Sunlight-Driven Synthesis of Triarylethylenes (TAEs) via Metal-Free Mizoroki-Heck-Type Coupling

Arylazo sulfones: multifaceted photochemical reagents and beyond

The photochemical action of arylazo sulfones under visible light irradiation has recently gained considerable attention for the construction of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds in organic synthesis. The inherent dyedauxiliary group (-N2SO2R) embedded in the reagent is responsible for the absorption of visible light even in the absence of a photocatalyst, additive or oxidant, leading to the generation of three different radicals, viz. aryl (carbon-centred), sulfonyl (sulphur-centred) and diazenyl (nitrogen-centred) radicals, under different reaction conditions. Encountering a reagent with such a versatile behaviour is quite rare, which makes arylazo sulfones a highly interesting class of compounds. The mild reaction conditions under which these reagents can operate are an added advantage. Recently, they are also being used as non-ionic photoacid generators (PAGs), electron acceptors, and hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) and imination reagents in a number of synthetic transformations. They have displayed substantial damaging effect on the structure of DNA in the presence of light which can lead to their use as phototoxic pharmaceuticals for cancer treatment. Moreover, their photochemistry is also being exploited in polymerization reactions (as photoinitiators) and in materials chemistry (surface modification).

Visible-Light-Mediated Divergent and Regioselective Vicinal Difunctionalization of Styrenes with Arylazo Sulfones

Activated by visible light, arylazo sulfones can serve as multifaceted reactants and are employed in diazenylation, sulfonylation, and arylation reactions under (photo)catalyst-free conditions. Such versatile reactivity enabled us to develop an operationally simple, regioselective, and tunable difunctionalization of styrenes with arylazo sulfones to produce α-sulfonyl arylhydrazones and 1,2-alkoxyarylated products in moderate to excellent yields. Furthermore, such difunctionalized products have been exploited as key building blocks for the synthesis of various heterocycles.

Friedel-Crafts arylation of aldehydes with indoles utilizing arylazo sulfones as the photoacid generator

A versatile, inexpensive and sustainable protocol for the preparation of valuable bis-indolyl methanes via visible light-mediated, metal-free Friedel-Crafts arylation has been developed. The procedure, that exploits the peculiar behavior of arylazo sulfones as non-ionic photoacid generators (PAGs), was applied to the conversion of a variety of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes into diarylmethanes in good to highly satisfactory yields, employing a low-catalyst loading (0.5 mol%) and irradiation at 456 nm.

Visible-light-induced one-pot synthesis of sulfonic esters via multicomponent reaction of arylazo sulfones and alcohols

Sulfonic ester is a chemical structure common to many organic molecules, including biologically active compounds. Herein, a visible-light-induced synthetic method to prepare aryl sulfonic ester from arylazo sulfones was developed. In the present study, a one-pot reaction was carried out using arylazo sulfones, DABSO (DABCO·(SO2)2), and alcohols in the presence of CuI as a coupling catalyst and HCl as an additive to yield sulfonic esters via multicomponent reaction. This synthetic method afforded a wide range of sulfonic esters with high yields under mild conditions.

Pd-Catalyzed Coupling of N-Tosylhydrazones with Benzylic Phosphates: Toward the Synthesis of Di- or Tri-Substituted Alkenes

This study shows that various di- and tri-substituted alkenes with high chemoselectivity were obtained in good to high yields by coupling N-tosylhydrazones (NTHs) with benzylic phosphates as electrophilic partners. The obtained new catalytic system consisted of PdCl₂(CH₃CN)₂/dppp, LiOtBu as a base, and cyclopentyl methyl ether as a green solvent. In addition, we performed a gram-scale transformation using NTH derivatives and benzylic phosphates having a C sp²-Cl bond. The latter was used as a starting point for further postfunctionalization of the key intermediates.

Desulfonylation via Radical Process: Recent Developments in Organic Synthesis

As the "chemical chameleon", sulfonyl-containing compounds and their variants have been merged with various types of reactions for the efficient construction of diverse molecular architectures by taking advantage of their incredible reactive flexibility. Currently, their involvement in radical transformations, in which the sulfonyl group typically acts as a leaving group via selective C-S, N-S, O-S, S-S, and Se-S bond cleavage/functionalization, has facilitated new bond formation strategies which are complementary to classical two-electron cross-couplings via organometallic or ionic intermediates. Considering the great influence and synthetic potential of these novel avenues, we summarize recent advances in this rapidly expanding area by discussing the reaction designs, substrate scopes, mechanistic studies, and their limitations, outlining the state-of-the-art processes involved in radical-mediated desulfonylation and related transformations. With a specific emphasis on their synthetic applications, we believe this review will be useful for medicinal and synthetic organic chemists who are interested in radical chemistry and radical-mediated desulfonylation in particular.

Dyedauxiliary Group Strategy for the α-Functionalization of Ketones and Esters

The synthesis of α-arylketones and α-arylazo esters has been achieved in mixed organic-aqueous media under photocatalyst- and metal-free conditions via visible light activation of arylazo sulfones in the presence of enol silyl ethers and ketene silyl acetals, respectively. The process took place efficiently and exhibits an excellent tolerance for a broad variety of functional groups.

