A room-temperature-stable electride and its reactivity: Reductive benzene/pyridine couplings and solvent-free Birch reductions
Nathan Davison, James A. Quirk, Floriana Tuna, David Collison, Claire L. McMullin, Hannes Michaels, George H. Morritt, Paul G. Waddell, Jamie A. Gould, Marina Freitag, James A. Dawson, Erli Lu
Abstract
A room-temperature-stable electride and its reactivity: Reductive benzene/pyridine couplings and solvent-free Birch reductions Organic synthesis is playing underpinning roles in industries and academic research. But from a sustainability perspective, current organic synthesis protocols are criticized for the usage of petrochemical-derived solvents and precious-metal reagents. Herein, we report an unprecedented facile preparation of an enabling reagent, namely a room-temperature-stable electride (RoSE). Utilizing the RoSE reagent, we phase out transition-metal reagents and solvents from two notoriously unsustainable organic reactions: (1) benzene and pyridine C-H activation and C-C coupling and (2) arene Birch reduction.