A laterally-fused N-heterocyclic carbene framework from polysubstituted aminoimidazo[5,1-b]oxazol-6-ium salts

• Andrew D. Gillie,
• Matthew G. Wakeling,
• Bethan L. Greene,
• Louise Male and
• Paul W. Davies

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 621–627, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.54

• -step ynamide annulation and imidazolium ring-formation sequence. Metalation with Au(I), Cu(I) and Ir(I) at the C2 position provides an L-shaped NHC ligand scaffold that has been validated in gold-catalysed alkyne hydration and arylative cyclisation reactions. Keywords: annulation; carbene; gold

• ; imidazolium; NHC; Introduction Imidazolium-derived nucleophilic heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have had a sustained impact across the fields of organometallic and main group chemistry, transition-metal catalysis, materials synthesis and organocatalysis [1]. Laterally annellated polycyclic NHCs offer a useful

• particularly underinvestigated [2][18][19]. In this work we report the preparation of a new L-shaped NHC motif, the 3-aminoimidazo[5,1-b]oxazol-5-ylidene A (shortened hereafter to AImOx), which fuses two π-rich rings and positions a sulfonamide group alongside the metal centre (Figure 1b). We envisaged that

Switchable molecular tweezers: design and applications

• Pablo Msellem,
• Maksym Dekthiarenko,
• Nihal Hadj Seyd and
• Guillaume Vives

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 504–539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.45

• such Pt(II) dissymmetric tweezers could be controlled as aryl thioethers are more labile than alkyl thioethers. The addition of Cl− thus first breaks the Pt–SAr bond. Platinum-based dissymmetric tweezers were also synthetized using NHC thioether ligands that are more stable than the phosphine thioether

Ligand effects, solvent cooperation, and large kinetic solvent deuterium isotope effects in gold(I)-catalyzed intramolecular alkene hydroamination

• Ruichen Lan,
• Brock Yager,
• Yoonsun Jee,
• Cynthia S. Day and
• Amanda C. Jones

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 479–496, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.43

• have been masked by the high temperatures and long reaction times of early reports. For example, Widenhoefer engaged carbamates and amides in dioxane at temperatures >80 °C [12][13]. Later work showed that ureas could be engaged at room temperature when a NHC–gold catalyst system was used, outpacing

Mechanisms for radical reactions initiating from N-hydroxyphthalimide esters

• Carlos R. Azpilcueta-Nicolas and
• Jean-Philip Lumb

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 346–378, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.35

• carbene (NHC)-catalyzed radical relay, and (iv) mechanisms under electrochemical activation. By discussing selected literature examples, we illustrate how the activation mode of NHPI esters, and the reactivity of the resulting radical species, can vary depending upon the choice of catalytic or

• , accompanied by the formation of cyano-B(pin) 142. Importantly, in the absence of ZnCl2, intermediate 140 could be detected by HRMS and 11B NMR, highlighting the pivotal role of ZnCl2 in promoting rearomatization. N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysis In 2019, Nagao and Ohmiya reported the decarboxylative

• coupling of NHPI esters with aldehydes enabled by NHC catalysis [106]. The reaction proceeds with the catalyst NHC-1 at 60 °C and gives rise to ketones (Scheme 30A). The proposed mechanism begins with the reaction of benzaldehyde (143) and the NHC-catalyst 144 to form the neutral Breslow intermediate 145

1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as suitable solvent for BF₃: the case of alkyne hydration. Chemistry vs electrochemistry

• Marta David,
• Elisa Galli,
• Richard C. D. Brown,
• Marta Feroci,
• Fabrizio Vetica and
• Martina Bortolami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1966–1981, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.147

• carried out in an undivided cell (see Supporting Information File 1, Figure S1d). In this last case, in fact, the NHC-BF3 adduct is formed between anodically electrogenerated BF3 and cathodically electrogenerated NHC [103]. Evaluation of the current efficiency in the electrogeneration of BF3 in BMIm-BF4

• presence of the NHC derived from the IL deprotonation. Conclusion In conclusion, in this work we demonstrated the possibility to carry out the hydration of alkynes in imidazolium ILs, as alternative solvents until now still little explored for this reaction, employing the Lewis acid BF3 as catalyst. The

Recent advancements in iodide/phosphine-mediated photoredox radical reactions

• Tinglan Liu,
• Yu Zhou,
• Junhong Tang and
• Chengming Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1785–1803, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.131

• NHC catalyst acted as a stabilizer for the EDA complex and generates a radical species, which was confirmed by further computational studies. Monofluoromethylation The monofluoromethyl (CH2F) group, which is commonly found in a lot of agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and materials, serves as a powerful

