An aryne triggered ring-opening fluorination of cyclic thioethers with potassium fluoride

Photoredox Ring Opening 1,2-Alkylarylation of Alkenes with Sulfonium Salts Toward Thioether-Substituted Oxindoles

A novel strategy for the difunctionalization of electron-deficient alkenes with aryl sulfonium salts to access remote sulfur-containing oxindole derivatives by using in situ-formed copper(I)-based complexes as a photoredox catalyst is presented. This method enables the generation of the C(sp3)-centered radicals through site selective cleavage of the C-S bond of aryl sulfonium salts under mild conditions. Moreover, the oxidation reactions of desired products provide a new strategy for the preparation of sulfoxide or sulfone-containing compounds. Importantly, this approach can be easily applied to late-stage modification of pharmaceuticals molecules.

Chemistry of the Au-Thiol Interface through the Lens of Single-Molecule Flicker Noise Measurements

Chemistry of the Au-S interface at the nanoscale is one of the most complex systems to study, as the nature and strength of the Au-S bond change under different experimental conditions. In this study, using mechanically controlled break junction technique, we probed the conductance and analyzed Flicker noise for several aliphatic and aromatic thiol derivatives and thioethers. We demonstrate that Flicker noise can be used to unambiguously differentiate between stronger chemisorption (Au-SR) and weaker physisorption (Au-SRR') type interactions. The Flicker noise measurements indicate that the gold rearrangement in chemisorbed Au-SR junctions resembles that of the Au rearrangement in pure Au-Au metal contact breaking, which is independent of the molecular backbone structure and the resulting conductance. In contrast, thioethers showed the formation of a weaker physisorbed Au-SRR' type bond, and the Flicker noise measurement indicates the changes in the Au-anchoring group interface but not the Au-Au rearrangement like that in the Au-SR case. Additionally, by employing single-molecular conductance and Flicker noise analysis, we have probed the interfacial electric field-catalyzed ring-opening reaction of cyclic thioether under mild environmental conditions, which otherwise requires harsh chemical conditions for cleavage of the C-S bond. All of our conductance measurements are complemented by NEGF transport calculations. This study illustrates that the single-molecule conductance, together with the Flicker noise measurements can be used to tune and monitor chemical reactions at the single-molecule level.

Selective S-Arylation of Sulfenamides with Arynes: Access to Sulfilimines

Sulfilimines, the aza analogues of sulfoxides, are of increasing interest in medicinal and agrochemical research programs. However, the development of efficient routes for their synthesis has remained relatively unexplored. In this study, we report a transition metal-free, selective S-arylation reaction between sulfenamides and arynes, enabling the facile preparation of structurally diverse sulfilimines under mild and redox-neutral conditions in good yields. The application value of our method was further demonstrated by scale-up synthesis, downstream derivatization, and robustness screen.

Sulfonium-based precise alkyl transposition reactions

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM), a sulfonium-based cofactor, plays an important role in numerous biological processes as methyl donor. Inspired by the function of sulfonium motif in this nature's synthetic toolkit, we here present an aryne-activation strategy that the sulfonium intermediates in situ generated from thioethers display unique reactivity toward alkyl group transposition. Experimental and theoretical studies indicate that the reaction occurs in an intermolecular fashion where the TfO--incorporated [K(18-crown-6)] complex acts as a key promoter for this thermodynamically favored process. Next, a series of robust, easy-to-prepare sulfonium salts are designed and developed as electrophilic alkylation reagents accordingly. Both systems feature for broad scope, excellent selectivity, and simple operation. Moreover, we highlight the synthetic value through molecular editing and late-stage modification of complex scaffolds or even active pharmaceutical ingredients.

