Search

A bis(18‐crown‐6) Tröger's base receptor and 4‐substituted hepta‐1,7‐diyl bisammonium salt ligands have been used as a model system to study the interactions between non‐polar side chains of peptides and an aromatic cavity of a protein. NMR titrations and NOESY/ROESY NMR spectroscopy were used to analyze the discrimination of the ligands by the receptor based on the substituent of the ligand, both quantitatively (free binding energies) and qualitatively (conformations). The analysis showed that an all‐anti conformation of the heptane chain was preferred for most of the ligands, both free and when bound to the receptor, and that for all of the receptor‐ligand complexes, the substituent was located inside or partly inside of the aromatic cavity of the receptor. We estimated the free binding energy of a methyl‐ and a phenyl group to an aromatic cavity, via CH‐π, and combined aromatic CH‐π and π‐π interactions to be −1.7 and −3.3 kJ mol−1, respectively. The experimental results were used to assess the accuracy of different computational methods, including molecular mechanics (MM) and density functional theory (DFT) methods, showing that MM was superior., A model system to study interactions between aromatic cavities and non‐polar side chains was developed and studied by different NMR methods, where a weak but evident side‐chain discrimination was observed. The experimental quantitative and qualitative data was used to evaluate different computational methods, with the conclusion that for this system, molecular mechanics gave more accurate results than density functional theory calculations.

Vinylbenziodoxolones have recently been identified as efficient hypervalent iodine(III) reagents for electrophilic vinylations under transition metal-free conditions. Their unique reactivity allows synthesis of either internal or terminal alkenes, depending on the nucleophile class. This paper constitutes the first mechanistic investigation of VBX vinylations, and makes use of NMR studies, deuterium labelling and computations to rationalize the observed regio- and stereochemical outcome. Internal alkene formation in S-vinylation was found to proceed through the ligand coupling mechanism typical of diaryliodonium salts, whereas terminal alkene formation in P-vinylations took place via a phosphinous acid-coordinated VBX complex, which underwent concerted deprotonation and Michael-type addition. Subsequent base-assisted protonation and E2 elimination delivered the terminal alkene. The findings can be used to predict the regioselectivity in vinylations of other nucleophile classes.

Compounds with dibenzannelated heterocycles with eight π-electrons are found in a range of applications. These molecules often adopt a bent structure in the ground state (S0 ) but can become planar in the first excited states (S1 and T1 ) because of the cyclically conjugated 4nπ central ring, which fulfils the requirements for excited state aromaticity. We report on a quantum chemical investigation of the aromatic character in the S1 and T1 states of dibenzannelated seven- and six-membered heterocycles with one, two, or three heteroatoms in the 8π-electron ring. These states could have ππ* or nπ* character. We find that compounds with one or two heteroatoms in the central ring have ππ* states as their S1 and T1 states. They are to a significant degree influenced by excited state aromaticity, and their optimal structures are planar or nearly planar. Among the heteroatoms, nitrogen provides for the strongest excited state aromaticity whereas oxygen provides for the weakest, following the established trend of the S0 state. Yet, dibenzannelated seven-membered-ring compounds with N=N bonds have non-aromatic nπ* states with strongly puckered structures as their S1 and T1 states.

The substrate scope and the mechanism have been investigated for the MnCl2-catalyzed cross coupling reaction between aryl halides and Grignard reagents. The transformation proceeds rapidly and in good yield when the aryl halide is a chloride containing a cyano or an ester group in the para position or a cyano group in the ortho position. A range of other substituents gave no conversion of the aryl halide or led to the formation of side products. A broader scope was observed for the Grignard reagents where a variety of alkyl- and arylmagnesium chlorides participated in the coupling. Two radical clock experiments were performed which in both cases succeeded in trapping an intermediate aryl radical. The cross coupling is therefore believed to proceed by a SRN1 mechanism, where a triorganomanganate complex serves as the most likely nucleophile and single electron donor. Other mechanistic scenarios were excluded based on the substrate scope of the aryl halide.

