Correction: Recent advances in N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalysed benzoin reactions

• Rajeev S. Menon,
• Akkattu T. Biju and
• Vijay Nair

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 2124–2124, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.201

Ionic liquids as transesterification catalysts: applications for the synthesis of linear and cyclic organic carbonates

• Maurizio Selva,
• Alvise Perosa,
• Sandro Guidi and
• Lisa Cattelan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1911–1924, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.181

• to recover and recycled by physical separation, washing and drying. A similar approach has been implemented through the design of polymeric ionic liquid (PILs) based systems, such as poly(N-heterocyclic carbene)s and ordered mesoporous resol (OMR) polymers (OMR based on hexamethylenetetramine

Unusual reactions of diazocarbonyl compounds with α,β-unsaturated δ-amino esters: Rh(II)-catalyzed Wolff rearrangement and oxidative cleavage of N–H-insertion products

• Valerij A. Nikolaev,
• Jury J. Medvedev,
• Olesia S. Galkina,
• Ksenia V. Azarova and
• Christoph Schneider

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1904–1910, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.180

• a diversity of multicomponent reactions, which includes trapping of onium ylides by different electrophiles, such as activated С=С, С=O, C=N and other bonds [9]. A plethora of works aimed at realization of this “metal–carbene” methodology appeared in the last few years. Thus a diastereoselective

• provides a good way for the synthesis of multi-functionalized N-arylpyrrolidines by the same “metal–carbene” methodology with yields of up to 82% [15]. The reactions occur as a domino process involving an initial formation of N-ylides A followed by the intramolecular Michael addition with the conjugated

Experimental and theoretical investigations on the high-electron donor character of pyrido-annelated N-heterocyclic carbenes

• Michael Nonnenmacher,
• Dominik M. Buck and
• Doris Kunz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1884–1896, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.178

• (current address of corresponding author) 10.3762/bjoc.12.178 Abstract Rh(CO)2Cl(NHC) complexes of dipyrido-annelated N-heterocyclic carbenes were prepared. From the C–H coupling constant of the respective imidazolium salts and the N–C–N angle of the N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC), a weaker σ-donor

• the free carbene confirm the low σ-donor character by the fact that the σ-orbital of the carbene is the HOMO−1 that lies 0.58 eV below the HOMO which is located at the π-system. Natural population analysis reveals the lowest occupation of the pπ-orbital for the saturated carbene carbon atom and the

• highest for the pyrido-annelated carbene. Going from the free carbene to the Rh(CO)2Cl(NHC) complexes, the increase in occupancy of the complete π-system of the carbene ligand upon coordination is lowest for the pyrido-annelated carbene and highest for the saturated carbene. Keywords: carbonyl complexes

On the cause of low thermal stability of ethyl halodiazoacetates

• Magnus Mortén,
• Martin Hennum and
• Tore Bonge-Hansen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1590–1597, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.155

• are usually two orders of magnitude higher and the reaction times longer in comparison to the decomposition rate of 2b. There are in principle three pathways for the thermal decomposition of the halo diazoacetates [3]: 1) a unimolecular extrusion of dinitrogen giving N2 (g) and a carbene; 2) a

• pathway 1 is most likely. Pathway 1 is illustrated in Scheme 2. The proposed decomposition pathway is a unimolecular reaction where the rate determining step is the release of N2 to form the corresponding free carbene. This is in line with what has been reported for the thermal decomposition of other

• diazo compounds [3]. DFT calculations The proposed unimolecular extrusion of N2 to form the free carbene (Scheme 2) was investigated further by DFT calculations for compounds 1 and 2 and the results are summarized in Figure 3. In order to expande the calculation to fluorine, ethyl fluorodiazoacetate (2d

Dinuclear thiazolylidene copper complex as highly active catalyst for azid–alkyne cycloadditions

• Anne L. Schöffler,
• Ata Makarem,
• Frank Rominger and
• Bernd F. Straub

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1566–1572, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.151

• Anne L. Schoffler Ata Makarem Frank Rominger Bernd F. Straub Organisch-Chemisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 270, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.12.151 Abstract A dinuclear N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) copper complex efficiently catalyzes azide–alkyne

• -heterocyclic carbene, linker, sacrificial ligand, and counter ion. Keywords: catalysis; click; copper; CuAAC; N-heterocyclic carbene; thiazole; Introduction The copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) is one of the most important “click” reactions for the facile covalent linking of two molecules

