Application of N-heterocyclic carbene–Cu(I) complexes as catalysts in organic synthesis: a review

• Nosheen Beig,
• Varsha Goyal and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1408–1442, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.102

• the synthesis and applications of NHC–Cu(I) complexes only. 1 Synthesis of NHC–Cu(I) complexes 1.1 Deprotonation of NHC precursors (in situ) with a base The N-alkylazolium salts 11 upon treatment with a base generate the corresponding NHCs which react with a Cu(I) salt to afford the corresponding NHC

• the earlier report [15], under these conditions, formation of [(NHC)2Cu]+ complexes was not observed. In the same year, César et al. [26] reported in situ-generated malonate-derived anionic carbenes which reacted with CuCl to afford the anionic [(maloNHC)CuCl]Li complexes. Furthermore, zwitterionic

• having a triisopropoxy(propyl)silyl ((-CH2)3Si(OiPr)3) substituent on the imidazole ring through in situ transmetallation. One of these complexes, 78a, was successfully anchored on mesoporous silica MCM-41 to afford a new heterogeneous catalyst (Scheme 27). Both compounds were subsequently used as

One-pot nucleophilic substitution–double click reactions of biazides leading to functionalized bis(1,2,3-triazole) derivatives

• Hans-Ulrich Reissig and
• Fei Yu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1399–1407, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.101

• nucleophilic substitutions employing sodium azide and organic substrates with potential leaving groups have been reported. The resulting organic azides were trapped in situ by a suitable alkyne to give the 1,2,3-triazoles [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. Fairly recent review articles summarize

• aminopyrans [54], should be converted into divalent compounds via coupling of the terminal propynyl group with benzylic biazides. Since biazides are potentially explosive [22] it was very desirable to avoid their isolation and to generate these reactive species in situ from the corresponding benzylic halides

• benzyl azide 3 in situ from benzyl bromide (5) and sodium azide and to directly trap the intermediate with alkyne 2. Under conditions summarized in reaction 3 of Scheme 2 we obtained the desired 1,2,3-triazole derivative 3 in 82% yield. Copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate (0.07 equivalents based on 2) in the

Visible-light-induced nickel-catalyzed α-hydroxytrifluoroethylation of alkyl carboxylic acids: Access to trifluoromethyl alkyl acyloins

• Feng Chen,
• Xiu-Hua Xu,
• Zeng-Hao Chen,
• Yue Chen and
• Feng-Ling Qing

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1372–1378, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.98

• complex between Hantzsch ester and N-trifluoroethoxyphthalimide was subsequently engaged in a nickel-catalyzed coupling reaction with in situ-activated alkyl carboxylic acids. This convenient protocol does not require photocatalysts and metal reductants, providing a straightforward and efficient access to

• elegant strategies on direct conversion of in situ-activated carboxylic acids for ketone synthesis [27][35][38], we chose dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC, A1) as the activating reagent. To our delight, the reaction of 1a and 2 in the presence of NiBr2(dtbbpy) (10 mol %), Hantzsch ester (HE) and A1 in DMAc

• light-induced charge transfer event to give trifluoroethoxyl radical B, followed by a 1,2-hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), producing the stable radical C. For the nickel cycle, it is initiated by oxidative addition of Ni(0) catalyst E to acyl electrophile D formed in situ from carboxylic acid 1 with

Synthesis of ether lipids: natural compounds and analogues

• Marco Antônio G. B. Gomes,
• Alicia Bauduin,
• Chloé Le Roux,
• Romain Fouinneteau,
• Wilfried Berthe,
• Mathieu Berchel,
• Hélène Couthon and
• Paul-Alain Jaffrès

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1299–1369, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.96

• also achieved in the last step (Figure 5) [73]. DIBALH (diisobutylaluminium hydride) in toluene was added to hexadecanol in dichloromethane at 0 °C (Figure 5) to form in situ a lithium alcoholate. Then, S-glycidol was added at rt to produce in 50% yield the diol 5.2 after a regioselective opening of

Non-noble metal-catalyzed cross-dehydrogenation coupling (CDC) involving ether α-C(sp³)–H to construct C–C bonds

• Hui Yu and
• Feng Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1259–1288, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.94

