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Cobalt-mediated radical polymerizations (CMRPs) have been initiated by the radical decarboxylation of tetrachlorophthalimide activated esters. This allows for the controlled radical polymerization of activated monomers across a broad temperature range with a single cobalt species, with the incorporation of polymer end groups derived from simple carboxylic acid derivatives and termination with an organozinc reagent. This method has been applied to the synthesis of a polymer/graphene conjugate and a water-soluble protein/polymer conjugate, demonstrating the first examples of CMRP in graphene and protein conjugation.

A phosphine-catalyzed approach to pyrrolines has been developed that involves two mechanistically unlinked catalytic processes. The first involves the redox isomerization of amino crotonates to provide access to aliphatic tosyl imines, which then engage in a (3+2) annulation with various allenoates. The reaction shows generality, with 24 examples established, along with a low yielding and moderately enantioselective variant. Mechanistic studies indicate that the viability of the process is linked to the selection of catalysts with similar propensity to add to the two coupling partners.

Herein, we report an enantioselective catalytic annulation of electron-poor allenes with aminocrotonates. The reaction proceeds by the umpolung γ-amination of the allenoate and β-umpolung intramolecular conjugate addition. The reaction provides ready access to pyrrolidines using a homochiral phosphepine catalyst, which allows most products to form in good yields (55-85%) with ≥95:5 er and ≥4:1 dr. An assisted tandem-catalytic variant is also viable, and mechanistic studies supporting the proposed reaction pathway are reported.

A family of thermoresponsive poly(

Cobalt-mediated radical polymerisations (CMRPs) have been initiated by the radical decarboxylation of tetrachlorophthalimide activated esters. This allows for the controlled radical polymerisation of both activated and less activated monomers across a broad temperature range with a single cobalt species, with incorporation of polymer endgroups derived from simple carboxylic acids derivatives and termination with an organozinc reagent. This method has been applied to the synthesis of a water-soluble protein/polymer conjugate, demonstrating the first example of CMRP in protein conjugation.

Despite versatile applications of functionalized graphene in catalysis, applications of pure, unfunctionalized graphene in catalysis are in their infancy. This work uses both computational and experimental approaches to show that single-layer graphene can efficiently catalyze the racemization of axially chiral BINOL in solution. Using double-hybrid density functional theory (DHDFT) we calculate the uncatalyzed and catalyzed Gibbs free reaction barrier heights in a number of representative solvents of varying polarity: benzene, diphenyl ether, dimethylformamide (DMF), and water. These calculations show that (i) graphene can achieve significant catalytic efficiencies (▵▵G≠cat ) varying between 47.2 (in diphenyl ether) and 60.7 (in DMF) kJ mol-1 . An energy decomposition analysis reveals that this catalytic activity is driven by electrostatic and dispersion interactions. Based on these computational results, we explore the graphene-catalyzed racemization of axially chiral BINOL experimentally and show that single-layer graphene can efficiently catalyze this process. Whilst the uncatalyzed racemization requires high temperatures of over 200 °C, a pristine single-layer graphene catalyst makes it accessible at 60 °C.

The ability to modify the thiocarbonylthio end-groups of RAFT polymers is important for applications where an inert or highly functionalised material is required. Here we report a copper promoted cross-coupling reaction between RAFT polymer end-groups and aryl boronic acids. This method gives high conversion to the modified polymers, and is compatible with a wide variety of functional molecules.

First reported less than a decade ago, the α,β-unsaturated acyl azolium has emerged as a central reactive intermediate for reaction discovery using N-heterocyclic carbene catalysis. In this Perspective, an introduction to the four main reactivity patterns accessible from this intermediate is provided. The Perspective is handled in a largely chronological fashion, with an emphasis on alternate approaches to the key intermediate and first-in-class reaction cascades. Finally, a brief discussion of emerging trends in this field of catalysis is presented. Although not exhaustive, the Perspective provides an overview of this active area of research and serves as a guide for future investigations.

