Search

A facile and sustainable approach for the amination of benzothiazoles with KSeCN using iodine as the catalyst in water has been disclosed under transition-metal free conditions. The reaction proceeded smoothly to afford various primary 2-amino benzothiazoles in up to 96% yield. A series of control experiments were performed, suggesting a ring-opening mechanism was involved via a radical process. This protocol provides efficient synthesis of primary 2-aminobenzothiazoles

A regioselective arylation of aliphatic N-fluorosulfonamides with imidazopyridines enabled by breaking of N-F and α C(sp3)-H bond to form C-N and C-C bonds was described. With CuCl as the catalyst, a radical mechanism was proposed to produce N-arylated aliphatic sulfonamides via a N radical intermediate. Importantly, under acidic conditions, an in situ generated imine was the possible intermediate, which was trapped by imidazopyridines to form α C(sp3)-H arylated aliphatic sulfonamides. The current protocol featured a broad substrate scope, tunable reaction conditions, operational convenience, and good regioselectivity.

An iron-mediated highly selective C-H sulfonylmethylation of aniline derivatives with p-toluenesulfonylmethyl isocyanide in a mixture solvent of H2O and PEG400 under an Ar atmosphere has been realized. This transformation proceeds with operational convenience, use of earth-abundant metal catalyst and nontoxic media, broad substrate scope, and good functional group tolerance. The current methodology could be applied to the regioselective C-H sulfonylmethylation of indolines, tetrahydroquinolines, and tertiary anilines.

A metal-organic photoinduced electron transfer (PET) supramolecular nanoarchitecture comprised of Ru(II) bis(terpyridine)-modified pillar[5]arene (electron acceptor) and triazole triphenylamine amyl cyanide (electron donor) has been designed and constructed. Through the comparison of diverse solvents and acceptors, the two conditions, i.e., modification of pillar[5]arene to donor and weak polar solvent are benefit for the occurrence of “efficient PET” because of shorter D-A distance in the presence of pillar[5]arene. Crucially, the fluorescence and PET process of the supramolecular assembly could be further modulated by solvent conversion and another competitive guest. The study provides a supramolecular method to design and construct tunable PET systems and PET-based smart materials.

A NaOH-mediated sustainable synthesis of functionalized quinoxalines is disclosed via redox condensation of o-nitroamines with diols and α-hydroxy ketones. Under optimized conditions, various o-nitroamines and alcohols are well tolerated to generate the desired products in 44-99% yields without transition metals and external redox additives.

A Ru(II)-catalyzed bisallylation of imidazopyridines with vinylcyclopropanes or vinyl cyclic carbonate has been successfully realized. Notably, pharmacophore imidazopyridine was utilized as an intrinsic directing group, which gave access to value-added bisallylated products in high yields via double tandem C-H and C-C/C-O activation. The current methodology was featured with broad substrate scope, good functional group compatibility, and operational simplicity.

An efficient Cp*Rh(III)-catalyzed direct acylmethylation of 2H-indazoles with sulfoxonium ylides has been realized under air atmosphere via chelation-assisted strategy. This protocol enables a regioselective access to a variety of ortho-acylmethylated 2-phenylindazole derivatives in moderate to good yield, which has the advantages of broad substrate scope, good functional group tolerance, and operational convenience. The H/D exchange experiment reveals that a reversible cleavage of C-H bond might not be the rate-limiting step in this transformation.

A Rh(III)-catalyzed direct cyanation of 2H-indazoles with N-cyano-N-phenyl-p-toluenesulfonamide has been realized via a chelation-assisted strategy. The methodology enables regioselective access to...

A sustainable and transition metal-free approach for C3 chalcogenation and chalcogenocyanation of imidazopyridines with KXCN (X = S or Se) has been developed under mild conditions. Importantly, this reaction was performed in the presence of catalytic iodine in aqueous medium, which afforded either chalcogenated or chalcogenocyanated imidazopyridines under temperature control. The current protocol featured a broad substrate scope, transition metal-free and organic solvent-free conditions, operational convenience, and gram-scale production.

