Copper-catalyzed intramolecular dehydrogenative aminooxygenation: Direct access to formyl-substituted aromatic N-heterocycles

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/anie.201100362

A direct synthesis of carbaldehydes through intramolecular dehydrogenative aminooxygenation has been developed. The process uses a catalytic amount of copper(II) in DMF or DMA under oxygen and does not require additional oxidants (see scheme). Mechanistic studies suggest that the carbonyl oxygen atom of the aldehyde is derived from oxygen through a copper-mediated oxygen activation process via a peroxy-copper(III) intermediate. Copyright

Full text of DOI:10.1002/anie.201100362

Communications
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201100362
Oxygen Activation
Copper-Catalyzed Intramolecular Dehydrogenative
Aminooxygenation: Direct Access to Formyl-Substituted Aromatic
N-Heterocycles**
Honggen Wang, Yong Wang, Dongdong Liang, Lanying Liu, Jiancun Zhang,* and Qiang Zhu*
Aminooxygenation of alkenes,[1–3] a process in which nitrogen
and oxygen atoms are added simultaneously across a carbon–
carbon double bond, represents one of the most straightfor-
ward approaches to prepare vicinal amino alcohol derivatives,
which are an important functional motif in many biologically
active compounds.[4] The regioselective intramolecular ver-
sion of this process leads to a variety of nitrogen-containing
heterocycles,[5] in which an exocyclic oxygenated methylene
group is present for further elaboration. In studies focusing on
the development of this method, less-toxic metal catalysts,
including palladium,[6] copper,[7] and iron,[8] in addition to the
toxic osmium salts have been explored.[9] To elaborate the N-
heterocycles formed in this fashion, deprotection (R’ ¼ H)
and oxidation strategies have been probed. In these efforts,
oxidation of the exocyclic primary alcohols to form aldehydes,
among the most versatile functional groups in chemical
transformations, was found to be a general strategy.[3c,7]
Herein, we describe the results of an investigation that has
led to the discovery of an unexpected and novel intra-
molecular dehydrogenative aminooxygenation (IDA) reac-
tion, catalyzed by copper and occurring under dioxygen. The
process results in the direct formation of aromatic N-hetero-
cycles substituted with a formyl group (Scheme 1).[10]
Recently, Chernyak and Gevorgyan[12] described a new
copper-catalyzed, three-component coupling reaction that
was used to generate an impressive array of imidazo[1,2-
a]pyridine derivatives. By considering features of our recent
synthesis of pyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazoles through copper-
ꢀ
catalyzed aromatic C H amination of N-aryl-2-aminopyri-
dines,[13] we hypothesized that 3-methyl-2-phenylimidazo[1,2-
a]pyridine 3 would be formed under the developed reaction
conditions when N-(1-phenylallyl)-2-aminopyrine 1a is
employed as substrate. We envisaged that this transformation
ꢀ
would take place either by direct amination of the vinyl C H
bond in 1a and subsequent double bond migration or through
intramolecular hydroamination of 1a followed by dehydro-
genative aromatization (Scheme 2). In contrast to this pre-
Scheme 2. Unexpected formation of 2a.
The presence of the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine scaffold in
many biologically active compounds has stimulated the
development of numerous methods for their preparation.[11]
diction, the copper-catalyzed reaction of 1a actually formed
2-phenylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carbaldehyde 2a, which is a
potentially versatile synthetic intermediate.[14] In this unex-
pected process, the terminal carbon atom of the monosub-
stituted olefin moiety in 1a is transformed into the formyl
group with concurrent formation of the N-heterocyclic ring in
2a. Although imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carbaldehydes can be
prepared through Vilsmeier–Haack formylation of the cor-
responding imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines,[14] the extremely low
yields (20–30%) and harsh reaction conditions limits the
application of this approach.
The widespread distribution of substituted imidazoles in
biologically active natural products and synthetic drugs or
drug candidates makes them important synthetic targets.[15,16]
Owing to the electron-deficient nature of imidazole, its
formylation cannot be realized through Vilsmeier–Haack
reaction. An alternative deprotonation with BuLi and sub-
sequent nucleophilic addition to DMF at low temperature is
accessible.[17] However, deprotonation of 1,2-disubstituted
imidazole occurs at the 5-position exclusively, and no direct
formylation at the 4-position of 1,2-disubstituted imidazoles
has been reported in the literature.[18] Herein, we report the
synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carbaldehydes as well
as 1,2-disubstituted imidazole-4-carbaldehydes through the
Scheme 1. Intramolecular dehydrogenative aminooxygenation.
[*] H. Wang, Y. Wang, D. Liang, L. Liu, Prof. Dr. J. Zhang, Prof. Dr. Q. Zhu
State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease
Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health
Chinese Academy of Sciences
190 Kaiyuan Avenue, Guangzhou 510530 (China)
Fax: (+86)20-3201-5299
E-mail: zhu_qiang@gibh.ac.cn
[**] We are grateful for financial support of this work by a Start-up Grant
from Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health (GIBH),and
by the National Science Foundation of China (21072190) and the
National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program
2011CB504004 and 2010CB945500). We thank Prof. Jinsong Liu
(GIBH) for providing X-ray structural analysis.
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201100362.
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Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 5678 –5681

