Amine synthesis via iron-catalysed reductive coupling of nitroarenes with alkyl halides

Cheung, Chi Wai; Hu, Xile

doi:10.1038/ncomms12494

Cited by 139 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…We recently reported iron-catalysed reductive coupling of nitroarenes with alkyl halides to form secondary aryl alkyl amines17. To further expand the scope of this new carbon–nitrogen bond coupling methodology, we became interested in the coupling of nitroarenes with esters.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2a): A nickel(II) precatalyst (L-Ni II ) is reduced by zinc (Zn) to nickel(0), which activates an ester to form a nickel(II) acyl complex. Meanwhile, in the presence of a Lewis acid, chlorotrimethylsilane (TMSCl), a nitroarene is reduced by zinc form a nitrosoarene1720, as indicated in the Fe-catalysed reductive coupling of nitroarenes with alkyl halides17. In the presence of Zn and TMSCl, the nickel acyl complex might react with the nitrosoarene to form an amide anion, which is further converted to amide upon protonolysis.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Silyl ether (TMS 2 O), and zinc(II) chlorides and siloxides are the expected by-products. Although such an amide formation reaction has yet to be reported, we were encouraged by the successful amine formation from alkyl halides and nitrosoarenes under Fe-catalysed reductive coupling conditions17.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Direct amidation of esters with nitroarenes

2017

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Esters are one of the most common functional groups in natural and synthetic products, and the one-step conversion of the ester group into other functional groups is an attractive strategy in organic synthesis. Direct amidation of esters is particularly appealing due to the omnipresence of the amide moiety in biomolecules, fine chemicals, and drug candidates. However, efficient methods for direct amidation of unactivated esters are still lacking. Here we report nickel-catalysed reductive coupling of unactivated esters with nitroarenes to furnish in one step a wide range of amides bearing functional groups relevant to the development of drugs and agrochemicals. The method has been used to expedite the syntheses of bio-active molecules and natural products, as well as their post-synthetic modifications. Preliminary mechanistic study indicates a reaction pathway distinct from conventional amidation methods using anilines as nitrogen sources. The work provides a novel and efficient method for amide synthesis.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Direct amidation of esters with nitroarenes

2017

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“…Nevertheless, the scope of amine nucleophiles is limited to carbazoles 16,18 and amides 17,19 . Alternative, formal C-N coupling of alkyl electrophiles via the addition of alkyl radicals to nitroarenes has been reported 20,21 .The group of Baran has recently trailblazed the use of redox-active esters derived from alkyl carboxylic acids as superior surrogates of alkyl halides in decarboxylative C-C cross-coupling reactions [22][23][24] . Extension to a decarboxylative carbon-heteroatom, particularly C-B bond formation has also been reported 19,[25][26][27][28][29] .…”

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Decarboxylative C(sp3)–N cross-coupling via synergetic photoredox and copper catalysis

et al. 2018

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A mines are one of the most important structural motifs in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and organic materials 1,2 . Alkylation and reductive amination reactions are still commonly used to prepare and modify amines, and new methods derived from reductive amination, such as the borrowing hydrogen 3 strategy, have been reported [4][5][6][7] . Nevertheless, the most significant development in amine synthesis has been transition-metal-catalysed C-N coupling of aryl electrophiles (halides and pseudo halides) with amine nucleophiles [8][9][10][11] (Fig. 1a). The C-N coupling of alkyl electrophiles, however, is largely under-developed (Fig. 1a). A perceived difficulty is β -hydrogen elimination from a metal alkyl intermediate originated from oxidative addition of the alkyl electrophile, which has posed considerable challenges in analogous C-C crosscoupling of alkyl electrophiles [12][13][14] . Moreover, the product-yielding C(sp 3 )-N reductive elimination step is rarely demonstrated 15 . A notable exception is the light-induced, copper-catalysed C-N coupling of alkyl halides recently developed [16][17][18] . Nevertheless, the scope of amine nucleophiles is limited to carbazoles 16,18 and amides 17,19 . Alternative, formal C-N coupling of alkyl electrophiles via the addition of alkyl radicals to nitroarenes has been reported 20,21 .The group of Baran has recently trailblazed the use of redox-active esters derived from alkyl carboxylic acids as superior surrogates of alkyl halides in decarboxylative C-C cross-coupling reactions [22][23][24] . Extension to a decarboxylative carbon-heteroatom, particularly C-B bond formation has also been reported 19,[25][26][27][28][29] . The key attributes of alkyl carboxylic acids 30,31 are their unparalleled availability, stability and non-toxic nature, which are in stark contrast with alkyl halides, ketones and aldehydes. While several precedents of decarboxylative imidation 32 and amination 19,33 are known, they are limited to a narrow scope of very special substrates or intramolecular reactions. A general metal-catalysed decarboxylative C-N coupling of redox-active esters with anilines will provide valuable methodology for the synthesis of alkylated anilines (Fig. 1b), which requires alkyl halides and carbonyl compounds 6 as starting reagents using the currently standard methods of alkylation and reductive amination, respectively. Further foreseen advantages of such a decarboxylative amination include applicability to bulky primary and secondary alkyl groups and immunity to over-alkylation, both of which are major limitations of direct alkylation (Fig. 1b). Despite its conceptual simplicity and resemblance to decarboxylative C-C coupling, the intermolecular decarboxylative C-N coupling of redoxactive esters poses significant hurdles. The activation principle of redox-active esters originates from amide-bond synthesis; thus, amide formation can compete when amine nucleophiles are used. Moreover, decarboxylative C-C coupling reactions of redox-active esters were, until now, all init...

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