Catalytic Enantioselective Methylene C(sp3)-H Hydroxylation Using a Chiral Manganese Complex/Carboxylic Acid System

Transition-metal free chemoselective C-H hydroxylation of bisarylmethanes enabled by a phosphite as a sacrificial reductant

A transition-metal free (hetero)benzylic C-H hydroxylation approach for the synthesis of di(hetero)arylmethanols has been developed. The reaction is promoted by a KOtBu/DMSO/P(OEt)3 system, with atmospheric air as the sole oxidant at room temperature. This methodology has been employed to synthesize useful active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), modafinil and adrafinil. By using DMSO-d6 as the deuterium reagent, the hydroxylation-deuteration of 3-benzylpyridines and diphenylmethanes proceeded well, with excellent deuterium ratios. Preliminary kinetic experiments and 1H NMR studies provided significant insight into the reaction mechanism.

Catalytic Asymmetric Oxidative Coupling between C(sp3)-H Bonds and Carboxylic Acids

The direct enantioselective functionalization of C(sp3)-H bonds in organic molecules could fundamentally transform the synthesis of chiral molecules. In particular, the enantioselective oxidation of these bonds would dramatically change the production methods of chiral alcohols and esters, which are prevalent in natural products, pharmaceuticals, and fine chemicals. Remarkable advances have been made in the enantioselective construction of carbon-carbon and carbon-nitrogen bonds through the C(sp3)-H bond functionalization. However, the direct enantioselective formation of carbon-oxygen bonds from C(sp3)-H bonds remains a considerable challenge. We herein report a highly enantioselective C(sp3)-H bond oxidative coupling with carboxylic acids. The method applies to allylic and propargylic C-H bonds and employs various carboxylic acids as oxygenating agents. The method successfully synthesized a range of chiral esters directly from readily available alkenes and alkynes, greatly simplifying the synthesis of chiral esters and related alcohols.

Catalytic Enantioselective Hydroxylation of Tertiary Propargylic C(sp3)-H Bonds in Acyclic Systems: a Kinetic Resolution Study

Direct site-selective and enantioselective oxyfunctionalization of C(sp3)-H bonds to form alcohols with a general scope, with predictable selectivities, and in preparatively useful yields represents a paradigm shift in the standard logic of synthetic organic chemistry. However, the knowledge of either enzymatic or nonenzymatic asymmetric hydroxylation of tertiary C-H bonds for enantioenriched tertiary alcohol synthesis is sorely lacking. Here, we report a practical manganese-catalyzed enantio-differentiating hydroxylation of tertiary propargylic C-H bonds in acyclic systems, producing a wide range of structurally diverse enantioenriched tertiary propargyl alcohols in high efficiency with extremely efficient chemo- and enantio-discrimination. Other features include the use of C-H substrates as the limiting reagent, noteworthy functional group compatibility, great synthetic utilities, and scalability. The findings serve as a blueprint for the development of metal-catalyzed asymmetric oxidation of challenging substrates.

Organocatalyzed Asymmetric Conjugate Addition of Alcohols to β-Fluoroalkyl Vinylsulfones by Bifunctional Phosphonium Salt Catalyst

Chiral secondary alcohols, serving as essential structural motifs, hold significant potential for diverse applications. The exploration of effective synthetic strategies toward these compounds is both attractive and challenging. Herein, we present an asymmetric oxa-Michael reaction involving aliphatic alcohols as nucleophiles and β-fluoroalkyl vinylsulfones catalyzed by bifunctional phosphonium salt (BPS), achieving high yields and excellent enantioselectivities (up to 98 % yield and 98 % ee). Additionally, a sequential process including asymmetric oxa-Michael and debenzylation, facilitated by BPS/Lewis acid cooperation, was revealed for synthesizing diverse chiral secondary alcohol compounds in high yields (81-88 %) with consistent stereoselectivities. Furthermore, mechanistic explorations and subsequent results unveiled that the enantioselectivity originates from hydrogen-bonding and ion-pair interactions between the BPS catalyst and the substrates.

Palladium-Catalyzed C(sp3)-H Nitrooxylation of Aliphatic Carboxamides with Practical Oxidants

Here we report the palladium-catalyzed β-C(sp3)-H nitrooxylation of aliphatic carboxamides using a modified quinoline auxiliary. Notably, Al(NO3)3·9H2O was used as a nitrate source as well as a practical oxidant. The 5-chloro-8-aminoquinoline auxiliary was nitrated in situ during the reaction, which may enhance its directing ability and help its removal. The reaction has a broad substrate scope with a variety of aliphatic carboxamides. The multiple substituted auxiliary can be easily removed and recovered. Two C-H-insertion palladacycle intermediates were isolated and characterized to elucidate the mechanism.

