C-H functionalization enabled by multiple isocyanides

Past decades have witnessed significant advance of isocyanides as a class of versatile organic synthons as well as their broad applications in multi-component reactions (MCRs) and other tandem reactions. Reactions involving multiple isocyanides allow the construction of molecules with further diversification and complexity, while C-H functionalization emphasizes the advantages of high atom economy, broad substrate availability and great synthetic efficiency. This promising synergistic strategy of C-H functionalization involving multiple isocyanides provides a variety of valuable synthetic methods for organic chemists' toolbox and offers considerable potential in pharmaceutical chemistry and materials science as well. The present review outlines in detail various reaction types of C-H functionalization enabled by multiple isocyanides, and the relevant mechanistic rationale is discussed.

Thermal and Photoinduced Radical Cascade Annulation using Aryl Isonitriles: An Approach to Quinoline-Derived Benzophosphole Oxides

Herein, we present a radical cascade addition cyclization sequence to access quinoline-based benzophosphole oxides from ortho-alkynylated aromatic phosphine oxides using various aryl isonitriles as radical acceptors and inexpensive tert-butyl-hydroperoxide (TBHP) as a terminal oxidant in the presence of a catalytic amount of silver acetate. Alternatively, the same cascade can be realized through a sustainable photochemical approach utilizing 1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN) as an organic photocatalyst at room temperature. The introduced modular approach shows broad functional group tolerance and offers straightforward access to complex P,N-containing polyheterocyclic arenes. These novel π-extended benzophosphole oxides exhibit interesting photophysical and electrochemical properties such as absorption in the visible region, emission and reversible reduction at low potentials, which makes them promising for potential materials science applications. The photophysical properties can further be tuned by the addition of external Lewis and Brønsted acids.

Triiron Complex with N-Ferrocenyl Aminocarbyne Ligand Bridging a Diiron Core: DFT, Electrochemical, and Biological Insights

The first N-ferrocenyl aminocarbyne complex, [Fe2Cp2(CO)2(μ-CO){μ-CN(Me)(Fc)}]CF3SO3 ([2]CF3SO3), was synthesized with an 88% yield from [Fe2Cp2(CO)4], isocyanoferrocene (CNFc), and methyl triflate. The synthesis proceeded through the intermediate formation of [Fe2Cp2(CO)3(CNFc)], 1. Multinuclear NMR experiments revealed the presence of cis and trans isomers for [2]CF3SO3 in organic solvents, in agreement with DFT outcomes. Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical studies demonstrated one reduction process occurring prevalently at the diiron core and one oxidation involving the ferrocenyl substituent. The oxidation process is expected to favor the redox activation of [2]+ in a biological environment. Both [2]CF3SO3 and its phenyl analogue [Fe2Cp2(CO)2(μ-CO){μ-CN(Me)(Ph)}]CF3SO3 ([3]CF3SO3), prepared for comparison, exerted moderate antiproliferative activity against the human cancer cell lines A431, HCT-15, PSN-1, 2008, and U1285. However, [2]CF3SO3 exhibited a higher cytotoxicity than [3]CF3SO3, showed a substantial ability to induce intracellular ROS production, and outperformed cisplatin in a three-dimensional SCLC cell model.

Access to Polyheterocyclic Compounds through Iron(II)-Mediated Radical Cascade Cyclization Utilizing 2-Ethynylbenzaldehydes and Aryl Isonitriles

An oxidative radical cascade addition cyclization approach for the synthesis of quinoline-based π-extended polyheterocyclic compounds is reported. Eco-friendly iron catalysis and inexpensive tert-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) as the oxidant have been utilized in the transformation of various readily available ortho-alkynylated aromatic aldehydes as radical precursors with aryl isonitriles as radical acceptors. Indole and thiophene-based carbaldehydes allow the preparation of quinolines that are π-conjugated with an additional heteroarene moiety in a single sequence by applying the introduced method.

