Hydrogenation of fluorinated molecules: an overview

CuOTf(Tol)1/2-Catalyzed O-Trifluoroethylation of Alcohols with 2,2,2-Trifluorodiazoethane

Trifluoroethyl groups are important in medicinal chemistry since they can impart desirable properties, such as enhanced lipophilicity, metabolic stability, or binding affinity. A practical and scalable protocol has been developed for O-trifluoroethylation of alcohols with 2,2,2-trifluorodiazoethane using Cu(OTf)(Tol)1/2 catalyst under mild conditions. This novel approach demonstrated high reactivity and broad substrate scope toward a diverse range of alcohols, ranging from fused and bridged ring systems, linear alcohols, to even sugar motifs, which makes the protocol valuable for medicinal chemistry, material science, and other areas where the introduction of trifluoroethyl groups would be beneficial.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Chiral Fluorinated Amines via Manganese-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation

A highly enantioselective Mn-catalyzed hydrogenation of fluorinated imines has been realized. The success of this hydrogenation is attributed to the use of the chiral ferrocenyl P,N,N ligand bearing an additional chiral center at the pyridinylmethyl position. The hydrogenation displayed broad functional group tolerance, thus furnishing a wide range of optically active fluorinated amines with up to 98% enantiomeric excess. The utility of the methodology has been well-demonstrated by the scale-up of the asymmetric hydrogenation of N-(4'-methoxyphenyl)-ethan-2,2,2-trifluoro-1-phenyl-1-imine.

Visible-Light-Induced Markovnikov Hydroalkoxylation of α-Trifluoromethyl Alkenes with ortho-Diketones

We report, for the first time, a visible-light-promoted Markovnikov hydroalkoxylation of α-trifluoromethyl alkenes with 1,2-diketones. This transformation proceeded smoothly in the presence of a tertiary amine (Et3N), providing a series of enol ethers containing the trifluoromethylated tetrasubstituted center in moderate to excellent yields. In this protocol, hydrogen atom transfer between this amine and 1,2-diketone substrate affords a ketyl radical and an α-aminoalkyl radical, which engages in the formation of a radical anion of the α-CF3 alkene via a single electron transfer. Notably, this protocol features several advantages including metal- and external photocatalyst-free, mild conditions, easy operation, a broad substrate scope, and good functional group tolerance. Moreover, by applying this new method, a great number of important deuterium-labeled organofluorine compounds can be readily prepared using CD3OD as a deuterium source.

Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction with a Cu porphyrin bearing meso-CF3 substituents

Cu tetrakis(trifluoromethyl)porphyrin (1) was synthesized and examined as an electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). We showed that 1 is highly efficient for the electrocatalytic HER in acetonitrile with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and outperforms Cu tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrin (2) by decreasing the onset overpotential by 220 mV. The icat/ip value (icat is the catalytic peak current and ip is the non-catalytic peak current) with 1 is 97, while it is 53 with 2. These results suggest that for Cu porphyrins, meso-CF3 substituents are much more effective than meso-C6F5 substituents to enhance the HER.

Photobiocatalytic Platform for the Efficient Enantio-Divergent Synthesis of β-Fluoromethylated Ketones

β-Fluoromethyl (CH2F, CHF2, and CF3)-substituted chiral ketones are essential moieties and are vital building blocks in pharmaceutical and agrochemistry. However, general and convenient methods for enantio-diverse access to diverse β-fluoromethylated ketones are lacking, hindering the further development of these functional moieties. In this study, we developed an ene-reductase-based photobiocatalytic platform for efficient synthesis of enantio-divergent β-fluoromethylated chiral ketones. Our method highlights substrate-type diversity, excellent enantioselectivity, enzymatic enantio-divergent synthesis, as well as a dicyanopyrazine (DPZ)-type photosensitizer for biocompatible olefin E/Z isomerization in enzymatic stereoconvergent olefin asymmetric reduction, thereby providing a general photobiocatalytic solution to diverse β-fluoromethylated chiral ketones.

