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The arylthiol 4-mercaptophenylacetic acid (MPAA) is a powerful catalyst of selenosulfide bond reduction by the triarylphosphine 3,3',3″-phosphanetriyltris(benzenesulfonic acid) trisodium salt (TPPTS). Both reagents are water-soluble at neutral pH and are particularly adapted for working with unprotected peptidic substrates. Contrary to trialkylphosphines such as tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine hydrochloride (TCEP), TPPTS has the advantage of not inducing deselenization reactions. We believe that the work reported here will be of value for those manipulating selenosulfide bonds in peptidic or protein molecules.

We report a new ligation of cyclopropeniminium ions with bioorthogonal phosphines. Cyclopropeniminium scaffolds are sufficiently stable in biological media and, unlike related isomers, react with functionalized phosphines via formal 1,2-addition to a π-system. The ligation can be performed in aqueous solution and is compatible with existing bioorthogonal transformations. Such mutually compatible reactions are useful for multicomponent labeling.

N-Alkyl bis(2-selanylethyl)amines catalyze the synthesis of peptide thioesters or peptide ligation from bis(2-sulfanylethyl)amido (SEA) peptides. These catalysts are generated in situ by reduction of the corresponding cyclic diselenides by tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine. They are particularly efficient at pH 4.0 by accelerating the thiol-thioester exchange processes, which are otherwise rate-limiting at this pH. By promoting SEA-mediated reactions at mildly acidic pH, they facilitate the synthesis of complex peptides such as cyclic O-acyl isopeptides that are otherwise hardly accessible.

We report herein a facile synthesis of α-methylene-β-lactams. Thus, under the catalysis of triphenylphosphine, a number of 2-propiolamidoacetates or α-propiolamido ketones in refluxing ethanol underwent umpolung cyclization to afford the corresponding 4-substituted 3-methyleneazetidin-2-ones in high yields.

We disclose here the first palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura couplings of aryl ethers functionalized allenylphosphine oxides with arylboronic acids. This new methodology with α-allenyl ethers as starting materials provides a novel approach to generate phosphinoyl 1,3-butadienes and derivatives with medium to excellent yields. The reaction tolerates a variety of functional groups to afford ranges of structurally diverse substituted phosphionyl 1,3-butadienes. For unsymmetrical allene substrates, high stereospecific additions to give E-isomers are usually observed. On the basis of the known palladium and allene chemistry, a mechanism is proposed.

The direct addition of anionic secondary phosphine boranes to carbodiimides yields both chiral and achiral phosphaguanidine boranes under ambient temperature conditions. An analogous preparation of menthol-derived phosphinite boranes is also described. These products can be deborinated to give the corresponding phosphines, and subsequently oxidized to give phosphine oxides. The robustness of this method was further demonstrated in the synthesis of structurally novel cyclic phosphaguanidines.

A simple and efficient method for constructing 4-arylidene-5-imidazolones was developed using a phosphine-catalyzed tandem umpolung addition and intramolecular cyclization of amidine pronucleophiles on arylpropiolates. The reaction offers a robust route to heterocycle analogues of the fluorescent protein chromophores.

The first nickel-catalyzed decarboxylative C-P coupling of a wide range of alkenyl acids with various P(O)H compounds, especially for H-phosphonates, has been developed, affording a versatile and efficient tool for the preparation of valuable (E)-1-alkenylphosphonates, (E)-1-alkenylphosphinate oxides, and (E)-1-alkenylphosphine oxides with high stereoselectivity and broad substrate applicability. DFT calculation revealed that the phosphine ligand exhibits better catalytic performance than the nitrogen ligand in the reductive elimination step owing to the stronger nucleophilicity and larger size.

