Annulation of Hydrazones and Alkynes via Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Dual C-H Activation: Synthesis of Pyrrolopyridazines and Azolopyridazines.

Hydrazones readily synthesized from N-aminopyrroles or N-aminoazoles and aldehydes undergo Rh(III)-catalyzed dual C-H activation and coupling with aryl- and alkyl-substituted alkynes to give pyrrolopyridazines or azolopyridazines, respectively. This transformation represents a rare example of hydrazoyl C-H activation and proceeds without heteroatom functionality to direct C-H activation. Hydrazones derived from aromatic, alkenyl, and aliphatic aldehydes were effective inputs, and tethering the alkyne to the hydrazone enabled annulations to more complex, tricyclic products.

Three-Component Coupling of Aldehydes, Aminopyrazoles, and Sulfoxonium Ylides via Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed Imidoyl C-H Activation: Synthesis of Pyrazolo[1,5- a]pyrimidines.

An efficient, three-component strategy for Rh(III)-catalyzed annulation of readily available 3-aminopyrazoles, aldehydes, and sulfoxonium ylides to give diverse pyrazolo[1,5- a]pyrimidines is disclosed. The reactions were performed under straightforward benchtop conditions using microwave heating with short reaction times. Good yields were obtained for many substituted aminopyrazoles and a very large variety of aromatic and heteroaromatic aldehydes, including those incorporating electron-withdrawing, electron-donating, basic nitrogen, halide and acidic functionality. Ester and methoxy functionalities could also be directly installed on the pyrimidine ring by employing ethyl glyoxylate and trimethyl orthoformate in place of the aldehyde, respectively. In addition, a range of sulfoxonium ylides provided products in good yields to establish that aryl, heteroaryl, and branched and unbranched alkyl substituents can be introduced with this reagent. Finally, the first use of a formyl sulfoxonium ylide in a chemical transformation enabled the preparation of products with only a single substituent on the pyrimidine ring as introduced by the aldehyde coupling partner. For the formyl ylide, a one-pot, stepwise reaction sequence was used to prevent competitive condensation of the formyl group with the aminopyrazole.