• conditions. Our research group has already established molecularly defined dicopper catalysts with unprecedented activity under diluted conditions with low catalyst loading [37][40]. Thus, we aimed at an even more facile synthesis of dicopper complexes with bis-N-heterocyclic carbene ancillary ligands

Methylpalladium complexes with pyrimidine-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene ligands

• Dirk Meyer and
• Thomas Strassner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1557–1565, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.150

• = Cl, CF3COO, CH3) has been prepared by transmetalation reactions from the corresponding silver complexes and chloro(methyl)(cyclooctadiene)palladium(II). The dimethyl(1-(2-pyrimidyl)-3-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene)palladium(II) complex was synthesized via the free carbene route. All

• byproduct of the methanol synthesis. Sen reported the activity of palladium(II) catalysts for the oxidation of methane [21] and several groups contributed to the progress in the field which is summarized in recent reviews [22][23]. The system based on N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands developed in our

• silver complexes 5–8 by transmetalation with chloro(methyl)(cyclooctadiene)palladium(II) [(COD)PdII(CH3)Cl] either in dichloromethane (A) or acetonitrile (B, Scheme 1). Although two isomers could be formed we only observed the isomer B, where the methyl group is located cis to the carbene carbon atom

Reactivity studies of pincer bis-protic N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of platinum and palladium under basic conditions

• David C. Marelius,
• Curtis E. Moore,
• Arnold L. Rheingold and
• Douglas B. Grotjahn

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1334–1339, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.126

• .12.126 Abstract Bis-protic N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of platinum and palladium (4) yield dimeric structures 6 when treated with sodium tert-butoxide in CH2Cl2. The use of a more polar solvent (THF) and a strong base (LiN(iPr)2) gave the lithium chloride adducts monobasic complex 7 or analogous

• dibasic complex 8. Keywords: NHC; 15N NMR spectroscopy; palladium; platinum; protic N-heterocyclic carbene; Introduction N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have been extensively researched for a number of purposes since 1991 when Arduengo first isolated free NHCs [1][2][3]. NHCs as ligands have been known

• for the NM nitrogen. The ∆∆ values for both nitrogens are relatively unchanged as the carbene character of the ligand is still intact. Interestingly, 6-Pd shows a similar small ∆∆ value for the NH (2.6) but a greater ∆∆ for the NM of 17.4 ppm. This is possibly a result of the differing ring strain in

On the mechanism of imine elimination from Fischer tungsten carbene complexes

• Philipp Veit,
• Christoph Förster and
• Katja Heinze

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1322–1333, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.125

• Philipp Veit Christoph Forster Katja Heinze Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg-University, Duesbergweg 10-14, 55128 Mainz, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.12.125 Abstract (Aminoferrocenyl)(ferrocenyl)carbene(pentacarbonyl)tungsten(0) (CO)5W=C(NHFc)Fc (W(CO)5(E-2)) is

• synthesized by nucleophilic substitution of the ethoxy group of (CO)5W=C(OEt)Fc (M(CO)5(1Et)) by ferrocenyl amide Fc-NH– (Fc = ferrocenyl). W(CO)5(E-2) thermally and photochemically eliminates bulky E-1,2-diferrocenylimine (E-3) via a formal 1,2-H shift from the N to the carbene C atom. Kinetic and

• dissociation, followed by an oxidative addition/pseudorotation/reductive elimination pathway with short-lived, elusive seven-coordinate hydrido tungsten(II) intermediates cis(N,H)-W(CO)4(H)(Z-15) and cis(C,H)-W(CO)4(H)(Z-15). Keywords: carbene complexes; ferrocene; imine; mechanism; tungsten; Introduction

Artificial Diels–Alderase based on the transmembrane protein FhuA

• Hassan Osseili,
• Daniel F. Sauer,
• Klaus Beckerle,
• Marcus Arlt,
• Tomoki Himiyama,
• Tino Polen,
• Akira Onoda,
• Ulrich Schwaneberg,
• Takashi Hayashi and
• Jun Okuda

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1314–1321, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.124

• copper(II) complexes were covalently linked to an engineered variant of the transmembrane protein Ferric hydroxamate uptake protein component A (FhuA ΔCVFtev). Copper(I) was incorporated using an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand equipped with a maleimide group on the side arm at the imidazole nitrogen