Organophotocatalytic Regioselective Silylation/Germylation and Cascade Cyclization of N-Alkenyl α-CF3 Acrylamides: Access to Densely Functionalized 4-Pyrrolin-2-ones

We report an organophotoredox-catalyzed silylation/germylation cascade cyclization of N-alkenyl α-CF3 acrylamides under mild conditions. N-Aminopyridinium salts act as hydrogen atom transfer reagents under photoredox catalysis in the generation of silyl and germyl radicals. An array of silyl- and germyl-substituted 3-CF3-4-pyrrolin-2-one derivatives were constructed in a shorter reaction time with low catalyst loading in good to excellent yields at room temperature. Importantly, this protocol is amenable to the late-stage diversification of bioactive molecules, as well as to large-scale synthesis.

Data-Driven Insights into the Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Olefins

The transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins is one of the key transformations with great utility in various industrial applications. The field has been dominated by the use of noble metal catalysts, such as iridium and rhodium. The reactions with the earth-abundant cobalt metal have increased only in recent years. In this work, we analyze the large amount of literature data available on iridium- and rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation. The limited data on reactions using Co catalysts are then examined in the context of Ir and Rh to obtain a better understanding of the reactivity pattern. A detailed data-driven study of the types of olefins, ligands, and reaction conditions such as solvent, temperature, and pressure is carried out. Our analysis provides an understanding of the literature trends and demonstrates that only a few olefin-ligand combinations or reaction conditions are frequently used. The knowledge of this bias in the literature data toward a certain group of substrates or reaction conditions can be useful for practitioners to design new reaction data sets that are suitable to obtain meaningful predictions from machine-learning models.

Synthetic techniques for thermodynamically disfavoured substituted six-membered rings

Six-membered rings are ubiquitous structural motifs in bioactive compounds and multifunctional materials. Notably, their thermodynamically disfavoured isomers, like disubstituted cyclohexanes featuring one substituent in an equatorial position and the other in an axial position, often exhibit enhanced physical and biological activities in comparison with their opposite isomers. However, the synthesis of thermodynamically disfavoured isomers is, by its nature, challenging, with only a limited number of possible approaches. In this Review, we summarize and compare synthetic methodologies that produce substituted six-membered rings with thermodynamically disfavoured substitution patterns. We place particular emphasis on elucidating the crucial stereoinduction factors within each transformation. Our aim is to stimulate interest in the synthesis of these unique structures, while simultaneously providing synthetic chemists with a guide to approaching this synthetic challenge.

Selective photocatalytic semihydrogenation of alkynols to alkenols on Pd-C3N4 nanosheets under ambient conditions

Selective hydrogenation of alkynols to alkenols is an essential process for producing fine and intermediate chemicals. Currently, thermocatalytic alkynol hydrogenation faces several challenges, e.g., the safety of high-pressure hydrogen (H2) gas and the need for elevated temperature, and unavoidable side reactions, e.g., overhydrogenation. Here, a novel photocatalytic strategy is proposed for selectively reducing alkynols to alkenols with water as a hydrogen source under ambient temperature and pressure. Under the irradiation of simulated solar light, carbon nitride (C3N4) nanosheets with palladium (Pd) nanoparticles as cocatalysts (Pd-C3N4 NSs) exhibit a 2-methyl-3-butyn-2-ol (MBY) conversion of 98% and 2-methyl-3-buten-2-ol (MBE) selectivity of 95%, outperforming state-of-the-art thermocatalysts and electrocatalysts. After natural-sunlight irradiation (average light intensity of 25.13 mW cm-2) for 36 h, a MBY conversion of 98% and MBE selectivity of 92% was achieved in a large-scale photocatalytic system (2500 cm2). Experimental and theoretical investigations reveal that Pd cocatalysts on C3N4 facilitate the adsorption and hydrogenation of MBY as well as the formation of active hydrogen species, which promote the selective semihydrogenation of alkynols. Moreover, the proposed strategy is applicable to various water-soluble alkynols. This work paves the way for photocatalytic strategies to replace thermocatalytic hydrogenation processes using pressurized hydrogen.