A photocatalyst-free visible-light-mediated solvent-switchable route to stilbenes/vinyl sulfones from β-nitrostyrenes and arylazo sulfones

Photocatalyst-free visible-light-mediated reactions, based on the presence of a visible-light-absorbing functional group in the starting material itself in order to exclude the often costly, hazardous, degradable and difficult to remove or recover photoredox catalysts, have been gaining momentum recently. We have employed this approach to develop a denitrative photocatalyst-free visible-light-mediated protocol for the arylation/sulfonylation of β-nitrostyrenes employing arylazo sulfones (bench-stable photolabile compounds) in a switchable solvent-controlled manner. Arylazo sulfones served as the aryl and sulfonyl radical precursors under blue LED irradiation for the synthesis of trans-stilbenes and (E)-vinyl sulfones in CH3CN and dioxane/H2O 2 : 1, respectively. The absence of any metal, photocatalyst and additive; excellent selectivity (E-stereochemistry) and solvent-switchability; and the use of visible light and ambient temperature are the prime assets of the developed method. Moreover, we report the first photocatalyst-free visible light-driven route to synthesize stilbenes and vinyl sulfones from readily available β-nitrostyrenes.

Blue light driven free-radical polymerization using arylazo sulfones as initiators

The polymerization of a broad range of electron-poor olefins has been achieved under free-radical conditions by using arylazo sulfones as visible light photoinitiators.

Dyedauxiliary Groups, an Emerging Approach in Organic Chemistry. The Case of Arylazo Sulfones

The number of research papers that report photocatalyst-free protocols is currently increasing. Among the different approaches proposed, the conversion of a strong C-X bond of a stable substrate into a photolabile reactive moiety has been recently proposed. In this Synopsis, we introduce the so-dubbed dyedauxiliary group strategy by focusing on arylazo sulfones that are bench stable and visible-light responsive derivatives of anilines that have been exploited as precursors of a wide range of intermediates, including carbon-centered radicals as well as aryl cations.

"Bulky-Yet-Flexible" α-Diimine Palladium-Catalyzed Reductive Heck Cross-Coupling: Highly Anti-Markovnikov-Selective Hydroarylation of Alkene in Air

To pursue a highly regioselective and efficient reductive Heck reaction, a series of moisture- and air-stable α-diimine palladium precatalysts were rationally designed, readily synthesized, and fully characterized. The relationship between the structures of the palladium complexes and the catalytic properties was investigated. It was revealed that the"bulky-yet-flexible"palladium complexes allowed highly anti-Markovnikov-selective hydroarylation of alkenes with (hetero)aryl bromides under aerobic conditions. Further synthetic application of the present protocol could provide rapid and straightforward access to functional and biologically active molecules.

Simultaneous Photografting of Two Organic Groups on a Gold Surface by using Arylazo Sulfones as Single Precursors

Arylazo sulfones have been exploited as photoactivatable substrates for the simultaneous photografting of both aryl and methanesulfonyl groups on a gold surface. The obtained samples have been characterized by different spectroscopic techniques including ellipsometry and electrochemistry, infrared reflection absorption, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, XPS, and AFM. Grafting occurs through a simple N-S cleavage and not, as usually observed with aromatic precursors, by electron transfer.

O-Perfluoropyridin-4-yl Oximes: Iminyl Radical Precursors for Photo- or Thermal-Induced N-O Cleavage in C(sp2)-C(sp3) Bond Formation

O-Perfluoropyridin-4-yl group was first installed onto cycloketone oximes as a new electrophore, which was proven to be efficient iminyl radical precursors under photocatalytic and thermal conditions. A range of O-perfluoropyridin-4-yl oximes were successfully utilized in C(sp²)-C(sp³) bond formations of quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones and alkenes, providing facile accesses to a range of functionalized alkylnitriles.

Sulphonic acid functionalized porphyrin anchored with a meso-substituted triazolium ionic liquid moiety: a heterogeneous photo-catalyst for metal/base free C–C cross-coupling and C–N/C–H activation using aryl chloride under visible light irradiation

We report an easy process to synthesize sulphonic acid functionalized porphyrin with meso-substituted triazolium ionic liquid moiety for metal/base free C–C cross-coupling and C–N/C–H activation using aryl chloride under visible light irradiation.

Hydro/Deutero Deamination of Arylazo Sulfones under Metal- and (Photo)Catalyst-Free Conditions

Hydrodeaminated and monodeuterated aromatics were obtained via a visible-light driven reaction of arylazo sulfones. Deuteration occurs efficiently in deuterated media such as isopropanol-d8 or in THF-d8/water mixtures and exhibits a high tolerance to the nature and the position of the aromatic substituents.

Wavelength dependence and wavelength selectivity in photochemical reactions

Our study describes how organic photochemists can modify the outcome of a reaction by tuning the wavelength.