Conjugate addition–enantioselective protonation reactions

• James P. Phelan and
• Jonathan A. Ellman

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1203–1228, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.116

• without significantly affecting the reaction (93–97% yield, 92:8 to 96:4 er). The authors also explored further elaboration of the products to access enantioenriched cysteine analogues. The Glorius lab has made use of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysts for intermolecular Stetter reactions between

Synthesis of 2-oxindoles via 'transition-metal-free' intramolecular dehydrogenative coupling (IDC) of sp² C–H and sp³ C–H bonds

• Nivesh Kumar,
• Santanu Ghosh,
• Subhajit Bhunia and
• Alakesh Bisai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1153–1169, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.111

• -oxindoles while working on asymmetric synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted-2-oxindoles via a Pd-catalyzed (chiral N-heterocyclic carbene as ligands) intramolecular α-arylation of an amide [35][36][37]. For this 'intramolecular dehydrogenative coupling' (IDC) of Csp2-H and Csp3-H they used 2.2 equiv of CuCl2 and 5

Chiral cyclopentadienylruthenium sulfoxide catalysts for asymmetric redox bicycloisomerization

• Barry M. Trost,
• Michael C. Ryan and
• Meera Rao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1136–1152, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.110

• ) fragment in a bidentate fashion and undergoes a redox isomerization reaction wherein the carbinol proton performs a 1,2-hydride shift. The resulting vinylruthenium intermediate can be seen as a resonance structure of a ruthenium carbene, which coordinates to a pendant alkene, performs a [2 + 2

• coordination. The pendant olefin prefers to approach the carbene anti to the aforementioned sulfoxide, resulting in the observed enantiomer of 53. In THF, the rate of epimerization is significantly slower than the [2 + 2] cycloaddition, which means that the enantiomeric ratios observed in the products are

The synthesis of functionalized bridged polycycles via C–H bond insertion

• Jiun-Le Shih,
• Po-An Chen and
• Jeremy A. May

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 985–999, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.97

• systems rapidly and efficiently, though additional catalyst development is needed. Keywords: bridged rings; carbene; cascade reaction; C–H bond insertion; nitrene; Introduction Bridged polycyclic natural products are an inviting challenge to the synthetic chemist for their rich display of functional

• access to multiple targets from a single intermediate produced on large scale that may be stored until needed [17]. The C–H bond insertion has great potential as a method to access different polycyclic isomers (e.g., 1 or 3) through C–C or C–N bond formation from a carbene or nitrene, respectively

• have organized this review by the catalyst used, with free carbenes first, followed by Cu, Rh, Au, Pt, and then W-catalyzed reactions. Review Metal-free reactions While transition metal catalysis has seen widespread adoption for carbene and nitrene reactions, it is not necessary for a controlled

Enantioselective carbenoid insertion into C(sp³)–H bonds

• J. V. Santiago and
• A. H. L. Machado

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 882–902, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.87

• enantioselective insertion of these organometallic species into these non-polarized bonds is a recent topic in the chemical literature, when compared to the first reports of carbenoid chemistry around the 1950s. Carbene is a molecule bearing a functional group with a divalent neutral carbon. This structural

• framework results in the presence of a nonbonding electron pair that may adopt two electronic configurations: singlet and triplet (Figure 1). A carbenoid is an organometallic complex where the carbene acts as a neutral ligand to a metal center. This ensures a greater stability of the carbene, allows the

• carbene carbon atom, the insertion reaction can be more or less selective. Very electrophilic carbenoid intermediates, for example, display little regio- and stereoselectivity, favoring the occurrence of side reactions. A less electrophilic carbenoid intermediate, on the other hand, has a lower reactivity

Bi- and trinuclear copper(I) complexes of 1,2,3-triazole-tethered NHC ligands: synthesis, structure, and catalytic properties

• Shaojin Gu,
• Jiehao Du,
• Jingjing Huang,
• Huan Xia,
• Ling Yang,
• Weilin Xu and
• Chunxin Lu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 863–873, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.85

• Republic of China 10.3762/bjoc.12.85 Abstract A series of copper complexes (3–6) stabilized by 1,2,3-triazole-tethered N-heterocyclic carbene ligands have been prepared via simple reaction of imidazolium salts with copper powder in good yields. The structures of bi- and trinuclear copper complexes were

