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

• it will not be covered in this review. Most molecular components for photoreduction catalysis are not being developed or optimized with sacrificial electron donors that can be recycled. This means that the conditions must be reoptimized if redox mediators or other recyclable donors need to be used to

• donors used in photoreduction catalysis for artificial photosynthesis. Specifically, organic electron or hydride donors usually applied in molecular photocatalysis. 2. Survey the literature from different fields and present a sample of potentially recyclable electron donors for artificial photosynthesis

• close to the final catalysis conditions as possible. Once candidate donors have been identified using their oxidation potential, their quenching behavior and the effect on the photocatalytic performance can be tested. To help identify potential recyclable replacements for sacrificial donors such as

Exploring the role of halogen bonding in iodonium ylides: insights into unexpected reactivity and reaction control

• Carlee A. Montgomery and
• Graham K. Murphy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1171–1190, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.86

• have been feasible. In 1989, Moriarty was investigating the intramolecular cyclopropanation of 10 under copper-catalysis, presuming that the reaction would proceed through a metallocarbene intermediate [113]. However, a control experiment showed the reaction to also be viable without catalyst, from

• conditions, and offered a related mechanistic proposal (Figure 5, right) for the formation of 20 [110]. Given that their reaction proceeded almost equally well under metal-free conditions as under Rh2(OAc)4 catalysis (3.5 h, 40 °C, 31% 20), and that free carbene formation was unlikely at this temperature

Selective and scalable oxygenation of heteroatoms using the elements of nature: air, water, and light

• Damiano Diprima,
• Hannes Gemoets,
• Stefano Bonciolini and
• Koen Van Aken

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1146–1154, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.82

• phosphine oxide, and selenides to selenoxides. Sulfoxide, phosphine oxide, and selenoxide-containing molecules have diverse applications in the pharmaceutical industry [10], as chiral auxiliaries or as ligands for asymmetric metal catalysis [11], and in materials such as polymers [12][13] and flame

• retardants [14]. Sulfoxides are prominent pharmaceutical ingredients, while phosphine oxides improve solubility of corresponding compounds [15] and have applications in catalysis and materials science [16]. Selenoxides find use as oxygen transfer agents and donor ligands in metal catalysis and organic

• comparative study between the electrochemical and the photoredox pathway, using the exact same chemical matrix, is not yet described. Intrigued by this, we decided to investigate the oxidation of sulfides both via electrochemistry and photoredox catalysis using thioanisole as benchmark substrate. Initially

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

• Mattia Lepori Simon Schmid Joshua P. Barham Fakultät für Chemie und Pharmazie, Universität Regensburg, Universitatsstraße 31, 93040 Regensburg, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.19.81 Abstract Photoredox catalysis (PRC) is a cutting-edge frontier for single electron-transfer (SET) reactions, enabling the

• feedstocks, and scalability up to gram scales in continuous flow. This review provides comparisons between the two techniques (multi-photon photoredox catalysis and PEC) to help the reader to fully understand their similarities, differences and potential applications and to therefore choose which method is

• the most appropriate for a given reaction, scale and purpose of a project. Keywords: consecutive photoinduced electron transfer; electro-activated photoredox catalysis; photoelectrochemistry; photoredox catalysis; radical ions; Review 1 Introduction Owing to the unique reactivity patterns of free

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

• the tremendous progress in organic chemistry over the last few decades, metal catalysis has been increasingly and successfully replaced by organocatalysis, i.e., accelerating the rate of chemical transformations by using small organic molecules as catalysts. Although being discovered more than 100

Photoredox catalysis enabling decarboxylative radical cyclization of γ,γ-dimethylallyltryptophan (DMAT) derivatives: formal synthesis of 6,7-secoagroclavine

• Alessio Regni,
• Francesca Bartoccini and
• Giovanni Piersanti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 918–927, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.70

• photocatalyst. Keywords: decarboxylative cyclization; DMAT; ergot alkaloids; photoredox catalysis; radicals; Introduction Visible-light photoredox catalysis is rapidly changing the way organic chemists approach the design and synthesis of molecules by offering new synthetic disconnection opportunities that

• ground state catalyst [21][22][23][24][25][26]. While early research has focused on methods for the functionalization of relatively simple hydrocarbons [27][28][29][30], developments in photoredox catalysis have gained traction recently as a viable strategy for the total synthesis of natural products [31