Ring-Opening Fluorination of Carbo/Heterocycles and Aromatics: Construction of Complex and Diverse Fluorine-Containing Molecules

Fluorine-containing molecules have attracted much attention in medicinal, agrochemical, and materials sciences because they offer unique physical and biological properties. Therefore, many efficient fluorination reactions have been developed over the years. Recent advancements in fluorination chemistry have expanded the range of substrates, and regioselectivity/stereoselectivity control has also been achieved. Ring-opening fluorination is an efficient method to construct complex fluorine-containing molecules with diversity, starting from simple cyclic compounds. This review aims to summarize developments in ring-opening fluorination, particularly with larger-sized cyclic compounds. Fluorine introduction and bond cleavage of cyclic compounds such as carbocycles, heterocycles, and aromatics provide efficient access to fluorine-containing compounds that are difficult to be synthesized by conventional methods.

Empowering boronic acids as hydroxyl synthons for aryne induced three-component coupling reactions

Boronic acids have become one of the most prevalent classes of reagents in modern organic synthesis, displaying various reactivity profiles via C-B bond cleavage. Herein, we describe the utilization of a readily available boronic acid as an efficient surrogate of hydroxide upon activation via fluoride complexation. The hitherto unknown aryne induced ring-opening reaction of cyclic sulfides and three-component coupling of fluoro-azaarenes are developed to exemplify the application value. Different from metal hydroxides or water, this novel hydroxy source displays mild activation conditions, great functionality tolerance and structural tunability, which shall engender a new synthetic paradigm and in a broad context offer new blueprints for organoboron chemistry. Detailed computational studies also recognize the fluoride activation mode, provide in-depth insights into the unprecedented mechanistic pathway and elucidate the reactivity difference of ArB(OH) x F y complexes, which fully support the experimental data.

Radial Type Ring Opening of Sulfonium Salts with Dichalcogenides by Visible Light and Copper Catalysis

Herein, a copper-catalyzed, blue-light-induced free radical type ring opening of sulfonium salts with dichalcogenides has been initially developed. The developed method features an inexpensive copper catalyst and a broad substrate scope, affording practical access to alkyl chalcogenides in high yields. This reaction presents a novel ring-opening model of sulfonium salts, which breaks the limitation that only the nucleophilic ring-opening reaction could form C-heteroatom bonds and C-C bonds.

Reactivity of Vinyl Epoxides/Oxetanes/Cyclopropanes toward Arynes: Access to Functionalized Phenanthrenes

The reactivity of vinyl epoxides/oxetanes/cyclopropanes toward arynes has been demonstrated under mild conditions to give the corresponding phenanthrenes in moderate to good yields. This transition-metal-free cascade process involves a series of Diels-Alder reaction, ring-opening aromatization, and ene reaction. Various functionalized phenanthrenes could be synthesized utilizing the versatile hydroxy group. Interestingly, vinyl epoxides/oxiranes experience preferentially the Diels-Alder reaction toward arynes over nucleophilic attack of epoxides/oxiranes.

Double C-S bond formation via multiple Csp3-H bond cleavage: synthesis of 4-hydroxythiazoles from amides and elemental sulfur under metal-free conditions

A novel and efficient approach for the synthesis of 4-hydroxythiazoles from amides and elemental sulfur has been developed. In the presence of P₂O₅, DMSO and HMPA, this metal-free protocol proceeds smoothly and tolerates a spectrum of functional groups. Furthermore, this strategy involves the process of double Csp³-S bond formation through the cleavage of multiple Csp³-H bonds for the first time.

Recent strategies used in the synthesis of saturated four-membered heterocycles

The importance and prevalance of O-, N-, and S-atom containing saturated four-membered ring motifs in biologically active molecules and potential therapeutics continues to drive efforts in their efficient synthetic preparation. In this review, general and recent strategies for the synthesis of these heterocycles are presented. Due to the limited potential bond disconnections, retrosynthetic strategies are broadly limited to cyclizations and cycloadditions. Nonetheless, diverse approaches for accessing cyclization precursors have been developed, ranging from nucleophilic substitution to C-H functionalization. Innovative methods for substrate activation have been developed for cycloadditions under photochemical and thermal conditions. Advances in accessing oxetanes, azetidines, and thietanes remain active areas of research with continued breakthroughs anticipated to enable future applications.

