Chunhui Shan

Mechanism of Rhodium-Catalyzed Formyl Activation: A Computational Study

Metal-catalyzed transfer hydroformylation is an important way of cleaving C-C bonds and constructing new double bonds. The newly reported density functional theory (DFT) method, M11-L, has been used to clarify the mechanism of the rhodium-catalyzed transfer hydroformylation reported by Dong et al. DFT calculations depict a deformylation and formylation reaction pathway. The deformylation step involves an oxidative addition to the formyl C-H bond, deprotonation with a counterion, decarbonylation, and β-hydride elimination. After olefin exchange, the formylation step takes place via olefin insertion into the Rh-H bond, carbonyl insertion, and a final protonation with the conjugate acid of the counterion. Theoretical calculations indicate that the alkalinity of the counterion is important for this reaction because both deprotonation and protonation occur during the catalytic cycle. A theoretical study into the formyl acceptor shows that the driving force of the reaction is correlated with the stability of the unsaturated bond in the acceptor. Our computational results suggest that alkynes or ring-strained olefins could be used as formyl acceptors in this reaction.

Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of Imines using Alcohol: Efficiency and Selectivity are Influenced by the Hydrogen Donor.

The influence of the alcohol, as the hydrogen donor, on the efficiency and selectivity of the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) of imines is reported for the first time. This discovery not only leads to a highly enantioselective access to N-aryl and N-alkyl amines, but also provides new insight into the mechanism of the ATH of imines. Both experimental and computational studies provide support for the reaction pathway involving an iridium alkoxide as the reducing species.

Gold(I)-Catalyzed Angle Strain Controlled Strategy to Furopyran Derivatives from Propargyl Vinyl Ethers: Insight into the Regioselectivity of Cycloisomerization.

A unique strategy for the regiospecific synthesis of bicyclic furopyran derivatives has been developed via a gold(I)-catalyzed propargyl-Claisen rearrangement/6-endo-trig cyclization of propargyl vinyl ethers. The introduction of angle strain into the substrates significantly altered the reactions regioselectivity. Insight into the regioselectivity of the cycloisomerization was obtained with density functional theory calculations.

Thiolate–palladium(IV) or sulfonium–palladate(0)? A theoretical study on the mechanism of palladium-catalyzed C–S bond formation reactions

The density functional theory (DFT) method M06-L was used to study the general mechanism of palladium-catalyzed C–S bond formation reactions. Our theoretical calculations revealed that this type of reaction starts with a palladium-assisted metalation–deprotonation step. Oxidative addition of the sulfur source affords a thiolate–palladium(IV) intermediate, and subsequent reductive elimination generates the new C–S bond. A final protonation regenerates the active palladium(II) catalyst and releases the product. Our proposed mechanism could be applied to a series of palladium-catalyzed C–S bond formation reactions used for the construction of dibenzothiophene derivatives. The rate-limiting step of the catalytic cycle is oxidative addition to yield the thiolate–palladium(IV) intermediate. In contrast, formation of a sulfonium intermediate is unfavourable. In addition, the effect of substituents on the rate-determining step was studied with Hammett plots. Our calculations showed that incorporation of electron-withdrawing groups at the 4-position and electron-donating groups at the 15 and 16-positions would promote intramolecular oxidative addition of thioethers to palladium.

Mechanism, Regio-, and Diastereoselectivity of Rh(III)-Catalyzed Cyclization Reactions of N-Arylnitrones with Alkynes: A Density Functional Theory Study

Nitrones have been used for rhodium-catalyzed cyclization C-H bond activation and O atom transfer of arylnitrones with alkynes by Chang et al. ( J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015 , 137 , 4908 - 4911 ). Density functional theory method has been used to study the mechanism, regio-, and diastereoselectivity of type reactions. The results elucidated that the reaction pathway for Rh(III)-catalyzed cyclization of N-arylnitrones with alkyne contains a C-H bond activation, an alkyne insertion into Rh-C bond, a reductive elimination to form a Rh(I) complex, an oxidative addition leading to N-O cleavage, an imine insertion into the Rh-C bond, and the final protonolysis to regenerate the products and the active catalyst. The regioselectivity of this reaction with asymmetric alkyne is controlled by the electronic effect in alkyne insertion type instead of steric effects. The distortion-interaction analysis is also used to explain the regioselectivity. The diastereoselectivity is controlled by the imine insertion step. In this step, the sterically less hindered transition state is favored, leading to stereoselective product formation.

