4c
4d
4e
82
78
ꢀ
C H bond functionalizations with tosylates as electrophiles
have not been reported previously. Herein, we disclose a
protocol for the first palladium-catalyzed direct arylation
using tosylates as arylating reagents. Notably, these findings
represent unprecedented direct arylation of heteroarenes
with tosylates, as well as the first atom-economical[9] direct
arylation using mesylates as electrophiles.
5
6
97
91[c]
7
4 f
95
As part of our program directed towards the development
of metal-catalyzed C H bond functionalizations,[10] we
probed different metal catalysts for the challenging direct
arylation of heteroarenes with electron-rich, thereby elec-
tronically deactivated, aryl tosylates (see Tables S-1 and S-2 in
ꢀ
8
9
4g
4h
82
86
10
4i
92
[*] Prof. Dr. L. Ackermann, Dr. A. Althammer, S. Fenner
Institut fꢀr Organische und Biomolekulare Chemie
Georg-August-Universitꢁt
11
12
4j
88
Tammannstrasse 2, 37077 Gꢂttingen (Germany)
Fax: (+49)551-39-6777
E-mail: Lutz.Ackermann@chemie.uni-goettingen.de
Homepage: http://www.org.chemie.uni-goettingen.de/ackermann/
4k
52[b]
[**] Support provided by the DFG, the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie,
and Saltigo GmbH (Leverkusen) is gratefully acknowledged.
[a] Reaction conditions: 2a (0.50 mmol), 3 (0.60 mmol), Pd(OAc)2
(5 mol%), 1 (10 mol%), K2CO3 (0.75 mmol), tBuCO2H (15 mol%),
DMF (2 mL), tBuOH (1 mL) 1008C, 18–22 h. Yield of isolated product
reported. [b] 1,4-dioxane (2 mL), tBuOH (1 mL). [c] PdCl2 (5 mol%).
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.200804517.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 201 –204
ꢀ 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
201

Communications
Table 3: Direct arylation of 1,2,3-triazoles 5with tosylates 3.[a]
Under the optimized reaction conditions, electron-defi-
cient aryl tosylates displaying important functional groups
were efficiently converted into the desired products (Table 1,
entries 1–4). A variety of more demanding electron-rich
tosylates were found to be viable substrates for the direct
arylation of heteroarene 2a as well (Table 1, entries 5–11).
Remarkably, catalytic amounts of the less expensive PdCl2 led
to product 4e, which was isolated in a yield comparable to the
one obtained when using Pd(OAc)2 (Table 1, entries 5 and 6).
The methodology was not restricted to aryl-substituted
Entry R1
R2
R3
H
Product
Yield [%]
72
1
2
Bu Ph
Bu Ph
6a
6b
ꢀ
electrophiles, but also allowed C H bond functionalizations
using an alkenyl tosylate (Table 1, entry 12).
With an effective palladium catalyst for direct function-
alization of benzoxazole (2a) in hand, we probed the scope of
the arylation of various pronucleophilic heteroarenes, focus-
ing particularly on the use of electron-rich tosylates. Hetero-
cycles, such as an oxazole (Table 2, entries 1–5) or caffeine
(Table 2, entries 6–9), were regioselectively functionalized in
high yields. Here, the catalytic performance was not signifi-
cantly affected by the addition of tBuCO2H (Table 2, entries 1
and 8 versus entries 2 and 9, respectively).
