Mechanistic analysis of azine N-oxide direct arylation: Evidence for a critical role of acetate in the Pd(OAc)2 precatalyst

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo101821r

Detailed mechanistic studies on the palladium-catalyzed direct arylation of pyridine N-oxides are presented. The order of each reaction component is determined to provide a general mechanistic picture. The C-H bond cleaving step is examined in further det

Full text of DOI:10.1021/jo101821r

pubs.acs.org/joc
Mechanistic Analysis of Azine N-Oxide Direct Arylation:
Evidence for a Critical Role of Acetate in the Pd(OAc)2 Precatalyst
Ho-Yan Sun, Serge I. Gorelsky, David R. Stuart, Louis-Charles Campeau,* and
Keith Fagnou†
Center for Catalysis Research and Innovation, Department of Chemistry, University of Ottawa 10 Marie Curie,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1N 6N5. †Deceased November 11, 2009
louis-charles_campeau@merck.com
Received September 15, 2010
Detailed mechanistic studies on the palladium-catalyzed direct arylation of pyridine N-oxides are
presented. The order of each reaction component is determined to provide a general mechanistic picture.
The C-H bond cleaving step is examined in further detail through computational studies, and the
calculated results are in support of an inner-sphere concerted metalation-deprotonation (CMD)
pathway. Competition experiments were conducted with N-oxides of varying electronic characters,
and results revealed an enhancement of rate when using a more electron-deficient species, which is in
support of a CMD transition state. The effect of base on reaction rate was also examined and it was
found that a carboxylate base was required for the reaction to proceed. This led to the conclusion that
Pd(OAc)2 plays a pivotal role in the reaction mechanism as more than merely a precatalyst, but also
as a source of acetate base required for the C-H bond cleavage step.
Introduction
for the coupling of electron-rich,2 -neutral,3 and -poor4 arenes
(Scheme 1). While these reactions are synthetically useful, the
development of novel catalysts which show increased reac-
tivity at lower temperatures and catalyst loadings still re-
mains a challenge. A better mechanistic understanding of
direct arylation is crucial to the development of new catalysts
as there are relatively few of these studies published to
date.2,5-7 Such studies would be useful when developing new
reactions, allowing for improvements to be made to existing
reaction conditions and in the development of specially
The formation of carbon-carbon bonds via direct aryla-
tion has undergone significant advances in recent years with
efforts focused toward expanding substrate scope and novel
catalyst development.1 In light of these studies, direct aryla-
tion of aryl halides has become an attractive alternative to
the use of stoichiometric organometallic reagents in the pre-
paration of biaryl compounds. Our group and others have
been successful in developing a range of methods allowing
(1) For comprehensive reviews on direct arylations, see: (a) Ackermann,
L.; Vicente, R.;Kapdi, A. R.Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 9792. (b) Campeau,
L.-C.; Stuart, D. R.; Fagnou, K. Aldrichim. Acta 2007, 40, 35. (c) Alberico, D.;
Scott, M. E.; Lautens, M. Chem. Rev. 2007, 107, 174. (d) Modern Arylation
Methods; Ackermann, L., Ed.; Wiley-VCH: Weinheim, Germany, 2009.
(2) (a) Park, C.-H.; Ryabova, V.; Seregin, I. V.; Sromek, A. W.; Gevorgyan,
V. Org. Lett. 2004, 6, 1159. (b) Lane, B. S.; Brown, M. A.; Sames, D. J. Am.
Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 8050. (c) Chuprakov, S.; Chernyak, N.; Dudnik, A. S.;
Gevorgyan, V. Org. Lett. 2007, 9, 2333.
(4) (a) Campeau, L.-C.; Rousseaux, S.; Fagnou, K. J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2005, 127, 18021. (b) Campeau, L.-C.; Stuart, D. R.; Leclerc, J.-P.; Bertrand-
Laperle, M.; Villemure, E.; Sun, H.-Y.; Lasserre, S.; Guimond, N.; Lecavallier,
M.; Fagnou, K. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 3291.
(5) (a) Garcia-Cuadrado, D.; Braga, A. A. C.; Maseras, F.; Echavarren,
´
A. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 1066. (b) Garcıa-Cuadrado, D.; de Mendoza,
P.; Braga, A. A. C.; Maseras, F.; Echavarren, A. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007,
129, 6880.
(6) (a) Pivsa-Art, S.; Satoh, T.; Kawamura, Y.; Miura, M.; Nomura, B.
Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 1998, 71, 467. (b) Yanagisawa, S.; Sudo, T.; Noyori, R.;
Itami, K. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 11748.
(3) Lafrance, M.; Rowley, C. N.; Woo, T. K.; Fagnou, K. J. Am. Chem.
Soc. 2006, 128, 8754.
8180 J. Org. Chem. 2010, 75, 8180–8189
Published on Web 11/05/2010
DOI: 10.1021/jo101821r
r
2010 American Chemical Society

Sun et al.
JOCArticle
SCHEME 1. The Evolution of Cross-Coupling Methods
ligand on the precatalyst in the active catalyst formed in
direct arylation. These studies have led to the advancement
of a catalytic cycle for direct arylation of pyridine N-oxide.
