In 2010, Richard Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi, and Akira Suzuki joined the prestigious circle of Nobel Laureate chemists for their roles in discovering and developing highly practical methodologies for C-C bond construction. From their original contributions in the early 1970s the landscape of the strategies and methods of organic synthesis irreversibly changed for the modern chemist, both in academia and in industry. In this Review, we attempt to trace the historical origin of these powerful reactions, and outline the developments from the seminal discoveries leading to their eminent position as appreciated and applied today.

Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling: A Historical Contextual Perspective to the 2010 Nobel Prize

A new iron(III) halide-promoted aza-Prins cyclization between γ,δ-unsaturated tosylamines and aldehydes provides six-membered azacycles in good to excellent yields. The process is based on the consecutive generation of γ-unsaturated-iminium ion and further nucleophilic attack by the unsaturated carbon−carbon bond. Homoallyl tosylamine leads to trans-2-alkyl-4-halo-1-tosylpiperidine as the major isomer. In addition, the alkyne aza-Prins cyclization between homopropargyl tosylamine and aldehydes gives 2-alkyl-4-halo-1-tosyl-1,2,5,6-tetrahydropyridines as the only cyclic products. The piperidine ring is widely distributed throughout Nature, e.g., in alkaloids,1 and is an important scaffold for drug discovery, being the core of many pharmaceutically significant compounds.2,3 The syntheses of these type of compounds have been extensively studied in the development of new drugs containing six-membered-ring heterocycles.4 Reactions between N-acyliminium ions and nucleophiles, also described as amidoalkylation or Mannich-type condensations, have been frequently used to introduce substituents at the R-carbon of an amine.5 There are several examples that involve an intramolecular attack of a nucleophilic olefin into an iminium cation for the construction of a heterocyclic ring system.6 Traditionally, the use of hemiaminals or their derivatives as precursors of N-acyliminium intermediates has been a common two-step strategy in these reactions.6a Among this type of cyclization is the aza-Prins cyclization,7 which uses alkenes as intramolecular nucleophile. However, cy† X-ray analysis. E-mail address: malopez@ull.es. (1) (a) Fodor, G. B.; Colasanti, B. Alkaloids: Chemical and Biological PerspectiVes; Pelletier, S. W., Ed.; Wiley: New York, 1985; Vol. 23, pp 1-90. (b) Baliah, V.; Jeyarama, R.; Chandrasekaran, L. Chem. ReV. 1983, 83, 379-423. (2) Watson, P. S.; Jiang, B.; Scott, B. Org. Lett. 2000, 2, 3679-3681. (3) Horton, D. A.; Bourne, G. T.; Smythe, M. L. Chem. ReV. 2003, 103, 893-930. (4) Buffat, M. G. P. Tetrahedron 2004, 60, 1701-1729 and references therein. (5) Speckamp, W. N.; Moolenaar, M. J. Tetrahedron 2000, 56, 3187- 3856 and references therein. (6) (a) Hiemstra, H.; Speckamp, W. N. In ComprehensiVe Organic Synthesis; Trost, B. M., Fleming, O., Heathcock, C. H., Eds.; Pergamon: New York, 1991; Vol. 2, pp 1047-1081. (b) Speckamp, W. N.; Hiemstra, H. Tetrahedron 1985, 41, 4367-4416. (7) (a) Dobbs, A. P.; Guesne, S. J. J.; Hursthouse, M. B.; Coles, S. J. Synlett 2003, 11, 1740-1742. (b) Dobbs, A. P.; Guesne, S. J. J.; Martinove, S.; Coles, S. J.; Hursthouse, M. B. J. Org. Chem. 2003, 68, 7880-7883. (c) Hanessian, S.; Tremblay, M.; Petersen, F. W. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 6064-6071 and references therein. (d) Dobbs, A. P.; Guesne, S. J. Synlett 2005, 13, 2101-2103. ORGANIC

Iron-Catalyzed Reactions in Organic Synthesis

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Advances in transition metal (Pd, Ni, Fe)-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions using alkyl-organometallics as reaction partners.

Selected patented cross-coupling reaction technologies.

Large-scale applications of transition metal-catalyzed couplings for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals.

Vinylation of Grignard reagents. Catalysis by iron

Coupling of Grignard Reagents with Organic Halides

Iron catalysis in the reaction of grignard reagents with alkyl halides

The reactions of transition metal halides (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Pd, Cu, and Ag) with the low-molecular-weight alkyl Grignard reagents in tetrahydrofuran and diethyl ether, especially in the presence of styrene were reinvestigated. An alkyl transition metal species formed in situ by metathesis decomposed to a dialkyl (oxidative dimerization) or to an alkene and an alkane (oxidative disproportionation). Silver(I) and copper(II) were particularly effective in oxidative dimerization of primary alkyl groups. Alkyl groups which contain no β-hydrogen were also coupled by iron, cobalt, nickel, palladium, and copper(I) halides with varying degrees of efficiency. Oxidative disproportionation was generally the more common route to decomposition for alkyl groups which have β-hydrogens. It seemed to proceed directly via a bimolecular interaction of alkylmetals or indirectly by elimination of a hydrido-metal species. If the latter added to an alkene reversibly, exchange was observed between Grignard reagent and alkene. Styr...

M. Tamura

Papers

Vinylation of Grignard reagents. Catalysis by iron

Coupling of Grignard Reagents with Organic Halides

Iron catalysis in the reaction of grignard reagents with alkyl halides

The Reactions of Grignard Reagents with Transition Metal Halides: Coupling, Disproportionation, and Exchange with Olefins

Copper-catalyzed coupling of grignard reagents and akyl halides in tetrahydrofuran solutions