DOI: 10.1002/chem.201501377
Communication
&
Synthetic Methods
Synthesis of Phenanthrene Derivatives by Intramolecular
Cyclization Utilizing the [1,2]-Phospha-Brook Rearrangement
Catalyzed by a Brønsted Base
Azusa Kondoh,[a] Takuma Aoki,[b] and Masahiro Terada*[a, b]
progress in biaryl synthesis by transition metal-catalyzed cross-
coupling reactions,[5] this approach has become a straightfor-
Abstract: The synthesis of functionalized phenanthrene
derivatives was achieved by intramolecular cyclization uti-
lizing the [1,2]-phospha-Brook rearrangement under
Brønsted base catalysis. Treatment of biaryl compounds
having an a-ketoester moiety and an alkyne moiety at the
2 and 2’ positions, respectively, with diisopropyl phosphite
in the presence of a catalytic amount of phosphazene
base P2-tBu provides 9,10-disubstituted phenanthrene de-
rivatives in high yields. This reaction involves the genera-
tion of an ester enolate through an umpolung process,
that is, addition of diisopropyl phosphite to a keto moiety
followed by the [1,2]-phospha-Brook rearrangement, the
intramolecular addition to an alkyne, and the [3,3] rear-
rangement of the allylic phosphate moiety in a consecutive
fashion.
ward one. In addition, a variety of functionalities can be easily
introduced into the phenanthrene skeleton by using function-
alized biaryl compounds. To achieve this, several reactions
have been employed, including the [4+2] cycloaddition of
biaryl compounds with alkynes,[6] the intramolecular cyclization
of alkynylated biaryl compounds,[7] and intramolecular C9=C10
double bond-forming reactions, including ring-closing alkene
metathesis, McMurry coupling, and aldol condensation, and
others.[8,9] Despite such significant advances, however, there
still remain some issues on the introduction of functionalities
into the resulting phenanthrene skeleton in a regioselective
manner. Therefore, a new and efficient methodology that can
expand the scope of accessible phenanthrene derivatives
would be highly valuable. We have been focusing on the [1,2]-
phospha-Brook rearrangement,[10] which involves the migration
of a dialkoxyphosphoryl moiety of an a-hydroxy phosphonate
from carbon to oxygen under the influence of a Brønsted base
to generate an a-oxygenated carbanion, as a useful tool for
the development of novel synthetic reactions.[11] In the course
of our studies on new carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions
that are characterized by the direct generation of enolates
from a-keto carbonyl compounds through an umpolung pro-
cess, that is, the addition of a dialkyl phosphite to a keto
moiety followed by the [1,2]-phospha-Brook rearrangement
under the influence of a Brønsted base catalyst,[11b] we envis-
aged the application of the methodology to the formation of
a C9=C10 double bond of the phenanthrene skeleton from
biaryl compounds. Our reaction design is shown in Scheme 1,
in which biaryl compounds 1, having an a-ketoester moiety
and an alkyne moiety at the 2 and 2’ positions, respectively,
are used as a substrate. At first, deprotonation of dialkyl phos-
phite 2 followed by the addition of the resulting anion to
a keto moiety of 1 provides alkoxide A. Subsequently, the
[1,2]-phospha-Brook rearrangement proceeds to generate ester
enolate B. The addition of enolate B to an alkyne followed by
protonation affords cyclic compound 3 along with the regener-
ation of the Brønsted base or the anion of 2. Finally, the rear-
rangement of the allylic phosphate moiety of 3, where aroma-
tization should serve as the driving force, takes place to pro-
vide phenanthrene derivatives 4. The products of the designed
reaction have an ester moiety and an oxygenated alkyl group
at the C9 and C10 positions, respectively, which potentially
function as handles for further manipulation. Herein we report
a new method for the synthesis of highly functionalized phen-
Phenanthrene derivatives have attracted a great deal of atten-
tion because of their presence in numerous natural products,[1]
as well as their interesting biological activities.[2] They are also
important structural motifs in material science because of their
photoconducting, photochemical, and electroluminescent
properties.[3] Therefore, the development of general and effi-
cient methods for the synthesis of highly functionalized phen-
anthrene derivatives is imperative in organic synthesis, and
massive efforts have been undertaken over the years. The con-
ventional approach involves the intramolecular aryl–aryl bond
formation from stilbene derivatives. In that approach, the
Pschorr reaction, photocyclization, radical cyclization, and
other oxidative cyclization reactions are used for the aryl–aryl
bond formation.[4] Another approach that has drawn much at-
tention in recent years is the construction of a phenanthrene
skeleton from biaryl compounds. Owing to recent substantial
[a] Dr. A. Kondoh, Prof. Dr. M. Terada
Research and Analytical Center for Giant Molecules
Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University
Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578 (Japan)
[b] T. Aoki, Prof. Dr. M. Terada
Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science
Tohoku University, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578 (Japan)
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW under
Chem. Eur. J. 2015, 21, 12577 – 12580
12577
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