The highly enantioselective hydrogenation of linear enones catalyzed by Ir complexes that bear a chiral P,N ligand have been investigated computationally. Compared to the results of previous studies, the mechanism is different because of the coordination of the substrate. In the favored pathway Ir stays in the +3 oxidation state throughout the entire catalytic cycle, the olefinic group is coordinated trans to the ligand N atom, and the carbonyl group binds trans to a spectator hydride. After migratory insertion, a H2 coordinates and delivers the second H atom by σ-metathesis. The calculated path rationalizes the observed enantioselectivities and allows the development of a predictive quadrant model for this class of substrate–ligand combination.

A three-component palladium-catalyzed reaction sequence has been developed in which γ-substituted α,β-unsaturated products are obtained in a single flask by an α-alkenylation with either a subsequent γ-alkenylation or γ-arylation of a ketone enolate. Coupling of a variety of electronically and structurally different components was achieved in the presence of a Pd/Q-Phos catalyst (2 mol %), usually at 22 °C with yields of up to 85 %. Most importantly, access to these products is obtained in one simple operation in place of employing multiple reactions.

ConspectusThe standard method of screening ligands for selectivity in asymmetric, transition metal-catalyzed reactions requires experimental testing of hundreds of ligands from ligand libraries. This “trial and error” process is costly in terms of time as well as resources and, in general, is scientifically and intellectually unsatisfying as it reveals little about the underlying mechanism behind the selectivity. The accurate computational prediction of stereoselectivity in enantioselective catalysis requires adequate conformational sampling of the selectivity-determining transition state but has to be fast enough to compete with experimental screening techniques to be useful for the synthetic chemist. Although electronic structure calculations are accurate and general, they are too slow to allow for sampling or fast screening of ligand libraries. The combined requirements can be fulfilled by using appropriately fitted transition state force fields (TSFFs) that represent the transition state as a minimum ...

A three-component palladium-catalyzed reaction sequence has been developed in which γ-substituted α,β-unsaturated products are obtained in a single flask by an α-alkenylation with either a subsequent γ-alkenylation or γ-arylation of a ketone enolate. Coupling of a variety of electronically and structurally different components was achieved in the presence of a Pd/Q-Phos catalyst (2 mol %), usually at 22 °C with yields of up to 85 %. Most importantly, access to these products is obtained in one simple operation in place of employing multiple reactions.

The lithium amides of a series of chiral N,P ligands were studied in solution. This ligand class had been shown previously to give good selectivities in asymmetric alkylation of benzaldehyde. These lithium amides were found to aggregate into dimers with surprisingly strong coordination of phosphorus to lithium. The equilibrium between dimeric forms was found to depend strongly on non-bonded interactions within the solute and between solute and solvent. Only if dispersion and free-energy contributions were scaled to approximately 20?% of the gas-phase values was it possible to reproduce the experimentally observed aggregation preferences. NMR spectroscopic shieldings were calculated and found to correlate well with the experimentally observed shifts. Calculated Li,P couplings were shown to be a sensitive measure of the Li?P distance.

The title reaction has been studied under low temperature conditions. Coupling with active substrates can be done even at dry ice temperature. Initial rate studies at 258C indicate that high con- centrations of any reagent can lead to either com- plete or partial catalyst deactivation. Under strongly reducing conditions, iron seems to form less active complexes that only slowly re-enter the catalytic cycle, possibly through bimolecular coupling of iron(II) complexes. Computational studies support the experimental observations, and indicate that oxi- dation states below + I cannot be reached by reduc- tive elimination.

18e R.I.P. The apparent compliance of [Pd(PPh3)4] ("tetrakis") with the 18-electron rule is not due to an electronic preference on the central metal. Pd is valence-saturated already by two ligands. ...

An asymmetric synthetic route to cis,cis-nepetalactol (component of the sex pheromone for the hop aphid, Phorodon humuli) is presented. 2-Phenylindoline was resolved to provide a chiral auxiliary for the cycloaddition of oxocitral. The resolution was made by chromatographic separation of the diastereomers of the urea derivative made from 2-phenylindoline and with (R)-(+)-alpha-methylbenzyl isocyanate, followed by reductive cleavage of the isolated diasteromers using diborane. The cycloaddition of oxocitral using (S)-2-phenylindoline yielded an enantiopure product after chromatography. Hydrolysis of the cycloaddition adduct yielded gastrolactol (3). As gastrolactol is a versatile synthon for the synthesis of iridoids, the overall procedure provides a general asymmetric route to elaborated iridoids.