Active-metal template clipping synthesis of novel [2]rotaxanes

• Cătălin C. Anghel,
• Teodor A. Cucuiet,
• Niculina D. Hădade and
• Ion Grosu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1776–1784, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.130

• . Our results proved that the CuAAC reaction catalyzed by copper(I) N-heterocyclic carbenes can be successfully used in the synthesis of [2]rotaxanes. This, combined with the fast and simple assembly of [CuCl(SIMes)] [45][46] could lead to the development of a Cu(I) NHC click chemistry in the field of

Unprecedented synthesis of a 14-membered hexaazamacrocycle

• Anastasia A. Fesenko and
• Anatoly D. Shutalev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1728–1740, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.126

• (KBr, cm−1) ν: 3313 (s), 3113 (br s), 1705 (s), 1624 (s), 1573 (s), 1521 (m), 1304 (m), 1249 (s), 1155 (m), 872 (s), 761 (m); 1H NMR (600.13 MHz, DMSO-d6, 30 °C) δ 9.68 (br s, 1Н, NHC=O), ≈9.50 (very br s, 1Н, C=NH, signal partly overlaps with the signal of the NHC=O proton), 8.24 (br s, 1Н, H-6), 8.06

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 metal to the π* orbital of the NHC. Over the last two decades, NHC–metal complexes have been extensively used as efficient catalysts in different types of organic reactions. Of these, NHC–Cu(I) complexes found prominence for various reasons, such as ease of preparation, possibility of structural

• diversity, low cost, and versatile applications. This article overviews applications of NHC–Cu(I) complexes as catalysts in organic synthesis over the last 12 years, which include hydrosilylation reactions, conjugate addition, [3 + 2] cycloaddition, A3 reaction, boration and hydroboration, N–H and C(sp2)–H

• carboxylation, C(sp2)–H alkenylation and allylation, C(sp2)–H arylation, C(sp2)–H amidation, and C(sp2)–H thiolation. Preceding the section of applications, a brief description of the structure of NHCs, nature of NHC–metal bond, and methods of preparation of NHC–Cu complexes is provided. Keywords: conjugate

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

• acyloins (Scheme 1a). Anand’s group [25] demonstrated that a NHC-catalyzed selective acyloin condensation between aromatic aldehydes and trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal afforded the analogous products (Scheme 1b). In comparison, the synthesis of trifluoromethyl aliphatic acyloins is still

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

• and Epred = −2.10 V vs SCE for CF3Br) [93]. As a further application of conPET to atom transfer processes, the Wärnmark group recently disclosed an alternative protocol for the ATRA reaction of perfluoroalkyl iodides using the iron-based NHC complex [FeIII(btz)3](PF6)3 (btz = (3,3’-dimethyl-1,1’-bis(p

• of iron CT states (in the nanosecond domain) enabled by the relatively longer lifetimes of e.g. Fe–NHC complexes [97][98][99][100]. In particular, the Wärnmark group reported two sets of conditions with and without Et3N as a sacrificial electron donor, to achieve reductive and oxidative quenching

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

• 10.3762/bjoc.19.65 Abstract We present here a stereoselective tandem reaction based on the asymmetric conjugate addition of dialkylzinc reagents to unsaturated acylimidazoles followed by trapping of the intermediate zinc enolate with carbocations. The use of a chiral NHC ligand provides chiral zinc

• control of RNA [16]. Moreover, Campagne and co-workers showed that Cu–NHC-catalyzed conjugate additions of dialkylzinc reagents proceed with high enantioselectivities [17][18][19]. Furthermore, this methodology allows iterative access to 1,3-disubstituted motifs that are present in various natural

• a tandem reaction comprising the Cu–NHC-catalyzed addition of dialkylzinc reagents to enoyl imidazoles followed by a trapping reaction with various onium compounds (Scheme 1). In this work we show the development of this methodology and its application to a range of acylimidazoles and carbocations

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

• styrenes 64 using a Ni–Al bimetallic system and NHC ligand 65 through intermolecular hydroarylation with high levels of enantio- and regioselectivity in the alkylated products 66 (Scheme 13). Also, the authors performed DFT studies revealing the reaction mechanism and supported that the interaction of the

• NHC aryl part with trans-styrene was highly important for the reaction to proceed and for the enantiocontrolled formation of the products. Alkenylation The C–H alkenylation is another important C–C bond-forming reaction. Olefinated organic molecules like vinylarenes play a significant role as key

• . Also, metal–NHC complexes have wide application in catalysis and various organic transformations and a range of metal–NHCs served as catalysts. In 2010, using NHC ligands, Yap and co-workers [90] developed a method for the direct para and meta-C–H alkenylation of pyridines with 4-octyne (107) using a

