Full Paper
Chemistry—A European Journal
doi.org/10.1002/chem.202005368
as an efficient and mild alternative to traditional chemical ap-
tions (Scheme 1b). Herein, a mild and environmentally friendly
approach is reported for the preparation of fluoroalkylated ar-
ylpiperidine-2,6-dione derivatives, bearing both CF and CF H
[5]
proaches for carrying out redox transformations, wherein the
redox processes proceed smoothly under extremely mild con-
ditions (room temperature, with no hazardous reagents re-
3
2
units, produced through the reaction between N-substituted
2-aryl indoles and Langlois reagent. Remarkably, this powerful
and green strategy exhibits a wide substrate scope, broad
functionality tolerance, with the formation of a tetrasubstituted
stereogenic center and an NÀC axis of chirality with high ste-
reoselectivity. To the best of our knowledge, the merging of
the three radical reactions—fluoroalkylation, tandem cycliza-
tion, and indole oxidative cleavage—in one step under mild
electro-oxidation conditions has never been reported.
[
6]
quired). In particular, electrochemical protocols for the tri-
fluoromethylation/cyclization of N-arylacrylamides by using
Langlois reagent (CF SO Na) have been extensively em-
3
2
[
7]
ployed. For example, the challenging task of constructing
functionalized oxindoles has been accomplished by the groups
[
7d]
[7e]
[7g]
of Lei, Zeng, Mo, and other groups (Scheme 1a). Also,
[8]
addition of various carbon or phosphorous radicals, including
[
8c]
fluorinated ones, to the same 2-Ph indoles N-substituted by
an acryloyl group is known to be promoted by electrochemis-
[8a]
[8b,c]
[8d,e]
try, visible light,
or stoichiometric oxidants.
The differ-
Results and Discussion
ence with the present work is that the oxidative cleavage of
the indole does not occurs in these previous reports. In spite
of these significant achievements, the development of general
methods for the fluoromethylation/cyclization of unactivated
alkenes under mild conditions with readily available reagents
is still highly desirable.
The study was initiated by screening the optimal electrolysis
conditions by using 2-methyl-1-(3-methyl-2-phenyl-1H-indol-1-
yl) prop-2-en-1-one (1a) and CF SO Na (2a) as model sub-
3
2
strates to examine the reaction conditions in an undivided cell
with a graphite anode and a platinum cathode. This electro-
chemical process proceeded smoothly, giving the trifluorome-
thylated 2-(2-acetylphenyl)isoquinoline-1,3-diones (3a’ and
3a’’) in 79% yield as a 13:1 mixture of diastereoisomers (con-
sidering the steric hindrance and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results,
it was speculated that 3a“ was the main product), in a mixed
solvent system (CH CN/H O=5:1, 6 mL) in the presence of
The selective oxidative cleavage of heterocyclic C=C bonds
[9]
is a promising strategy for organic transformations. In partic-
ular, the oxidative cleavage of the indole C(2)=C(3) double
bond has attracted considerable attention for the construction
[10,11]
of N-formylated products.
In 1951, Witkop and co-workers
reported the first chemical oxidative cleavage of the indole
3
2
C(2)=C(3) double bond through catalytic oxidation (Pt/O ) and
0.1 mmol of Et NClO as the electrolyte when using a
4 4
2
[12]
À2
also by autoxidation, and since then this reaction has been
greatly developed into the Witkop–Winterfeldt oxidation. For
the preparation of 2-aminoarylcarbonyl substrates, various
methods using different reagents, such as peracids, periodic
acid, chromic acid, and ozone, have gained attention
4 mAcm constant current at 508C for 14 h (Table 1, entry 1).
Changing the electrolyte to nBu NBF , nBu ClO , or Et NBF led
4
4
4
4
4
4
to lower yields (Table 1, entries 2–4). The results of electrode
screening indicated that a carbon rod cathode and platinum
both from the industrial and academic communi-
[13]
ties. More recently, the processes of visible-light-
induced aerobic radical C=C bond cleavage and oxy-
genation of indoles have been developed by several
[a]
Table 1. Optimization of the reaction conditions.
[
14]
groups (Scheme 1a). In contrast to most tradition-
al methods, which are limited by their chemical oxi-
dant and reductant requirements, electrochemical
organic synthesis, considered as a powerful and sus-
tainable synthetic tool, has been scarcely explored
for the oxidative cleavage of indoles with the forma-
tion of carbonyl and amide fragments.
[b]
Entry
Deviation from standard conditions
none
3a (3a’ and 3a’’), yield [%]
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
79
14
27
trace
46
33
60
20
21
nBu
nBu
4
4
NBF
ClO
4
as the electrolyte
as the electrolyte
Encouraged by the advances made in fluoroalkyla-
tion/cyclization/indole oxidative cleavage, this study
was devised to investigate whether the fluoromethyl
radicals electro-oxidatively generated by using Lan-
glois reagent (CF SO Na or CF HSO Na), which can
4
Et
4
NBF
4
as the electrolyte
C (+)jC (À) instead of C (+)jPt (À)
Pt (+)jPt (À) instead of C (+)jPt (À)
À2
À2
8 mAcm instead of 4 mAcm , 10 h
À2
À2
12 mAcm instead of 4 mAcm , 10 h
THF/H O instead of CH CN/H
3
2
2
2
2
3
2
O
be easily handled, are bench-stable and inexpensive
fluoroalkyl sources, and could react with electron-
poor alkenes tethered to substituted indoles and
then trigger cyclization to form a benzo[4,5]imida-
zo[2,1-a]isoquinolin-6(5H)-one intermediate, fol-
lowed by the selective oxidative cleavage of the
C(2)=C(3) double bond in the indole skeleton to
afford the desired tri- or difluoromethylated 2-(2-ace-
tylphenyl)isoquinoline-1,3-diones under mild condi-
10
without current
without water
N.D.
N.D.
76
1
1
12
reaction in N
2 h instead of 14 h
2
13
trace
[a] Standard conditions: 1a (0.2 mmol), 2a (0.4 mmol), Et
4 4 3
NClO (0.4 mmol) in CH CN/
H O solvent (6.0 mL, v/v=5/1) in an undivided cell with carbon cloth (1010
.3 mm ) as the anode, Pt plate (10100.1 mm ) as the cathode, under a constant
current of 4.0 mAcm at 508C for 14 h. [b] The isolated yield is based on 1a. N.D.=
2
3
3
0
À2
not detected.
Chem. Eur. J. 2021, 27, 6522 – 6528
6523
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