Cationic Multidentate Halogen-Bond Donors in Halide Abstraction Organocatalysis: Catalyst Optimization by Preorganization

In contrast to hydrogen bonding, which is firmly established in organocatalysis, there are still very few applications of halogen bonding in this field. Herein, we present the first catalytic application of cationic halogen-bond donors in a halide abstraction reaction. First, halopyridinium-, haloimidazolium-, and halo-1,2,3-triazolium-based catalysts were systematically tested. In contrast to the pyridinium compounds, both the imidazolium and the triazolium salts showed promising potency. For the haloimidazolium-based organocatalysts, we could show that the catalytic activity is based on halogen bonding using, e.g., the chlorinated derivatives as reference compounds. On the basis of these studies, halobenzimidazolium organocatalysts were then investigated. Monodentate compounds featured the same trends as the corresponding imidazolium analogues but showed a stronger catalytic activity. In order to prepare bidentate versions which are preorganized for anion binding, a new class of rigid bis­(halobenzimidazolium) compounds was synthesized and structurally characterized. The corresponding syn isomer showed unprecedented catalytic potency and could be used in as low as 0.5 mol % in the benchmark reaction of 1-chloroisochroman with a silyl enol ether. Calculations confirmed that the syn isomer may bind in a bidentate fashion to chloride. The respective anti isomer is less active and binds halides in a monodentate fashion. Kinetic investigations confirmed that the syn isomer led to a 20-fold rate acceleration compared to a neutral tridentate halogen-bond donor. The strength of the preorganized halogen-bond donor seems to approach the limit under the reaction conditions, as decomposition is observed in the presence of chloride in the same solvent at higher temperatures. Calorimetric titrations of the syn isomer with bromide confirmed the strong halogen-bond donor strength of the former (<i>K</i> ≈ 4 × 10⁶ M^–1, Δ<i>G</i> ≈ 38 kJ/mol)