In this article we describe a general catalytic procedure for the formation of β-lactones bearing two stereogenic centers, from disubstituted ketenes and achiral aldehydes. BINAPHANE was found to display excellent enantioselectivity (≥90% ee for eight examples) and good diastereoselectivity (≥90:10 for 13 examples) in catalyzing the formation of β-lactones bearing two stereogenic centers from achiral aldehydes (both aromatic and aliphatic) and alkylarylketenes or dialkylketenes. A preference for formation of the trans diastereomer was observed in these reactions. For those reactions where BINAPHANE failed as a catalyst, tri-n-butylphosphine was found to be an effective achiral nucleophilic catalyst, effecting good yield and diastereoselectivity in racemic β-lactone formation. Evidence for the involvement of phosphonium enolate intermediates in the reaction mechanism was obtained through reaction monitoring by (31)P NMR spectroscopy and by comparison with previously characterized intermediates observed in the phosphine-catalyzed ketene homodimerization reaction.

Pyrrolidine rings are common moieties for pharmaceutical candidates and natural compounds, and the construction of these skeletons has received much attention. α-Amino nitriles are versatile intermediates in synthetic chemistry and have been widely used in the generation of multiple polyfunctional structures. Herein, a novel nucleophilic phosphine-catalyzed intramolecular Michael reaction of N-allylic substituted α-amino nitriles has been developed for the efficient construction of functionalized 2,4-disubstituted pyrrolidines (N-heterocyclic α-amino nitriles) via 5-endo-trig cyclization. Furthermore, the one-pot sequence of the synthesis of pyrrolidine and the subsequent transformations of the functionalized products have also been demonstrated.

A novel and efficient Cs2CO3-promoted phosphorylation or phosphinylation of various 1,1-dibromo-1-alkenes with readily available trialkyl phosphites, ethyl diphenylphosphinite, or diethyl phenylphosphonite has been developed under metal-free conditions, providing a practical and powerful tool for one-pot synthesis of valuable alkynylphosphonates, -phosphinates, and -phosphine oxides in good to excellent yields.

An efficient phosphine-free direct C-H arylation of thiophenes at the α-position has been developed at low catalyst loading of bis(alkoxo)palladium complex (Cat.I, 0.1-0.2 mol %). The developed synthetic method can be applied to the synthesis of α-aryl/heteroaryl thiophenes from aryl or heteroaryl bromides in good to excellent yields and is compatible with the substrates bearing electron-donating or electron-withdrawing groups. The reactivities of the 2- and 5-positions of thiophenes are equivalent and not dependent on steric hindrance under optimal conditions. This condition can also be applied to other heterocyclic moieties such as benzothiophene, benzofuran, and pyrrole with high conversion yields.

The preparation of challenging 2-deoxy-2-iodo-β-D-allo precursors of 2-deoxy-β-D-ribo-hexopyranosyl units and other analogues is reported using a robust olefination-cyclization-glycosylation sequence. Here, we particularly focus on tuning the stereoelectronic properties of the alkenyl sulfides intermediates in order to improve the diastereoselectivity of the cyclization step and, hence, the efficiency of the overall transformation. Phosphine oxides with the general formula Ph2P(O)CH2SR (R = t-Bu, Cy, p-MeOPh, 2,6-di-ClPh, and 2,6-di-MePh) were easily synthesized and subsequently used in the olefination reaction with 2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-D-ribose and -D-arabinose. The corresponding sugar-derived alkenyl sulfides were submitted to a 6-endo [I(+)]-induced cyclization, and the resulting 2-deoxy-2-iodohexopyranosyl-1-thioglycosides were used as glycosyl donors for the stereoselective synthesis of 2-deoxy-2-iodohexopyranosyl glycosides. Among the different S-groups studied, t-Bu derivative was the best performer for the synthesis of cholesteryl 2-deoxy-2-iodomannopyranosides, whereas for the synthesis of 2-deoxy-2-iodoallopyranosides none of the derivatives here studied proved superior to the phenyl analogue previously described. Glycosylation of cholesterol with different d-allo and d-manno derivatives produced 2-deoxy-2-iodoglycosides with stereoselectivities in the same order in each case, reinforcing the involvement of an oxocarbenium ion as the common intermediate of this crucial glycosylation step.