Tetrabutylammonium Chloride-Induced Cascade Radical Addition/Cyclization of O-Isocyanodiaryl Amines: A Novel Protocol for the Synthesis of 11-Trifluoromethylated Dibenzodiazepines

A straightforward protocol for the synthesis of 11-trifluoromethylated dibenzodiazepines has been developed via TBAC-induced trifluoromethylation/cyclization of o-isocyanodiaryl amines using Togni's reagent as the trifluoromethyl source. This is the first report on the one-step construction of CF₃-containing dibenzodiazepine drug skeletons. Additionally, a series of 11-trifluoromethylated dibenzodiazepines were afforded in moderate to excellent yields under transition-metal-free conditions.

2,3-Difunctionalized Indoles via Radical Acylation or Trifluoromethylation of ortho-Alkynylphenyl Isonitriles

A radical cascade to 2,3-disubstituted indoles proceeding via acylation or trifluoromethylation of ortho-alkynylphenyl isonitriles is presented. In these cascades, two C-C bonds and one C-O bond are formed using an inexpensive oxidant and a catalytic copper or iron salt. The starting isonitriles are easily accessible, and commercially available aldehydes and fluoromethylation reagents serve as reaction partners. Functional group tolerance is high, as documented by the successful preparation of a series of 2,3-disubstituted indoles.

Modern methods for the synthesis of perfluoroalkylated aromatics

Perfluoroalkyl-containing substances (PFAS), have become omnipresent materials in the modern world for both commercial and research applications. Compounds such as perfluoroalkylated arenes and heteroarenes have found uses in surfactants, lubricants, and flame retardants as a result of their astonishing chemical stability. Consequently, the synthesis of such compounds encompasses a large body of scientific articles and patents developed in the previous century. Most recent reviews on this subject have thus focused on summarizing this traditional literature, and have thereby spurred the development of a new wave of reaction manifolds employing modern synthesis principles. This new generation of methodologies focuses on the greener synthesis of perfluoroalkylated aromatic scaffolds, through the use of more efficient organometallic reactions, as well as by photochemical and electrochemical strategies. Herein, we will summarize this cohort of reactions while highlighting current challenges and future desirable outcomes for their environmentally friendly synthesis.

Caveat when using ADC(2) for studying the photochemistry of carbonyl-containing molecules

Several electronic-structure methods are available to study the photochemistry and photophysics of organic molecules. Among them, ADC(2) stands as a sweet spot between computational efficiency and accuracy. As a result, ADC(2) has recently seen its number of applications booming, in particular to unravel the deactivation pathways and photodynamics of organic molecules. Despite this growing success, we demonstrate here that care has to be taken when studying the nonradiative pathways of carbonyl-containing molecules, as ADC(2) appears to suffer from a systematic flaw.

Copper-catalyzed cyclization reaction: synthesis of trifluoromethylated indolinyl ketones

A novel, simple, effective and rapid synthetic method to construct the C-2 trifluoromethylated indolinyl ketones via a copper-catalyzed cyclization reaction between N-alkylaniline and β-(trifluoromethyl)-α,β-unsaturated enones was developed. The results of the control experiments show that the reaction may involve a radical mechanism by a single-electron transfer process. Moreover, a broad substrate scope and good functional groups, high diastereoselectivities (dr, up to >20 : 1) as well as gram-scale synthesis make this approach highly attractive.

Palladium-Catalyzed C2-Regioselective Perfluoroalkylation of the Free (NH)-Heteroarenes

A highly regioselective and atom-efficient strategy for the construction of fused free (NH) heteroarenes through a palladium-catalyzed perfluoroalkyl insertion reaction has been accomplished. This protocol employed multiple iodofluoroalkanes as practical and available perfluoroalkyl sources to provide an operationally simple and versatile route for the synthesis of perfluoroalkylated indoles. Moreover, indoles without the assistance of guide groups were utilized as substrates, achieving C(sp²)-H site-selective functionalization of indoles in yields up to 95%. Furthermore, this protocol was also used for late-stage C2 perfluoroalkylation of bioactive compounds such as auxin, tryptophan, and melatonin analogues.