unprecedented IDA reaction starting from simple
acyclic precursors.
Conditions for the new copper-catalyzed cycliza-
tion reaction were explored using N-(1-phenylallyl)-2-
aminopyrine 1a as the substrate.[19] With 20 mol% of
Cu(OAc)2 as the catalyst and DMF as the solvent, 1a
was converted into aldehyde 2a in respective yields of
13% and 18% under air or dioxygen (Table 1,
entries 2–3). Pd(OAc)2 did not serve as a suitable
catalyst for the reaction of 1a because no separable
product was formed in this case (entry 1). Interest-
ingly, screening other copper(II) sources led to the
observation that [Cu(hfacac)2·xH2O] promoted a
high-yielding conversion (69%) of 1a into 2a
(entries 4–7). Switching the reaction solvent from
DMF to DMA, NMP, and DMSO proved to be
unfruitful (entries 8–10). In addition, inclusion of
10 mol% of Fe(NO3)3·9H2O in the reaction mixture,
ꢀ
a pivotal feature in aromatic C H amination reactions
of N-aryl-2-aminopyridines,[13] had no beneficial effect
on the efficiency of the process (entry 11).[20]
The generality of this process was explored using
simple substituted N-allyl-2-aminopyridines and the
optimal reaction conditions involving 20 mol% of
[Cu(hfacac)2·xH2O] in DMF under dioxygen at
1058C. These processes generated the corresponding
Scheme 3. Synthesis of substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carbaldehydes.
[a] Reaction conditions: 1 (0.50 mmol), [Cu(hfacac)2·xH2O] (20 mol%), DMF
(1.5 mL), under O2 (balloon pressure), 1058C, yield of isolated 2. [b] 1208C.
imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carbaldehydes
2b–2 f
(Scheme 3) in moderate to good yields. Interestingly,
reaction of N-allyl-1-isoquinoline produced imidazo-
[2,1-a]isoquinoline-3-carbaldehyde 2g in 84% yield.
N-(1-phenylallyl)-2-aminopyridines substituted with elec-
tron-donating (Me, OMe) and -withdrawing (F, Cl, Br,
COOMe, CN) groups also underwent this oxidative cycliza-
tion to form the respective products 2h–2p and 2r–2s
(Scheme 3) in acceptable to good yields (42–77%). Notably,
the introduction of functional groups, such as Br, COOMe,
and CN, adds flexibility to further elaborate the aldehyde
products that are formed. Moreover, incorporation of the
sterically bulky naphthyl substituent does not hamper the
efficiency of the process (2q; Scheme 3). Furthermore,
heteroaromatic-substituted N-allyl-2-aminopyridines also
underwent this transformation, albeit in lower yields (2t–
2u; Scheme 3). The nature of the substituents on the allylic
position of the substrates can include alkyl groups, as
exemplified by the formation of the isopropyl- and cyclohex-
yl-substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-carbaldehydes 2v–2w
(Scheme 3).
Table 1: Optimization of the reaction conditions.[a]
This novel process was also successfully applied to the
synthesis of 1,2-disubstituted imidazole-4-carbaldehydes, as
summarized in Scheme 4. In this case, modification of the
reaction conditions, including an appropriate base (K3PO4,
1.5 equiv) together with changing the copper catalyst and
solvent, was necessary.[21] The substituted N-allylamidines 4
starting materials were prepared readily.[19] 1,2-Diaryl-imida-
zole-4-carbaldehydes 5a–b were obtained in moderate yields
favoring an electron-donating group on the N-aryl ring. N-
Benzyl- and N-methyl-N-allylphenylamidines 4c–d were
converted into the corresponding 1,2,4-trisubstituted imida-
zole aldehydes 5c–d in high yields (63–65%). Phenylamidines
substituted with electron-donating (Me, MeO) and -with-
drawing (Br) groups were compatible with the reaction
conditions, albeit in low yields (5e–g vs. 5d). In addition,
formation of the 2-alkyl-substituted variant 5h was also
achieved in diminished yield. Considering the fact that
multistep procedures are usually necessary for the synthesis
Entry Catalyst (equiv)
Solvent Atmos. t [h] Yield [%][b]
1
Pd(OAc)2 (0.1)
DMF
DMF
DMF
DMF
DMF
DMF
air
air
O2
O2
O2
O2
O2
O2
O2
16
16
16
13
12
20
6.5 69
13
13
20
9
0
13
18
60
61
55
2
3
4
Cu(OAc)2 (0.2)
Cu(OAc)2 (0.2)
Cu(OTf)2 (0.2)
5
6
[Cu(acac)2] (0.2)
[Cu(ClO4)2·6H2O] (0.2)
7
8
9
[Cu(hfacac)2·xH2O] (0.2) DMF
[Cu(hfacac)2·xH2O] (0.2) DMA
[Cu(hfacac)2·xH2O] (0.2) NMP
67
67
59
64
10
[Cu(hfacac)2·xH2O] (0.2) DMSO O2
[Cu(hfacac)2·xH2O] (0.2) DMF O2
11[c]
[a] Reaction conditions: 1a (0.50 mmol), catalyst, solvent (1.5 mL),
under air or O2 (balloon pressure), 1058C. [b] Yield of isolated 2a.
[c] 10 mol% of [Fe(NO3)3·9H2O] was added. acac=acetylacetonate,
DMA=N,N-dimethylacetamide,
DMSO=dimethyl sulfoxide,
DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide,
hfacac=hexafluoroacetylacetonate,
NMP=1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone, Tf=trifluoromethansulfonyl.
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5679

