Photochemical reduction of acylimidazolium salts

• Michael Jakob,
• Nick Bechler,
• Hassan Abdelwahab,
• Fabian Weber,
• Janos Wasternack,
• Leonardo Kleebauer,
• Jan P. Götze and
• Matthew N. Hopkinson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1973–1983, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.153

• substrate (Figure 1b). This led to the successful development of a novel dual NHC/light-mediated reduction process using either the simple tertiary amine, NEt(iPr)2 (DIPEA) or the widely available silane HSiEt3, as the only reductant. Moreover, interesting insights into the reaction mechanism supported by

• 1,2,3,5-tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN), which has been commonly employed in dual NHC/photoredox-catalyzed coupling reactions, cleanly provided the fully reduced species in 50% 1H NMR yield (Table 1, entry 19). Comments on the reaction mechanism At this stage of the study, our

• attention turned to a consideration of the reaction mechanism. As has been well documented in the photoredox literature [47][48][49][50][51][52][53], excitation of a photocatalyst ([PC]) in the presence of DIPEA can result in reductive quenching of the excited state, affording the corresponding

Asymmetric total synthesis of tricyclic prostaglandin D2 metabolite methyl ester via oxidative radical cyclization

• Miao Xiao,
• Liuyang Pu,
• Qiaoli Shang,
• Lei Zhu and
• Jun Huang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1964–1972, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.152

• proposed mechanism to 21 involved the formation of an electron-deficient, resonance-stabilized radical species, followed by intramolecular alkylation of the unactivated alkene to generate radical 29 via a diastereoselective 5-exo-trig cyclization step. Radical intermediate 29 was trapped by 2,4,6

Enantioselective desymmetrization strategy of prochiral 1,3-diols in natural product synthesis

• Lihua Wei,
• Rui Yang,
• Zhifeng Shi and
• Zhiqiang Ma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1932–1963, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.151

• general mechanism of a reaction catalyzed by lipases is illustrated in Scheme 1. Additionally, the diverse three-dimensional structures of lipases confer enantioselectivity in lipase-catalyzed esterification [24][25]. Moreover, their commercial availability makes lipases an attractive option for preparing

• progress is still needed in the methodological development for the enantioselective desymmetrization of prochiral 1,3-diols. General mechanism of a lipase-catalyzed esterification. Shishido’s synthesis of (−)-xanthorrhizol (4) and (+)-heliannuol D (8). Shishido’s synthesis of a) (−)-heliannuol A (15) and b

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

• University of Hong Kong (HKU) and ITC to the SKL. The work described in this paper was partially supported by a grant from the Co-funding Mechanism on Joint Laboratories with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) sponsored by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China

Stereoselective electrochemical intramolecular imino-pinacol reaction: a straightforward entry to enantiopure piperazines

• Margherita Gazzotti,
• Fabrizio Medici,
• Valerio Chiroli,
• Laura Raimondi,
• Sergio Rossi and
• Maurizio Benaglia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1897–1908, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.147

• , respectively, compared to those obtained in the batch reaction (Table 3). To gain a deeper understanding of the mechanism behind the observed reaction, a plausible reaction pathway is proposed, as illustrated in Scheme 7. The process presumably involves the activation of the diimine substrate 1a by

• electrochemically reduced to give the carbon-centered diradical intermediate 5a and the spatial proximity of these two radical centers allows a rapid intramolecular radical–radical coupling resulting in the formation of the desired piperazine 2a. The feasibility of this mechanism is supported by literature

• on a 0.1 mmol scale. Proposed reaction mechanism. Cyclic voltammetry investigation. Cyclic voltammetry of a 0.325 M solution of Et4NBF4 in DMF (light-blue line). Cyclic voltammetry of diimine 1a (10 mM) recorded in a 0.325 M solution of Et4NBF4 in DMF (dark-blue line). Cyclic voltammetry of diimine

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

• removing the less soluble racemic products. Detailed studies were conducted to explore the reaction mechanism, focusing specifically on the role of the 2-acylanilines 73 as co-catalysts. Based on the experimental results and previous research, a plausible mechanism was proposed. Isomerization of substrates

