Scheme 2. Hydroacylation and ortho-Alkylation of Aryl AldehydesTable 1. ortho-Alkylation with Functionalized Olefins a Isolated yield. b 10 mol % RhCl(PPh 3 ) 3 was used.

Conspectus Over the last several decades, researchers have achieved remarkable progress in the field of organometallic chemistry. The development of metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions represents a paradigm shift in chemical synthesis, and today synthetic chemists can readily access carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds from a vast array of starting compounds. Although we cannot understate the importance of these methods, the required pre-functionalization to carry out these reactions adds cost and reduces the availability of the starting reagents. The use of C-H bond activation in lieu of pre-functionalization has presented a tantalizing alternative to classical cross-coupling reactions. Researchers have met the challenges of selectivity and reactivity associated with the development of C-H bond functionalization reactions with an explosion of creative advances in substrate and catalyst design. Literature reports on selectivity based on steric effects, acidity, and electronic and directing group effects are now numerous. Our group has developed an array of C-H bond functionalization reactions that take advantage of a chelating directing group, and this Account surveys our progress in this area. The use of chelation control in C-H bond functionalization offers several advantages with respect to substrate scope and application to total synthesis. The predictability and decreased dependence on the inherent stereoelectronics of the substrate generally result in selective and high yielding transformations with broad applicability. The nature of the chelating moiety can be chosen to serve as a functional handle in subsequent elaborations. Our work began with the use of Rh(I) catalysts in intramolecular aromatic C-H annulations, which we further developed to include enantioselective transformations. The application of this chemistry to the simple olefinic C-H bonds found in α,β-unsaturated imines allowed access to highly substituted olefins, pyridines, and piperidines. We observed complementary reactivity with Rh(III) catalysts and developed an oxidative coupling with unactivated alkenes. Further studies on the Rh(III) catalysts led us to develop methods for the coupling of C-H bonds to polarized π bonds such as those in imines and isocyanates. In several cases the methods that we have developed for chelation-controlled C-H bond functionalization have been applied to the total synthesis of complex molecules such as natural products, highlighting the utility of these methods in organic synthesis.

A convenient one-pot C-H alkenylation/ electrocyclization/ aromatization sequence has been developed for the synthesis of highly substituted pyridine derivatives from alkynes and α,β-unsaturated N-benzyl aldimines and ketimines that proceeds through dihydropyridine intermediates. A new class of ligands for C-H activation was developed, providing broader scope for the alkenylation step than could be achieved with previously reported ligands. Substantial information was obtained about the mechanism of the reaction. This included the isolation of a C-H activated complex and its structure determination by X-ray analysis; in addition, kinetic simulations using the Copasi software were employed to determine rate constants for this transformation, implicating facile C-H oxidative addition and slow reductive elimination steps.

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This paper reports the first detailed study on meso-unsubstituted azuliporphyrins, an important family of porphyrin-like molecules where one of the usual pyrrole rings has been replaced by an azulene subunit. Although the azulene moiety introduces an element of cross-conjugation, zwitterionic resonance contributors with tropylium and carbaporphyrin substructures give azuliporphyrins diatropic character that falls midway between true carbaporphyrins and nonaromatic benziporphyrins. Protonation affords an aromatic dication where this type of resonance interaction is favored due to the associated charge delocalization. Two different "3 + 1" syntheses of meso-unsubstituted azuliporphyrins have been developed. Acid-catalyzed reaction of readily available tripyrrane dicarboxylic acids with 1,3-azulenedicarbaldehyde, followed by oxidation with DDQ or FeCl(3), affords good yields of azuliporphyrins. Alternatively, azulene reacted with acetoxymethylpyrroles (2 equiv) in refluxing acetic acid/2-propanol to give tripyrrane analogues, and following a deprotection step, condensation with a pyrrole dialdehyde in TFA-CH(2)Cl(2) gave the azuliporphyrin system. The latter approach was also used to prepare 23-thia- and 23-selenaazuliporphyrins. However, reaction of the azulitripyrrane with 2,5-furandicarbaldehyde produced a mixture of three oxacarbaporphyrins in moderate yield. The free base forms of thia- and selenaazuliporphyrins both showed intermediary aromatic character that was considerably enhanced upon protonation. The UV-vis spectra for azuliporphyrins and their heteroanalogues showed four bands between 350 and 500 nm and broad absorptions at higher wavelengths. Addition of TFA gave dications that showed porphyrin-like spectra with Soret bands between 460 and 500 nm. In the presence of pyrrolidine, azuliporphyrins and their heteroanalogues undergo nucleophilic attack on the seven-membered ring to give carbaporphyrin adducts. These systems also undergo oxidative rearrangements under basic conditions with t-BuOOH to give benzocarbaporphyrins. The selenaazuliporphyrin afforded two benzoselenacarbaporphyrins, a previously unknown core-modified carbaporphyrin system. The proton NMR spectra for these compounds showed strong diatropic ring currents with the internal CH resonance upfield above -5 ppm, while the meso-protons resonated downfield near 10 ppm. The UV-vis spectra were also porphyrin-like and gave strong Soret bands at ca. 440 nm.

