Rotaxanes with integrated photoswitches: design principles, functional behavior, and emerging applications

• Jullyane Emi Matsushima,
• Khushbu,
• Zuliah Abdulsalam,
• Udyogi Navodya Kulathilaka Conthagamage and
• Víctor García-López

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2345–2366, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.179

• capable of modulating reaction stereoselectivity. Hydrazone Hydrazones undergo trans–cis isomerization at the C=N bond when exposed to light, and in some instances, they can also undergo thermal isomerization (Figure 2) [69]. Although there are early reports of hydrazone derivatives in rotaxanes [70], the

Pd-catalyzed dehydrogenative arylation of arylhydrazines to access non-symmetric azobenzenes, including tetra-ortho derivatives

• Loris Geminiani,
• Kathrin Junge,
• Matthias Beller and
• Jean-François Soulé

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2234–2242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.170

• intricate and inefficient using these standard synthetic protocols. The transition-metal-catalyzed C–N bond formation has emerged as a viable route to access non-symmetric azobenzenes, owing to the broad functional group tolerance of Buchwald–Hartwig amination reactions [34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. Kong

• hydrazines. Their method involved a three-step process comprising Cu and Pd-catalyzed C–N bond formations followed by a dehydrogenative deprotection step (Figure 1b, top) [42]. This desymmetric approach was further employed by Oestreich and co-workers in 2022, who introduced silicon-masked diazenyl anions in

• contrast to classic Buchwald–Hartwig couplings – aryl bromides with substituents at the ortho-position (3a and 3c–g) are more reactive than those with substituents at the para-position (3b and 3h–l). This difference might be explained by steric repulsion, which may favor C–N-bond coupling with the terminal

A m-quaterphenyl probe for absolute configurational assignments of primary and secondary amines

• Yuka Takeuchi,
• Mutsumi Kobayashi,
• Yuuka Gotoh,
• Mari Ikeda,
• Yoichi Habata,
• Tomohiko Shirai and
• Shunsuke Kuwahara

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2211–2219, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.168

• derivatives [41] the preferred conformation of (S)-2a can be proposed (Figure 2). In the case of the P conformer, a Newman projection along the C–N bond reveals that the bulkier substituent, the hydroxymethyl group (denoted as L), is close to a seven-membered ring, and is destabilized by steric repulsion with

Understanding the origin of stereoselectivity in the photochemical denitrogenation of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]heptene and its derivatives with non-adiabatic molecular dynamics

• Leticia A. Gomes and
• Steven A. Lopez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2007–2020, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.156

• , and T2, conical intersections, transition structures, and singlet–triplet crossing were computed using CASSCF(10,8)/6-31G(d)//MP2/6-31G(d) [81]. The results suggested a stepwise C–N bond breaking with the formation of the diazenyl diradical intermediate [81]. In 2003, Olivucci and his co-workers

• inverted housane [83]. Chen and Li explored the potential energy surfaces and surface crossing points of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.1.1]hex-2-ene with CASPT2(12,10)/6-31G(d)//CASSCF(12,10)/6-31G(d,p) in 2006 and concluded that on the S1 surface one C–N bond is broken [84]. In 2011, Abe and co-workers investigated

• the denitrogenation mechanism of 7,7‐diethoxy‐2,3‐diazabicyclo[2.2.1]hept‐2‐ene, showing that a stepwise C–N-bond cleavage is energetically favored using broken‐symmetry (BS)‐(U)CCSD/6‐31G(d) and suggested that an equatorial conformation of the diazinyl diradical leads to the formation of the inverted

Photoswitches beyond azobenzene: a beginner’s guide

• Michela Marcon,
• Christoph Haag and
• Burkhard König

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1808–1853, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.143

• already known as dye [89] have only been studied very recently. Exchanging the C=C bond for a C=N bond gives a new subclass of extremely short-lived T-type photoswitches with visible light activation, thermal half-lives in the µs range, and very large spectral separation. The study of iminothioindoxyl

• the stator shortens the thermal half-life due to a change in mechanism, from inversion to rotation around the C=N bond (Scheme 32B). Due to the direct conjugation of NMe2 with the hydrazone core, both isomers of 102 are red-shifted, resulting in strong spectral overlap which gives only 27% of the E

• -E (Figure 18) that leads to a weakening of the C=N bond and consequent rotation mechanism (similar to 103 in Scheme 32C). This hypothesis was corroborated by the same trend in the presence of the base Et3N. Acylhydrazones 110 are also worth mentioning in this section for their structural and

Fe-catalyzed efficient synthesis of 2,4- and 4-substituted quinolines via C(sp²)–C(sp²) bond scission of styrenes

• Prafull A. Jagtap,
• Manish M. Petkar,
• Vaishnavi R. Sawant and
• Bhalchandra M. Bhanage

