Isabelle Chataigner

Putting pressure on elusive polymorphs and solvates

The reproducible crystallisation of elusive polymorphs and solvates of molecular compounds at high pressure has been demonstrated through studies on maleic acid, malonamide, and paracetamol. These high-pressure methods can be scaled-up to produce ‘bulk’ quantities of metastable forms that can be recovered to ambient pressure for subsequent seeding experiments. This has been demonstrated for paracetamol form II and paracetamol monohydrate. The studies also show that the particular solid form can be tuned by both pressure and concentration.

Aromatic CC Bonds as Dipolarophiles: Facile Reactions of Uncomplexed Electron‐Deficient Benzene Derivatives and Other Aromatic Rings with a Non‐Stabilized Azomethine Ylide

Non-stabilized azomethine ylide 4a reacts smoothly at room temperature with a variety of uncomplexed aromatic heterocycles and carbocycles on the condition that the ring contains at least one or two electron-withdrawing substituents, respectively. Aromatic substrates, including pyridine and benzene derivatives, participate as 2π components in [3+2] cycloaddition reactions and interact with one, two, or three equivalent(s) of the ylide, depending on their structure and substitution pattern. Thus, this process affords highly functionalized polycyclic structures that contain between one and three pyrrolidinyl ring(s) in useful yields. These results indicate that the site selectivity of the cycloaddition reactions strongly depends on both the nature and the positions of the substituents. In most cases, the second 1,3-dipolar reaction occurs on the opposite face to the one that contains the first pyrrolidinyl ring. DFT calculations on model compounds indicate that a concerted mechanism features a low activation barrier.

Facile Dearomatization of Nitrobenzene Derivatives and Other Nitroarenes with N-Benzyl Azomethine Ylide

In recent decades, aromatic compounds derived from the primary petrochemicals found in crude oils have provided a major source of substrates for polymers, paints, cosmetics, agrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals which surround us in everyday life. Therefore, one of the crucial transformations of oil organochemicals en route to more sophisticated molecules is the dearomatization process. The metal-based reductions, transition-metal interactions, oxidative processes on oxygenated arenes, chemical or microbial oxidation, and nucleophilic additions exemplify the importance of the dearomatization process. One of the most popular ways to irreversibly transform a carbon–carbon double bond into a saturated one relies on cycloaddition processes. However, metal-free benzene rings have long eluded this type of reactivity under practical conditions because of their inherent stability. Herein we report that nitrobenzene derivatives undergo a facile dearomatizing [3+2] cycloaddition when reacted with N-benzyl azomethine ylide. Nitrobenzene (1) was chosen as the electron-poor 2p component based on the documented strong electronwithdrawing power of the nitro substituent (Scheme 1). On

Benzofurans as Efficient Dienophiles in Normal Electron Demand [4 + 2] Cycloadditions

Dearomatization of electron-poor benzofurans is possible through involvement of the aromatic 2,3-carbon-carbon double bond as dienophile in normal electron demand [4 + 2] cycloadditions. The tricyclic heterocycles thereby produced bear a quaternary center at the cis ring junction, a feature of many alkaloids such as morphine, galanthamine, or lunaridine. The products arising from the reaction have been shown to depend on different factors among which the type of the electron-withdrawing substituent of the benzofuran, the nature of the reacting diene, and the method of activation. In the presence of all-carbon dienes, the reaction yields the expected Diels-Alder adducts. When thermal activation is insufficient, a biactivation associating zinc chloride catalysis and high pressure is required to generate the cycloadducts in good yields and high stereoselectivities, for instance, when cyclohexadiene is involved in the process. The use of more functionalized dienes, such as those bearing alkoxy or silyloxy substituents, also shows the limits of the thermal activation, and hyperbaric conditions are, in this case, well-suited. The involvement of Danishefskys diene induces a competition in the site of reactivity. The aromatic 2,3-carbon-carbon double bond is unambiguously the most reactive dienophile, and the 3-carbonyl unit becomes a competitive site of reactivity with benzofurans bearing substituents prone to heterocyloaddition, in particular under Lewis acid activation. The sequential involvement of both the aromatic double bond and the carbonyl moiety as dienophiles is then possible by using an excess of diene under high-pressure activation. In line with the experimental results, DFT computations suggest that the Diels-Alder process involving the aromatic double bond is preferred over the hetero-Diels-Alder route through an asynchronous concerted transition state. However, Lewis acid catalysis appears to favor the heterocycloaddition pathway through a stepwise mechanism in some cases.

Recent Advances in Stereoselective Synthesis of 1,3-Dienes

The aim of this review is to present the latest developments in the stereoselective synthesis of conjugated dienes, covering the period 2005-2010. Since the use of this class of compounds is linked to the nature of their appendages (aryls, alkyls, electron-withdrawing, and heterosubstituted groups), the review has been categorized accordingly and illustrates the most representative strategies and mechanisms to access these targets.

Benefits of a Dual Chemical and Physical Activation: Direct aza-Michael Addition of Anilines Promoted by Solvent Effect under High Pressure.

The unique combination of hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) employed as solvent and hyperbaric conditions (10-15 kbar) allows unprecedented 1,4-addition of poor nucleophiles, such as aromatic amines, onto sluggish (cumbersome) Michael acceptors without any promoter or workup.

Selectivities of Multicomponent [4 + 2]/[3 + 2] Cycloadditions of 3-Nitroindole with Substituted Alkenes: A DFT Analysis

The chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivities of multicomponent [4 + 2]/[3 + 2] domino cycloaddition reactions involving nitroindole derivatives with vinylethers and acrylates are studied computationnally and compared to experimental results. In this process, the nitroarene first reacts as an electron-deficient heterodiene with the electron-rich alkene following an inverse electron-demand [4 + 2] process, leading to a nitronate intermediate in a fully selective way. This intermediate exclusively interacts, in a second step, with the electron-deficient alkene and undergoes a chemo- and regioselective [3 + 2] cycloaddition. The density functional theory calculations reported in this Article fully account for the selectivities observed experimentally. Electronic displacements along the reaction path are examined using a topological analysis of the electron-localization function (ELF). The first [4 + 2] reaction follows a classical concerted, although asynchronous process, which is reliably described by the frontier molecular-orbital (FMO) model. In contrast, the electronic displacements observed during the second [3 + 2] step are unexpected, involving an electron donation by the electron-deficient reaction partner.

1-Triflylpyrroles as efficient dienophiles in normal electron demand [4+2] cycloaddition reactions under pressure

1-Triflylpyrroles bearing acetyl group(s) on position 3, or 2 and 4, are efficient dienophiles in normal electron demand Diels-Alder reactions activated by high pressures and Lewis acids.

High-Pressure Hetero-Diels−Alder Route to (±)-6,6,6-Trifluoro-β-C-Naphthyl Glycosides

The first de novo synthesis of a beta-C-naphthyl glycoside displaying a convenient functionality for subsequent transformations into complex C-aryl glycosides is reported. The synthesis of this (+/-)-beta-C-1,5-dibenzyloxynaphthyl 6,6,6-trifluoro-3-amino glycoside relies on a hyperbaric HDA reaction involving a new 2-vinylnaphthalenic dienophile.

Sulfonyl vs. carbonyl group: which is the more electron-withdrawing?

Unexpectedly high reactivity of nitrogenated aromatics protected as amides or carbamates, when compared to sulfonamides, can be explained by a decrease of the aromaticity due to a greater ability of the carbon-centered groups to achieve delocalisation of the nitrogen lone pair, resulting in stronger global withdrawing effects.