Communications
Moreover, when 1a was subjected to the reaction
conditions employing an argon rather than oxygen
atmosphere, formation of 2a did not take place even
when 2.0 equivalents of the copper catalyst were
present. In addition, an experiment was performed
under 18O2 atmosphere in anhydrous DMF. About 95%
of the product had O18 incorporated, thus indicating
that the carbonyl oxygen in the aldehyde product
derives from dioxygen rather than adventitious water in
DMF. When the radical scavenger TEMPO (2,2,6,6-
Scheme 4. Synthesis of 1,2-disubstituted imidazo-4-carbaldehydes. Reaction
tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy,
free
radical)
was
conditions: 4 (0.50 mmol), Cu(OTf)2 (20 mol%), K3PO4 (1.5 equiv), DMA
(1.5 mL), under O2 (balloon pressure), 1058C, yield of isolated 5.
Bn=benzyl.
included, no carbon–TEMPO adduct was detected.[25]
of 1,2-disubstituted imidazole-4-carbaldehydes,[22] these mod-
erate yields are still acceptable. The current method paves the
way to a fast assembly of diversified 1,2,4-trisubstituted
imidazoles.
The synthetic utility of the process described in this study
was demonstrated by its use in a concise route for the
preparation
of
necopidem,
an
anxyolytic
drug
(Scheme 5).[12,23] The key intermediate in this pathway, N-(1-
Scheme 6. Mechanistic studies.
The findings described above suggest that the IDA
reaction mechanism displayed in Scheme 7 is plausible.[10,26]
The process is initiated by coordination of 1a with the
copper(II) catalyst to form complex A. Single-electron trans-
fer then occurs from Cu to O2 to generate the peroxy–
copper(III) intermediate B, which undergoes insertion into
the carbon–carbon double bond to form a alkyl copper(III)
species. Isomerization of the resulting exocyclic peroxy–
copper(III) intermediate C yields the copper(II) species D
with concurrent formation of a carbon–oxygen bond. Elim-
ination of CuII-OH releases aldehyde E, which undergoes
spontaneous aromatization to produce 2a.
In summary, our studies have led to the development of an
unprecedented IDA process that produces imidazo[1,2-a]pyr-
idine-3-carbaldehydes and 1,2-disubstituted imidazole-4-car-
baldehydes from readily available N-allyl-2-aminopyridines
and substituted N-allylamidines, respectively. The reaction,
carried out by using 20 mol% of CuII catalyst in DMF or
DMA under dioxygen, is efficient and environmentally
benign because it does not require additional organic or
Scheme 5. Synthesis of necopidem. M.S.=moleacular sieves.
(p-ethylphenyl)allyl)-2-amino-5-methylpyrine 1x, was gener-
ated by using a two-step sequence, starting with 5-methyl-2-
aminopyridine and p-ethylbenzaldehyde, in 77% yield. The
IDA reaction of 1x provided the key aldehyde intermediate
2x, which was subjected to reductive amination with methyl-
amine. N acylation of the resulting secondary amine with 3-
methylbutanoyl chloride provided necopidem in about 50%
overall yield in four one-pot operations (the last three steps
are actually two operations), compared with the reported
21% overall yield in five steps.[24]
Studies were undertaken to probe a possible mechanism
for the IDA reaction (Scheme 6). Upon exposure of 3 and 6,
possible intermediates in this pathway, to the reaction
conditions, no detectable quantities of 2a were formed.
Scheme 7. Plausible mechanism.
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Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 5678 –5681

