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

• a nucleophilic reacting center. In addition to umpolung reactions with electrophiles, Breslow intermediates can undergo oxidation with the formation of radical cations or electrophilic acylazolium cations. The acylazolium cation in turn can undergo nucleophilic attack resulting in C–O and C–N

• , organocatalysis by the modulation of redox properties of reagents has much in common with redox-neutral organocatalysis. With the exception of free-radical processes, the distinguishing feature of these organocatalyzed oxidations frequently lies in the involvement of peroxides as O-nucleophiles or O-electrophiles

• instead of corresponding C-nucleophiles or C-electrophiles in redox-neutral organocatalyzed reactions. Organocatalysis by redox-active organic molecules N-Oxyl radical catalysis Reactive N-oxyl radicals generated in situ from the corresponding N-hydroxy compounds have found numerous applications in CH

Ferrocenoyl-adenines: substituent effects on regioselective acylation

• Mateja Toma,
• Gabrijel Zubčić,
• Jasmina Lapić,
• Senka Djaković,
• Davor Šakić and
• Valerije Vrček

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1270–1277, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.133

• more nucleophilic than the N9 atom. It comes out that the N7-nitrogen in the adenine anion reacts more readily with electrophiles, i.e., nucleophilic reactions occur preferably at the N7-position. The same conclusion was made by Stachowicz–Kuśnierz and Korchowiec who have shown that the inherent

Modular synthesis of 2-furyl carbinols from 3-benzyldimethylsilylfurfural platforms relying on oxygen-assisted C–Si bond functionalization

• Sebastien Curpanen,
• Per Reichert,
• Gabriele Lupidi,
• Giovanni Poli,
• Julie Oble and
• Alejandro Perez-Luna

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1256–1263, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.131

• ). With the 3-silylated 2-furyl carbinol substrates at hand, we then considered C–Si bond activation strategies relying on the assistance of the oxygen atom to promote electrophilic substitution reactions with carbon electrophiles. C3–Si bond functionalization through intramolecular activation by

• of electrophiles to deliver product D, resulting from the overall C2–Si functionalization (Scheme 3, top) [24][25]. The key to the viability of this process is the formation of pentavalent silicon intermediate B. This suggested that a related pentavalent intermediate F could be similarly accessible

• furan rings, which gave products 25 and 26 in 42% and 40% yield, respectively. Electrophiles other than methallyl chloride could also be used. C3-Allylation of substrate 4c, leading to 27, was achieved in 52% yield by reaction with allyl chloride and in a better 61% yield using allyl bromide. It should

Dienophilic reactivity of 2-phosphaindolizines: a conceptual DFT investigation

• Nosheen Beig,
• Aarti Peswani and
• Raj Kumar Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1217–1224, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.127

• ), global softness (S), electronic chemical potential (µ), electrophilicity (ω) and nucleophilicity (N) indices of 2-phosphaindolizines 6 and 1,3-butadiene (7) are given in Table 2. 2-Phosphaindolizines and 1,3-butadiene are soft electrophiles and nucleophile, respectively, and in accordance with the HSAB

Reductive opening of a cyclopropane ring in the Ni(II) coordination environment: a route to functionalized dehydroalanine and cysteine derivatives

• Oleg A. Levitskiy,
• Olga I. Aglamazova,
• Yuri K. Grishin and
• Tatiana V. Magdesieva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1166–1176, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.121

• reactions with electrophiles, intramolecular cyclization and disproportionation process. The synthetic viability of the approach will be considered. A one-pot multistep synthetic protocol is suggested, based on addition of thiols to the mixture of isomeric alkenes formed in an electroreductive opening of a

• well as to steric reasons. Reaction with electrophiles Anions formed in the reductive ring opening in complex 4 are stable enough: they survive even in the presence of acetic acid and do not react with electrophiles (CH3I, benzaldehyde). In contrast, addition of external electrophiles in the reaction

• that follow-up functionalization of the anions formed after the ring opening with electrophiles (except H+) has low synthetic value due to multiple competing reaction channels observed in case of 3 and decreased nucleophilicity of 4. Consequently, it seems reasonable to focus on the one-pot

