Since the discovery of Grignard reagents in 1900, the nucleophilic addition of magnesium-based carbon nucleophiles to various electrophiles has become one of the most powerful, versatile, and well-established methods for the formation of carbon−carbon bonds in organic synthesis. Grignard reagents are typically prepared via reactions between organic halides and magnesium metal in a solvent. However, this method usually requires the use of dry organic solvents, long reaction times, strict control of the reaction temperature, and inert-gas-line techniques. Despite the utility of Grignard reagents, these requirements still represent major drawbacks from both an environmental and an economic perspective, and often cause reproducibility problems. Here, we report the general mechanochemical synthesis of magnesium-based carbon nucleophiles (Grignard reagents in paste form) in air using a ball milling technique. These nucleophiles can be used directly for one-pot nucleophilic addition reactions with various electrophiles and nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions under solvent-free conditions.

An effective and practical strategy has been established for the direct and site-selective arylation of indoles at the C4 and C5 positions with the aid of a readily accessible, cheap, and removable pivaloyl directing group at the C3 position. This transformation shows good functional-group tolerance and could serve as a powerful synthetic tool for the synthesis of medicinally relevant compounds. This method and those developed in previous research together enable the regiocontrolled direct arylation of indole at each C-H bond without prefunctionalization of the reactive sites.

By developing a new Ir(III)-catalyzed C-C cross-coupling, a versatile method for direct arylation of sp(2) and sp(3) C-H bonds in ketoximes, nitrogen-containing heterocycles, various arenes, and olefins has been established. The key to this arylation depends on the appropriate choice of catalyst and the use of diaryliodonium triflate salts as the coupling partners. This transformation has good functional group compatibility and can serve as a powerful synthetic tool for late-stage C-H arylation of complex compounds. Mechanistic studies by density functional theory calculations suggested that the sp(3) C-H activation was realized by a triflate-involved concerted metalation-deprotonation process, and the following oxidation of Ir(III) to Ir(V) is the most favorable when a bistriflimide is contained in the diaryliodonium salt. Calculations indicated that both steps are enabled by initial anion exchange between the reactant complexes.

gem-Difluoroalkenes have steric and electronic profiles similar to those of ketones, aldehydes, and esters, and consequently have been used widely as carbonyl isosteres in modern drug discovery. Although many attempts have been made to achieve gem-difluoroalkenes, the induction of enantioselectivity at the a position of a gem-difluorovinyl group still remains a challenge. Herein, an efficient method for the construction of gem-difluoroallylboronates with high enantiomeric excess via a copper-catalyzed defluoroborylation of 1-(trifluoromethyl)alkenes with B 2 pin 2 is described. The reaction conditions were mild, and a variety of common functional groups, such as ether, fluoride, chloride, bromide, iodide, ester, cyano, sulfide, amino, and indoyl groups, were well tolerated. Furthermore, we not only applied this developed system as a powerful synthetic tool for the late-stage modification of complex compounds but also highlighted the utility of the formed compounds in synthesis.