Radical and Ionic Mechanisms in Rearrangements of o-Tolyl Aryl Ethers and Amines Initiated by the Grubbs-Stoltz Reagent, Et3SiH/KOtBu

Rearrangements of o-tolyl aryl ethers, amines, and sulfides with the Grubbs–Stoltz reagent (Et₃SiH + KO^tBu) were recently announced, in which the ethers were converted to o-hydroxydiarylmethanes, while the (o-tol)(Ar)NH amines were transformed into dihydroacridines. Radical mechanisms were proposed, based on prior evidence for triethylsilyl radicals in this reagent system. A detailed computational investigation of the rearrangements of the aryl tolyl ethers now instead supports an anionic Truce–Smiles rearrangement, where the initial benzyl anion can be formed by either of two pathways: (i) direct deprotonation of the tolyl methyl group under basic conditions or (ii) electron transfer to an initially formed benzyl radical. By contrast, the rearrangements of o-tolyl aryl amines depend on the nature of the amine. Secondary amines undergo deprotonation of the N-H followed by a radical rearrangement, to form dihydroacridines, while tertiary amines form both dihydroacridines and diarylmethanes through radical and/or anionic pathways. Overall, this study highlights the competition between the reactive intermediates formed by the Et₃SiH/KO^tBu system.

Stereoselective Synthesis of Benzo[e][1,4]oxazino[4,3-a][1,4]diazepine-6,12-diones with Two Diversity Positions

Herein, we report a stereoselective formation of tetrahydro-6H-benzo[e][1,4]oxazino[4,3-a][1,4]diazepine-6,12(11H)-diones. Their preparation consisted in solid-phase synthesis of linear intermediates starting from polymer-supported Ser(tBu)-OH. Using various 2-nitrobenzoic acids and bromoketones, the key intermediates were obtained in five steps and subjected to trifluoroacetic acid-mediated cleavage from the resin, followed by stereoselective reduction with triethylsilane. Subsequent catalytic hydrogenation of the nitro group and cyclization yielded the target compounds with full retention of the C^12a stereocenter configuration.

Polymer-Supported Stereoselective Synthesis of Benzoxazino[4,3-b][1,2,5]thiadiazepinone 6,6-dioxides

Herein, we report the stereoselective synthesis of trisubstituted benzoxazino[4,3-b][1,2,5]thiadiazepinone 6,6-dioxides from polymer-supported Fmoc-Ser(tBu)-OH and Fmoc-Thr(tBu)-OH. After the solid-phase synthesis of N-alkylated-N-sulfonylated intermediates using various 2-nitrobenzenesulfonyl chlorides and bromoketones, the target compounds were obtained via trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)-mediated cleavage from the resin, followed by cyclization of the diazepinone scaffold. Except for the threonine-based intermediates, the inclusion of triethylsilane (TES) in the cleavage cocktail yielded a specific configuration of the newly formed C³ chiral center. The final cyclization resulted in minor or no inversion of the C^12a stereocenter configuration.

Removal of benzylidene acetal and benzyl ether in carbohydrate derivatives using triethylsilane and Pd/C

Clean deprotection of carbohydrate derivatives containing benzylidene acetals and benzyl ethers was achieved under catalytic transfer hydrogenation conditions by using a combination of triethylsilane and 10% Pd/C in CH₃OH at room temperature. A variety of carbohydrate diol derivatives were prepared from their benzylidene derivatives in excellent yield.