Electrochemical formal homocoupling of sec-alcohols

• Kosuke Yamamoto,
• Kazuhisa Arita,
• Masashi Shiota,
• Masami Kuriyama and
• Osamu Onomura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1062–1069, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.108

• catalytic amount of transition-metal reductants have been developed, but stoichiometric silicon electrophiles and co-reductants such as Zn were commonly required to complete the catalytic cycle [14]. More recently, visible light-mediated pinacol coupling reactions have been disclosed by several groups [15

Synthetic strategies for the preparation of γ-phostams: 1,2-azaphospholidine 2-oxides and 1,2-azaphospholine 2-oxides

• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 889–915, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.90

• ], the strategy is the dearomatizing anionic cyclization of diaryl-N-alkyl-N-benzylphosphinamides by treatment with sec-butyllithium followed by reactions with different electrophiles, such as water, alcohols, alkyl halides, aldehydes, etc. They first realized the dearomatizing anionic cyclization of

• hindrance of the N-alkyl group, although several regio- and diastereoisomers were generated in the reactions (Scheme 22) [19]. They further investigated the influences of the time of metalation, the concentration of base, cosolvents (additives), and the time of contact with the electrophiles on the regio

• - and stereoselectivities in the tandem intramolecular nucleophilic dearomatization of diphenyl-N-alkyl-N-benzylphosphinamides and reactions with different electrophiles under various reaction conditions [47]. They used both racemic and enantiopure diphenyl-N-methyl-N-(1-phenylethyl)phosphinamides 124

Efficient synthesis of ethyl 2-(oxazolin-2-yl)alkanoates via ethoxycarbonylketene-induced electrophilic ring expansion of aziridines

• Yelong Lei and
• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 70–76, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.6

• diastereomeric products 3 were obtained. Compared with previously reported methods, our current method is more convenient and low cost without any activators (such as thionyl chloride, sulfonyl chlorides, NBS, electrophiles, and radical initiators) and catalysts. The current synthetic strategy is a clean

1,2-Naphthoquinone-4-sulfonic acid salts in organic synthesis

• Ruan Carlos B. Ribeiro,
• Patricia G. Ferreira,
• Amanda de A. Borges,
• Luana da S. M. Forezi,
• Fernando de Carvalho da Silva and
• Vitor F. Ferreira

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 53–69, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.5

• chemistry and medicinal chemistry of naphthoquinones are the diversification of the strategies to obtain derivatives [8][80]. β-NQS are excellent electrophiles and have been used for obtaining naphthoquinones substituted by alkyl- or arylamines. The reactivity of aminopyrazolopyridine 30 with β-NQSNa (18

Iron-catalyzed domino coupling reactions of π-systems

• Austin Pounder and
• William Tam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2848–2893, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.196

• ligand and its appropriate steric properties are thought to be crucial to the success of the reaction [71]. The authors showed the in situ-formed 1,3-dienylmagnesium species 33 can also be trapped by a variety of electrophiles, demonstrating the synthetic utility of the reaction. In 2016, Fürstner and

Synthesis of new pyrazolo[1,2,3]triazines by cyclative cleavage of pyrazolyltriazenes

• Nicolai Wippert,
• Martin Nieger,
• Claudine Herlan,
• Nicole Jung and
• Stefan Bräse

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2773–2780, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.187

• intermediate 17a with R1 = Bn instead of R1 = bromobenzyl. Depending on the nature of the side chain R1 in compounds 12a–g, the reduction to compounds 17a–g leads to a change of R1 to a different side chain R1' which can be used for further transformation to R1'' by conversion with electrophiles. This was

Me₃Al-mediated domino nucleophilic addition/intramolecular cyclisation of 2-(2-oxo-2-phenylethyl)benzonitriles with amines; a convenient approach for the synthesis of substituted 1-aminoisoquinolines

• Krishna M. S. Adusumalli,
• Lakshmi N. S. Konidena,
• Hima B. Gandham,
• Krishnaiah Kumari,
• Krishna R. Valluru,
• Satya K. R. Nidasanametla,
• Venkateswara R. Battula and
• Hari K. Namballa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2765–2772, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.186

• synthesis of a wide array of heterocyclic compounds by creating C–C, C–N, C–O and C–S bonds due to their ability to act as electrophiles. The cyano group is considered as a versatile functional group in various organic syntheses because of its participation in various electrophilic, necleophilic and bipolar

