A new strategy to access conjugated allenynes via a decarboxylative coupling of propargyl esters of propiolates has been developed. In this process, allenyl-palladium intermediates are coupled with acetylides that are generated in situ to form the conjugated allenynes. Finally, the coupling is demonstrated to be highly stereospecific, providing a route to enantioenriched allenes.

A new method is developed for the synthesis of spirooxindoles from amines and isatins via C–H functionalization. The reaction leverages the tert-amino effect to form an enolate–iminium intermediate via [1,5]-hydride shift followed by cyclization. Interestingly the hydride migrates to the N atom of a C═N, which is atypical for hydride additions to imines.

We report the first example of a palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative dearomatization reaction that occurs via Pd-π-benzyl intermediates. In fact, the Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-coupling reaction of benzyl enol carbonates can lead to either the dearomatized alicyclic ketones or α-monoarylated ketone products depending on the catalyst and ligand employed.

•Study of one of the most selective hydroformylations of butadiene to adipaldehyde, which is industrially useful.•The first experimental observation of phosphine rhodium-catalyzed isomerizing hydroformylation to form adipaldehyde.•The selective formation of adipaldehyde from butadiene is due to standard hydroformylation and isomerizing hydroformylation.•DFT calculations show the intermediates, transition states and energetics of the key alkene isomerization.•Energy barriers for the formation of isomeric alkenes are similar.The (DIOP)rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of butadiene has been shown to give among the highest selectivities for formation of adipaldehyde, which is useful for the synthesis of nylon. Herein, isomerizing hydroformylation is shown to be a mechanism that is partially responsible for this selectivity and density functional theory studies are used to reveal the detailed pathway for the requisite alkene isomerization.

Enantioenriched benzyl esters of propiolic acids undergo highly stereospecific decarboxylative coupling to provide 1,1-diarylethynyl methanes. This sp–sp3 coupling does not require strongly basic conditions or preformed organometallics and produces CO2 as the sole byproduct. Ultimately, this method results in the successful transfer of stereochemical information from secondary benzyl alcohols to generate enantioenriched tertiary diarylmethanes.

An interceptive decarboxylative allylation protocol has been developed utilizing pyrone as a C4 synthon. This palladium-catalyzed transformation difunctionalizes the pyrone moiety by in situ generation and activation of both the electrophile and nucleophile via a double decarboxylation pathway. Ultimately, allyl carbonates react smoothly with 2-carboxypyrone under mild reaction conditions to generate synthetically useful acyclic dienoic esters, forming carbon dioxide as the sole byproduct.

A combination of photoredox and palladium catalysis has been employed to facilitate the room temperature decarboxylative allylation of recalcitrant α-amino and phenylacetic allyl esters. This operationally simple process produces CO2 as the only byproduct and provides direct access to allylated alkanes. After photochemical oxidation, the carboxylate undergoes radical decarboxylation to site-specifically generate radical intermediates which undergo allylation. A radical dual catalysis mechanism is proposed. Free phenylacetic acids were also allylated utilizing similar reactions conditions.

α-Cyano aldehydes undergo selective transition-metal-catalyzed monoallylation to provide α-allylated nitriles. The transformation leads to linear substitution products with palladium catalysts or branched allylated nitriles using an iridium catalyst. Facile TBD-catalyzed retro-Claisen cleavage is leveraged to attain selective monoallylation.

The direct coupling of allyl alcohols with nitroalkanes, nitriles, and aldehydes using catalytic Pd(PPh3)4 has been accomplished via activation of C–OH bonds with CO2. The in situ formation of carbonates from alcohols and CO2 facilitates oxidative addition to Pd to form reactive π-allylpalladium intermediates. In addition, the formation of a strong base activates nucleophiles toward the reaction with the π-allylpalladium electrophile. Overall, this atom economical reaction provides a new C–C bond without the use of an external base and generates water as the only byproduct.

A new strategy has been developed for the benzylation of nitriles directly from benzyl alcohols. In this process benzyl alcohols undergo retro-Claisen activation with cyanoacetic esters to generate an active electrophile and a carbanionic nucleophile. In the presence of Pd(0) these intermediates undergo catalytic coupling to generate a new C–C bond, resulting in the formation of phenyl propionitriles.