CF3-containing esters smoothly reacted with electron-deficient alkenes in the presence of a phosphine (2-dicyclohexylphosphino-2',4',6'-triisopropylbiphenyl) organocatalyst at room temperature in an aerobic atmosphere. These Michael reactions efficiently provided products with a CF3 quaternary carbon center.

A chemoselective phosphine-catalyzed cycloaddition or dienylation reaction between trifluoromethyl-substituted ketones and bis-substituted allenoates was described. Under the catalysis of triarylphosphine, the reaction gave a range of trifluoromethylated tetrahydrofurans with broad substrate tolerance and good to excellent stereoselectivity, while the use of trialkylphosphine switched the reaction pathway to furnish CF3-substituted dienyl tertiary alcohols chemoselectively. Moreover, a preliminary study on the asymmetric version of the reaction was also performed, which represents the first example of a phosphine-catalyzed asymmetric reaction between allenoates and carbonyl compounds.

Treatment of o-allyl phenols with catalytic NIS-PPh3 affords the corresponding spirodihydrobenzofuran derivatives in high yield with high regio- and total stereoselectivity under mild conditions. These results were utilized to achieve the first total synthesis of the protein kinase C inhibitor corallidictyal D starting from α-ionone.

Ph3P-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of sulfamate-derived cyclic imines with allenoate has been developed, affording sulfamate-fused dihydropyrroles under very mild conditions in high yields. Using amino acid-based bifunctional phosphine as chiral catalyst, its asymmetric variant provided the corresponding products in good yields with moderate to excellent enantiomeric excesses (up to 91% yield and up to 98% ee). Subsequent transformations of the heterocyclic products gave various pharmaceutically attractive compounds.

Direct ortho-substitution took place efficiently upon treatment of tri-, di-, and monoarylphosphine oxides with internal alkynes in the presence of a ruthenium catalyst to produce (o-alkenylphenyl)phosphine oxides regio- and stereoselectively. Chemoselective reduction of a product gave the corresponding (o-alkenylphenyl)phosphine, which may be useful as a ligand for transition metals.

A novel and efficient method for the benzylation of unprotected anthranilic acids with benzhydryl alcohols using water-soluble Au(III)/TPPMS in water is developed. Water plays an important role in our catalytic system. This new protocol could be used for not only N-benzylation, but also chemoselective C-benzylation by the Friedel-Crafts reaction.

A novel ruthenium catalyst on the basis of a chiral monophosphorus ligand is efficient for the asymmetric addition of arylboronic acids to aryl aldehydes, providing a series of chiral diarylmethanols in excellent yields and enantioselectivities (up to 92% ee). Preliminary study has shown that this process is catalyzed by a Ru complex with a single monophosphorus ligand.

Two complementary Kumada coupling methods for the conversion of monotriflated 1,1'-binaphthalene-2,2'-diol (BINOL) into 2'-substituted binaphthyl monoalcohols under mild conditions are reported. A protocol using NiCl2(dppe), in combination with an improved preparation of the monotriflate, is effective for 1,1'-binaphthalene-2-ols containing unsubstituted or electron-poor aryl or benzyl 2'-substituents. An alternative procedure, using a potentially hemilabile-bidentate phosphinan-4-ol ligand, is superior for products containing neopentyl or electron-rich aryl 2'-substituents. The obtained binaphthyl alcohols represent potentially useful synthons for chiral ligands and auxiliaries.

The discovery of a concise regiodivergent asymmetric route to nonclassical P-stereogenic 5- or 6-membered benzophosphacycles, under conditions-dependent radical (oxidative addition) versus anionic (S(N)Ar) benzannulation, is reported.

Trineopentylphosphine (TNpP) in combination with palladium provides a highly effective catalyst for the Buchwald-Hartwig coupling of sterically demanding aryl bromides and chlorides with sterically hindered aniline derivatives. Excellent yields are obtained even when both substrates include 2,6-diisopropyl substituents. Notably, the reaction rate is inversely related to the steric demand of the substrates. X-ray crystallographic structures of Pd(TNpP)2, [Pd(4-t-Bu-C6H4)(TNpP)(μ-Br)]2, and [Pd(2-Me-C6H4)(TNpP)(μ-Br)]2 are reported. These structures suggest that the conformational flexibility of the TNpP ligand plays a key role in allowing the catalyst to couple hindered substrates. The Pd/TNpP system also shows good activity for the Suzuki coupling of hindered aryl bromides.