The most discussed mechanisms of direct arylation are the
carbopalladation or Heck-type pathway,7 the oxidative in-
sertion pathway,8-10 the electrophilic palladation or electro-
philic aromatic substitution (SEAr) pathway,2,6 and the
concerted metalation-deprotonation (CMD) pathway3,5,11
(Scheme 2).
The Heck-type pathway (path A) is characterized by syn-
addition of a palladium-carbon bond across a double bond
of the aromatic coupling partner. While anti-β-hydride elim-
ination is a high-energy process, the formation of a π-allyl
species is often proposed, which could then isomerize to
allow for a lower energy syn-β-hydride elimination.7a
Less described in the literature is the oxidative addition of
a Pd(II) species to a Pd(IV) species through an insertion into a
C-H bond of an aromatic coupling partner (path B). A
double reductive elimination would then afford the biaryl
product as well as regenerate the catalytically active Pd(0)
species.
To date, the most commonly suggested hypothesis for the
mechanism of direct arylation is electrophilic palladation
(path C). Originally proposed for the arylation of electron-
rich heteroaromatics, this has since been referenced numer-
ous times for other direct arylation reactions.2,6,12 An elec-
trophilic palladation or electrophilic aromatic substitution
(SEAr) type process would involve a rate-determining nu-
cleophilic attack by the arene on an electrophilic Pd(II)-aryl
species followed by rapid deprotonation of the resulting
Wheland intermediate. Subsequent reductive elimination
of the biaryl from Pd(II) would form the desired carbon-
carbon bond as well as regenerate the active catalyst.
Our group and others have found computationally that
for simple or electron-deficient aromatics, a CMD pathway
(path D) is the lowest energy process, which was consistent
with experimental observations.3,4,13,14 In a CMD pathway,
the Pd-C bond formation occurs concurrently with the
cleavage of the C-H bond of the arene to afford a Pd(II)
diaryl species. This is then followed by reductive elimination
of the biaryl product, regenerating the active catalyst. While
convincing computational evidence has been reported,11
there have been very few reports of in-depth experimental
support for a CMD mechanism.
designed catalysts to reveal the necessary reactivity for an
even broader range of direct C-H bond transformations in
organic synthesis.
Of the studies directed toward elucidating the mechanism
of direct arylation, computational studies have been promi-
nently featured while little experimental evidence in support
of the various proposals has been brought forth. Electro-
philic, nucleophilic, and electron-neutral palladium aryl species
have all been suggested to interact with aromatic substrates
of varying electronic characters. Moreover, few if any of
these studies deal with the relationship between precatalyst
and active catalyst. Studies of this kind have been crucial to
the development of very active catalysts in other palladium-
catalyzed processes. In our previous report of this chemistry,
we related the preliminary findings of experimental results
aimed at elucidating the mechanism of the C-H bond
cleaving process.4 Herein we describe a detailed investigation
of the possible modes of C-H bond cleavage in the direct
arylation of pyridine N-oxides. Coupled with detailed kinetic
studies and other key experimental evidence, DFT calculations
were performed for the four most commonly proposed mecha-
nisms for direct arylation. Stoichiometric studies have also
been used to elucidate the role of base in this transformation
and have led to an unexpected and critical role of the acetate
Results and Discussion
1. Kinetics. The generally accepted mechanism for palladium-
catalyzed direct arylation of aryl halides and simple arenes
is shown in Scheme 3. The active Pd(0) catalyst undergoes
oxidative insertion into the aryl halide, followed by C-H bond
cleavage of the simple arene. Reductive elimination provides the
(8) Okazawa, T.; Satoh, T.; Miura, M.; Nomura, M. J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2002, 124, 5286.
(9) Campo, M. A.; Huang, Q.; Yao, T.; Tian, Q.; Larock, R. C. J. Am.
Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 11506.
(10) Capito, E.; Brown, J. M.; Ricci, A. Chem. Commun. 2005, 1854.
(11) Gorelsky, S. I.; Lapointe, D.; Fagnou, K. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008,
130, 10848.
(12) Zhao, X.; Yeaung, C. S.; Dong, V. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132,
5837.
(13) Davies, D. L.; Donald, S. M. A.; Macgregor, S. A. J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2005, 127, 13754.
(14) Biswas, B.; Sugimoto, M.; Sakaki, S. Organometallics 2000, 19, 3895.
(7) (a) McClure, M. S.; Glover, B.; McSorley, E.; Millar, A.; Osterhout,
M. H; Roschanger, F. Org. Lett. 2001, 3, 1677. (b) Glover, B.; Harvey, K. A.;
Liu, B.; Sharp, M. J.; Tymoschenko, M. F. Org. Lett. 2003, 5, 301. (c) Li, W.;
Nelson, D. P.; Jensen, M. S.; Hoerrner, R. S.; Javadi, G. J.; Cai., D.; Larsen,
R. D. Org. Lett. 2003, 5, 4835. (d) Wang, J.-X.; McCubbin, J. A.; Jin, M.;
Laufer, R. S.; Mao, Y.; Crew, A. P.; Mulvihill, M. J.; Snieckus, V. Org. Lett.
