1.1 Introduction to Pd-catalyzed directed C–H functionalization
The development of methods for the direct conversion of carbon–hydrogen bonds into carbon-oxygen, carbon-halogen, carbon-nitrogen, carbon-sulfur, and carbon-carbon bonds remains a critical challenge in organic chemistry. Mild and selective transformations of this type will undoubtedly find widespread application across the chemical field, including in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, natural products, agrochemicals, polymers, and feedstock commodity chemicals. Traditional approaches for the formation of such functional groups rely on pre-functionalized starting materials for both reactivity and selectivity. However, the requirement for installing a functional group prior to the desired C–O, C–X, C–N, C–S, or C–C bond adds costly chemical steps to the overall construction of a molecule. As such, circumventing this issue will not only improve atom economy but also increase the overall efficiency of multi-step synthetic sequences.

Direct C–H bond functionalization reactions are limited by two fundamental challenges: (i) the inert nature of most carbon-hydrogen bonds and (ii) the requirement to control site selectivity in molecules that contain diverse C–H groups. A multitude of studies have addressed the first challenge by demonstrating that transition metals can react with C–H bonds to produce C–M bonds in a process known as “C–H activation”.1 The resulting C–M bonds are far more reactive than their C–H counterparts, and in many cases they can be converted to new functional groups under mild conditions.

The second major challenge is achieving selective functionalization of a single C–H bond within a complex molecule. While several different strategies have been employed to address this issue, the most common (and the subject of the current review) involves the use of substrates that contain coordinating ligands. These ligands (often termed “directing groups”) bind to the metal center and selectively deliver the catalyst to a proximal C–H bond. Many different transition metals, including Ru, Rh, Pt, and Pd, undergo stoichiometric ligand-directed C–H activation reactions (also known as cyclometalation).2,3 Furthermore, over the past 15 years, a variety of catalytic carbon-carbon bond-forming processes have been developed that involve cyclometalation as a key step.1b–d,4

The current review will focus specifically on ligand-directed C–H functionalization reactions catalyzed by palladium. Palladium complexes are particularly attractive catalysts for such transformations for several reasons. First, ligand-directed C–H functionalization at Pd centers can be used to install many different types of bonds, including carbon-oxygen, carbon-halogen, carbon-nitrogen, carbon-sulfur, and carbon-carbon linkages. Few other catalysts allow such diverse bond constructions,5,6,7 and this versatility is predominantly the result of two key features: (i) the compatibility of many PdII catalysts with oxidants and (ii) the ability to selectively functionalize cyclopalladated intermediates. Second, palladium participates in cyclometalation with a wide variety of directing groups, and, unlike many other transition metals, promotes C–H activation at both sp2 and sp3 C–H sites. Finally, the vast majority of Pd-catalyzed directed C–H functionalization reactions can be performed in the presence of ambient air and moisture, making them exceptionally practical for applications in organic synthesis.

While several accounts have described recent advances, this is the first comprehensive review encompassing the large body of work in this field over the past 5 years (2004–2009). Both synthetic applications and mechanistic aspects of these transformations are discussed where appropriate, and the review is organized on the basis of the type of bond being formed.

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Palladium-Catalyzed Ligand-Directed C−H Functionalization Reactions

In this review, we highlight the use of organic photoredox catalysts in a myriad of synthetic transformations with a range of applications. This overview is arranged by catalyst class where the photophysics and electrochemical characteristics of each is discussed to underscore the differences and advantages to each type of single electron redox agent. We highlight both net reductive and oxidative as well as redox neutral transformations that can be accomplished using purely organic photoredox-active catalysts. An overview of the basic photophysics and electron transfer theory is presented in order to provide a comprehensive guide for employing this class of catalysts in photoredox manifolds.