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1799–1807, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.142

• employed an I2/DMSO-facilitated C–C bond-scission strategy of styrenes, followed by C–N bond formation and subsequent [4 + 2] annulation. Jiang and co-workers developed a method for synthesizing 4-substituted quinolines using vinyl azides as dual synthons, facilitating both the C–C and C–N bond cleavage

Unique halogen–π association detected in single crystals of C–N atropisomeric N-(2-halophenyl)quinolin-2-one derivatives and the thione analogue

• Mai Uchibori,
• Nanami Murate,
• Kanako Shima,
• Tatsunori Sakagami,
• Ko Kanehisa,
• Gary James Richards,
• Akiko Hori and
• Osamu Kitagawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1748–1756, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.138

• )quinoline-2-thione, heterochiral layered polymers, in which (P)- and (M)-atropisomers were alternately connected, were formed through an n–π* interaction between a lone electron pair on the bromine atom and a π* orbital of the quinoline-2-thione. Keywords: atropisomers; C–N bond; halogen bond; quinolinones

• poor (11% ee and 9% ee) [31]. In addition, rotational stability about the C–N bond in 1a,b was not mentioned at all. We prepared racemates rac-1a,b in accordance with Scheme 1 and separated their enantiomers [(P)-1a,b and (M)-1a,b] through medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC) using a semi

Preparation of a furfural-derived enantioenriched vinyloxazoline building block and exploring its reactivity

• Madara Darzina,
• Anna Lielpetere and
• Aigars Jirgensons

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1737–1741, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.136

• attack to the double bond in intermediate A is kinetically preferred from the face forming the R-configured carbon of the C–N bond as a result of a minimized steric interaction of the oxygen in zwitterion with iPr substituent of oxazoline. Conclusion Unsaturated ester obtained by Torii-type ester

3-Aryl-2H-azirines as annulation reagents in the Ni(II)-catalyzed synthesis of 1H-benzo[4,5]thieno[3,2-b]pyrroles

• Julia I. Pavlenko,
• Pavel A. Sakharov,
• Anastasiya V. Agafonova,
• Derenik A. Isadzhanyan,
• Alexander F. Khlebnikov and
• Mikhail S. Novikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1595–1602, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.123

• to the azirine C=N bond, followed by cyclization and the aziridine ring opening into the [3 + 2] cycloaddition product 5 (Scheme 3). It is noteworthy that the annulation proceeds via the azirine N‒C3 bond cleavage. Elimination of the methoxycarbonyl group most likely occurs under the action of

pH-Controlled isomerization kinetics of ortho-disubstituted benzamidines: E/Z isomerism and axial chirality

• Ryota Kimura,
• Satoshi Ichikawa and
• Akira Katsuyama

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.120

• barriers by protonation, providing a novel approach to control the kinetics of isomerization via pH adjustment. The results showed that protonation of the amidine moiety significantly suppresses both C–N bond rotation and C–N/C–C concerted rotation, demonstrating the potential of ortho-disubstituted

• switches [19]. For example, hydrazone-based molecular switches undergo reversible E/Z isomerization around the C=N bond [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], with protonation significantly shifting the equilibrium. Beyond double-bond isomerization, pH stimuli have also been employed to modulate rotational barriers in

• substitution of an ortho-disubstituted benzamide (DiBA) increases the rotational barrier of the C–N and C–N/C–C concerted rotation (Figure 1a,b) [20]. The observation can be explained mainly by the double-bond nature of the chalcogen amide C–N bond, which is attributed to a zwitterionic resonance structure of

Facile synthesis of hydantoin/1,2,4-oxadiazoline spiro-compounds via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to 5-iminohydantoins

• Juliana V. Petrova,
• Varvara T. Tkachenko,
• Victor A. Tafeenko,
• Anna S. Pestretsova,
• Vadim S. Pokrovsky,
• Maxim E. Kukushkin and
• Elena K. Beloglazkina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1552–1560, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.118

• aromatic core hinders rotation around the C–N bond. Cytotoxicity The cytotoxic properties of hydantoin/1,2,4-oxadiazoline spiro-compounds were investigated using the MTT [42] assay on human colorectal carcinoma cell line HCT116. To evaluate the cytotoxicity of the compounds in vitro, cells were placed in

• -CH3 to -OCH3 led to a decrease in IC50 by at least 20 µM and turned out to be comparable to that obtained for 5d. Conclusion In this study, we firstly investigated the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides to 5-iminohydantoins at their exocyclic C=N bond. A convenient preparative

Tautomerism and switching in 7-hydroxy-8-(azophenyl)quinoline and similar compounds

• Lidia Zaharieva,
• Vera Deneva,
• Fadhil S. Kamounah,
• Nikolay Vassilev,
• Ivan Angelov,
• Michael Pittelkow and
• Liudmil Antonov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1404–1421, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.105

