skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: DFT Case Study of the Mechanism of a Metal-Free Oxygen Atom Insertion into a p -Quinone Methide C(sp 3 )–C(sp 2 ) Bond
Award ID(s):
1800510
PAR ID:
10184715
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The Journal of Organic Chemistry
Volume:
85
Issue:
15
ISSN:
0022-3263
Page Range / eLocation ID:
10110 to 10117
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract Aryl tosylates are an attractive class of electrophiles for cross‐coupling reactions due to ease of synthesis, low price, and the employment of C−O electrophiles, however, the reactivity of aryl tosylates is low. Herein, we report the Ni‐catalyzed C(sp2)−C(sp3) Kumada cross‐coupling of aryl tosylates with primary and secondary alkyl Grignard reagents. The method delivers valuable alkyl arenes by cross‐coupling with challenging alkyl organometallics possessing β‐hydrogens that are prone to β‐hydride elimination and homo‐coupling. The reaction is catalyzed by an air‐ and moisture stable‐Ni(II) precatalyst. A broad range of electronically‐varied aryl tosylates, including bis‐tosylates, underwent this transformation, and many examples are suitable at mild room temperature conditions. The combination of Ar−X cross‐coupling with the facile Ar−OH activation/cross‐coupling strategy permits for orthogonal cross‐coupling with challenging alkyl organometallics. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the method operates with TON reaching 2000, which is one of the highest turnovers observed to date in Ni‐catalyzed cross‐couplings. magnified image 
    more » « less
  2. Abstract Photochemical C−C coupling reactions can be tailored to industrial chemical processes and preparations of pharmaceuticals. Recent approaches in this area are limited to using precious transition metal coordination complexes that facilitate light absorption and redox processes with benchtop chemicals. Herein, we propose a paradigm that involves all‐in‐one organo‐photo‐auxiliaries,thio‐heteroarenes, which exhibit unique photophysical properties. Thesethio‐heteroarenes were employed to prepare several all‐in‐one ionic photo‐salts from commercially available alkyl/benzyl and heterocyclic halides via aromaticity‐mediated nucleophilic substitution reactions. From the library of >30 salts, we performed on‐demand photochemical C−C coupling reactions to isolate numerous symmetrical and unsymmetrical diary/alkyl‐ethanes with yields up to 84% and mass balance as high as 96%. We also investigated the influence of structural features/properties on the outcomes of the photochemical C−C coupling reactions. The current photochemical C−C method was successful in the isolation of >30 photoproducts, including the natural product Brittonin A, a precursor of Imipramine, and derivatives of the bioactive Honokiol Analogues. Furthermore, transient absorption spectroscopy and time‐dependent density functional theory calculations were used to decipher the nature of light‐promoted electronic transitions. 
    more » « less
  3. A unique C(sp 3 )–H/C(sp 3 )–H dehydrocoupling of N -benzylimines with saturated heterocycles is described. Using super electron donor (SED) 2-azaallyl anions and aryl iodides as electron acceptors, single-electron-transfer (SET) generates an aryl radical. Hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) from saturated heterocycles or toluenes to the aryl radical generates alkyl radicals or benzylic radicals, respectively. The newly formed alkyl radicals and benzylic radicals couple with the 2-azaallyl radicals with formation of new C–C bonds. Experimental evidence supports the key hydrogen-abstraction by the aryl radical, which determines the chemoselectivity of the radical–radical coupling reaction. It is noteworthy that this procedure avoids the use of traditional strong oxidants and transition metals. 
    more » « less