Recent advances in the asymmetric phosphoric acid-catalyzed synthesis of axially chiral compounds

• Alemayehu Gashaw Woldegiorgis and
• Xufeng Lin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2729–2764, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.185

• nucleophilic addition reactions using isatin-derived imines 50 as electrophiles was reported by Tan, Shi and co-workers in 2020. Enantioenriched 3,3'-bisindoles with a biologically essential chiral 3-aminooxindole unit can be readily prepared by these methods. CPA 9 utilizes hydrogen bonding to activate both

Synthesis of highly substituted fluorenones via metal-free TBHP-promoted oxidative cyclization of 2-(aminomethyl)biphenyls. Application to the total synthesis of nobilone

• Ilya A. P. Jourjine,
• Lukas Zeisel,
• Jürgen Krauß and
• Franz Bracher

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2668–2679, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.181

• give imines, iminium salts, aldehydes and other, in some cases dimeric products [49]. Here, oxidation of the benzylic amino moiety should lead either to iminium ions (or N-acyl iminium ions) 4a as strong electrophiles or to stabilized radicals 4b which could undergo cyclization to give the fluorenone

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

• of prolinol silyl ether (cat. 120) and benzoic acid (A1) catalysts to bring about reaction between 3-formyl-substituted indoles or pyrroles 118 and diverse electrophiles, including carbonyls, imines and other Michael acceptors (Scheme 5) [69]. The reaction with secondary amines occurred via the

Silica gel and microwave-promoted synthesis of dihydropyrrolizines and tetrahydroindolizines from enaminones

• Robin Klintworth,
• Garreth L. Morgans,
• Stefania M. Scalzullo,
• Charles B. de Koning,
• Willem A. L. van Otterlo and
• Joseph P. Michael

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2543–2552, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.170

• enaminones as both nucleophiles and electrophiles have frequently been exploited in the synthesis of heterocyclic products, including pyrroles and related systems [22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Nonetheless, encouraged by the ease of access to pyrrole-containing products of type 12 and their potential

Recent advances in the tandem annulation of 1,3-enynes to functionalized pyridine and pyrrole derivatives

• Yi Liu,
• Puying Luo,
• Yang Fu,
• Tianxin Hao,
• Xuan Liu,
• Qiuping Ding and
• Yiyuan Peng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2462–2476, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.163

• electrophiles or Lewis acid catalysts to form pyridines and pyrroles. Series of iodinated, aminated, selenylated, sulfenylated, esterified, and hydroxylated pyridine derivatives have been prepared based on 1,3-enynes. In addition, we also reviewed the tandem cyclization of 1,3-enynes to realize various

A visible-light-induced, metal-free bis-arylation of 2,5-dichlorobenzoquinone

• Pieterjan Winant and
• Wim Dehaen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2315–2320, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.149

• salts are generated in situ and converted to radicals through irradiation with visible light. Reaction products precipitate from the solvent, eliminating the need for purification and thus providing a novel green method for the synthesis of versatile bis-electrophiles. Keywords: benzoquinone; diazonium

Base-free enantioselective S_N2 alkylation of 2-oxindoles via bifunctional phase-transfer catalysis

• Mili Litvajova,
• Emiliano Sorrentino,
• Brendan Twamley and
• Stephen J. Connon

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2287–2294, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.146

• delight, relatively electron-rich benzyl bromides were able to afford products in high yields and with improved product ee – up to 90% (Table 2, entries 8 and 9). Attention then switched to non-benzyl bromide-based electrophiles – however, use of allyl iodide was able to furnish product 10Aj with only 51

Photoredox catalysis in nickel-catalyzed C–H functionalization

• Lusina Mantry,
• Rajaram Maayuri,
• Vikash Kumar and
• Parthasarathy Gandeepan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2209–2259, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.143

• active nickel(0) catalyst 5-III. The synthetic utility of the photoredox nickel-catalyzed C‒H arylation was further elaborated to include C‒O electrophiles which could be readily derived from phenols, as disclosed by the Yu group [58]. Hence, they reported an arylation protocol for α-amino- and α-oxy C

