Search

Carbon-supported catalysts have been considered as macromolecular ligands which modulate the activity of the metallic catalytic center. Understanding the properties and the factors that control the interactions between the metal and support allows a fine tuning of the catalyzed processes. Although huge effort has been devoted to comprehending binding energies and charge transfer for single atom noble metals, the interaction of graphenic surfaces with cheap and versatile Cu(I) salts has been scarcely studied. A methodical experimental and theoretical analysis of different carbon-based Cu(I) materials in the context of the development of an efficient, general, scalable, and sustainable borylation reaction of aliphatic and aromatic halides has been performed. We have also examined the effect of microwave (MW) radiation in the preparation of these type of materials using sustainable graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) as a support. A detailed analysis of all the possible species in solution revealed that the catalysis is mainly due to an interesting synergetic Cu2O/graphene performance, which has been corroborated by an extensive theoretical study. We demonstrated through DFT calculations at a high level of theory that graphene enhances the reactivity of the metal in Cu2O against the halide derivative favoring a radical departure from the halogen. Moreover, this material is able to stabilize radical intermediates providing unexpected pathways not observed using homogeneous Cu(I) catalysed reactions. Finally, we proved that other common carbon-based supports like carbon black, graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide provided poorer results in the borylation process.

We have proven that pyridine–boryl complexes can be used as superelectron donors to promote the coupling of thiols and aromatic halides through a SRN1 mechanism. The reaction is efficient for a broad substrate scope, tolerating heterocycles including pyridines, enolizable or reducible functional groups. The method has been applied to intermediates in drug synthesis as well as interesting functionalized polythioethers through a controlled and consecutive intramolecular electron transfer process.

An unusual reaction between GO, DBU and DMF, that typically uses base and solvent, has been thoroughly analyzed providing valuable basic knowledge about the reactivity of GO, which is essential to control functionalization and therefore the properties of graphene derivatives. A combination of characterization techniques, experiments and theoretical calculations allowed us to propose a structure for the materials and a plausible mechanism. The catalytic activity of the new basic materials was also analyzed.

The use of graphene derivatives as supports improves the properties of heterogeneous catalysts, with graphene oxide (GO) being the most frequently employed. To explore greener possibilities as well as to get some insights into the role of the different graphenic supports (GO, rGO, carbon black, and graphite nanoplatelets), we prepared, under the same standard conditions, a variety of heterogeneous Cu catalysts and systematically evaluated their composition and catalytic activity in azide-alkyne cycloadditions as a model reaction. The use of sustainable graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs) afforded a stable CuI catalyst with good recyclability properties, which are compatible with flow conditions, and able to catalyze other reactions such as the regio- and stereoselective sulfonylation of alkynes (addition reaction) and the Meerwein arylation (single electron transfer process).

The formation of nitrones by direct condensation between equimolecular amounts of N-substituted hydroxylamine hydrochlorides and aromatic or aliphatic aldehydes is efficiently promoted by pyrrolidine in a matter of minutes under very mild conditions in almost quantitative yields after a simple filtration through a short pad of silica gel. According to theoretical, spectroscopic, and experimental studies, this success is due to the ability of pyrrolidine to liberate the hydrochloride of the hydroxylamine and catalyze the reaction via iminium activation ion. Moreover, a cooperative pyrrolidine/pyrrolidinium chloride effect facilitates several steps of the catalytic cycle through proton transfer without hampering the nucleophilicity of the hydroxylamine by protonation.

A general and efficient biomimetic method for the synthesis of aldimines from aldehydes and compounds bearing the NH2 group in the presence of pyrrolidine as a catalyst has been developed. These organocatalytic reactions, based on the application of the concept of nucleophilic catalysis, proceed with outstanding yields in the absence of acids and metals under simple conditions and minimum experimental manipulation. The method has been mainly applied to the synthesis of N-sulfinyl and N-sulfonyl imines, but its general validity has been proven with the preparation of representative N-phosphinoyl, N-alkyl, and N-aryl imines. These unprecedented reactions, which presumably occur via iminium activation without requiring acidic conditions, are an interesting and competitive alternative to the classical methods for preparing aldimines.

An asymmetric organocatalytic [3 + 3] annulation strategy based on a Michael addition/intramolecular Julia-Kocienski olefination sequence has been developed for the synthesis of 4-substituted-5-nitrocyclohex-1-ene compounds. The strategy is an alternative to the direct reluctant enantioselective Diels-Alder approach. The potential of the methodology has been demonstrated with a concise enantioselective formal synthesis of trandolapril.

