Angewandte
Communications
Chemie
Heteroannulation
Contrasting Frustrated Lewis Pair Reactivity with Selenium- and
Boron-Based Lewis Acids
Lewis C. Wilkins, Benjamin A. R. Gꢀnther, Melanie Walther, James R. Lawson, Thomas Wirth,
and Rebecca L. Melen*
Abstract: The activation of p-bonds in diynyl esters has been
investigated by using soft and hard Lewis acids. In the case of
the soft selenium Lewis acid PhSeCl, sequential activation of
the alkyne bonds leads initially to an isocoumarin (1 equiv
PhSeCl) and then to a tetracyclic conjugated structure with the
isocoumarin subunit fused to a benzoselenopyran (3 equiv
PhSeCl). Conversely, the reaction with the hard Lewis acidic
borane B(C6F5)3 initiates a cascade reaction to yield a complex
p-conjugated system containing phthalide and indene subunits.
which can occur in an intra- or intermolecular fashion.[3] Two
different mechanisms for the 1,2-addition of Lewis acid/base
combinations to alkenes and alkynes have been proposed,
which either involve concerted addition or initial activation of
the p-bond followed by 1,2-addition.[4] In the latter case,
p···Lewis acid van der Waals interactions have been
observed.[4] However, unlike transition metals, which are
able to activate p-bonds in a synergic fashion through (metal–
ligand) bonding and back-bonding interactions, boron relies
solely on the vacant pz orbital to activate such unsaturated
frameworks. In these reactions, the nucleophilic center can be
a wide variety of atoms including hydrogen,[5] carbon,[6]
nitrogen,[7] oxygen,[8] phosphorus,[9] or sulfur,[10] while the
Lewis acid component has been limited to the first two rows
of the p-block. Typically, hard Lewis acids such as boranes,
alanes, or borenium and carbenium cations have been
employed.
T
he advent of frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) a decade ago has
been a major advance in main-group chemistry, particularly in
metal-free catalysis.[1] FLP chemistry combines sterically
hindered Lewis acids and Lewis bases (Scheme 1, top),
Other reactivities associated with the use of strong boron
Lewis acids involve the synthetically useful carboboration
reactions as well as relevant cascade reactions of unsaturated
À
C C bonds. Recent studies by the Erker and Yamaguchi
research groups showcase the use of B(C6F5)3 in a series of
rearrangements of aryl-functionalized diynes to form com-
plex, extensively fused polyaromatic systems such as diben-
zopentalenes and derivatives thereof.[11] The aforementioned
activation of alkynes is preeminent in this work, highlighting
the fact that, contrary to the traditional concept of HSAB
theory, hard Lewis acids are indeed very effective for the
activation of soft Lewis bases such as alkynes. It is of note that
the synthesis of such polyaromatic systems is seldom
described in the literature, with these reports involving rare,
noble, or heavy toxic metals such as palladium, gold, or tin.[12]
This provides the impetus to find new synthetic methods to
prepare such extended conjugated networks.
Scheme 1. Frustrated Lewis pairs (top) and 1,2-addition of FLPs to
alkynes (bottom).
where the steric demands of the two components suppress
conventional adduct formation and lead to truly unique
reactivity. This ever-expanding field of chemistry now encom-
passes a vast range of Lewis acid/base combinations which
have been shown to effect novel transformations and metal-
free catalytic processes, including small-molecule activation
reactions (e.g. H2, N2O, CO2, CO, SO2, alkenes, and
alkynes).[2]
Indeed, with a few exceptions,[13] the use of heavier p-
block elements with FLP-type reactivity is rarely reported.
These heavier p-block elements are much softer due to their
larger atomic radii and lower charge densities, and are more
susceptible to polarization, thus potentially offering distinct
differences in reactivity compared to their lighter counter-
parts. Many of these elements are also capable of acting
simultaneously as Lewis acids (because of the presence of
low-lying vacant orbitals or s*-orbitals) and Lewis bases
(because of the presence of lone pairs of electrons when in the
nÀ2 or nÀ4 oxidation state). Here we compare the reactivity
of methyl-2-{[2-(phenylethynyl)phenyl]ethynyl} benzoate (1)
with the soft Se-centered Lewis acid PhSeCl and the hard B-
centered Lewis acid B(C6F5)3 in the pursuit of obtaining novel
heterocyclic frameworks such as isocoumarin derivatives.
A particular theme within this area is the cooperative
À
addition of FLPs across C C p-bonds (Scheme 1, bottom),
[*] L. C. Wilkins, B. A. R. Gꢀnther, M. Walther, Dr. J. R. Lawson,
Prof. T. Wirth, Dr. R. L. Melen
School of Chemistry, Cardiff University
Main Building, Park Place, Cardiff, Cymru/Wales, CF10 3AT (UK)
E-mail: MelenR@cardiff.ac.uk
Supporting information for this article can be found under:
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 1 – 5
ꢀ 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
1
These are not the final page numbers!