Hf(OTf)4-Catalyzed 1,6-Conjugate Addition of 2-Alkyl-azaarenes to para-Quinone Methides

Herein we reported a Hf(OTf)₄-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond formation reaction between 2-alkyl-azaarenes and para-quinone methides (p-QMs). This 1,6-conjugate addition protocol offered rapid access to a large array of triarylethane products in good yields. The catalyst loading could be reduced to 1 mol %. Studies pertinent to scale-up reaction and product derivatization were also presented.

A simple Hückel model-driven strategy to overcome electronic barriers to retro-Brook silylation relevant to aryne and bisaryne precursor synthesis

ortho-Silylaryl triflate precursors (oSATs) have been responsible for many recent advances in aryne chemistry and are most commonly accessed from the corresponding 2-bromophenol. A retro-Brook O- to C-silyl transfer is a key step in this synthesis but not all aromatic species are amenable to the transformation, with no functionalized bisbenzyne oSATs reported. Simple Hückel models are presented which show that the calculated aromaticity at the brominated position is an accurate predictor of successful retro-Brook reaction, validated synthetically by a new success and a predicted failure. From this, the synthesis of a novel difunctionalized bisaryne precursor has been tested, requiring different approaches to install the two C-silyl groups. The first successful use of a disubstituted o-silylaryl sulfonate bisbenzyne precursor in Diels-Alder reactions is then shown.

Construction of 6H-benzo[c]thiochromenes via a tandem reaction of arynes with thionoesters

A mild and transition-metal free method has been proposed for the synthesis of 6H-benzo[c]thiochromenes via the tandem reactions of arynes with thionoesters.

One-step synthesis of benzo[b]thiophenes by aryne reaction with alkynyl sulfides

An aryne reaction with alkynyl sulfides affording benzo[b]thiophenes is disclosed. A wide range of 3-substituted benzothiophenes were synthesized from easily available o-silylaryl triflates and alkynyl sulfides in a one-step intermolecular manner. The synthesis of diverse multisubstituted benzothiophene derivatives involving a pentacyclic compound was achieved by virtue of the good functional group tolerance and versatile C2 functionalizations.

Reaction of ketone hydrazones with TeCl4: isolation and reactions of novel divinyl telluride

The reaction of acetophenone hydrazones with TeCl₄ in the presence of DBU gave divinyl tellurides. The reaction of divinyl tellurides with bromine or benzyne afforded the corresponding tellurium dibromides or (E)-2-alkenyl tellurides.

Recent advances in the synthesis of fluorinated compounds via an aryne intermediate

In this review, the usefulness of aryne intermediates for the synthesis of various fluorinated organic compounds during the last decade has been demonstrated.

Direct radical alkylation and acylation of 2H-indazoles using substituted Hantzsch esters as radical reservoirs

A platform approach for the direct synthesis of 3-substituted 2H-indazole derivatives has been developed using a Ag(i)/Na₂S₂O₈ system.

Synthesis of Densely Functionalized N-Alkenyl 2-Pyridones via Benzyne-Induced Ring Opening of Thiazolino-Fused 2-Pyridones

We report the synthesis of 6-arylthio-substituted-N-alkenyl 2-pyridones by ring opening of bicyclic thiazolino-2-pyridones with arynes. Varied functionalization was used to investigate scope and substituent influences on reactivity. Selected conditions favor thioether ring opening over [4 + 2] cycloaddition and an unusual aryne incorporating ring expansion. Deuterium labeling was used to clarify observed reactivity. Using the knowledge, we produced drug-like molecules with complex substitution patterns and show how thioether ring opening can be used on scaffolds with competing reactivities.

I2/TBHP-Mediated tandem cyclization and oxidation reaction: Facile access to 2-substituted thiazoles and benzothiazoles

The efficient synthesis of 2-substituted thiazoles and benzothiazoles has been accomplished employing readily available cysteine esters and 2-aminobenzenethiols as N and S sources.

Aryne triggered dearomatization reaction of isoquinolines and quinolines with chloroform

The direct dearomatization reaction of isoquinolines and quinolines with chloroform has been accomplished through in situ electrophilic aryne activation and nucleophile formation.