The Recent Advances in Iron-Catalyzed C(sp3 )-H Functionalization

The use of iron as a core metal in catalysis has become a research topic of interest over the last few decades. The reasons are clear. Iron is the most abundant transition metal on Earth's crust and it is widely distributed across the world. It has been extracted and processed since the dawn of civilization. All these features render iron a noncontaminant, biocompatible, nontoxic, and inexpensive metal and therefore it constitutes the perfect candidate to replace noble metals (rhodium, palladium, platinum, iridium, etc.). Moreover, direct C-H functionalization is one of the most efficient strategies by which to introduce new functional groups into small organic molecules. The majority of organic compounds contain C(sp3 )-H bonds. Given the enormous importance of organic molecules in so many aspects of existence, the utilization and bioactivity of C(sp3 )-H bonds are of the utmost importance. This review sheds light on the substrate scope, selectivity, benefits, and limitations of iron catalysts for direct C(sp3 )-H bond activations. An overview of the use of iron catalysis in C(sp3 )-H activation protocols is summarized herein up to 2022.

Bioinspired Non-Heme Mn Catalysts for Regio- and Stereoselective Oxyfunctionalizations with H2 O2

In recent years, metalloenzymes-mediated highly selective oxidations of organic substrates under mild conditions have been inspiration for developing synthetic bioinspired catalyst systems, capable of conducting such processes in the laboratory (and, in the future, in industry), relying on easy-to-handle and environmentally benign oxidants such as H2 O2 . To date, non-heme manganese complexes with chiral bis-amino-bis-pyridylmethyl and structurally related ligands are considered as possessing the highest synthetic potential, having demonstrated the ability to mediate a variety of chemo- and stereoselective oxidative transformations, such as epoxidations, C(sp3 )-H hydroxylations and ketonizations, oxidative desymmetrizations, kinetic resolutions, etc. Furthermore, in the past few years non-heme Mn based catalysts have become the major platform for studies focused on getting insight into the molecular mechanisms of oxidant activation and (stereo)selective oxygen transfer, testing non-traditional hydroperoxide oxidants, engineering catalytic sites with enzyme-like substrate recognition-based selectivity, exploration of catalytic regioselectivity trends in the oxidation of biologically active substrates of natural origin. This contribution summarizes the progress in manganese catalyzed C-H oxygenative transformations of organic substrates, achieved essentially in the past 5 years (late 2018-2023).

Development of Catalytic Site-Selective C-H Oxidation

Direct C-H bond oxygenation is a strong and useful tool for the construction of oxygen functional groups. After Chen and White's pioneering works, various non-heme-type iron and manganese complexes were introduced, leading to strong development in this area. However, for this method to become a truly useful tool for synthetic organic chemistry, it is necessary to make further efforts to improve site-selectivity, and catalyst durability. Recently, we found that non-heme-type ruthenium complex cis-1 presents efficient catalysis in C(sp3 )-H oxygenation under acidic conditions. cis-1-catalysed C-H oxygenation can oxidize various substrates including highly complex natural compounds using hypervalent iodine reagents as a terminal oxidant. Moreover, the catalyst system can use almost stoichiometric water molecules as the oxygen source through reversible hydrolysis of PhI(OCOR)2 . It is a strong tool for producing isotopic-oxygen-labelled compounds. Moreover, the environmentally friendly hydrogen peroxide can be used as a terminal oxidant under acidic conditions.

Titanium Salalen Catalyzed Enantioselective Benzylic Hydroxylation

The titanium complex of the cis-1,2-diaminocyclohexane (cis-DACH) derived Berkessel-salalen ligand is a highly efficient and enantioselective catalyst for the asymmetric epoxidation of terminal olefins with hydrogen peroxide ("Berkessel-Katsuki catalyst"). We herein report that this epoxidation catalyst also effects the highly enantioselective hydroxylation of benzylic C-H bonds with hydrogen peroxide. Mechanism-based ligand optimization identified a novel nitro-salalen Ti-catalyst of the highest efficiency ever reported for asymmetric catalytic benzylic hydroxylation, with enantioselectivities of up to 98 % ee, while overoxidation to ketone is marginal. The novel nitro-salalen Ti-catalyst also shows enhanced epoxidation efficiency, as evidenced by e.g. the conversion of 1-decene to its epoxide in 90 % yield with 94 % ee, at a catalyst loading of 0.1 mol-% only.

Highly Enantioselective Catalytic Lactonization at Nonactivated Primary and Secondary γ-C-H Bonds

Chiral oxygenated aliphatic moieties are recurrent in biological and pharmaceutically relevant molecules and constitute one of the most versatile types of functionalities for further elaboration. Herein we report a protocol for straightforward and general access to chiral γ-lactones via enantioselective oxidation of strong nonactivated primary and secondary C(sp3)-H bonds in readily available carboxylic acids. The key enabling aspect is the use of robust sterically encumbered manganese catalysts that provide outstanding enantioselectivities (up to >99.9%) and yields (up to 96%) employing hydrogen peroxide as the oxidant. The resulting γ-lactones are of immediate interest for the preparation of inter alia natural products and recyclable polymeric materials.

