Electroanalytical investigation of the cobalt-catalyzed electrochemical dimerization of allylic acetates. Role played by iron(II) ions

Electrosynthetic C-O Bond Activation in Alcohols and Alcohol Derivatives

Alcohols and their derivatives are ubiquitous and versatile motifs in organic synthesis. Deoxygenative transformations of these compounds are often challenging due to the thermodynamic penalty associated with the cleavage of the C-O bond. However, electrochemically driven redox events have been shown to facilitate the C-O bond cleavage in alcohols and their derivatives either through direct electron transfer or through the use of electron transfer mediators and electroactive catalysts. Herein, a comprehensive overview of preparative electrochemically mediated protocols for C-O bond activation and functionalization is detailed, including direct and indirect electrosynthetic methods, as well as photoelectrochemical strategies.

Replacing conventional carbon nucleophiles with electrophiles: nickel-catalyzed reductive alkylation of aryl bromides and chlorides

A general method is presented for the synthesis of alkylated arenes by the chemoselective combination of two electrophilic carbons. Under the optimized conditions, a variety of aryl and vinyl bromides are reductively coupled with alkyl bromides in high yields. Under similar conditions, activated aryl chlorides can also be coupled with bromoalkanes. The protocols are highly functional-group tolerant (−OH, −NHTs, −OAc, −OTs, −OTf, −COMe, −NHBoc, −NHCbz, −CN, −SO₂Me), and the reactions are assembled on the benchtop with no special precautions to exclude air or moisture. The reaction displays different chemoselectivity than conventional cross-coupling reactions, such as the Suzuki–Miyaura, Stille, and Hiyama–Denmark reactions. Substrates bearing both an electrophilic and nucleophilic carbon result in selective coupling at the electrophilic carbon (R–X) and no reaction at the nucleophilic carbon (R–[M]) for organoboron (−Bpin), organotin (−SnMe₃), and organosilicon (−SiMe₂OH) containing organic halides (X–R–[M]). A Hammett study showed a linear correlation of σ and σ(−) parameters with the relative rate of reaction of substituted aryl bromides with bromoalkanes. The small ρ values for these correlations (1.2–1.7) indicate that oxidative addition of the bromoarene is not the turnover-frequency determining step. The rate of reaction has a positive dependence on the concentration of alkyl bromide and catalyst, no dependence upon the amount of zinc (reducing agent), and an inverse dependence upon aryl halide concentration. These results and studies with an organic reductant (TDAE) argue against the intermediacy of organozinc reagents.

CoI- and Co0-Bipyridine Complexes Obtained by Reduction of CoBr2bpy: Electrochemical Behaviour and Investigation of Their Reactions with Aromatic Halides and Vinylic Acetates

The electrochemical behaviour of CoBr(2)bpy (bpy=2,2'-bipyridine) catalyst precursor in acetonitrile has been studied, revealing its possible reduction into the corresponding Co(I) and Co(0) complexes. These low-valent cobalt species appear to be stable on the time scale of cyclic voltammetry. In the presence of aromatic halides, both complexes undergo oxidative addition, the latter Co(0) species allowing the activation of poorly reactive aromatic chlorides. The arylcobalt(III) and arylcobalt(II) obtained are reduced at the same potential as the original Co(II) and Co(I) complexes, respectively, resulting in the observation of overall ECE mechanisms in both cases. The electrochemical study shows that vinylic acetates competitively react with electrogenerated Co(0) species, leading to a labile complex. Preparative scale electrolyses carried out from solutions containing aromatic halides (ArX), vinyl acetate (vinylOAc) and a catalytic amount of CoBr(2)bpy lead to a mixture of biaryl (Ar-Ar) and arene (ArH) as long as the potential is set on the plateau of the Co(II) right arrow over left arrow Co(I) reduction wave. The coupling product (Ar-vinyl) is formed only if the electrolysis is performed on the plateau of the Co(I)/Co(0) reduction wave. A mechanism is proposed for the overall cobalt-catalyzed coupling reaction between aromatic halides and allylic acetates.