A series of new, dicationic platinum(II) CNC pincer complexes were prepared and characterized by NMR and X-ray diffraction analysis. Oxidative addition of methyl iodide and iodine yielded the mostly unstable platinum(IV) complexes, which readily underwent reductive elimination to yield the platinum(II) precursors. Nonetheless, a platinum(IV) iodide adduct was isolated and was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. Additionally, a platinum(II) ethylene complex was isolated and found to be a moderately active yet highly selective catalyst in the co-dimerization of 2-methyl-2-butene with ethylene.

A set of heterogenized olefin-metathesis catalysts, which consisted of Ru complexes with the H(2)ITap ligand (1,3-bis(2',6'-dimethyl-4'dimethyl aminophenyl)-4,5-dihydroimidazol-2-ylidene) that had been adsorbed onto a silica support, has been prepared. These complexes showed strong binding to the solid support without the need for tethering groups on the complex or functionalized silica. The catalysts were tested in the ring-opening-ring-closing-metathesis (RO-RCM) of cyclooctene (COE) and the self-metathesis of methyl oleate under continuous-flow conditions. The best complexes showed a TON>4000, which surpasses the previously reported materials that were either based on the Grubbs-Hoveyda II complex on silica or on the classical heterogeneous Re(2)O(7)/B(2)O(3) catalyst.

The development of the first trans‐selective catalytic asymmetric [2+2] cyclocondensation of acyl halides with aliphatic aldehydes furnishing 3,4‐disubstituted β‐lactones is described. This work made use of a new strategy within the context of asymmetric dual activation catalysis: it combines the concepts of Lewis acid and organic aprotic ion pair catalysis in a single catalyst system. The methodology could also be applied to aromatic aldehydes and offers broad applicability (29 examples). The utility was further demonstrated by nucleophilic ring‐opening reactions that provide highly enantiomerically enriched anti‐aldol products.

Somewhat unexpectedly, the computed highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energies of some 4-alkenylthiazoles afforded values close to those calculated for the Danishefsky-Kitahara and Rawal dienes. In fact, 4-alkenylthiazoles behave as all-carbon dienes in Diels-Alder reactions with the participation of the formal C-C double bond of the thiazole ring and the side-chain double bond. The reactions with N-substituted maleimides, maleic anhydride, and naphthoquinone take place with high levels of stereocontrol to give the corresponding endo-cycloadducts in good to excellent yields. Depending on the dienophile, the cycloadduct further transforms under the reaction conditions through either a 1,3-hydrogen shift, dehydrogenation, or an ene reaction or Michael addition with another molecule of dienophile. These unprecedented results open new synthetic perspectives for the functionalization of the thiazole ring.

The reaction of 2-(phenylamino)- and 2-(dimethylamino)thiazoles with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate led unexpectedly to dimethyl 6-(phenylamino)- and 6-(dimethylamino)-3,4-pyridinedicarboxylates. Those compounds reasonably result from a sequence of reactions initiated by a [2 + 2] cycloaddition of the alkyne to the formal C=C of the thiazole ring. These pyridines were obtained in nearly all the cases assayed as the exclusive reaction products under rather mild conditions and in fair to good yields. In contrast, the regioisomeric 2-amino-3,4-pyridinedicarboxylates, which would result from a [4 + 2] cycloaddition followed by sulfur extrusion, were only obtained in one particular case. The two reaction paths leading alternatively to both regioisomers were investigated computationally. The respective [2 + 2] and [4 + 2] cycloadducts were found to be formed stepwise from a common dipolar intermediate. Notably, the step following the [2 + 2] cycloaddition (i.e., the ring opening of the fused cyclobutene intermediate to give an all-cis 1,3-thiazepine) was found to take place in a disrotatory mode. Although geometric constraints and electronic factors may reduce the energy for the disrotation, the implication of the fused five-membered ring in the electronic reorganization leading to the 1,3-thiazepine is determinant. In this sense, this step could be regarded also as a thermally allowed six-electron five-center disrotatory electrocyclic ring opening. The proposed mechanism was experimentally supported by the isolation of several intermediates and other experimental facts.

We report on a series of six new pyridinealkoxidebridged first and second generation ruthenium carbenes with similar or even higher activity in ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP), cross metathesis (CM), and ring closing metathesis (RCM) reactions than state-of-the-art catalysts. The new precatalysts show an extraordinarily high stickiness to commercially available silica, which significantly enhances their adsorptive separation from unprocessed reaction mixtures.

Cationic platinum(II) complexes with bi-or tridentate (pincer) functionalized NHC ligands were found to be catalytically active in the hydroamination of unactivated alkenes. In some cases, the presence of water had an activating effect on the complexes. Reactions with the Nnucleophilic substrate morpholine led to a noncatalytic reaction in which the deprotonation product of the key cationic β-aminoalkyl platinum complex could be isolated and characterized. Surprisingly, attempted protonation of this complex did not give the expected N-alkylated product, indicating either the thermodynamic unfavorability of C−Pt bond cleavage or its kinetic inertness.

The hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of 4-alkenylthiazoles with 4-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione (PTAD) lead to new heteropolycyclic systems in excellent yields and high levels of stereocontrol through an exclusively suprafacial approach. 4-Alkenylthiazoles with a stereogenic center placed at the alkenylic substituent react with PTAD giving the corresponding chiral cycloadducts in moderate diastereomeric excesses. The stereochemical course is dominated by the steric interactions at the two diastereomeric transition states. A computational study of these processes with structurally simpler reagents has been carried out. A concerted pathway via a highly asynchronous transition state is preferred for 2-unsubstituted 4-vinyl and 4-styrylthiazoles. However, two alternative and equally likely pathways, concerted and stepwise, have been found to be followed by 2-methyl- or 2-phenyl-substituted 4-styrylthiazoles. The concerted pathway features a highly asynchronous transition state. For the stepwise pathway, the rate-determining step is the first one, as the energy barrier for the second step is virtually nonexistent.