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Piperazine cores have long been identified as privileged scaffolds in the development of pharmaceutical compounds. Despite this, the facile synthesis of diverse C-substituted piperazines remains a challenge without prefunctionalized substrates/cores. Herein, we describe a programmable approach to highly diversifiable piperazine cores, which circumvents the typical need for radical precursors. The use of organic photoredox catalysis renders this method operationally simple, as direct substrate oxidation followed by 6- endo-trig radical cyclization with in situ generated imines may furnish the product. Additionally, the photoredox-catalyzed anti-Markovnikov hydroamination of readily accessible ene-carbamates provides a modular approach to functionalized diamine starting materials which are shown to generate more complex piperazine cores. A wide range of both carbonyl and amine condensation partners were shown to be compatible with this system in good to excellent yield.

The C-H functionalization of remote, unactivated C-H bonds offers a unique method of garnering structural complexity in a synthesis. The use of directing groups has provided a means of enacting C-H functionalization on these difficult-to-access bonds; however, the installation and removal of directing groups on a substrate require additional synthetic manipulations, detracting from both the efficiency and economic feasibility of a transformation. The use of alkoxy radicals as transient directing groups for the functionalization of remote C-H bonds allows access to the synthesis of complex molecules without the need for additional functionality. Herein, we report a method for alkoxy radical formation from unactivated alcohols and reactivity mediated by photoredox-generated sulfoxide cation radicals. This protocol leverages the unique reactivity of alkoxy radicals to implement different reaction manifolds: 1,5-hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), cyclization, and β-scission. Furthermore, it was discovered that this methodology could be utilized to impose radical group transfer reactions via the β-scission pathway. Stern-Volmer analysis supports the formation of an alkoxy radical via the intermediacy of a sulfurane radical rather than a proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) mechanism.

The β-amino nitrile moiety and its derivatives frequently appear in natural product synthesis, in drug design, and as ligands in asymmetric catalysis. Herein, we describe a direct route to these complex motifs through the amino- and oxycyanation of olefins utilizing an acridinium photooxidant in conjunction with copper catalysis. The transformation can be rendered asymmetric by using a serine-derived bisoxazoline ligand. Mechanistic studies implicate olefin-first oxidation. The scope of amines for the aminocyanation reaction has been greatly expanded by undergoing a cation radical intermediate as opposed to previous N -centered radical-initiated aminocyanations. Furthermore, alkyl carboxylic acids were included as nucleophiles in this type of transformation for the first time without any decarboxylative side reactions.

A mechanistic investigation into the amination of electron-neutral and electron-rich arenes using organic photoredox catalysis is presented. Kinetic and computational data support rate-limiting nucleophilic addition into an arene cation radical using both azole and primary amine nucleophiles. This finding is consistent with both fluoride and alkoxide nucleofuges, supporting a unified mechanistic picture using cation radical accelerated nucleophilic aromatic substitution (CRA-S N Ar). Electrochemistry and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy confirm the key role solvents play in enabling selective arene oxidation in the presence of amines. The synthetic limitations of xanthylium salts are elucidated via photophysical studies. An alternative catalyst scaffold with improved turnover numbers is presented.

Ketone-olefin coupling reactions are common methods for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds. This reaction class typically requires stoichiometric or super stoichiometric quantities of metal reductants, and catalytic variations are limited in application. Photoredox catalysis has offered an alternative method toward ketone-olefin coupling reactions, although most methods are limited in scope to easily reducible aromatic carbonyl compounds. Herein, we describe a mild, metal-free ketone-olefin coupling reaction using an excited-state acridine radical super reductant as a photoredox catalyst. We demonstrate both intramolecular and intermolecular ketone-olefin couplings of aliphatic and aromatic ketones and aldehydes. Mechanistic evidence is also presented supporting an " olefin first " ketone-olefin coupling mechanism.

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S N Ar) is a classical reaction with well-known reactivity toward electron-poor fluoroarenes. However, electron-neutral and electron-rich fluoro(hetero)arenes are considerably underrepresented. Herein, we present a method for the nucleophilic defluorination of unactivated fluoroarenes enabled by cation radical-accelerated nucleophilic aromatic substitution. The use of organic photoredox catalysis renders this method operationally simple under mild conditions and is amenable to various nucleophile classes, including azoles, amines, and carboxylic acids. Select fluorinated heterocycles can be functionalized using this method. In addition, the late-stage functionalization of pharmaceuticals is also presented. Computational studies demonstrate that the site selectivity of the reaction is dictated by arene electronics.

