All-carbon [3 + 2] cycloaddition in natural product synthesis

• Zhuo Wang and
• Junyang Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 3015–3031, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.251

• (9) was accomplished from 81 in two steps. Phosphine-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition In 1995, Lu and co-workers reported a phosphine-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition, employing electron-deficient olefins and either 2,3-butadienoates or 2-butynoates to give a cyclopentene as product [17] (Scheme 5A

Activation of pentafluoropropane isomers at a nanoscopic aluminum chlorofluoride: hydrodefluorination versus dehydrofluorination

• Maëva-Charlotte Kervarec,
• Thomas Braun,
• Mike Ahrens and
• Erhard Kemnitz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2623–2635, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.213

• intermediate could give 6 via a second hydrodefluorination. Alternatively, 1,1,1,3-tetrafluoropropane could also produce 14, which was shown to give 6 via the intermediate 5 by independent reactions. However, pathways to yield 6 are also required from the olefins 4, because they were detected as intermediates

Synthesis of novel fluorinated building blocks via halofluorination and related reactions

• Attila Márió Remete,
• Tamás T. Novák,
• Melinda Nonn,
• Matti Haukka,
• Ferenc Fülöp and
• Loránd Kiss

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2562–2575, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.208

• cyclic olefins, such as diesters, imides, and lactams with varied functionalization patterns and different structural architectures is described. The synthetic methodologies were based on electrophilic activation through halonium ions of the ring olefin bonds, followed by nucleophilic fluorination with

• compounds, we selected some functionalized (to obtain valuable building blocks), cyclic (to obtain better insight into the stereochemistry), and usually symmetrical olefins (to eliminate regioselectivity issues). The first substrate, the cyclohexene diester (rac)-1, has a twofold rotational symmetry, that

• accessed through halofluorination or selenofluorination protocols. Deoxo-Fluor® proved to be a suitable fluoride source in the halofluorination and fluoroselenation reactions. Bromo- and iodofluorinations were the most useful for symmetric olefins. Regarding cyclohexene derivatives, the extent of

Synthetic approaches to bowl-shaped π-conjugated sumanene and its congeners

• Shakeel Alvi and
• Rashid Ali

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2212–2259, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.186

• compounds in a Barton–Kellogg coupling manner to yield the corresponding olefins. To this context, the carbonyl species were first transformed into the thiocarbonyl systems in the presence of Lawesson’s reagent which were then reacted with diazosumanene 59 to furnish the corresponding alkene systems. It has

Photosensitized direct C–H fluorination and trifluoromethylation in organic synthesis

• Shahboz Yakubov and
• Joshua P. Barham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2151–2192, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.183

When metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization meets visible-light photocatalysis

• Lucas Guillemard and
• Joanna Wencel-Delord

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1754–1804, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.147

• electron transfer to complete the catalytic cycle and regenerate the active catalytic species. The classical Fujiwara–Moritani reaction promoting the addition of arenes to olefins illustrates a general mechanism for such traditional C–H functionalization (Figure 4, left) [70][71][72]. The insertion of a

Pauson–Khand reaction of fluorinated compounds

• Jorge Escorihuela,
• Daniel M. Sedgwick,
• Alberto Llobat,
• Mercedes Medio-Simón,
• Pablo Barrio and
• Santos Fustero

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1662–1682, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.138

• that will be discussed in this review belongs to the fluorinated building blocks category. More specifically, the participation of fluorine-containing olefins and alkynes in the Pauson–Khand cyclization, with a special focus on the intramolecular version using fluorinated enynes, which will be

• cyclopentenones 54 as single diastereoisomers (Scheme 28). In general, yields were moderate to good, and high diastereoselectivities were observed in almost all cases. The PKR tolerated both mono- and disubstituted olefins well, but when a trisubstituted olefin was assayed in the PKR, the initial enyne was

• conjugated addition of trimethylaluminum to form 66, followed by Lewis acid-mediated retro Diels–Alder reaction (Scheme 38). In another study by Riera and co-workers, they studied the influence of the olefin counterpart on the regioselectivity of the reaction [79]. Two olefins other than norbornadiene were

An overview on disulfide-catalyzed and -cocatalyzed photoreactions

• Yeersen Patehebieke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1418–1435, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.118