• extract a hydrogen from the ether C (sp3)–H bond to form radicals. Subsequently, a single electron transfer (SET) leads to the oxonium species. Then, the enamine generated in situ from methyl aryl ketone and pyrrolidine undergoes a nucleophilic reaction with the oxonium species followed by hydrolysis to

• and stereoselectivity (Scheme 8) [58]. The mechanism of this reaction differs from the previously reported ones and proceeds through the in situ generation of nucleophilic and electrophilic partners which provides new opportunities for enantioselective oxocarbenium ion-driven CDC processes. Due to an

• dihydropyrans (DHPs) and aldehydes in the presence of Zn(II) (Scheme 37) [102]. The method has good enantioselectivity and functional group tolerance and provides a practical and economical route towards a series of enantiopure α-substituted DHPs through CDC, through an in situ NaBH4 reduction two-step sequence

Metal catalyst-free N-allylation/alkylation of imidazole and benzimidazole with Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) alcohols and acetates

• Olfa Mhasni,
• Jalloul Bouajila and
• Farhat Rezgui

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1251–1258, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.93

• , such alcohols were in situ converted into the corresponding O-allyl carbamates as leaving groups, followed by their reaction with imidazoles, affording the SN2’ products 3 (Scheme 1, reaction 1, iii). Correlatively, we have previously reported a direct amination of cyclic MBH alcohols 4 with morpholine

Acetaldehyde in the Enders triple cascade reaction via acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal

• Alessandro Brusa,
• Debora Iapadre,
• Maria Edith Casacchia,
• Alessio Carioscia,
• Giuliana Giorgianni,
• Giandomenico Magagnano,
• Fabio Pesciaioli and
• Armando Carlone

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1243–1250, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.92

• acetaldehyde have been reported [20][21][22][23][24]. The safety and handling problems associated with acetaldehyde can be solved by synthetic equivalents that can be generated in situ through different paths. Some examples are represented by vinyl acetate [25], silyl vinyl ethers [26], ethanol, pyruvic acid

• acetaldehyde, which is hydrolyzed in situ using Amberlyst-15 as an acid catalyst, instead of directly using acetaldehyde allows for higher yields and fewer byproducts. Using mild reaction conditions, it was possible to obtain a variety of functionalized cyclohexene carbaldehydes in good yields and very high

Selective construction of dispiro[indoline-3,2'-quinoline-3',3''-indoline] and dispiro[indoline-3,2'-pyrrole-3',3''-indoline] via three-component reaction

• Ziying Xiao,
• Fengshun Xu,
• Jing Sun and
• Chao-Guo Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1234–1242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.91

• -promoted three-component reaction of ammonium acetate, isatins and in situ-generated 3-isatyl-1,4-dicarbonyl compounds. The piperidine-promoted three-component reaction of ammonium acetate, isatins and the in situ-generated dimedone adducts of 3-ethoxycarbonylmethyleneoxindoles afforded mutlifunctionalized

• spirooxindoles, in which the in situ-generated Michael adduct of 3-ethoxycarbonylmethyleneoxindole underwent a Mannich reaction and annulation reaction with in situ-generated aldimines (reaction 1 in Scheme 1) [50][51]. Tanaka reported chiral quinidine derivative-catalyzed Michael–Henry cascade reactions of

• ), in which the in situ-generated adduct of thiophenol and 3-phenacylideneoxindole was believed to be the key intermediate [53][54][55]. Inspired by these elegant synthetic protocols and in continuation of our aim to develop convenient reactions for the synthesis of diverse spiro compounds [56][57][58

Radical ligand transfer: a general strategy for radical functionalization

• David T. Nemoto Jr,
• Kang-Jie Bian,
• Shih-Chieh Kao and
• Julian G. West

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1225–1233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.90

• molecular iron catalyst II and stoichiometric hydroxyiodinane as a terminal oxidant [38]. It is proposed that an azidoiodinane is generated in situ and serves as the radical initiator, generating an azido radical which adds to the less substituted position on the alkene. The resultant transient radical is

• captured via RLT from an in-situ generated iron–azide complex, resulting in net reduction of iron. The competent RLT species can then be regenerated through oxidation by the iodinane species and coordination of another equivalent of azide. This reaction was particularly notable for the wide alkene scope

