C–H activation has surfaced as an increasingly powerful tool for molecular sciences, with notable applications to material sciences, crop protection, drug discovery, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. Despite major advances, the vast majority of these C–H functionalizations required precious 4d or 5d transition metal catalysts. Given the cost-effective and sustainable nature of earth-abundant first row transition metals, the development of less toxic, inexpensive 3d metal catalysts for C–H activation has gained considerable recent momentum as a significantly more environmentally-benign and economically-attractive alternative. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview on first row transition metal catalysts for C–H activation until summer 2018.

3d Transition Metals for C-H Activation.

The present review is devoted to summarizing the recent advances (2015-2017) in the field of metal-catalysed group-directed C-H functionalisation In order to clearly showcase the molecular diversity that can now be accessed by means of directed C-H functionalisation, the whole is organized following the directing groups installed on a substrate Its aim is to be a comprehensive reference work, where a specific directing group can be easily found, together with the transformations which have been carried out with it Hence, the primary format of this review is schemes accompanied with a concise explanatory text, in which the directing groups are ordered in sections according to their chemical structure The schemes feature typical substrates used, the products obtained as well as the required reaction conditions Importantly, each example is commented on with respect to the most important positive features and drawbacks, on aspects such as selectivity, substrate scope, reaction conditions, directing group removal, and greenness The targeted readership are both experts in the field of C-H functionalisation chemistry (to provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made in the last years) and, even more so, all organic chemists who want to introduce the C-H functionalisation way of thinking for a design of straightforward, efficient and step-economic synthetic routes towards molecules of interest to them Accordingly, this review should be of particular interest also for scientists from industrial R&D sector Hence, the overall goal of this review is to promote the application of C-H functionalisation reactions outside the research groups dedicated to method development and establishing it as a valuable reaction archetype in contemporary R&D, comparable to the role cross-coupling reactions play to date

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A comprehensive overview of directing groups applied in metal-catalysed C-H functionalisation chemistry.

Cu-catalysed arylation reactions devoted to the formation of C–C and C–heteroatom bonds (Ullmann-type couplings) have acquired great importance in the last decade. This review discusses the history and development of coupling reactions between aryl halides and various classes of nucleophiles, focusing mostly on the different mechanisms proposed through the years. Selected mechanistic investigations are treated more in depth than others. For example, evidence in favour or against radical mechanisms is discussed. Cu(I) and Cu(III) complexes involved in the Ullmann reaction and N/O selectivity in aminoalcohol arylation are discussed. A separate section has been dedicated to the synthesis of heterocyclic rings through intramolecular couplings. Finally, recent developments in green chemistry for these reactions, such as reactions in aqueous media and heterogeneous catalysis, have also been reviewed.

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/getauthorversionpdf/C3CS60289C

Copper catalysed Ullmann type chemistry: From mechanistic aspects to modern development

Visible-light photocatalysis is a rapidly developing and powerful strategy to initiate organic transformations, as it closely adheres to the tenants of green and sustainable chemistry. Generally, most visible-light-induced photochemical reactions occur through single-electron transfer (SET) pathways. Recently, visible-light-induced energy-transfer (EnT) reactions have received considerable attentions from the synthetic community as this strategy provides a distinct reaction pathway, and remarkable achievements have been made in this field. In this Review, we highlight the most recent advances in visible-light-induced EnT reactions.

Visible-Light-Induced Organic Photochemical Reactions through Energy-Transfer Pathways.

Spirooxindoles: Promising scaffolds for anticancer agents.

1,4-Dihydropyridines (DHPs) are one of the most important classes of heterocyclic compounds as privileged pharmacophores. They are therefore attractive synthetic targets of organic chemistry. Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are the most efficient strategies for the synthesis of 1,4-DHPs in terms of providing both sufficient structural diversity and numbers for compound libraries. Following the classical multicomponent synthesis of 1,4-DHPs by the Hantzsch reaction, chemists have developed a large number of new MCRs to access 1,4-DHPs with significantly extended structural diversity, which is pivotal for the process of discovering new lead compounds and drugs of 1,4-DHPs. The advances on the synthesis of structurally diversified 1,4-DHPs through new MCRs beyond the classical Hantzsch reaction is reviewed.

Recent advances in new multicomponent synthesis of structurally diversified 1,4-dihydropyridines

Recent Advances in Diversity Oriented Synthesis through Isatin-based Multicomponent Reactions

Copper-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions which lead to the formation of C–N, C–O, C–S and C–C bonds have been recognized as one of the most useful strategies in synthetic organic chemistry. During past decades, important breakthroughs in the study of Cu-catalyzed coupling processes demonstrated that Cu-catalyzed reactions are broadly applicable to a variety of research fields related to organic synthesis. Representatively, employing these coupling transformations as key steps, a large number of tandem reactions have been developed for the construction of various heterocyclic compounds. These tactics share the advantages of high atom economics of tandem reactions as well as the broad tolerance of Cu-catalyst systems. Therefore, Cu-catalyzed C–X (X = N, O, S, C) coupling transformation-initiated tandem reactions were quickly recognized as a strategy with great potential for synthesizing heterocyclic compounds and gained worldwide attention. In this review, recent research progress in heterocycle syntheses using tandem reactions initiated by copper-catalyzed coupling transformations, including C–N, C–O, C–S as well as C–C coupling processes are summarized.

Tandem reactions initiated by copper-catalyzed cross-coupling: a new strategy towards heterocycle synthesis

2-(Phenylthio)phenols were successfully synthesized from simple phenols and aromatic halides by using dimethyl sulfoxide as the oxidant. The transformation was accomplished via tandem copper(I)-catalyzed C-S coupling/C-H functionalization employing the CuI/L [L = (E)-3-(dimethylamino)-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one] catalyst system. The mechanism of the reaction was elucidated based on an isotope labeling strategy.

Jie-Ping Wan

Papers

Recent advances in new multicomponent synthesis of structurally diversified 1,4-dihydropyridines

Recent Advances in Diversity Oriented Synthesis through Isatin-based Multicomponent Reactions

Tandem reactions initiated by copper-catalyzed cross-coupling: a new strategy towards heterocycle synthesis

Facile synthesis of 2-(phenylthio)phenols by copper(I)-catalyzed tandem transformation of C-S coupling/C-H functionalization.

Water mediated chemoselective synthesis of 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazoles using o-phenylenediamine and the extended synthesis of quinoxalines