• their ability to participate in either redox step of the catalytic cycle [42][43][44][45]. For example, the main use of α-amino acids in syntheses via photoredox catalysis is as readily available precursors of regioselective α-amino radicals by decarboxylative transformations, by oxidation of the

Cyclodextrins as building blocks for new materials

• Miriana Kfoury and
• Sophie Fourmentin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 889–891, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.66

• , and catalysis [2][5][12]. Molecular encapsulation is not the only application area for these macrocyclic components at present. CDs are versatile molecules. Their 3D structure makes them exceptional building blocks for the design of innovative supramolecular architectures due to the differential

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

• obtained by other conjugate addition reactions. Keywords: acylimidazole; asymmetric catalysis; carbocation; conjugate addition; enolate; Introduction Asymmetric metal-catalyzed conjugate additions provide access to numerous chiral scaffolds. This type of C–C bond formation efficiently enables the

• its applications in the total syntheses of complex natural products and other molecules of biological relevance [13][14]. Acylimidazoles proved to be versatile building blocks broadly applicable in asymmetric catalysis and organic synthesis. Today, acylimidazoles are used as ester/amide surrogates

A fluorescent probe for detection of Hg²⁺ ions constructed by tetramethyl cucurbit[6]uril and 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethene

• Xiaoqian Chen,
• Naqin Yang,
• Yue Ma,
• Xinan Yang and
• Peihua Ma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 864–872, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.63

• form various host–guest inclusion complexes [16][17][18][19][20], which have broad application prospects in supramolecular catalysis [21][22][23], molecular recognition [24][25], and drug delivery [26][27]. In recent years, in the field of supramolecular chemistry, the detection of analytes based on

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

• , diversely functionalized pyridines have been synthesized via C–H activation under transition-metal and rare earth metal catalysis, including C–H alkylation, alkenylation, arylation, heteroarylation, borylation, etc. Recently, metal-free approaches have also been developed for the C–H functionalization of N

• using a cationic zirconium complex under a H2 atmosphere in 1989 and the work done by Bergman and Ellmann [49] in 2010 for the ortho-C–H alkylation of pyridines under Rh(I) catalysis at high temperature, in 2011 Hou and Guan reported an atom economical method for the selective ortho-alkylation of

• pyridines by C–H addition to olefins under cationic half-sandwich rare-earth catalysis [50]. They carried out the reaction in the presence of dialkyl complexes of scandium (Sc) or yttrium (Y) such as (C5Me5)Ln(CH2C6H4NMe2-o)2 (Ln = Sc, Y) in combination with B(C6F5)3 as an activator. The method demonstrated

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

• products. Keywords: amino acids; asymmetric catalysis; multicomponent reaction; palladium catalysis; Petasis reaction; sulfonamides; Introduction α-Amino acids play a crucial role in every aspect of our human life [1]. They are important synthetic intermediates in the chemical industry and used for the

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

• by Kricka and Ledwith [28] in 1974, is recommended. While the review is lacking modern metal catalysis, it is still an excellent work covering early syntheses and properties. An analogous review published by Olivera et al. [29] covers the topic of dibenzo[b,f]oxepines (1b) up to 2002. Other

• thioethers from aryl halides and triflates through palladium catalysis [50][51]. Scheme 10 provides a retrosynthesis of amination in the synthesis of dibenzo[b,f]azepine 45 as an example. Arnold et al. [30] reported an excellent method for the convergent synthesis of variable sized dibenzo-fused heterocycles

• precursor 102 and the complementary aldehyde 103. 3.4 Catellani-type reaction The Catellani reaction involves palladium-norbornene cooperative catalysis to functionalise the ortho- and ipso-positions of aryl halides by alkylation, arylation, amination, acylation, thiolation, etc. [63]. Della Ca' et al. [64

Synthesis of medium and large phostams, phostones, and phostines

• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 687–699, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.50

• the catalytic antibody [24]. They are also potential chiral ligands in asymmetric catalysis [25] (Figure 1). Cyclizations and annulations are two major strategies for the synthesis of medium and large phostam, phostone, and phostine derivatives. The cyclizations have been applied in the construction

• ]thiophen-3-yl)methanol (23) and benzyl allylphosphonochlordiate (24) in the presence of triethylamine in diethyl ether via phosphonylation. It underwent a RCM reaction under the catalysis of Grubbs first generation catalyst in DCM, affording 2-(4-methylphenyl)benzothiophene-fused 2-(benzyloxy)-3,6,7,8,9,10

