摘要:
Disclosed herein is the catalyst-controlled site-selective activation of β- and γ-methylene C-H bonds of free carboxylic acids which heretofore was unknown and has remained a tremendous challenge. Described herein in the enablement of such chemical reactivity with ubiquitous dicarboxylic acids which possess inert, methylene-rich backbones and dual functional groups which opened up pathways for the construction of complex molecular scaffolds for organic synthesis. Herein we show that with a pair of palladium catalysts, it is possible to perform highly site-selective monolactonization reactions with a wide range of dicarboxylic acids, generating topologically diverse and synthetically useful γ- and δ-lactones via site-selective β- or γ-methylene C-H activation. The remaining carboxyl group serves as a versatile linchpin for further synthetic applications as demonstrated by the total synthesis of two natural products, myrotheciumone A and pedi cellosine, from abundant dicarboxylic acids.