2008, 10, 2923 and references cited therein.
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SCHEME 2. The Four Possible Mechanisms of Direct Arylation
desired biaryl product and regenerates the active Pd(0) catalyst.
With the goal of obtaining a more detailed understanding of the
catalytic cycle, and more specifically the intimate role of each of
the primary reaction components, the order for each reagent in
the coupling of 4-nitropyridine N-oxide and 5-bromo-m-xylene
was obtained.15 Using either Pd(OAc)2 and tri-tert-butylpho-
sphonium tetrafluoroborate salt or Pd(PtBu3)2 as the catalyst,
the concentration of each reaction component was varied and
the progression of the reaction at 110 °C was monitored. The
initial time (t0) of each kinetic run corresponded to the time at
which the reaction flask was placed into the oil bath, which
was preheated to 110 °C. During the course of the reaction,
aliquots of the reaction mixture were removed, at which
point the N-oxide readily precipitated from solution, thus
stopping the reaction. The solvent was then removed and
the resulting samples were analyzed by NMR spectroscopy
for the formation of product with trimethoxybenzene as an
internal standard.
the catalyst resting state is at the Pd(0) species, then first-
order behavior in the aryl halide, palladium catalyst, and the
pyridine N-oxide may be expected. However, if the catalyst
was saturated as a Pd(II) species formed after oxidative
addition, the aryl bromide would then be expected to exhibit
zero-order behavior, while first-order behavior may still be
SCHEME 3. General Mechanism for the Palladium-Catalyzed
Direct Arylation of Simple Arenes
There are several mechanistic scenarios to be considered
for the direct arylation of pyridine N-oxides. One possible
scenario involves oxidative addition as the rate-determining
step of the reaction. In this case, one would expect to observe
a first-order behavior in both aryl bromide and palladium
catalyst, while zero-order behavior in pyridine N-oxide would
be observed. If the C-H bond cleavage step were to be rate
determining, two possible scenarios may be anticipated; if
(15) The choice of substrate was mainly guided for analytical simplicity as
all analyses was done with 1H NMR.
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FIGURE 1. Log plot of the initial rate dependence on the concentration of (a) 5-bromo-m-xylene, (b) 4-nitropyridine N-oxide, (c) Pd(PtBu3)2,
and (d) PtBu3.
established for both the Pdcatalyst and the N-oxide. The same
observed kinetic consequences could be expected if reductive
elimination was the rate-determining step, but these two cases
may be distinguished by looking for the presence or absence
of a significant kinetic isotope effect at the C2 position of the
N-oxide (vide infra).
The order in 5-bromo-m-xylene was determined by plot-
ting the log of the initial rate versus the log of the concentra-
tion, using 5 mol % of Pd(OAc)2 as the precatalyst (Figure 1a).
A slope of 0.04 was obtained revealing that varying the
concentration of the aryl halide from 0.2 to 0.6 M has no ef-
fect on the reaction rate, thus establishing zero-order behav-
ior in this system. The zero-order dependence in 5-bromo-
m-xylene is indicative of a fast oxidative addition in which
the palladium catalyst is saturated as a Pd(II)-aryl species and
thus ruling out the possibility of oxidative insertion being the
rate-determining step.
The rate-constant’s dependence on catalyst concentration
was determined by using Pd(PtBu3)2 as the catalyst in order
to eliminate catalyst preactivation. PivOH (30 mol %) was
consequently added to account for the acetate that is normally
in solution when Pd(OAc)2 is used. The reaction rate was
measured over a range of catalyst loadings of Pd(PtBu3)2,
varying from 1 mol % to 20 mol %. This order was deter-
mined with respect to an aryl bromide concentration of 0.3 M
and an N-oxide concentration of 0.6 M, and a slope of 0.56
was obtained from the kinetic plot (Figure 1c), which is
consistent with half-order behavior in catalyst. This behavior
has been associated with systems in which the catalyst
resting state is a dimer, while the active form of the catalyst is
a monomer.17 According to the zero-order dependence on
aryl bromide and first-order dependence on the N-oxide, the
dimeric resting state should be found between the oxidative
addition and arene metalation steps.
The order in 4-nitropyridine N-oxide was also determined
in a similar manner by varying its concentration from 0.1 to
0.8 M (Figure 1b). A slope of 1.16 was obtained indicating a
first-order behavior in pyridine N-oxide. A first-order depen-
dence on pyridine N-oxide suggests that a single molecule of
the N-oxide participates at the transition state of the reaction,
which is consistent with arene metalation or reductive elimina-
tion being the rate-determining step. Reductive elimination
was discarded as a possible rate-determining step due to the
observation of a significant kinetic isotope effect (KIE) in a
side-by-side comparison of rates (kH/kD=3.3) using pyridine
N-oxide or pyridine N-oxide-d5 as the starting azine.16
Finally, the order in ligand was determined, also using
5 mol % of Pd(PtBu3)2 as the catalyst. No change in rate was
observed over a range of ligand concentrations from a 1:2 Pd:
ligand ratio to a 1:6 ratio (Figure 1d), thus establishing a
zero-order behavior in this system. It has been previously
determined that the oxidative addition product of Pd(PtBu3)2
into the C-Br bond of an aryl bromide is a T-shaped complex
bearing a single phosphine ligand and a free coordination site,18
(17) (a) Fairlie, D. P.; Bosnich, B. Organometallics 1988, 7, 946.
