Enantioselective C(sp(3))-C(sp(3)) cross-coupling of non-activated alkyl electrophiles via nickel hydride catalysis

Cross-coupling of two alkyl fragments is an efficient method to produce organic molecules rich in sp(3)-hybridized carbon centres, which are attractive candidate compounds in drug discovery. Enantioselective C(sp(3))-C(sp(3)) coupling is challenging, especially of alkyl electrophiles without an activating group (aryl, vinyl, carbonyl). Here, we report a strategy based on nickel hydride addition to internal olefins followed by nickel-catalysed alkyl-alkyl coupling. This strategy enables the enantioselective cross-coupling of non-activated alkyl halides with alkenyl boronates to produce chiral alkyl boronates. Employing readily available and stable olefins as pro-chiral nucleophiles, the coupling proceeds under mild conditions and exhibits broad scope and high functional-group tolerance. Applications for the functionalization of natural products and drug molecules, as well as the synthesis of chiral building blocks and a key intermediate to (S)-(+)-pregabalin, are demonstrated. Methods for producing organic molecules rich in sp(3)-hybridized carbon centres can be particularly useful for drug development. Now, it has been shown that the enantioselective cross-coupling of non-activated alkyl halides with alkenyl boronates enables the synthesis of chiral alkyl boronates. The reaction proceeds via nickel hydride insertion into an internal alkene followed by nickel-catalysed alkyl-alkyl cross-coupling.

Stereoselective synthesis of alkenes via base-metal-catalyzed addition reactions to alkynes and activation of hydrogen peroxide and carbon dioxide by iron complexes

Fedor Zhurkin

Alkene functionality can be found in the majority of natural products, drugs, catalysts and organic materials. Therefore, methods of C-C double bond formation constitute a cornerstone of organic synthesis. Selective formation of either (Z)- or (E)-isomer is especially desirable. 1,2-Addition to alkynes unites a large arsenal of methods of C-C double bond formation, among which the addition of carbon-centered species is the most interesting, since it offers a possibility of construction of the carbon skeleton. The first part of the present dissertation is devoted to the development of methods of selective addition of carbon reagents to alkynes. Chapter 1 reviews the existing methods of addition of carbon-centered species, generated from organometallic reagents, organic halides or carbonyl compounds to C-C triple bond with the accent on their stereoselectivity. Carbometalative mechanisms lay in the background of the majority of the reactions in this chemistry. The Z/E selectivity of 1,2-addition to triple bond can be controlled via predominance of either syn- or anti-addition or via Z/E isomerization of the addition intermediates. In Chapter 2 a novel method of disubstituted alkene synthesis via reductive addition of alkyl halides to terminal arylalkynes is described. The remarkable feature of this method is highly selective formation of (Z)-alkenes (generally Z/E > 10:1). Minor modifications of the reducing agent allowed the extension of the substrate scope to the primary alkyl iodides. Mechanistic studies revealed that this reaction proceeds as a formal anti-carbozincation. The resulting organozinc species form disubstituted (Z)-alkenes upon aqueous work-up. On the other hand, it would be interesting to utilize these species in cross-coupling reactions to allow the selective synthesis of trisubstituted alkenes. In Chapter 3 a catalytic system for highly regioselective copper-catalyzed allylation of these reagents is described. In Chapter 4 the results on stereoselective intermolecular addition of aldehydes and ketones to alkynes in the presence of zinc and trimethylchlorosilane are summarized. This reaction gives 1-chloro-1,3-dienes as products. The activation of small molecules has become an increasingly attractive area of research over the last years. In Chapter 5 an outline is given of the literature examples of small-molecule activation, namely activation of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide, by iron complexes. In Chapter 6 the studies on small-molecule activation by iron-sulfur cubane clusters are presented. Electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide and hydrogenation of alkenes were studied. As an additional result, synthesis and characterization of an unprecedented organic iron(I) ate-complex is reported. Structural modification of a non-heme iron complex with hydrogen-bond-donating substituents is described in Chapter 7. The deep impact of these modifications on the structure and reactivity of the resulting complex is discussed.

EPFL2017

Synthesis of Alkynylated Heterocycles by Direct C-H Alkynylation or Domino Alkynylation Reactions