• atmosphere at room temperature. Keywords: copper; CuAAC reaction; : N-heterocylic carbene; 1,2,3-triazole; Introduction N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) have interesting electronic and structural properties. This resulted in their use as versatile ligands in organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis

• , reports concerning their preparation and use of 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles bearing NHC ligands are rare [22][23]. Elsevier et al. [23] reported several of palladium(II) complexes containing a heterobidentate N-heterocyclic carbene-triazolyl ligand. These palladium(II) complexes are active

Recent advances in C(sp³)–H bond functionalization via metal–carbene insertions

• Bo Wang,
• Di Qiu,
• Yan Zhang and
• Jianbo Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 796–804, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.78

• –carbene; site-selectivity; Introduction Direct functionalization of inactivated C–H bonds, especially C(sp3)–H bonds, have attracted significant attentions in recent years. The C(sp3)–H bond activation strategies based on radical reactions and transition metal catalysis have been explored, alongside the

• simple aliphatic C(sp3)–H bonds. In this context, catalytic metal–carbene C(sp3)–H bond insertion represents an alternative and unique approach for this purpose. Metal–carbene insertion into a C(sp3)–H bond, well-recognized as one of the typical reactions of carbene species, have been studied extensively

• catalysts, the carbenic carbon of the metal–carbene species is positively charged in general, as shown by the resonance structure. Consequently, when the electron-deficient carbenic carbon approaches the C(sp3)–H bonds, the C–H bonds with high electron density will react preferentially [9]. However, the

Gold-catalyzed direct alkynylation of tryptophan in peptides using TIPS-EBX

• Gergely L. Tolnai,
• Jonathan P. Brand and
• Jerome Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 745–749, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.74

• . It has been achieved in the past for example by Francis and co-workers and Ball and co-workers using rhodium-catalyzed carbene-insertion reactions [21][22][23] or via direct C–H arylation [24][25][26][27][28][29]. If the installation of alkynes on peptides or proteins is desired, an indirect method

Iridium/N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed C–H borylation of arenes by diisopropylaminoborane

• Mamoru Tobisu,
• Takuya Igarashi and
• Naoto Chatani

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 654–661, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.65

• borylation; iridium; N-heterocyclic carbene; Introduction Catalytic C–H borylation of arenes has become an essential tool in organic synthesis [1]. The eminent features of this methodology include 1) no directing group is needed, allowing the direct functionalization of simple arenes; 2) the

• derivatives by treatment with protecting groups in a one-pot reaction sequence. The reactivity of 1g has previously been well-exploited in catalytic borylation of aryl halides [22][23][24][25][26][27]. Herein, we report the C–H borylation of arenes using 1g catalyzed by an Ir/N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC

Recent advances in N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalysed benzoin reactions

• Rajeev S. Menon,
• Akkattu T. Biju and
• Vijay Nair

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 444–461, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.47

• popularly known as ‘Breslow intermediate’. This seminal discovery by Breslow paved the way for further developments in the area of carbene catalysis. Almost three decades later Bertrand and co-workers proved the existence of carbenes as catalytically active species in the benzoin reaction, with the

• nucleophile and then as a leaving group in cyanide-catalysed benzoin reactions [8]. Analogously, Breslow invoked the generation of a nucleophilic thiazolylidene species 1 via deprotonation of the thiazolium salt by base. The ylide 1 may also be represented as its resonance structure 1’ (carbene). Nucleophilic

• may be regarded as the first report of an NHC-catalysed benzoin reaction on a synthetically useful scale [9]. Much later, in 2005, Xu and Xia used N-alkyl-substituted imidazolium carbene 6 to efficiently promote benzoin reactions. Although a high catalyst loading (50 mol %) was required, the reactions

Scope and limitations of the dual-gold-catalysed hydrophenoxylation of alkynes

• Adrián Gómez-Suárez,
• Yoshihiro Oonishi,
• Anthony R. Martin and
• Steven P. Nolan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 172–178, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.19

• in unsymmetrical alkynes can help to achieve high regioselectivity in the hydrophenoxylation. Keywords: cooperative catalysis; gold catalysis; hydrophenoxylation; N-heterocyclic carbene; vinyl ethers; Introduction During the last 30 years, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have evolved from mere

Simple activation by acid of latent Ru-NHC-based metathesis initiators bearing 8-quinolinolate co-ligands

• Julia Wappel,
• Roland C. Fischer,
• Luigi Cavallo,
• Christian Slugovc and
• Albert Poater