(b) Van Strijdonck, G. F. P.; Boele, M. D. K.; Kamer, P. C. J.; de Vries,
J. G.; van Leeuwen, P. W. N. M. Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 1999, 1073. (c) Kina, A.;
Hiroshi, I.; Hayashi, T. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 3904. (d) Collum, D. B.;
McNeil, A. J.; Ramirez, A. Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 3002. (e) Shen,
Z.; Dornan, P. K.; Khan, H. A.; Woo, T. K.; Dong, V. M. J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2009, 131, 1077.
(16) For results from a one-pot KIE experiment, please see ref 4a.
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SCHEME 4. Free Energy Diagram (ΔGq298K, kcal mol-1 in
toluene) for the Relevant Intermediates, Transition States, and
Products in the Oxidative Insertion Pathway
a solvent correction for toluene.24 The initial structures for
all calculations are pyridine N-oxide (A) and a palladium(II)
species (B, F, or F0) coordinated by one PMe3 ligand after
oxidative insertion into the C-Br bond of bromobenzene. In
the case of species F the bromide has been replaced by a bi-
carbonate anion while species F0 contains an acetate anion in
place of bromide. The relative geometry between the aryl
group and the other anionic ligand is denoted as trans where
the cis isomer is only marginally higher in energy.
3
Among the processes examined, the C-H oxidative inser-
tion pathway (Scheme 4) was found to be the highest in
energy, thus making it an unlikely candidate as the acting
mechanism of the reaction. This pathway was found to
proceed through transition state C having an energy of
56.6 kcal/mol and the resulting pentacoordinate Pd(IV) inter-
mediate D has an energy of 51.7 kcal/mol. Reductive elim-
ination of HBr gives the common intermediate E having an
energy of 36.8 kcal/mol. The Heck-type pathway (Scheme 5)
is only slightly lower in energy than the C-H oxidative inser-
tion pathway having a transition state (G) with an energy of
53.4 kcal/mol, though this results in an intermediate H with a
relatively low lying energy of 16.6 kcal/mol.
SCHEME 5. Free Energy Diagram (ΔGq298K, kcal mol-1 in
toluene) for the Relevant Intermediates, Transition States, and
Products in the Heck-Type Pathway
3
and as such, the arene metalation transition state should
have at most one bound phosphine ligand. Additionally, the
zero-order dependence on phosphine ligand supports the
arene metalation transition state containing a single phos-
phine ligand and hence it is unlikely that dissociation of PtBu3
from Pd occurs before the rate-determining step of the reaction.
With a basic understanding of the catalytic cycle, the mech-
anism of the C-H bond cleavage was investigated in greater
detail through both computational and experimental studies.
2. Computational Analysis. Quantum chemical19 density
functional theory20 calculations were used to assist in differ-
entiating among the four possible mechanistic scenarios and
determining the lowest energy pathway for the C-H bond
cleavage step. All computations were performed at the
Hybrid B3LYP level21 with a TZVP22 basis set for all atoms
except palladium, for which a DZVP23 basis set was used.
The ligand (either PMetBu2 or PtBu3) in the reaction was ap-
proximated with PMe3 in all computations in order to reduce
computational time. This is a commonly used technique3,5,11
and was not expected to change the qualitative findings of the
calculations. Energy diagrams show the relative Gibbs Free
Energies for the various transition states, intermediates, and
products involved in each of the potential mechanisms.
Calculations were performed in both the gas phase and with
When investigating the CMD pathway two variants must
be considered: an inner-sphere mechanism and an outer-
sphere mechanism (Figure 2).3,5,11,25,26 An inner-sphere
mechanism is characterized by an internal base coordinated
to palladium participating in the CMD process. This base
€
(18) Stambuli, J. P.; Buhl, M.; Hartwig, J. F. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124,
9346.
(19) Ziegler, T.; Autschbach, J. Chem. Rev. 2005, 105, 2695.
(20) (a) Hohenburg, P.; Kohn, W. Phys. Rev. B 1964, 136, 864. (b) Kohn,
W.; Sham, L. J. Phys. Rev. A 1965, 140, 1133.
(21) Lee, C.; Yang, W.; Parr, R. G. Phys. Rev. B 1988, 37, 785.
(22) Schafer, A.; Huber, C.; Ahlrichs, R. J. Chem. Phys. 1994, 100, 5829.
(23) Godbout, N.; Salahub, D. R.; Andzelm, J.; Wimmer, E. Can. J.
Chem. 1992, 70, 560.
(24) Foresman, J. B.; Keith, T. A.; Wiberg, K. B.; Snoonian, J.; Frisch,
M. J. J. Phys. Chem. 1996, 100, 16098.
(25) Pascual, S.; de Mendoza, P.; Braga, A. A. C.; Maseras, F.; Echavarren,
A. M. Tetrahedron 2008, 64, 6021.
(26) Lafrance, M.; Fagnou, K. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 16496.
