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

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

• -heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs), extensively studied as organocatalysts as well as ligands for transition-metal-promoted synthetic methodologies [97][98][99]. Under anodic oxidation, the electrogeneration of boron trifluoride (BF3) from tetrafluoroborate ILs occurs [100][101]. Moreover, we have recently

A novel recyclable organocatalyst for the gram-scale enantioselective synthesis of (S)-baclofen

• Gyula Dargó,
• Dóra Erdélyi,
• Balázs Molnár,
• Péter Kisszékelyi,
• Zsófia Garádi and
• József Kupai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1811–1824, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.133

• Budapest, Hungary 10.3762/bjoc.19.133 Abstract Synthesizing organocatalysts is often a long and cost-intensive process, therefore, the recovery and reuse of the catalysts are particularly important to establish sustainable organocatalytic transformations. In this work, we demonstrate the synthesis

• processes are of paramount importance. In particular, the application of asymmetric organocatalysts is receiving increased attention [1][2][3][4]. This is illustrated by the fact that in 2021 the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the discovery of asymmetric organocatalysis [5]. The use of

• organocatalysts has been a major breakthrough in the realization of enantioselective transformations. Stereoselective synthesis is essential in the pharmaceutical industry, as the development of drugs often requires the production of enantiomerically pure chiral compounds [6][7][8]. The application of

N-Sulfenylsuccinimide/phthalimide: an alternative sulfenylating reagent in organic transformations

• Fatemeh Doraghi,
• Seyedeh Pegah Aledavoud,
• Mehdi Ghanbarlou,
• Bagher Larijani and
• Mohammad Mahdavi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1471–1502, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.106

• (Scheme 46) [79]. By testing several alkaloids as organocatalysts for the transformation, cinchonidine G proved to be the best catalyst for C–H sulfenylation and selenenylation of substrates in toluene at −20 or 0 °C. The reaction occurred in shorter times in the presence of N-(arylsulfanyl)succinimide

• enantioselectivity and the product yield were reduced. Although, the authors did not further explain the catalytic pathway. The use of organocatalysts in sulfenylation of N-heterocyclic compounds was investigated by Gustafson′s group in 2017 (Scheme 48) [81]. In their work, a series of conjugate Lewis base Brønsted

• acid organocatalysts were evaluated for sulfenylation on C3, or C2 position of N-heterocycles 115, including indoles, peptides, pyrrole, and 1-methyl-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine. The authors hypothesized a mechanism for the activation of N-sulfanylsuccinimides 1 or 14 by conjugate Lewis base Brønsted

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

• widely used as reagents, organocatalysts, or phase transfer reagents [58][59][60][61] were synthesized from aryl chlorides in various yields (20–87%) under mild photocatalytic conditions whereas previously reported protocols typically relied on transition metal catalysis or high temperature processes [62

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

• groups into the aromatic ring. This reaction has a great scope of forming aza-stereocenters which can be tuned by different asymmetric catalysts. This review assembles recent advances in asymmetric aza-Friedel–Crafts reactions mediated by organocatalysts. The mechanistic interpretation with the origin of

• years ago, the concept became increasingly accepted and popular only by the last decade of the last century [2][3]. Nowadays, organocatalysis is especially applied to asymmetric synthesis and a huge number of organocatalysts has been introduced in last three decades for the asymmetric synthesis of

• reactions include mild reaction conditions and the use of a sole catalyst without the need of other chiral ligands [4][5]. In these reactions, stereoinduction in the products is achieved by the chiral environment present in the catalyst itself. Depending upon the reactivities, organocatalysts can be

Clauson–Kaas pyrrole synthesis using diverse catalysts: a transition from conventional to greener approach

• Dileep Kumar Singh and
• Rajesh Kumar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 928–955, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.71

• -catalyzed reactions under heating conditions. However, due to environmental concerns, the second part of this review focuses on greener Clauson–Kaas reaction protocols. Various Brønsted acids, Lewis acids, transition metal catalysts, and organocatalysts have been used in water as a green solvent, under

Organophosphorus chemistry: from model to application

• György Keglevich

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 89–90, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.8

• in organophosphorus chemistry. A series of P-stereogenic chiral thiophosphorus acids, such as a fused 1-hydroxytetrahydrophosphinine 1-sulfide, an oxaphosphinine sulfide analogue, and an azaphosphinine sulfide analogue were synthesized my Montchamp and Winters as potential organocatalysts [4]. The

Catalytic aza-Nazarov cyclization reactions to access α-methylene-γ-lactam heterocycles

• Bilge Banu Yagci,
• Selin Ezgi Donmez,
• Onur Şahin and
• Yunus Emre Türkmen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 66–77, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.6