Yifan Li

Heterocycles are important compounds in organic chemistry. To introduce functional groups on heterocycles or synthesize functionalized heterocycles stays a hot topic of research. Among all the functional groups, alkynes attracted a lot of attention not only because of their occurrence in organic compounds, like synthetic pharmaceuticals, natural products and organic materials, but also because of their versatile chemistry, such as metal catalyzed cyclization and [3+2] annulation reactions. Therefore, it is of great importance to introduce alkynes on heterocycles or synthesize alkynylated heterocycles in an efficient and regioselective manner. The Sonogashira reaction has dominated the introduction of alkynes on heterocycles. Even though the method is well established, there are several shortcomings such as stoichiometric waste production and poor stability or accessibility of the starting materials. To introduce alkynes on heterocycles in an efficient fashion, direct C-H alkynylation has been intensiely investigated as an alternative in the last decades. Based on the previous work in our group, direct C-H alkynylation was extended to access C2- alkynylated furans using a gold catalyst and triisopropylsilyl ethynyl benziodoxolone (TIPS-EBX). For less nucleophilic substrates like benzofurans, the use of Zn(OTf)2 was necessary to activate the EBX reagent. Although direct C-H alkynylation provides a straightforward way to access alkynylated heterocycles, it is limited to the inherently more reactive positions such as the C2 position of five-membered heterocycles or the heterocyclic ring of benzofused heterocycles. It is therefore challenging to find pathways to obtain heterocycles functionalized at other positions. Domino reactions could provide a solution to this challenge, as the metal-carbon bond could be installed on positions different from the ones obtained via a direct metallation approach. Based on this concept, unprecedented cyclization-alkynylation domino reactions were developed to access alkynylated heterocycles. Starting from easily prepared allenic ketones or ortho- ethynylated phenols or thioanisoles, C3 alkynylated furans, benzofurans and benzothiophenes can be rapidly accessed. This is a breakthrough as it allows for the introduction of alkynes on less nucleophilic positions. These products are difficult to obtain via direct C-H alkynylation as it occurred exclusively on C2 position of furans, benzofurans and benzothiophenes. Nevertheless, this approach was still limited to more reactive heterocycles. We then turned our efforts to develop domino reactions to functionalize the less reactive benzene ring. We found that with C2 or C3-substituted pyrroles as starting materials, C5 or C6 alkynylated indoles can be easily formed when combining a platinum catalyst with a bistrifluoromethyl benziodoxole reagent. In summary, a series of alkynylated heterocycles were obtained via direct alkynylation or domino reactions combining hypervalent iodine reagents and metal catalysts. This discovery is expected to find broad application to access diverse alkynylated heterocycles. It also set the bases for the development of new domino processes with different metal catalysts and electrophilic reagents in the future.

EPFL2016

Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of non-activated alkyl halides catalyzed by well-defined nickel pincer complexes

Thomas Clément Di Franco

Metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are powerful and widespread methods for the carbon-carbon bond formation. Among the electrophile partners, non-activated alkyl halides remain challenging substrates because of their reluctance towards oxidative addition and their tendency to undergo the competitive ß-hydride elimination reaction. Due to the stability, availability and low toxicity of boron reagents, the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction is one of the most advantageous cross-coupling reaction. This dissertation is devoted to the development of Ni-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura reactions of non-activated alkyl halides. Chapter 2 describes the alkyl¿alkyl and alkyl¿aryl Suzuki¿Miyaura reactions of unactivated alkyl halides catalyzed by a well-defined pincer complex, Nickamine (1). The coupling of 9-alkyl-9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane and 9-phenyl-9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane (9-BBN) reagents with primary alkyl halides was achieved in modest to good yields. The reactions tolerated a variety of useful functional groups including ester, ether, furan, thioether and acetal. Reaction attempts with other boron reagents are also presented. In chapter 3, the first Ni-catalyzed Suzuki¿Miyaura coupling of alkyl halides with alkenyl-(9-BBN) reagents is reported. Both primary and secondary alkyl halides including alkyl chlorides can be coupled. The coupling method can be combined with hydroboration of terminal alkynes, allowing the expedited synthesis of functionalized alkyl alkenes from readily available alkynes with complete (E)-selectivity in one-pot. The method was successfully applied to the total synthesis of (±)-Recifeiolide, a natural macrolide. Replacement of a dimethyl amino group of the amidobis(amine) nickel(II) pincer complex (1), [(MeN2N)Ni¿Cl], by a pyrrolidino group resulted in a new nickel(II) pincer complex (2), [(PyrNMeNN)Ni¿Cl]. As shown in chapter 4, complex 2 is an efficient catalyst for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of non-activated secondary alkyl halides, while complex 1 is largely inactive. In contrast to the dimethylamino group in 1, the pyrrolidino group in 2 appears to be ¿hemilabile¿, which explains the significant activity difference towards the coupling of secondary alkyl halides. Synthesis and characterization of a new series of Ni-NNN pincer complexes are presented in chapter 5. No major structural difference was found between the new complexes except for the C-N-C angle of the various substituents of the side arm amino groups. The influence of these substituents on the catalytic performance of the Ni-complexes in alkyl-alkyl Kumada and Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions was systematically investigated. No correlation was found between the catalytic activity and the key structural parameter (C-N-C angle), redox properties or Lewis acidity of the complexes. The cross-coupling of secondary alkyl halides is highly desirable since a stereogenic carbon center can be created during the process. Chapter 6 resumes the synthesis of new chiral pincer ligands in order to develop an enantioselective cross-coupling. Chiral centers were first introduced in the pyrrolidino group of the pincer ligand but the resulting Ni-complexes did not succeed in achieving a stereoconvergent reaction. The introduction of an oxazolino group in the pincer ligand structure resulted in more promising Ni-catalysts, efficient for both primary and secondary alkyl halides.

EPFL2016

Synthesis of Alkynylated Heterocycles by Direct C-H Alkynylation or Domino Alkynylation Reactions

Yifan Li

EPFL2016

Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of non-activated alkyl halides catalyzed by well-defined nickel pincer complexes

Thomas Clément Di Franco

EPFL2016

Stereoselective synthesis of alkenes via base-metal-catalyzed addition reactions to alkynes and activation of hydrogen peroxide and carbon dioxide by iron complexes

Fedor Zhurkin

EPFL2017