An efficient Cu/Rh-catalyzed method is proposed for the synthesis of 3-indolylimines from N-propargylanilines through Rh(II)-catalyzed denitrogenative annulation of N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles. Further combined with hydrolysis or reduction, a one-pot method is developed to enable the direct incorporation of an imine, aldehyde, or amine group into an indole system from an alkyne. A variety of substituted 3-indolylimines, indole-3-carboxaldehydes, and 3-Indolylmethanamines are synthesized in good yields.

A mild method for effectively removing the fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) group using sodium azide was developed. Without base, sodium azide completely deprotected N (α)-Fmoc-amino acids in hours. The solvent-dependent conditions were carefully studied and then optimized by screening different sodium azide amounts and reaction temperatures. A variety of Fmoc-protected amino acids containing residues masked with different protecting groups were efficiently and selectively deprotected by the optimized reaction. Finally, a biologically significant hexapeptide, angiotensin IV, was successfully synthesized by solid phase peptide synthesis using the developed sodium azide method for all Fmoc removals. The base-free condition provides a complement method for Fmoc deprotection in peptide chemistry and modern organic synthesis.

A copper(I)-catalyzed synthesis of substituted dihydropyrimidin-4-ones from propargyl amides via the formation of ketenimine intermediate has been successfully developed; the synthesis afforded good isolated yields (80-95%). The mild reaction conditions at room temperature allow the reaction to proceed to completion in a few hours without altering the stereochemistry. Further, by involving a variety of reactive nucleophiles, the obtained substituted dihydropyrimidin-4-ones were elegantly transformed into the corresponding β- and β(3)-amino acid analogues.

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A rapid growth in synthetic methods for the preparation of diverse organic molecules using N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles is of great interest in organic synthesis. Transition metals are generally used to activate the α-imino diazo intermediates. Metal-free methods have not been studied in detail, but can be a good complement to transition metal catalysis in the mild reaction conditions. We herein report a novel method for the preparation of 2,3-dihydroquinolin-4-imine and chroman-4-imine analogs from their corresponding N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles in the absence of metal catalysts. To achieve intramolecular annulation, the introduction of an electron-donating group is required at the meta position of N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazole methyl anilines. The inclusion of tailored substituents on the aniline moieties and nitrogen atoms enhances the nucleophilicity of the phenyl π-electrons, thus allowing them to undergo a Friedel-Crafts-type reaction with the highly electrophilic ketenimines. This metal-free method was carefully optimized to generate a variety of dihydroquinolin-4-imines and chroman-4-imines in moderate-to-good yields.