Organoelectrophotocatalytic Generation of Acyl Radicals from Formamides and Aldehydes: Access to Acylated 3-CF3-2-Oxindoles

Organoelectrophotocatalytic generation of acyl radicals from formamides and aldehydes to synthesize acylated 3-CF3-2-oxindoles has been developed. This protocol features a monocatalytic system using 9,10-phenanthrenequinone (PQ) both as a catalyst and as a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reagent, which avoids the use of an external HAT reagent, metal reagent, and oxidant. A variety of acylated 3-CF3-2-oxindoles have been obtained in satisfactory yields from CF3-substituted N-arylacrylamides via a tandem radical cyclization.

The Revival of Enantioselective Perfluoroalkylation - Update of New Synthetic Approaches from 2015-2022

Over the last years, methods devoted to the synthesis of asymmetric molecules bearing a perfluoroalkylated chain have been limited in number. Among them, only a few can be used on a large variety of scaffolds. This microreview aims at summarizing these recent advances in enantioselective perfluoroalkylation (-CF3 , -CF2 H, -Cn F2n+1 ) and highlights the need for new enantioselective methods to easily synthesize chiral fluorinated molecules which would be useful for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. Some perspectives are also mentioned.

Metal-free electrochemistry promoted radical cascade cyclization to access CF3-containing benzimidazo[2,1-a]isoquinolin-6(5H)-ones

Using CF3SO2Na as the CF3 radical source, an eco-friendly approach for electrochemistry-mediated radical cascade cyclization of N-methacryloyl-2-phenylbenzoimidazoles was described. This reaction features mild reaction conditions, readily available substrates, and moderate to good yields through the construction of two C-C bonds in one step.

Oxoammonium salt-promoted diverse functionalization of saturated cyclic amines with dinucleophiles

Oxoammonium salt-promoted diverse functionalization of saturated cyclic amines with different dinucleophiles under mild conditions is presented. Specifically, when thiocyanate is used as a 1,3-dinucleophile, hexahydrothiazolo[4,5-b]pyridin-2(3H)-one derivatives are formed via the formation of the β-TEMPO-tethered cyclic iminium ion as a key intermediate. By contrast, when benzene-1,2-diamine is used as a 1,4-dinucleophile, 2-alkylquinoxaline derivatives are afforded via generation of the β-oxo cyclic iminium ion as a key intermediate. In addition, the usefulness of 2-alkylquinoxalines is showcased through their facile conversion into N-(2-oxo-2-(quinoxalin-2-yl)ethyl)nitrous amides featuring the synthetically useful N-NO moiety and the carbonyl group.

Opening the pathway towards a scalable electrochemical semi-hydrogenation of alkynols via earth-abundant metal chalcogenides

Electrosynthetic methods are crucial for a future sustainable transformation of the chemical industry. Being an integral part of many synthetic pathways, the electrification of hydrogenation reactions gained increasing interest in recent years. However, for the large-scale industrial application of electrochemical hydrogenations, low-resistance zero-gap electrolysers operating at high current densities and high substrate concentrations, ideally applying noble-metal-free catalyst systems, are required. Because of their conductivity, stability, and stoichiometric flexibility, transition metal sulfides of the pentlandite group have been thoroughly investigated as promising electrocatalysts for electrochemical applications but were not investigated for electrochemical hydrogenations of organic materials. An initial screening of a series of first row transition metal pentlandites revealed promising activity for the electrochemical hydrogenation of alkynols in water. The most active catalyst within the series was then incorporated into a zero-gap electrolyser enabling the hydrogenation of alkynols at current densities of up to 240 mA cm-2, Faraday efficiencies of up to 75%, and an alkene selectivity of up to 90%. In this scalable setup we demonstrate high stability of catalyst and electrode for at least 100 h. Altogether, we illustrate the successful integration of a sustainable catalyst into a scalable zero-gap electrolyser establishing electrosynthetic methods in an application-oriented manner.