Activation of aliphatic C(sp 3 )-H bonds in the presence of more activated benzylic C(sp 3 )-H bonds is often a nontrivial, if not impossible task. Herein we show that leveraging the reactivity of benzylic C(sp 3 )-H bonds to achieve reactivity at the homobenzylic position can be accomplished using dual organic photoredox/cobalt catalysis. Through a two-part catalytic system, alkyl arenes undergo dehydrogenation followed by an anti-Markovnikov Wacker-type oxidation to grant benzyl ketone products. This formal homobenzylic oxidation is accomplished with high atom economy without the use of directing groups, achieving valuable reactivity that traditionally would require multiple chemical transformations.

Strategies for the direct C-H functionalization of amines are valuable as these compounds comprise a number of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and natural products. This work describes a novel method for the C-H functionalization of carbamate-protected secondary amines via α-carbamyl radicals generated using photoredox catalysis. The use of the highly oxidizing, organic acridinium photoredox catalyst allows for direct oxidation of carbamate-protected amines with high redox potentials to give the corresponding carbamyl cation radical. Following deprotonation, the resultant open-shell species can be intercepted by a variety of Michael acceptors to give elaborate α-functionalized secondary amines. The reaction proceeds under mild conditions without the requirement of exogenous redox mediators or substrate prefunctionalization. Additionally, we were able to showcase the utility of this methodology through the enantioselective synthesis of the indolizidine alkaloid, (+)-monomorine I.

Synthetic transformations that functionalize unactivated aliphatic C-H bonds in an intermolecular fashion offer unique strategies for the synthesis and late-stage derivatization of complex molecules. Herein we report a general approach to the intermolecular functionalization of aliphatic C-H bonds using an acridinium photoredox catalyst and phosphate salt under blue LED irradiation. This strategy encompasses a range of valuable C-H transformations, including the direct conversions of a C-H bond to C-N, C-F, C-Br, C-Cl, C-S, and C-C bonds, in all cases using the alkane substrate as the limiting reagent. Detailed mechanistic studies are consistent with the intermediacy of a putative oxygen-centered radical as the hydrogen atom-abstracting species in these processes.

Nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S N Ar) is a direct method for arene functionalization; however, it can be hampered by low reactivity of arene substrates and their availability. Herein we describe a cation radical-accelerated nucleophilic aromatic substitution using methoxy- and benzyloxy-groups as nucleofuges. In particular, lignin-derived aromatics containing guaiacol and veratrole motifs were competent substrates for functionalization. We also demonstrate an example of site-selective substitutive oxygenation with trifluoroethanol to afford the desired trifluoromethylaryl ether.

Direct C-H functionalization of aromatic compounds is a useful synthetic strategy that has garnered much attention because of its application to pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and late-stage functionalization reactions on complex molecules. On the basis of previous methods disclosed by our lab, we sought to develop a predictive model for site selectivity and extend this aryl functionalization chemistry to a selected set of heteroaromatic systems commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry. Using electron density calculations, we were able to predict the site selectivity of direct C-H functionalization in a number of heterocycles and identify general trends observed across heterocycle classes.

Methods for the direct C-H functionalization of aromatic compounds are in demand for a variety of applications, including the synthesis of agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and materials. Herein, we disclose the construction of aromatic nitriles via direct C-H functionalization using an acridinium photoredox catalyst and trimethylsilyl cyanide under an aerobic atmosphere. The reaction proceeds at room temperature under mild conditions and has proven to be compatible with a variety of electron-donating and -withdrawing groups, halogens, and nitrogen- and oxygen-containing heterocycles, as well as aromatic-containing pharmaceutical agents.

The Newman-Kwart rearrangement is perhaps the quintessential method for the synthesis of thiophenols from the corresponding phenol. However, the high thermal conditions required for the rearrangement of the requisite O-aryl carbamothioates often leads to decomposition. Herein, we present a general strategy for catalysis of O-aryl carbamothioates to S-aryl carbamothioates using catalytic quantities of a commercially available organic single-electron photooxidant. Importantly, this reaction is facilitated at ambient temperatures.

A direct, catalytic hydrodecarboxylation of primary, secondary, and tertiary carboxylic acids is reported. The catalytic system consists of a Fukuzumi acridinium photooxidant with phenyldisulfide acting as a redox-active cocatalyst. Substoichiometric quantities of Hünig's base are used to reveal the carboxylate. Use of trifluoroethanol as a solvent allowed for significant improvements in substrate compatibilities, as the method reported is not limited to carboxylic acids bearing α heteroatoms or phenyl substitution. This method has been applied to the direct double decarboxylation of malonic acid derivatives, which allows for the convenient use of dimethyl malonate as a methylene synthon. Kinetic analysis of the reaction is presented showing a lack of a kinetic isotope effect when generating deuterothiophenol in situ as a hydrogen atom donor. Further kinetic analysis demonstrated first-order kinetics with respect to the carboxylate, while the reaction is zero-order in acridinium catalyst, consistent with another finding suggesting the reaction is light limiting and carboxylate oxidation is likely turnover limiting. Stern-Volmer analysis was carried out in order to determine the efficiency for the carboxylates to quench the acridinium excited state.

