Palladium(II) catalysts promote oxidative dehydrogenation and dehydrogenative coupling of many organic molecules. Oxidations of alcohols to aldehydes or ketones are prominent examples. Hydroquinone (H2Q) oxidation to benzoquinone (BQ) is conceptually related to alcohol oxidation, but it is significantly more challenging thermodynamically. The BQ/H2Q redox potential is sufficiently high that BQ is often used as an oxidant in Pd-catalyzed oxidation reactions. A recent report (J. Am. Chem. Soc.2020, 142, 19678–19688) showed that certain ancillary ligands can raise the PdII/0 redox potential sufficiently to reverse this reactivity, enabling (L)PdII(OAc)2 to oxidize hydroquinone to benzoquinone. Here, we investigate the oxidation of tert-butylhydroquinone (tBuH2Q) and 4-fluorobenzyl alcohol (4FBnOH), mediated by (bc)Pd(OAc)2 (bc = bathocuproine). Although alcohol oxidation is thermodynamically favored over H2Q oxidation by more than 400 mV, the oxidation of tBuH2Q proceeds several orders of magnitude faster than 4FBnOH oxidation. Kinetic and mechanistic studies reveal that these reactions feature different rate-limiting steps. Alcohol oxidation proceeds via rate-limiting β-hydride elimination from a PdII-alkoxide intermediate, while H2Q oxidation features rate-limiting isomerization from an O-to-C-bound PdII-hydroquinonate species. The enhanced rate of H2Q oxidation reflects the kinetic facility of O–H relative to C–H bond cleavage.
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Benzoquinone Cocatalyst Contributions to DAF/Pd(OAc) 2 -Catalyzed Aerobic Allylic Acetoxylation in the Absence and Presence of a Co(salophen) Cocatalyst
Palladium(II)-catalyzed allylic acetoxylation has been the focus of extensive development and investigation. Methods that use molecular oxygen (O2) as the terminal oxidant typically benefit from the use of benzoquinone (BQ) and a transition-metal (TM) cocatalyst, such as Co(salophen), to support oxidation of Pd0 during catalytic turnover. We previously showed that Pd(OAc)2 and 4,5-diazafluoren-9-one (DAF) as an ancillary ligand catalyze allylic oxidation with O2 in the absence of cocatalysts. Herein, we show that BQ enhances DAF/Pd(OAc)2 catalytic activity, nearly matching the performance of reactions that include both BQ and Co(salophen). These observations are complemented by mechanistic studies of DAF/Pd(OAc)2 catalyst systems under three different oxidation conditions: (1) O2 alone, (2) O2 with cocatalytic BQ, and (3) O2 with cocatalytic BQ and Co(salophen). The beneficial effect of BQ in the absence of Co(salophen) is traced to the synergistic roles of O2 and BQ, both of which are capable of oxidizing Pd0 to PdII. The reaction of O2 generates H2O2 as a byproduct, which can oxidize hydroquinone to quinone in the presence of PdII. NMR spectroscopic studies, however, show that hydroquinone is the predominant redox state of the quinone cocatalyst in the absence of Co(salophen), while inclusion of Co(salophen) maintains oxidized quinone throughout the reaction, resulting in better reaction performance.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1953926
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10228074
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ACS Catalysis
- Volume:
- 11
- ISSN:
- 2155-5435
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 6363 to 6370
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract The 1,4‐diacyloxylation of 1,3‐cyclohexadiene (CHD) affords valuable stereochemically defined scaffolds for natural product and pharmaceutical synthesis. Existing
cis ‐selective diacyloxylation protocols require superstoichiometric quantities of benzoquinone (BQ) or MnO2, which limit process sustainability and large‐scale application. In this report, reaction development and mechanistic studies are described that overcome these limitations by pairing catalytic BQ withtert ‐butyl hydroperoxide as the stoichiometric oxidant. Catalytic quantities of bromide enable a switch fromtrans tocis diastereoselectivity. A catalyst with a 1:2 Pd:Br ratio supports highcis selectivity while retaining good rate and product yield. Further studies enable replacement of BQ with hydroquinone (HQ) as a source of cocatalyst, avoiding the handling of volatile and toxic BQ in large‐scale applications. -
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Abstract The 1,4‐diacyloxylation of 1,3‐cyclohexadiene (CHD) affords valuable stereochemically defined scaffolds for natural product and pharmaceutical synthesis. Existing
cis ‐selective diacyloxylation protocols require superstoichiometric quantities of benzoquinone (BQ) or MnO2, which limit process sustainability and large‐scale application. In this report, reaction development and mechanistic studies are described that overcome these limitations by pairing catalytic BQ withtert ‐butyl hydroperoxide as the stoichiometric oxidant. Catalytic quantities of bromide enable a switch fromtrans tocis diastereoselectivity. A catalyst with a 1:2 Pd:Br ratio supports highcis selectivity while retaining good rate and product yield. Further studies enable replacement of BQ with hydroquinone (HQ) as a source of cocatalyst, avoiding the handling of volatile and toxic BQ in large‐scale applications. -
The two-electron and two-proton p -hydroquinone/ p -benzoquinone (H 2 Q/BQ) redox couple has mechanistic parallels to the function of ubiquinone in the electron transport chain. This proton-dependent redox behavior has shown applicability in catalytic aerobic oxidation reactions, redox flow batteries, and co-electrocatalytic oxygen reduction. Under nominally aprotic conditions in non-aqueous solvents, BQ can be reduced by up to two electrons in separate electrochemically reversible reactions. With weak acids (AH) at high concentrations, potential inversion can occur due to favorable hydrogen-bonding interactions with the intermediate monoanion [BQ(AH) m ]˙ − . The solvation shell created by these interactions can mediate a second one-electron reduction coupled to proton transfer at more positive potentials ([BQ(AH) m ]˙ − + n AH + e − ⇌ [HQ(AH) (m+n)−1 (A)] 2− ), resulting in an overall two electron reduction at a single potential at intermediate acid concentrations. Here we show that hydrogen-bonded adducts of reduced quinones and the proton donor 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFEOH) can mediate the transfer of electrons to a Mn-based complex during the electrocatalytic reduction of dioxygen (O 2 ). The Mn electrocatalyst is selective for H 2 O 2 with only TFEOH and O 2 present, however, with BQ present under sufficient concentrations of TFEOH, an electrogenerated [H 2 Q(AH) 3 (A) 2 ] 2− adduct (where AH = TFEOH) alters product selectivity to 96(±0.5)% H 2 O in a co-electrocatalytic fashion. These results suggest that hydrogen-bonded quinone anions can function in an analogous co-electrocatalytic manner to H 2 Q.more » « less
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.1c01074