C-H Bonds as Functional Groups: Simultaneous Generation of Multiple Stereocenters by Enantioselective Hydroxylation at Unactivated Tertiary C-H Bonds

Enantioselective C-H oxidation is a standing chemical challenge foreseen as a powerful tool to transform readily available organic molecules into precious oxygenated building blocks. Here, we describe a catalytic enantioselective hydroxylation of tertiary C-H bonds in cyclohexane scaffolds with H2O2, an evolved manganese catalyst that provides structural complementary to the substrate similarly to the lock-and-key recognition operating in enzymatic active sites. Theoretical calculations unveil that enantioselectivity is governed by the precise fitting of the substrate scaffold into the catalytic site, through a network of complementary weak non-covalent interactions. Stereoretentive C(sp3)-H hydroxylation results in a single-step generation of multiple stereogenic centers (up to 4) that can be orthogonally manipulated by conventional methods providing rapid access, from a single precursor to a variety of chiral scaffolds.

Hydrogen Bonding-Assisted and Nonheme Manganese-Catalyzed Remote Hydroxylation of C-H Bonds in Nitrogen-Containing Molecules

The development of catalytic systems capable of oxygenating unactivated C-H bonds with excellent site-selectivity and functional group tolerance under mild conditions remains a challenge. Inspired by the secondary coordination sphere (SCS) hydrogen bonding in metallooxygenases, reported herein is an SCS solvent hydrogen bonding strategy that employs 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as a strong hydrogen bond donor solvent to enable remote C-H hydroxylation in the presence of basic aza-heteroaromatic rings with a low loading of a readily available and inexpensive manganese complex as a catalyst and hydrogen peroxide as a terminal oxidant. We demonstrate that this strategy represents a promising compliment to the current state-of-the-art protection approaches that rely on precomplexation with strong Lewis and/or Brønsted acids. Mechanistic studies with experimental and theoretical approaches reveal the existence of a strong hydrogen bonding between the nitrogen-containing substrate and HFIP, which prevents the catalyst deactivation by nitrogen binding and deactivates the basic nitrogen atom toward oxygen atom transfer and the α-C-H bonds adjacent to the nitrogen center toward H-atom abstraction. Moreover, the hydrogen bonding exerted by HFIP has also been demonstrated not only to facilitate the O-O bond heterolytic cleavage of a putative Mn^III-OOH precursor to generate Mn^V(O)(OC(O)CH₂Br) as an active oxidant but also to affect the stability and the activity of Mn^V(O)(OC(O)CH₂Br).

Synthesis and Characterization of Bimetallic Nanoclusters Stabilized by Chiral and Achiral Polyvinylpyrrolidinones. Catalytic C(sp3)-H Oxidation

Second-generation chiral-substituted poly-N-vinylpyrrolidinones (CSPVPs) (-)-1R and (+)-1S were synthesized by free-radical polymerization of (3aR,6aR)- and (3aS,6aS)-5-ethenyl-tetrahydro-2,2-dimethyl-4H-1,3-dioxolo[4,5-c]pyrrol-4-one, respectively, using thermal and photochemical reactions. They were produced from respective d-isoascorbic acid and d-ribose. In addition, chiral polymer (-)-2 was also synthesized from the polymerization of (S)-3-(methoxymethoxy)-1-vinylpyrrolidin-2-one. Molecular weights of these chiral polymers were measured using HRMS, and the polymer chain tacticity was studied using ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Chiral polymers (-)-1R, (+)-1S, and (-)-2 along with poly-N-vinylpyrrolidinone (PVP, MW 40K) were separately used in the stabilization of Cu/Au or Pd/Au nanoclusters. CD spectra of the bimetallic nanoclusters stabilized by (-)-1R and (+)-1S showed close to mirror-imaged CD absorption bands at wavelengths 200-300 nm, revealing that bimetallic nanoclusters' chiroptical responses are derived from chiral polymer-encapsulated nanomaterials. Chemo-, regio-, and stereo-selectivity was found in the catalytic C-H group oxidation reactions of complex bioactive natural products, such as ambroxide, menthofuran, boldine, estrone, dehydroabietylamine, 9-allogibberic acid, and sclareolide, and substituted adamantane molecules, when catalyst Cu/Au (3:1) or Pd/Au (3:1) stabilized by CSPVPs or PVP and oxidant H₂O₂ or t-BuOOH were applied. Oxidation of (+)-boldine N-oxide 23 using NMO as an oxidant yielded 4,5-dehydroboldine 27, and oxidation of (-)-9-allogibberic acid yielded C6,15 lactone 47 and C6-ketone 48.