Given their recent practical impact on numerous research
areas,[13] we became interested in evaluating 1,2,3-triazoles 5
as pronucleophiles in the palladium-catalyzed[14,15] direct
arylation using tosylates (Table 3). The palladium complex
4-F
62
90
3
4
Bu Ph
4-Me
6c
6d
4-MeO-
C6H4
3,5-
(OMe)2
Hex
Bu
99
3-Me-
C6H4
3,4,5-
(OMe)3
5
6
7
6e
6 f
6g
87
98
72
Table 2: Direct arylation of heteroarenes 2 using tosylates 3.[a]
Bu Ph
3-NMe2
Entry
2
R3
Product
Yield [%]
4-MeO-
C6H4
1
2
74
Ph
Ph
Ph
4-CO2Me
3,5-Me2
4l
4m
4n
4o
72[b]
3
4
5
2-Me
65
68
72
8
9
4-MeO-
C6H4
97
3-NMe2
6h
6i
79[b]
3,4,5-
(OMe)3
4-MeO-
C6H4
3,5-
(CO2Me)2
3-NMe2
H
10
11
81
90
6
7
4p
4q
4r
58
76
4-MeO-
C6H4
2-naph-
thyl
H
6j
4-Me
[a] Reaction conditions:
(5 mol%), 1 (10 mol%), K2CO3 (0.75 mmol), DMF (2 mL), tBuOH
(1 mL), 1008C, 17–22 h. Yield for isolated product reported. [b] 808C.
5 (0.50 mmol), 3 (0.60 mmol), Pd(OAc)2
8
9
80
3,5-Me2
79[b]
[a] Reaction conditions:
2 (0.50 mmol), 3 (0.60 mmol), Pd(OAc)2
derived from X-Phos (1) enabled direct arylation of 1,2,3-
triazoles 5 with tosylates 3, which proceeded with excellent
(5 mol%), 1 (10 mol%), K2CO3 (0.75 mmol), DMF (2 mL), tBuOH
(1 mL), 1008C, 16–20 h. Yields for isolated product reported.
[b] tBuCO2H (15 mol%).
ꢀ
regioselectivities through C H bond functionalization on the
202
www.angewandte.org
ꢀ 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 201 –204

Angewandte
Chemie
heterocyclic moieties. Notably, reactions could be performed
with a comparable efficacy at a significantly reduced temper-
ature of 808C (Table 3, entry 9). A monosubstituted 1,2,3-
triazole regioselectively gave rise to the 1,5-disubstituted
product 6j (Table 3, entry 11), which can be rationalized with
a electrophilic aromatic substitution-type mechanism.
Because of the significantly lower molecular weights of
the aryl mesylates, processes utilizing these electrophiles are
more atom-economical than those employing tosylates.
However, metal-catalyzed direct arylations with mesylates
as electrophilic substrates have thus far not been reported.
Consequently, we probed our optimized catalytic system for
the functionalization of benzoxazole (2a) with these sulfo-
nates. Importantly, direct arylation with the aryl mesylates 7
was accomplished in the presence of substoichiometric
amounts of tBuCO2H, regioselectively yielding the hetero-
cycles 4 (Scheme 1).
[1] a) M. Beller, C. Bolm, Transition Metals for Organic Synthesis,
2nd ed., Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2004; b) L. Ackermann,
Modern Arylation Methods, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2009.
[2] J. Tsuji, Palladium Reagents and Catalysts, 2nd ed., Wiley, New
York, 2004.
[3] Selected recent contributions from our laboratories: a) L.
Ackermann, J. H. Spatz, C. J. Gschrei, R. Born, A. Althammer,
Angew. Chem. 2006, 118, 7789 – 7792; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.
2006, 45, 7627 – 7630; b) L. Ackermann, C. J. Gschrei, A.
Althammer, M. Riederer, Chem. Commun. 2006, 1419 – 1421.
[4] a) I. J. S. Fairlamb, Chem. Soc. Rev. 2007, 36, 1036 – 1045; b) G.
Zeni, R. C. Larock, Chem. Rev. 2006, 106, 4644 – 4680; c) M.
Schnꢁrch, R. Flasik, A. F. Khan, M. Spina, M. D. Mihovilovic, P.
Stanetty, Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2006, 3283 – 3307; d) K. C. Nicolaou,
P. G. Bulger, D. Sarlah, Angew. Chem. 2005, 117, 4516 – 4563;
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 4442 – 4489; e) S. Schroeter, C.