• radical source via a nickel/photoredox-catalyzed HAT processes (Scheme 28) [92]. The method was also compatible with other chlorine-containing electrophiles such as acyl chlorides 45 to afford methyl ketones 47 in moderate yields. Based on the detailed mechanistic studies, the authors proposed a catalytic

• photocatalyst and NiCl2·glyme as the nickel catalyst enabled this C–H alkenylation protocol using alkenyl C(sp2)–O electrophiles at ambient reaction temperature under blue light irradiation (Scheme 31) [58]. In general, the method displayed broad substrate scope, good functional group tolerance, and excellent

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

• electrophilic and nucleophilic α-functionalizations are possible, whereas with the use of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes the β-position is functionalized with nucleophiles and the γ-position with electrophiles. In this sense, Jørgensen and colleagues have developed the first organocatalytic asymmetric Michael

Regioselective N-alkylation of the 1H-indazole scaffold; ring substituent and N-alkylating reagent effects on regioisomeric distribution

• Ryan M. Alam and
• John J. Keating

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1939–1951, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.127

• electrophiles, while maintaining a high degree of N-1 regioselectivity. Keywords: indazole; N-alkylation; regioselective; sodium hydride; tetrahydrofuran; Introduction Indazole (benzo[c]pyrazole) is an aromatic bicyclic heterocycle and can be viewed as a (bio)isostere of indole [1]. While only a few naturally

• -halo carbonyl electrophiles, Hunt et al. have shown that regioselective indazole N-alkylation can be achieved through an equilibration process which favours the thermodynamic N-1 substituted product [17]. Regioselective indazole N-acylation has been suggested to provide the N-1 substituted regioisomer

• , via isomerisation of the corresponding N-2 acylindazole to the more stable N-1 regioisomer [18]. Similarly, N-1 substituted indazoles have been obtained through thermodynamic equilibration, using β-halo ester electrophiles, in the presence of DMF [19]. These latter findings have been utilized to great

On the application of 3d metals for C–H activation toward bioactive compounds: The key step for the synthesis of silver bullets

• Renato L. Carvalho,
• Amanda S. de Miranda,
• Mateus P. Nunes,
• Roberto S. Gomes,
• Guilherme A. M. Jardim and
• Eufrânio N. da Silva Júnior

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1849–1938, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.126

• -epoxynaphthalene as electrophiles. Several 2-alkynylbenzamide products were achieved in good yields, including a derivate of moclobemide (42), a drug used to treat depression and anxiety (Scheme 15C) [122]. It is worth mentioning here that this class of molecules can be used as effective anticancer drug carriers

One-step synthesis of imidazoles from Asmic (anisylsulfanylmethyl isocyanide)

• Louis G. Mueller,
• Allen Chao,
• Embarek AlWedi and
• Fraser F. Fleming

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1499–1502, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.106

• Substituted imidazoles are readily prepared by condensing the versatile isocyanide Asmic, anisylsulfanylmethylisocyanide, with nitrogenous π-electrophiles. Deprotonating Asmic with lithium hexamethyldisilazide effectively generates a potent nucleophile that efficiently intercepts nitrile and imine

• electrophiles to afford imidazoles. In situ cyclization to the imidazole is promoted by the conjugate acid, hexamethyldisilazane, which facilitates the requisite series of proton transfers. The rapid formation of imidazoles and the interchange of the anisylsulfanyl for hydrogen with Raney nickel make the method

• to imidazoles [11][12], the condensation of metalated isocyanides with nitrogenous π-electrophiles is distinguished by excellent efficiency and modularity. Deprotonating an isocyanide 1 affords an isocyanide-stabilized anion 2 whose condensation with an imidate or nitrile generates a transient imine

Iodine-catalyzed electrophilic substitution of indoles: Synthesis of (un)symmetrical diindolylmethanes with a quaternary carbon center

• Thanigaimalai Pillaiyar,
• Masoud Sedaghati,
• Andhika B. Mahardhika,
• Lukas L. Wendt and
• Christa E. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1464–1475, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.102

• electrophiles has emerged as a powerful strategy for constructing synthetically valuable indol-3-yl-containing molecules. In particular, the reaction of indol-3-ylmethanols with indoles has become a useful route for the preparation of tertiary unsymmetrical 3,3'-DIMs [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35