Systematic pore lipophilization to enhance the efficiency of an amine-based MOF catalyst in the solvent-free Knoevenagel reaction

• Pricilla Matseketsa,
• Margret Kumbirayi Ruwimbo Pagare and
• Tendai Gadzikwa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1854–1863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.144

• and the amine catalyst (Scheme 1A) [47][48]. However, there is another possible mechanism where malononitrile is deprotonated by the amine catalyst. Here, the resulting carbanion would attack benzaldehyde to form 2-(hydroxy(phenyl)methyl)malononitrile (HPMM) as an intermediate that then loses a water

• ×20 magnification. Right: ratios of BMN:HPMM products for each catalyst. Probable mechanisms for the Knoevenegel condensation reaction between benzaldehyde and malononitrile catalyzed by a MOF-immobilized amine to form benzylidenemalononitrile (BMN). A) Mechanism in which the amine catalyst first

• undergoes imine condensation with benzaldehyde. B) Mechanism in which the amine acts as a base, deprotonating malononitrile. Estimated conversions of the reactions of isocyanates with the –OH and –NH2 groups of KSU-1 to form carbamates and ureas, respectively.a Comparison of Knoevenagel catalysis results

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

• ; synthesis of photoswitches; switching mechanisms; tutorial review; Introduction Photophysical properties and switching mechanism Key learning points Switching mechanisms and the change in properties. Overview of the major classes of photoswitches beyond azobenzenes. Main synthetic pathways for their

• photoswitches (Figure 6) [5]. N-Methylation of indole 2b increases the lifetime due to a preference for the inversion with respect to the rotation mechanism. Interestingly, the isomerisation of the non-methylated 2a is also strongly influenced by protic solvents, by the pH of the solution, and by the

• thus rapid conversion to the E-isomer. A follow-up study calculated the activation energies of inversion, rotation, and tautomerisation of a number of previously reported and newly synthesised heteroaryl azo-switches, correlating the preferred mechanism of thermal back isomerisation to the reported

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

• protocol, a set of control experiments was conducted to gain insight into the reaction mechanism, as depicted in Scheme 4. To clarify the significance of oxidative conditions, the standard reaction was initially conducted under an inert atmosphere by replacing oxygen with nitrogen (reaction 1). Under these

• reaction mixture was stirred at 120 °C for 24 hours, resulting in the formation of 27% of 3a along with 33% of 3a′. To further investigate the role of the solvent in the reaction mechanism, a deuterium-labeling experiment was performed by reacting 1a with 2a in deuterated methanol (CD3OD) under standard

• conditions. In this reaction, 4a-D was not detected, indicating that methanol is not utilized as a C1 source. Considering this experimental evidence and existing literature [57][54], a plausible mechanism is depicted in Scheme 5. The reaction likely proceeds through forming benzaldehyde (2a′) (detected

[3 + 2] Cycloaddition of thioformylium methylide with various arylidene-azolones in the synthesis of 7-thia-3-azaspiro[4.4]nonan-4-ones

• Daniil I. Rudik,
• Irina V. Tiushina,
• Anatoly I. Sokolov,
• Alexander Yu. Smirnov,
• Alexander R. Romanenko,
• Alexander A. Korlyukov,
• Andrey A. Mikhaylov and
• Mikhail S. Baranov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1791–1798, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.141

• thiohydantoin 7, on the contrary, have a trans configuration of two vicinal stereocenters (Scheme 3 and Figure 1). Thus, in all cases we have obtained, probably, the most thermodynamically favorable isomers. This result allows us to assume a stepwise mechanism of the ylide addition to the double bond of

• thiohydantoin derivatives, since the initial compounds 2 had a predominant Z-configuration. At the same time, for cases 1, 3 and 4, both a synchronous and stepwise mechanism are possible. The discovered stereochemistry of the reaction correlates well with the previously obtained data, when the most

Synthesis of chiral cyclohexane-linked bisimidazolines

• Changmeng Xi,
• Qingshan Sun and
• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1786–1790, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.140

