Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. 54. Anodic mono- and trifluorination of thiochroman-4-one derivatives and the factors affecting product selectivity

Conjugate Addition of Grignard Reagents to Thiochromones Catalyzed by Copper Salts: A Unified Approach to Both 2-Alkylthiochroman-4-One and Thioflavanone

Grignard reagents undergo conjugate addition to thiochromones catalyzed by copper salts to afford 2-substituted-thiochroman-4-ones, both 2-alkylthiochroman-4-ones and thioflavanones (2-arylthiochroman-4-ones), in good yields with trimethylsilyl chloride (TMSCl) as an additive. The best yields of 1,4-adducts can be attained with CuCN∙2LiCl as the copper source. Excellent yields of 2-alkyl-substituted thiochroman-4-ones and thioflavanones (2-aryl substituted) are attained with a broad range of Grignard reagents. This approach works well with both alkyl and aromatic Grignard reagents, thus providing a unified synthetic approach to privileged 2-substituted thiochroman-4-ones and a potential valuable precursor for further synthetic applications towards many pharmaceutically active molecules. The use of commercially available and/or readily prepared Grignard reagents will expedite the synthesis of a large library of both 2-alkyl substituted thiochroman-4-ones and thioflavanones for additional synthetic applications.

Recent Advances in Electrochemical Systems for Selective Fluorination of Organic Compounds

Organofluorine compounds are key materials applied in daily life because of their versatile utility as functional materials, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals. Development of the selective fluorination of organic molecules under safe conditions is therefore one of the most important subjects in modern synthetic organofluorine chemistry. Thus, various electrophilic fluorination reagents such as XeF₂, (PhSO₂)₂NF (NFSI), Et₂NSF₃ (DAST), (MeOCH₂CH₂)₂NSF₃ (Deoxofluor), 1-chloromethyl-4-fluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo-[2.2.2]octane bis(tetrafluoroborate) (Selectfluor), N-fluoropyridinium salts, and 4-tert-butyl-2,6-dimethylphenylsulfur trifluoride (Fluolead) have been developed for chemical fluorination to date and the development of new fluorinating reagents is still ongoing. Electrochemical synthesis has recently attracted much attention from the perspective of green sustainable chemistry because no hazardous reagents are required and scale-up is generally easy. Although electrochemical perfluorination of organic compounds using a nickel anode in anhydrous HF has been well-established to manufacture perfluoro-functional materials, electrochemical partial fluorination (selective electrochemical fluorination) has been underdeveloped due to the low nucleophilicity of fluoride ions and anode passivation, which interferes with electrolysis. Selective electrochemical fluorination can be commonly achieved in aprotic solvents containing fluoride ions to provide mostly mono- and difluorinated products. Electrolysis is conducted at constant potentials slightly higher than the first oxidation potential of a substrate. Constant current electrolysis is also effective for selective fluorination in many cases. Choice of the combination of a supporting fluoride salt and an electrolytic solvent is most important to accomplish efficient selective fluorination. In this Account, we focus on our recent work on the electrochemical mono- and difluorination of various organic compounds and their synthetic application. We first briefly explain our research background of electrochemical fluorination. Main factors such as the effects of fluoride salts as supporting electrolytes, electrolytic solvents, and anode materials on the selectivity and efficiency of fluorination are discussed. Next, effects of PEG oligomer additives enhancing the nucleophilicity of fluoride ions and organic solvent-free systems using poly(HF) salt ionic liquids as well as recyclable mediatory systems for electrochemical fluorination are described. The desulfurizative monofluorination of xanthate and gem-difluorination of benzothioate and dithioacetals are briefly mentioned. Regioselective anodic fluorination of various heterocyclic compounds having a phenylthio group as electroauxiliary and heterocycles containing sulfur and other heteroatoms are also described. In addition, a boryl group is shown to be a good leaving group for anodic fluorination. Moreover, electrochemically α,α-difluorinated phenylsulfides and phenylselenides are illustrated to be useful for photochemical C-H difluoromethylation of aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds. Finally, this Account also highlights highly diastereoselective fluorination of aliphatic heterocyclic and open-chain compounds, as well as new electrolytic fluorination methods using inorganic fluoride salts such as KF and CsF.

Cu(I)-Catalyzed Enantioselective Alkynylation of Thiochromones

A highly efficient asymmetric synthesis of chiral thiochromanones is developed via Cu(I)/phosphoramidite catalyzed asymmetric alkynylation of thiochromones under mild reaction conditions. The catalyst system is tolerant of various thiochromone precursors and terminal alkynes. The established asymmetric transformation provides different enatiomeric-enriched thiochromanones with more molecular complexity and enables access to chiral thioflavanones, a subgroup of flavonoid by further functionalization.

Electrochemical strategies for C-H functionalization and C-N bond formation

Conventional methods for carrying out carbon-hydrogen functionalization and carbon-nitrogen bond formation are typically conducted at elevated temperatures, and rely on expensive catalysts as well as the use of stoichiometric, and perhaps toxic, oxidants. In this regard, electrochemical synthesis has recently been recognized as a sustainable and scalable strategy for the construction of challenging carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Here, electrosynthesis has proven to be an environmentally benign, highly effective and versatile platform for achieving a wide range of nonclassical bond disconnections via generation of radical intermediates under mild reaction conditions. This review provides an overview on the use of anodic electrochemical methods for expediting the development of carbon-hydrogen functionalization and carbon-nitrogen bond formation strategies. Emphasis is placed on methodology development and mechanistic insight and aims to provide inspiration for future synthetic applications in the field of electrosynthesis.

Development of Conjugate Addition of Lithium Dialkylcuprates to Thiochromones: Synthesis of 2-Alkylthiochroman-4-ones and Additional Synthetic Applications

Lithium dialkylcuprates undergo conjugate addition to thiochromones to afford 2-alkylthiochroman-4-ones in good yields. This approach provide an efficient and general synthetic approach to privileged sulfur-containing structural motifs and valuable precursors for many pharmaceuticals, starting from common substrates-thiochromones. Good yields of 2-alkyl-substituted thiochroman-4-ones are attained with lithium dialkylcuprates, lithium alkylcyanocuprates or substoichiometric amount of copper salts. The use of commercially available inexpensive alkyllithium reagents will expedite the synthesis of a large library of 2-alkyl substituted thiochroman-4-ones for additional synthetic applications.

Electrolytic Partial Fluorination of Organic Compounds. 79. Anodic Fluorination of Spiropyrazoline-5,3‘-chroman-4-ones and Thiochromanone Analogues. A Route to Aroyl Fluoride Derivatives

[reaction: see text] Anodic fluorination of spiropyrazole-5,3'-chroman-4-ones and their thiochromanone analogues in dimethoxyethane containing Et4NF x 4HF resulted in ring opening of spiroheterocycles, which led to the formation of (5-pyrazolyl)methyl o-carbomethoxyphenyl ethers and their thioether analogues via benzoyl fluoride derivatives.

Electrolytic partial fluorination of organic compounds. 55. Highly regio- and stereoselective anodic monofluorination of 2,3-dihydrochroman-4-one and chromone derivatives

Anodic monofluorination at the position alpha to the oxygen atom of the (E)-3-benzylidene-2,3-dihydrochroman-4-one derivatives was successfully carried out to provide the corresponding 2-fluorochromanones selectively. This is the first regioselective electrochemical fluorination of fused-type, oxygen-containing heterocyclic compounds. Anodic fluorination of a chromone derivative also gave a similar fluorinated chromanone stereoselectively.