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Site-Selective Trifluoromethylations and (Per)Fluoroalkylations of Anilines and Indoles

Introducing (per)fluoroalkyl groups into arenes continues to be an interesting, but challenging area in organofluorine chemistry. We herein report an ortho-selective C-H perfluoroalkylation including trifluoromethylations of anilines and indoles without the need of protecting groups using Rf I and Rf Br as commercially available reagents. The availability and price of the starting materials and the inherent selectivity make this novel methodology attractive for the synthesis of diverse (per)fluoroalkylated building blocks, for example, for bioactive compounds and materials.

Rh-Catalyzed nitrene alkyne metathesis/formal C–N bond insertion cascade: synthesis of 3-iminoindolines

A Rh-catalyzed nitrene/alkyne metathesis (NAM) cascade reaction terminated by a formal C–N bond insertion has been developed, which provides facile access to the tricyclic 3-iminoindolines in good yields with broad substrate scope.

Palladium-Catalyzed Diarylation of Isocyanides with Tetraarylleads for the Selective Synthesis of Imines and α-Diimines

Using tetraaryllead compounds (PbAr₄) as arylating reagents, isocyanides undergo selective diarylation in the presence of palladium catalysts such as Pd(OAc)₂ or Pd(PPh₃)₄ to afford imines and/or α-diimines based on the isocyanide employed. With aliphatic isocyanides, imines are obtained preferentially, whereas α-diimines are formed in the case of electron-rich aromatic isocyanides. The differences in imine/α-diimine selectivity can be attributed to the stability of imidoylpalladium intermediates formed in this catalytic reaction. Compared with other arylating reagents, tetraaryllead compounds are excellent candidates for use in the selective transformations to imines and/or α-diimines, especially in terms of inhibiting the oligomerization of isocyanides, which results in a lower product selectivity in many transition-metal-catalyzed reactions of isocyanides.

Organocatalytic, Enantioselective Reductive Bis-functionalization of Secondary Amides: One-Pot Construction of Chiral 2,2-Disubstituted 3-Iminoindoline

We report the first catalytic, enantioselective reductive bis-functionalization of common amides, which provides a facile access to a variety of 2,2-disubstituted 3-iminoindolines in good yields and with excellent enantioselectivities. The reaction conditions are quite mild and can be run on a gram scale. In this one-pot reaction, three C-C bonds, one ring, and one nitrogen-containing tetrasubstituted carbon stereocenter are created in a catalytic enantioselective manner.

The 130-370 GHz rotational spectrum of phenyl isocyanide (C6H5NC)

The analysis of phenyl isocyanide (C₆H₅NC, μ_a = 4.0 D) in its ground vibrational state and two lowest-energy excited vibrational states, ν₂₂ (141 cm^-1) and ν₃₃ (155 cm^-1), in the 130-370 GHz frequency region has been completed. Over 4500 new rotational transitions have been measured in the ground vibrational state for the most abundant isotopologue, resulting in the determination of the spectroscopic constants for a partial octic Hamiltonian with low error. The Coriolis-coupled ν₂₂-ν₃₃ dyad reported herein, containing over 3500 new transitions for each vibrational state, has been analyzed for the first time. The coupled-state least-squares fit utilizes seven coupling terms (G_a, G_a ^J, G_a ^K, G_a ^JJ, G_a ^JK, F_bc, and F_bc ^K) to address perturbation between the two vibrational states, including resonances and several nominal interstate transitions. This work results in precise determination of the energy separation between the two states, ΔE_22,33 = 9.682 248(3) cm^-1, and the Coriolis coupling coefficient, |ζ_22,33 ^a| = 0.858(9). The precise rotational and distortion constants determined in this work provide the foundation for an astronomical search for phenyl isocyanide across the radio band.

A general and practical Ni-catalyzed C-H perfluoroalkylation of (hetero)arenes

A direct perfluoroalkylation of (hetero)arenes using the air- and moisture-stable complex (dppf)Ni(o-tol)Cl was developed (23 examples). The novel procedure allows for the synthesis of various fluorinated products and tolerates sensitive functional groups including aldehydes, free amino groups and several heterocycles.