Amine Organocatalysis of Remote, Chemoselective C(sp3)-H Hydroxylation

We introduce an organocatalytic approach for oxaziridinium-mediated C-H hydroxylation that employs secondary amines as catalysts. We also demonstrate the advantages of this operationally simple catalytic strategy for achieving high yielding and highly selective remote hydroxylation of compounds bearing oxidation-sensitive functional groups such as alcohols, ethers, carbamates, and amides. By employing hexafluoroisopropanol as the solvent in the absence of water, a proposed hydrogen bonding effect leads to, among other advantages, as high as ≥99:1 chemoselectivity for remote aliphatic hydroxylation of 2° alcohols, an otherwise unsolved synthetic challenge normally complicated by substantial amounts of alcohol oxidation. Initial studies of the reaction mechanism indicate the formation of an oxaziridinium salt as the active oxidant, and a C-H oxidation step that proceeds in a stereospecific manner via concerted insertion or hydrogen atom transfer/radical rebound. Furthermore, preliminary results indicate that site selectivity can be affected by amine catalyst structure. In the long term, we anticipate that this will enable new strategies for catalyst control of selectivity based on the abundance of catalytic scaffolds that have proliferated over the last twenty years as a result of Nobel Prize-winning discoveries.

Asymmetric radical carboesterification of dienes

The straightforward strategy of building a chiral C-O bond directly on a general carbon radical center is challenging and stereocontrol of the reactions of open-chain hydrocarbon radicals remains a largely unsolved problem. Advance in this elementary step will spur the development of asymmetric radical C-O bond construction. Herein, we report a copper-catalyzed regioselective and enantioselective carboesterification of substituted dienes using alkyl diacyl peroxides as the source of both the carbon and oxygen substituents. The participation of external acids in this reaction substantially extends its applicability and leads to structurally diverse allylic ester products. This work represents the advance in the key elementary reaction of intermolecular enantioselective construction of C-O bond on open-chain hydrocarbon radicals and may lead to the discovery of other asymmetric radical reactions.

Stereocontrol of C–O bond formation from a carbon-based radical is very difficult due to the rapid inversion of the carbon radical. Here the authors present a method to form chiral esters from conjugated dienes with copper and chiral PyBox ligands, likely proceeding via an allylic radical.

Site and Enantioselective Aliphatic C-H Oxidation with Bioinspired Chiral Complexes

Selective oxidation of aliphatic C-H bonds stands as an unsolved problem in organic synthesis, with the potential to offer novel paths for preparing molecules of biological interest. The quest for reagents that can perform this class of reactions finds oxygenases and their mechanisms of action as inspiration motifs. Among the numerous families of synthetic catalysts that have been explored, complexes with linear tetraazadentate ligands combining two aliphatic amines and two aromatic amine heterocycles display a structural versatility proven instrumental in the design of C-H oxidation reactions showing site and enantioselectivities, not accessible by conventional oxidants. This manuscript makes a review of recent advances in the field.

Recent Strategies in Non-Heme-Type Metal Complex-Catalyzed Site-, Chemo-, and Enantioselective C–H Oxygenations

C–H bonds are ubiquitous and abundant in organic molecules. If such C–H bonds can be converted into the desired functional groups in a site-, chemo-, diastereo-, and enantio-selective manner, the functionalization of C–H bonds would be an efficient tool for step-, atom- and redox-economic organic synthesis. C–H oxidation, as a typical C–H functionalization, affords hydroxy and carbonyl groups, which are key functional groups in organic synthesis and biological chemistry, directly. Recently, significant developments have been made using non-heme-type transition-metal catalysts. Oxygen functional groups can be introduced to not only simple hydrocarbons but also complex natural products. In this paper, recent developments over the last fourteen years in non-heme-type complex-catalyzed C–H oxidations are reviewed.

1 Introduction

2 Regio- and Chemo-Selective C–H Oxidations

2.1 Tertiary Site-Selective C–H Oxidations

2.2 Secondary Site-Selective C–H Oxidations

2.3 C–H Oxidations of N-Containing Molecules

2.4 C–H Oxidations of Carboxylic Acids

2.5 Chemo- and Site-Selective Methylenic C–H Hydroxylations

3 Enantioselective C–H Oxidations

3.1 Desymmetrizations through C–H Oxidations

3.2 Enantiotopic Methylenic C–H Oxygenations

4 Conclusion

Exploration of highly electron-rich manganese complexes in enantioselective oxidation catalysis; a focus on enantioselective benzylic oxidation

The development of highly electron-rich manganese complexes for enantioselective benzylic oxidation (and asymmetric epoxidation) is described, to provide chiral benzylic alcohols and epoxides in good yields and enantioselectivites.