• E/Z isomerization around the C=N bond leads to reduced efficiency of the tautomeric based switching [52]. In this respect, based on the excellent stability of the azo compounds, it is interesting to understand the effect of the competitive proton transfer and E/Z switching by replacement of the

Recent advances in synthetic approaches for bioactive cinnamic acid derivatives

• Betty A. Kustiana,
• Galuh Widiyarti and
• Teni Ernawati

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1031–1086, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.85

• proceeding via C–N-bond cleavage of the oxidized tertiary amine 116 (Scheme 35) [70]. Cinnamic acid (7) was activated by forming the acyl radical 118 after −OPyf group cleavage from 117. Recently, Li and co-workers (2024) studied visible-light-mediated FeCl3-catalyzed reductive transamidation of nitro

Pd-Catalyzed asymmetric allylic amination with isatin using a P,olefin-type chiral ligand with C–N bond axial chirality

• Natsume Akimoto,
• Kaho Takaya,
• Yoshio Kasashima,
• Kohei Watanabe,
• Yasushi Yoshida and
• Takashi Mino

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1018–1023, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.83

• ligands with axial chirality for Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions. For example, the Zhou group reported a P,olefin-type chiral ligand 3 with C–C bond axial chirality for this reaction (Figure 2) [27]. Additionally, we have recently reported chiral ligands with C–N bond axial

Recent advances in controllable/divergent synthesis

• Jilei Cao,
• Leiyang Bai and
• Xuefeng Jiang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 890–914, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.73

• compounds 78 or 79 under ruthenium catalysis, generating indoles 81 and 3H-indoles 80, respectively (Scheme 21) [52]. α-Diazo-β-ketoesters form indoles by cleaving the C(N₂)–C(acyl) bond, while diazomalonates form 3H-indoles through C–N-bond cleavage. Mechanistically, the cyclometalation of iminamides

• into the carbenoid unit, providing heptacyclic ruthenium ring intermediate Int-77. Intermediate Int-78 is then formed via ruthenium migration insertion into the C=N bond from Ru–C(alkyl). For diazoketoester substrates, the final product 81 is released from Int-78 through protonation, intramolecular

• different substituents and polysubstituted annular boronic acids 98, a Suzuki coupling was employed to synthesize advanced isoquinoline intermediates 100. Following this, a 6π electrocyclization reaction and nucleophilic reaction were developed to achieve C–C and C–N bond constructions, respectively

Formaldehyde surrogates in multicomponent reactions

• Cecilia I. Attorresi,
• Javier A. Ramírez and
• Bernhard Westermann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 564–595, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.45

• containing a PH bond adds to the C=N bond of a preformed imine 30, while in the three-component Kabachnik–Fields reaction, the imine, which is generated in situ from a carbonyl compound and an amine, reacts with the dialkyl phosphite to produce the desired α-aminophosphonates 32 (Scheme 25) [72][74]. This

Synthesis of N-acetyl diazocine derivatives via cross-coupling reaction

• Thomas Brandt,
• Pascal Lentes,
• Jeremy Rudtke,
• Michael Hösgen,
• Christian Näther and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 490–499, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.36

• amination is a versatile and powerful tool for C–N bond formation and widely applied in the synthesis of new pharmaceutical substances [29][30][31]. Furthermore, azobenzenes [32][33], as well as diazocines [34][35], have been derivatized via Buchwald–Hartwig amination. The Buchwald–Hartwig amination of

Dioxazolones as electrophilic amide sources in copper-catalyzed and -mediated transformations

• Seungmin Lee,
• Minsuk Kim,
• Hyewon Han and
• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 200–216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.12

• potential bioactivity [70][71][72][73]. Despite the development of synthetic approaches for six-membered lactams, including transition-metal-catalyzed transformations, several limitations remain, particularly with regard to regioselectivity and asymmetric C–N bond formation, which are still limited. In 2023

• , the Chang group elegantly unveiled a protocol for an enantioselective C–N bond formation, introducing δ-lactams from dioxazolones using a copper(I) catalyst and a chiral BOX ligand [74]. As shown in Scheme 2, dioxazolones containing aryl and heteroaryl groups were converted into the corresponding

• nitrenoid intermediate was characterized by the same group [75]. Further radical rebound from INT-4 induces the enantioselective C–N bond formation. Finally, the desired product 2 is released from INT-4, regenerating the active chiral copper species to participate in the catalytic cycle. 1.2 C(sp2)–H

Recent advances in electrochemical copper catalysis for modern organic synthesis

• Yemin Kim and
• Won Jun Jang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 155–178, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.9

• ’ and Fu’s asymmetric C–N bond cross-coupling reactions by merging photoredox catalysis with copper catalysis [29][30]. Building on the success of photoredox catalysis, electrochemistry has emerged as a complementary and attractive strategy for promoting sustainability of organic synthesis. By offering