Radical Cyanotrifluoromethylation of Isocyanides: Step-Economical Access to CF3-Containing Nitriles, Amines, and Imines

A novel copper-catalyzed radical cyanotrifluoromethylation has been achieved through a multicomponent reaction of isocyanides, Togni's reagent, and trimethylsilyl cyanides, affording trifluoroacetimidoyl nitriles in good yields. This reaction demonstrates a unique feature of merging two valuable functional groups-trifluoromethyl (CF₃) and cyan (CN)-onto the same C atom. The transformation proceeds by the initial addition of the CF₃ radical to isocyanide and the subsequent intermolecular C-CN formation. The products can be successfully transformed to a series of CF₃-containing amines and imines that may serve in the synthesis of valuable pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals.

Synthesis of β-Aminoenones via Cross-Coupling of In-Situ-Generated Isocyanides with 1,3-Dicarbonyl Compounds

An efficient and practical strategy for the synthesis of β-aminoenones from a three-component reaction was developed. Ethyl bromodifluoroacetate serves as a C1 source in this strategy, forming isocyanides in situ with primary amines. This reaction represents the first example of utilization of readily available starting materials to generate isocyanides in situ and sequentially fully converted to β-aminoenones, avoiding the generation of byproduct imines and overinsertion products. The mechanism study suggested that this method involves activation of two C(sp³)-F bonds and the formation of isocyanides, which might nourish both isocyanide chemistry and fluorine chemistry.

Electrochemical initiation of electron-catalyzed phenanthridine synthesis by trifluoromethylation of isonitriles

Electrochemical initiation of the trifluoromethylation of biaryl isonitriles verifies the electron's catalytic character in the examined cascade reaction.

Perfluoroalkylation of Aryl-N,N-dimethyl Hydrazones Using Hypervalent Iodine(III) Reagents or Perfluoroalkyl Iodides

Radical trifluoromethylation of aryl N,N-dimethyl hydrazones using TBAI as an initiator and Togni's reagent as a trifluoromethyl radical source is described. Cascades proceed via electron-catalysis; this approach is generally more applicable to hydrazone perfluoroalkylation using perfluoroalkyl iodides as the radical precursors in combination with a base under visible-light initiation.

Synthesis of 2-Amino-3-hydroxy-3H-indoles via Palladium-Catalyzed One-Pot Reaction of Isonitriles, Oxygen, and N-Tosylhydrazones Derived from 2-Acylanilines

A cyanide-free one-pot procedure was developed to access 2-amino-3-hydroxy-3H-indoles, which involved: (1) in situ formation of ketenimines by the reaction of N'-(1-(2-aminophenyl)ethylidene)-p-tosylhydrazones with isonitriles; (2) the intramolecular nucleophilic attack of ketenimines by the amino in phenyl furnishing the ring closure leading to 2-aminoindoles; (3) the oxidation of 2-aminoindoles by O₂ leading to 2-amino-3-hydroxy-3H-indoles. This strategy represents not only a key compliment to the sporadic synthetic methods toward 2-amino-3-hydroxy-3H-indoles but also progress in N-tosylhydrazone, isonitrile, and ketenimine chemistry.

Iodine(III) Reagents in Radical Chemistry

The chemistry of hypervalent iodine(III) compounds has gained great interest over the past 30 years. Hypervalent iodine(III) compounds show valuable ionic reactivity due to their high electrophilicity but also express radical reactivity as single electron oxidants for carbon and heteroatom radical generation. Looking at ionic chemistry, these iodine(III) reagents can act as electrophiles to efficiently construct C–CF₃, X–CF₃ (X = heteroatom), C–R_f (R_f = perfluoroalkyl), X–R_f, C–N₃, C–CN, S–CN, and C–X bonds. In some cases, a Lewis or a Bronsted acid is necessary to increase their electrophilicity. In these transformations, the iodine(III) compounds react as formal “CF₃⁺”, “R_f⁺”, “N₃⁺”, “Ar⁺”, “CN⁺”, and “X⁺” equivalents. On the other hand, one electron reduction of the I(III) reagents opens the door to the radical world, which is the topic of this Account that focuses on radical reactivity of hypervalent iodine(III) compounds such as the Togni reagent, Zhdankin reagent, diaryliodonium salts, aryliodonium ylides, aryl(cyano)iodonium triflates, and aryl(perfluoroalkyl)iodonium triflates. Radical generation starting with I(III) reagents can also occur via thermal or light mediated homolysis of the weak hypervalent bond in such reagents. This reactivity can be used for alkane C–H functionalization. We will address important pioneering work in the area but will mainly focus on studies that have been conducted by our group over the last 5 years.