The Michael addition of activated methylenes to β-substituted α,β-unsaturated aldehydes (enals) via iminium catalysis takes place following reactivity and enantioselectivity patterns which depend on the electronic nature of the substituent in the β position (β-aryl or β-alkyl). Application of the same reaction conditions to both families of enals may result in erratic levels of asymmetric induction in the reactions of β-aryl enals or low reactivity with β-alkyl enals. A systematic analysis of this behavior using phenylacetic acid derivatives as case studies has led us to find a general trend: the different problems found for β-aryl and β-alkyl enals depend on the acidity of the nucleophile, and the outcome of the reaction for both types of enals can be improved substantially by careful choice of catalyst, solvent, and additive. Furthermore, this study has allowed us to understand subtle aspects of this transformation and has enabled the formulation of a general and reliable protocol to obtain high yields and enantioselectivities consistently, regardless of the acidity of the nucleophile and the nature of the substituent (aromatic or aliphatic) at the β position, We thank CTQ-2009-12168, CAM (AVANCAT CS2009/PPQ-1634), UAM-CAM (CCG10-UAM/PPQ-5769), CTQ-2012-35957, CTQ2015-63997-C2-1-P, CTQ2016-78779-R and FOTOCARBON-CAM S2013/MIT-2841 for financial support. S.D. thanks the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid (CAM), and E.R. and S.M. thank MICINN, for predoctoral fellowships. P.M. thanks MICINN for a Ramón y Cajal contract and the EU for a Marie Curie grant (CIG: HYPERCAT-304228

The cinchona alkaloid quinine promotes the enantioselective nitroso-aldol reaction between alpha-aryl-alpha-cyanoacetates and nitrosobenzene to give the hydroxyamination products with total chemoselectivity. Treatment of the reaction mixture with Zn/AcOH affords the corresponding amines in high yield and moderate enantioselectivity. An unusual effect on the enantioselectivity was observed with the catalyst loading and solvent. A reductive protocol allows the construction of an optically active 1,2-diamine moiety bearing a quaternary center.

Optically pure 2-(l-hydroxybenzyl)piperidine and pyrrolidine were prepared by reaction of oxygenated 2-(p-tolylsulfinyl)benzyl carbanions with the appropriate chlorinated N-sulfinylimines followed by subsequent elimination of the sulfinyl groups. The main reaction is a tandem process involving nucleophilic addition of the sulfinylbenzyl carbanion to the C=N bond followed by intramolecular elimination of the chlorine by the resulting amide. The matched pair of the reagents (exhibiting the same configuration at their respective sulfinyl moieties) evolves with a complete control of the stereoselectivity at the two newly created chiral carbons.

A general and efficient biomimetic method for the synthesis of aldimines from aldehydes and compounds bearing the NH2 group in the presence of pyrrolidine as a catalyst has been developed. These organocatalytic reactions, based on the application of the concept of nucleophilic catalysis, proceed with outstanding yields in the absence of acids and metals under simple conditions and minimum experimental manipulation. The method has been mainly applied to the synthesis of N-sulfinyl and N-sulfonyl imines, but its general validity has been proven with the preparation of representative N-phosphinoyl, N-alkyl, and N-aryl imines. These unprecedented reactions, which presumably occur via iminium activation without requiring acidic conditions, are an interesting and competitive alternative to the classical methods for preparing aldimines.

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been used as a support for piperazine to provide a heterogeneous bifunctional organocatalyst (rGO-NH) that is able to efficiently promote vintage organic transformations such as Knoevenagel, Michael and aldol reactions. The obtained results suggest a significant role of the support in the course of these reactions., We thank the Spanish Government (CTQ-2012-35957) and CAM (AVANCAT CS2009/PPQ-1634) for financial support. E.R. thanks the Spanish Ministry for a predoctoral fellowship (FPU/AP-2010-0807). R.S. thanks the Spanish Ministry of Science for a postdoctoral contract (PTQ-11-04601).