• of a [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions under UV irradiation with azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) as the free radical initiator and phenyl disulfide as the catalyst, in which the three-membered rings containing double bonds and substituted olefins were transformed into five-membered-ring structures with

• of vinylcyclopropanes with olefins [8]. The reaction mechanism of this cycloaddition process was similar to other thiyl radical-catalyzed cycloaddition cascade reactions. The alkylthiyl radical generated by the homolysis of a disulfide-bridged peptide precatalyst under UV-light irradiation triggers

• the reaction by adding to vinylcyclopropane to form the radical intermediate 1. Then, the addition of olefins to this intermediate 1 gives the intermediate 2, and the succeeding cyclization step yields the final product 3 and regenerates the active thiyl radical catalyst (Scheme 3). Vinylcyclopropanes

Recent synthesis of thietanes

• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1357–1410, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.116

• reactions) of alkenes and thiocarbonyl compounds are another important route for the synthesis of thietanes [15][16], especially, spirothietanes [17][18]. The formal [2 + 2] cycloadditions of hexafluorothioacetone and olefins are also applied in the preparation of bis(trifluoromethyl)-containing thietanes

• accompanied by elimination reactions. 3. Synthesis via cycloadditions Cycloadditions, especially the photochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition (thia-Paternò–Büchi reaction) of thiones and thioamides with olefins [15][16][17][18], and formal cycloadditions are alternative routes for the construction of thietane

• thietanes. Later, this transformation was considered as thia-Paternò–Büchi reaction. The reactions of thiobenzophenone (184a) with both, electron-rich olefins 185, 186a, and 187a under irradiation with UV light at 366 nm, and electron-deficient olefins 187b,c, 188, and 189 under irradiation with either 366

Photocatalysis with organic dyes: facile access to reactive intermediates for synthesis

• Stephanie G. E. Amos,
• Marion Garreau,
• Luca Buzzetti and
• Jerome Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1163–1187, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.103

• )) radicals are important reactive intermediates for the construction of C–C and C–heteroatom bonds [31]. Their addition onto unsaturated systems, such as olefins and arenes, is particularly efficient. Additionally, alkyl radicals can undergo translocations, abstracting atoms from different sites. Recently

Synthesis of esters of diaminotruxillic bis-amino acids by Pd-mediated photocycloaddition of analogs of the Kaede protein chromophore

• Esteban P. Urriolabeitia,
• Pablo Sánchez,
• Alexandra Pop,
• Cristian Silvestru,
• Eduardo Laga,
• Ana I. Jiménez and
• Carlos Cativiela

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1111–1123, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.98

• date [16][17][18]. The properties outlined above highlight the importance of the wide scope of applications of this set of cyclobutanes. Despite their importance, access to most of these compounds mainly relies in the well-known [2 + 2] photocycloaddition of olefins [19]. Unfortunately, the synthesis

• of truxillic or diaminotruxillic derivatives is far from being a highly efficient, selective and general process. Two different cases are usually found in the literature: (a) the direct [2 + 2] photocycloaddition of the corresponding olefins takes place, but shows poor efficiency (long reaction times

Recent applications of porphyrins as photocatalysts in organic synthesis: batch and continuous flow approaches

• Rodrigo Costa e Silva,
• Luely Oliveira da Silva,
• Aloisio de Andrade Bartolomeu,
• Timothy John Brocksom and
• Kleber Thiago de Oliveira

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 917–955, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.83

• pericyclic reactions with olefins and dienes, and the second deals with heteroatom oxidations carried out by singlet oxygen. Review Porphyrins as photoredox catalysts Porphyrins and metalloporphyrins have been extensively studied as photosensitizers in singlet oxygen generation, but underexploited as

Aldehydes as powerful initiators for photochemical transformations

• Maria A. Theodoropoulou,
• Nikolaos F. Nikitas and
• Christoforos G. Kokotos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 833–857, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.76

• aliphatic ketones and aldehydes to olefins upon excitation of the carbonyl compound [12]. More specifically, aliphatic ketones and aldehydes can absorb irradiation in the long-wavelength region (240–340 nm), which is then transformed into electronic excitation through the S1 (n,π*) transition, excitation of

• photophysical properties of aldehydes, in 1968, Yang and co-workers investigated the mechanism of energy transfer from the triplet states of carbonyl compounds to simple olefins [15][16]. In more detail, in order to find out if the excitation energy of the triplet state of the carbonyl compounds could be

