Pathway economy in cyclization of 1,n-enynes

• Hezhen Han,
• Wenjie Mao,
• Bin Lin,
• Maosheng Cheng,
• Lu Yang and
• Yongxiang Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2260–2282, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.173

• structures, demonstrating notable utility in the synthesis of this biologically significant alkaloid. In 2020, Sanz and co-workers developed a gold(I)-catalyzed strategy achieving stereoselective construction of alkylidenecyclopentenes and benzene derivatives (Scheme 31) [44]. Notably, this study pioneered

• intermediate 150. Subsequent aromatization and ring expansion afforded benzene derivatives 151 (Scheme 31, path a). Conversely, E-configured substrates underwent gold-catalyzed alkyne activation, triggering terminal alkene 5-exo-dig cyclization to form carbocationic intermediate 152. Alcohols nucleophilically

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

• reported in Buchwald–Hartwig reactions, enhances yield by facilitating the reduction of Pd(II) to Pd(0) and improving the solubility of the base [56]. To ensure the generality of the conditions, 1-bromo-2-(trifluoromethoxy)benzene was also tested, yielding the desired azobenzene 3c in 69% yield with the

• proved to be a suitable coupling partner, enabling the preparation of azoarene 3p in 70% yield. Moreover, starting from 1,4-dibromobenzene and 2 equivalents of 1a, a double reaction occurred, enabling the one-step synthesis of 1,4-bis[(E)-2-phenyldiazenyl]benzene (3q) in high yield. We next investigated

C2 to C6 biobased carbonyl platforms for fine chemistry

• Jingjing Jiang,
• Muhammad Noman Haider Tariq,
• Florence Popowycz,
• Yanlong Gu and
• Yves Queneau

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2103–2172, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.165

• aqueous-phase reforming (APR) technology for the production of light hydrocarbons and hydrogen in a single step from aqueous organic phases [97] containing 1-hydroxypropan-2-one (acetol), ethanol, benzene-1,2-diol (catechol), acetic acid or mixtures thereof. The process was conducted over various Ni-based

• catalysts including Ni/CeO2-γAl2O3, spinal NiAl2O4 and Ni/La2O3-αAl2O3, at 230 °C and 3.2 MPa. Using a chiral catalyst composed of [RuCl2(benzene)]2 and SunPhos, an effective asymmetric hydrogenation of α-hydroxy ketones was reported, yielding chiral terminal 1,2-diols in up to 99% ee. This Ru-catalyzed

Aryl iodane-induced cascade arylation–1,2-silyl shift–heterocyclization of propargylsilanes under copper catalysis

• Rasma Kroņkalne,
• Rūdolfs Beļaunieks,
• Armands Sebris,
• Anatoly Mishnev and
• Māris Turks

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1984–1994, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.154

• techniques, indicating that the observed arylation–cyclization cascade reaction is highly stereospecific. With this result in hand, we performed copper catalyst screening (Table 3). We observed that CuCl and the CuOTf benzene complex gave similarly good yields (82–84% by NMR, Table 3, entries 2 and 4), while

Synthesis of N-doped chiral macrocycles by regioselective palladium-catalyzed arylation

• Shuhai Qiu and
• Junzhi Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1917–1923, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.149

• ][21][22][23]. In addition to benzene-based systems, pyridine-embedded aza[1n]metacyclophanes have been synthesized by Wang [24]. Despite these advances, N-doped chiral macrocycles incorporating extended π-conjugated moieties remain largely underexplored. To date, only a few examples, carbazole-based

• could be viewed as the aza[14]metacyclophane derivatives, in which two benzene rings are replaced by two pyrenes. The Pd-catalyzed arylation of 3a with Pd(OAc)2, PMe(t-Bu)2·HBF4 and DBU under microwave conditions gave two isomeric macrocycles MC1 and MC2 with four newly formed C–C bonds in yields of 5

Chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of helically chiral, planarly chiral and inherently chiral molecules

• Wei Liu and
• Xiaoyu Yang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1864–1889, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.145

• electrophilic amination reaction of the aniline moiety with azodicarboxylates [37][38], the introduction of a bulky hydrazine group restricted the free flipping of the benzene ring, leading to the formation of planar chiral macrocycle 33 with high enantioselectivity (Scheme 9). Substrate scope studies

• restrict the benzene ring flipping (see 33c). Notably, the use of a bulkier NHBn directing group allowed for the extension of the ansa chain to 15–19 members (see 33d,e), while preserving planar chirality and functional group compatibility. Remarkably, the chiral paracyclophane product 33a could be

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

• coupling with aryl iodides. The monosubstituted product 78 can be further functionalised with any of the previous methods [67]. Hemiindigos 81 and 82 are synthesised by generation of 80 via reaction with (diacetoxyiodo)benzene (PIDA) in the presence of base, followed by reaction with the corresponding