The use of biodiesel derived from oils and fats is making an increased contribution as a renewable energy source. The synthesis of biodiesel involves transesterification of triglycerides to the monoalkyl esters, a process often made challenging by the presence of free fatty acids (FFA). Herein an integrated flow system for the synthesis of biodiesel, employing a solid supported acid catalyst for esterification of FFAs, followed by transesterification using polymer supported N-heterocycle carbene (NHC) catalyst is reported. This system delivers biodiesel in high yields from a variety of fat and oils, using robust and recyclable catalysts.

The use of an isolatable, monomeric Pd(I) complex as a catalyst for the oxidative cross-coupling of aryl- antimony and aryl-boron nucleophiles is reported. This reaction tolerates a wide variety of substrates, with >20:1 selectivity for cross-coupled products. This strategy offers a new approach to achieving the selective cross-coupling of nucleophiles.

The (5 + 1) annulation of ynone/cinnamates and related substrates with protected primary amines gives rise to isoquinolones, pyrrolidinones and pyrrolopiperazines in good to excellent yields under phosphine catalysis. The reaction is viable with chiral phosphines, although the selectivity is poor.

Alkene and alkyne hydroacylation reactions are archetypal examples of simple addition processes that display excellent atom economy.1 Both reactions result in the formation of a new C–C bond and deliver synthetically useful carbonyl-containing products.2 In recent years, there has been considerable interest in converting these processes into synthetically useful transformations. Transition-metal-catalyzed variants represent the largest class of hydroacylation reactions, and amongst these, processes that involve some form of chelation control dominate. The need to employ a chelating substrate stems from the fact that the majority of the metal-catalyzed examples proceed through an inherently unstable acyl metal intermediate 1 (Scheme 1), which can lead to the formation of unwanted side products formed by decarbonylation. A limitation of the chelation-controlled strategy is that the coordinating group, which is present to stabilize the metal–acyl intermediate 2, will also be present in the product. If this group is not needed in the final product, then it must be removed or converted into an alternative functional group.3 Despite this limitation, the advantages of this chelation-controlled process, such as mild reaction conditions, control of enantio- and regioselectivity,4, 5 and broad substrate scope, have resulted in widespread applications of this approach. One strategy to overcome the innate limitation of a chelation-controlled approach is to develop catalytic methods that function without the need for such coordinating groups; although there are notable examples of success with this approach,2c, 6 significant limitations with regard to substrate scope and enantio- and regioselectivity remain. An alternative strategy is to consider the need for a chelating unit as an opportunity, and to expand the range of effective coordinating groups, so that a large variety of useful functional groups can act as the crucial chelating motif. As synthetic chemistry is generally concerned with the preparation of functionalized molecules, an approach that is tolerant of, or indeed benefits from, as many useful functional groups as possible should find wide application. Herein, we demonstrate that simple and readily available 2-aminobenzaldehydes are excellent substrates for intermolecular Rh-catalyzed alkyne hydroacylation, and in doing so add to the motifs available for use in these valuable processes. Furthermore, the products of these reactions, amino-substituted enones, were directly converted into a series of useful dihydroquinolone heterocycles.