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

• -mediated epimerization. Guénée et al. described the allylation, benzylation, and propargylation of magnesium enolates. These enolates were generated by a Cu-NHC-catalyzed conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to β-substituted cyclic enones (70) (Scheme 19) [51]. Fox and co-workers developed an intriguing

• or even complementary to boronates (e.g., sensitivity to organometallic reagents). In 2010, the Hoveyda group accomplished the NHC–Cu-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate addition of PhMe2Si-Bpin to α,β-unsaturated enones [88]. Additionally, they have also presented the successful trapping of the Cu

Transition-metal-catalyzed domino reactions of strained bicyclic alkenes

• Austin Pounder,
• Eric Neufeld,
• Peter Myler and
• William Tam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 487–540, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.38

• product 29 as well as regenerates the Ni(0) catalyst. In 2022, the Tobisu group explored a two-component carboacylation of norbornene derivatives. Exploiting a Ni/NHC system, the authors were able to develop an entirely atom-economic carboacylation process utilizing N-indoyl arylamides [38]. In 2019

Mechanochemical solid state synthesis of copper(I)/NHC complexes with K₃PO₄

• Ina Remy-Speckmann,
• Birte M. Zimmermann,
• Mahadeb Gorai,
• Martin Lerch and
• Johannes F. Teichert

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 440–447, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.34

• , Germany 10.3762/bjoc.19.34 Abstract A protocol for the mechanochemical synthesis of copper(I)/N-heterocyclic carbene complexes using cheap and readily available K3PO4 as base has been developed. This method employing a ball mill is amenable to typical simple copper(I)/NHC complexes but also to a

• focus has seldomly been on the preparative methods to access the required catalysts themselves. As case in point, we decided to re-investigate the synthesis of copper(I)/N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes, which are broadly applicable catalysts for a wide variety of transformations [4][5][6]. While

• generally there are many different synthetic routes to transition metal/NHC complexes [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] not all of them are applicable to the preparation of copper(I)/NHC compounds (Scheme 1) [5][6][13][16][17][18][19]. Generally, the so-called direct routes via the appropriate imidazol(in

Combining the best of both worlds: radical-based divergent total synthesis

• Kyriaki Gennaiou,
• Antonios Kelesidis,
• Maria Kourgiantaki and
• Alexandros L. Zografos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1–26, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.1

• asymmetric conjugate reaction of commercially available 81 and 82 using Fletcher’s protocol (94% ee) [44]. A subsequent intramolecular arylation in the α-position of the ketone of 83, catalyzed by a Pd(II)–NHC [45], followed by methylation, provided cis-decalin 84 (Scheme 7). Appropriate redox modifications

Redox-active molecules as organocatalysts for selective oxidative transformations – an unperceived organocatalysis field

• Elena R. Lopat’eva,
• Igor B. Krylov,
• Dmitry A. Lapshin and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1672–1695, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.179

• addition to the electron-rich C=C bond [58] or proton loss followed by β-functionalization [59][60][61]. The iminium cation catalysis is used in the activation of electrophilic properties of enones for the nucleophilic epoxidation by hydroperoxides (Scheme 2B). N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) organocatalysis

• coupling, or deprotonation followed by the functionalization of α- and β-positions of the starting aldehyde. NHC-catalyzed photochemical processes [64] and oxidative cyclizations with heterocycle formation [65] were reviewed previously. Acidic molecules or hydrogen-bond donors are used as organocatalysts

• -organocatalysts. Organocatalysis classification used in the present perspective. Oxidative processes catalyzed by amines. N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysis in oxidative functionalization of aldehydes. Examples of asymmetric oxidative processes catalyzed by chiral Brønsted acids. Asymmetric aerobic α

First example of organocatalysis by cathodic N-heterocyclic carbene generation and accumulation using a divided electrochemical flow cell

• Daniele Rocco,
• Ana A. Folgueiras-Amador,
• Richard C. D. Brown and
• Marta Feroci

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 979–990, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.98

• per l’Ingegneria, Sapienza University, via del Castro Laurenziano, 7, 00161, Rome, Italy 10.3762/bjoc.18.98 Abstract In this paper we present the first electrochemical generation of NHC carried out in a divided flow cell. The flow cell operated in the recycle mode. The need for a divided cell derived

• from the anodic electroactivity of the electrogenerated carbene. In order to have NHC accumulation in the catholyte, the Nafion membrane (cell separator) was pretreated with an alkaline solution. The formation of NHC was quantified as its reaction product with elemental sulfur. The NHC was successfully