Synthesis of Saturated N-Heterocycles via a Catalytic Hydrogenation Cascade

Saturated N-heterocycles are prominent motifs found in various natural products and pharmaceuticals. Despite the increasing interest in this class of compounds, the synthesis of saturated bicyclic azacycles requires tedious multi-step syntheses. Herein, we present a one-pot protocol for the synthesis of octahydroindoles, decahydroquinolines, and octahydroindolizines through a cascade reaction.

The Implications of the Brønsted Acidic Properties of Crabtree-Type Catalysts in the Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Olefins

Chiral iridium complexes derived from Crabtree's catalyst are highly useful in modern hydrogenations of olefins attributed to high reactivity, stereoselectivity, and stability. Despite that these precatalysts are pH neutral, the reaction mixtures turn acidic under hydrogenation conditions. This Perspective is devoted to the implications of the intrinsic Brønsted acidity of catalytic intermediates in asymmetric hydrogenation of olefins. Despite that the acidity has often been used only as a rationale for side-product formation, more recent methodologies have started to use this property advantageously. We hope that this Perspective serves as a stimulant for the development of such compelling and new asymmetric hydrogenations. The inherent scientific opportunities in utilizing or annihilating the generated Brønsted acid are enormous, and potential new innovations are outlined toward the end.

Access to Unexplored 3D Chemical Space: cis ‐Selective Arene Hydrogenation for the Synthesis of Saturated Cyclic Boronic Acids

A new class of saturated boron‐incorporated cyclic molecules has been synthesized employing an arene‐hydrogenation methodology. cis‐Selective hydrogenation of easily accessible, and biologically important molecules comprising benzoxaborole, benzoxaborinin, and benzoxaboripin derivatives is reported. Among the various catalysts tested, rhodium cyclic(alkyl)(amino)carbene [Rh‐CAAC] (1) pre‐catalyst revealed the best hydrogenation activity confirming turnover number up to 1400 with good to high diastereoselectivity. A broad range of functional groups was tolerated including sensitive substituents such as −F, −CF₃, and −silyl groups. The utility of the synthesized products was demonstrated by the recognition of diols and sugars under physiological conditions. These motifs can have a substantial importance in medicinal chemistry as they possess a three‐dimensional structure, are highly stable, soluble in water, form hydrogen bonds, and interact with diols and sugars.

Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of fluoromethylated stereocenters by asymmetric hydrogenation

Fluoromethyl groups possess specific steric and electronic properties and serve as a bioisostere of alcohol, thiol, nitro, and other functional groups, which are important in an assortment of molecular recognition processes. Herein we report a catalytic method for the asymmetric synthesis of a variety of enantioenriched products bearing fluoromethylated stereocenters with excellent yields and enantioselectivities. Various N,P-ligands were designed and applied in the hydrogenation of fluoromethylated olefins and vinyl fluorides.

Stereocontrolled Synthesis of Fluorinated Isochromans via Iodine(I)/Iodine(III) Catalysis

The success of saturated, fluorinated heterocycles in contemporary drug discovery provides a stimulus for creative endeavor in main group catalysis. Motivated by the ubiquity of isochromans across the bioactive small molecule spectrum, the prominence of the anomeric effect in regulating conformation, and the metabolic lability of the benzylic position, iodine(I)/iodine(III) catalysis has been leveraged for the stereocontrolled generation of selectively fluorinated analogs. To augment the current arsenal of fluorocyclization reactions involving carboxylic acid derivatives, the reaction of readily accessible 2-vinyl benzaldehydes is disclosed (up to >95 : 05 d.r. and 97 : 03 e.r.). Key stereoelectronic interactions manifest themselves in the X-ray crystal structures of the products, thereby validating the [CH2 -CHF] fragment as a stereoelectronic mimic of the [O-CH(OR)] acetal motif.

Janus faced fluorocyclohexanes for supramolecular assembly: synthesis and solid state structures of equatorial mono-, di- and tri alkylated cyclohexanes and with tri-axial C-F bonds to impart polarity

Concise and general synthesis protocols are reported to generate all-syn mono-, di- and tri-alkylated cyclohexanes where a single fluorine is located on the remaining carbons of the ring. The alkyl groups are positioned to lie equatorially and to have triaxial C-F bonds imparting polarity to these ring systems. Intermolecular electrostatic interactions in the solid-state structure of the trialkylated systems are explored and the resultant supramolecular order opens up prospects for design in soft materials.