• -protected amino group. On the basis of the previous report [28], a possible reaction mechanism is presented in Scheme 3. The reaction of triphenylphosphine oxide and triflic anhydride first generates an activating agent, the Hendrickson reagent (A). The amide in cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxamides 4

• )-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid followed by the Hendrickson reagent-mediated final cyclization. Bisoxazoline and bisimidazoline ligands. Synthesis of chiral cyclohexane-linked bisimidazoline ligands. Attempted synthesis of chiral cyclohexane-linked bisimidazoline 5h. Proposed reaction mechanism. Synthesis

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

• or guest molecules are altered upon exposure to specific stimuli, such as light, pH changes, or enzymes. This modification induces the disassembly of the host–guest complex, thereby releasing the encapsulated drugs. Fundamentally, this mechanism relies on controlling the assembly and disassembly

• balance is disrupted, leading to the dissociation of the complex and the release of the drug. This pH-sensitive "charge switch" mechanism enables CA8 to precisely control the release behavior of CPF, providing new insights for the development of environmentally responsive antibiotic delivery systems

• (Figure 3) [101]. This pH-sensitive "charge switch" mechanism enables CA8 to precisely control the release behavior of CPF, providing new insights for the development of environmentally responsive antibiotic delivery systems. Water-soluble aromatic macrocycles are commonly utilized in drug delivery

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

• potent gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor antagonists with potential application as anticancer drugs [25] and as nucleoside analogs with antiviral potency [26]. According to the reaction mechanism proposed by Elliott et al., the aza-Diels–Alder reaction of vinyloxazoline S-6 with TsNCO is a step

• proposed mechanism of product 7 formation. Electrochemical oxidation of protected amino alcohol 2d to ester 3d. Supporting Information Supporting Information File 8: Experimental procedures, characterization data and copies of NMR spectra. Funding This project has received funding from the European

Approaches to stereoselective 1,1'-glycosylation

• Daniele Zucchetta and
• Alla Zamyatina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1700–1718, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.133

• exhibits activity against multidrug-resistant Streptococci and Staphylococci including S. aureus via a unique mechanism involving binding to an exclusive site on the bacterial ribosome [10][59]. Accordingly, the β-anomeric configuration in the 3-O-p-methoxybenzyl-protected mannose lactol 31 was fixed by

• , a mechanism known as HAD (H-bond-mediated aglycone delivery) [68]. The picoloyl protecting group at the remote C4–OH position has also been successfully employed to stabilize the anomeric configuration in 2,3,6-tri-O-benzylated TMS-glycoside acceptors [69]. This unusual stability of the anomeric

• functional and protecting groups on the pyranose scaffold can profoundly influence the reaction mechanism, toggling it between SN2 and SN1 pathways [104][105]. Supporting this, the torsional restriction imparted by the 4,6-O-benzylidene group in 2-azido-substituted GlcN lactols was found to favor the

Continuous-flow-enabled intensification in nitration processes: a review of technological developments and practical applications over the past decade

• Feng Zhou,
• Chuansong Duanmu,
• Yanxing Li,
• Jin Li,
• Haiqing Xu,
• Pan Wang and
• Kai Zhu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1678–1699, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.132

• processes, as opposed to statistical models that rely solely on empirical relationships between experimental factors and outcomes. While kinetics modeling enables extrapolation of reaction predictions beyond experimentally tested conditions, it demands substantial expertise in reaction mechanism elucidation

• less explored, with the mechanism predominantly operating in gas-phase nitration systems using aliphatic substrates [2]. In contrast, the ionic mechanism has been extensively investigated, particularly in aromatic nitration systems where it constitutes the predominant pathway. However, these

• •NO2 radical substitution mechanism during the HNO3-mediated nitration of arylboronic acids, providing mechanistic justification for this synthetically valuable transformation [58]. Parallel evidence came from Plouffe and colleagues microreactor studies on salicylic acid nitration, where kinetics

Structural analysis of stereoselective galactose pyruvylation toward the synthesis of bacterial capsular polysaccharides

• Tsun-Yi Chiang,
• Mei-Huei Lin,
• Chun-Wei Chang,
• Jinq-Chyi Lee and
• Cheng-Chung Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1671–1677, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.131

