Ni-catalyzed direct carboxylation of unactivated alkyl electrophiles with carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a cheap, abundant and renewable C1 building block. Over the last two decades, considerable re- search efforts have been devoted to developing new reactions for the efficient incorporation of carbon dioxide into a broad range of compounds for the production of value-added materi- als [1]. Notably, these efforts have culminated in the develop- ment of several transition-metal-catalyzed methods capable of providing access to numerous synthetically important carbox- ylic acids and derivatives using carbon dioxide as a carboxyla- tive reagent [2].

Box-Behnken experimental design for optimizing process parameters in carbonate-promoted direct thiophene carboxylation reaction with carbon dioxide

A feasible synthesis route is developed for achieving the direct carboxylation of thiophene and CO_(2) in a relatively mild solvent-free carboxylate-assisted carbonate(semi)molten state.The effects of reaction factors on the carboxylate yield are investigated in the preliminary screening experiments,and the phase behavior analysis of the reaction medium is detected through the thermal characterization analysis of insitu high temperature X-ray diffraction measurement(in-situ XRD).The application of response surface methodology(RSM)based on the Box-Behnken design(BBD)is conducted to investigate the effect of the reaction parameters,such as reaction temperatu re,carbonate proportion,CO_(2) pressure and thiophene amount,on the product yield.The regressed second-order polynomial model equation well correlates all the independent variables.The analysis of variance(ANOVA)results reveal that the quadratic effect of reaction temperature is the most effective parameter in this carboxylation reaction owing to it’s the highest contribution to the sum of square(30.18%).The optimum reaction conditions for maximum product yield are the reaction temperature of 287℃,carbonate proportion of 32.20%,CO_(2) pressure of 1.0MPa and thiophene amount of 9.35 mmol.Operating under these selected experimental conditions,a high product yield(50.98%)can be achieved.

Carboxylation of Aromatics by CO₂under “Si/Al Based Frustrated Lewis Pairs” Catalytic System

Carboxylation of aromatics by CO2 to generate corresponding carboxylic acids is recently providing a novel approach to utilize the green gas CO2, in which the activation of CO2 is the key procedure. Among the many catalytic systems employed in the carboxylation, the concept of “Frustrated Lewis Pairs” (FLPs) was scarcely mentioned, which perform excellently in activating small molecules like CO2. The FLPs are combinations of Lewis acids and Lewis bases which failed to form adducts due to their bulky steric congestion. In this paper, we first attempted various Si/Al Based FLPs to catalyze the carboxylation of aromatics through the activation of CO2, and a good yield of 62% - 97% was obtained. The reaction mechanism was proposed, involving the activation of CO2 mainly contributed by AlCl3 in cooperation with organosilane, forming an intermediate consisting of CO2, AlCl3, and R4Si, as well as the subsequent electrophilic attack to aromatics, thus to promote the carboxylation reaction.

Photo‐catalyzed sequential dearomatization/carboxylation of benzyl o‐halogenated aryl ether with CO_(2) leading to spirocyclic carboxylic acids

Photo‐catalyzed tandem dearomatization/carboxylation of benzyl o‐halogenated aryl ether with CO_(2) was achieved,which affords spirocyclic carboxylic acids under mild conditions.The reaction has good functional group tolerance with high yields.Mechanism studies indicate that the transformation was realized via intramolecular radical addition and nucleophilic addition.

Visible-light photoredox-catalyzed selective carboxylation of C(sp~2)-F bonds in polyfluoroarenes with CO2

Visible light‐driven carboxylation with CO_(2) have emerged as a sustainable and powerful way to transfer waste to treasure.However,it is still challenging for aryl fluorides due to the low reactivities of both C(sp2)−F bonds and CO_(2).Herein,we report the first photocatalytic carboxylation of aryl C−F bonds with CO_(2).The visible‐light photoredox catalysis enables selective carboxylation of strong C(sp2)−F bonds in diverse polyluoroarenes,such as penta‐,tetra‐,and tri‐fluoroarenes under mild conditions,providing a facile access to a series of important polyfluoroaryl carboxylic acids with good yields.In contrast to previous reports of direct capture of polyfluoroaryl radicals,mechanistic studies suggest that the reduction of fleeting polyfluoroaryl radicals into polyfluoroaryl anions might be involved in this transformation,which may open a new avenue for photocatalytic functionalization of aryl C−F bonds.