A comparative study of seven crystallographically characterized rhodium precatalysts, which contain a variety of chelating diphosphine ligands, for the hydroacylation of 1-octyne or 1-octene with 2-(methylthio)benzaldehyde has been undertaken. These studies show that the best performing catalyst for 1-octyne, [Rh(L)(η6-C6H5F)][BArF4], L = iPr2PNMePiPr2, delivers alkyne selective hydroacylation with high efficiencies at low loadings (1 mol %, 2.0 M aldehyde, 25 °C, ToN = 100, 97% conversion in 5 min), and also shows high selectivity for the linear product. Experiments suggest that the alkyne selectivity arises from the alkyne being more competitive for metal binding compared to the alkene. Labeling experiments using the [Rh( tBu2PCH2PtBu2) (η6-C6H5F)][BArF4] system, that gives the final product in a linear:branched ratio of 6:1, indicate that the pathway that produces the branched product operates via an irreversible hydride insertion. Intermediate acyl hydride complexes, [Rh(L)(H)(COC6H4SMe)(acetone)][BArF4], have been characterized by low temperature NMR spectroscopy, as have their subsequent reductive decarbonylation products, one of which has also been crystallographically characterized: [Rh(iPr 2PNMePiPr2)(SMePh)(CO)][BArF4]. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Combining α-methylthiomethyl (MTM) ether substituted aldehydes and 1-alkynes in the presence of [Rh(dppe)]ClO(4) results in efficient intermolecular alkyne hydroacylation to deliver α-O-MTM-substituted enone products. The product MTM ethers can be converted to the free hydroxyl group either in situ, by the addition of water to the completed reaction, or in a separate operation, by the action of silver nitrate.

A new rhodium(I) catalyst allows practical and efficient alkyne carbothiolation reactions to be achieved on synthetically useful ketone-bearing aryl methyl sulfides. The carbothiolation adducts, featuring a 'recycled methyl sulfide' activating group, are convenient precursors to highly substituted isoquinolines.

Readily prepared and bench-stable rhodium complexes containing methylene bridged diphosphine ligands, viz. [Rh(C(6)H(5)F)(R(2)PCH(2)PR'(2))][BAr(F)(4)] (R, R' = (t)Bu or Cy; Ar(F) = C(6)H(3)-3,5-(CF(3))(2)), are shown to be practical and very efficient precatalysts for the intermolecular hydroacylation of a wide variety of unactivated alkenes and alkynes with β-S-substituted aldehydes. Intermediate acyl hydride complexes [Rh((t)Bu(2)PCH(2)P(t)Bu(2))H{κ(2)(S,C)-SMe(C(6)H(4)CO)}(L)](+) (L = acetone, MeCN, [NCCH(2)BF(3)](-)) and the decarbonylation product [Rh((t)Bu(2)PCH(2)P(t)Bu(2))(CO)(SMePh)](+) have been characterized in solution and by X-ray crystallography from stoichiometric reactions employing 2-(methylthio)benzaldehdye. Analogous complexes with the phosphine 2-(diphenylphosphino)benzaldehyde are also reported. Studies indicate that through judicious choice of solvent and catalyst/substrate concentration, both decarbonylation and productive hydroacylation can be tuned to such an extent that very low catalyst loadings (0.1 mol %) and turnover frequencies of greater than 300 h(-1) can be achieved. The mechanism of catalysis has been further probed by KIE and deuterium labeling experiments. Combined with the stoichiometric studies, a mechanism is proposed in which both oxidative addition of the aldehyde to give an acyl hydride and insertion of the hydride into the alkene are reversible, with the latter occurring to give both linear and branched alkyl intermediates, although reductive elimination for the linear isomer is suggested to have a considerably lower barrier.

Readily available α-amino aldehydes, incorporating a methylthiomethyl (MTM) protecting group on nitrogen, are shown to be efficient substrates in Rh-catalyzed alkyne hydroacylation reactions. The reactions are performed under mild conditions, employing a small-bite-angle bis-phosphine ligand, allowing for good functional group tolerance with high stereospecificity. Amino aldehydes derived from glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, serine, tryptophan, methionine, and cysteine were successfully employed, as was an enantiomerically enriched α-OMTM-aldehyde derived from phenyllactic acid. The synthetic utility of the α-amino enone products is demonstrated in a short enantioselective synthesis of the natural product sphingosine.