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

• products with excellent yields and regioselectivity, thus confirming excellent functional group tolerability. Keywords: C–H functionalization; imidazo heterocycles; photoredox; regioselective; relay catalysis; Introduction Among all N-fused heterocycles, imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines (IPs) are the prevalent

• using air as the sole oxygen source. Keeping in mind the progress in photochemical relay catalysis [24] and the attention paid to photocatalytic carbon-bond functionalization in the past several years [25], here we developed an organophotoredox-catalyzed C–H functionalization of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines

• activation and functionalization of sp2 and sp3 C–H bonds via relay catalysis (Scheme 4). The relay can be divided into two cycles; the first cycle (cycle-1) deals with the C(sp2)–H functionalization at the C-3 position of the imidazo heterocycles, while the second cycle (cycle-2) is all about the C(sp3)–H

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

• . Short information on applications in total synthesis is also given. Keywords: asymmetric catalysis; conjugate addition; electrophile; enolate; tandem reaction; Introduction The formation of complex chiral molecules is a crucial task of organic synthesis that enables the synthesis of pharmaceuticals

• α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds [2]. In particular, the last-mentioned method is highly synthetically relevant. This approach has the advantage of being more selective and affording more molecular complexity in one step. In addition, transition-metal catalysis allows the introduction of

C3-Alkylation of furfural derivatives by continuous flow homogeneous catalysis

• Grédy Kiala Kinkutu,
• Catherine Louis,
• Myriam Roy,
• Juliette Blanchard and
• Julie Oble

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 582–592, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.43

• formation of the imine directing group and the C3-functionalization with some vinylsilanes and norbonene. Keywords: biomass; C–H activation; flow; furfural; homogeneous catalysis; Introduction The conversion of biomass derivatives into value-added products is one of the key branches of green chemistry and

A new oxidatively stable ligand for the chiral functionalization of amino acids in Ni(II)–Schiff base complexes

• Alena V. Dmitrieva,
• Oleg A. Levitskiy,
• Yuri K. Grishin and
• Tatiana V. Magdesieva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 566–574, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.41

• employing chiral auxiliaries [4][5] and asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis [6][7]. The former approach is commonly based on the application of chiral derivatives of glycine containing structurally diverse chiral auxiliaries, both cyclic [8][9][10][11] and acyclic [12][13]. Transition-metal complexes

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

• shed light on future directions for further development in this field. Keywords: bicyclic alkenes; cascade; catalysis; domino; transition-metal-catalyzed; Introduction A well-orchestrated sequence of events – cascade, also known as domino, tandem, and sequential reactions, constitutes a fascinating

• transition-metal catalysis. Nickel lies directly above palladium in the periodic table, as such, it readily performs many of the same elementary reactions. Because of their reactive commonalties, nickel is often seen as the budget-friendly replacement; however, this misconception will clearly be refuted in

• , Gutierrez and Molander reported the coupling 4-alkyl-1,4-dihydropyridines 31 with heterobicyclic alkenes 30 under photoredox/Ni dual catalysis (Scheme 6) [39]. In contrast to other photoredox-mediated transformations, the authors utilized the inexpensive organic photosensitizer 4-CzIPN (Scheme 6 and Scheme

Computational studies of Brønsted acid-catalyzed transannular cycloadditions of cycloalkenone hydrazones

• Manuel Pedrón,
• Jana Sendra,
• Irene Ginés,
• Tomás Tejero,
• Jose L. Vicario and
• Pedro Merino

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 477–486, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.37

• catalysis in route to enantiomerically pure bicyclic 1,3-diamines (Scheme 1) [29]. The reaction led to excellent results when decalines and octahydro-1H-indene bicyclic scaffolds were formed (series a and b) but failed in other cases (series c, d, and k). Series e, f, g, h, and i have not been tested

• alkenes under chiral BINOL-derived Brønsted acid catalysis has been studied by Houk and Rueping in 2014 [33]. These authors established the origin of the enantioselectivity and the differences between the catalyzed and uncatalyzed reactions, suggesting that the catalyzed reaction is, actually, a so-called

Transition-metal-catalyzed C–H bond activation as a sustainable strategy for the synthesis of fluorinated molecules: an overview

• Louis Monsigny,
• Floriane Doche and
• Tatiana Besset

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 448–473, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.35