Pathways for formation of previously observed autoxidation products of ethoxylated surfactants have been studied by DFT (B3LYP). In addition to the established radical-chain reaction, several mechanistic possibilities for intramolecular fragmentation of the intermediate radicals have been characterized concerning reaction barriers and energies of transition states. The results can rationalize the formation of previously observed autoxidation products, including several, which have been implicated as strongly allergenic.

The mechanism for the acid-mediated substitution of a phenolic hydroxyl group with a sulfur nucleophile has been investigated by a combination of experimental and theoretical methods. We conclude that the mechanism is distinctively different in nonpolar solvents (i.e., toluene) compared with polar solvents. The cationic mechanism, proposed for the reaction in polar solvents, is not feasible and the reaction instead proceeds through a multistep mechanism in which the acid (pTsOH) mediates the proton shuffling. From DFT calculations, we found a rate-determining transition state with protonation of the hydroxyl group to generate free water and a tight ion pair between a cationic protonated naphthalene species and a tosylate anion. Kinetic experiments support this mechanism and show that, at moderate concentrations, the reaction is first order with respect to 2-naphthol, n-propanethiol, and p-toluenesulfonic acid (pTsOH). Experimentally determined activation parameters are similar to the calculated values (DeltaH(exp) ( not equal)=105+/-9, DeltaH(calcd) ( not equal)=118 kJ mol(-1); DeltaG(exp) ( not equal)=112+/-18, DeltaG(calcd) ( not equal)=142 kJ mol(-1)).

The objective of this work was to characterize the enantiospecificity of the allylic alkylation of enantioenriched 2-cyclohexen-1-yl acetate with the enolate ion of dimethyl malonate catalyzed by unsymmetrical palladium catalysts. The precatalysts employed were (η 3 -allyl)PdLCl, where L is a monophosphine ligand [PPh 3 , PCy 3 , P(2-BiPh)Cy 2 , or P(t-Bu) 3 ], all of which afforded enantiospecificity to some extent (5-47%). Quantum mechanical calculations show that, theoretically, the enantiospecificity should be high due to a preference for the "trans to P" transition state in both formation of the η 3 -allyl intermediate and nucleophilic attack. However, the observed enantiospecificity is relatively low due to isomerization of the η 3 -allyl intermediate and/or dynamic equilibria between the catalytically active (η 3 -allyl)PdLCl species and [(η 3 -allyl)PdL 2 ] + or [(η 3 -allyl)PdCl] 2 . It was also observed experimentally that increasing the bulk of the phosphine inhibits formation of the [(η 3 -allyl)PdL 2 ] + complexes, significantly increasing the observed enantiospecificity for some of the ligands.

Following a scalable reaction procedure, cyclic and acyclic alkyl substituted as well as aryl substituted ketone enolates are efficiently alkenylated with 1- or 2-mono or 2,2-disubstituted alkenyl bromides.

A protocol for a mild, catalytic, intermolecular alkenylation of ketone enolates has been developed using a Pd/Q-Phos catalyst. Efficient intermolecular coupling of a variety of ketones with alkenyl bromides was achieved with a slight excess of LiHMDS and temperatures down to 0 °C.

Heck coupling with nonactivated alkenyl tosylates and phosphates : Examples of effective 1,2-migrations of the alkenyl palladium(II) intermediates

The title reaction has been investigated by experimental and computational (DFT) techniques, and subsequently compared to the corresponding carbocupration reaction, with particular emphasis on the stereoselectivity. For stannylcupration of an ynone substrate, only the anti-addition product is observed, whereas for the corresponding ynoate substrate, the stereoselectivity can be affected by the reaction conditions: in the presence of methanol as proton donor, the initial syn-addition product can be trapped, whereas a syn/anti mixture is obtained in a non-protic solvent. This is in sharp contrast to the carbocupration of the same ynone substrate with a cyanocuprate (RCu(CN)Li), which is highly selective for syn-addition. The product selectivities can be understood from a detailed computational characterization of the reaction paths, and in particular from the relative stabilities of the vinyl cuprate and allenolate intermediates. It is suggested that the stereodetermining step is protonation of vinyl cuprate intermediates.