Readily available α-amino aldehydes, incorporating a methylthiomethyl (MTM) protecting group on nitrogen, are shown to be efficient substrates in Rh-catalyzed alkyne hydroacylation reactions. The reactions are performed under mild conditions, employing a small-bite-angle bis-phosphine ligand, allowing for good functional group tolerance with high stereospecificity. Amino aldehydes derived from glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, serine, tryptophan, methionine, and cysteine were successfully employed, as was an enantiomerically enriched α-OMTM-aldehyde derived from phenyllactic acid. The synthetic utility of the α-amino enone products is demonstrated in a short enantioselective synthesis of the natural product sphingosine.

The intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction has been used as a powerful method to access the tricyclic core of the eunicellin natural products from a number of 9-membered-ring precursors. The endo/exo selectivity of this reaction can be controlled through a remarkable organocatalytic approach, employing MacMillan's imidazolidinone catalysts, although the mechanistic origin of this selectivity remains unclear. We present a combined experimental and density functional theory investigation, providing insight into the effects of medium-ring constraints on the organocatalyzed intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction to form the isobenzofuran core of the eunicellins.

We have developed a general protocol for the interconversion of diverse protected boronic acids, via intermediate organotrifluoroborates. N-Methyliminodiacetyl boronates, which have been hitherto resistant to direct conversion to trifluoroborates, have been shown to undergo fluorolysis at elevated temperatures. Subsequent solvolysis of organotrifluoroborates in the presence of trimethylsilyl chloride and a wide range of bis-nucleophiles enables the generation of a variety of protected boronic acids.

Alkene and alkyne hydroacylation reactions are archetypal examples of simple addition processes that display excellent atom economy.1 Both reactions result in the formation of a new C–C bond and deliver synthetically useful carbonyl-containing products.2 In recent years, there has been considerable interest in converting these processes into synthetically useful transformations. Transition-metal-catalyzed variants represent the largest class of hydroacylation reactions, and amongst these, processes that involve some form of chelation control dominate. The need to employ a chelating substrate stems from the fact that the majority of the metal-catalyzed examples proceed through an inherently unstable acyl metal intermediate 1 (Scheme 1), which can lead to the formation of unwanted side products formed by decarbonylation. A limitation of the chelation-controlled strategy is that the coordinating group, which is present to stabilize the metal–acyl intermediate 2, will also be present in the product. If this group is not needed in the final product, then it must be removed or converted into an alternative functional group.3 Despite this limitation, the advantages of this chelation-controlled process, such as mild reaction conditions, control of enantio- and regioselectivity,4, 5 and broad substrate scope, have resulted in widespread applications of this approach. One strategy to overcome the innate limitation of a chelation-controlled approach is to develop catalytic methods that function without the need for such coordinating groups; although there are notable examples of success with this approach,2c, 6 significant limitations with regard to substrate scope and enantio- and regioselectivity remain. An alternative strategy is to consider the need for a chelating unit as an opportunity, and to expand the range of effective coordinating groups, so that a large variety of useful functional groups can act as the crucial chelating motif. As synthetic chemistry is generally concerned with the preparation of functionalized molecules, an approach that is tolerant of, or indeed benefits from, as many useful functional groups as possible should find wide application. Herein, we demonstrate that simple and readily available 2-aminobenzaldehydes are excellent substrates for intermolecular Rh-catalyzed alkyne hydroacylation, and in doing so add to the motifs available for use in these valuable processes. Furthermore, the products of these reactions, amino-substituted enones, were directly converted into a series of useful dihydroquinolone heterocycles.

A new rhodium(I) catalyst allows practical and efficient alkyne carbothiolation reactions to be achieved on synthetically useful ketone-bearing aryl methyl sulfides. The carbothiolation adducts, featuring a ‘recycled methyl sulfide’ activating group, are convenient precursors to highly substituted isoquinolines.

A novel ruthenium catalyzed cross-coupling reaction between the title substrates, which shows good functional group tolerance, is developed.