• weaken the hydrogen bonds between N–H and the ester moieties of the rotor and the stator. The Cigáň group focused on the synthesis of benzoylpyridine hydrazones with different substitutions in the rotor benzene [97]. The p-NMe2 group causes red-shift of both absorption maxima of the E- and Z-isomer

Research progress on calixarene/pillararene-based controlled drug release systems

• Liu-Huan Yi,
• Jian Qin,
• Si-Ran Lu,
• Liu-Pan Yang,
• Li-Li Wang and
• Huan Yao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1757–1785, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.139

• , connected via methylene bridges. The most common CAs usually consist of 4, 6, or 8 phenolic units (Figure 2) [47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. The upper rim of CAs is equipped with hydrophobic alkyl groups, which, together with the benzene rings, form a hydrophobic cavity. In contrast, the lower rim consists of

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

• -electron on the quinolinone benzene ring, while that in optically pure forms is caused by an n–π* interaction between a lone electron pair on the halogen atom and a π* orbital of the quinolinone. In contrast to the formation of the homochiral layered polymer in quinolinones, in racemic N-(2-bromophenyl

• vapour diffusion of hexane into a methanol solution of the compound at room temperature) and their X-ray crystal structural analyses were performed (Figure 2) [33]. In the crystals of rac-1a, a π-type intermolecular interaction between the bromine atom and the benzene ring of the quinolinone was found

• , the chlorine atom interacts with two carbon atoms (C5 and C6) of the benzene ring, the two bond distances (Cl···C5,6) and two bond angles (C–Cl···C5,6) were 3.42, 3.27 Å and 164.5, 154.4°, respectively. The formation of homochiral layered polymers through intermolecular halogen–π interactions was also

On the aromaticity and photophysics of 1-arylbenzo[a]imidazo[5,1,2-cd]indolizines as bicolor fluorescent molecules for barium tagging in the study of double-beta decay of ¹³⁶Xe

• Eric Iván Velazco-Cabral,
• Fernando Auria-Luna,
• Juan Molina-Canteras,
• Miguel A. Vázquez,
• Iván Rivilla and
• Fernando P. Cossío

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1627–1638, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.126

• of this second reaction was calculated to be of 28 kcal/mol, slightly lower than the aromatic stabilization energy (ASE) and isomerization stabilization energy (ISE) calculated for benzene [20] (see reaction D in Scheme 1). Most likely this lowering stems from the strain imposed to the ortho

• stabilization energy of benzene (15). Combination of these latter equations yields This second averaged equation results in a computed stabilization energy of ⟨ΔECD⟩ = −20.5 kcal/mol, 2.1 kcal/mol lower than that calculated for ⟨ΔEAB⟩. These results indicate that there is a noticeable interplay between the

• possible. The role of the crown ether and the para-phenylene moieties was also analyzed. The interactions of different sized crown ethers with Ba2+ and coordination with the aromatic ring modeled by means of benzene (14, highlighted in yellow in Scheme 2) were studied computationally. Although the

Transition-state aromaticity and its relationship with reactivity in pericyclic reactions

• Israel Fernández

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1613–1626, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.125

• [1][2][3]. Initially introduced to account for the remarkable stability, low reactivity, and unique structural features of benzene and related aromatic hydrocarbons, the concept has undergone a significant evolution [4]. Since the introduction of the famous Hückel’s (4n + 2) rule [5], first clearly

• been introduced [7][8][9][10][11]. The concept of aromaticity was also extended to the transition states (TSs) of concerted pericyclic reactions as early as 1938 when Evans and Warhurst [12] recognized the relationship between the six π-electrons of benzene and the six delocalized electrons in the

• transition structure of the Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction between butadiene and ethylene “…Very qualitatively, we may say that whereas in the initial state the mobile electrons are those characteristics of an ethylene and a butadiene structure, in the TS they simulate the behavior of a benzene molecule

Synthesis of optically active folded cyclic dimers and trimers

• Ena Kumamoto,
• Kana Ogawa,
• Kazunori Okamoto and
• Yasuhiro Morisaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1603–1612, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.124

• ]paracyclophanes via Wurtz-type intramolecular cyclization [3]. [2.2]Paracyclophane has a molecular structure in which two benzene rings are stacked face-to-face with ethylene chains at the para positions. Various studies have been conducted on their reactivities and physical properties derived from their unique

• molecular structure with stacked π-electron clouds [1][4][5][6]. The distance between benzene rings in [2.2]paracyclophane is extremely short (2.8–3.1Å), and thus the rotational motion of benzene rings is completely suppressed; therefore, planar chirality without chiral centers [7] appears by introducing

