Direct Wittig Olefination of Alcohols.

A base-promoted transition metal-free approach to substituted alkenes using alcohols under aerobic conditions using air as the inexpensive and clean oxidant is described. Aldehydes are relatively difficult to handle compared to corresponding alcohols due to their volatility and penchant to polymerize and autoxidize. Wittig ylides are easily oxidized to aldehydes and consequently form homo-olefination products. By the strategy of simultaneously in situ generation of ylides and aldehydes, for the first time, alcohols are directly transferred to olefins with no need of prepreparation of either aldehydes or ylides. Thus, the di/monocontrollable olefination of diols is accomplished. This synthetically practical method has been applied in the gram-scale synthesis of pharmaceuticals, such as DMU-212 and resveratrol from alcohols.

Iridium-Catalyzed Cyclization of Isoxazolines and Alkenes: Divergent Access to Pyrrolidines, Pyrroles, and Carbazoles.

A heterogeneous iridium-complex-catalyzed N-O-cleaving rearrangement/cyclization of 2,3-dihydroisoxazoles with alkenes has been developed. It provides divergent access to multiple substituted pyrrolidines, pyrroles, and carbazoles. The iridium catalyst remains highly catalytic active after seven cycles. The gram-scale synthesis afforded a carbazole with strong bluish-violet fluorescence.