Electrocarboxylation of CO_(2) with Organic Substrates:Toward Cathodic Reaction

Electrocarboxylation of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))using organic substrates has emerged as a promising method for the sustainable synthesis of value-added carboxylic acids due to its renewable energy source and mild reaction conditions.The reactivity and product selectivity of electrocarboxylation are highly dependent on the cathodic behavior,involving a sequence of electron transfers and chemical reactions.Hence,it is necessary to understand the cathodic reaction mechanisms for optimizing reaction performance and product distribution.In this work,a review of recent advancements in the electrocarboxylation of CO_(2)with organic substrates based on different cathodic reaction pathways is presented to provide a reference for the development of novel methodologies of CO_(2)electrocarboxylation.Herein,cathodic reactions are particularly classified into two categories based on the initial electron carriers(i.e.,CO_(2)radical anion and substrate radical anion).Furthermore,three cathodic pathways(ENE(N),ENED,and EDEN)of substrate radical anion-induced electrocarboxylation are discussed,which differ in their electron transfer sequence,substrate dissociation,and nucleophilic reaction,to highlight their implications on reactivity and product selectivity.

Visible‐light photoredox‐catalyzed carboxylation of benzyl halides with CO_(2):Mild and transition‐metal‐free

The visible‐light photoredox‐catalyzed carboxylation of benzyl chlorides and bromides with CO_(2) has been reported.With inexpensive organic dyes as photocatalysts and amines as electron donors,this carboxylation proceeds well in the absence of sensitive organometallic reagents,transition metal catalysts,or metallic reductants.A wide range of commercially available and inexpensive benzyl halides undergo such carboxylation to give valuable aryl acetic acids,including several pharmaceutical molecules and drug precursors,in moderate to high yields.Moreover,this reaction features mild reaction conditions(one atmospheric pressure of CO_(2) and room temperature),broad substrate scope,good functional group tolerance,easy scalability,and low catalyst loading,thus providing an efficient approach for the assembly of aryl acetic acids.

Direct carboxylation of thiophene with CO_(2) in the solvent-free carboxylate-carbonate molten medium:Experimental and mechanistic insights

A feasible synthesis route is devised for realizing direct carboxylation of thiophene and CO_(2) in a relatively mild solvent-free carboxylate-assisted carbonate(semi)molten medium.The effects of reaction factors on product yield are investigated,and the phase behavior analysis of the reaction medium is detected through the thermal characterization techniques.Product yield varies with the alternative carboxylate co-salts,which is attributed to the difference in deprotonation capacity caused by the base effect within the system.Besides,the detailed mechanism of this carbonate-promoted carboxylation reaction is studied,including two consecutive steps of the formation of carbanion through breaking the C-H bond(s)via the carbonate and the nucleophile attacking the weak electrophile CO_(2) to form C-C bond(s).The activation energy barrier in C-H activation step is higher than the following CO_(2) insertion step whether for the formation of the mono-and/or di-carboxylate,which is in good agreement with that of kinetic isotope effect(KIE)experiments,indicating that the C-H deprotonation is slow and the forming presumed carbanion reacts rapidly with CO_(2).Both the activation energy barriers in deprotonation steps are the minimal for the cesium cluster system since there have the weak the cesium Cs-heteroatom S(thiophene)and Cs-the broken proton interactions compared to the K2CO3 system,which is likely to enhance the acidity of C-H bond,lowering the C-H activation barrier.Besides,these mechanistic insights are further assessed by investigating base and C-H substrate effects via replacing Cs2CO3 with K2CO3 and furoate(la)with thiophene monocarboxylate(1b)or benzoate(1c).

Biomimetic Decarboxylation of Carboxylic Acids with PhI(OAc)_2 Catalyzed by Manganese Porphyrin [Mn(TPP)OAc]

Manganese（Ⅲ） meso-tetraphenylporphyrin acetate [Mn（TPP）OAc] served as an effective catalyst for the oxidative decarboxylation of carboxylic acids with （diacetoxyiodo）benzene [PhI（OAc）2] in CH2CI2-H2O（95：5, volume ratio）. The aryl substituted acetic acids are more reactive than the less electron rich linear carboxylic acids in the presence of catalyst Mn（TPP）OAc. In the former case, the formation of carbonyl products was complete within just a few minutes with 〉97% selectivities, and no further oxidation of the produced aldehydes was achieved under these catalytic conditions. This method provides a benign procedure owing to the utilization of low toxic（diacetoxyiodo） benzene, biologically relevant manganese porphyrins, and carboxylic acids.

