A Cu(II) fluoride-catalyzed N-arylation
of 7-azaindole N-oxides (7-AINO) has been developed
using boronic acid
under base-free conditions. During the process, a combination of spectroscopy
and crystallography techniques has identified the exact formulation
of key reaction intermediates that allowed to propose a complete mechanistic
description establishing the role of 7-AINO as a ligand and deducing
the crucial role of fluoride ions (F–) in the entire
catalytic cycle. A monomeric Cu(II)-7-AINO complex (4) has been detected as a reaction intermediate along with isolation
of its dimeric analog (4a) and confirmed by X-ray analysis
and mass spectroscopy. The subsequent conversion of Cu(II)-7-AINO
complex (4/4a) to catalytically active monomeric
fluorinated Cu(II)-complex (I) has been confirmed by 19F NMR, mass, and EPR spectroscopy, reiterating the vital
role of fluoride ions in forming the active catalyst. Further, the
synthesized Cu(II)-7-AINO complex (4a) in combination
with TBAF has been established as an alternative catalytic system
for CEL coupling, and its efficiency has been demonstrated for N-arylation of various N-containing nucleophiles.
Moreover, a general attempt has been made to promote F– as complementary to the base as well as a CEL catalyst promoter.
The role of 7-azaindole-N-oxide (7-AINO) as a ligand
was further evaluated, where it acts as an apposite promoter for the
Cu-catalyzed N-arylation of azoles in Ullmann-type
coupling. The synthetic potential of this methodology is further demonstrated
through the synthesis of various pharmaceutically important 7-azaindole
annulated derivatives.