The reaction of Meldrum's acid, pyrrolide, and allyl carbonates allows a multicomponent decarboxylative coupling to form allylated acyl pyrroles. This strategy is made possible by the in situ formation of β-oxo carboxylates from Meldrum's acid. Subsequent decarboxylative enolate formation and electrophilic allylation complete the reaction. Addition of benzylidene malononitriles as good Michael acceptors allow a 4-component interceptive decarboxylative allylation.

A redox amination strategy was developed for the synthesis of N-aryl-1-aminoindoles by N–N bond formation. Reaction of nitrosobenzenes with readily available indolines using Brønsted acid catalysis allows N–N bond formation under mild conditions. This method exploits the inherent reducing power of indoline to synthesize biologically relevant molecular architectures via redox amination. A one-pot synthesis of 1-aminoindoles starting from simple aniline and indolines is likewise described.

A variety of ester enolate equivalents are generated in situ and undergo α-allylation in high yields via palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative allylation. The transformations are complete within very short reaction times under ambient conditions. Synthesis of α-allylated acyl derivatives provides access to other carboxylic acid and alcohol derivatives via acyl group substitution or reduction.

Herein we present the development of asymmetric deacylative allylation of ketone enolates. The reaction directly couples readily available ketone pronucleophiles with allylic alcohols using facile retro-Claisen cleavage to form reactive intermediates in situ. The simplicity and robustness of the reaction conditions is demonstrated by the preparation of >6 g of an allylated tetralone from commercially available materials. Furthermore, use of nonracemic PHOX ligands allows intermolecular formation of quaternary stereocenters directly from allylic alcohols.

Decarboxylative benzylation of nitriles is achieved via coupling of metallated nitriles with Pd-π-benzyl complexes that are generated in situ from cyanoacetic benzyl esters. In addition, decarboxylative couplings of α,α-disubstituted 2-methylfuranyl cyanoacetates can lead to either decarboxylative arylation or benzylation depending on the reaction conditions.

We report the palladium-catalyzed, pyrrolidine-mediated α-benzylation of enamines generated from aldehydes and ketones. The method allows for direct coupling of medicinally relevant coumarin moieties with aldehydes and ketones in good yield under mild conditions. The reaction is believed to proceed via a Pd–π-benzyl complex generated from (coumarinyl)methyl acetates.

Using palladium-catalyzed decarboxylation, several cascade reactions of allyl and prenyl nitroalkanoates that lead to nitro-containing chemical building blocks are described. A nitronate Michael addition/Tsuji–Trost allylation cascade was developed, leading to functionally dense chemical building blocks. Likewise, a Tsuji–Trost/decarboxylative protonation sequence was developed for the synthesis of orthogonally functionalized 2° nitroalkanes. The latter method provides rapid access to the indolizidine core.

A new method for allylic alkylation of a variety of relatively nonstabilized carbon nucleophiles is described herein. In this process of “deacylative allylation”, the coupling partners, an allylic alcohol and a ketone pronucleophile, undergo in situ retro-Claisen activation to generate an allylic acetate and a carbanion. In the presence of palladium, these reactive intermediates undergo catalytic coupling to form a new C–C bond. In comparison to unimolecular decarboxylative allylation, a commonly utilized method for allylation of carbon anions, deacylative allylation is an intermolecular process. Moreover, deacylative allylation allows the direct coupling of readily available allylic alcohols. Lastly, the full utility of deacylative allylation is demonstrated by the rapid construction of a variety 1,6-heptadienes via 3-component couplings.

A robust and practical polymer-supported, homogeneous, recyclable biphephos rhodium(I) catalyst has been developed for C–C bond formation reactions. Control of polymer molecular weight allowed tuning of the polymer solubility such that the polymer-supported catalyst is soluble in nonpolar solvents and insoluble in polar solvents. Using the supported rhodium catalysts, addition of aryl and vinylboronic acids to the electrophiles such as enones, aldehydes, N-sulfonyl aldimines, and alkynes occurs smoothly to provide products in high yields. Additions of terminal alkynes to enones and industrially relevant hydroformylation reactions have also been successfully carried out. Studies show that the leaching of Rh from the polymer support is low and catalyst recycle can be achieved by simple precipitation and filtration.