• substituent(s) at appropriate position(s) on the benzene rings [8]. Enantiopure planar chiral [2.2]paracyclophanes have been used as chiral auxiliaries and chiral ligands for transition metals in the fields of organic and organometallic chemistry [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. In 2012

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

• an ortho-substituent into the benzene ring also has no effect on the synthesis efficiency (compound 3f). A slight decrease in yield was observed only for the naphthyl-substituted annulation product 3k. The plausible mechanism of the reaction involves the nucleophilic addition of the Ni-enolate of 1

Thermodynamic equilibrium between locally excited and charge transfer states in perylene–phenothiazine dyads

• Issei Fukunaga,
• Shunsuke Kobashi,
• Yuki Nagai,
• Hiroki Horita,
• Hiromitsu Maeda and
• Yoichi Kobayashi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1577–1586, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.121

• the degree of electronic interaction between the donor PTZ and acceptor Pe moieties, as indicated by the decreased overlap between HOMO and LUMO. UV–vis absorption spectra of the Pe–PTZ derivatives were recorded in benzene at room temperature (Figure 3a). All compounds exhibited characteristic

• does not necessarily depend on the number of TPA groups. The relative emission quantum yields (Φf) in benzene solution were 2.4, 3.1, 2.4, and 20% for Pe–PTZ, Pe–PTZ(TPA), Pe–PTZ(TPA)2, and Pe–Ph–PTZ(TPA)2, respectively. This order corresponds to the relative intensities of the CT band compared to the

• the transient absorption spectra and EAS of Pe–PTZ(TPA)2 in benzene excited at 350 nm. The excitation at 350 nm predominantly corresponds to an absorption band enhanced by the introduction of TPA groups, suggesting preferential excitation of the PTZ(TPA)2 moiety. Immediately after excitation, ground

Synthesis of an aza[5]helicene-incorporated macrocyclic heteroarene via oxidation of an o-phenylene-pyrrole-thiophene icosamer

• Yusuke Matsuo,
• Aoi Nakagawa,
• Shu Seki and
• Takayuki Tanaka

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1561–1567, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.119

• largest cyclic array in the series. The oxidative fusion reaction with [bis(trifluoroacetoxy)iodo]benzene (PIFA) afforded a cyclophane-type aza[5]helicene-incorporated macrocycle, the structure of which was unambiguously revealed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Its optical properties have been investigated

• macrocycle whose structure has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Next, oxidation of 4 was attempted using [bis(trifluoroacetoxy)iodo]benzene (PIFA) in CH2Cl2 at −78 °C (Scheme 2). These reaction conditions had previously proven effective for the oxidation of 3 and other o-phenylene-bridged

Azobenzene protonation as a tool for temperature sensing

• Antti Siiskonen,
• Sami Vesamäki and
• Arri Priimagi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1528–1534, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.115

• Due to the lone pairs on their nitrogen atoms, azobenzenes are weak bases. Their basicity can be increased by electron-donating substituents on the benzene rings. para-Alkoxy substitution effectively increases the electron density at the azo-nitrogens without introducing additional protonation sites

• . We opted for methoxy substitution on one or both benzene rings as the simplest alkoxy substituent. The protonation of azobenzene (1), 4-methoxyazobenzene (2), and 4,4'-dimethoxyazobenzene (3) is schematized in Figure 1A. In the presence of a strong acid, these compounds form an equilibrium of neutral

Wittig reaction of cyclobisbiphenylenecarbonyl

• Taito Moribe,
• Junichiro Hirano,
• Hideaki Takano,
• Hiroshi Shinokubo and
• Norihito Fukui

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1454–1461, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.107

• internally functionalized DBC derivatives [22]. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the two terminal benzene units is 83°, which is comparable to those of other derivatives. Next, products 3 and 5 were analyzed by variable temperature (VT) 1H NMR spectroscopy. The 1H NMR spectrum of bis-olefin 5 in

• temperature-dependent 1H NMR measurements. The relatively preferable formation of bathtub conformation is attributable to the destabilization of the figure-eight structures by the intramolecular steric repulsion between the exo-methylene units and neighboring benzene rings. Resolution The resolution of rac-3

• , the racemization barrier of 5 (34.8 kcal mol−1) is larger than that of CBBC 1 (33.7 kcal mol−1), which accords with the experimental results. In the transition state TS2, the exocyclic olefin unit a is close to the adjacent benzene ring b, which causes intramolecular steric repulsion to increase the

N-Salicyl-amino acid derivatives with antiparasitic activity from Pseudomonas sp. UIAU-6B

• Joy E. Rajakulendran,
• Emmanuel Tope Oluwabusola,
• Michela Cerone,
• Terry K. Smith,
• Olusoji O. Adebisi,
• Adefolalu Adedotun,
• Gagan Preet,
• Sylvia Soldatou,
• Hai Deng,
• Rainer Ebel and
• Marcel Jaspars