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SCHEME 7. Free Energy Diagram (ΔGq298K, kcal mol-1 in
3
toluene) for the Relevant Intermediates, Transition States, and
Products in the Inner- and Outer-Sphere CMD Pathways, Using
Acetate As the Base
FIGURE 2. Inner- and outer-sphere mechanisms for the concerted
metalation-deprotonation process.
SCHEME 6. Free Energy Diagram (ΔGq298K, kcal mol-1 in
3
toluene) for the Relevant Intermediates, Transition States, and
Products in the Inner- and Outer-Sphere CMD Pathways, Using
Bicarbonate As the Base
of HBr (Scheme 6). This pathway led to higher energy prod-
ucts than if bicarbonate was used as the base, and thus it
was discarded. Calculations were also performed with ace-
tate as the base. The relative energies of the transition states
reflected those found when bicarbonate was used as the base,
although the absolute values were found to be slightly lower
(Scheme 7).
Efforts were made to locate the transition state energy
leading to the Wheland intermediate in an SEAr type path-
way (Scheme 8) starting with F as the initial Pd(II) species.
However, only the intermediate I (18.9 kcal/mol), a η2
π-complex having no cationic character on the aromatic ring,
could be located. Departing from intermediate I this reaction
pathway converges with that of the inner-sphere CMD
pathway at transition state J (34.9 kcal/mol). Formation of
the carbon-palladium bond and loss of H2CO3 yields products
K (15.9 kcal/mol). The possibility of an SEAr mechanism was
thus discarded on the basis that no Wheland intermediate
or complex containing arene cationic character could be
located computationally.
can be either the halide from the aryl halide or a carbonate/
carboxylate anion from a ligand exchange on palladium. Dif-
ferentiated from this is the outer-sphere mechanism in which
the deprotonation is performed by an external base (a car-
bonate or carboxylate anion).
Both CMD variants were found to be substantially lower
in energy than the alternate pathways (Schemes 6 and 7).
Starting with species B and bicarbonate as the external base,
the outer-sphere mechanism had a transition state L energy
of 40.3 kcal/mol and the inner-sphere mechanism starting
from F as the Pd(II) species had a transition state J energy of
32.4 kcal/mol. The inner-sphere mechanism with bromide as
the base was found to have no thermodynamic barrier and
arrives at the product E (36.8 kcal/mol) with subsequent loss
From these results, the inner-sphere CMD mechanism was
determined to be the most likely pathway for the C-H bond
cleavage step in direct arylation. Computational results were
also correlated to experimental findings to further support
the proposal for a CMD mechanism. An Arrhenius plot was
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SCHEME 8. Relevant Intermediates, Transition States, and
Products in the SEAr Pathway
FIGURE 3. Arrhenius plot constructed for the coupling of 4-
nitropyridine N-oxide.
constructed for the coupling between 4-nitropyridine N-oxide
and 5-bromo-m-xylene (Figure 3) and the Arrhenius energy
of activation was determined to be 18.5 kcal/mol. This value
is in good agreement with the calculated ΔEq of 17.6 kcal/mol
(at 298 K, in toluene), suggesting that the inner-sphere CMD
pathway is an energetically viable process.
The regioselectivity of the reaction was also examined and
proved to be particularly illustrative. Computationally, the
energies for arylation to take place at each position on the
pyridine N-oxide ring were calculated for the inner- and outer-
sphere mechanisms by using both carbonate and acetate as the
base (Figure 4). In both cases, the inner-sphere mechanism
was predicted to arylate preferentially at the C2 position,
followed by C4 and with arylation at the C3 position being
the highest in energy, while the outer-sphere mechanism
was predicted to have the opposite selectivity, favoring
arylation at the C4 position while arylation at the C2 position
was the highest energy process. Pyridine N-oxide is known
to be amphoteric acting as both a nucleophile and an elec-
trophile.27 The N-oxide moiety also imparts an increased
acidity of the C-H bonds at positions 2 and 4 on the pyri-
dine ring.28 While our initial hypothesis was that an in-
creased acidity of the C-H bond was a necessary compo-
nent for the CMD mechanism, recent computational results
from our group have shown that a more important factor is
electropositive character at the position ortho to the nitro-
gen in the aromatic ring (as present at the C2 position
of pyridine N-oxide).11 Experimentally, the regiochemical
outcome for the direct arylation of pyridine N-oxide is such
that only arylation at the C2 position is observed, which is in
agreement with calculated predictions for the inner-sphere
mechanism.
FIGURE 4. Free energy of activation (ΔGq298K, kcal mol-1 in
toluene) for the three possible sites of arylation via the inner- and
outer-sphere mechanisms.
3
preferentially at the C6 position, suggesting that a steric bias
for the less hindered site is controlling the regiochemical
outcome of the reaction. A smaller C3 substituent, such as a
methoxy group, results in nonselective arylation when PtBu3
is used as the ligand, which is in agreement with a steric
argument for the selectivities observed, while selectivity for
the C2 position is observed when the smaller PtBu2Me is
used. This apparent ligand effect has been observed with
other pyridine N-oxide and aryl halide substrates,4b,29,30
and along with the observed zero-order in ligand during
kinetic experiments, it is also in agreement with the phos-
phine ligand being present on the metal at the CMD step.