Efficient hydrocarboxylation of alkynes based on carbodiimide‐regulated in situ CO generation from HCOOH:An alternative indirect utilization of CO_(2)

The role of carbodiimide as dehydrant in the chemo‐,regio‐and stereoselective Pd(Ⅱ/0)‐catalyzed hydrocarboxylation of various alkynes with HCOOH releasing CO in situ is reported for the first time to obtainα,β‐unsaturated carboxylic acids.Both symmetrical and unsymmetrical monoalkynes show good reactivity.Importantly,2,2’‐(1,4‐phenylene)diacrylic acid can also be synthesized in high yield through the dihydrocarboxylation of 1,4‐diethynylbenzene.Besides,an excellent result in gram scale experiment and TON up to 900 can be obtained,displaying the efficiency of this protocol.Notably,regulating the types and concentrations of dehydrant can control the CO generation,avoiding directly operating toxic CO and circumventing sensitivity issue to the CO amount.On the basis of the attractive features of formic acid including easy preparation through CO_(2) hydrogenation and efficient liberation of CO,this protocol using formic acid as bridging reagent between CO_(2) and CO can be perceived as an indirect utilization of CO_(2),offering an alternative method for preparing acrylic acid analogues.

Regioselective Direct Carboxylation of 2-Naphthol with Supercritical CO₂in the Presence of K₂CO₃

A direct regioselective preparation of 2-hydroxynaphthalene-6-carboxylic acid, a useful industrial intermediate of aro-matic polyester from 2-naphthol was conducted by use of excess amount of K2CO3 (10-fold molar to 2-naphthol) under supercritical CO2 at 10 MPa and 473 K. The obtained yield under this condition was ca. 20 mol% to 2-naphthol. The further investigations may provide an alternative process to the conventional Kolbe-Schmitt reaction, because of no use of strong alkali and recoverability of K2CO3. Theoretical explanation about the regioselectivity was achieved by means of DFT calculations.

Organocatalyzed Decarboxylation of Naturally Occurring Cinnamic Acids: Potential Role in Flavoring Chemicals Production

The mechanism and the final outcome of the Knoevenagel-Doebner reaction are discussed. The condensation reaction between different hydroxy-substituted aromatic aldehydes and malonic acid is performed using piperidine as organocatalyst. The key role of the catalyst is clearly pointed out during the decarboxylation of ferulic acid, without the use of a strong decarboxylating agent, leading to a 4-vinylphenol derivative. Based on the results obtained, the studied pathway may be important in the understanding of vinylphenol production during malting and brewing of wheat and barley grains. Finally, changing the solvent of the reaction from pyridine to water in the Knoevenagel-Doebner reaction of 4-hydroxybenzaldehydes, dimerization of resulting styrene derivatives is observed. These results can be of interest also in the field of food chemistry, since cinnamic acids are frequently found in fruits and vegetables used for human consumption.

Transformation of bio-derived acids into fuel-like alkanes via ketonic decarboxylation and hydrodeoxygenation： Design of multifunctional catalyst, kinetic and mechanistic aspects

The combination of a low cost source of Biofine＇s levulinic acid with available way of valeric acid synthesis opens up new opportunities for valeric acid as a promising bio-derived source for synthesis of valuable compounds for transportation sector. The present review illustrates the development of different approaches to one–pot synthesis of fuel-like alkanes from lignocellulose derived carboxylic acids where particular focus is given to valeric acid consecutive decarboxylative coupling（ketonization） and ketone hydrodeoxygenation in a single reactor over one catalyst bed. The key factors that influence the catalytic performance on both ketonization and hydrodeoxygenation steps as well as their cross-influence will be clarified to provide insights for the design of more efficient catalysts for the one-pot transformation. Valeric acid is considered as a potential acid source from viewpoint of cost effectiveness and feasibility of such transformation with reasonable alkane yield. The both reaction mechanisms and kinetics will also be discussed to understand deeply how the selective C–C coupling and following C=O hydrogenation can be achieved.

Recent Advances in Photochemical/Electrochemical Carboxylation of Olefins with CO_(2)

CO_(2) is an abundant,nontoxic,and renewable C1 feedstock in synthetic chemistry.Direct carboxylation of readily available olefins incorporating CO_(2) is regarded as a promising strategy to access high value-added carboxylic acids as well as CO_(2) fixation.However,due to the thermodynamic stability and kinetic inertness of CO_(2) and the difficulty in controlling the regioselectivity,the carboxylation of olefins with CO_(2) still remains challenging.Radical-type functionalization with olefins represented a powerful protocol and enabled the development of novel transformations in this realm.More recently,the advance of new technology,such as photoredox catalysis and the renaissance of electrochemistry in organic synthesis,offered access to unique chemical reactivities of radical precursors and provided new solutions to the functionalization of olefins.

