A silanol-directed, palladium-catalyzed CH carboxylation reaction of phenols to give salicylic acids has been developed. This method features high efficiency and selectivity, and excellent functional-group tolerance. The generality of this method was demonstrated by the carboxylation of estrone and by the synthesis of an unsymmetrically o,o′-disubstituted phenolic compound through two sequential CH functionalization processes.

A silanol-directed, palladium-catalyzed CH carboxylation reaction of phenols to give salicylic acids has been developed. This method features high efficiency and selectivity, and excellent functional-group tolerance. The generality of this method was demonstrated by the carboxylation of estrone and by the synthesis of an unsymmetrically o,o′-disubstituted phenolic compound through two sequential CH functionalization processes.

Experimental and theoretical investigation of the regiodivergent palladium-catalyzed dimerization of terminal alkynes is presented. Employment of N-heterocyclic carbene-based palladium catalyst in the presence of phosphine ligand allows for highly regio- and stereoselective head-to-head dimerization reaction. Alternatively, addition of carboxylate anion to the reaction mixture triggers selective head-to-tail coupling. Computational studies suggest that reaction proceeds via the hydropalladation pathway favoring head-to-head dimerization under neutral reaction conditions. The origin of the regioselectivity switch can be explained by the dual role of carboxylate anion. Thus, the removal of hydrogen atom by the carboxylate directs reaction from the hydropalladation to the carbopalladation pathway. Additionally, in the presence of the carboxylate anion intermediate, palladium complexes involved in the head-to-tail dimerization display higher stability compared to their analogues for the head-to-head reaction.

A general and efficient NH insertion reaction of rhodium pyridyl carbenes derived from pyridotriazoles was developed. Various NH-containing compounds, including amides, anilines, enamines, and aliphatic amines, smoothly underwent the NH insertion reaction to afford 2-picolylamine derivatives. The developed transformation was further utilized in a facile one-pot synthesis of imidazo[1,5-a]pyridines.

A novel mode of reactivity for the diazo group, the 1,3-addition of a nucleophile and an electrophile to the diazo group, has been realized in the intramolecular aminoalkylation of β-amino-α-diazoesters to form tetrasubstituted 1,2,3-triazolines. The reaction exhibited a broad scope, good functional group tolerance, and excellent diastereoselectivity. In addition, a new Au-catalyzed intramolecular transannulation reaction of the obtained propargyl triazolines to give pyrroles has been discovered.

A general and efficient NH insertion reaction of rhodium pyridyl carbenes derived from pyridotriazoles was developed. Various NH-containing compounds, including amides, anilines, enamines, and aliphatic amines, smoothly underwent the NH insertion reaction to afford 2-picolylamine derivatives. The developed transformation was further utilized in a facile one-pot synthesis of imidazo[1,5-a]pyridines.

A novel mode of reactivity for the diazo group, the 1,3-addition of a nucleophile and an electrophile to the diazo group, has been realized in the intramolecular aminoalkylation of β-amino-α-diazoesters to form tetrasubstituted 1,2,3-triazolines. The reaction exhibited a broad scope, good functional group tolerance, and excellent diastereoselectivity. In addition, a new Au-catalyzed intramolecular transannulation reaction of the obtained propargyl triazolines to give pyrroles has been discovered.

A highly efficient catalytic system for the palladium-catalyzed [4+2] benzannulation reaction of enynes and enynophiles has been developed. The use of an N-heterocyclic carbene-based palladium precursor allowed us to achieve turnover numbers up to 1800. The new catalytic system has enabled an expansion of the scope of the [4+2] homo-benzannulation reaction.

Transition metal catalyzed denitrogenative transannulation of a triazole ring has recently received considerable attention as a new concept for the construction of diverse nitrogen-containing heterocyclic cores. This method allows a single-step synthesis of complex nitrogen heterocycles from easily available and cheap triazole precursors. In this Minireview, recent progress of the transition metal catalyzed denitrogenative transannulation of a triazole ring, which was discovered in 2007, is discussed.

Die übergangsmetallkatalysierte denitrogenierende Transanellierung eines Triazolrings wurde kürzlich als ein neues Konzept für den Aufbau diverser stickstoffhaltiger heterocyclischer Kerne beschrieben. Die Methode ermöglicht eine einstufige Synthese von komplexen Stickstoffheterocyclen aus leicht zugänglichen und preisgünstigen Triazolvorläufern. In diesem Kurzaufsatz werden die jüngsten Fortschritte auf dem Gebiet der übergangsmetallkatalysierten denitrogenierenden Transanellierung von Triazolen erläutert.

A novel, easily removable and modifiable silicon-tethered pyridyldiisopropylsilyl directing group for CH functionalizations of arenes has been developed. The installation of the pyridyldiisopropylsilyl group can efficiently be achieved via two complementary routes using easily available 2-(diisopropylsilyl)pyridine (5). The first strategy features a nucleophilic hydride substitution at the silicon atom in 5 with aryllithium reagents generated in situ from the corresponding aryl bromides or iodides. The second milder route exploits a highly efficient room-temperature rhodium(I)-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction between 5 and aryl iodides. The latter approach can be applied to the preparation of a wide range of pyridyldiisopropylsilyl-substituted arenes possessing a variety of functional groups, including those incompatible with organometallic reagents. The pyridyldiisopropylsilyl directing group allows for a highly efficient, regioselective palladium(II)-catalyzed mono-ortho-acyloxylation and ortho-halogenation of various aromatic compounds. Most importantly, the silicon-tethered directing group in both acyloxylated and halogenated products can easily be removed or efficiently converted into an array of other valuable functionalities. These transformations include protio-, deuterio-, halo-, boro-, and alkynyldesilylations, as well as a conversion of the directing group into the hydroxy functionality. In addition, the construction of aryl-aryl bonds via the Hiyama–Denmark cross-coupling reaction is feasible for the acetoxylated products. Moreover, the ortho-halogenated pyridyldiisopropylsilylarenes, bearing both nucleophilic pyridyldiisopropylsilyl and electrophilic aryl halide moieties, represent synthetically attractive 1,2-ambiphiles. A unique reactivity of these ambiphiles has been demonstrated in efficient syntheses of arylenediyne and benzosilole derivatives, as well as in a facile generation of benzyne. In addition, preliminary mechanistic studies of the acyloxylation and halogenation reactions have been performed. A trinuclear palladacycle intermediate has been isolated from a stoichiometric reaction between diisopropyl(phenyl)pyrid-2-ylsilane (3a) and palladium acetate. Furthermore, both CH functionalization reactions exhibited equally high values of the intramolecular primary kinetic isotope effect (k_H/k_D=6.7). Based on these observations, a general mechanism involving the formation of a palladacycle via a CH activation process as the rate-determining step has been proposed.

An efficient three-component coupling (TCC) reaction toward a variety of 3-aminoindoline and 3-aminoindole derivatives has been developed. This cascade transformation proceeds via the copper-catalyzed coupling reaction between 2-aminobenzaldehyde, a secondary amine, and an alkyne leading to a propargylamine intermediate which, under the reaction conditions, undergoes cyclization into the indoline core. The latter, upon treatment with a base, smoothly isomerizes into the indole. Alternatively, the indole can directly be synthesized in a one-pot sequential reaction.