The enantioselective catalytic hydrogenation of N-(3,4-dihydronaphthalen-2-yl) amides (1) with rhodium catalysts bearing phosphine-phosphite ligands 4 has been studied. A wide catalyst screening, facilitated by the modular structure of 4, has found a highly enantioselective catalyst for this reaction. This catalyst gives a 93% ee in the hydrogenation of 1a and also produces high enantioselectivities, ranging from 83 to 93% ee, in the hydrogenation of several OMe- and Br-substituted substrates. In contrast, the structurally related enol esters 2 are very reluctant to undergo hydrogenation. A coordination study of the representative enamide 1d has shown an unusual η(6)-arene coordination mode, over the typical O,C,C chelating mode for enamides, as the preferred one for this substrate in a Rh(I) complex. Deuteration reactions of 1c,d indicate a clean syn addition of deuterium to the double bond without an isotopic effect on the enantioselectivity.

A library of novel chiral biphenol-based diphosphinite (BOP) ligands was designed and created. These BOP ligands were applied to a Pd-catalyzed intermolecular allylic etherification reaction, which provided a key intermediate for the formal total synthesis of (-)-galanthamine with 97% ee in 97% yield.

The study presented herein describes a reductive transmetalation approach toward the generation of Grignard and organozinc reagents mediated by a titanocene catalyst. This method enables the metalation of functionalized substrates without loss of functional group compatibility. Allyl zinc reagents and allyl, vinyl, and alkyl Grignard reagents were generated in situ and used in the addition to carbonyl substrates to provide the corresponding carbinols in yields up to 99%. It was discovered that phosphine ligands effectively accelerate the reductive transmetalation event to enable the metalation of C-X bonds at temperatures as low as -40 °C. Performing the reactions in the presence of chiral diamines and amino alcohols led to the enantioselective allylation of aldehydes.

In this study we developed an efficient one-pot procedure for the preparation of 3-substituted and 3,4-disubstituted quinolines from stable starting materials (activated acetylenes reacting with o-tosylamidobenzaldehydes and o-tosylamidophenones, respectively) under mild conditions. The reaction appears to operate under a general base catalysis mechanism, instigated by the β-phosphonium enoate α-vinyl anion generated in situ through nucleophilic addition of PPh(3) to the activated alkyne. Michael addition of the deprotonated tosylamides to the activated alkynes and subsequent rapid aldol cyclization led to the formation of labile N-tosyldihydroquinoline intermediates. Driven by aromatization, detosylation of the dihydroquinoline intermediates occurred readily in the presence of dilute aqueous HCl to give the final quinoline products.

An intramolecular Rauhut-Currier reaction utilizing alkynoates as the initial conjugate acceptor affords densely functionalized 5- and 6-membered rings from ynoate-enoate, ynoate-enenitrile, and alkynyl sulfone-enenitrile substrates. Trialkylphosphines catalyze the reaction, and TMSCN serves as a pronucelophile to effect turnover of the catalyst and the formation of a second C-C bond. Because of the highly electrophilic alkyne acceptor, this reaction yields products that cannot be easily accessed from the traditional Rauhut-Currier reaction.

A highly reactive, chemo- and enantioselective addition of diphenylphosphine to α,β-unsaturated imines catalyzed by a palladacycle has been developed, thus providing the access to a series of chiral tertiary enaminophosphines in high yields. A putative catalytic cycle has also been proposed.

A new aryne-mediated tandem cross-coupling/P-cyclization sequence starting from tertiary phosphine-boranes and 1,2-dibromobenzenes is reported. P-chirogenic dibenzophospholes become accessible in a regio-, chemo-, and diastereoselective way.