• diamines with excellent functional group compatibility (Scheme 3) [10][39]. In both reports, it is proposed that photoinduced LMCT of an in-situ generated Fe(III) azide species furnishes an azido radical, compatible with unactivated alkene addition. These steps provide the reactive carbon-centered radical

Unravelling a trichloroacetic acid-catalyzed cascade access to benzo[f]chromeno[2,3-h]quinoxalinoporphyrins

• Chandra Sekhar Tekuri,
• Pargat Singh and
• Mahendra Nath

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1216–1224, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.89

• condensation of intermediate 17 with 2-arylidene-5,5-dimethylcyclohexane-1,3-dione 18 (formed in situ through an Aldol condensation of aldehydes with dimedone), to generate copper(II) benzo[f]chromeno[2,3-h]dihydroquinoxalinoporphyrins which on dehydration produce the desired copper(II) benzo[f]chromeno[2,3-h

Enabling artificial photosynthesis systems with molecular recycling: A review of photo- and electrochemical methods for regenerating organic sacrificial electron donors

• Grace A. Lowe

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1198–1215, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.88

• facilitated the in-situ redox mediator recycling and separation. The authors actually employed this strategy using 3 different reactor configurations (Figure 2). The first and simplest ex-situ photorecycling method involved adding and extracting 2 aqueous phases containing the catalysts and reactant to

• of enzymes [47]. The enzymes reduce carbon dioxide to methanol and consumed NADH which was then recycled at the photoelectrode functionalized with the rhodium complex. The overall electron donor in this work was water which makes it an excellent example of in-situ recycling. Kuk et al. also noted

• -sensitized solar cells [50][51]. As discussed, if a sacrificial donor is recycled in-situ it becomes a redox mediator. In artificial photosynthesis redox mediators are most commonly employed in Z-schemes. A Z-scheme describes the combination of two photocatalytic systems, one for photooxidation and one for

Retraction: One-pot odourless synthesis of thioesters via in situ generation of thiobenzoic acids using benzoic anhydrides and thiourea

• Mohammad Abbasi and
• Reza Khalifeh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1170–1170, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.85

Photoredox catalysis harvesting multiple photon or electrochemical energies

• Mattia Lepori,
• Simon Schmid and
• Joshua P. Barham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1055–1145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.81

• conditions. In 2020, the Polyzos group also demonstrated the carbonylative amidation of aryl halides in continuous flow with the in situ-generated [Ir2]0 (Figure 19A) [79]. This multi-photon tandem photocatalysis protocol provides an elegant alternative to established classical procedures for condensing

• radical. This is strongly supported by a single turnover experiment, where exclusive excitation of [FeII(btz)3]2+ with 700 nm LEDs after in situ generation and substrate addition in the dark generated 5% of product even with only 0.5 mol % of catalyst present. In its ground state, [FeII(btz)3]2+ is not

Copper-catalyzed N-arylation of amines with aryliodonium ylides in water

• Kasturi U. Nabar,
• Bhalchandra M. Bhanage and
• Sudam G. Dawande

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1008–1014, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.76

• ]. Further, a few reports are also available for the copper and palladium-catalyzed N-arylation of primary and secondary aliphatic as well as aromatic amines using diaryliodonium salts as aryl sources [33][34][35] (Scheme 1a). Similarly, iodonium ylides undergo a wide range of reactions through in situ

The unique reactivity of 5,6-unsubstituted 1,4-dihydropyridine in the Huisgen 1,4-diploar cycloaddition and formal [2 + 2] cycloaddition

• Xiu-Yu Chen,
• Hui Zheng,
• Ying Han,
• Jing Sun and
• Chao-Guo Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 982–990, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.73

• as one of the most valuable synthons to construct diverse carbocyclic and heterocyclic systems as well as many open-chain compounds [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. In recent years, in situ generated Huisgen 1,4-dipoles were also widely employed to design highly efficient multicomponent and domino

Aromatic C–H bond functionalization through organocatalyzed asymmetric intermolecular aza-Friedel–Crafts reaction: a recent update

• Anup Biswas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 956–981, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.72