• transferred to the olefins in the Paterno–Büchi reaction, they performed a photochemical reaction between benzaldehyde (8) or benzophenone and the 3-methyl-2-pentenes 69 and 70, respectively. The isomerization of the starting olefins indicated a bimolecular energy transfer mechanism (Scheme 17). Benzophenone

Controlling alkyne reactivity by means of a copper-catalyzed radical reaction system for the synthesis of functionalized quaternary carbons

• Goki Hirata,
• Yu Yamane,
• Naoya Tsubaki,
• Reina Hara and
• Takashi Nishikata

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 502–508, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.45

• ][14][15][16]. Recently, we have prepared quaternary carbon centers via radical reactions by using α-bromocarbonyl compounds (a tertiary alkyl source) and olefins or heteroatoms in the presence of a copper catalyst [17][18][19]. During our studies, we found that combinations of alkynes and tertiary

Recent advances in photocatalyzed reactions using well-defined copper(I) complexes

• Mingbing Zhong,
• Xavier Pannecoucke,
• Philippe Jubault and
• Thomas Poisson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 451–481, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.42

• , and no significant selectivity was observed when nonsymmetrical iodonium salts were reacted under the optimized reaction conditions. Later in 2015, Greaney and co-workers described the copper-photocatalyzed azidation of styrene olefins and the concomitant introduction of a nucleophile (Scheme 9) [26

• heteroaromatic derivatives. Noteworthy, when the reaction was carried out in acetonitrile, azido bromination and diazidation reactions were possible using 10 equivalents of NaBr and NaN3, respectively. Notably, when the reaction was carried out in the dark, the diazidation reaction of the olefins occurred, while

• -substituted olefins (Scheme 17) [33]. The reaction was carried out using the complex [Cu(I)(dmp)(binap)]PF6, and the desired tribromomethylated products were isolated in good to excellent yields. The authors suggested a similar mechanism to the one described by Reiser and co-workers in Scheme 14. In 2018, Hu

Functionalization of the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine ring in α-phosphonoacrylates and α-phosphonopropionates via microwave-assisted Mizoroki–Heck reaction

• Damian Kusy,
• Agata Wojciechowska,
• Joanna Małolepsza and
• Katarzyna M. Błażewska

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 15–21, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.3

• substrate 1. Recently, acetonitrile was reported as a nontoxic source of cyanide [19][20]. Having the optimized conditions in hand, the scope of this transformation was examined using selected olefins and the substrate containing imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine ring embedded either within 2-(diethoxyphosphoryl

• -(bromoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl)-2-(diethoxyphosphoryl)acrylates 1 and propionates 2 using microwave-assisted Mizoroki–Heck reaction. The method worked for a number of olefins, enabling the functionalization of the heterocyclic ring with diverse groups, which can be used for further modifications. Importantly

Construction of trisubstituted chromone skeletons carrying electron-withdrawing groups via PhIO-mediated dehydrogenation and its application to the synthesis of frutinone A

• Qiao Li,
• Chen Zhuang,
• Donghua Wang,
• Wei Zhang,
• Rongxuan Jia,
• Fengxia Sun,
• Yilin Zhang and
• Yunfei Du

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2958–2965, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.291

• reagents have emerged as a class of efficient and environmentally benign nonmetal “green” oxidants [66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73]. For instance, iodosobenzene (PhIO) [74] has been widely used in many synthetic transformations. It was found that PhIO is efficient in realizing epoxidation of olefins [75

A review of asymmetric synthetic organic electrochemistry and electrocatalysis: concepts, applications, recent developments and future directions

• Munmun Ghosh,
• Valmik S. Shinde and
• Magnus Rueping

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2710–2746, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.264

• of a poly-ʟ-valine 6 coated graphite cathode for asymmetric electrochemical reductions in two consecutive reports. In the first communication, they carried out the asymmetric reduction of prochiral activated olefins 5 and 8, affording 7 and 9 with optical yields of 25% and 43%, respectively (Scheme 3

• investigated the asymmetric electrodihydroxylation of olefins 69 in an undivided cell under constant current using potassium osmate as a catalyst in presence of Sharpless ligand and using iodine as the oxidizing mediator (Scheme 27). Two sets of conditions were developed, and they differ in the inorganic bases

