Cofactor-mimetic aerobic oxidation has conceptually merged with catalysis of syngas reactions to form a wide range of Markovnikov-selective olefin radical hydrofunctionalizations. We cover the development of the field and review contributions to reaction invention, mechanism and application to complex molecule synthesis. We also provide a mechanistic framework for understanding this compendium of radical reactions.

We report the discovery of an outstanding reductant for metal-catalyzed radical hydrofunctionalization reactions. Observations of unexpected silane solvolysis distributions in the HAT-initiated hydrogenation of alkenes reveal that phenylsilane is not the kinetically preferred reductant in many of these transformations. Instead, isopropoxy(phenyl)silane forms under the reactions conditions, suggesting that alcohols function as important silane ligands to promote the formation of metal hydrides. Study of its reactivity showed that isopropoxy(phenyl)silane is an exceptionally efficient stoichiometric reductant and it is now possible to significantly decrease catalyst loadings, lower reaction temperatures, broaden functional group tolerance and use diverse, aprotic solvents in iron- and manganese-catalyzed hydrofunctionalizations. As representative examples, we have improved the yields and rates of alkene reduction, hydration, hydroamination and conjugate addition. Discovery of this broadly applicable, chemoselective and solvent-versatile reagent should allow an easier interface with existing radical reactions. Finally, isotope-labeling experiments rule out the alternative hypothesis of hydrogen atom transfer from a redox-active beta-diketonate ligand in the HAT step. Instead, initial HAT from a metal-hydride to directly generate a carbon-centered radical appears to be the most reasonable hypothesis.

Cobalt/nickel-dual catalyzed hydroarylation of terminal olefins with iodoarenes builds complexity from readily available starting materials, with a high preference for the Markovnikov (branched) product. Here, we advance a mechanistic model of this reaction through the use of reaction progress kinetic analysis (RPKA), radical clock experiments, and stoichiometric studies. Through exclusion of competing hypotheses, we conclude that the reaction proceeds through an unprecedented alkylcobalt to nickel direct transmetalation. Demonstration of catalytic alkene prefunctionalization, via spectroscopic observation of an organocobalt species, distinguishes this Csp-Csp cross-coupling method from a conventional transmetalation process, which employs a stoichiometric organometallic nucleophile, and from a bimetallic oxidative addition of an organohalide across nickel, described by radical scission and subsequent alkyl radical capture at a second nickel center. A refined understanding of the reaction leads to an optimized hydroarylation procedure that excludes exogenous oxidant, demonstrating that the transmetalation is net redox neutral. Catalytic alkene prefunctionalization by cobalt and engagement with nickel catalytic cycles through direct transmetalation provides a new platform to merge these two rich areas of chemistry in preparatively useful ways.

Cycloisomerizations of enynes are probably the most representative carbon–carbon bond forming reactions catalyzed by electrophilic metal complexes. These transformations are synthetically useful because chemists can use them to build complex architectures under mild conditions from readily assembled starting materials. However, these transformations can have complex mechanisms. In general, gold(I) activates alkynes in the presence of any other unsaturated functional group by forming an (η2-alkyne)–gold complex. This species reacts readily with nucleophiles, including electron-rich alkenes. In this case, the reaction forms cyclopropyl gold(I) carbene-like intermediates. These can come from different pathways depending on the substitution pattern of the alkyne and the alkene. In the absence of external nucleophiles, 1,n-enynes can form products of skeletal rearrangement in fully intramolecular reactions, which are mechanistically very different from metathesis reactions initiated by the [2 + 2] cycloaddition of a Grubbs-type carbene or other related metal carbenes.In this Account, we discuss how cycloisomerization and addition reactions of substituted enynes, as well as intermolecular reactions between alkynes and alkenes, are best interpreted as proceeding through discrete cationic intermediates in which gold(I) plays a significant role in the stabilization of the positive charge. The most important intermediates are highly delocalized cationic species that some chemists describe as cyclopropyl gold(I) carbenes or gold(I)-stabilized cyclopropylmethyl/cyclobutyl/homoallyl carbocations. However, we prefer the cyclopropyl gold(I) carbene formulation for its simplicity and mnemonic value, highlighting the tendency of these intermediates to undergo cyclopropanation reactions with alkenes.We can add a variety of hetero- and carbonucleophiles to the enynes in the presence of gold(I) in intra- or intermolecular reactions, leading to the corresponding adducts with high stereoselectivity through stereospecific anti-additions. We have also developed stereospecific syn-additions, which probably occur through similar intermediates. The attack of carbonyl groups at the cyclopropyl carbons of the intermediate cyclopropyl gold(I) carbenes initiates a particularly interesting group of reactions. These trigger a cascade transformation that can lead to the formation of two C–C and one C–O bonds. In the fully intramolecular process, this stereospecific transformation has been applied for the synthesis of natural sesquiterpenoids such as (+)-orientalol F and (−)-englerin A.Intra- and intermolecular trapping of cyclopropyl gold(I) carbenes with alkenes leads to the formation of cyclopropanes with significant increase in the molecular complexity, particularly in cases in which this process combines with the migration of propargylic alkoxy and related OR groups. We have recently shown this in the stereoselective total synthesis of the antiviral sesquiterpene (+)-schisanwilsonene by a cyclization/1,5-acetoxy migration/intermolecular cyclo...

Gold(i) controls complex transformations proceeding through carbocationic species by stabilising the key reactive intermediates.