The industrially important coupling of aromatic compounds has generally required differential prefunctionalization of the arene coupling partners with a halide and an electropositive group. Here we report that palladium, in conjunction with a copper oxidant, can catalyze the cross-coupling of N-acetylindoles and benzenes in high yield and high regioselectivity across a range of indoles without recourse to activating groups. These reactions are completely selective for arene cross-coupling, with no products arising from indole or benzene homo-coupling detected by spectroscopic analysis. This efficient reactivity should be useful in the design of other oxidative arene cross-couplings as well.

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Recently, the rhodium(III)-complex [Cp*RhCl(2)](2) 1 has provided exciting opportunities for the efficient synthesis of aromatic heterocycles based on a rhodium-catalyzed C-H bond functionalization event. In the present report, the use of complexes 1 and its dicationic analogue [Cp*Rh(MeCN)(3)][SbF(6)](2) 2 have been employed in the formation of indoles via the oxidative annulation of acetanilides with internal alkynes. The optimized reaction conditions allow for molecular oxygen to be used as the terminal oxidant in this process, and the reaction may be carried out under mild temperatures (60 °C). These conditions have resulted in an expanded compatibility of the reaction to include a range of new internal alkynes bearing synthetically useful functional groups in moderate to excellent yields. The applicability of the method is exemplified in an efficient synthesis of paullone 3, a tetracyclic indole derivative with established biological activity. A mechanistic investigation of the reaction, employing deuterium labeling experiments and kinetic analysis, has provided insight into issues of reactivity for both coupling partners as well as aided in the development of conditions for improved regioselectivity with respect to meta-substituted acetanilides. This reaction class has also been extended to include the synthesis of pyrroles. Catalyst 2 efficiently couples substituted enamides with internal alkynes at room temperature to form trisubstituted pyrroles in good to excellent yields. The high functional group compatibility of this reaction enables the elaboration of the pyrrole products into a variety of differentially substituted pyrroles.

Palladium-catalyzed direct arylation reactions are described with a broad range of azine and azole N-oxides. In addition to aspects of functional group compatibility, issues of regioselectivity have been explored when nonsymmetrical azine N-oxides are used. In these cases, both the choice of ligand and the nature of the azine substituents play important roles in determining the regioisomeric distribution. When azole N-oxides are employed, preferential reaction is observed for arylation at C2 which occurs under very mild conditions. Subsequent reactions are observed to occur at C5 followed by arylation at C4. The potential utility of this methodology is illustrated by its use in the synthesis of a potent sodium channel inhibitor 1 and a Tie2 Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor 2.

New reaction conditions for intramolecular palladium(II)-catalyzed oxidative carbon-carbon bond formation under air are described. The use of pivalic acid as the reaction solvent, instead of acetic acid, results in greater reproducibility, higher yields, and broader scope. This includes the use of electron-rich diarylamines as illustrated in the synthesis of three naturally occurring carbazole products: Murrayafoline A, Mukonine, and Clausenine. A variety of side products have also been isolated, casting light on competing reaction pathways and revealing new reactivity with palladium(II) catalysis.

By changing the stoichiometric oxidant and modifying the indole N-substituent in palladium-catalyzed oxidative arene cross-coupling reactions, both C2 and C3 oxidative indole arylation can be achieved in high yield. High regioselectivity can also be achieved with the benzene component, and the use of this methodology with pyrrole substrates is illustrated. A mechanistic hypothesis for the change in C2/C3 selectivity is advanced.

Detailed mechanistic studies on the palladium-catalyzed direct arylation of pyridine N-oxides are presented. The order of each reaction component is determined to provide a general mechanistic picture. The C-H bond cleaving step is examined in further detail through computational studies, and the calculated results are in support of an inner-sphere concerted metalation-deprotonation (CMD) pathway. Competition experiments were conducted with N-oxides of varying electronic characters, and results revealed an enhancement of rate when using a more electron-deficient species, which is in support of a CMD transition state. The effect of base on reaction rate was also examined and it was found that a carboxylate base was required for the reaction to proceed. This led to the conclusion that Pd(OAc)(2) plays a pivotal role in the reaction mechanism as more than merely a precatalyst, but also as a source of acetate base required for the C-H bond cleavage step.

Diaryliodonium salts have recently attracted significant attention as metal-free-arylation reagents in organic synthesis, and efficient access to these salts is critical for advancement of their use in reaction discovery and development. The trimethoxybenzene-derived auxiliary is a promising component of unsymmetrical variants, yet access remains limited. Here, a one-pot synthesis of aryl(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)iodonium salts from aryl iodides, m-CPBA, p-toluenesulfonic acid, and trimethoxybenzene is described. Optimization of the reaction conditions for this one-pot synthesis was enabled by the method of multivariate analysis. The reaction is fast (<1 h), provides a high yield of product (>85% average), and has broad substrate scope (>25 examples) including elaborate aryl iodides. The utility of these reagents is demonstrated in moderate to high yielding arylation reactions with C-, N-, O-, and S-nucleophiles including the synthesis of a liquid crystal molecule.