Modhu Sudan Maji

Transition-Metal-Free Sonogashira-Type Coupling of ortho-Substituted Aryl and Alkynyl Grignard Reagents by Using 2,2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl Radical as an Oxidant

Cross coupling of aryl, alkenyl, and alkynyl magnesium compounds by using 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl radical (TEMPO) as an environmentally benign organic oxidant is described. This coupling reaction can be performed without adding any transition metal on various ortho-substituted aryl and alkynyl Grignard reagents. Importantly, functional groups such as esters, amides, and cyanides are shown to be tolerated under the reaction conditions.

Desymmetrization of Metallated Cyclohexadienes with Chiral N-tert-Butanesulfinyl Imines

This communication describes the desymmetrization of various achiral metallated cyclohexadienes with a series of chiral N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines. Depending on the metal used, either the symmetrical diene (dicyclohexadienyl-zinc) or the desymmetrized diene (cyclohexadienyl-MgCl) is obtained in a good regioselectivity with excellent diastereoselectivity. The products formed should be useful building blocks for natural product synthesis. The symmetrical 1,4-dienes are readily oxidized to the corresponding diarylmethylamine derivatives.

Cp*CoIII–Catalyzed syn-Selective C–H Hydroarylation of Alkynes Using Benzamides: An Approach Toward Highly Conjugated Organic Frameworks

Hydroarylation of internal alkynes by cost-effective CoIII-catalysis, directed by N-tert-butyl amides, is achieved to avail mono- or dihydroarylated amide products selectively in an atom and step economic way. Several important functional groups were tolerated under the reaction conditions, and syn-hydroarylation products were exclusively isolated. Notably, a 4-fold C-H hydroarylation provided a highly conjugated organic framework in one step. Kinetic study with extensive deuterium labeling experiments were performed to support the proposed mechanism.

Weakly Coordinating, Ketone-Directed Cp*Co(III)-Catalyzed C–H Allylation on Arenes and Indoles

Weakly coordinating, ketone-directed, regioselective monoallylation of arenes and indoles is reported using a stable and cost-effective high-valent cobalt(III)-catalyst to access several important molecular building blocks. The allylation proceeds smoothly with a variety of substrates in the presence of various electron-rich and -deficient substituents. The method was applied to the formal synthesis of an ancisheynine alkaloid, a highly conjugated azatetracene, and isochroman. The mechanistic study reveals that the allylation reaction follows a base-assisted intermolecular electrophilic substitution pathway.

Transition-Metal-Free Redox-Neutral One-Pot C3-Alkenylation of Indoles Using Aldehydes

The synthesis of sensitive β-alkyl 3-vinylindoles having diverse functional groups with good selectivity remains a challenging task. Keeping the synthetic utility of 3-alkenylindoles in mind, we explored a unique approach to synthesize them from unprotected indoles in a domino fashion. A transition-metal-free C3-alkenylation of indole is reported by using sequential Brønsted acid/base catalysis. Several β-substituted 3-alkenylindoles and conjugated 1,3-dienes are synthesized by direct coupling of indole and readily available aliphatic aldehydes. Excellent scalability and recycling of benzenesulfinic acid for successive alkenylation reactions up to five times make this method economically viable.

Stereodivergent Total Synthesis of Hapalindoles, Fischerindoles, Hapalonamide H, and Ambiguine H Alkaloids by Developing a Biomimetic, Redox-Neutral, Cascade Prins-Type Cyclization

A stereoselective, redox-neutral, Brønsted acid-catalyzed cascade Prins-type cyclization between indole and aldehyde is described to access several structurally diverse indole terpenoid scaffolds in a single step. Applying this concept, stereodivergent total syntheses of nine hapalindole-type alkaloids are accomplished. Key transformations include allylation using geometrically isomeric allylboronic acid followed by a p-toluenesulfonic acid mediated deprotection-cyclization cascade.

Brønsted Acid Catalyzed One-Pot Benzannulation of 2-Alkenylindoles under Aerial Oxidation: A Route to Carbazoles and Indolo[2,3-a]carbazole Alkaloids

A one-pot, protecting-group-free benzannulation of 2-alkenylindoles with readily available 1,3-dicarbonyls is demonstrated to construct structurally diverse carbazoles. The use of a cheap Brønsted acid catalyst and air as the sole oxidant exemplifies the economic viability of this protocol. The execution of four different reactions successively to generate the medicinally important indolocarbazole core is also achieved. This one-pot protecting-group-free method paved the way for the total synthesis of three medicinally important alkaloids, namely staurosporinone, arcyriaflavin A, and 7-hydroxy-K252c.