Utilizing internally available functional groups, a simple protocol for the efficient synthesis of phosphorus-based indenes, indenones, benzofurans, and isochromenes via intramolecular cyclization of allene intermediates/precursors is generated; the latter intermediates/precursors are conveniently obtained through aldehyde-, alkylidene-, and hydroxyl-functionalized propargyl alcohols and P(III)-Cl precursors. The structures of key products have been unequivocally confirmed by X-ray crystallography.

A palladium-catalyzed highly enantioselective allylic alkylation of pyrroles and 4,7-dihydroindoles has been successfully developed with the use of chiral alkene-phosphine hybrid ligands to furnish the desired products in high yields with excellent ee's. It is noteworthy that alkene-phosphine ligands are much more effective than some other types of chiral ligands in this catalytic system.

A Me-DuPhos-catalyzed efficient asymmetric [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between Morita-Baylis-Hillman carbonates of isatins and N-phenylmaleimide has been developed. This reaction constructs three chiral centers in one step to afford spirocyclopentaneoxindoles in good yields (up to 84%) with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivies (up to 99% ee)., (© 2012 American Chemical Society)

An enantioresolution of 2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-binaphthyl oxide (BINAPO) into its enantiomers was achieved using the inclusion complex with a commerciallyavailable chiral 2,2'-dihydroxy-1,1'-binaphthyl ((R)-BINOL), giving the two enantiomers with 99% ee and 72% ee, respectively.

A new biarylphosphine ligand, Me(3)(OMe)tBuXPhos (L3), was designed as a surrogate for Me(4)tBuXPhos (L1). The Me(3)(OMe)tBuXPhos could be prepared in a chromatography-free manner from inexpensive and readily available 2,3,6-trimethylphenol. Comparative studies demonstrated that a catalyst based on Me(3)(OMe)tBuXPhos displayed the same reactivity as a catalyst based on Me(4)tBuXPhos for Pd-catalyzed C-N and C-O bond-forming processes.

The design, synthesis, and applications of potential substitutes of t-Bu-PHOX in asymmetric catalysis is reported. The design relies on the incorporation of geminal substituents at C5 in combination with a substituent at C4 other than t-butyl (i-Pr, i-Bu, or s-Bu). Most of these new members of the PHOX ligand family behave similarly in terms of stereoinduction to t-Bu-PHOX in three palladium-catalyzed asymmetric transformations. Electronically modified ligands were also prepared and used to improve the enantioselectivity in the Pd-catalyzed allylation reaction of fluorinated allyl enol carbonates.

A simple and efficient selective synthesis of 1H-pyrrole-2-phosphine oxides 3 and -phosphonates 7 by addition of enolates derived from acetyl acetates to 2H-azirinylphosphine oxide 1 and -phosphonate 6 is reported. Nucleophilic addition of enolates derived from diethyl malonate to 2H-azirines 1 and 6 led to the formation of functionalized 2-hydroxy-1H-pyrrole-5-phosphine oxide 9 and -phosphonate 10, while vinylogous α-aminoalkylphosphine oxides 14 and -phosphonate 15 may be obtained from azirines and the enolate derived from diethyl 2-phenylmalonate. Ring closure of vinylogous derivatives 14 and 15 in the presence of base led to the formation of 1,5-dihydro-3-pyrrolin-2-ones containing a phosphine oxide 17 or a phosphonate group 18.

An efficient catalytic amination of aryl-substituted allylic alcohols has been developed. The complex [(η(3)-allyl)PdCl](2) modified by a bis phosphine ligand, L, has been used as catalyst in the reaction that afforded a wide range of allyl amines in good to excellent yield under mild conditions.

Phosphorylated nitroso alkenes react with cyclic dienes such as cyclopentadiene or cyclohexadiene to afford hetero Diels-Alder-type cycloadducts where the nitroso alkene participates as dienophile component and the cyclic olefin acts as the 4π-electron (diene) system. Subsequent aza-Cope rearrangement affords highly functionalized 5,6-dihydro-4H-1,2-oxazines. Conversely, the reaction of TMS-substituted cyclopentadiene (dienophile) with nitroso alkenes as heterodienes leads directly to bicyclic 1,2-oxazines. Theoretical studies are in agreement with the experimental results and with the new aza-Cope rearrangement proposed.