The inner-sphere CMD mechanism also accurately pre-
dicts the site selectivity for substituted pyridine N-oxides
(Table 1). When pyridine N-oxides bearing a phenyl or meth-
ylester substituent at the C3 position are used, the regio-
selectivity is sterically controlled and arylation takes place
(27) (a) Andersson, H.; Almqvist, F.; Olsson, R. Org. Lett. 2007, 9, 1335.
(b) Taylor, E. C., Jr.; Crovetti, A. J. Organic Syntheses; Wiley: New York,
1963; Collect. Vol. IV, p 654; 1956; Vol. 36, p 53.
(28) (a) Paudler, W. W.; Humphrey, S. A. J. Org. Chem. 1970, 35, 3467.
(b) Kreuger, S. A.; Paudler, W. W. J. Org. Chem. 1972, 37, 4188.
(29) Schipper, D. J.; El-Salfiti, M.; Whipp, C. J.; Fagnou, K. Tetrahedron
2009, 4977.
(30) The regioselectivities for 3-fluoro- and 3-phenylpyridine N-oxide
have also been reproduced stoichiometrically with 2. See the Supporting
Information.
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TABLE 1. Experimental and Computational Results for the Regio-
selectivity in the Direct Arylation of C3-Substituted Pyridine N-Oxides
calcd A:B
(L = PMe3)
exptl A:B
(L = PtBu3)
exptl A:B
(L = PtBu2Me)
entry
X =
Ph
CO2Me
OMe
NO2
CN
1
2
3
4
5
6
1:11
1:4
6:1
9:1
4:1
76:1
1:10
1:7
1:1
4:1
10:1
25:1
5:1
6:1
15:1
F
FIGURE 6. Hammett plot for the direct arylation of C4-substituted
pyridine N-oxides.
TABLE 2. Yields of a Stoichiometric Reaction between 1 and 4-
Nitropyridine N-Oxide, Using Different Bases
FIGURE 5. Computational and experimental results for competi-
tion experiments between pyridine N-oxides of different electronics.
In general, sterics seem to be the overriding factor in the
observed selectivity. However, when smaller substituents
are present subtle electronic factors come into play. This is
exemplified by the inversed regioselectivity to the C2 posi-
tion when a small C3 electron-withdrawing substituent, such
as a nitro, cyano, or fluoro group, is present. The electron-
withdrawing substituent could impart an electropositive
character to the C2 position of the N-oxide through reso-
nance and inductive effects, thus stabilizing the developing
negative charge of the CMD transition state that involves the
development of a negative charge at the C2 position. In all
cases, the elaborated DFT model accurately predicts regio-
chemistry.
Additionally, one-pot competition experiments and com-
putational predictions of relative rates under a CMD mech-
anism were performed (Figure 5) and it was found that the
experimental values correlated well with the calculated ones.
It was seen that in all cases, the aryl bromide reacted most
readily with the more electron-deficient arene, which is con-
trary to what would be expected if SEAr was the acting mech-
anism. The greater reaction rate of the methoxy-substituted
N-oxide over the methyl-substituted N-oxide is due to the
σ-withdrawing effect of the methoxy substituent to the meta
position of the arene, which is also reflected in the positive
entry
K2CO3
KOPiv
NMR Yield (%)a
1
2
3
4
none
none
none
10 equiv
10 equiv
0
5
29
31
10 equiv
none
10 equiv
aTrimethoxybenzene as internal standard.
F value suggests the enhancement of rate with increasing
electron-withdrawing ability of the substituent located at the
C4 position of the N-oxide, which is in support of the CMD
pathway. An electron-withdrawing substituent would be
expected to stabilize the development of a negative charge
at the CMD transition state, and thus lower the energy of the
process.
3. Base Effects. Further experiments were performed to
examine the nature of the base in the CMD process. The
three-coordinate arylpalladium halide complex 1 (Table 2), a
possible intermediate in the catalytic cycle, was synthesized
according to a procedure reported by Hartwig et al.18 and
was stoichiometrically reacted with 4-nitropyridine N-oxide
in the presence of K2CO3 and/or KOPiv as a base. Reactivity
was found to depend heavily on the presence of pivalate base
in the reaction mixture. While no product is observed in the
absence of any base, surprisingly low reactivity was observed
when using K2CO3 (Table 2, entries 1 and 2). However, in the
presence of pivalate, with or without K2CO3, the desired
coupling product is obtained in approximately 30% yield
(Table 2, entries 3 and 4).
σ
meta value of a methoxy substituent. The results of these
competition experiments are also in agreement with the
obtained Hammett plot, which provides a side-by-side com-
parison of the different N-oxides’ reaction rates (Figure 6). In
the past, Hammett studies conducted for direct arylation
reactions have generally resulted in negative F values, and
this observation was commonly used as the main argument
in support of an SEAr mechanism for direct arylation.2 The
obtained Hammett plot gives a F value of þ1.53. The positive
The reaction rate was also found to depend heavily on the
identity of the base present in the reaction mixture. Kinetic
experiments were run with Pd(PtBu3)2 as the catalyst in order
to eliminate catalyst preactivation as a potentially significant
J. Org. Chem. Vol. 75, No. 23, 2010 8187

Sun et al.