A Ru or Rh-catalyzed efficient and atom-economic C7 allylation of indolines with vinylcyclopropanes was developed via sequential C–H and C–C activation. A wide range of substrates were well tolerated to afford the corresponding allylated indolines in high yields and E/Z selectivities under microwave irradiation. The obtained allylated indolines could further undergo transformations to afford various value-added chemicals. Importantly, this reaction proceeded at room temperature under solvent-free conditions.

Eleven novel NNN Cu(II) complexes supported by a tridentate bis(imidazo[1,2-α]pyridin-2-yl)pyridine ligand were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, HRMS, and X-ray determination. Target prediction and docking studies indicated that these pincer complexes formed hydrogen bonds with Asp33 and Gly35 of Cathepsin D protein, which is highly associated with prognosis of advanced prostate cancer. Furthermore, they exhibited anti-proliferation activity in both androgen-sensitive and androgen-insensitive prostate cancer cells according to WST-1 assay results. Mechanistic study showed that pincer complexes arrested cell cycle progression at G0/G1 phase and inhibited Cathepsin D regulated signaling pathways. Most importantly, new pincer copper complexes significantly inhibited xenograft prostate cancer growth along with a promising in vivo safety profile. In summary, these results suggest the applicability of the developed novel pincer copper complexes as promising anticancer agents for prostate cancer treatment.

A regioselective arylation of aliphatic

The syntheses of 4'-substituted chiral 2,2':6',2″-terpyridine (tpy) ligands with predetermined configurations and directionalities are rather limited in the supramolecular chemistry field. In this study, a carbazole-linked ditopic chiral ligand

A Cu2+-specific chemosensor probe thiazolyl-hydrazone (BL) has been designed and prepared, which provide tridentate chelate NNO coordination mode for Cu2+ with binding stoichiometry of 1:1. The BL solution exhibits a rapid color change from colorless to yellow along with a new intense absorption band at 414 nm upon binding to Cu2+ cation, whereas other metal cations do not induce such a change. The analytical detection limit is 0.75 μM, and the naked eye detection limit is as low as 20 μM. Additionally, the emission signal of BL could be quenched by Cu2+ and Fe3+ with a detection limit of 7.2 μM and 4.3 μM, respectively.

An iron-catalyzed C–H sulfonylmethylation of indoles in water–PEG400 has been developed using p-toluenesulfonylmethyl isocyanide. This protocol enables direct regioselective construction of Csp2–Csp3 bond at the C3 position of indoles with a broad range of substrate compatibility in moderate to good yields, which is cost-effective and environmentally friendly.

An efficient NNN pincer Ru(II)-catalyzed preparation of quinazolines via acceptorless dehydrogenative strategy has been developed. Under the optimized conditions, a broad range of substituted o-aminobenzyl alcohols and (hetero)aryl or alkyl nitriles were well tolerated to afford various 2-substituted quinazolines in high yields. Subsequently, a set of control experiments have been performed to elucidate the reaction mechanism, which underwent alcohol oxidation, nitrile hydration, and cyclocondensation steps. The current protocol is featured with several advantages, such as environmental benignity, operational simplicity, broad substrate scope (compatible with aliphatic nitriles, up to 87% yield), and short reaction time (mostly in 2 h).

A series of unsymmetrical NNN′ ruthenium(II) complexes supported by a tridentate bipyridyl imidazoline ligand with variable steric hindrance (2a–c; R1 = tBu, iPr, or Bn) and electronic effect (2d–h; R2 = H, CH3, OCH3, Br, or NO2) were prepared. The molecular structures of ligands 1f and 1g, and Ru complex 2a were further determined by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The catalytic activity of these eight complexes for α-alkylation of nitriles with alcohols was evaluated, which could be controlled by the substituents on the imidazoline moiety. Ru complex 2h bearing a strong electron-withdrawing group (R2 = NO2) demonstrated the highest catalytic activity, with alkylated nitriles achieved in up to 97% yield.

A series of platinum and palladium pincer complexes supported by achiral 1,3-bis(2′-imidazolinyl)benzene-based NCN ligands have been prepared via direct C2 metalation. Meanwhile, ligand precursor 3b and Pt(II) complex 4b were characterized by crystallographic studies, which reveals that the platinum atom in 4b adopts a distorted-square-planar geometry. The Pd(II) pincer complexes 5b was found to be an efficient catalyst for Suzuki cross-coupling reaction of aryl bromides and phenylboronic acid under air. In the presence of 0.5 mol% of Pd(II) 5b in DMF/K3PO4·3H2O for 8 h, the corresponding biaryl products could be obtained in 24–99% yields.