The synthesis of (±)-( E )-1-( p -tolylsulfinyl)-3-trimethylsilyloxybuta-1,3-diene 1 and ( S S )-2-( p -tolylsulfinyl)-3-trimethylsilyloxybuta-1,3-diene 2 and their reactions with cyclic dienophiles are described. Cycloaddition of diene 1 with N -methylmaleimide 10 was performed under pressure affording a complex reaction mixture from which two epimers at C-3′, (±)- 11a and (±)- 11b [2,3,3a,4,5,7a-hexahydro-2-methyl-7a-(1-methylsuccinimide-3-yl)-1 H -isoindole-1,3,5-triones], were isolated in equal amounts. Diene (±)- 1 cycloadded to the more reactive 4-methyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione 14 at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. However, nothing can be said about the stereochemical outcome of this addition since the loss of the chiral auxiliary via the sulfoxide–sulfenate rearrangement gave the bicyclic α,β-unsaturated ketone 17 (2-methyl-2,3,5,6-tetrahydro-1 H -[1,2,4]triazolo[1,2- a ]pyridazine-1,3,6-trione). Diels–Alder cycloaddition of enantiopure diene 2 with 10 occurred under pressure leading to a diastereomeric mixture of adducts where the trimethylsilyl enol ether moiety spontaneously evolved to the ketone function. The major enantiopure product 18a [(3a S ,6 S ,7a R , R S )-2-methyl-6-( p -tolylsulfinyl)perhydroisoindole-1,3,5-trione] was isolated and characterized. Cycloadditions of both dienes to dienophile 10 appear highly stereoselective.

Diels-Alder reactions of [(S)R]-(1E,3E)-1-p-tolylsulfinyl-1,3-pentadiene with 1-pyrrolidinyl-1-cyclohexene and methyl acrylate evidenced: i) low reactivity of the diene regardless of the electronic character of the dienophile (high pressures were always required); ii) a complete regio- and endo-selectivity (both controlled by the sulfoxide), but a low π-facial diastereoselectivity in the cycloaddition with enamine; iii) diastereoselectivity (facial and endo exo ) for the reaction with methyl acrylate is dependent on the regiochemistry (mainly controlled by the methyl substituent).

The Diels-Alder adducts resulting in the reaction of enantiomerically pure [(S)R]-(1E,3E)-1-p-tolylsulfinyl-1,3-pentadiene with maleic anhydride evolved stereoselectively in situ through several intramolecular tandem reactions, involving [2,3]-sigmatropic sulfoxide-sulfenate rearrangement, acylation of the sulfinyl oxygen, and elimination of the sulfur function through a SN2′ process yielding lactones 3 and 4.

[(S) R ,1 E ,3 E ]-4- p -Tolylsulfinyl-1-X-1,3-butadienes 1 (X = CO 2 Me, CN, PO(OEt) 2 , SO 2 Ph, SEt) are synthesized from a common starting material, [(S) R ]-3- p -tolylsulfinyl-2-propenal 2 , through a Hormer-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction with the phosphonate (XCH 2 PO(OEt) 2 ). The synthesis of 2 is also described.

We report herein the efficiency of quaternary ammonium salts as co-catalysts in organocatalytic Michael reactions involving iminium activation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. The enantioselective formal benzylation of these substrates has been optimized and used to rationalize the role of the ammonium salts in these processes.

( R )-(1 E ,3 E )-2-Cyclohexenyl-1-vinyl- p -tolylsulfoxide 1a and ( R )-(1 E ,3 E )-N-methyl-3-[2-( p -tolylsulfinyl) vinyl]-1H-in 1b reacted with N-methylmaleimide to give Diels-Alder adducts whose in situ evolution through a tandem sulfoxide-sulfenate rearrangement/dehydration/[4+2]-cycloaddition sequence afforded the all- cis substituted bicyclo [2,2,2] octene 7 in a highly stereoselective manner.

Enantiomerically pure 2-p-tolylsulfinylmaleates 1, 2 and 3 have been readily prepared by Knoevenagel reaction between (S)-menthyl p-toluenesulfinate and glyoxylic acid. Their asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions with cyclopentadiene have been studied under a wide range of uncatalyzed and catalyzed conditions and the stereochemical results have been explained by assuming a steric control approach, in term of S-cis or S-trans favoured conformations. Uncatalyzed Diels-Alder reactions of 1 and some Lewis acid catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions of 2 show high facial and endo selectivities. The facial selectivity of dienophile 2 highly depends on the Lewis acid, whereas reactivity of 1 and 3 is very sensitive to the solvent. These sulfinylmaleates 1, 2 and 3 act as synthetic equivalents of chiral acetylenedicarboxylates in Diels-Alder reactions after basic elimination of the sulfinylic moiety in the resulting adducts.