JOCArticle
SCHEME 9. Stoichiometric Reactivity of Complex 2
obtained yields were identical, revealing little dependence of the
stoichiometric reaction on the presence of K2CO3 (Scheme 9).
The yields of these stoichiometric reactions are comparable
to that of the analogous catalytic reaction.35 These stoichio-
metric studies suggest that 2 is a likely intermediate in the
catalytic cycle. Furthermore, the observed identical yields
between the reactions run with and without K2CO3 are in
support of acetate, and not carbonate, performing the nec-
essary deprotonation at the CMD step.
The participation of 2 in the catalytic cycle is further sup-
ported by its ability to act as a competent catalyst as well as
by the similarity in initial rates between a reaction run with
catalytic Pd(PtBu3)2 with PivOH and one run with a catalytic
amount of 2(Figure 8). A catalytic amount of KOPiv (5 mol %)
was added to the reaction run with 2 as the catalyst in order
to mimic the ratio of Pd to carboxylate base that is present
when Pd(OAc)2 is used as the catalyst.
FIGURE 7. Dependence of rate on the identity of the base used.
Conditions: ([, light blue) Pd(PtBu3)2, 2 equiv of K2CO3; (9, red)
5 mol % of Pd(PtBu3)2, 2 equiv of KOPic; (2, green) Pd(PtBu3)2,
2 equiv of K2CO3, 30 mol % of PivOH; and (b, dark blue) Pd(OAc)2,
15 mol % of PtBu3 HBF4, 2 equiv of K2CO3.
3
factor when measuring reaction rates. The rate of the reac-
tion was observed to be slow when only one of K2CO3 or
KOPiv was used, but when a combination of excess K2CO3
with a substoichiometric amount of PivOH was used, the
reaction rate increased approximately 6-fold and was com-
parable to that of a reaction run under the standard reported
conditions4 (Figure 7). The poor reactivity of a system using
only KOPiv as the base may be attributed to the eventual
buildup of PivOH in the reaction mixture, which could result
in the proto-demetalation of a palladium aryl organometallic,
generating reduced arene and catalytically inactive Pd(II)
.
This effect may also be the result of excess carboxylate satu-
rating the catalyst and preventing its binding to the substrate.
Using K2CO3 with a substoichiometric amount of PivOH
would allow for the prevention of the buildup of acid by
allowing the PivOH that is formed to be deprotonated by the
K2CO3, thus regenerating the pivalate anion required for
another turn of the catalytic cycle. When using Pd(OAc)2 as
the catalyst, however, no pivalate additive was required to
achieve good reactivity, which alludes to a secondary role for
Pd(OAc)2.31 While Pd(OAc)2 has always been considered to
serve only as a precatalyst, these results are indicative of its
ability to act as a source of soluble carboxylate base to per-
form the deprotonation at the CMD step.32,33
To probe this hypothesis, the aryl palladium acetate
complex 2 was synthesized34 and reacted stoichiometrically
with 4-nitropyridine N-oxide in the presence and absence of
K2CO3. The conditions used were chosen to mimic the
conditions used in the catalytic reaction. In both cases, the
FIGURE 8. Initial rate of a reaction run with a catalytic amount of
2. Conditions: ([, blue) 1 equiv of bromobenzene, 2, 2 equiv of
K2CO3, 5 mol % of KOPiv; (9, red) 1 equiv of 5-bromo-m-xylene,
Pd(PtBu3)2, 2 equiv of K2CO3, 30 mol % of PivOH.
(31) While reactions having 10-30 mol % carboxylate have similar rates,
it was noticed that when >40 mol % carboxylate is present under the
standard conditions, a significant rate decrease is observed.
(32) To test this hypothesis, the rate of a reaction using a catalytic amount
of KOAc was measured, but was found to be quite slow, likely due to the
insolubility of KOAc in the toluene.
(33) When Pd(OPiv)2 was used in place of Pd(OAc)2 as the palladium
precatalyst, an activation period of ca. 20 min was observed. Once the
formation of product began, however, the rate of the reaction paralleled
that of the reaction run with K2CO3 and catalytic PivOH. For kinetic
experiments with Pd(OPiv)2, see the Supporting Information.
4. Summary of Mechanistic Data and Proposed Catalytic
Cycle. Given the mechanistic insight we obtained from the
results of the computational studies as well as the various
(34) Barrios-Landeros, F. Oxidative Addition of Haloarenes by Pd(0)
Complexes of Bulky Alkyl Phosphines: Synthesis of Intermediates and
Mechanistic Studies, Dissertation, Yale University, 2007.
(35) Conditions: Bromobenzene (1 equiv), 4-nitropyridine N-oxide
(2 equiv), Pd(OAc)2 (5 mol%), PtBu3 HBF4 (15 mol%), K2CO3 (2 equiv),
3
PhMe, 110 °C, 16 h. NMR yield of 62%.
8188 J. Org. Chem. Vol. 75, No. 23, 2010

Sun et al.
