A Well-Defined Ni Pincer Catalyst for Cross Coupling of Non-Activated Alkyl Halides and Direct C-H Alkylation

Carbon-carbon bond forming reactions are among the most important and useful methods for organic synthesis. During the last years, significant progress has been made in this field. Whereas many catalysts were developed for the coupling of aryl, alkenyl, and alkynyl halides, non-activated alkyl halides remain challenging substrates, mainly due to unproductive β-hydride elimination and difficulty in oxidative addition of alkyl halides. This dissertation is devoted to the development of a well-defined nickel catalyst for cross coupling of non-activated alkyl halides and direct alkylation of C–H bonds. Chapter 2 describes the synthesis of a new pincer MeN2N ligand and its Ni complexes. This ligand can be obtained by Pd-catalyzed C–N coupling of 2-amino-N,N-dimethylaniline and 2-bromo-N,N-dimethylaniline. Reaction of its Li salt with Ni(dme)Cl2 gives [(MeN2N)Ni-Cl] (1). Complex 1 can be akylated with Grignard reagents to give [(MeN2N)Ni-Alkyl] species. Stability of the alkyl complexes against β-hydride elimination inspired us to use the [(MeN2N)Ni-Cl] complex as a catalyst for cross coupling of carbon nucleophiles with alkyl halides. After investigating different experimental conditions, we found that complex 1 is an active catalyst for cross coupling of non-activated alkyl polyhalides (Chapter 3) and alkyl monohalides (Chapter 4) with alkyl Grignard reagents. The reaction with alkyl monohalides can be done at -35 °C in DMA and only 30min is required to accomplish the formation of the desired products. The high activity of the catalyst resulted in a high group tolerance. Ester, ketone, amide, nitrile, heterocyclic, and acetal groups didn't pose problems. In Chapter 5, the catalysis was extended to include aryl and heteroaryl Grignard reagents as nucleophiles. The best results were obtained with primary alkyl bromides and iodides and cyclic secondary alkyl iodides in THF and at room temperature. Addition of an additive such as TMEDA or bis[2-(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl)]ether (O-TMEDA) was necessary to prevent the formation of undesired homocoupling products. Functionalized Grignard reagents could be readily coupled. The [(MeN2N)Ni-Cl] catalyst was then used for the Sonogashira coupling of alkyl halides with alkynes (Chapter 6). A wide range of functionalized alkyl halides could be used for this reaction. Not only alkyl iodides and bromides but also alkyl chlorides can be used. Moreover, by changing reaction conditions (additive and temperature), selective coupling of C–Br bond in the presence of C–Cl bond, and of C–I bond in the presence of both C–Br and C–Cl bonds can be achieved. This feature allowed us to carry out multiple and selective Sonogashira coupling of the substrates containing different alkyl halide bonds. We could combine Sonogashira coupling with Kumada-Corriu-Tamao coupling. Utilization of these two methods leads to a simple and rapid synthesis of organic molecules. Similar conditions were then applied for the direct alkylation of aromatic heterocycles in Chapter 7. Aromatic heterocyclic compounds are widely used as bio-active molecules, pharmaceuticals, and organic materials. Direct C–H functionalization represents the most straightforward way for the derivatization of these compounds. Despite of the developments during the last years, direct alkylation of C–H bond with alkyl halides is still challenging. Utilization of our [(MeN2N)Ni-Cl] catalyst gives the desired products in high yields and a wide range of aromatic heterocyclic compounds can be used for the reaction. The well-defined nature and a high stability of [(MeN2N)Ni-Cl] complex and its derivatives enabled us to perform detailed mechanistic investigations of the catalytic transformations. Presumed intermediates of catalytic cycles were determined and some of them were synthesized or separated from the reaction mixture. The resting states of the catalysts were also defined in most of the cases, giving important information for the mechanistic elucidation. In the last part (Chapter 8) we developed a direct C–H carboxylation chemistry for aromatic heterocycles. The carboxylation can be done under catalyst-free conditions and with a mild base Cs2CO3. The unstable carboxylic acids were converted to the more stable esters by a one-pot reaction with MeI. A wide substrate scope was achieved.