An iron-mediated highly selective C-H sulfonylmethylation of aniline derivatives with

A NaOH-mediated sustainable synthesis of functionalized quinoxalines is disclosed via redox condensation of

A Ru(II)-catalyzed bisallylation of imidazopyridines with vinylcyclopropanes or vinyl cyclic carbonate has been successfully realized. Notably, pharmacophore imidazopyridine was utilized as an intrinsic directing group, which gave access to value-added bisallylated products in high yields via double tandem C-H and C-C/C-O activation. The current methodology was featured with broad substrate scope, good functional group compatibility, and operational simplicity.

A Rh(III)-catalyzed direct cyanation of 2

A cobalt-catalyzed C(sp2)–H alkoxylation of 1-naphthylamine derivatives has been disclosed, which represents an efficient approach to synthesize aryl ethers with broad functional group tolerance. It is noteworthy that secondary alcohols, such as hexafluoroisopropanol, isopropanol, isobutanol, and isopentanol, were well tolerated under the current catalytic system. Moreover, a series of biologically relevant fluorine-aryl ethers were easily obtained under mild reaction conditions after the removal of the directing group.

A series of palladium(II) and nickel(II) complexes based on unsymmetrical chiral (imidazolinyl)aryl NHC ligands are reported. The new ligand presursors 3a–g were prepared from commercially available 3-bromobenzoic acid, in which the carboxyl and bromo functionalities were converted to chiral imidazoline and NHC moieties, respectively, in three steps. Treatment of 3a–g with Pd(OAc)2 in dimethylacetamide in the presence of NaOAc, followed by addition of LiCl, gave the seven palladium(II) pincer complexes 4a–g via direct aryl C–H activation. Likewise, the six nickel(II) pincer complexes 5a–f were obtained by reacting 3a–f with anhydrous NiCl2. All of the ligand precursors and pincer complexes are bench-stable and were fully characterized. The absolute configurations of palladium complexes 4a,c and 5e were further determined by X-ray diffraction. Finally, Pd pincer complex catalyzed asymmetric Friedel–Crafts alkylation and aza-Morita–Baylis–Hillman reactions were briefly assessed.

Novel iodine-induced sulfonylation and sulfenylation of imidazopyridines have been described using sodium sulfinates as the sulfur source. This strategy enables highly selective difunctionalization of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine to access sulfones and sulfides in good yields. A wide range of substrates and functional groups were well-tolerated under optimized conditions. Moreover, control experiments have been conducted, indicating a radical pathway involved in the reaction mechanisms.

A Pd(II)-catalyzed acetoxylation of 2H-indazoles with phenyliodine (III) diacetate (PIDA) has been successfully developed. Notably, pharmacophore 2H-indazole was utilized as an inherent directing group to access ortho-acetoxylated arylindazoles in moderate to high yields. The representative acetoxylated indazole could further undergo hydrolysis to afford the corresponding hydroxylated product.

An ionic 2,6-bis(imidazo[1,2-α]pyridin-2-yl)pyridine-based N^N^N pincer ruthenium(II) complex exhibited high efficiency in the C–N bond formation between amines and alcohols by the “borrowing hydrogen” (BH) or “hydrogen autotransfer” (HA) concept. The synthetic protocol selectively generated monoalkylated amines without formation of tertiary amines during the reaction. The unique selectivity enabled the formation of symmetrically and asymmetrically substituted diamines. This methodology features several advantages including a low catalyst loading (as low as 0.5 mol-%), a short reaction time (as short as 2 h), and excellent N-monoalkylation selectivity.

An efficient Cp*Rh(III)-catalyzed selective bis-cyanation of arylimidazo[1,2-α]pyridines with N-cyano-N-phenyl-p-methylbenzenesulfonamide via N-directed ortho double C-H activation has been developed. The reaction proceeds with broad functional group tolerance to furnish various cyanated imidazopyridines in high yields. The current methodology exhibits unique characteristics, including high bis-cyanation selectivity, operational convenience, and gram-scale production.