Organic Photoredox Catalysis

Catalytic dehydrogenative cross-coupling: forming carbon-carbon bonds by oxidizing two carbon-hydrogen bonds

The site-selective formation of carbon-carbon bonds through direct functionalizations of otherwise unreactive carbon-hydrogen bonds constitutes an economically attractive strategy for an overall streamlining of sustainable syntheses. In recent decades, intensive research efforts have led to the development of various reaction conditions for challenging C-H bond functionalizations, among which transition-metal-catalyzed transformations arguably constitute thus far the most valuable tool. For instance, the use of inter alia palladium, ruthenium, rhodium, copper, or iron complexes set the stage for chemo-, site-, diastereo-, and/or enantioselective C-H bond functionalizations. Key to success was generally a detailed mechanistic understanding of the elementary C-H bond metalation step, which depending on the nature of the metal fragment can proceed via several distinct reaction pathways. Traditionally, three different modes of action were primarily considered for CH bond metalations, namely, (i) oxidative addition with electronrich late transition metals, (ii) σ-bond metathesis with early transition metals, and (iii) electrophilic activation with electrondeficient late transition metals (Scheme 1). However, more recent mechanistic studies indicated the existence of a continuum of electrophilic, ambiphilic, and nucleophilic interactions. Within this continuum, detailed experimental and computational analysis provided strong evidence for novel C-H bond metalationmechanisms relying on the assistance of a bifunctional ligand bearing an additional Lewis-basic heteroatom, such as that found in (heteroatom-substituted) secondary phosphine oxides or most prominently carboxylates (Scheme 1, iv). This novel insight into the nature of stoichiometric metalations has served as stimulus for the development of novel transformations based on cocatalytic amounts of carboxylates, which significantly broadened the scope of C-H bond functionalizations in recent years, with most remarkable progress being made in palladiumor ruthenium-catalyzed direct arylations and direct alkylations. These carboxylate-assisted C-H bond transformations were mostly proposed to proceed via a mechanism in which metalation takes place via a concerted base-assisted deprotonation. To mechanistically differentiate these intramolecular metalations new acronyms have recently been introduced into the literature, such as CMD (concerted metalationdeprotonation), IES (internal electrophilic substitution), or AMLA (ambiphilic metal ligand activation), which describe related mechanisms and will be used below where appropriate. This review summarizes the development and scope of carboxylates as cocatalysts in transition-metal-catalyzed C-H functionalizations until autumn 2010. Moreover, experimental and computational studies on stoichiometric metalation reactions being of relevance to the mechanism of these catalytic processes are discussed as well. Mechanistically related C-H bond cleavage reactions with ruthenium or iridium complexes bearing monodentate ligands are, however, only covered with respect to their working mode, and transformations with stoichiometric amounts of simple acetate bases are solely included when their mechanism was suggested to proceed by acetate-assisted metalation.

Carboxylate-assisted transition-metal-catalyzed C-H bond functionalizations: mechanism and scope.

The direct functionalization of C-H bonds in organic compounds has recently emerged as a powerful and ideal method for the formation of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. This Review provides an overview of C-H bond functionalization strategies for the rapid synthesis of biologically active compounds such as natural products and pharmaceutical targets.

C-H bond functionalization: emerging synthetic tools for natural products and pharmaceuticals

Pick your Pd partners: A number of catalytic systems have been developed for palladium-catalyzed CH activation/CC bond formation. Recent studies concerning the palladium(II)-catalyzed coupling of CH bonds with organometallic reagents through a PdII/Pd0 catalytic cycle are discussed (see scheme), and the versatility and practicality of this new mode of catalysis are presented. Unaddressed questions and the potential for development in the field are also addressed.

In the past decade, palladium-catalyzed CH activation/CC bond-forming reactions have emerged as promising new catalytic transformations; however, development in this field is still at an early stage compared to the state of the art in cross-coupling reactions using aryl and alkyl halides. This Review begins with a brief introduction of four extensively investigated modes of catalysis for forming CC bonds from CH bonds: PdII/Pd0, PdII/PdIV, Pd0/PdII/PdIV, and Pd0/PdII catalysis. A more detailed discussion is then directed towards the recent development of palladium(II)-catalyzed coupling of CH bonds with organometallic reagents through a PdII/Pd0 catalytic cycle. Despite the progress made to date, improving the versatility and practicality of this new reaction remains a tremendous challenge.

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Palladium(II)-catalyzed C-H activation/C-C cross-coupling reactions: versatility and practicality.