The complexes formed by the reaction of [Ti(OiPr)(4)] and bicyclo-octanediols (BODOLs) 1 and 2 (1:1) are useful as chiral catalysts in asymmetric reductions and were investigated by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and computational methods. A consistent picture emerged of head-to-tail dimers being kept together via a Ti-O-Ti-O micro-oxo bridge similar to the Ti-tartrates but different from the corresponding Ti-BINOLates and Ti-TADDOLates.

The mnemonic device for predicting stereoselectivities in the Sharp-less asymmetric dihydroxylation (AD) reaction has been updated based on extensive computational studies. Kinetic measurements from competition reactions validate the new proposal. The interactions responsible for the high stereoselectivity in the title reaction are analyzed in detail and mapped onto the mnemonic device.

The Tamao oxidation of alkoxysilanes was investigated computationally to determine the role of fluoride, a key additive, in this reaction. A sequence of fluoride equilibria as well as possible transition states, mediated by basic and neutral peroxide, respectively, were examined, and a potential energy surface was calculated which was consistent with the typical synthetic methods required for the conversion of alkoxysilanes to alcohols.

The mechanism of alkene epoxidation by chromium(v) oxo salen complexes has been studied by DFT and experimental methods. The reaction is compared to the closely related Mn-catalyzed process in an attempt to understand the dramatic difference in selectivity between the two systems. Overall, the studies show that the reactions have many similarities, but also a few critical differences. In agreement with experiment, the chromium system requires a change from low- to high-spin in the catalytic cycle, whereas the manganese system can proceed either with spin inversion or entirely on the high-spin surface. The low-spin addition of metal oxo species to an alkene leads to an intermediate which forms epoxide either with a barrier on the low-spin surface or without a barrier after spin inversion. Supporting evidence for this intermediate was obtained by using vinylcyclopropane traps. The chromium(v) oxo complexes can adopt a stepped shape or form a more concave surface, analogous to previous results on manganese salen complexes.

η3-Allyl palladium complexes are key intermediates in Tsuji–Trost allylic substitution reactions. It is well known that (η3-1-aryl-3-alkyl substituted allyl)Pd intermediates result in nucleophilic attack at the alkyl substituted terminus. In contrast, the chemistry of (η3-1,2,3-trisubstituted allyl)Pd intermediates is relatively unexplored. Herein we probe the regioselectivity with 1,2,3-trisubstituted allylic substrates in Tsuji–Trost allylic substitution reactions. DFT investigation of cationic (η3-1-Ph-2-B(pin)-3-alkyl-allyl)Pd(PPh3)2 intermediates predict that nucleophilic attack should occur preferentially on anti-allyls rather than the syn-isomers to generate benzylic substitution products under Curtin–Hammett conditions. Experimentally, systematic studies with 1,2,3-trisubstituted allylic substrates revealed that a Linear Free Energy Relationship (LFER) is observed when Charton steric parameters of the C-2 substituents are plotted against the log of the ratio of regioisomers. Bulkier C-2 substituents in 1,2,3-trisubstituted η3-allyl palladium intermediates provide stronger preference for nucleophilic attack at anti-oriented benzylic termini. Additionally, the geometry of 1,4-elimination products supports the presence of anti-allyl palladium intermediates.

Carbonnitrogen bond formation can be catalyzed by copper in very low concentrations (≈100 ppm), with mechanistic features that are distinct from those in the high-concentration regime. The reaction was studied by initial rate kinetics, competitive Hammett studies, and DFT calculations. The deprotonation of the model nucleophile, pyrrole, is limited by mass transfer with the heterogeneous base. The positive reaction order in dimethylethylenediamine was explained by this reagent working not only as a ligand to Cu, but also as a facilitator for mass transfer. The selectivity-determining step in the competitive Hammett study is oxidative addition. Alternative mechanisms for this step, such as single-electron transfer, atom transfer, or σ-bond metathesis, can be excluded based on the observed Hammett behavior and DFT calculations.

