Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Cycloaddition of 1,6‐Diynes and Nitriles under Mild Conditions: Role of the Coordinating Group of Nitriles

TLDR: Careful screening of nitrile components revealed that a C[triple chemical bond]C triple bond or heteroatom substituents, such as methoxy and methylthio groups, proved to act as the coordinating groups, whereas C==C or C==O double bonds and amino groups failed to promote cycloaddition.

Abstract: In the presence of a catalytic amount of [Cp*RuCl(cod)] (Cp*=pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene), 1,6-diynes were allowed to react chemo- and regioselectively with nitriles bearing a coordinating group, such as dicyanides or alpha-halonitriles, at ambient temperature to afford bicyclic pyridines Careful screening of nitrile components revealed that a C[triple chemical bond]C triple bond or heteroatom substituents, such as methoxy and methylthio groups, proved to act as the coordinating groups, whereas C==C or C==O double bonds and amino groups failed to promote cycloaddition This suggests that coordinating groups with multiple pi-bonds or lone pairs are essential for the nitrile components