Stock, T. Bach, Tetrahedron 2005, 61, 2245 – 2267, and references
cited therein.
[5] Recent reviews: a) B.-J. Li, S.-D. Yang, Z.-J. Shi, Synlett 2008,
949 – 957; b) J. C. Lewis, R. G. Bergman, J. A. Ellman, Acc.
Chem. Res. 2008, 41, 1013 – 1025; c) T. Satoh, M. Miura, Top.
Organomet. Chem. 2007, 24, 61 – 84; d) L. Ackermann, Top.
Organomet. Chem. 2007, 24, 35 – 60; e) D. Kalyani, M. S.
Sanford, Top. Organomet. Chem. 2007, 24, 85 – 116; f) D.
Alberico, M. E. Scott, M. Lautens, Chem. Rev. 2007, 107, 174 –
238; g) S. Pascual, P. de Mendoza, A. M. Echavarren, Org.
Biomol. Chem. 2007, 5, 2727 – 2734; h) L.-C. Campeau, D. R.
Stuart, K. Fagnou, Aldrichimica Acta 2007, 40, 35 – 41; i) L.
Ackermann, Synlett 2007, 507 – 526; j) O. Daugulis, V. G. Zaitsev,
D. Shabashov, Q. N. Pham, A. Lazareva, Synlett 2006, 3382 –
3388; k) J.-Q. Yu, R. Giri, X. Chen, Org. Biomol. Chem. 2006, 4,
4041 – 4047.
Scheme 1. Palladium-catalyzed direct arylations with mesylates 7.
In summary, we have reported the first palladium-
catalyzed direct arylations using tosylates as electrophiles. A
catalyst derived from X-Phos (1) enabled a broadly applicable
[6] a) I. V. Seregin, V. Gevorgyan, Chem. Soc. Rev. 2007, 36, 1173 –
1193; b) a recent example: H.-Q. Do, O. Daugulis, J. Am. Chem.
Soc. 2007, 129, 12404 – 12405.
ꢀ
C H bond functionalization of various heterocycles using aryl
tosylates, and also proved applicable to the unprecedented
direct arylations using mesylates.
[7] For examples of palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions with
aryl tosylates, see: a) Suzuki–Miyaura couplings: C. M. So, C. Po
Lau, F. Y. Kwong, Angew. Chem. 2008, 120, DOI: 10.1002/
ange.200803193; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, DOI: 10.1002/
anie.200803193; b) H. N. Nguyen, X. Huang, S. L. Buchwald, J.
Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 11818 – 11819; c) Negishi couplings: J.
Zhou, G. C. Fu, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 12527 – 12530;
d) Kumada-Corriu couplings: L. Ackermann, A. Althammer,
Org. Lett. 2006, 8, 3457 – 3460; e) A. H. Roy, J. F. Hartwig, J. Am.
Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 8704 – 8705; f) Hiyama couplings: L.
Zhang, J. Wu, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, DOI: 10.1021/
ja804672m; g) Mizoroki-Heck reactions: J.-P. Ebran, A. L.
Hansen, T. M. Gogsig, T. Skrydstrup, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007,
129, 6931 – 6942; h) Sonogashira reactions: D. Gelman, S. L.
Buchwald, Angew. Chem. 2003, 115, 6175 – 6178; Angew. Chem.
Int. Ed. 2003, 42, 5993 – 5996; i) carbonylations: R. H. Munday,
J. R. Martinelli, S. L. Buchwald, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130,
2754 – 2755, and references cited therein.
[8] For ruthenium-catalyzed direct arylation of arenes using tosy-
lates, see: L. Ackermann, A. Althammer, R. Born, Angew.
Chem. 2006, 118, 2681 – 2685; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45,
2619 – 2622.
[9] B. M. Trost, Angew. Chem. 1995, 107, 285 – 307; Angew. Chem.