An unusual chelation-controlled pathway is revealed based on experimental and computational investigations: binding of the α-chloro aldimines N,O and Cl atom to zinc reverses the selectivity predicted by the Cornforth—Evans model.

The conformational preferences of oxymethylpyridines have been investigated by ab initio calculations and compared to similar calculations for oxymethylbenzene. The CO bond in the pyridine compounds was found to prefer eclipsing with a CC bond in the ring, in agreement with previous observations but in disaccord with tentative MM2 calculations. The effect was most pronounced in the 2-substituted pyridine. The benzene compound, on the other hand, showed good agreement between the energies from MM2, MM3, and ab initio calculations. The conformational preferences are discussed in terms of stereoelectronic interactions. New MM2 and MM3 parameters were determined from ab initio calculations on nonstationary points on the energy hypersurface. The parameterization method is discussed. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Studies of Allylic Substitution Catalysed by a Palladium Complex of a C2-Symmetric Bis(aziridine): Preparation and NMR Spectroscopic Investigation of a Chiral n-Allyl Species

The formula of compound 4a in Scheme 1 on page 813 of the original article1 is erroneous; the correct formula is depicted below. The experimental findings and the conclusions remain unaffected.

Results from asymmetric Horner−Wadsworth−Emmons reactions between chiral phosphonate reagents 3a−d, which contain (1R,2S,5R)-8-phenylmenthol as a chiral auxiliary, and meso-dialdehydes 6 and 14 are presented. It was found that both the geometric selectivities and the levels of asymmetric induction depended on the structure of the phosphonate (i.e., the alkyl group R1 in the phosphoryl unit) and to a certain extent also on the reaction conditions. Furthermore, the nature of the protecting group used on the α-oxygen substituent in dialdehydes 14 influenced the outcome somewhat. By an appropriate choice of reagent and conditions, either (E)- or (Z)-monoaddition products could be obtained geometrically pure and with good to excellent diastereoselectivities, in synthetically useful yields. Analyses of the absolute configurations of the products showed that the (E)-selective reagents (3a−c) and the (Z)-selective phosphonate 3d reacted at opposite enantiotopic carbonyl groups in the substrates. A mechanistic mod...

A new method for creating a transition-state force field, based on quantum chemical normal-mode analysis, is described. Except for distortions along the reaction coordinate, the potential energy su...

Hydroxyalkyl)-6-oxazolyl-and 2-(1-alkoxyalkyl)-6-oxazolylpyridines serve as versatile ligands in the palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution of rac-1,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate with dimethyl malonate as nucleophile. The enantioselectivity of the reaction is dependent on the conformation of the ligands, as deduced by NMR, X-ray crystallography and DFT calculations of palladium(II) complexes of the ligands. The reactions are slow, requiring up to four days reaction time. However, with the use of microwave flash heating, reaction times are reduced to 2 min, with only minor loss in stereoselectivity.

A new method for enantioconvergent synthesis has been developed. The strategy relies on the combination of an asymmetric Horner−Wadsworth−Emmons (HWE) reaction and a palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution. Different α-oxygen-substituted, racemic aldehydes were initially transformed by asymmetric HWE reactions into mixtures of two major α,β-unsaturated esters, possessing opposite configurations at their allylic stereocenters as well as opposite alkene geometry. Subsequently, these isomeric mixtures of alkenes could be subjected to palladium-catalyzed allylic substitution reactions with carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nucleophiles. In this latter step, the respective (E) and (Z) alkene substrate isomers were observed to react with opposite stereospecificity: the (E) alkene reacted with retention and the (Z) alkene with inversion of stereochemistry with respect to both the allylic stereocenter and the alkene geometry. Thus, a single γ-substituted ester was obtained as the overall product, in high isomeric pu...