Optically pure cyano tert-alkyl sulfones have been obtained by organocatalytic enantioselective Michael addition of alpha-substituted cyanosulfones to vinyl ketones using cinchona alkaloids as catalysts. The best results were obtained for p-trifluorophenylsulfones by using VIII as catalyst in toluene at -40 degrees C. Reactions proved to be applicable for a variety of alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones, affording alpha,alpha-disubstituted cyanosulfones in excellent yields with er's up to 90:10.

16 páginas, 3 figuras, 1 tabla, 3 esquemas., The nature of chiro-inositol-containing inositolphosphoglycans (IPGs), reported to be putative insulin mediators, was studied by examination of the substrate specificities of the phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC) and the glycosylphosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase D (GPI-PLD) by using a series of synthetic D- and L-chiro-glycosylphosphoinositides. 3-O-α-D-Glucosaminyl- (3) and -galactosaminyl-2-phosphatidyl-L-chiro-inositol (4), which show the maximum stereochemical similarity to the 6-O-α-D-glucosaminylphosphatidylinositol pseudodisaccharide motifs of GPI anchors, were synthesized and asymmetrically incorporated into phospholipid bilayers in the form of large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs). Similarly, 2-O-α-D-glucosaminyl- (5) and -galactosaminyl-1-phosphatidyl-D-chiro-inositol (6), which differ from the corresponding pseudodisaccharide motif of the GPI anchors only in the axial orientation of the phosphatidyl moiety, were also synthesized and asymmetrically inserted into LUVs. The cleavage of these synthetic molecules in the liposomal constructs by PI-PLC from Bacillus cereus and by GPI-PLD from bovine serum was studied with the use of 6-O-α-D-glucosaminylphosphatidylinositol (7) and the conserved GPI anchor structure (8) as positive controls. Although PI-PLC cleaved 3 and 4 with about the same efficiency as 7 and 8, this enzyme did not accept 5 or 6. GPI-PLD accepted both the L-chiro- (3 and 4) and the D-chiro- (5 and 6) glycosylinositolphosphoinositides. Therefore, IPGs containing L-chiro-inositol only are expected to be released from chiro-inositol-containing GPIs if the cleavage is effected by a PI-PLC, whereas GPI-PLD cleavage could result in both L-chiro- and D-chiro-inositol-containing IPGs., We thank the Dirección General de Investigación for financial support (Grants BQU 2002–03734 and BFU 2004–02955), Dr. J. López-Prados and F. Alfonso for providing samples of 8, and 31 and 32, respectively, and the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia for a Ramón y Cajal contract (to M.B.C.).

11 páginas, 8 figuras, 3 tablas, 1 esquema., The stereochemical outcome of glycosylations with 2-azido-2-deoxy-D-gluco- and D-galactopyranosyl trichloroacetimidates as glycosyl donors has been investigated by using a series of chiro-inositol derivatives as glycosyl acceptors. The influence of the absolute configuration, the conformation and the conformational flexibility of the glycosyl acceptor has been studied by using different glycosyl donors under similar pre-established experimental conditions. Although the structure of the acceptor may play a role in governing the stereochemistry of these glycosylations, the results show that, in general terms, the relative influence of these factors is difficult to evaluate. For a given set of experimental conditions, the stereochemical course of these glycosylations depends on structural features of both glycosyl donor and glycosyl acceptor. It is a balance of these factors, where the structure of the glycosyl donor always plays a major role, which determines the stereochemistry of the coupling reaction. Therefore, the examples reported in the literature in which the structure of the glycosyl acceptor appears to be crucial in determining the stereochemistry of the reaction constitute particularly favorable cases which do not presently allow any further generalization., We thank the Dirección General de Investigación for financial support (Grant BQU 2002-03734) and the Ministry of Science and Technology for a Ramón y Cajal contract (to M.B.C.).

Heteroarylvinyl sulfone 1 has been successfully used as a new sulfonyl Michael acceptor in aminocatalytic reactions with branched aldehydes. Subsequent one-pot Julia-Kocienski olefination allows the challenging preparation of enantiomerically pure α-allylated aldehydes bearing C-α quaternary carbons.

The presence of a p-nitrophenyl group converts acetone into an excellent and versatile nucleophile in organocatalytic processes, able to react with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes affording β-substituted α-arylcyclohexenones via a Michael reaction/aldol reaction/dehydration sequence, which occurs in good yields, ee up to 96% and complete diastereoselectivity. The resulting compounds are excellent synthons for the diastereoselective preparation of a variety of synthetically useful polysubstituted cyclohexanones and derivatives.