The Rh(i)-catalysed coupling of aryl and alkenyl boronic acids with simple aryl and alkenyl methyl sulfides is reported. The process employs bench-stable Rh(i) precatalysts incorporating small bite-angle chelating phosphine ligands (R2PCH2PR2, R = iPr, Cy), shows good functional group tolerance, and proceeds under mild reaction conditions. Importantly, aryl bromide activating groups are inert to the reaction conditions, allowing selective reaction at either a methyl sulfide or bromide activating group, depending on catalyst (metal) choice. The scope of the coupling reactions, their combination with Rh-catalysed hydroacylation reactions in cascade processes, together with preliminary mechanistic studies, are all documented. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013.

A new functional-group tolerant, rhodium-catalyzed, sulfide-reduction process is combined with rhodium-catalyzed chelation-controlled hydroacylation reactions to give a traceless hydroacylation protocol. Aryl- and alkenyl aldehydes can be combined with both alkenes, alkynes and allenes to give traceless products in high yields. A preliminary mechanistic proposal is also presented.

Intermolecular hydroacylation of a wide variety of unactivated alkenes, allenes and alkynes with aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes is efficiently catalyzed by rhodium catalysts containing diphosphine ligands with small bite angles.

The optimized Rh(I)-catalyzed reaction of aryl methyl sulfides such as (I) with terminal alkynes affords arylvinyl methyl sulfides.

A Rh(I)-catalyzed method for the efficient functionalization of arenes is reported. Aryl methyl sulfides are combined with terminal alkynes to deliver products of carbothiolation. The overall process results in reincorporation of the original arene functional group, a methyl sulfide, into the products as an alkenyl sulfide. The carbothiolation process can be combined with an initial Rh(I)-catalyzed alkene or alkyne hydroacylation reaction in three-component cascade sequences. The utility of the alkenyl sulfide products is also demonstrated in simple carbo- and heterocycle-forming processes. We also provide mechanistic evidence for the course of this new process.

The reaction with a wide range of terminal alkynes affords α-O-methylthiomethyl-substituted enone products.

Poly(dibenzosilole)s have been increasingly reported as an alternative to polyfluorene in organic electronic materials. Poly(dibenzosilole)s show similar optical properties to polyfluorene, but with improved resistance to oxidation and thermal stability. Several poly(dibenzosilole)s and their co-polymers have been incorporated into organic electronic devices, such as light emitting diodes and solar cells. These materials have shown improved performance over their polyfluorene-based counterparts.

The c-myb gene encodes a transcription factor required for the normal development of T cells in the thymus, and for subsequent peripheral T-cell activation and survival. However, the profile of genes known to be transcriptionally regulated by c-Myb in T cells does not adequately explain the pleiotrophic nature of the effects of c-Myb. We present here a detailed molecular characterization of the regulation of a novel target gene, the histone variant H2A.Z. We show that c-Myb is able to bind to and activate the H2A.Z promoter in T cells both in vitro and in vivo, and present evidence that perturbation of Myb activity during T-cell development results in reduced H2A.Z expression. As H2A.Z is absolutely required for the early stages of mammalian development, and plays essential roles in the regulation of chromatin structure in gene promoters in yeast, its regulation by c-Myb is likely to be of some importance during T-cell development.

The intramolecular Diels-Alder approach to synthesizing eunicellins has proved to be a powerful method for the synthesis of this class of natural products. The key to the success of this strategy is control over the endo/exo selectivity of the cycloaddition reaction, which we have addressed through an organocatalytic reaction employing the MacMillan imidazolidinone catalyst. This approach has been further developed to address the issue of functionality at the C8 position, and a novel scalable method for the extension of the medium-ring lactone has been developed.

Poly(dibenzosilole)s have been increasingly reported as an alternative to polyfluorene in organic electronic materials. Poly(dibenzosilole)s show similar optical properties to polyfluorene, but with improved resistance to oxidation and thermal stability. Several poly(dibenzosilole)s and their co-polymers have been incorporated into organic electronic devices, such as light emitting diodes and solar cells. These materials have shown improved performance over their polyfluorene-based counterparts.