Metal-free, visible light-initiated, living cationic polymerization of 4-methoxystyrene using 2,4,6-tri(p-tolyl)pyrylium tetrafluoroborate and methanol is demonstrated. Molecular weight and dispersity are controlled by the concentration of methanol. Initial mechanistic analysis suggests that methanol likely serves to regulate propagation of the cation chain end via reversible chain transfer in a manner analogous to reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization.

We describe our efforts to understand the key mechanistic aspects of the previously reported alkene hydrofunctionalization reactions using 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium (Mes-Acr(+)) as a photoredox catalyst. Importantly, we are able to detect alkene cation radical intermediates, and confirm that phenylthiyl radical is capable of oxidizing the persistent acridinyl radical in a fast process that unites the catalytic activity of the photoredox and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) manifolds. Additionally, we present evidence that diphenyl disulfide ((PhS)2) operates on a common catalytic cycle with thiophenol (PhSH) by way of photolytic cleaveage of the disulfide bond. Transition structure analysis of the HAT step using DFT reveals that the activation barrier for H atom donation from PhSH is significantly lower than 2-phenylmalononitrile (PMN) due to structural reorganization. In the early stages of the reaction, Mes-Acr(+) is observed to engage in off-cycle adduct formation, presumably as buildup of PhS(-) becomes significant. The kinetic differences between PhSH and (PhS)2 as HAT catalysts indicate that the proton transfer step may have significant rate limiting influence.

A direct catalytic anti-Markovnikov addition of carboxylic acids to alkenes is reported. The catalyst system is comprised of the Fukuzumi acridinium photooxidant (1) and a substoichiometric quantity of a hydrogen-atom donor. Oxidizable olefins, such as styrenes, trisubstituted aliphatic alkenes, and enamides, can be employed along with a variety of carboxylic acids to afford the anti-Markovnikov addition adducts exclusively. A deuterium-labeling experiment lends insight to the potential mechanism.

Herein we report a metal-free method for the direct anti-Markovnikov hydroamination of unsaturated amines. Irradiation of the amine substrates with visible light in the presence of catalytic quantities of easily synthesized 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium tetrafluoroborate and thiophenol as a hydrogen-atom donor furnished the nitrogen-containing heterocycles with complete regiocontrol. Two examples of intermolecular anti-Markovnikov alkene hydroamination are also disclosed.

A direct intramolecular anti-Markovnikov hydroetherification reaction of alkenols is described. By employing catalytic quantities of commercially available 9-mesityl-10-methylacridinium perchlorate and 2-phenylmalononitrile as a redox-cycling source of a H-atom, we report the anti-Markovnikov hydroetherification of alkenes with complete regioselectivity. In addition, we present results demonstrating that this novel catalytic system can be applied to the anti-Markovnikov hydrolactonization of alkenoic acids.

Despite the prevalence of repeating subunits in chiral natural products, stereocontrolled oligomerization is a largely unexplored strategy for construction of carbon skeletal frameworks. This report describes the use of silyl glyoxylates as dipolar glycolic acid synthons in a controlled oligomerization reaction for the efficient construction of the squalene synthase inhibitor zaragozic acid C. This new methodology allows rapid, stereocontrolled formation of the carbon skeleton with a desirable protecting group scheme while minimizing functional group repair and oxidation state manipulations.

A single-pot three-component coupling reaction of silylglyoxylates (1), terminal alkynes, and aldehydes in the presence of ZnI2 and Et3N is presented. The products of the reaction, densely functionalized silyl-protected glycolate aldols (2), can be converted to the corresponding acetonides (3) in a one-pot deprotection/ketalization sequence. A variety of terminal alkynes and aldehydes can be successfully employed to give a range of highly functionalized, fully protected 1,2-diols in good yields and moderate diastereoselectivities. Mechanistic experiments suggest that the zinc acetylide reacts with the silylgyloxylate (1) in a chemoselective manner. Using an unoptimized (+)-N-methylephedrine and Zn(OTf)2 system, silyl-deprotected adduct 2 was formed in 64% ee and 89:11 dr.