Benzyl esters of propiolic and β-keto acids undergo catalytic decarboxylative coupling when treated with appropriate palladium catalysts. Such decarboxylative couplings allow the benzylation of alkynes without the use of strong bases and/or organometallics. This allows the synthesis of sensitive benzylic alkynes that are prone to undergo isomerizations under basic conditions. Additionally, decarboxylation facilitates the site-specific benzylation of diketones and ketoesters under mild, base-free conditions. Ultimately, the methodology described expands our ability to cross-couple medicinally relevant heterocycles.

Allyl sulfonylacetic esters undergo highly stereospecific, palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative allylation. The reaction allows the stereospecific formation of tertiary homoallylic sulfones in high yield. In contrast to related reactions that proceed at −100 °C and require highly basic preformed organometallics, the decarboxylative coupling described herein occurs under mild nonbasic conditions and requires no stoichiometric additives. Allylation of the intermediate α-sulfonyl anion is more rapid than racemization, leading to a highly enantiospecific process. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the barrier for racemization is 9.9 kcal/mol, so the barrier for allylation must be <9.9 kcal/mol.

A stereochemical test has been used to probe the mechanism of decarboxylative allylation. This probe suggests that the mechanism of DcA reactions can change based on the substitution pattern at the α-carbon of the nucleophile; however, reaction via stabilized malonate nucleophiles is the lower energy pathway. Lastly, this mechanistic proposal has predictive power and can be used to explain chemoselectivities in decarboxylative reactions that were previously confounding.

Allyl nitroacetates undergo decarboxylative allylation to provide tertiary nitroalkanes in high yield. Moreover, the transformations are complete within several minutes under ambient conditions. High yields result because O-allylation of the intermediate nitronates, which is typically problematic, is reversible under conditions of the decarboxylative allylation process. Lastly, the preparation of substrate allyl nitroacetates by tandem Knoevenagel/Diels−Alder sequences allows the facile synthesis of relatively complex substrates that undergo diastereoselective decarboxylative allylation.

A wide variety of aldehydes, ketones, and lactols undergo redox amination when allowed to react with 3-pyrroline in the presence of a mild Brønsted acid catalyst. This reaction utilizes the inherent reducing power of 3-pyrroline to perform the equivalent of a reductive amination to form alkyl pyrroles. In doing so, the reaction avoids stoichiometric reducing agents that are typically associated with reductive aminations. Moreover, the redox amination protocol allows access to alkyl pyrroles that cannot be made via standard reductive amination.

Palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative α-allylation of nitriles readily occurs with use of Pd2(dba)3 and rac-BINAP. This catalyst mixture also allows the highly regiospecific α-allylation of nitriles in the presence of much more acidic α-protons. Thus, the reported method provides access to compounds that are not readily available via base-mediated allylation chemistries. Lastly, mechanistic investigations indicate that there is a competition between C- and N-allylation of an intermediate nitrile-stabilized anion and that N-allylation is followed by a rapid [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement.

An anionic iron complex catalyzes the decarboxylative allylation of phenols to form allylic ethers in high yield. The allylation is regioselective rather than regiospecific. This suggests that the allylation proceeds through π-allyl iron intermediates in contrast to related allylations of carbon nucleophiles that have been proposed to proceed via σ-allyl complexes. Ultimately, iron catalysts have the potential to replace more expensive palladium catalysts that are typically utilized for decarboxylative couplings.

Allyl esters of 3-carboxylcoumarins undergo facile decarboxylative coupling at just 25−50 °C. This represents the first extension of decarboxylative C−C bond-forming reactions to the coupling of aromatics with sp3-hybridized electrophiles. Finally, the same concept can be applied to the sp2−sp3 couplings of pyrones and flavones. Thus, a variety of biologically important heteroaromatics can be readily functionalized without the need for strong bases or stoichiometric organometallics that are typically required for more standard cross-coupling reactions.

