Josep Cornella

Intermolecular Decarboxylative Direct C-3 Arylation of Indoles with Benzoic Acids

A palladium catalyzed C-H activation of indoles and a silver catalyzed decarboxylative C-C activation of ortho substituted benzoic acids are synergistically combined to synthesize indoles arylated exclusively in the C-3 position. This novel decarboxylative C-H arylation methodology is compatible with electron-donating and -withdrawing substituents in both coupling partners.

Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study on the Reductive Cleavage of Inert C–O Bonds with Silanes: Ruling out a Classical Ni(0)/Ni(II) Catalytic Couple and Evidence for Ni(I) Intermediates

A mechanistic and computational study on the reductive cleavage of C-OMe bonds catalyzed by Ni(COD)(2)/PCy(3) with silanes as reducing agents is reported herein. Specifically, we demonstrate that the mechanism for this transformation does not proceed via oxidative addition of the Ni(0) precatalyst into the C-OMe bond. In the absence of an external reducing agent, the in-situ-generated oxidative addition complexes rapidly undergo β-hydride elimination at room temperature, ultimately leading to either Ni(0)-carbonyl- or Ni(0)-aldehyde-bound complexes. Characterization of these complexes by X-ray crystallography unambiguously suggested a different mechanistic scenario when silanes are present in the reaction media. Isotopic-labeling experiments, kinetic isotope effects, and computational studies clearly reinforced this perception. Additionally, we also found that water has a deleterious effect by deactivating the Ni catalyst via formation of a new Ni-bridged hydroxo species that was characterized by X-ray crystallography. The order in each component was determined by plotting the initial rates of the C-OMe bond cleavage at varying concentrations. These data together with the in-situ-monitoring experiments by (1)H NMR, EPR, IR spectroscopy, and theoretical calculations provided a mechanistic picture that involves Ni(I) as the key reaction intermediates, which are generated via comproportionation of initially formed Ni(II) species. This study strongly supports that a classical Ni(0)/Ni(II) for C-OMe bond cleavage is not operating, thus opening up new perspectives to be implemented in other related C-O bond-cleavage reactions.

A general alkyl-alkyl cross-coupling enabled by redox-active esters and alkylzinc reagents

Carbon links without helpful neighbors Its an irony of modern organic chemistry that the simplest-looking carbon-carbon bonds are often the hardest to make. Most reactions owe their efficiency to neighboring double bonds or oxygen and nitrogen atoms that linger in the products. Qin et al. now present a broadly applicable protocol for making C-C bonds in the absence of such surrounding help. The nickel-catalyzed process couples a zinc-activated carbon center to an ester thats poised to lose CO2. The ready availability of numerous carboxylic acids (which are easily converted to esters) contributes to the reactions versatility. Science, this issue p. 801 A versatile nickel-catalyzed reaction forms carbon–carbon bonds, with no need for adjacent functionality in the product. Alkyl carboxylic acids are ubiquitous in all facets of chemical science, from natural products to polymers, and represent an ideal starting material with which to forge new connections. This study demonstrates how the same activating principles used for decades to make simple C–N (amide) bonds from carboxylic acids with loss of water can be used to make C–C bonds through coupling with dialkylzinc reagents and loss of carbon dioxide. This disconnection strategy benefits from the use of a simple, inexpensive nickel catalyst and exhibits a remarkably broad scope across a range of substrates (>70 examples).

Silver-catalyzed protodecarboxylation of heteroaromatic carboxylic acids

A simple and highly efficient protodecarboxylation procedure for a variety of heteroaromatic carboxylic acids catalyzed by Ag(2)CO(3) and AcOH in DMSO is described. This methodology can also perform the selective monoprotodecarboxylation of several aromatic dicarboxylic acids.

Practical Ni-Catalyzed Aryl–Alkyl Cross-Coupling of Secondary Redox-Active Esters

A new transformation is presented that enables chemists to couple simple alkyl carboxylic acids with aryl zinc reagents under Ni-catalysis. The success of this reaction hinges on the unique use of redox-active esters that allow one to employ such derivatives as alkyl halides surrogates. The chemistry exhibits broad substrate scope and features a high degree of practicality. The simple procedure and extremely inexpensive nature of both the substrates and pre-catalyst (NiCl2·6H2O, ca.

Ni-Catalyzed Carboxylation of Unactivated Primary Alkyl Bromides and Sulfonates with CO2

9.5/mol) bode well for the immediate widespread adoption of this method.

Ligand-Controlled Regiodivergent Ni-Catalyzed Reductive Carboxylation of Allyl Esters with CO2

A Ni-catalyzed carboxylation of unactivated primary alkyl bromides and sulfonates with CO2 at atmospheric pressure is described. The method is characterized by its mild conditions and remarkably wide scope without the need for air- or moisture-sensitive reagents, which make it a user-friendly and operationally simple protocol en route to carboxylic acids.

Redox-Active Esters in Fe-Catalyzed C–C Coupling

A novel Ni-catalyzed regiodivergent reductive carboxylation of allyl esters with CO2 has been developed. This mild, user-friendly, and operationally simple method is characterized by an exquisite selectivity profile that is dictated by the ligand backbone.

Nickel-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling of Redox-Active Esters with Boronic Acids.

Cross-couplings of alkyl halides and organometallic species based on single electron transfer using Ni and Fe catalyst systems have been studied extensively, and separately, for decades. Here we demonstrate the first couplings of redox-active esters (both isolated and derived in situ from carboxylic acids) with organozinc and organomagnesium species using an Fe-based catalyst system originally developed for alkyl halides. This work is placed in context by showing a direct comparison with a Ni catalyst for >40 examples spanning a range of primary, secondary, and tertiary substrates. This new C–C coupling is scalable and sustainable, and it exhibits a number of clear advantages in several cases over its Ni-based counterpart.

Remote carboxylation of halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons with carbon dioxide

A transformation analogous in simplicity and functional group tolerance to the venerable Suzuki cross-coupling between alkyl-carboxylic acids and boronic acids is described. This Ni-catalyzed reaction relies upon the activation of alkyl carboxylic acids as their redox-active ester derivatives, specifically N-hydroxy-tetrachlorophthalimide (TCNHPI), and proceeds in a practical and scalable fashion. The inexpensive nature of the reaction components (NiCl2 ⋅6 H2 O-