Jennifer M. Schomaker

Copper-Catalyzed Recycling of Halogen Activating Groups via 1,3-Halogen Migration

A Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-halogen migration reaction effectively recycles an activating group by transferring bromine or iodine from a sp(2) to a benzylic carbon with concomitant borylation of the Ar-X bond. The resulting benzyl halide can be reacted in the same vessel under a variety of conditions to form an additional carbon-heteroatom bond. Cross-over experiments using an isotopically enriched bromide source support intramolecular transfer of Br. The reaction is postulated to proceed via a Markovnikov hydrocupration of the o-halostyrene, oxidative addition of the resulting Cu(I) complex into the Ar-X bond, reductive elimination of the new sp(3) C-X bond, and final borylation of an Ar-Cu(I) species to turn over the catalytic cycle.

Allene Functionalization via Bicyclic Methylene Aziridines

The oxidative functionalization of olefins is a common method for the formation of vicinal carbon-heteroatom bonds. However, oxidative methods to transform allenes into synthetic motifs containing three contiguous carbon-heteroatom bonds are much less developed. This paper describes the use of bicyclic methylene aziridines (MAs), prepared via intramolecular allene aziridination, as scaffolds for functionalization of all three allene carbons.

Modular Functionalization of Allenes to Aminated Stereotriads

Nitrogen-containing stereotriads, compounds with three adjacent stereodefined carbons, are commonly found in biologically important molecules. However, the preparation of molecules bearing these motifs can be challenging. Herein, we describe a modular oxidation protocol which converts a substituted allene to a triply functionalized amine of the form C-X/C-N/C-Y. The key step employs a Rh-catalyzed intramolecular conversion of the allene to a strained bicyclic methylene aziridine. This reactive intermediate is further elaborated to the target products, often in one reaction vessel and with effective transfer of the axial chirality of the allene to point chirality in the stereotriad.

Tunable, Chemoselective Amination via Silver Catalysis

Organic N-containing compounds, including amines, are essential components of many biologically and pharmaceutically important molecules. One strategy for introducing nitrogen into substrates with multiple reactive bonds is to insert a monovalent N fragment (nitrene or nitrenoid) into a C-H bond or add it directly to a C═C bond. However, it has been challenging to develop well-defined catalysts capable of promoting predictable and chemoselective aminations solely through reagent control. Herein, we report remarkable chemoselective aminations that employ a single metal (Ag) and a single ligand (phenanthroline) to promote either aziridination or C-H insertion by manipulating the coordination geometry of the active catalysts.

Synthesis of Propargylic and Allenic Carbamates via the C–H Amination of Alkynes

Propargylic amines are important intermediates for the synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles. The insertion of a nitrene into a propargylic C-H bond has not been explored, despite the attention directed toward the Rh-catalyzed amination of other types of C-H bonds. In this communication, the conversion of a series of homopropargylic carbamates to propargylic carbamates and aminated allenes is described.

Cobalt Dinitrosoalkane Complexes in the C-H Functionalization of Olefins

The use of cobalt dinitrosoalkane complexes in the C-H functionalization of alkenes has been demonstrated. Reaction of a series of alkenes with Me4CpCo(CO)2 in the presence of NO generates intermediate cobalt dinitrosoalkane complexes that can be deprotonated alpha to the nitrosyl group and added to various Michael acceptors. The resultant products can then undergo retrocycloaddition reactions in the presence of the original alkene to regenerate the starting cobalt dinitrosoalkane complex and release the functionalized alkene.

Synthesis of 1,3-Diaminated Stereotriads via Rearrangement of 1,4-Diazaspiro[2.2]pentanes

The synthesis of 1,3-diaminated stereotriads via the bis-aziridination of allenes is reported. The reactive 1,4-diazaspiro[2.2]pentane intermediates undergo a mild Brønsted acid-promoted rearrangement to yield 1,3-diaminated ketones in good yields with excellent stereocontrol. Directed reduction of the ketone can be achieved to yield a C-N/C-O/C-N stereotriad in high dr. The ability to transfer the axial chirality of the substrates to the products allows for the facile preparation of enantioenriched stereotriads from allenes in two simple steps.

Mechanistic studies of copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-halogen migration.

An ongoing challenge in modern catalysis is to identify and understand new modes of reactivity promoted by earth-abundant and inexpensive first-row transition metals. Herein, we report a mechanistic study of an unusual copper(I)-catalyzed 1,3-migration of 2-bromostyrenes that reincorporates the bromine activating group into the final product with concomitant borylation of the aryl halide bond. A combination of experimental and computational studies indicated this reaction does not involve any oxidation state changes at copper; rather, migration occurs through a series of formal sigmatropic shifts. Insight provided from these studies will be used to expand the utility of aryl copper species in synthesis and develop new ligands for enantioselective copper-catalyzed halogenation.

Chemoselective Allene Aziridination via Ag(I) Catalysis

Allene aziridination generates useful bicyclic methylene aziridine scaffolds that can be flexibly transformed into a range of stereochemically complex and densely functionalized amine-containing stereotriads. The scope of this chemistry has been limited by the poor chemoselectivity that often results when typical dinuclear Rh(II) catalysts are employed with homoallenic carbamates. Herein, Ag(I) catalysts that significantly improve the scope and yield of bicyclic methylene aziridines that can be prepared via allene aziridination are described.

1,4-Diazaspiro[2.2]pentanes as a flexible platform for the synthesis of diamine-bearing stereotriads.

Nitrogen-containing stereotriads occur in a number of biologically active compounds, but general and flexible methods to access these compounds are limited mainly to the manipulation of chiral olefins. An alternative approach is to employ a highly chemo-, regio-, and stereocontrolled allene oxidation that can install a new carbon-heteroatom bond at each of the three original allene carbons. In this paper, an intramolecular/intermolecular allene bis-aziridination is described that offers the potential to serve as a key step for the construction of stereotriads containing vicinal diaminated motifs. The resultant 1,4-diazaspiro[2.2]pentane (DASP) scaffolds contain two electronically differentiated aziridines that undergo highly regioselective ring openings at C1 with a variety of heteroatom nucleophiles to give chiral N,N-aminals. Alternatively, the same DASP intermediate can be induced to undergo a double ring-opening reaction at both C1 and C3 to yield vicinal diaminated products corresponding to formal ring opening at C3. The chirality of a propargyl alcohol is easily transferred to the DASP with good fidelity, providing a new paradigm for the construction of enantioenriched nitrogen-containing stereotriads.