• -unsaturated acyl chlorides to afford substituted α-methylene-γ-lactam heterocycles. The reactions proceed effectively in the presence of catalytic (20 mol %) amounts of AgOTf as an anion exchange agent or hydrogen-bond donors such as squaramides and thioureas as anion-binding organocatalysts. The aza-Nazarov

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

• , where an inorganic element is not a part of the active principle, that functions by donating or removing electrons or protons [1]. This definition distinguishes organocatalysis from the other two large catalysis areas: metal-complex catalysis and enzymatic/biocatalysis. The advantages of organocatalysts

• numerous examples of redox-active organic molecules as effective organocatalysts meeting these requirements. In spite of the large number of applications of organocatalysis in redox transformations, especially oxidative, the term “organocatalysis” is frequently perceived in the narrow sense centered around

• ]. The well-known and convenient classification of organocatalysts into Lewis bases, Lewis acids, Brønsted bases, and Brønsted acids [1] also leaves the redox-organocatalysts behind. Moreover, in numerous research papers employing redox-active molecules as catalysts the developed processes are not

One-pot double annulations to confer diastereoselective spirooxindolepyrrolothiazoles

• Juan Lu,
• Bin Yao,
• Desheng Zhan,
• Zhuo Sun,
• Yun Ji and
• Xiaofeng Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1607–1616, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.171

• one-pot reactions with recyclable organocatalysts [69]. Notably, we conferred K10 acid to promote the C–H activation in the synthesis of spirooxindolepyrrolidines, and used Zeolite HY catalyst to synthesize diastereoselective dispiro[oxindolepyrrolidine]s with a butterfly shape (Scheme 1A and 1B) [70

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of chiral thiophosphorus acids as organocatalysts

• Karen R. Winters and
• Jean-Luc Montchamp

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1471–1478, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.154

• Prize in Chemistry awarded to McMillan and List. A subclass of organocatalysts introduced independently by Akiyama and Terada in 2004 [1][2], are the C2-symmetrical chiral phosphorus acids (CPAs) initially derived from the BINOL scaffold, and later extended to other scaffolds such as VAPOL [3] and

A one-pot electrochemical synthesis of 2-aminothiazoles from active methylene ketones and thioureas mediated by NH₄I

• Shang-Feng Yang,
• Pei Li,
• Zi-Lin Fang,
• Sen Liang,
• Hong-Yu Tian,
• Bao-Guo Sun,
• Kun Xu and
• Cheng-Chu Zeng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1249–1255, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.130

• with thioureas [42]. However, the reported method only tolerates aromatic and aliphatic ketones; the active methylene ketones were not suitable. Given that amino acids have been reported to work as green organocatalysts for the synthesis of 2-aminothiazole heterocycles [43][44]. We herein report a ᴅʟ

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

• as ligands in organometallic catalysts [9] and as versatile organocatalysts [10] in a very wide range of organic reactions such as classical benzoin condensation, transesterification, acylation, Knoevenagel reaction, Claisen condensation etc. The electrochemical generation of carbenes from ILs avoids

• conversion to the corresponding thione (Scheme 2) [12]. NHCs are used as organocatalysts in many reactions of aldehydes (mainly aromatic) [13][14]. In fact, the reaction of NHCs with aldehydes can lead to the formation of the “Breslow intermediate” [15], in which the reactive character of the carbonyl carbon

Heteroleptic metallosupramolecular aggregates/complexation for supramolecular catalysis

• Prodip Howlader and
• Michael Schmittel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 597–630, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.62

• successful guest-inclusion, Michael reactions were performed with prism 15 (Figure 4). Generally, most of the organocatalysts get destroyed during the work-up procedure, so that recovery is often difficult. However, in the present case the catalyst could be easily recovered, and multiple catalytic cycles could

BINOL as a chiral element in mechanically interlocked molecules

• Matthias Krajnc and
• Jochen Niemeyer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 508–523, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.53

• Figure 11). In 2017, our working group showed that bifunctional catenanes can serve as highly efficient organocatalysts. The chiral homocircuit [2]catenane (S,S)-47, which features two axially chiral 1,1'-binaphthyl phosphoric acids, was synthesized in a passive metal template approach. To this end, two

Synthesis of 3,4,5-trisubstituted isoxazoles in water via a [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of nitrile oxides and 1,3-diketones, β-ketoesters, or β-ketoamides

• Md Imran Hossain,
• Md Imdadul H. Khan,
• Seong Jong Kim and
• Hoang V. Le

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 446–458, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.47

• organocatalysts (Figure 1) [26][27]. This enolate-mediated cycloaddition, however, requires long reaction time in organic solvents at high temperatures. Our current work was inspired by a recent report by Kesornpun et al., in which a cycloaddition of nitrile oxides and alkenes or alkynes was carried out in 0.1 M

New advances in asymmetric organocatalysis

• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 240–242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.28