• can be modified by the presence of a base or by a single electron cathodic reduction of the C–H between nitrogen atoms of the imidazolium ring (Scheme 1), inducing the formation of a N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) [7][8]. In recent years, NHCs have achieved great success: they have been frequently used

Recent developments and trends in the iron- and cobalt-catalyzed Sonogashira reactions

• Surendran Amrutha,
• Sankaran Radhika and
• Gopinathan Anilkumar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 262–285, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.31

• decrease in its activity. For comparison, the Sonogashira reaction of phenylacetylene and iodobenzene was performed in the presence of the two catalytic systems Co-NHC@MWCNTs and Co-NPS (Scheme 23 and Scheme 24). The reaction proceeded with four equivalents of KOH in EtOH/H2O at 65 °C. Aryl iodides showed

• higher reactivity and less active aryl chlorides were successfully coupled to give the desired products in acceptable yields. The reaction carried out by both catalysts gave excellent yields of up to 98% for Co-NHC@MWCNTs and a still good yield of up to 91% for reactions catalyzed by Co-NPs. It was

• various arylhalides and phenylacetylene in the presence of Co@imine-POP catalyst. Sonogashira coupling of aryl halides and phenylacetylene using Co-DMM@MNPs/chitosan. Sonogashira cross-coupling of aryl halides with terminal acetylenes in the presence of Co-NHC@MWCNTs. Sonogashira cross-coupling of aryl

Chemoselective N-acylation of indoles using thioesters as acyl source

• Tianri Du,
• Xiangmu Wei,
• Honghong Xu,
• Xin Zhang,
• Ruiru Fang,
• Zheng Yuan,
• Zhi Liang and
• Yahui Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 89–94, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.9

• NHC catalysis [15] (Scheme 1, A1). In 2019, Jiang and co-workers reported a dicarbonylation of amine and aryl borates using α-ketothioester as a stable 1,2-dicarbonyl reagent [16] (Scheme 1, B). Recently, we applied S-methyl butanethioate in a Pd-catalyzed transthioetherification or

Biological properties and conformational studies of amphiphilic Pd(II) and Ni(II) complexes bearing functionalized aroylaminocarbo-N-thioylpyrrolinate units

• Samet Poyraz,
• Samet Belveren,
• Sabriye Aydınoğlu,
• Mahmut Ulger,
• Abel de Cózar,
• Maria de Gracia Retamosa,
• Jose M. Sansano and
• H. Ali Döndaş

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2812–2821, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.192

• ligands that could coordinate several metal centers with the aid of sulfur, nitrogen or oxygen donor atoms that allow multiple bindings [13]. Moreover, compounds bearing a –C(O)NHC(S)– moiety and their metal complexes have assorted biological and pharmacological properties such as anti(myco)bacterial

Recent advances in organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael reactions of amines and amides

• Pratibha Sharma,
• Raakhi Gupta and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2585–2610, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.173

• carbenes (NHC) In recent years, NHCs have been used as organocatalysts for a wide variety of reactions [62]. Wang et al. investigated the use of several 1,2,4-triazolo-annelated chiral NHCs as organocatalysts to catalyze enantioselective aza-MR between primary amines (100) and β-trifluoromethyl-β

• -arylnitroolefins 101 and the best results (yield 99%, ee 91%) were obtained in the reaction of benzylamine (R1 = Ph) on using the NHC precursor as shown below in the presence of hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as additive along with molecular sieves (4 Å) (Table 23) [63]. The role of HFIP is to act as proton shuttle

Asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives

• Natália M. Moreira,
• Lorena S. R. Martelli and
• Arlene G. Corrêa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1952–1980, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.128

• ]coumarins are formed with good to excellent yields and enantioselectivities (Scheme 14). N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) have also been successfully used as organocatalysts, in particular, to obtain coumarin derivatives [47]. In this context, Yetra et al. reported a NHC catalyzed reaction of 2-bromoenals 46

• with various heterocyclic C–H acids, resulting in the synthesis of coumarin/quinolinone fused dihydropyranones and dihydropyridinones 47. The reaction optimization and the scope and limitations study were carried out using an achiral NHC, but the enantioselective version was also performed using 4

• -hydroxycoumarin (1) with the chiral catalyst 48, as shown in Scheme 15 [48]. The enantioselective synthesis of dihydrocoumarins 51 from an inverse demand [4 + 2] cycloaddition of ketenes 50 with o-quinone methides 49 using carbene catalyst (NHC) 52 was described by Ye and co-workers [49].This transformation

A comprehensive review of flow chemistry techniques tailored to the flavours and fragrances industries

• Guido Gambacorta,
• James S. Sharley and
• Ian R. Baxendale

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1181–1312, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.90