Reactions that convert carbon–hydrogen (C–H) bonds into carbon–carbon (C–C) or carbon–heteroatom (C–Y) bonds are attractive tools for organic chemists, potentially expediting the synthesis of target molecules through new disconnections in retrosynthetic analysis. Despite extensive inorganic and organometallic study of the insertion of homogeneous metal species into unactivated C–H bonds, practical applications of this technology in organic chemistry are still rare. Only in the past decade have metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization reactions become more widely utilized in organic synthesis.Research in the area of homogeneous transition metal–catalyzed C–H functionalization can be broadly grouped into two subfields. They reflect different approaches and goals and thus have different challenges and opportunities. One approach involves reactions of completely unfunctionalized aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons, which we refer to as “first functionalization”. Here the substrates are nonpolar and hydrophobic a...

Weak coordination as a powerful means for developing broadly useful C-H functionalization reactions.

This critical review discusses historical and contemporary research in the field of transition metal-catalyzed carbon–hydrogen (C–H) bond activation through the lens of stereoselectivity. Research concerning both diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity in C–H activation processes is examined, and the application of concepts in this area for the development of novel carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bond-forming reactions is described. Throughout this review, an emphasis is placed on reactions that are (or may soon become) relevant in the realm of organic synthesis (221 references).

Transition metal-catalyzed C–H activation reactions: diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity

Katalyse mit Methode: Eine ganze Reihe katalytischer Palladiumsysteme fur die C-H-Aktivierung/C-C-Kupplung (siehe Schema) wurde in jungerer Zeit entwickelt. Ein besonderer Schwerpunkt ist die PdII-katalysierte Kupplung von C-H-Bindungen mit metallorganischen Reagentien durch PdII/Pd0-Katalysezyklen. Die Vielseitigkeit dieser Katalysemethode wird demonstriert, zudem werden offene Fragen sowie das Entwicklungspotenzial des Gebietes angesprochen.

In den letzten zehn Jahren wurde die palladiumkatalysierte C-H-Aktivierung/C-C-Kupplung zu einer vielversprechenden katalytischen Umwandlung entwickelt. Allerdings sind die Moglichkeiten auf diesem Gebiet bisher noch nicht so umfangreich wie bei den Kreuzkupplungen, bei denen Aryl- und Alkylhalogenide eingesetzt werden. Dieser Aufsatz stellt vier ausfuhrlich untersuchte Katalysemethoden zur C-C-Bindungsbildung ausgehend von C-H-Bindungen vor: PdII/Pd0-, PdII/PdIV-, Pd0/PdII/PdIV- und Pd0/PdII-Katalyse. Auserdem werden neuere Entwicklungen bei der PdII-katalysierten Kupplung von C-H-Bindungen mit metallorganischen Reagentien durch einen PdII/Pd0-Katalysezyklus vorgestellt. Ungeachtet aller bisherigen Fortschritte verbleibt es eine wichtige Aufgabe, die Vielseitigkeit und Anwendbarkeit dieser Reaktionen auf eine breitere Grundlage zu stellen.

Palladium(II)‐katalysierte C‐H‐Aktivierung/C‐C‐Kreuzkupplung: Vielseitigkeit und Anwendbarkeit

The Mizoroki-Heck reaction, which couples aryl halides with olefins, has been widely used to stitch together the carbogenic cores of numerous complex organic molecules. Given that the position-selective introduction of a halide onto an arene is not always straightforward, direct olefination of aryl carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds would obviate the inefficiencies associated with generating halide precursors or their equivalents. However, methods for carrying out such a reaction have suffered from narrow substrate scope and low positional selectivity. We report an operationally simple, atom-economical, carboxylate-directed Pd(II)-catalyzed C-H olefination reaction with phenylacetic acid and 3-phenylpropionic acid substrates, using oxygen at atmospheric pressure as the oxidant. The positional selectivity can be tuned by introducing amino acid derivatives as ligands. We demonstrate the versatility of the method through direct elaboration of commercial drug scaffolds and efficient syntheses of 2-tetralone and naphthoic acid natural product cores.

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Keary M. Engle

Papers

Palladium(II)-catalyzed C-H activation/C-C cross-coupling reactions: versatility and practicality.

Weak coordination as a powerful means for developing broadly useful C-H functionalization reactions.

Transition metal-catalyzed C–H activation reactions: diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity

Palladium(II)‐katalysierte C‐H‐Aktivierung/C‐C‐Kreuzkupplung: Vielseitigkeit und Anwendbarkeit

Ligand-Enabled Reactivity and Selectivity in a Synthetically Versatile Aryl C–H Olefination