Catalytic phosphorus(V)-mediated chlorination and bromination reactions of alcohols have been developed. The new reactions constitute a catalytic version of the classical Appel halogenation reaction. In these new reactions oxalyl chloride is used as a consumable stoichiometric reagent to generate the halophosphonium salts responsible for halogenation from catalytic phosphine oxides. Thus, phosphine oxides have been transformed from stoichiometric waste products into catalysts and a new concept for catalytic phosphorus-based activation and nucleophilic substitution of alcohols has been validated. The present study has focused on a full exploration of the scope and limitations of phosphine oxide catalyzed chlorination reactions as well as the development of the analogous bromination reactions. Further mechanistic studies, including density functional theory calculations on proposed intermediates of the catalytic cycle, are consistent with a catalytic cycle involving halo- and alkoxyphosphonium salts as intermediates.

A Rh-based catalytic system implying electron-poor MeOBIPHEP analogues has been developed for the 1,4-addition of boronic acids to maleimides and enones under mild conditions at room temperature and led to succinimide derivatives and arylated cyclic ketones in good to excellent yields and ee. We uncovered the crucial role of the electronic and steric properties of diphosphine ligand and observed a strong boronic acid/ligand dependency in the case of maleimide derivatives and substrate/ligand matching in the case of cyclic enones.

A copper/DIPEA-catalyzed, aldehyde-induced intermolecular decarboxylative coupling reaction of natural α-amino acids and phosphites or secondary phosphine oxides was developed. In this process, a series of potentially useful ligands for organic synthesis and biologically important unnatural amino acid derivatives (tertiary amino phosphorus compounds) were obtained.

A general method for Pd-catalyzed sulfonamidation of aryl nonafluorobutanesulfonates (aryl nonaflates) is described. A biaryl phosphine ligand, t-BuXPhos, formed the most active catalyst, and K(3)PO(4) in tert-amyl alcohol was found to be the optimal base-solvent combination for the reaction. The reaction conditions were tolerant of various functional groups such as cyano, nitro, ester, aldehyde, ketone, chloride, carbamate, and phenol. Heterocyclic aryl nonaflates were found to be suitable coupling partners. High yields of the coupled products were obtained from the reactions between inherently disfavored substrates such as electron-rich nonaflates and electron-poor sulfonamides. Kinetic data suggest reductive elimination to be the rate-limiting step for the reaction. The only limitation of this methodology that we have identified is the inability of 2,6-disubstituted aryl nonaflates to efficiently participate in the reaction.

Highly effective asymmetric hydrogenation of protected ethyl 1-(2-aminoaceto)cyclopropane carboxylates in the presence of [RuCl(benzene)(S)-SunPhos]Cl was realized, and high enantioselectivities (up to 98.7% ee) were obtained. This asymmetric hydrogenation provides a key intermediate for the enantioselective synthesis of (S)-7-amino-5-azaspiro[2.4]heptane moiety of quinolone antibacterial agents.

In this report, a phosphine-catalyzed [4 + 1] annulation between α,β-unsaturated imines and allylic carbonates is described. This reaction represents the first realization of catalytic [4 + 1] cyclization of 1,3-azadienes with in situ formed phosphorus ylides, which provides highly efficient and diastereoselective synthesis of 2-pyrrolines.

An efficient synthesis of 2-perfluoroalkyl 4H-chromen-3-ylphosphonates 4a-i (R(F) = CF(3)) and 5a-i (R(F) = C(2)F(5)) has been accomplished via regioselective cycloaddition of 2-hydroxybenzaldehydes to diethyl 3,3,3-trifluoropropyn-1-yl- and diethyl 3,3,4,4,4-pentafluorobutyn-1-ylphosphonate, using trialkyl amines or phosphines as mediators. 2H-Chromen-3-ylphosphonates 6a-i were regioselectively obtained in the presence of triphenylphosphine. A convenient method for the isomerization of 4H-chromen-3-ylphosphonates into 2H-chromen-3-ylphosphonates 6a-i (R(F) = CF(3)) and 7a-i (R(F) = C(2)F(5)) was established.

