skip to main content


Title: Transition‐Metal‐Free Activation of Amides by N−C Bond Cleavage
Abstract

The amide bond N−C activation represents a powerful strategy in organic synthesis to functionalize the historically inert amide linkage. This personal account highlights recent remarkable advances in transition‐metal‐free activation of amides by N−C bond cleavage, focusing on both (1) mechanistic aspects of ground‐state‐destabilization of the amide bond enabling formation of tetrahedral intermediates directly from amides with unprecedented selectivity, and (2) synthetic utility of the developed transformations. Direct nucleophilic addition to amides enables a myriad of powerful methods for the formation of C−C, C−N, C−O and C−S bonds, providing a straightforward and more synthetically useful alternative to acyl‐metals.

 
more » « less
Award ID(s):
1650766
PAR ID:
10127393
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  
Publisher / Repository:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The Chemical Record
Volume:
20
Issue:
7
ISSN:
1527-8999
Page Range / eLocation ID:
p. 649-659
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    The challenging transamidation of unactivated tertiary amides has been accomplished via cooperative acid/iodide catalysis. Most crucially, the method provides a novel manifold to re‐route the reactivity of unactivated N,N‐dialkyl amides through reactive acyl iodide intermediates, thus reverting the classical order of reactivity of carboxylic acid derivatives. This method provides a direct route to amide‐to‐amide bond interconversion with excellent chemoselectivity using equivalent amounts of amines. The combination of acid and iodide has been identified as the essential factor to activate the amide C−N bond through electrophilic catalytic activation, enabling the production of new desired transamidated products with wide substrate scope of both unactivated amides and amines, including late‐stage functionalization of complex APIs (>80 examples). We anticipate that this powerful activation mode of unactivated amide bonds will find broad‐ranging applications in chemical synthesis.

     
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    The challenging transamidation of unactivated tertiary amides has been accomplished via cooperative acid/iodide catalysis. Most crucially, the method provides a novel manifold to re‐route the reactivity of unactivated N,N‐dialkyl amides through reactive acyl iodide intermediates, thus reverting the classical order of reactivity of carboxylic acid derivatives. This method provides a direct route to amide‐to‐amide bond interconversion with excellent chemoselectivity using equivalent amounts of amines. The combination of acid and iodide has been identified as the essential factor to activate the amide C−N bond through electrophilic catalytic activation, enabling the production of new desired transamidated products with wide substrate scope of both unactivated amides and amines, including late‐stage functionalization of complex APIs (>80 examples). We anticipate that this powerful activation mode of unactivated amide bonds will find broad‐ranging applications in chemical synthesis.

     
    more » « less
  3. null (Ed.)
    The formation of amide bonds represents one of the most fundamental processes in organic synthesis. Transition-metal-catalyzed activation of acyclic twisted amides has emerged as an increasingly powerful platform in synthesis. Herein, we report the transamidation of N-activated twisted amides by selective N–C(O) cleavage mediated by air- and moisture-stable half-sandwich Ni(II)–NHC (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbenes) complexes. We demonstrate that the readily available cyclopentadienyl complex, [CpNi(IPr)Cl] (IPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene), promotes highly selective transamidation of the N–C(O) bond in twisted N-Boc amides with non-nucleophilic anilines. The reaction provides access to secondary anilides via the non-conventional amide bond-forming pathway. Furthermore, the amidation of activated phenolic and unactivated methyl esters mediated by [CpNi(IPr)Cl] is reported. This study sets the stage for the broad utilization of well-defined, air- and moisture-stable Ni(II)–NHC complexes in catalytic amide bond-forming protocols by unconventional C(acyl)–N and C(acyl)–O bond cleavage reactions. 
    more » « less
  4. Abstract

    Although cross‐coupling reactions of amides by selective N−C cleavage are one of the most powerful and burgeoning areas in organic synthesis due to the ubiquity of amide bonds, the development of mechanochemical, solid‐state methods remains a major challenge. Herein, we report the first mechanochemical strategy for highly chemoselective, solvent‐free palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling of amides by N−C bond activation. The method is conducted in the absence of external heating, for short reaction time and shows excellent chemoselectivity for σ N−C bond activation. The reaction shows excellent functional group tolerance and can be applied to late‐stage functionalization of complex APIs and sequential orthogonal cross‐couplings exploiting double solventless solid‐state methods. The results extend mechanochemical reaction environments to advance the chemical repertoire of N−C bond interconversions to solid‐state environmentally friendly mechanochemical methods.

     
    more » « less
  5. Abstract

    Although cross‐coupling reactions of amides by selective N−C cleavage are one of the most powerful and burgeoning areas in organic synthesis due to the ubiquity of amide bonds, the development of mechanochemical, solid‐state methods remains a major challenge. Herein, we report the first mechanochemical strategy for highly chemoselective, solvent‐free palladium‐catalyzed cross‐coupling of amides by N−C bond activation. The method is conducted in the absence of external heating, for short reaction time and shows excellent chemoselectivity for σ N−C bond activation. The reaction shows excellent functional group tolerance and can be applied to late‐stage functionalization of complex APIs and sequential orthogonal cross‐couplings exploiting double solventless solid‐state methods. The results extend mechanochemical reaction environments to advance the chemical repertoire of N−C bond interconversions to solid‐state environmentally friendly mechanochemical methods.

     
    more » « less