Atom-Economical Synthesis of N-Arylamides Utilizing Isopropenyl Esters with Heterogeneous Acid Catalysts.

Existing methods for the catalytic synthesis of N-arylamides are limited by a narrow substrate scope, high catalyst costs, and complicated purification processes of products. To overcome these limitations, this study developed an ecofriendly method for the synthesis of N-arylamides using isopropenyl esters. Isopropenyl esters activated using heterogeneous acid catalysts reacted smoothly even with less reactive arylamines to afford N-arylamides in high yields. This method exhibits a wide substrate scope and is applicable for the synthesis of various N-arylamides (33 examples, 46-99% yield). The developed method enabled the obtainment of high-purity products with a facile workup procedure and showed excellent process mass intensity values due to the reduction of chemical waste.

Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Allyl-Aryl Cross-Electrophile Coupling via Allylic C-F Bond Activation.

Nickel-catalyzed reductive cross-coupling of allylic difluorides with aryl iodides was achieved via allylic C-F bond activation. Based on this protocol, a series of γ-arylated monofluoroalkenes were synthesized in moderate to high yields with high Z-selectivities. Mechanistic studies suggest that the C-I bonds of the aryl iodides and the C-F bonds of the allylic difluorides were cleaved via oxidative addition and ß-fluorine elimination, respectively, where the oxidative addition of less reactive C-F bonds was avoided to permit their transformation.

Stereoretentive N-Arylation of Amino Acid Esters with Cyclohexanones Utilizing a Continuous-Flow System.

The N-arylation of chiral amino acid esters with minimal racemization is a challenging transformation because of the sensitivity of the α-stereocenter. A versatile synthetic method was developed to prepare N-arylated amino acid esters using cyclohexanones as aryl sources under continuous-flow conditions. The designed flow system, which consists of a coil reactor and a packed-bed reactor containing a Pd(OH)2 /C catalyst, efficiently afforded the desired N-arylated amino acids without significant racemization, accompanied by only small amounts of easily removable co-products (i. e., H2 O and alkanes). The efficiency and robustness of this method allowed for the continuous synthesis of the desired product in very high yield and enantiopurity with high space-time yield (74.1 g L-1 h-1 ) and turnover frequency (5.9 h-1 ) for at least 3 days.

Continuous Synthesis of Aryl Amines from Phenols Utilizing Integrated Packed-Bed Flow Systems.

Aryl amines are important pharmaceutical intermediates among other numerous applications. Herein, an environmentally benign route and novel approach to aryl amine synthesis using dehydrative amination of phenols with amines and styrene under continuous-flow conditions was developed. Inexpensive and readily available phenols were efficiently converted into the corresponding aryl amines, with small amounts of easily removable co-products (i.e., H2 O and alkanes), in multistep continuous-flow reactors in the presence of heterogeneous Pd catalysts. The high product selectivity and functional-group tolerance of this method allowed aryl amines with diverse functional groups to be selectively obtained in high yields over a continuous operation time of one week.

Platform for Ring-Fluorinated Benzoheterole Derivatives: Palladium-Catalyzed Regioselective 1,1-Difluoroallylation and Heck Cyclization.

The synthesis of difluoromethylene-containing heterocycles was achieved via the palladium-catalyzed 1,1-difluoroallylation of heteronucleophiles followed by intramolecular Heck reaction. The allylic substitution of 3-bromo-3,3-difluoropropene was regioselectively accomplished by heteronucleophiles without rearrangement to give the corresponding 1,1-difluoroallylated compounds whose Heck cyclization proceeded in a 5-exo manner to afford ring-difluorinated indolines and dihydrobenzofurans. Their defluorinative allylic substitution further provided 2-fluoroindoles and 2-fluorobenzofurans.

Catalytic defluorinative [3 + 2] cycloaddition of trifluoromethylalkenes with alkynes via reduction of nickel(II) fluoride species.

Nickel-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition of 2-trifluoromethyl-1-alkenes with alkynes via domino C-F bond activation was achieved by sequential ß-fluorine elimination. The nickel(ii) fluoride species formed in this reaction was reduced by a diboron compound, regenerating the catalytically active nickel(0) species.

Ni-Catalyzed Synthesis of Fluoroarenes via [2+2+2] Cycloaddition Involving α-Fluorine Elimination.

A method for direct synthesis of tetrasubstituted fluoroarenes via nickel-catalyzed [2+2+2] cycloaddition is presented. The reaction combines one molecule of 1,1-difluoroethylene with two molecules of alkynes and involves sequential cleavage of the C-F and C-H bonds in difluoroethylene. The catalytic cycle is established by reduction of the intermediary Ni(II) fluoride with a triethylborane-based borate.

Double C-F bond activation through ß-fluorine elimination: nickel-mediated [3+2] cycloaddition of 2-trifluoromethyl-1-alkenes with alkynes.

The nickel-mediated [3+2] cycloaddition of 2-trifluoromethyl-1-alkenes with alkynes afforded fluorine-containing multi-substituted cyclopentadienes in a regioselective manner. This reaction involves the consecutive two C-F bond cleavage of a trifluoromethyl or a pentafluoroethyl group through ß-fluorine elimination.