Direct Synthesis of Tri-/Difluoromethyl Ketones from Carboxylic Acids by Cross-Coupling with Acyloxyphosphonium Ions.

A simple and straightforward approach to the synthesis of trifluoromethyl and difluoromethyl ketones from widely available carboxylic acids is disclosed. The transformation utilizes an acyloxyphosphonium ion as the active electrophile, conveniently generated in situ from the carboxylic acid substrate by using commodity chemicals. The utility of the reaction system is exemplified by its chemoselectivity, with tolerance to a variety of important functional groups. The late-stage functionalization of carboxylic acid active pharmaceutical ingredients and pharmaceutically relevant compounds is also discussed.

Direct Access to Acyl Fluorides from Carboxylic Acids Using a Phosphine/Fluoride Deoxyfluorination Reagent System.

A fast and simple method for deoxyfluorination of carboxylic acids is presented. The protocol employs commodity chemicals (PPh3, NBS, fluoride), affording products in excellent yields under mild conditions. Acyloxyphosphonium ion, the key reaction intermediate, was identified by NMR spectroscopic methods. Brønsted acidic conditions are essential for efficient C-F bond formation. The protocol displays scalability, high functional group tolerance, chemoselectivity, and easy purification of products. Deoxyfluorination of active pharmaceutical ingredients was established.

Mechanistic Insights into Ruthenium-Pincer-Catalyzed Amine-Assisted Homogeneous Hydrogenation of CO2 to Methanol.

Amine-assisted homogeneous hydrogenation of CO2 to methanol is one of the most effective approaches to integrate CO2 capture with its subsequent conversion to CH3OH. The hydrogenation typically proceeds in two steps. In the first step the amine is formylated via an in situ formed alkylammonium formate salt (with consumption of 1 equiv of H2). In the second step the generated formamide is further hydrogenated with 2 more equiv of H2 to CH3OH while regenerating the amine. In the present study, we investigated the effect of molecular structure of the ruthenium pincer catalysts and the amines that are critical for a high methanol yield. Surprisingly, despite the high reactivity of several Ru pincer complexes [RuHClPNP R(CO)] (R = Ph/ i-Pr/Cy/ t-Bu) for both amine formylation and formamide hydrogenation, only catalyst Ru-Macho (R = Ph) provided a high methanol yield after both steps were performed simultaneously in one pot. Among various amines, only (di/poly)amines were effective in assisting Ru-Macho for methanol formation. A catalyst deactivation pathway was identified, involving the formation of ruthenium biscarbonyl monohydride cationic complexes [RuHPNP R(CO)2]+, whose structures were unambiguously characterized and whose reactivities were studied. These reactivities were found to be ligand-dependent, and a trend could be established. With Ru-Macho, the biscarbonyl species could be converted back to the active species through CO dissociation under the reaction conditions. The Ru-Macho biscarbonyl complex was therefore able to catalyze the hydrogenation of in situ formed formamides to methanol. Complex Ru-Macho-BH was also highly effective for this conversion and remained active even after 10 days of continuous reaction, achieving a maximum turnover number (TON) of 9900.

C(sp2)-H Trifluoromethylation of enamides using TMSCF3: access to trifluoromethylated isoindolinones, isoquinolinones, 2-pyridinones and other heterocycles.

A method for the direct C(sp2)-H trifluoromethylation of enamides, including biologically relevant isoindolinones, isoquinolinones and 2-pyridinones using TMSCF3 under oxidative conditions is presented. The protocol is convenient, operationally simple and exhibits high tolerance across a multitude of relevant handles and functional groups.

Direct Difluorination-Hydroxylation, Trifluorination, and C(sp2)-H Fluorination of Enamides.

A direct double functionalization involving both difluorination and hydroxylation of enamides is reported. With the appropriate combination of an electrophilic fluorinating reagent and H2O, the most convenient and ecofriendly hydroxylating agent, the preparation of 3-(difluoroalkyl)-3-hydroxyisoindolin-1-ones was achieved under basic or Brønsted acidic conditions. Suitable conditions for trifluorination as well as C(sp2)-H fluorination were also identified. Subsequent asymmetric functionalization of the obtained gem-difluorinated products has also been demonstrated.

Synthesis of 3-substituted isoindolin-1-ones via a tandem desilylation, cross-coupling, hydroamidation sequence under aqueous phase-transfer conditions.

A simple and expedient method for the synthesis of 3-methylene-isoindolin-1-ones 4 under aqueous phase-transfer conditions has been developed. Starting from 2-iodobenzamides 1 and (silyl)alkynes, the products are obtained in high yields and short reaction times (30 min) with the use of inexpensive CuCl/PPh3 catalyst system in the presence of n-Bu4NBr (TBAB) as a phase-transfer agent. Terminal alkynes are conveniently "unmasked" upon in situ desilylation under the reaction conditions. Alkynes possessing heterocyclic moieties were also found as amenable substrates. Furthermore, a one-pot process starting from 2-iodobenzamides 1, aryl halides (bromides or iodides) and trimethylsilylacetylene (TMSA) as a convenient acetylene surrogate was also shown to be feasible under Pd/Cu catalysis.

Lewis Acid Catalyzed Condensation-Cyclization Cascade: Direct Synthesis of Di/Trifluoromethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinazolines.

Condensed heterocycles such as quinazolines constitute the framework of many promising drugs. The great impact of the dramatic fluorine effect in pharmaceuticals prompted a great surge in the quest for fluorinated drug design resulting in over 20 % fluorine-containing drugs in the market today. Therefore, finding an efficient and cost-effective method for the direct synthesis of fluorine-tagged quinazoline systems is of great significance in the pharmaceutical arena. For the first time, a one-pot sequential condensation-cyclization reaction to form selectively the difluoro/trifluoromethylated tetrahydroquinazolines from simple components difluoro/trifluoroacetaldehyde hemiacetal and aromatic amines is reported. Our recent studies using difluoro/trifluoroacetaldehyde hemiacetal as simple and elegant difluoro/trifluoromethyl synthons and metal triflates such as gallium triflate as safe and stable Lewis acid catalysts led us to this direct synthesis protocol for the expedient and convenient synthesis of fluorinated quinazolines. DFT calculations at PCM/B3LYP/6-31++G** were carried out for evaluating a possible reaction mechanism for this cyclization. According to the DFT calculations, product stereochemistry is thermodynamically driven, favoring the cis isomer as the major product, which is also confirmed experimentally.

Unique reactivity of fluorinated molecules with transition metals.

Organofluorine and organometallic chemistry by themselves constitute two potent areas in organic synthesis. Thus, the combination of both offers many chemical possibilities and represents a powerful tool for the design and development of new synthetic methodologies leading to diverse molecular structures in an efficient manner. Given the importance of the selective introduction of fluorine atoms into organic molecules and the effectiveness of transition metals in C-C and C-heteroatom bond formation, this review represents an interesting read for this aim.

Nucleophilic trifluoromethylation of carbonyl compounds: trifluoroacetaldehyde hydrate as a trifluoromethyl source.

A feasible nucleophilic trifluoromethylating protocol has been developed using trifluoroacetaldehyde hydrate as an atom-economical trifluoromethyl source. The reaction was found to be applicable to the nucleophilic trifluoromethylation of a broad spectrum of carbonyl compounds with satisfactory yields in general. DFT calculations have been performed to provide mechanistic insight into the present and related reactions employing 2,2,2-trifluoro-1-methoxyethanol and hexafluoroacetone hydrate.