Int. Ed. Engl. 1995, 34, 259 – 281.
[10] For selected recent examples, see: a) S. I. Kozhushkov, D. S.
Yufit, L. Ackermann, Org. Lett. 2008, 10, 3409 – 3412; b) L.
Ackermann, A. Althammer, R. Born, Synlett 2007, 2833 – 2836;
c) L. Ackermann, R. Born, P. ꢂlvarez-Bercedo, Angew. Chem.
2007, 119, 6482 – 6485; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 6364 –
6367; d) L. Ackermann, A. Althammer, Angew. Chem. 2007,
Experimental Section
Representative procedure for palladium-catalyzed direct
arylations. Synthesis of 4e (Table 1, entry 5): A solution of
Pd(OAc)2 (5.6 mg, 0.025mmol, 5 mol%),
1 (23.8 mg,
0.050 mmol, 10 mol%), K2CO3 (104 mg, 0.75 mmol), 2a
(60 mg, 0.50 mmol), and 3-methylphenyl tosylate (157 mg,
0.60 mmol) in DMF (2 mL) and tBuOH (1 mL) was stirred for
21 h at 1008C under N2. At ambient temperature, Et2O
(25 mL) and H2O (50 mL) were added to the reaction
mixture. The separated aqueous phase was extracted with
Et2O (2 ꢀ 75 mL). The combined organic layers were washed
with H2O (50 mL) and brine (50 mL), dried over Na2SO4, and
concentrated in vacuo. The remaining residue was purified by
column chromatography on silica gel (n-pentane/Et2O 50:1!
30:1) to yield 4e (101 mg, 97%) as a colorless solid (m.p. 97–
988C).
Received: September 13, 2008
Published online: November 28, 2008
ꢀ
Keywords: C H activation · direct arylation · heteroarenes ·
palladium · sulfonates
.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 201 –204
ꢀ 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.angewandte.org
203

Communications
119, 1652 – 1654; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 1627 – 1629;
[14] For direct arylation of the 1,2,3-triazoles 5 with aryl chlorides,
see: a) M. Iwasaki, H. Yorimitsu, K. Oshima, Chem. Asian J.
2007, 2, 1430 – 1435; b) L. Ackermann, R. Vicente, R. Born, Adv.
Synth. Catal. 2008, 350, 741 – 748; c) for the use of aryl bromides
as electrophiles, see: S. Chuprakov, N. Chernyak, A. S. Dudnik,
V. Gevorgyan, Org. Lett. 2007, 9, 2333 – 2336.
[15] For copper- or ruthenium-catalyzed direct arylation of substrates
having 1,2,3-triazoles units, see: a) L. Ackermann, H. K. Potu-
kuchi, D. Landsberg, R. Vicente, Org. Lett. 2008, 10, 3081 – 3084;
b) L. Ackermann, R. Vicente, A. Althammer, Org. Lett. 2008,
10, 2299 – 2302.
e) L. Ackermann, Org. Lett. 2005, 7, 3123 – 3125.
[11] R. Martin, S. L. Buchwald, Acc. Chem. Res. 2008, 41, DOI:
10.1021/ar800036s.
[12] A Recent example of the use of pivalic acid in palladium-
catalyzed direct arylation: S. I. Gorelsky, D. Lapointe, K.
Fagnou, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 10848 – 10849.
[13] Selected recent reviews: a) H. Nandivada, X. Jiang, J. Lahann,
Adv. Mater. 2007, 19, 2197 – 2208; b) Y. L. Angell, K. Burgess,
Chem. Soc. Rev. 2007, 36, 1674 – 1689; c) D. Fournier, R.
Hoogenboom, U. S. Schubert, Chem. Soc. Rev. 2007, 36, 1369 –
1380; d) J.-F. Lutz, Angew. Chem. 2007, 119, 1036 – 1043; Angew.
Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 1018 – 1025.
204
www.angewandte.org
ꢀ 2009 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 201 –204