Mechanism of phosphine‐catalyzed allene coupling reactions: advances in theoretical investigations

Organocatalysis has emerged as an effective strategy for chemical synthesis. Within this area, phosphine-catalyzed coupling reactions have attracted considerable attention because of their versatility and wide range of applications in the construction of new C-C bonds. Recently, various experimental studies on the phosphine-catalyzed coupling reaction of allenes have been reported, and mechanistic and computational studies have also progressed considerably. As a nucleophile, phosphine can react with an allene to form a zwitterionic phosphoniopropenide intermediate. After stepwise cycloaddition and proton transfer, the phosphine catalyst can be regenerated by C-P bond cleavage. Alternatively, the zwitterionic phosphoniopropenide intermediate could also be protonated by a Brønsted acid to generate a phosphonium intermediate, which can be used to construct new C-C bonds by electrophilic addition. In this review, we have summarized details of mechanistic studies of phosphine-catalyzed allene coupling reactions that follow these two reaction modes. In addition to detailing the reaction pathway, the regioselectivity and diastereoselectivity of the phosphine-catalyzed allene coupling reaction are also discussed in this review.

Organocatalytic Atroposelective Intramolecular [4+2] Cycloaddition: Synthesis of Axially Chiral Heterobiaryls

The enantioselective construction of axially chiral aryl-naphthopyran skeletons was realized by organocatalytic atroposelective intramolecular [4+2] cycloaddition of in situ generated vinylidene ortho-quinone methides, from 2-ethynylphenol derivatives, with alkynes. Through this method, the heteroatropisomers were obtained with excellent yields and enantioselectivities. Moreover, a speculative model of the stereochemical outcome is proposed based on preliminary mechanistic studies. The products having various functional groups can be easily transformed into valuable intermediates as either potential ligands or organocatalysts.

Bond dissociation energy controlled σ-bond metathesis in alkaline-earth-metal hydride catalyzed dehydrocoupling of amines and boranes: a theoretical study

Dehydrocoupling of amines and boranes is an efficient method for the formation of N–B bonds; however, the strong B–H bond dissociation energy (BDE) always restricts non-catalytic reaction pathways. Therefore, alkaline-earth-metal (Ae) hydrides are used as catalysts for this type of reaction because of their lower Ae–H bond energy. A theoretical study was performed to study the mechanism of Ae-catalyzed dehydrocoupling reactions. The computational results show that such reactions are initiated from σ-bond metathesis between Ae hydride catalysts and amines to release molecular hydrogen, followed by borane bonding with amino Ae intermediates. Subsequent hydride transfer yields an amino-borane product and, in the process, regenerates the Ae hydride catalyst. Our theoretical calculations revealed that dehydrogenation is the rate-determining step during σ-bond metathesis in the presence of a magnesium hydride catalyst. We predicted that beryllium hydride could not function as a catalyst because the apparent activation free energy is significantly high. Furthermore, we observed that in calcium or strontium hydride-catalyzed reactions, the rate-limiting step changed to the hydride transfer step. Further density functional theory calculations showed that the BDEs of the Ae–H bond controlled the reactivity of the σ-bond metathesis step.

Long Distance Unconjugated Agostic-Assisted 1,5-H Shift in a Ru-mediated Alder-Ene Type Reaction: Mechanism and Stereoselectivity

While the mechanisms of transition metal-catalyzed coupling reactions have received extensive attention, the extent to which these apply to catalytic Alder-ene-type reactions remains unclear. A novel 1,5-H shift mechanism for a Ru-catalyzed Alder-ene type alkene–alkyne coupling reaction was examined by density functional theory (DFT). This reaction begins with a cyclometallation between alkene and alkyne to form a ruthenacyclopentene. Then, 1,5-H shift generates an olefin coordination intermediate. Sequential ligand exchanges construct the final product and regenerate the active catalyst. Results show that a pathway through a [3 + 2] cyclometallation and 1,5-H shift step is favored over the traditional cycloaddition – β-hydride elimination and reductive elimination route reported previously. The stereoselectivity of the product is also validated and the results show that it is predominately controlled by the energy differences in both the cyclometallation and the 1,5-H shift step. Regioselectivity is mainly controlled by electronic effect and six-membered ring tension.