Misc

The combined use of an organic base for resorcinols realized a Kolbe-Schmitt type reaction under ambient conditions. When resorcinols (3-hydroxyphenol derivatives) were treated with DBU under a carbon dioxide atmosphere, nucleophilic addition to carbon dioxide proceeded to afford the corresponding salicylic acid derivatives in high yields.

Asymmetric synthesis of 2-cyclopentenones was achieved by chirality transfer based on Lewis acid catalyzed decarboxylative Nazarov cyclization of optically active cyclic enol carbonates, which are prepared by silver-catalyzed carbon dioxide incorporation into optically pure propargyl alcohols. The stereochemistry at the 4,5-positions of the 2-cyclopentenones was cleanly constructed by reflecting the stereochemistry of the starting materials. This method could be applied to various substrates to obtain the corresponding products in high yields with highly efficient chirality transfer.

The stereoselective synthesis of aminovinyloxazolidinones based on the electrophilic amination of a vinyl-silver intermediate, generated by silver-catalyzed carbon dioxide incorporation on a propargyl amine, was achieved. The geometry of the aminated product was determined by a single crystal X-ray analysis and NOE measurement and it was elucidated that the geometry was proved to be opposite to the geometry predicted from the previous silver-catalyzed carbon dioxide fixation on a propargyl amine derivative. This unexpected stereoselectivity could be successfully explained by a radical mechanism. This journal is

The synthesis of polycyclic indene derivatives via silver-catalyzed carbon dioxide fixation on 2-alkynylindene derivatives was achieved by nucleophilic addition of the indenyl anion to carbon dioxide involving carbon-carbon bond formation and subsequent intramolecular cyclization to the alkyne part activated by a silver catalyst. This cascade process could be applied to various substrates to obtain the corresponding products in high yields. The endo/exo selectivity of the cyclization could be controlled by the steric or electronic effect of the substituents on the substrates, and 6-endo-selective cyclization was realized to afford α-pyrone-fused indenes.

Decarboxylative homo-Nazarov cyclization catalyzed by a Lewis acid was achieved using a cyclic enol carbonate bearing a cyclopropane moiety as a substrate. Various substrates were converted into the corresponding multi-substituted cyclohexenones in good yieldsviadecarboxylation, followed by 6-membered ring formation involving cyclopropane-ring-opening.

A homoallylic ketone can be transformed and functionalized by various synthetic reactions, and thus, is regarded as one of the representative building blocks in organic chemistry. An additional route to access homoallylic ketones, namely, a Lewis acid-mediated decarboxylative allylation of cyclic enol carbonates, prepared by fixation of carbon dioxide onto propargyl alcohols, was developed in this work. The treatment of a cyclic enol carbonate with a Lewis acid in the presence of an allylsilane resulted in the formation of a homoallylic ketone. It was found that the title reaction proceeded well by the combined use of zirconium tetrachloride with allyltrimethylsilane. The allylation occurred with high regioselectivity and the corresponding homoallylic ketones were obtained in good-to-high yields. A reaction mechanism involving the decarboxylative formation of an oxyallyl cation equivalent is proposed.