As a powerful synthetic tool for the formation of aromatic C–N bonds, the reported transition-metal-catalyzed direct C–H amination has been ineffective for the synthesis of triarylamines for a long time. Herein, an elegant strategy for the preparation of triarylamines was disclosed using inexpensive Co(OAc)2·4H2O as the catalyst. It is noteworthy that unactivated arenes and simple anilines were employed as the starting materials with good functional group tolerance. In addition, an organometallic Co(III) species was isolated and identified by X-ray crystallography, thus providing some in-depth insights into the mechanism.

In this manuscript, we report a design strategy to control polychromophore polymer folding at the single molecule level through hydrogen-bonding (H-bonding) interactions. Polymers composed of bis(2-ethylhexyl)-p-phenylene vinylene (BEH-PPV) oligomers (trimers) containing H-bonding capable side-chains (e.g., carboxylic acid or urea units) were prepared by copolymerization with flexible linkers. Control polymers with masked H-bonding side-chains (e.g., t-butyl ester) were also prepared. Different polymer folding schemes are proposed including random or non-folding for the control polymers, and side-on and face-on geometries for the carboxylic acid and urea motifs, respectively. Single molecule excitation polarization spectroscopy demonstrates that the highest folding order is achieved with the urea containing side-chains and isotropic folding is found in polymers that do not contain H-bonding units. We propose that the effects of the chromophore conformational geometries and the type of H-bonding are additive and lead to highly aligned urea-containing polymers. In addition, an examination of the individual polymers’ spectral signatures via single molecule spectroscopy showed an overall red-shift of ∼0.06 eV in the 0–0 origin peak for the urea-containing polymer compared to the other two polymer systems. This spectral shift is attributed to planarization of the backbone and further supports the presence of a highly ordered urea-containing polymer structure. Utilization of this H-bonding inclusion synthetic strategy to control polymer secondary structure could provide important design elements for future functional material design.

An efficient nitrosylation of imidazo[1,2- a ]pyridines has been developed using tert-Butyl nitrite (TBN) as the NO resource. The nitrosylation protocol demonstrates broad compatibilities, with various functional groups such as halogen, Me, OMe, COOMe et al. well tolerated. Near quantitative yields could be obtained within the imidazo[1,2- a ]pyridine scaffold under the optimized conditions.

An efficient one pot, three component synthesis of C3 sulfonamidomethylated imidazopyridines has been disclosed under metal-free conditions, which utilized the commercially available and renewable reagent methanol as the main methylene source. A wide range of substituted imidazopyridines and sulfamides/amines were well tolerated to afford the corresponding products in up to 92% yield. In the isotopic labelling experiment, it was found that a minor part of the methylene also originated from DTBP. Moreover, the radical scavenger reactions were conducted, which suggested that a free-radical mechanism was probably not involved. The current methodology featured several advantages, including broad substrate scope, good functional group tolerance and high reaction efficiency.

A mixed directing-group strategy for inexpensive [Co(acac)3]-catalyzed oxidative C−H/C−H bond arylation of unactivated arenes has been disclosed. This strategy enables the arylation of a wide range of benzamide and arylpyridines effectively to afford novel bifunctionalized biaryls, which are difficult to achieve by common synthetic routes. Two different pathways, namely, a single-electron-transmetalation process (8-aminoquinoline-directed) and a concerted metalation–deprotonation process (pyridine-directed), were involved to activate two different inert aromatic C−H bonds. Moreover, the aryl radicals have been trapped by 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenol to form benzylated products. This unique strategy should be useful in the design of other arene C−H/C−H cross-couplings as well.

A new cobalt(II)-catalyzed decarboxylative C-H activation/annulation of benzamides and alkynyl carboxylic acids has been described. Alkynyl carboxylic acids were first employed as the coupling partners using inexpensive Co(OAc)2·4H2O as the catalyst. This method enables a switchable cyclization to isoquinolones and isoindolinones with excellent selectivity. Moreover, a catalytic amount of Ag2O was adopted as co-catalyst and O2 (from air) as a terminal oxidant for the preparation of isoquinolones.