• 10 was formed, giving 71% yield (α/β = 1:6). According to the RRV/Aka platform [44], compound 9 is a robust nucleophile, with an Aka value of 12 [45]. This high nucleophilicity favors a SN2-like mechanism, promoting β-selectivity [46]. Using the difference in acceptor reactivity and activation method

Influence of the cation in hypophosphite-mediated catalyst-free reductive amination

• Natalia Lebedeva,
• Fedor Kliuev,
• Olesya Zvereva,
• Klim Biriukov,
• Evgeniya Podyacheva,
• Maria Godovikova,
• Oleg I. Afanasyev and
• Denis Chusov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1661–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.130

• . The remedy for Parkinson’s disease, piribedil, was obtained in high yield. The plausible mechanism of the elaborated process was proposed and supported by DFT calculations. Keywords: amines; DFT; hypophosphites; reductive amination; role of cations; Introduction Sodium hypophosphite, NaH2PO2, is one

• , the synthesis of the remedy for Parkinson’s disease, piribedil (9), in high yield (80%) demonstrated the practical utility of the elaborated synthetic method (Figure 1). To get insight into the mechanism of the developed approach the reaction mixtures were thoroughly analyzed and several control

• identify the rate-determining step clearly, they showed the high rate of exchange through tautomeric equilibria compared to the reduction step. Based on control experiments and previously obtained data [20], we suggested a plausible mechanism of the developed reaction. Its possibility was supported using

Catalytic asymmetric reactions of isocyanides for constructing non-central chirality

• Jia-Yu Liao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1648–1660, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.129

• the reaction, the resulting deacylated compound 20 could be recovered in almost quantitative yield without any erosion of the enantiopurity. A possible reaction mechanism for this Pd-catalyzed three-component reaction was proposed (Scheme 3b). As shown, the reaction started with the oxidative addition

• between β-ketoester 30 and di-tert-butyl azodicarboxylate (31), and the corresponding product 32 was obtained in 99% yield with 88% ee. A plausible reaction mechanism was proposed for this CPA-catalyzed enantioselective Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reaction. As illustrated in Scheme 5b, the imine

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

• the NHC-complex, IPrCuCl, the formation of cycloadduct 11 was detected, which was isolated in 10% yield (Scheme 6). The formation of this compound implies the cleavage of the azirine N−C2 bond, indicating that the IPrCuCl-catalyzed reaction proceeds by a different mechanism, likely involving the

• . Synthesis of fused pyrroles and azoles by [3 + 2] annulation reactions of azirines. Synthesis of benzo[4,5]thieno[3,2-b]pyrroles 3. Plausible mechanism for the formation of compounds 3. Post-modifications of 1H-benzo[4,5]thieno[3,2-b]pyrrole (3b). Synthesis of pyrrolo[3,2-b]indole 10. IPrCuCl-catalyzed

General method for the synthesis of enaminones via photocatalysis

• Paula Pérez-Ramos,
• Raquel G. Soengas and
• Humberto Rodríguez-Solla

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1535–1543, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.116

• semipreparative scale for the reaction of 3-bromochromone (7a, 5.0 mmol) to afford enaminone 9a in a 68% isolated yield (Scheme 3). In terms of the reaction mechanism, TEMPO completely inhibited the reaction, implying the possibility of a radical intermediate in the reaction (Scheme 4A). Moreover, the TEMPO

• mechanism for this reaction is proposed in Scheme 5. A ternary complex is initially formed upon complexation of 3-bromochromone (7a) with NiBr2-dmbpy. By virtue of being coordinated to a Ni-center, the β-carbon is activated toward nucleophilic attack of the amine, furnishing 2-amino-3-bromochromenone I

• photocatalyst. Examples of compounds with medicinal effects containing an enaminone structural moiety. Synthesis of enaminones. Substrate scope. Scale-up synthesis of enaminone 9a. Mechanistic studies. Proposed mechanism. Optimization of reaction conditions. Supporting Information Supporting Information File 6

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

• heavy metal detection [16][19] and humidity sensing [20]. The color changes can be either reversible or irreversible, depending on the mechanism of operation. Spectral tuning also enables switching with low-energy light, eliminating the need for potentially harmful UV irradiation [21]. Utilizing

