Regiospecific ortho-C-H Allylation of Benzoic Acids.

A carboxylate-directed ortho-C-H functionalization has been developed and it allows the regiospecific introduction of allyl residues to benzoic acids. In the presence of a [Ru(p-cymene)Cl2 ]2 and K3 PO4 , benzoic acids react with allyl acetates at only 50 °C to give the corresponding ortho-allylbenzoic acids. The protocol is generally applicable to both electron-rich and electron-poor benzoic acids in combination with linear and branched allyl acetates. The products can be further functionalized in situ, for example, by double-bond migration, lactonization, or decarboxylation.

Doubly Regioselective C-H Hydroarylation of Unsymmetrical Alkynes Using Carboxylates as Deciduous Directing Groups.

A catalyst system composed of [(C6Me6)RuCl2]2, potassium carbonate/guanidine carbonate, and mesitoic acid efficiently promotes the doubly regioselective C-H hydroarylation of unsymmetrical alkynes. The process involves carboxylate-directed ortho-C-H bond activation followed by regioselective addition to the alkyne C-C triple bond with concerted decarboxylation. This action of the carboxylate as a deciduous directing group ensures exclusive monovinylation with high selectivity for the (E)-1,2-diarylalkene.

ortho-C-H Arylation of Benzoic Acids with Aryl Bromides and Chlorides Catalyzed by Ruthenium.

A system consisting of catalytic amounts of [(p-cym)RuCl2 ]2 /PEt3 ⋅HBF4 , K2 CO3 as the base, and NMP as the solvent efficiently mediates the ortho-C-H arylation of benzoic acids with aryl bromides at 100 °C. Replacing the phosphine ligand with the amino acid dl-pipecolinic acid enables the analogous transformation with aryl chlorides. The key advantage of this broadly applicable transformation is the use of an inexpensive ruthenium catalyst in combination with simple carboxylates as directing groups, which can either be tracelessly removed or used as anchor points for decarboxylative ipso substitutions.

Regioselective C-H Hydroarylation of Internal Alkynes with Arenecarboxylates: Carboxylates as Deciduous Directing Groups.

In the presence of catalytic [Ru(p-cym)I2 ]2 and the base guanidine carbonate, benzoic acids react with internal alkynes to give the corresponding 2-vinylbenzoic acids. This alkyne hydroarylation is generally applicable to diversely substituted electron-rich and electron-poor benzoic and acrylic acids. Aryl(alkyl)acetylenes react regioselectively with formation of the alkyl-branched hydroarylation products, and propargylic alcohols are converted into γ-alkylidene-δ-lactones. The hydroarylation can also be conducted decarboxylatively with a different choice of catalyst and reaction conditions. This reaction variant, which does not proceed via intermediate formation of 2-vinylbenzoic acids, opens up a regioselective, waste-minimized synthetic entry to vinylarenes.

Catalytic Decarboxylative Cross-Coupling of Aryl Chlorides and Benzoates without Activating ortho Substituents.

The restriction of decarboxylative cross-coupling reactions to ortho-substituted or heterocyclic carboxylate substrates was overcome by holistic optimization of a bimetallic Cu/Pd catalyst system. The combination of a CuI/Me4 phen decarboxylation catalyst and a [(MeCN)4 Pd](OTf)2 /XPhos cross-coupling catalyst enables the synthesis of biaryls from inexpensive aryl chlorides and potassium benzoates regardless of their substitution pattern.

Ruthenium-catalyzed cross-dehydrogenative ortho-N-carbazolation of diarylamines: versatile access to unsymmetrical diamines.

The dehydrogenative C-N cross-coupling of unprotected, secondary anilines through ortho-N-carbazolation has been achieved using a Ru catalytic system with O2 as the terminal oxidant. The reactions proceed in an intermolecular fashion, selectively in the ortho position. Implications for the field of organic synthesis are discussed.