Herein we report that simple Lewis acids catalyze the hydroarylation of benzylidene malonates with phenols. Ultimately, 3,4-disubstituted dihydrocoumarins are obtained via a hydroarylation−lactonization sequence. Moreover, the dihydrocoumarins are formed with a high degree of diastereoselectivity favoring the trans stereoisomer.

This communication details the Pd-catalyzed decarboxylation of selenocarbonates; use of a chiral nonracemic catalyst affords enantioenriched allyl selenides which undergo stereospecific [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements to form enantioenriched allylic amines and chlorides.

Phenols provide a useful template for diversification via sequential hydroarylation reactions. Specifically, a protocol has been developed that begins with the hydroarylation of cinnamic acids by 3,5-dimethoxyphenol to produce dihydrocoumarins. This activated ester undergoes facile ring-opening with amines to form a C−N bond and regenerate a phenol. The resulting phenol can be further functionalized via a second hydroarylation reaction. Thus, in 3–4 steps, a phenol is coupled with a cinnamic acid, an amine, and a cinnamic or propiolic acid.

The ruthenium-catalyzed stereospecific decarboxylative allylation of ketone enolates provides access to γ,δ-unsaturated ketones with good yields and enantioenrichments.

Through a 2e- oxidation-reduction cycle, phenylselenides catalytically activate N-chlorosuccinimide toward electrophilic reactions with ketones, resulting in α-haloketones.

A redox amination strategy was developed for the synthesis of N-aryl-1-aminoindoles by N–N bond formation. Reaction of nitrosobenzenes with readily available indolines using Brønsted acid catalysis allows N–N bond formation under mild conditions. This method exploits the inherent reducing power of indoline to synthesize biologically relevant molecular architectures via redox amination. A one-pot synthesis of 1-aminoindoles starting from simple aniline and indolines is likewise described.

We report the first example of a palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative dearomatization reaction that occurs via Pd-π-benzyl intermediates. In fact, the Pd-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-coupling reaction of benzyl enol carbonates can lead to either the dearomatized alicyclic ketones or α-monoarylated ketone products depending on the catalyst and ligand employed.

A new strategy has been developed for the benzylation of nitriles directly from benzyl alcohols. In this process benzyl alcohols undergo retro-Claisen activation with cyanoacetic esters to generate an active electrophile and a carbanionic nucleophile. In the presence of Pd(0) these intermediates undergo catalytic coupling to generate a new C–C bond, resulting in the formation of phenyl propionitriles.

The reaction of Meldrum's acid, pyrrolide, and allyl carbonates allows a multicomponent decarboxylative coupling to form allylated acyl pyrroles. This strategy is made possible by the in situ formation of β-oxo carboxylates from Meldrum's acid. Subsequent decarboxylative enolate formation and electrophilic allylation complete the reaction. Addition of benzylidene malononitriles as good Michael acceptors allow a 4-component interceptive decarboxylative allylation.

Decarboxylative benzylation of nitriles is achieved via coupling of metallated nitriles with Pd-π-benzyl complexes that are generated in situ from cyanoacetic benzyl esters. In addition, decarboxylative couplings of α,α-disubstituted 2-methylfuranyl cyanoacetates can lead to either decarboxylative arylation or benzylation depending on the reaction conditions.

This communication details the Pd-catalyzed decarboxylation of selenocarbonates; use of a chiral nonracemic catalyst affords enantioenriched allyl selenides which undergo stereospecific [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements to form enantioenriched allylic amines and chlorides.

A variety of ester enolate equivalents are generated in situ and undergo α-allylation in high yields via palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative allylation. The transformations are complete within very short reaction times under ambient conditions. Synthesis of α-allylated acyl derivatives provides access to other carboxylic acid and alcohol derivatives via acyl group substitution or reduction.

We report the palladium-catalyzed, pyrrolidine-mediated α-benzylation of enamines generated from aldehydes and ketones. The method allows for direct coupling of medicinally relevant coumarin moieties with aldehydes and ketones in good yield under mild conditions. The reaction is believed to proceed via a Pd–π-benzyl complex generated from (coumarinyl)methyl acetates.