Formation of Five- and Seven-Membered Rings Enabled by the Triisopropylsilyl Auxiliary Group

A highly convenient synthetic pathway to 2-indanones from aldehydes was established. The introduction of a triisopropylsilyl group greatly facilitated Meinwald rearrangement of the intermediate epoxides and alleviated the necessity of polysubstitution for the clean formation of indenes and cyclopentadienes via cyclodehydration of allylic alcohols; unprecedented freedom with respect to the product structure was thus achieved. The developed methodology could also be applicable to the formation of seven-membered rings leading to dibenzo[7]annulenes and dibenzosuberones

Dichotomy of Atom-Economical Hydrogen-Free Reductive Amidation vs Exhaustive Reductive Amination

Rh-catalyzed one-step reductive amidation of aldehydes has been developed. The protocol does not require an external hydrogen source and employs carbon monoxide as a deoxygenative agent. The direction of the reaction can be altered simply by changing the solvent: reaction in THF leads to amides, whereas methanol favors formation of tertiary amines

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Reductive Amination without an External Hydrogen Source

A ruthenium-catalyzed reductive amination without an external hydrogen source has been developed using carbon monoxide as the reductant and ruthenium­(III) chloride (0.008–2 mol %) as the catalyst. The method was applied to the synthesis of antianxiety agent ladasten

Atom- and Step-Economical Preparation of Reduced Knoevenagel Adducts Using CO as a Deoxygenative Agent

A highly efficient one-step Rh-catalyzed preparation of reduced Knoevenagel adducts of various aldehydes and ketones with active methylene compounds has been developed. The protocol does not require an external hydrogen source and employs carbon monoxide as a deoxygenative agent. The use of malonic acid or cyanoacetamide enabled efficient formal deoxygenative addition of methyl acetate or acetonitrile to aldehydes. The developed methodology was applied to the synthesis of the precursors of biomedically important compounds

Cyclobutadiene Metal Complexes: A New Class of Highly Selective Catalysts. An Application to Direct Reductive Amination

A catalyst of a new type, cyclobutadiene complex [(C₄Et₄)­Rh­(<i>p</i>-xylene)]­PF₆, was found to promote selective reductive amination in the presence of carbon monoxide under mild conditions (1–3 bar, 90 °C). The reaction demonstrated perfect compatibility with a wide range of functional groups prone to reduction by conventional reducing agents. The developed system represents the first systematic investigation of cyclobutadiene metal complexes as catalysts