• used; method A involves K2CO3, whereas method B uses a mixture of K3PO4 and K2HPO4. However, olefins 69 were converted to the corresponding dihydroxylated products 70 in excellent yields as well as enantiomeric excesses regardless of the nature of the substituent or reaction conditions [64]. Further

Unexpected one-pot formation of the 1H-6a,8a-epiminotricyclopenta[a,c,e][8]annulene system from cyclopentanone, ammonia and dimethyl fumarate. Synthesis of highly strained polycyclic nitroxide and EPR study

• Sergey A. Dobrynin,
• Igor A. Kirilyuk,
• Yuri V. Gatilov,
• Andrey A. Kuzhelev,
• Olesya A. Krumkacheva,
• Matvey V. Fedin,
• Michael K. Bowman and
• Elena G. Bagryanskaya

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2664–2670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.259

• to the N–O· group. Keywords: domino reactions; EPR; nitroxide; spin relaxation; Introduction Domino reactions have attracted much attention as an approach for the synthesis of complex molecules in a few steps [1]. The utility of multicomponent reactions involving amines, activated olefins and

Recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed incorporation of fluorine-containing groups

• Xiaowei Li,
• Xiaolin Shi,
• Xiangqian Li and
• Dayong Shi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2213–2270, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.218

• catalyzed by metals. However, there are only a few methods available for the C(sp3)–CF3 bond formation and this transformation still needs further examination. C(sp3)–CF3 bond formation Copper catalysis: In 2011, two Cu(I)-catalyzed allylic trifluoromethylation reactions of terminal olefins have been

Cyclopropanation–ring expansion of 3-chloroindoles with α-halodiazoacetates: novel synthesis of 4-quinolone-3-carboxylic acid and norfloxacin

• Sara Peeters,
• Linn Neerbye Berntsen,
• Pål Rongved and
• Tore Bonge-Hansen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2156–2160, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.212

• the general yields of 3-carboxy-quinolines obtained in our initial study. Two previous observations in our lab, one made in our cyclopropanation–ring expansion study of indoles, and one made during our initial reactions of X-EDAs with olefins [35], gave us the clues for how to quickly improve the

• yield of 9. Cl-EDA gave a small, but significant increase in yield compared to Br-EDA in our previous study (90% vs 84% yield, Scheme 1). The cyclopropanations of olefins with X-EDAs were very sensitive to the choice of solvent, and the yields increased dramatically on going from CH2Cl2 to toluene. When

Vicinal difunctionalization of alkenes by four-component radical cascade reaction of xanthogenates, alkenes, CO, and sulfonyl oxime ethers

• Shuhei Sumino,
• Takahide Fukuyama,
• Mika Sasano,
• Ilhyong Ryu,
• Antoine Jacquet,
• Frédéric Robert and
• Yannick Landais

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1822–1828, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.176

• together with 1.5 equivalents of 3a led to a higher conversion (ca. 90%), affording acceptable yield and selectivity (Table 1, entry 5). With optimized reaction conditions in hand (Table 1, entry 5), we then examined the generality of this four-component radical cascade reaction using xanthates 1, olefins

Metal-free mechanochemical oxidations in Ertalyte^® jars

• Andrea Porcheddu,
• Francesco Delogu,
• Lidia De Luca,
• Claudia Fattuoni and
• Evelina Colacino

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1786–1794, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.172

• reactions of hydantoins [41][59]. However, also using this oxidant, we observed low conversions (31%) and the formation of significant amounts of byproducts, mainly halides and olefins (elimination byproducts). The use of liquid-assisted grinding (LAG) procedures [60][61][62] by adding small quantities of

• citrate) resulted in low alcohol-to-aldehyde conversions (<40%) and promoted, conversely, the formation of significant amounts of olefins (>25%) resulting from halide elimination. Any attempt to lower the amount of the nitrosyl catalyst resulted in a poor conversion (69%, Table 2, entry 5). Once the

N-(1-Phenylethyl)aziridine-2-carboxylate esters in the synthesis of biologically relevant compounds

• Iwona E. Głowacka,
• Aleksandra Trocha,
• Andrzej E. Wróblewski and
• Dorota G. Piotrowska

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1722–1757, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.168

Recent advances on the transition-metal-catalyzed synthesis of imidazopyridines: an updated coverage

• Gagandeep Kour Reen,
• Ashok Kumar and
• Pratibha Sharma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1612–1704, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.165