• reaction proceeding through aza-Friedel–Crafts reaction and lactonization steps. Main focus of this article was to demonstrate a racemic process between α-naphthol or phenol derivatives and in situ-generated N-acetyl ketimine from methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate (18) in the course of preparing 3-NHAc

• dehydration to generate isoxazolium cation 80 paired with a phosphate anion. This chiral phosphate is engaged in H-bonding with the free NH of the heteroarene ring to ease the stereoselective 1,2-addition to in situ generate the cationic heterocyclic scaffold 81. The reaction proceeded faster with pyrroles

Synthesis of aliphatic nitriles from cyclobutanone oxime mediated by sulfuryl fluoride (SO₂F₂)

• Xian-Lin Chen and
• Hua-Li Qin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 901–908, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.68

• works, we contemplated that the N–O bond of cyclobutanone oxime derivatives could be activated by SO2F2 in situ to enable cleavage of the C–C bond, which could achieve this transformation without going through inefficient pre-introduction of electrophores. Herein, we describe how this concept has been

• oxime derivatives with alkenes was proposed (Scheme 6). Initially, cyclobutanone oxime reacts with SO2F2, generating an oxime sulfonyl ester intermediate (fluorosulfonate) I promoted by the base. Subsequently, the intermediate fluorosulfonate I undergoes single-electron reduction by [Cun] in situ to

• the [Cun] catalyst and intermediate V. The critical β-H elimination step occurs smoothly in the presence of excessive base to generate the final nitrile product. Due to the high reactivity of the intermediate fluorosulfonate I, the attempt of isolation or detecting the in situ generated intermediate I

Asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and reaction with carbocations on acylimidazole Michael acceptors

• Brigita Mudráková,
• Renata Marcia de Figueiredo,
• Jean-Marc Campagne and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 881–888, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.65

• acylimidazole 3a (Table 1, entry 5) as monitored by TLC analysis. The reaction was completed after 3 hours, meaning that the in situ-formed enolate needed 3.3 equiv of tropylium NTf2 (2a) to complete the reaction. By this route, the tandem product 3a was isolated in a high yield of 93% but without any

• the reaction temperature led to improved reaction outcomes (Supporting Information File 1, Table S1, entries 2 and 11). We have continued the evaluation of reaction conditions for improving the diastereoselectivity of the reaction. We have tested transmetallation of the in situ-generated zinc enolate

Pyridine C(sp²)–H bond functionalization under transition-metal and rare earth metal catalysis

• Haritha Sindhe,
• Malladi Mounika Reddy,
• Karthikeyan Rajkumar,
• Akshay Kamble,
• Amardeep Singh,
• Anand Kumar and
• Satyasheel Sharma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 820–863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.62

• N-oxide 119b was formed during benzylation of 2-ethylpyridine N-oxide. A possible mechanism has also been reported (Scheme 23b). Electrophilic palladation at the C2-position of pyridine N-oxide 9 provides intermediate 120. The radical intermediate 121 is generated in situ by H-atom abstraction from

• , facilitating the C–H arylation of pyridine. Dimethyl sulfate was used as a good N-methylating agent, which acts as transient activator. The group performed HRMS and KIE studies and proposed a catalytic cycle (Scheme 25b). The oxidative addition of ArBr 130 to the in situ-formed Pd(0) species gives species 132

Sulfate radical anion-induced benzylic oxidation of N-(arylsulfonyl)benzylamines to N-arylsulfonylimines

• Joydev K. Laha,
• Pankaj Gupta and
• Amitava Hazra

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 771–777, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.57

• synthesis of synthetically useful N-arylsulfonylimines from N-(arylsulfonyl)benzylamines using K2S2O8 in the presence of pyridine as a base is reported herein. In addition, a “one-pot” tandem synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant N-heterocycles by the reaction of N-arylsulfonylimines, generated in situ

• approach, a gram-scale synthesis and a “one-pot” tandem synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant N-heterocycles by the reaction of in situ-generated N-arylsulfonylimines with various ortho-substituted anilines were also developed. The mechanism of the oxidation is believed to occur via hydrogen atom