We entered the field by investigating transition metal free single electron reduction of Togni type reagents using the readily available sodium 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl salt (TEMPONa) as an organic one electron reductant for clean generation of the trifluoromethyl radical and perfluoroalkyl radicals. That valuable approach was later successfully also applied to the generation of azidyl and aryl radicals starting with the corresponding benziodoxole (Zhdankin reagent) and iodonium salts. In the presence of alkenes as radical acceptors, vicinal trifluoromethyl-, azido-, and arylaminoxylation products result via a sequence comprising radical addition to the alkene and subsequent TEMPO trapping. Electron-rich arenes also react with I(III) reagents via single electron transfer (SET) to give arene radical cations, which can then engage in arylation reactions. We also recognized that the isonitrile functionality in aryl isonitriles is a highly efficient perfluoroalkyl radical acceptor, and reaction of R_f-benziodoxoles (Togni type reagents) in the presence of a radical initiator provides various perfluoroalkylated N-heterocycles (indoles, phenanthridines, quinolines, etc.). We further found that aryliodonium ylides, previously used as carbene precursors in metal-mediated cyclopropanation reactions, react via SET reduction with TEMPONa to the corresponding aryl radicals. As a drawback of all these transformations, we realized that only one ligand of the iodine(III) reagent gets transferred to the substrate. To further increase atom-economy of such conversions, we identified cyano or perfluoroalkyl iodonium triflate salts as valuable reagents for stereoselective vicinal alkyne difunctionalization, where two ligands from the I(III) reagent are sequentially transferred to an alkyne acceptor.

Finally, we will discuss alkynyl-benziodoxoles as radical acceptors for alkynylation reactions. Similar reactivity was found for the Zhdankin reagent that has been successfully applied to azidation of C-radicals, and also cyanation is possible with a cyano I(III) reagent. To summarize, this Account focuses on the design, development, mechanistic understanding, and synthetic application of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents in radical chemistry.

Changing the path of least resistance, or access to endo-dig products via a sequence of three exo-trig transition states: electronic effects in homoallyic ring expansion cascades of alkenyl isonitriles

Substituent effects reshape the potential energy surfaces for radical homoallylic expansion/fragmentation cascades that transform alkenyl isonitriles into N-heteroaromatics

Initiating radical reactions with non-thermal plasmas

Non-thermal plasmas initiate radical chain reactions under mild conditions without the need for any added initiators.

Construction of Polycyclic γ-Lactams and Related Heterocycles via Electron Catalysis

Cascade radical cyclization of 1,6-enynes for the construction of biologically important polycyclic γ-lactams and related heterocycles is reported. In these radical cascade processes, three new C–C bonds are formed and transition metals are not required to run these sequences. The mild reaction conditions, broad substrate scope, and the importance of the heterocyclic products render the approach valuable.

Hydroperfluoroalkylation of electron-deficient olefins with perfluoroalkyl iodides promoted by zinc/viologen

The hydroperfluoroalkylation of electron-deficient olefins with perfluoroalkyl iodides promoted by a zinc/viologen system is described. Interestingly, no iodoperfluoroalkylation product was observed without the presence of a radical H-donor.

N-Hydroxyphthalimide: a new photoredox catalyst for [4+1] radical cyclization of N-methylanilines with isocyanides

A highly regioselective synthesis of 3-iminodihydroindoles using N-methylanilines and isocyanides at room temperature is described. The protocol utilizes N-hydroxyphthalimide as a new single electron transfer photoredox catalyst.