• functionalization of C(sp2) and C(sp3) centers with SCF3, SeCF3, or OCH2CF3 groups among others, by C–H bond activation. The scope and limitations of these transformations are discussed in this review. Keywords: C–H bond activation; emergent fluorinated groups; homogeneous catalysis; organofluorine chemistry

• [6][7][8][9][10][11]. Among them [2][5][12][13][14][15][16][17][18], the direct functionalization of a simple C–H bond by transition-metal catalysis [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] became an important tool offering new

• in the field have been interested in the design of original methodologies for the trifluoromethylthiolation and more recently the difluoromethylthiolation of various compounds by transition-metal catalysis [78]. Moreover, a recent interest was devoted to the trifluoromethylselenolation reaction as

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

• been shown to be active in a variety of reduction/hydrogenation transformations employing dihydrogen as terminal reducing agent. Keywords: ball mill; bifunctional catalysis; catalytic hydrogenations; copper; mechanochemical synthesis; N-heterocyclic carbenes; Introduction Prominent goals of green

• challenge for syntheses is the development of green and environmentally friendly routes to access value-added products. One important way to more economical syntheses is the concept of catalysis to avoid stoichiometric amounts of reactants and to design reactions more atom efficient [1][2][3]. However, the

• hypothesize that in this CO2 adduct, the guanidine moiety is unavailable to perform its assisting part in catalysis through hydrogen-bonding interaction [48]. As additional evidence to support the formation of the CO2 adduct of 5, we can show that bubbling of CO2 through a solution of 5 leads to catalytically

CuAAC-inspired synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole-bridged porphyrin conjugates: an overview

• Dileep Kumar Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 349–379, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.29

• ; Introduction Porphyrins are an aromatic, immensely conjugated, and colorful macrocyclic array with remarkable optical, electrochemical, and biological features. It is one of the most fascinating heterocyclic molecules which have various applications in catalysis, materials sciences, photochemistry and

Group 13 exchange and transborylation in catalysis

• Dominic R. Willcox and
• Stephen P. Thomas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 325–348, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.28

• Dominic R. Willcox Stephen P. Thomas EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FJ, United Kingdom 10.3762/bjoc.19.28 Abstract Catalysis is dominated by the use of rare and potentially toxic transition metals. The main group offers a potentially sustainable alternative

• for catalysis, due to the generally higher abundance and lower toxicity of these elements. Group 13 elements have a rich catalogue of stoichiometric addition reactions to unsaturated bonds but cannot undergo the redox chemistry which underpins transition-metal catalysis. Group 13 exchange reactions

• and develop new catalytic processes, examples of which are the focus of this review. Keywords: catalysis; group 13 exchange; hydroboration; main group; transborylation; Introduction Group 13 compounds have found widespread use in stoichiometric organic transformations, typically in the

Synthesis and reactivity of azole-based iodazinium salts

• Thomas J. Kuczmera,
• Annalena Dietz,
• Andreas Boelke and
• Boris J. Nachtsheim

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 317–324, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.27

• aryl donors [11][12][13][14][15][16]. Their cyclic derivatives have a proven utility as precursors for the synthesis of hetero- and carbocycles [17][18][19][20][21], and their pronounced σ-holes [22] render them efficient halogen-bond donors (XB donors in XB catalysis) [23]. Despite their great

• potential in organic synthesis and catalysis, their structural variation is still limited. In particular, heteroarene-bridged cyclic iodonium salts are rare. Examples include the benzisoxazole-containing iodonium salt 1 described by Lisichkina and Tolstaya (Figure 1) [24][25]. Our group is interested in the

• reactivity and utility in XB catalysis. We also established one-pot methods for generating six-membered carbon-, oxygen-, and nitrogen-bridged iodonium salts, such as the iodazinium triflate 3 [32][33]. Based on these promising findings, we further wanted to elaborate this chemistry and herein we present the

Strategies to access the [5-8] bicyclic core encountered in the sesquiterpene, diterpene and sesterterpene series

• Cécile Alleman,
• Charlène Gadais,
• Laurent Legentil and
• François-Hugues Porée

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 245–281, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.23

• -positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Scheme 31B). 4.4 Photocatalyzed oxidative ring expansion: alternative radical chemistry for pleuromutilin scaffold construction Following the advent of photoredox catalysis in ring-opening and ring-expansion chemistry [75], a new route was proposed by Foy and Pronin to