• nucleophilic addition and as a result the corresponding cyclized product is not formed. The synthesis of these nitrogen heterocycles signifies the innate ability of in situ-generated N-arylsulfonylimines in a variety of reactions with various ortho-substituted anilines without the need for pre-isolation or

Palladium-catalyzed enantioselective three-component synthesis of α-arylglycine derivatives from glyoxylic acid, sulfonamides and aryltrifluoroborates

• Bastian Jakob,
• Nico Schneider,
• Luca Gengenbach and
• Georg Manolikakes

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 719–726, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.52

• , e.g., the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel [7] or the β-lactam antibiotic amoxicillin [8] (Figure 1). Therefore, the chemical synthesis of α-aryglycines has received considerable attention. Among the different methods introduced over time, multicomponent reactions utilizing an in situ generated reactive

• electrophilic iminium carbon, leading to the amine product as racemic mixture. Consequently, examples for asymmetric Petasis borono-Mannich reactions are rare [13] and usually rely on the utilization of chiral amine components in stoichiometric amounts [10][11]. As part of our research program utilizing the in

• situ generation of reactive imine species, we have disclosed iron- and bismuth-catalyzed three-component reactions for the synthesis of α-arylglycines [14][15][16], in which the arylboronic acid could be replaced with an electron-rich (hetero)arene as nucleophile. In parallel, we have developed

Strategies in the synthesis of dibenzo[b,f]heteropines

• David I. H. Maier,
• Barend C. B. Bezuidenhoudt and
• Charlene Marais

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 700–718, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.51

• . through a multicomponent reaction system [57]. The authors provided a series of substituted derivatives through Pd/Rh-catalysed domino coupling. The reaction proceeded via a Suzuki coupling, followed by an in situ Buchwald–Hartwig amination. The authors reported moderate to good yields in a series with

• , whereafter Buchwald–Hartwig amination afford the various diarylazepines. A three-component one-pot process allowed for a second in situ Buchwald–Hartwig amination of the diarylazepine with aryl or benzyl halides to give the respective N-aryl and N-benzylazepine derivatives 83 and 84 (Scheme 16). 3.2 Mizoroki

• bromides and electron-withdrawing groups. The authors found that the addition of potassium iodide, and thus in situ palladium-catalysed halogen exchange, improved the yield of dibenzo[b,f]azepine 110. Unsymmetrical derivatives of 110 containing -CO2Me, -CF3, -NO2 and -CN substituents were synthesised in

Photocatalytic sequential C–H functionalization expediting acetoxymalonylation of imidazo heterocycles

• Deepak Singh,
• Shyamal Pramanik and
• Soumitra Maity

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 666–673, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.48

• conversion into ZnBr2 (confirmed by HRMS). These in situ-generated free acetate ions function as a base, deprotonating carbocation III to produce the intermediate IV and AcOH. The first step of cycle-2 involves the oxidation of the excited photocatalyst by aerial oxygen to generate superoxide anion and PC

Nucleophile-induced ring contraction in pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzothiazines: access to pyrrolo[2,1-b][1,3]benzothiazoles

• Ekaterina A. Lystsova,
• Maksim V. Dmitriev,
• Andrey N. Maslivets and
• Ekaterina E. Khramtsova

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 646–657, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.46

• to the plausible pathway shown in Scheme 6. As we expected, the nucleophile 2a attacked on the position C4 of the substrate 1a, which resulted in the cleavage of the S5–C4 bond and the formation of a thiol intermediate A (1-(2-thiophenyl)pyrrole derivative generated in situ as a precursor analog for

• the cleavage of the S–C bond of the 1,4-benzothiazine moiety under the action of the nucleophile to form in situ a 1-(2-thiophenyl)pyrrole derivative that undergoes an intramolecular cyclization to give the target pyrrolobenzothiazoles 3, 7, and 12. The developed approach works well with alkanols 2

Enolates ambushed – asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and subsequent enolate trapping with conventional and less traditional electrophiles

• Péter Kisszékelyi and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 593–634, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.44

• developed a copper/Rev-Josiphos-catalyzed asymmetric conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to 2-methylcyclopentenone (78), which provided 2,3-disubstituted cyclopentanones in high yields and enantiomeric purities [53]. The one-pot alkylation reaction of the in situ formed magnesium enolate with alkylating