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1388–1396, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.103

• 1,2-disubstituted benzene ring system was identified by the 1H NMR spectrum showing downfield methine protons at δH 7.88 (dd, J = 8.0, 1.5 Hz, H-5), 7.37 (td, J = 8.0, 1.5 Hz, H-3) 7.01 (d, J = 8.0 Hz, H-2) and 6.92 (t, J = 8.0, H-4) that were consistent with a salicylic acid unit. This was supported

Recent advances in oxidative radical difunctionalization of N-arylacrylamides enabled by carbon radical reagents

• Jiangfei Chen,
• Yi-Lin Qu,
• Ming Yuan,
• Xiang-Mei Wu,
• Heng-Pei Jiang,
• Ying Fu and
• Shengrong Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1207–1271, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.98

• intramolecular cyclization to form a benzene ring radical intermediate D. Finally, hydrogen abstraction from the radical intermediate by Fe3+(OH) leads to the formation of oxindole compounds 5. A similar reaction was reported by Liang’s group in the same year, as shown in Scheme 4. The study introduced a metal

• . The results indicated that the N-protecting group had little impact on the reaction’s efficiency, and various substrates (e.g., methyl, benzyl, isopropyl) were effectively converted to their respective target products 50a–c. Moreover, benzene rings bearing different substituents, whether electron

• this process, 4CzIPN was employed as the photocatalyst and TfOH as the proton source to ensure the formation of the desired products (Scheme 34) [21]. A range of substituents, including -CH3, -Cl, and -CN, on the benzene ring of N-arylacrylamides (74a–c), were compatible with the reaction conditions

Synthetic approach to borrelidin fragments: focus on key intermediates

• Yudhi Dwi Kurniawan,
• Zetryana Puteri Tachrim,
• Teni Ernawati,
• Faris Hermawan,
• Ima Nurasiyah and
• Muhammad Alfin Sulmantara

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1135–1160, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.91

• %), followed by protection of the secondary alcohol as TBDMS ether 81 (98%). The primary alcohol was then liberated using ammonium fluoride in hot methanol (60 °C). Oxidation of this alcohol to a carboxylic acid was achieved using TEMPO and (diacetoxyiodo)benzene (BAIB), completing the synthesis of the target

Gold extraction at the molecular level using α- and β-cyclodextrins

• Susana Santos Braga

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1116–1125, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.89

• , led to the quick formation of co-precipitates when added to aqueous solutions of β-CD and KAuBr4 (both at 5 mM): dibutyl carbitol, isopropyl ether, chloroform, dichloromethane, hexane, benzene, and toluene [51]. The most effective one was dibutyl carbitol (DBC), which caused 99.7% precipitation when

Supramolecular assembly of hypervalent iodine macrocycles and alkali metals

• Krishna Pandey,
• Lucas X. Orton,
• Grayson Venus,
• Waseem A. Hussain,
• Toby Woods,
• Lichang Wang and
• Kyle N. Plunkett

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1095–1103, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.87

• system [12]. In addition to these covalent bonding interactions, additional secondary bonding (e.g., red-dotted bonds between iodine and oxygen in phenylalanine-based hypervalent iodine macrocycle in benzene system in Figure 1A) can arise in these systems from neighboring atom lone pairs. Secondary

• . Results and Discussion We have reported the synthesis of several variations of valine and phenylalanine-based HIMs that are based on benzene-, naphthalene-, and anthraquinone systems [18][19]. This study employed a phenylalanine and iodobenzoic acid-based HIM system owing to its simplicity in synthesis

On the photoluminescence in triarylmethyl-centered mono-, di-, and multiradicals

• Daniel Straub,
• Markus Gross,
• Mona E. Arnold,
• Julia Zolg and
• Alexander J. C. Kuehne

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 964–998, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.80

Harnessing tethered nitreniums for diastereoselective amino-sulfonoxylation of alkenes

• Shyam Sathyamoorthi,
• Appasaheb K. Nirpal,
• Dnyaneshwar A. Gorve and
• Steven P. Kelley

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 947–954, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.78

• ring was opened in a diastereoselective (SN2 type) and exo-selective manner by a trifluoroacetate anion. The trifluoroacetate anion was conveniently derived from (bis(trifluoroacetoxy)iodo)benzene (PIFA), which was used as the stoichiometric oxidant in the reaction. Overall, this amounted to a highly

Study of tribenzo[b,d,f]azepine as donor in D–A photocatalysts

• Katy Medrano-Uribe,
• Jorge Humbrías-Martín and
• Luca Dell’Amico

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 935–944, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.76

• study the diverse or similar properties between the antiaromatic molecules a and b, in which the main difference is the presence of a third aromatic ring. According to the literature, the presence of the third benzene ring in the TBA (a) differentiates the conformations of structures a and b in the