Among numerous solvents available for chemical transformations, 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (popularly known as HFIP) has attracted enough attention of the scientific community in recent years. Several unique features of HFIP compared to its non-fluoro analogue isopropanol have helped this solvent to make a difference in various subdomains of organic chemistry. One such area is transition metal-catalyzed C-H bond functionalization reactions. While, on one side, HFIP is emerging as a green and sustainable deep eutectic solvent (DES), on the other side, a major proportion of Pd-catalyzed C-H functionalization is heavily relying on this solvent. In particular, for distal aromatic C-H functionalizations, the exceptional impact of HFIP to elevate the yield and selectivity has made this solvent irreplaceable. Recent research studies have also highlighted the H-bond-donating ability of HFIP to enhance the chiral induction in Pd-catalyzed atroposelective C-H activation. This perspective aims to portray different shades of HFIP as a magical solvent in Pd-catalyzed C-H functionalization reactions.

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Hexafluoroisopropanol: the magical solvent for Pd-catalyzed C-H activation.

Transition metal-catalyzed directed C–H activation has emerged as an increasingly powerful tool for the synthesis of important organic building blocks, organic materials and natural products. Despite the great advances in the past decades, the majority of C–H functionalization systems focus on aryl C–H activation. Given the wide presence of alkenes as substrates, olefinic C–H functionalization, which is a step-economic process, is highly desirable for the construction of functional olefins. Herein, we summarize the recent advances during 2015–2020 in the field of metal-catalyzed olefinic C–H functionalization. This review is organized according to the metal center of the catalyst, with an emphasis on the similarities and differences among different catalysts in olefinic C–H functionalization.

Recent advances in transition metal-catalyzed olefinic C–H functionalization

Olefinic C-H functionalization represents an atom- and step economic approach to valuable olefin derivatives from simpler ones, but controlling the selectivity remains a challenge. Remarkable progress has been made in the site-selective C-H functionalization of arenes and alkanes, but there are still limited examples of selective C-H functionalization of olefins presumably due to the lability and easy decomposition of the alkenyl moiety. Chelation-assisted C-H activation represents an efficient protocol for site- and stereo-selective construction of carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. This review highlights recent advances in vicinal- and geminal-group-directed olefinic C-H functionalization, including alkenylation, arylation, alkynylation, alkylation, halogenation, silylation, cyanation and annulation by the formation of exo-/endo-metallocycles. In particular, geminal-group-directed C-H functionalization is covered for the first time, as well as distal-selective alkenyl C-H functionalization under palladium/norbornene cooperative catalysis, which provides novel disconnections in retrosynthetic analysis and represents the future trend in green chemistry.

Recent advances in chelation-assisted site- and stereoselective alkenyl C-H functionalization.

C-H functionalization has been emerging as a powerful method to establish carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds. Many efforts have been devoted to transition-metal-catalyzed direct transformations of C-H bonds. Metal carbenes generated in situ from transition-metal compounds and diazo or its equivalents are usually applied as the transient reactive intermediates to furnish a catalytic cycle for new C-C and C-X bond formation. Using this strategy compounds from unactivated simple alkanes to complex molecules can be further functionalized or transformed to multi-functionalized compounds. In this area, transition-metal-catalyzed carbene insertion to C-H bonds has been paid continuous attention. Diverse catalyst design strategies, synthetic methods, and potential applications have been developed. This critical review will summarize the advance in transition-metal-catalyzed carbene insertion to C-H bonds dated up to July 2021, by the categories of C-H bonds from aliphatic C(sp3)-H, aryl (aromatic) C(sp2)-H, heteroaryl (heteroaromatic) C(sp2)-H bonds, alkenyl C(sp2)-H, and alkynyl C(sp)-H, as well as asymmetric carbene insertion to C-H bonds, and more coverage will be given to the recent work. Due to the rapid development of the C-H functionalization area, future directions in this topic are also discussed. This review will give the authors an overview of carbene insertion chemistry in C-H functionalization with focus on the catalytic systems and synthetic applications in C-C bond formation. 

Recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed carbene insertion to C–H bonds

1,1,1,3,3,3-Hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) is a polar, strongly hydrogen bond-donating solvent that has found numerous uses in organic synthesis due to its ability to stabilize ionic species, transfer protons, and engage in a range of other intermolecular interactions. The use of this solvent has exponentially increased in the past decade and has become a solvent of choice in some areas, such as C-H functionalization chemistry. In this review, following a brief history of HFIP in organic synthesis and an overview of its physical properties, literature examples of organic reactions using HFIP as a solvent or an additive are presented, emphasizing the effect of solvent of each reaction.

Pengfei Li

Papers

Recent advances in transition metal-catalyzed olefinic C–H functionalization

Iodonium Ylides as Carbene Precursors in Rh(III)-Catalyzed C-H Activation.

Rh(III)-Catalyzed Coupling of Acrylic Acids and Ynenones via Olefinic C–H Activation and Michael Addition

Rh(III)-Catalyzed Diverse C—H Functionalization of Iminopyridinium Ylides