Mechanism of the Arene-Limited Nondirected C-H Activation of Arenes with Palladium*

Recently palladium catalysts have been discovered that enable the directing-group-free C-H activation of arenes without requiring an excess of the arene substrate, thereby enabling methods for the late-stage modification of complex organic molecules. The key to success has been the use of two complementary ligands, an N-acyl amino acid and an N-heterocycle. Detailed experimental and computational mechanistic studies on the dual-ligand-enabled C-H activation of arenes have led us to identify the catalytically active species and a transition state model that explains the exceptional activity and selectivity of these catalysts. These findings are expected to be highly useful for further method development using this powerful class of catalysts.

Sterically Controlled C-H Olefination of Heteroarenes

The regioselective functionalization of heteroarenes is a highly attractive synthetic target due to the prevalence of multiply substituted heteroarenes in nature and bioactive compounds. Some substitution patterns remain challenging: While highly efficient methods for the C2-selective olefination of 3-substituted five-membered heteroarenes have been reported, analogous methods to access the 5-olefinated products have remained limited by poor regioselectivities and/or the requirement to use an excess of the valuable heteroarene starting material. Herein we report a sterically controlled C-H olefination using heteroarenes as the limiting reagent. The method enables the highly C5-selective olefination of a wide range of heteroarenes and is shown to be useful in the context of late-stage functionalization.

Dual Ligand-Enabled Nondirected C-H Olefination of Arenes

The application of the Pd-catalyzed oxidative C-H olefination of arenes, also known as the Fujiwara-Moritani reaction, has traditionally been limited by the requirement for directing groups on the substrate or the need to use the arene in large excess, typically as a (co)solvent. Herein the development of a catalytic system is described that, through the combined action of two complementary ligands, makes it possible to use directing-group-free arenes as limiting reagents for the first time. The reactions proceed under a combination of both steric and electronic control and enable the application of this powerful reaction to valuable arenes, which cannot be utilized in excess.