JOCArticle
SCHEME 10. Proposed Catalytic Cycle for the Direct Aryla-
tion of Pyridine N-Oxides via a CMD Transition State
of pyridine N-oxides. The data obtained from these studies
allowed for the proposal of a revised catalytic cycle, which
points to CMD being the rate-limiting step in the process.
The critical role of the base in the CMD process was investi-
gated in further detail in both catalytic and stoichiometric
variations of the transformation. The observed dependence
of reactivity on the presence of soluble carboxylate indicates
that the acetate from the Pd(OAc)2 precatalyst is acting as
the deprotonating agent at the CMD step. This observation
is also in accord with the prevalence of Pd(OAc)2 being used
as a precatalyst in direct arylation reactions and should
be considered in the development of new direct arylation
processes.
Experimental Section
General Procedure for the Direct Arylation of Pyridine N-
Oxides with Aryl Bromides. Pyridine N-oxide (3 equiv), K2CO3
(2 equiv) PtBu3 HBF4 (6-15 mol %), and Pd(OAc)2 (5 mol %)
3
were weighed into a round-bottomed flask equipped with a
Teflon stir bar. The flask was fitted with a reflux condenser and
the reaction vessel was then evacuated and refilled with argon
(repeat 3 times). A solution of 5-bromo-m-xylene (1 equiv) in
toluene (0.3 M with respect to aryl bromide) was purged with
argon (10-15 min) and added to the reaction flask. The flask
was placed in an oil bath and heated to 110 °C with constant
stirring. The reaction was allowed to heat at 110 °C overnight
after which the flask was removed from the oil bath and allowed
to cool to room temperature. The reaction was then filtered
through Celite (washing with CH2Cl2) and the filtrate was
concentrated under reduced pressure then loaded onto a short
silica gel column for chromatography.
experiments performed, we are able to propose a revised
catalytic cycle for the direct arylation of pyridine N-oxides
(Scheme 10). The results from the kinetic experiments sug-
gest a fast oxidative addition of the aryl halide into a Pd(0)
species after which the catalyst is saturated as a Pd(II) species.
According to the observed half-order dependence on catalyst
concentration, this Pd(II) species could possibly exist as an
inactive dimer that is in equilibrium with the less favored
active monomeric form of the catalyst.36 Stoichiometric
studies with different palladium complexes have pointed to
the involvement of an acetate at the transition state as the
deprotonating agent. The reaction likely proceeds via an
κ2-bound acetate on the palladium metal 2 from which the
pyridine N-oxide can displace one of the acetate oxygens and
coordinate to the metal center.37 The reaction is then pro-
posed to proceed through a 6-membered inner-sphere CMD
transition state, generating the palladium biaryl species that
goes on to the reductive elimination step to give product and
regenerate the Pd(0) catalyst. The acetic acid generated in this
process is likely deprotonated by the carbonate base in the
reaction mixture, which regenerates the acetate required for
another turnover of the catalytic cycle.
2-(3,5-Dimethylphenyl)-4-nitropyridine N-oxide: 1H NMR
(400 MHz, CDCl3, 293 K) δ 8.36 (1H, d, J = 7.2 Hz), 8.26
(1H, d, J= 3.2 Hz), 8.02 (1H, dd, J=3.2, 7.2 Hz), 7.39 (2H, s),
7.16 (1H, s), 2.40 (6H, s); 13C NMR (100 MHz, CDCl3, 293 K) δ
150.8, 142.0, 141.3, 138.4, 132.5, 130.6, 126.7, 121.6, 118.3, 21.4;
HRMS calcd for C13H12N2O3 (Mþ) 244.0848, found 244.0846;
IR (vmax/cm-1) 3106, 3085, 3055, 2917, 2859, 1520, 1341, 1278;
mp 174-175 °C.
Acknowledgment. This paper is dedicated in memory of
Keith Fagnou. H.-Y.S. thanks the Canadian Government
for a PGS-M scholarship. L.-C.C. and D.R.S. thank the
Canadian Government for PGS-D scholarships. This re-
search was funded in part by NSERC, the Research Corpo-
ration (Cottrell Scholar Award; K.F.), the Ontario govern-
ment (Premier’s Research Excellence Award, K.F.), and the
University of Ottawa. We thank Tom K. Woo for computing
facilities use funded by the CFI and the ORF. The authors
also thank Prof. John F. Hartwig and Prof. Melanie S. Sanford
for helpful discussions during the preparation of this paper.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have examined through kinetic and
computational analysis the mechanism of direct arylation
(36) Efforts to isolate and characterize the dimeric resting state of the
catalyst were unfruitful. However, as both the Pd-Br (1) and Pd-OAc (2) are
known to be monomeric, we suspect the involvement of pyridine N-oxide in
the dimeric form.
(37) It is likely that the inital coordination of pyridine N-oxide occurs via
oxygen; for references on O-bound Pd complexes, see: Cho, S. H.; Hwang,
S. J.; Chang, S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 9254.
Supporting Information Available: Detailed experimental
procedures for kinetics as well as results of DFT calculations.
This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://
pubs.acs.org.
J. Org. Chem. Vol. 75, No. 23, 2010 8189