Hai-Chao Xu

Intramolecular Anodic Olefin Coupling Reactions: The Use of a Nitrogen Trapping Group

Anodic olefin coupling reactions using a tosylamine trapping group have been studied. The cyclizations are favored by the use of a less-polar radical cation and more basic reaction conditions. The most significant factor for obtaining good yields of cyclic product is the use of the more basic reaction conditions. The cyclizations allow for the rapid synthesis of substituted proline derivatives.

Electrocatalytic Generation of Amidyl Radicals for Olefin Hydroamidation: Use of Solvent Effects to Enable Anilide Oxidation.

Oxidative generation of synthetically important amidyl radicals from N-H amides is an appealing and yet challenging task. Previous methods require a stoichiometric amount of a strong oxidant and/or a costly noble-metal catalyst. We report herein the first electrocatalytic method that employs ferrocene (Fc), a cheap organometallic reagent, as the redox catalyst to produce amidyl radicals from N-aryl amides. Based on this radical-generating method, an efficient intramolecular olefin hydroamidation reaction has been developed.

Intramolecular Anodic Olefin Coupling Reactions and the Synthesis of Cyclic Amines

Anodic olefin coupling reactions using a tosylamine trapping group have been studied. The cyclizations are favored by the use of a less-polar radical cation and more basic reaction conditions. The most significant factor for obtaining good yields of cyclic product is the use of the more basic reaction conditions. However, a number of factors including the nature of both the solvent and the electrolyte used can influence the yield of the cyclizations. The cyclizations allow for the rapid synthesis of both substituted proline and pipecolic acid type derivatives.

Electrochemical C−H/N−H Functionalization for the Synthesis of Highly Functionalized (Aza)indoles

Indoles and azaindoles are among the most important heterocycles because of their prevalence in nature and their broad utility in pharmaceutical industry. Reported herein is an unprecedented noble-metal- and oxidant-free electrochemical method for the coupling of (hetero)arylamines with tethered alkynes to synthesize highly functionalized indoles, as well as the more challenging azaindoles.

Metal- and Reagent-Free Intramolecular Oxidative Amination of Tri- and Tetrasubstituted Alkenes

A metal- and reagent-free, electrochemical intramolecular oxidative amination reaction of tri- and tetrasubstituted alkenes has been developed. The electrosynthetic method proceeds through radical cyclization to form the key C-N bond, allowing a variety of hindered tri- and tetrasubstituted olefins to participate in the amination reaction. The result is the efficient synthesis of a host of alkene-bearing cyclic carbamates and ureas and lactams.

Amidinyl Radical Formation through Anodic N-H Bond Cleavage and Its Application in Aromatic C-H Bond Functionalization

We report herein an atom-economical and sustainable approach to access amidinyl radical intermediates through the anodic cleavage of N-H bonds. The resulting nitrogen-centered radicals undergo cyclizations with (hetero)arenes, followed by rearomatization, to afford functionalized tetracyclic benzimidazoles in a highly straightforward and efficient manner. This metal- and reagent-free C-H/N-H cross-coupling reaction exhibits a broad substrate scope and proceeds with high chemoselectivity.

Cyclization Reactions of Anode-Generated Amidyl Radicals

Amidyl radicals have been generated from amides under mild conditions electro-oxidatively. Their reactivity toward electron-rich double bonds to form five- and six-membered rings has been demonstrated experimentally and explored with density functional theory (DFT) calculations (UB3LYP/6-31G(d,p)).

Synthesis of C3-Fluorinated Oxindoles through Reagent-Free Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling

Reported herein is an unprecedented synthesis of C3-fluorinated oxindoles through cross-dehydrogenative coupling of C(sp3 )-H and C(sp2 )-H bonds from malonate amides. Under the unique and mild electrochemical conditions, the requisite oxidant and base are generated in a continuous fashion, allowing the formation of the base- and heat-sensitive 3-fluorooxindoles in high efficiency with broad substrate scope. The synthetic usefulness of the electrochemical method is further highlighted by its easy scalability and the diverse transformations of the electrolysis product.

Electrochemical intramolecular aminooxygenation of unactivated alkenes.

An electrochemical approach to the intramolecular aminooxygenation of unactivated alkenes has been developed. This process is based on the addition of nitrogen-centered radicals, generated through electrochemical oxidation, to alkenes followed by trapping of the cyclized radical intermediate with 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl radical (TEMPO). Difunctionalization of a variety of alkenes with easily available carbamates/amides and TEMPO affords aminooxygenation products in high yields and with excellent trans selectivity for cyclic systems (d.r. up to>20:1). The approach provides a much-needed complementary route to existing cis-selective methods.

Intramolecular Anodic Olefin Coupling Reactions: Use of the Reaction Rate To Control Substrate/Product Selectivity

Anodic oxidation reactions can trigger a variety of interesting, new cyclization reactions.[1] For example, the anodic coupling of an electron-rich olefin and a toluenesulfonamide leads to cyclic amino acid derivatives that contain tetrasubstituted carbons (Scheme 1).[2,3] Such materials can potentially serve as building blocks for constructing a variety of alkaloids and peptidomimetics.[4-8]