• the product are accessible by adjusting the two distinct chiral catalysts. C–N Bond formation In 2018, Mei et al. developed the electrochemical C–H amination of arenes with amine electrophiles using copper catalysis, which provided a step-economical approach for the synthesis of aromatic amines by

• undergoes reductive elimination to provide the desired enantioenriched nitrile product 111 and Cu(I) catalyst 116. The resulting Cu(I) catalyst 116 is reoxidized to Cu(II) 117 at the anode, completing the catalytic cycle. Coupling reaction (Chan–Lam coupling) Transition metal-catalyzed C–N bond formation

Cu(OTf)₂-catalyzed multicomponent reactions

• Sara Colombo,
• Camilla Loro,
• Egle M. Beccalli,
• Gianluigi Broggini and
• Marta Papis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 122–145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.7

• , which favors the approach of the reaction centers. It is again a metal coordination that activates the C–C double bond towards an intramolecular reaction to give the tetrahydropyrazole XXX via formation of a C–N bond. The final oxidation in air gives the 4,5-dihydropyrazole 31. Cu(OTf)2 is also capable

• the mechanism is the attack of the protonated pyridin-2-one to the copper-complex of the enamine XXXII resulting from the reaction between acetophenone and O-tosylhydroxylamine, which occurs with elimination of TsOH. The so-obtained imino–copper complex XXXIII gives rise to an intramolecular C–N bond

Recent advances in organocatalytic atroposelective reactions

• Henrich Szabados and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 55–121, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.6

• cyclization takes place, subsequent β-H elimination, and C–N-bond cleavage lead to the axially chiral indolylaniline 212. Heterobiaryl aldehydes 217a–o and aminobenzamides 218a–g reacted in the presence of CPA C50 leading to axially chiral products 219 (Scheme 64) [94]. Investigating various combinations of

Non-covalent organocatalyzed enantioselective cyclization reactions of α,β-unsaturated imines

• Sergio Torres-Oya and
• Mercedes Zurro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3221–3255, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.268

• (Scheme 3). The reaction of 3-isothiocyanatooxindoles 4 and ketimines 7 led to the (3 + 2) cycloaddition through the C=C bond of the α,β-unsaturated imine instead of the C=N bond, affording various spirocyclic derivatives 8 with excellent yields (92–98%), diastereoselectivities (15:1–20:1 dr), and

• alcohol E isomer and it coordinated to the squaramide in an effective orientation, a stepwise mechanism is taking place. Firstly, the dienolate adds to the azadiene which is followed by cyclization with formation of the C–N bond. Finally, protonation leads to the formation of the desired derivative. The

Ceratinadin G, a new psammaplysin derivative possessing a cyano group from a sponge of the genus Pseudoceratina

• Shin-ichiro Kurimoto,
• Kouta Inoue,
• Taito Ohno and
• Takaaki Kubota

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3215–3220, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.267

• cyano group in compound 1 [13][14][15]. In the IR spectrum of 1, an absorption attributed to the stretching vibration of the C≡N bond was observed at 2234 cm−1, although its intensity was very weak (Figure S8 in Supporting Information File 1). It is known that when an atom with an electron-withdrawing

Recent advances in transition-metal-free arylation reactions involving hypervalent iodine salts

• Ritu Mamgain,
• Kokila Sakthivel and
• Fateh V. Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2891–2920, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.243

• strong C–N bond. The ring opening incorporated nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, carbon, and halogen-containing nucleophiles and their derivatives. The substrate scope was examined with numerous aryl groups on iodonium salts 40 and the progress of aryl migration happens fruitfully by considering electronic

Synthesis of spiroindolenines through a one-pot multistep process mediated by visible light

• Francesco Gambuti,
• Jacopo Pizzorno,
• Chiara Lambruschini,
• Renata Riva and
• Lisa Moni

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2722–2731, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.230

• ] 3. Based on our experience on the use of graphene oxide (GO) as heterogeneous catalyst to promote MCRs and subsequent C–N bond oxidation [16][21], we first investigated the GO-promoted oxidation of N-Ph-THIQ and the subsequent 3C Ugi reaction to give α-aminoamidine 2a. Applying the previously

• . Interestingly, different solvents, such as trifluoroethanol or acetonitrile (Table 1, entries 5 and 6), had a low impact, affording 2a in acceptable yield. The possibility of conducting the MCR in acetonitrile, the same solvent in which the oxidation of the C–N bond is performed, pushed us to perform the

• indicates that the second oxidation is faster than the multicomponent reaction, as intermediate 2d is not accumulated in the reaction mixture, but easily undergoes the C–N bond oxidation and the subsequent cyclization. A probable mechanistic pathway for the formation of spiro-indolenine is outlined in