Domino/cascade-type processes

There is certain confusion in the Hterature with respect to terminology of one-pot/ tandem or domino/cascade-type processes. We understand under true domino/cascade processes, those where the intermediate cannot be isolated and the individual steps cannot be performed separately. Contrary conventional reactions performed sequentially are referred as tandem reactions, and they can provide significant process improvements when performed in a one-pot fashion. 

Abstract Sequentially palladium-catalyzed reactions consist of combinations of identical, related, or significantly different palladium-catalyzed processes that occur in a sequential or consecutive fashion in the same reaction vessel without addition of further amounts of catalyst to the reaction media. This novel type of cascade reaction can be elaborated into both domino and multicomponent processes and represents a significant contribution to the highly topical field of diversity-oriented synthesis. 

A domino Diels-Alder reaction (the term was chosen from the well-known game) is a one-pot process involving two or more Diels-Alder reactions carried out under the same reaction conditions without adding additional reagents or catalyst such that the second, third, etc., cycloaddition is the consequence of the functionality generated in the previous reaction. A historical example is illustrated in Equation 1.28 [60]. This type of transformation is sometimes named tandem or cascade, but these terms seem less appropriate for describing a time-resolved transformation. 

In this chapter the combinations of different chemical steps in one process are always called domino process although some authors may have used the word tandem or cascade. We prefer the word domino over tandem and cascade since domino is not used in any other context in chemistry and thus facilitates the search for this type of transformation in the literature. On the other hand, the word tandem does not describe these time-resolved processes in a proper way, since it means two at the same time. 

As an extension of the Heck reaction, Pd-catalyzed hydroarylation of alkynes and alkenes continnes to attract high level of research interest in simple couphng processes and in cyclization reactions. The use of this type of transformation as part of a domino reaction will be of increasing interest. The research in the field of domino reactions is attracting considerable attention in synthetic organic chemistry since it enables the rapid assembly of complex molecirles in one-pot processes. Very elegant examples of palladium-catalyzed cascade processes where a single catalytic cycle entails several sequential bond transformations have been recently reported [la, b, 2a, b, c]. 

Padwa et al. (187,188) concisely summarized his domino cycloaddition/ A -acyliminium ion cyclization cascade process, which involves sequentially the generation of an isomiinchnone 1,3-dipole, intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction, 77-acyliminium ion formation, and, hnally, Mannich cyclization. Kappe and co-workers (189) utilized Padwa s cyclization-cycloaddition cascade methodology to construct several rigid compounds that mimic the putative receptor-bound conformation of dihydropyridine-type calcium channel modulators. 

In this section, only examples of Mizoroki-Heck reactions where a proper addition of the cr -aryl- or a -alkeny Ipalladium(II) complex to a double bond of an alkene or alkyne occurs are considered. As a consequence, an often-met deviation from the classic Mizoroki-Heck mechanism, the so-called cyclopalladation, will not be treated in further detail [12, 18]. However, as it is of some importance, especially in heterocycle formation and mainly because it will be encountered later during polycyclization cases, it shall be mentioned briefly below. Palladacycles are assumed to be intermediates in intramolecular Mizoroki-Heck reactions when j3-elimination of the formed intermediate cannot occur. These are frequently postulated as intermediates during intramolecular aryl-aryl Mizoroki-Heck reactions under dehydrohalogenation (Scheme 6.1). The reactivity of these palladacycles is strongly correlated to their size. Six-membered and larger palladacycles quickly undergo reductive elimination, whereas the five-membered species can, for example, lead to Mizoroki-Heck-type domino or cascade processes [18,19]. 

More complex cascade processes involving this type of three-component couphng include the Cu(I)-catalyzed cascade coupling/cyclization reaction for the synthesis of 2-(aminomethyl) indoles 104 (Scheme 5.69) [72] and 105 (Scheme 5.70) [73], and the Cu(I)-catalyzed domino three-component coupling/cyclization/N-arylation reaction, which provided a concise synthesis of indole-fused 1,4-diazepines 106 (Scheme 5.71) [74]. 

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