Straightforward synthesis of bench-stable heteroatom-centered difluoromethylated entities via controlled nucleophilic transfer from activated TMSCHF2

The commercially available and experimentally convenient (bp 65 °C) difluoromethyltrimethylsilane (TMSCHF₂) is proposed as a valuable difluoromethylating transfer reagent for delivering the CHF₂ moiety to various heteroatom-based electrophiles. Upon activation with an alkoxide, a conceptually intuitive nucleophilic displacement directly furnishes in high yields the bench-stable analogues.

Chiral FLP-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of 3-fluorinated chromones

The asymmetric hydrogenation of fluorinated olefins is an efficient pathway towards the synthesis of chiral fluorine-containing compounds. This paper described metal-free asymmetric hydrogenation of 3-fluorinated chromones with the use of readily available achiral borane and chiral oxazoline as an FLP catalyst for the first time. A variety of optically active 3-fluorochroman-4-ones were obtained in high yields with up to 88% ee.

Origin of Ligand Effects on Stereoinversion in Pd-Catalyzed Synthesis of Tetrasubstituted Olefins

The mechanism and origin of ligand effects on stereoinversion of Pd-catalyzed synthesis of tetrasubstituted olefins were investigated using DFT calculations and the approach of energy decomposition analysis (EDA). The results reveal that the stereoselectivity-determining steps are different when employing different phosphine ligands. This is mainly due to the steric properties of ligands. With the bulkier Xantphos ligand, the syn/anti-to-Pd 1,2-migrations determine the stereoselectivity. While using the less hindered P(o-tol)₃ ligand, the 1,3-migration is the stereoselectivity-determining step. The EDA results demonstrate that Pauli repulsion and polarization are the dominant factors for controlling the stereochemistry in 1,2- and 1,3-migrations, respectively. The origins of differences of Pauli repulsion and polarization between the two stereoselective transition states are further identified.

Whole-cell catalysis by surface display of fluorinase on Escherichia coli using N-terminal domain of ice nucleation protein

Background

Fluorinases play a unique role in the production of fluorine-containing organic molecules by biological methods. Whole-cell catalysis is a better choice in the large-scale fermentation processes, and over 60% of industrial biocatalysis uses this method. However, the in vivo catalytic efficiency of fluorinases is stuck with the mass transfer of the substrates.

Results

A gene sequence encoding a protein with fluorinase function was fused to the N-terminal of ice nucleation protein, and the fused fluorinase was expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) cells. SDS-PAGE and immunofluorescence microscopy were used to demonstrate the surface localization of the fusion protein. The fluorinase displayed on the surface showed good stability while retaining the catalytic activity. The engineered E.coli with surface-displayed fluorinase could be cultured to obtain a larger cell density, which was beneficial for industrial application. And 55% yield of 5′-fluorodeoxyadenosine (5′-FDA) from S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) was achieved by using the whole-cell catalyst.

Conclusions

Here, we created the fluorinase-containing surface display system on E.coli cells for the first time. The fluorinase was successfully displayed on the surface of E.coli and maintained its catalytic activity. The surface display provides a new solution for the industrial application of biological fluorination.

Graphical Abstract

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12934-021-01697-x.

Electrochemical heterodifunctionalization of α-CF3 alkenes to access α-trifluoromethyl-β-sulfonyl tertiary alcohols

An unprecedented electrochemical heterodifunctionalization of α-CF₃ alkenes with benzenesulfonyl hydrazides was accomplished in this work, wherein a β-sulfonyl and a α-hydroxyl group were simultaneously incorporated across the olefinic double bond in a single operation. Consequently, a series of potentially medicinally valuable and densely functionalized α-trifluoromethyl-β-sulfonyl tertiary alcohols were assembled under mild conditions. Electrochemically-driven oxidative 1,2-difunctionlization of electron-deficient alkenes well obviates the need for oxidizing reagents, thus rendering this protocol more eco-friendly.