The stereoselective synthesis of ε-isomers of dimethyl esters of 1,3-diaminotruxillic acid in three steps is reported. The first step is the ortho-palladation of (Z)-2-aryl-4-aryliden-5(4H)-oxazolones 1 to give dinuclear complexes 2 with bridging carboxylates. The reaction occurs through regioselective activation of the ortho-CH bond of the 4-arylidene ring in carboxylic acids. The second step is the [2+2]-photocycloaddition of the CC exocyclic bonds of the oxazolone skeleton in 2 to afford the corresponding dinuclear ortho-palladated cyclobutanes 3. This key step was performed very efficiently by using LED light sources with different wavelengths (465, 525 or 625 nm) in flow microreactors. The final step involved the depalladation of 3 by hydrogenation in methanol to afford the ε-1,3-diaminotruxillic acid derivatives as single isomers.

The direct [2+2]-photocycloaddition of (Z)-2-phenyl-4-aryliden-5(4H)-oxazolones 1 to give 1,3-diaminotruxillic cyclobutane-derivatives 2 in very good yields (75-100%) is reported. The reaction takes place by irradiation of CH2Cl2 solutions of 1 with the blue light (465 nm) provided by LED lamps of low power (around 1 W) for 72 h. Four isomers of the 1,3diaminotruxillic cyclobutanes 2 were obtained, all of them fully characterized by a combination of NMR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The reaction shows a certain selectivity, since one of the isomers (the epsilon) is obtained preferentially, and works for electron-releasing and electron-withdrawing substituents at the arylidene ring. A novel setup is presented for the in-line monitoring of the continuous flow photo-assisted synthesis of the cyclobutane derivatives 2 by NMR spectroscopy, with the microreactor dramatically reducing reaction times to only 30 minutes with clear product distribution of up to four isomers. The mechanism of this [2+2]photocycloaddition has been calculated by DFT methods, explaining all experimental findings. The reaction takes place through a stepwise formation of two new CC bonds through a transient diradical singlet intermediate. The isomeric distribution of the final products is not due to equilibration processes, but instead reflects the kinetic preference during the rate limiting CC bond formation step.

The orthopalladation, through CH bond activation, of a large number of amino esters and amino phosphonates derived from phenylglycine, and having different substituents at the aryl ring and the C‐α atom, as well as on the N‐amine atom, has been studied. The experimental observations indicated an improvement in the yields of the orthopalladated compounds when the N‐amine and/or the C‐α atom are substituted, when compared with the unsubstituted methyl phenylglycinate derivatives. In contrast, substitutions at the aryl ring do not promote significant changes in the orthometalation results. Furthermore, the use of hydrochloride salts of the amino esters has also been shown to have a remarkably favorable effect on the process. All these observations have been fully quantified at different temperatures and pressures by a detailed kinetic study in solution in different solvents and in the presence and absence of added Brønsted acids and chloride anions. The data collected indicate relevant changes in the process depending on these conditions, as expected from the general background known for cyclopalladation reactions. An electronic mechanism of the orthopalladation has been proposed based on DFT calculations at the B3LYP level, and a very good agreement between the trends kinetically measured and the theoretically calculated activation barriers has been obtained. The reactivity of the new orthopalladated amino phosphonate derivatives has been tested and it was found that their halogenation, alkoxylation and carbonylation resulted in formation of the corresponding functionalized ortho‐haloaminophosphonates, ortho‐alkoxyaminophosphonates and oxoisoindolinylphosphonates.