• spectral changes caused by azobenzene protonation is a well-established concept, with methyl orange-based pH indicators dating back to the late 1800s [22]. Early studies primarily focused on characterizing these spectral changes, determining pKa values, and elucidating the protonation mechanism of

Calcium waste as a catalyst in the transesterification for demanding esters: scalability perspective

• Anton N. Potorochenko and
• Konstantin S. Rodygin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1520–1527, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.114

• , and minor components did not affect the reaction or were inert. Since the transesterification with a catalyst derived from carbide slag (CS600) and commercial (or obtained from another source) calcium oxide proceeds by the same mechanism with the formation of a new ester and an alcohol as byproduct

Ambident reactivity of enolizable 5-mercapto-1H-tetrazoles in trapping reactions with in situ-generated thiocarbonyl S-methanides derived from sterically crowded cycloaliphatic thioketones

• Grzegorz Mlostoń,
• Małgorzata Celeda,
• Marcin Palusiak,
• Heinz Heimgartner,
• Marta Denel-Bobrowska and
• Agnieszka B. Olejniczak

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1508–1519, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.113

• chemoselectivity was observed. A detailed study on the mechanism of these reactions showed that the initially formed S–H insertion products (type 5) underwent thermal isomerization leading to thermodynamically more stable N–H insertion ones (type 6) (Scheme 2) and the isomerization process was clearly dependent on

• observed in the 1H NMR spectra registered for crude reaction mixtures (Table 1). The mechanism of the studied reactions deserves a brief comment and should help to clarify whether the formation of 9 and 10 results from the ambident reactivity of 5-mercapto-1H-tetrazoles, suggested in some earlier

• the in situ-generated thiocarbonyl S-methanides 1 (from 1,3,4-thiadiazolines 2) with enolizable 5-mercapto-1H-tetrazoles 4, leading to the N- or S-insertion products 9 and 10, respectively. Stepwise mechanism of the competitive N- and S-insertion reactions between the in situ-generated thiocarbonyl S

Photoredox-catalyzed arylation of isonitriles by diaryliodonium salts towards benzamides

• Nadezhda M. Metalnikova,
• Nikita S. Antonkin,
• Tuan K. Nguyen,
• Natalia S. Soldatova,
• Alexander V. Nyuchev,
• Mikhail A. Kinzhalov and
• Pavel S. Postnikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1480–1488, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.110

• diaryliodonium salts under photoredox conditions has been proposed for the first time. The suggested procedure allows preparing a broad range of benzamides using both symmetric and unsymmetric diaryliodonium salts under mild conditions. A plausible mechanism for the reaction and the selectivity of aryl transfer

• reactivity pattern in the current transformation, a reaction mechanism was proposed taking into the account the known data and control experiments (Scheme 4). Upon irradiation with blue light, the Ru(II) catalyst undergoes photoexcitation, followed by an oxidative single-electron transfer (SET) process with

• using 1,2-dibromoethane as an internal standard. cNot detected by GC–MS. Proposed reaction mechanism. Optimization of the reaction conditions.a Supporting Information Supporting Information File 32: Experimental section, characterization data and control experiments. Acknowledgements Authors

Microwave-enhanced additive-free C–H amination of benzoxazoles catalysed by supported copper

• Andrei Paraschiv,
• Valentina Maruzzo,
• Filippo Pettazzi,
• Stefano Magliocco,
• Paolo Inaudi,
• Daria Brambilla,
• Gloria Berlier,
• Giancarlo Cravotto and
• Katia Martina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1462–1476, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.108

• open derivative, and the subsequent ring oxidation upon closure (as shown in the mechanism in Scheme S1 (Supporting Information File 1), the reaction mixture may contain the desired 2-substituted benzoxazole 2a together with its open-form precursor 2a-o. The latter can be hydrolysed to give N

• reaction conditions both in terms of temperature and time, as observed using a lower catalyst amount. This assumption was confirmed when the reaction was performed in a MW reactor under 5 bar of N2; in this environment, the copper catalyst cannot regenerate because of the absence of oxygen (see mechanism