A general and efficient method for the preparation of optically active Z1Z2P(O)Cl from the easily prepared optically active H-phosphinates and H-phosphine oxides was reported. H-Phosphinates and H-phosphine oxides react stereospecifically with CuCl2 to produce the corresponding optically active Z1Z2P(O)Cl with retention of configuration at the phosphorus center. Optically active Z1Z2P(O)Cl reacts easily with a variety of nucleophiles to produce other chiral organophosphorus acid derivatives with inversion of configuration at phosphorus.

A catalyst was synthesized on the basis of Trost's dinuclear catalyst characterized by working well without pyridine in the present phospha-Michael reaction. Nevertheless, the presence of pyridine is still advantageous in the present system. The substrate scope was successfully extended to enones employing diallyl phosphine oxide as a nucleophile. Excellent yields and enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee) were achieved for a wide scope of enones employing the catalyst under mild conditions. The detailed reaction mechanism is also discussed herein. Finally, the unprecedented asymmetric additions of dialkylphosphine oxides to N-sulfinylimines were achieved by using Et(2)Zn as a base.

A versatile new method for the preparation of NHC boranes starting from two stable, readily available reactants-an heterocyclic salt and an amine or phosphine-borane-is reported. It uses a Lewis base exchange at boron and provides easy access to new NHC boranes, in particular B-substituted borane ones.

The air-stable complex Pd(η(3)-allyl)(DTBNpP)Cl (DTBNpP = di(tert-butyl)neopentylphosphine) serves as a highly efficient precatalyst for the arylation of amines and enolates using aryl bromides and chlorides under mild conditions with yields ranging from 74% to 98%. Amination reactions of aryl bromides were carried out using 1-2 mol % Pd(η(3)-allyl)(DTBNpP)Cl at 23-50 °C without the need to exclude oxygen or moisture. The C-N coupling of the aryl chlorides occurred at relatively lower temperature (80-100 °C) and catalyst loading (1 mol %) using the Pd(η(3)-allyl)(DTBNpP)Cl precatalyst than the catalyst generated in situ from DTBNpP and Pd(2)(dba)(3) (100-140 °C, 2-5 mol % Pd). Other Pd(DTBNpP)(2)-based complexes, (Pd(DTBNpP)(2) and Pd(DTBNpP)(2)Cl(2)) were ineffective precatalysts under identical conditions for the amination reactions. Both Pd(DTBNpP)(2) and Pd(DTBNpP)(2)Cl(2) precatalysts gave nearly quantitative conversions to the product in the α-arylation of propiophenone with p-chlorotoluene and p-bromoanisole at a substrate/catalyst loading of 100/1. At lower substrate/catalyst loading (1000/1), the conversions were lower but comparable to that of Pd(t-Bu(3)P)(2). In many cases, the tri-tert-butylphosphine (TTBP) based Pd(I) dimer, [Pd(μ-Br)(TTBP)](2), stood out to be the most reactive catalyst under identical conditions for the enolate arylation. Interestingly, the air-stable Pd(I) dimer, Pd(2)(DTBNpP)(2)(μ-Cl)(μ-allyl), was less active in comparison to [Pd(μ-Br)(TTBP)](2) and Pd(η(3)-allyl)(DTBNpP)Cl. The X-ray crystal structures of Pd(η(3)-allyl)(DTBNpP)Cl, Pd(DTBNpP)(2)Cl(2), Pd(DTBNpP)(2), and Pd(2)(DTBNpP)(2)(μ-Cl)(μ-allyl) are reported in this paper along with initial studies on the catalyst activation of the Pd(η(3)-allyl)(DTBNpP)Cl precatalyst.