Organo-electroreduction enables arylcarboxylation of styrenes

Electroreduction offers an alternative to generate high active intermediates from electrophiles(halides, alkenes, etc.) in organic synthesis. However, it still remains challenge to enable the transformations in controlled fashion for substrates with similar reduction potentials. Herein, an electroreductive arylcarboxylation of styrenes with aryl halides and CO_(2)promoted by an organomediator has been developed. The reaction exhibits the remarkable reactivity control between styrenes and aryl halides bearing very similar reduction potentials, which is enabled by the addition of a simple organic mediator. The mediated process for different kinds of aryl halides(iodides and bromides) could be achieved by simply tuning the electronic effect of the skeleton of naphthalene. This protocol displays a broad substrate scope and the extension to late-stage modification of biorelevant molecules and their derivatives showed a bright prospect. Moreover, density functional theory(DFT) calculations and mechanistic studies have been conducted and provide solid support to rationalize the selectivity and reactivity control observed.

Electro-reductive carboxylation of C–Cl bonds in unactivated alkyl chlorides and polyvinyl chloride with CO_(2)

The carboxylation of readily available organo halides with CO_(2)represents a practical strategy to afford valuable carboxylic acids.However,efficient carboxylation of inexpensive unactivated alkyl chlorides is still underdeveloped.Herein,we report the electro-reductive carboxylation of C–Cl bonds in unactivated chlorides and polyvinyl chloride with CO_(2).A variety of alkyl carboxylic acids are obtained in moderate to good yields under mild conditions with high chemoselectivity.Importantly,the utility of this electroreductive carboxylation is demonstrated with great potential in polyvinyl chloride(PVC)upgrading,which could convert discarded PVC from hydrophobic to hydrophilic functional products.Mechanistic experiments support the successive single electron reduction of unactivated chlorides to generate alkyl anion species and following nucleophilic attack on CO_(2)to give desired products.

Visible-Light Photoredox-Catalyzed Carbon/Carboxylation of Alkenes with Malonates and CO_(2)

A photoredox-catalyzed cascade carbon/carboxylation of activated alkenes with malonates acetals and CO_(2) has been achieved,leading to a range of functionalized 1,1,3-tricarboxylates in good efficiency under mild reaction conditions.This reaction provides a facile and sustainable method for the synthesis of tricarboxylates by using CO_(2) as the carboxylic source.

Advances in Dearomative Carboxylation of Aromatic Compounds with Carbon Dioxide

Dearomative carboxylation of aromatic compounds with carbon dioxide(CO_(2))could be utilized for the synthesis of cyclic carboxylative frameworks.The dearomative carboxylation exhibits advantages such as reconstitution molecular spatial structure,environmental friendliness,mild conditions,high yield,and high selectivity,and is of significant importance in pharmaceutical synthesis and natural product chemistry.The recent advancements in the dearomative carboxylation of aromatics with CO_(2) are summarized,including elucidation of the reaction characteristics and the scope of substrates via transition-metal catalysis,photoredox catalysis,and electropromoted chemistry.

Electro-reductive carboxylation of acyclic C(sp^(3))–C(sp^(3))bonds in aromatic hydrocarbons with CO_(2)

Despite the recent advances in the selective functionalization of C–C bonds in specific substrates,cleavage and functionalization of C–C bonds in acyclic substrates,such as ethane derivatives,remains challenging.In contrast to the well-developed functionalization of one carbon fragment after C–C bond cleavage,herein,we report a novel electro-reductive carboxylation of C(sp^(3))–C(sp^(3))bond in multi-aryl ethanes with carbon dioxide(CO_(2))by utilizing both carbon fragments.Thus,this reaction exhibits an atom-,step-economic approach for the synthesis of carboxylic acids,fulfilling principal aspirations of organic synthesis.Moreover,this method features mild reaction conditions,broad substrate scope,and good functional group tolerance.Symmetric and asymmetric substrates bearing primary,secondary,or tertiary C(sp^(3))–C(sp^(3))bonds are all amenable to this strategy,enabling one or two structurally different carboxylic acids to be facilely constructed at the same time.Mechanistic investigations indicate that carbanions might be the key intermediates in this reaction,which could be captured by CO_(2)efficiently.

Advances in electrocarboxylation reactions with CO_(2)

Recently,significant research has been conducted on the conversion of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))into value-added chemicals.With the decreasing cost of clean electricity,electrochemical methods have emerged as potential approaches for converting and fixing CO_(2).Organic electrochemical synthesis is a promising method for utilizing CO_(2)because it transforms CO_(2)into higher-value chemicals.This review introduces the research aspects of CO_(2)conversion and the mechanisms of CO_(2)organic electrocarboxylation reactions.Recent progress in electrocarboxylation with CO_(2)is discussed,considering organic substrates and cathode types under different reaction mechanisms.Finally,the challenges and prospects in this field are highlighted with the aim of further promoting the fundamental understanding of CO_(2)organic electrocarboxylation.