Kinetics and Mechanism of Azole n-π*-Catalyzed Amine Acylation.

Azole anions are highly competent in the activation of weak acyl donors, but, unlike neutral (aprotic) Lewis bases, are not yet widely applied as acylation catalysts. Using a combination of in situ and stopped-flow 1H/19F NMR spectroscopy, kinetics, isotopic labeling, 1H DOSY, and electronic structure calculations, we have investigated azole-catalyzed aminolysis of p-fluorophenyl acetate. The global kinetics have been elucidated under four sets of conditions, and the key elementary steps underpinning catalysis deconvoluted using a range of intermediates and transition state probes. While all evidence points to an overarching mechanism involving n-π* catalysis via N-acylated azole intermediates, a diverse array of kinetic regimes emerges from this framework. Even seemingly minor changes to the solvent, auxiliary base, or azole catalyst can elicit profound changes in the temporal evolution, thermal sensitivity, and progressive inhibition of catalysis. These observations can only be rationalized by taking a holistic view of the mechanism and a set of limiting regimes for the kinetics. Overall, the analysis of 18 azole catalysts spanning nearly 10 orders of magnitude in acidity highlights the pitfall of pursuing ever more nucleophilic catalysts without regard for catalyst speciation.

Taming Ambident Triazole Anions: Regioselective Ion Pairing Catalyzes Direct N-Alkylation with Atypical Regioselectivity.

Controlling the regioselectivity of ambident nucleophiles toward alkylating agents is a fundamental problem in heterocyclic chemistry. Unsubstituted triazoles are particularly challenging, often requiring inefficient stepwise protection-deprotection strategies and prefunctionalization protocols. Herein we report on the alkylation of archetypal ambident 1,2,4-triazole, 1,2,3-triazole, and their anions, analyzed by in situ 1H/19F NMR, kinetic modeling, diffusion-ordered NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, highly correlated coupled-cluster computations [CCSD(T)-F12, DF-LCCSD(T)-F12, DLPNO-CCSD(T)], and Marcus theory. The resulting mechanistic insights allow design of an organocatalytic methodology for ambident control in the direct N-alkylation of unsubstituted triazole anions. Amidinium and guanidinium receptors are shown to act as strongly coordinating phase-transfer organocatalysts, shuttling triazolate anions into solution. The intimate ion pairs formed in solution retain the reactivity of liberated triazole anions but, by virtue of highly regioselective ion pairing, exhibit alkylation selectivities that are completely inverted (1,2,4-triazole) or substantially enhanced (1,2,3-triazole) compared to the parent anions. The methodology allows direct access to 4-alkyl-1,2,4-triazoles ( rr up to 94:6) and 1-alkyl-1,2,3-triazoles ( rr up to 99:1) in one step. Regioselective ion pairing acts in effect as a noncovalent in situ protection mechanism, a concept that may have broader application in the control of ambident systems.

Simple mixed Fe-Zn catalysts for the Suzuki couplings of tetraarylborates with benzyl halides and 2-halopyridines.

Employing co-catalytic zinc reagents facilitates the iron-catalysed Suzuki cross-coupling of tetraarylborates with both benzyl and 2-heteroaryl halides.