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inorganic oxidants. Substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-car-
baldehydes and imidazole-4-carbaldehydes, which can serve
as versatile synthetic intermediates, are obtained in moderate
to good yields by a reaction that possesses a broad substrate
scope and good functionality tolerance. The process opens a
new path towards direct formation of aromatic N-hetero-
cycles substituted with a formyl group from acyclic substrates.
Mechanistic studies directly show that the carbonyl oxygen in
the aldehyde products is derived from dioxygen by a pathway
that takes place via a peroxy–copper(III) intermediate.
Experimental Section
General procedure for the synthesis of 2: A mixture of substrate 1
(0.5 mmol), [Cu(hfacac)2·xH2O] (47.8 mg, 0.1 mmol, 20 mol%) in
DMF (1.5 mL) was stirred at 1058C under O2 (balloon pressure). The
reaction was cooled to room temperature after complete consump-
tion of the starting material (as evident by TLC). Saturated aqueous
NaHCO3 (10 mL) and EtOAc (10 mL) were added to the reaction
mixture successively. The organic phase was separated, and the
aqueous phase was further extracted with EtOAc (2 ꢀ 10 mL). The
combined organic layers were dried over anhydrous Na2SO4 and
concentrated. The residue was purified by flash chromatography on
silica gel (eluent: petroleum ether/ethyl acetate 3:1) to provide the
desired product 2.
General procedure for the synthesis of 5: A mixture of substrate 4
(0.5 mmol), Cu(OTf)2 (36.2 mg, 0.1 mmol, 20 mol%), K3PO4
(0.75 mmol, 1.5 equiv) in DMA (1.5 mL) was stirred at 1058C
under O2 (balloon pressure). The reaction was cooled to room
temperature after complete consumption of the starting material (as
evident by TLC). Similar workup and purification procedures as
those mentioned above were applied to provide the desired product 5.
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Received: January 15, 2011
Revised: March 23, 2011
Published online: May 4, 2011
Keywords: aldehydes · aminooxygenation · dehydrogenation ·
.
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[21] For details in optimizing the reaction conditions, see the
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Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 5678 –5681
ꢀ 2011 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.angewandte.org
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