The NH-N-NH-N core of the porphyrin system represents one of the best studied and most versatile platforms for coordination chemistry. However, the replacement of one or more of the interior nitrogens with carbon atoms would be expected to diminish the ability of these systems to form metallo derivatives considerably. Despite this expectation, carbaporphyrinoid systems have been shown to form stable organometallic derivatives. Although azuliporphyrins and benziporphyrins act as dianionic ligands, benzocarbaporphyrins are trianionic ligands. Treatment of five different meso unsubstituted benzocarbaporphyrins and two different meso tetraarylbenzocarbaporphyrins with excess silver(I) acetate afforded 65-97% yields of the corresponding silver(III) organometallic derivatives. The insertion of silver metal was confirmed by mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography. The UV-vis spectra showed a strong Soret band at wavelengths between 437 and 451 nm, together with a series of Q-type bands at longer wavelengths. The new metallo carbaporphyrins demonstrate the presence of a strong diatropic ring current in their proton NMR spectra, and carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy indicates that the derivatives retain a plane of symmetry. The reaction of meso tetraaryl carbaporphyrins with gold(III) acetate afforded the related gold(III) complexes, and these also showed strongly porphyrin-like aromatic characteristics. The UV-vis spectra for the gold complexes again showed a strong Soret band between 437-439 nm, but a secondary band near 400 nm is somewhat intensified for the gold species compared to the spectra for the related silver(III) meso tetrasubstituted carbaporphyrins. The ring currents observed for the gold(III) complexes by proton NMR spectroscopy were comparable to those of the silver(III) derivatives, implying that both series have similar macrocyclic conformations. Cyclic voltammetry was performed on two different carbaporphyrins, their silver(III) derivatives, and a gold(III) complex. The silver complexes display a reversible cathodic wave that is assigned to the Ag(III/II) couple. However, the gold porphyrinoid gave a value for the reductive wave that could be due to a gold(III/II) couple or a ligand-based process.

Four azuliporphyrins, two meso-unsubstituted and two meso-tetraaryl substituted, were investigated in the synthesis of novel organometallic compounds. The meso-unsubstituted or "etio" series azuliporphyrins 8 reacted with nickel(II) acetate, palladium(II) acetate, and platinum(II) chloride in DMF to give the corresponding chelates 14-16, where the metal cation lies within the macrocyclic cavity and binds to all three nitrogens and the internal carbon atom. The newly available meso-tetraarylazuliporphyrins 13 similarly afforded the corresponding nickel(II), palladium(II), and platinum(II) complexes, 17-19, respectively. The new organometallic complexes are stable nonpolar compounds and were fully characterized spectroscopically and by mass spectrometry. The UV-vis data indicate that these complexes, in common with the parent azuliporphyrin system 8, do not possess porphyrin-type aromaticity. However, electron donation from the azulene unit can give rise to dipolar resonance contributors that provide a degree of carbaporphyrin-type aromatic character. The platinum(II) azuliporphyrins 16 gave noteworthy proton NMR spectra where the meso-protons showed satellite peaks due to transannular coupling to platinum-195. The pyrrolic protons of the platinum(II) meso-tetraarylazuliporphyrin 19b also showed similar satellite peaks due to coupling from the platinum-195 isotope. The electrochemistry of free base tetraphenylazuliporphyrin 13a and the related nickel(II) and palladium(II) complexes was investigated using cyclic voltammetry, and these data indicate that metal coordination improves the reversibility of the ligand-based oxidations. Nickel(II) azuliporphyrin 14a and palladium(II) tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)azuliporphyrin 18b were also structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography. The macrocyclic core of the palladium(II) complex 18b was significantly more planar than the nickel(II) derivative 14b, and this difference was attributed to the better size match between the azuliporphyrin cavity and the larger palladium(II) ion. The straightforward synthesis of metalloazuliporphyrins under mild conditions, and their interesting spectroscopic, electrochemical, and structural features, demonstrates that the azuliporphyrin system holds great promise as a platform for organometallic chemistry.

Azulene has been shown to react with pyrrole and a series of aromatic aldehydes in the presence of boron trifluoride etherate to give meso-tetraarylazuliporphyrins 6. Good yields of azuliporphyrins were obtained for benzaldehyde, 4-chlorobenzaldehyde, 4-bromobenzaldehyde, and 4-iodobenzaldehyde, and under dilute conditions p-tolualdehyde gave respectable yields. In each case, substantial amounts of meso-tetraarylporphyrins were also formed and a minor fraction of carbaporphyrin by-products could be detected, but otherwise no other macrocyclic products could be identified. 4-Nitrobenzaldehyde gave relatively poor yields of the corresponding azuliporphyrin, while p-anisaldehyde only gave trace amounts of product. Pentafluorobenzaldehyde gave variable results, although in this case a large number of additional by-products were identified including N-fused pentaphyrin, hexaphyrin, and higher order porphyrinoids, but no expanded azulene-containing macrocycles could be detected. Azuliporphyrins undergo reversible nucleophilic substitution on the seven-membered ring with pyrrolidine, benzenethiol, hydrazine, or benzylamine to give carbaporphyrin