Terminal olefins to chromans, isochromans, and pyrans via allylic C-H oxidation.

The synthesis of chroman, isochroman, and pyran motifs has been accomplished via a combination of Pd(II)/bis-sulfoxide C-H activation and Lewis acid co-catalysis. A wide range of alcohols are found to be competent nucleophiles for the transformation under uniform conditions (catalyst, solvent, temperature). Mechanistic studies suggest that the reaction proceeds via initial C-H activation followed by a novel inner-sphere functionalization pathway. Consistent with this, the reaction shows reactivity trends orthogonal to those of traditional Pd(0)-catalyzed allylic substitutions.

Diversification of a ß-Lactam Pharmacophore via Allylic C-H Amination: Accelerating Effect of Lewis Acid Co-Catalyst.

This report describes the use of Pd(II)/bis-sulfoxide 1 catalyzed intra- and intermolecular allylic C-H amination reactions to rapidly diversify structures containing a sensitive ß-lactam core similar to that found in the monobactam antibiotic Aztreonam. Pharmacologically interesting oxazolidinone, oxazinanone, and linear amine motifs are rapidly installed with predictable and high selectivities under conditions that use limiting amounts of substrate. Additionally, we demonstrate for the first time that intramolecular C-H amination processes may be accelerated using catalytic amounts of a Lewis acid co-catalyst [Cr(III)(salen)Cl 2].

Allylic C-H amination for the preparation of syn-1,3-amino alcohol motifs.

A highly selective and general Pd/sulfoxide-catalyzed allylic C-H amination reaction en route to syn-1,3-amino alcohol motifs is reported. Key to achieving this reactivity under mild conditions is the use of electron-deficient N-nosyl carbamate nucleophiles that are thought to promote functionalization by furnishing higher concentrations of anionic species in situ. The reaction is shown to be orthogonal to classical C-C bond-forming/-reduction sequences as well as nitrene-based C-H amination methods.