Thomas Lectka

Bifunctional Asymmetric Catalysis: Cooperative Lewis Acid/Base Systems

In the field of catalytic, asymmetric synthesis, there is a growing emphasis on multifunctional systems, in which multiple parts of a catalyst or multiple catalysts work together to promote a specific reaction. These efforts, in part, are result-driven, and they are also part of a movement toward emulating the efficiency and selectivity of natures catalysts, enzymes. In this Account, we illustrate the importance of bifunctional catalytic methods, focusing on the cooperative action of Lewis acidic and Lewis basic catalysts by the simultaneous activation of both electrophilic and nucleophilic reaction partners. For our part, we have contributed three separate bifunctional methods that combine achiral Lewis acids with chiral cinchona alkaloid nucleophiles, for example, benzoylquinine (BQ), to catalyze highly enantioselective cycloaddition reactions between ketene enolates and various electrophiles. Each method requires a distinct Lewis acid to coordinate and activate the electrophile, which in turn increases the reaction rates and yields, without any detectable influence on the outstanding enantioselectivities inherent to these reactions. To place our results in perspective, many important contributions to this emerging field are highlighted and our own reports are chronicled.

A Polycomponent Metal‐Catalyzed Aliphatic, Allylic, and Benzylic Fluorination

A group effort: Reported is the title reaction using a polycomponent catalytic system involving commercially available Selectfluor, a putative radical precursor N-hydroxyphthalimide, an anionic phase-transfer catalyst (KB(C(6)F(5))(4)), and a copper(I) bis(imine). The catalyst system formed leads to monofluorinated compounds selectively (see example) without the necessity for an excess of the alkane substrate.

Iron(II)-Catalyzed Benzylic Fluorination

Direct C-F functionalization of benzylic sp(3) C-H bonds is a synthetic challenge that has yet to be propitiously overcome. A mild, one-pot synthesis of monofluorinated benzylic substrates is reported with commercially available iron(II) acetylacetonate and Selectfluor in good to excellent yields and selectivity. A convenient route to β-fluorinated products of 3-aryl ketones is also highlighted, providing a synthetic equivalent to the difficult to accomplish conjugate addition of fluoride to α,β-unsaturated ketones.

Catalytic, Asymmetric α-Fluorination of Acid Chlorides: Dual Metal-Ketene Enolate Activation

In this Communication, we disclose a catalytic, highly enantioselective (up to >99% ee) alpha-fluorination of acid chlorides to produce a variety of optically active carboxylic acid derivatives from readily accessible and commercially available starting materials. The reaction depends on dually activated ketene enolates generated from two discrete catalysts--a chiral nucleophile and an achiral transition metal complex working in tandem. The active, putative alpha-fluorobis(sulfonimide) intermediates readily transacylate in situ under mild conditions upon addition of a wide variety of nucleophiles, including complex natural products. As a consequence, the power of this method is witnessed by the broad range of alpha-fluorinated products that can be accessed efficiently depending on the work up conditions.

Direct, Catalytic Monofluorination of sp3 C–H Bonds: A Radical-Based Mechanism with Ionic Selectivity

Recently, our group unveiled a system in which an unusual interplay between copper(I) and Selectfluor effects mild, catalytic sp(3) C-H fluorination. Herein, we report a detailed reaction mechanism based on exhaustive EPR, (19)F NMR, UV-vis, electrochemical, kinetic, synthetic, and computational studies that, to our surprise, was revealed to be a radical chain mechanism in which copper acts as an initiator. Furthermore, we offer an explanation for the notable but curious preference for monofluorination by ascribing an ionic character to the transition state.

A photocatalyzed aliphatic fluorination

We disclose a new approach to the catalysis of alkane fluorination employing ultraviolet light and a photosensitizer, 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene (TCB). The process is efficient, mild, and operationally straightforward. We demonstrate reaction utility on a variety of substrates, from simple hydrocarbons to complex natural products. In a showcase example, we establish that the well-known photochemical rearrangement of α-santonin can be supplanted by a highly selective catalyzed fluorination.

Evidence for a Symmetrical Fluoronium Ion in Solution

Fluorine Learns to Share Though halides typically coordinate to just one carbon center, their transient coordination to a second carbon (forming a positively charged bridge) explains the spatial dynamics of many reactions. However, unlike chlorine, bromine, and iodine—which can all form such halonium ions—fluorine does not appear to engage in carbon-bridging behavior, presumably because of its very high electronegativity. Struble et al. (p. 57, see the Perspective by Hennecke) synthesized a rigid molecule, particularly well-poised to manifest fluoride bridging, and provide evidence for a fluoronium intermediate in a displacement reaction. Fluoride appears to form a dicoordinate carbon-bridging intermediate previously seen only for the heavier halogens. [Also see Perspective by Hennecke] Halonium ions, in which formally positively charged halogens (chlorine, bromine, and iodine) are equivalently attached to two carbon atoms through three-center bonds, are well established in the synthetic chemistry of organochlorides, bromides, and iodides. Mechanistic studies of these ions have generated numerous insights into the origins of stereoselectivity in addition and displacement reactions. However, it has not been clear whether fluorine can form a halonium ion in the same manner. We present chemical and theoretical evidence for the transient generation of a true symmetrical fluoronium ion in solution from an appropriately configured precursor.

Photocatalyzed Benzylic Fluorination: Shedding "Light" on the Involvement of Electron Transfer

The photocatalyzed oxidation of benzylic compounds by 1,2,4,5-tetracyanobenzene (TCB) in the presence of Selectfluor provides a synthetically efficient route to electron deficient, less substituted, and otherwise inaccessible benzylic fluorides. The virtue of this system is multifold: it is metal-free and mild, and the reagents are inexpensive. Mechanistically, the data suggest the intimate formation of intermediate radical cations in the key radical forming step, as opposed to a concerted hydrogen atom transfer process.

Sequential Column Asymmetric Catalysis

Since the introduction of catalysts and reagents on solid-support, researchers have developed new reaction systems to take advantage of their insoluble nature by designing multistep reaction sequences, high-throughput purification techniques, and combinatorial synthesis methods. The continuous flow system is one of these advancements and represents the foundation of a new technique termed sequential column asymmetric catalysis (CAC). In this strategy, reagents and catalysts are attached to a solid-phase support and loaded onto sequentially-linked columns. The substrates are present in the liquid phase that flows through the column. As a substrate encounters each successive column, it grows in complexity. Consequently, one can imagine a number of flow systems that consist of columns attached in series and/or in parallel that synthesize a fairly complex molecule. Herein, we discuss the development of the sequential CAC technique, beginning with the most relevant antecedents.

Metal-Catalyzed Benzylic Fluorination as a Synthetic Equivalent to 1,4-Conjugate Addition of Fluoride

We explore in detail the iron-catalyzed benzylic fluorination of substrates containing aromatic rings and electron-withdrawing groups positioned β to one another, thus providing direct access to β-fluorinated adducts. This operationally convenient process can be thought of not only as a contribution to the timely problem of benzylic fluorination but also as a functional equivalent to a conjugate addition of fluoride, furnishing products in moderate to good yields and in excellent selectivity.