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 154–165, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.17

• -heterocyclic carbene bearing precursor complexes M31, HovII or M32 with excess of 5,7-dichloro-8-hydroxyquinoline or 5,7-dibromo-8-hydroxyquinoline in the presence of excess Cs2CO3 as the base (see Scheme 1). The silver-free method [41] resulted in any case in the formation of at least two new products (as

• ppm in 3) when the N-heterocyclic carbene ligand is situated trans to the N-atom of the quinolinolate. The corresponding proton of the second quinolinolate ligand (with the N-atom situated cis to the NHC) is high-field shifted and resonates at 5.48 (in 1b), 5.32 (in 2b) and 5.9 (in 4). The OC-6-14

• the initiators was investigated. For that purpose, 4 was mixed with 5 equiv of monomer 5 in CDCl3 and activated it with 5 equiv of etherical HCl in a NMR tube. After few minutes, the characteristic carbene peak for propagating alkylidenes at 18.1 ppm appeared (see Figure 3). To identify this carbene

Versatile deprotonated NHC: C,N-bridged dinuclear iridium and rhodium complexes

• Albert Poater

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 117–124, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.13

• Albert Poater Institut de Química Computacional i Catàlisi, Departament de Química, Universitat de Girona, Campus de Montilivi, E-17071 Girona, Spain 10.3762/bjoc.12.13 Abstract Bearing the versatility of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands, here density functional theory (DFT) calculations

• ; iridium; isomerization; N-heterocyclic carbene; rhodium; Introduction In the framework of organometallic chemistry, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) centre a well stablished class of relatively new ligands since in 1991 Arduengo and collaborators isolated the first stable NHC of the imidazole type with

• exhibit better activity, despite bearing its carbene functionality. Of course, these good results in basic research supposed and explosion of industrial efforts to design the right metal NHC-based catalyst for any kind of reaction. Anyway, neither a unique nor a few list of catalysts turned out to be

N-Methylphthalimide-substituted benzimidazolium salts and PEPPSI Pd–NHC complexes: synthesis, characterization and catalytic activity in carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions

• Senem Akkoç,
• Yetkin Gök,
• İlhan Özer İlhan and
• Veysel Kayser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 81–88, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.9

• , 44280 Malatya, Turkey 10.3762/bjoc.12.9 Abstract A series of novel benzimidazolium salts (1–4) and their pyridine enhanced precatalyst preparation stabilization and initiation (PEPPSI) themed palladium N-heterocyclic carbene complexes [PdCl2(NHC)(Py)] (5–8), where NHC = 1-(N-methylphthalimide)-3

• with 4-chlorotoluene. Keywords: arylation; benzimidazolium salts; catalysis; N-heterocyclic carbene; PEPPSI complex; Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction; Introduction The use of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) as ligands was started by Wanzlick [1] and Öfele [2] almost fifty years ago. There have

• been major advances in the design and synthesis of metal complexes containing N-heterocyclic carbene ligands in the last two decades, and they had a wide range of applications in different fields, particularly in homogeneous/heterogeneous catalysis [3][4][5][6][7][8] and bioorganometallic chemistry [9

New metathesis catalyst bearing chromanyl moieties at the N-heterocyclic carbene ligand

• Agnieszka Hryniewicka,
• Szymon Suchodolski,
• Agnieszka Wojtkielewicz,
• Jacek W. Morzycki and
• Stanisław Witkowski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 2795–2804, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.300

• catalyst bearing a modified N-heterocyclic carbene ligands is reported. The new catalyst contains an NHC ligand symmetrically substituted with chromanyl moieties. The complex was tested in model CM and RCM reactions. It showed very high activity in CM reactions with electron-deficient α,β-unsaturated

• compounds even at 0 °C. It was also examined in more demanding systems such as conjugated dienes and polyenes. The catalyst is stable, storable and easy to purify. Keywords: chromane derivatives; metathesis catalyst; nitrogen heterocycles; olefin metathesis; Ru-carbene; Introduction Olefin metathesis is

• of organic chemistry since 1992, when Grubbs discovered the first well-defined ruthenium catalyst [2]. Nearly 400 ruthenium heterocyclic carbene-coordinated olefin metathesis catalysts were prepared until 2010 [3]. Since 2011, when Grubbs reported the synthesis of a Z-selective catalyst [4], several