• been recognized as chiral organocatalysts as early as 1912, the concept was at the periphery of the attention of synthetic organic chemists. An initial flash of interest appeared in the 1970s when proline was shown to catalyze the Robinson annulation [1][2], but this seminal work seemed to come too

• many reactions and a variety of organocatalysts can engage with them [18]. Nine excellent research articles within this special issue demonstrate the current state of the art in asymmetric organocatalysis. Chiral isothioureas became useful Lewis base catalysts for various transformations. Weinzierl and

• cyclopropenimines exemplify Brønsted base organocatalysts that are useful for diverse reactions not easily accessible by other means. Here, Lambert and co-workers employed this type of catalyst in the formation of pyroglutamates via enantioselective Michael addition of amino ester imines [22]. Phase-transfer

Bifunctional thiourea-catalyzed asymmetric [3 + 2] annulation reactions of 2-isothiocyanato-1-indanones with barbiturate-based olefins

• Jiang-Song Zhai and
• Da-Ming Du

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 25–36, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.3

• % ee) (Table 1, entry 1). Due to the excellent stereoselectivity of the target product 3aa, the reaction conditions were further optimized to increase its yield. Subsequently, a number of organocatalysts (Figure 3) were evaluated for this domino process (Table 1, entries 2–8). From the experimental

• 1200 LC instrument with a Daicel Chiralpak IB, IC, or ADH column. The following compounds were prepared following procedures reported in the literature: 1a‒g [15], 2a‒o [34], and chiral organocatalysts [35][36][37][38]. 1. Procedure for the synthesis of racemates of 3 To a dried small bottle were added

• scaffold. Selected examples of bioactive spirobarbiturates. The screened organocatalysts. X-ray crystal structure of 3ae (displacement ellipsoids are drawn at the 50% probability level). Known strategies and conceptual advance of this contribution. Substrate scope of 2-isothiocyanato-1-indanones. The

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

• active compounds in medicinal chemistry and as chiral ligands in asymmetric catalysis. Chiral phosphoric acids are recognized as efficient organocatalysts for a variety of enantioselective transformations. In this review, we summarize the recent development of chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed synthesis

• , axially chiral allenes and spiranes [25] are well-known scaffolds widely used in natural products, ligands, organocatalysts, and functional materials as well as versatile chiral building blocks in organic synthesis [14][26][27]. Chiral phosphoric acids represent an important and widely used class of

• the important reports by Akiyama and Terada [31][47], chiral phosphoric acids have received much attention in the efficient construction of chiral molecules not only by using them as organocatalysts, but also by applying them as ligands in transition-metal catalysis due to their multifunctionality

N-Sulfinylpyrrolidine-containing ureas and thioureas as bifunctional organocatalysts

• Viera Poláčková,
• Dominika Krištofíková,
• Boglárka Némethová,
• Renata Górová,
• Mária Mečiarová and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2629–2641, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.176

• , Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia 10.3762/bjoc.17.176 Abstract The synthesis of bifunctional N-sulfinylureas and thioureas with an appended pyrrolidine unit is presented. These organocatalysts were evaluated in

• a privileged structural motif central to many catalyst designs [12]. This fact stems from the success of diarylprolinol silyl ethers as chiral organocatalysts, which were independently introduced by Hayashi [13] and Jørgensen [14]. These compounds were used in a large number of stereoselective

• -Butanesulfinamide is highly useful in stereoselective synthesis as a stereoinducing group [21]. Thus, N-sulfinylureas and thioureas are a new class of organocatalysts, with the sulfinyl group acting both as an acidifying and a chiral controlling moiety. A variety of N-sulfinylureas catalyzed aza-Henry reaction

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

• asymmetric aza-Michael reaction (aza-MR) alone or in tandem with other organic reaction(s) is an important synthetic tool to form new C–N bond(s) leading to developing new libraries of diverse types of bioactive nitrogen compounds. The synthesis and application of a variety of organocatalysts for

• accomplishing highly useful organic syntheses without causing environmental pollution in compliance with ‘Green Chemistry” has been a landmark development in the recent past. Application of many of these organocatalysts has been extended to asymmetric aza-MR during the last two decades. The present article

• overviews the literature published during the last 10 years concerning the asymmetric aza-MR of amines and amides catalysed by organocatalysts. Both types of the organocatalysts, i.e., those acting through non-covalent interactions and those working through covalent bond formation have been applied for the

Enantioselective PCCP Brønsted acid-catalyzed aminalization of aldehydes

• Martin Kamlar,
• Robert Reiberger,
• Martin Nigríni,
• Ivana Císařová and
• Jan Veselý

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2433–2440, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.160

• enantioselectivity were observed after a prolonged exposure of compound 3a to the chiral PCCP catalyst II indicating a relatively high stability of the new chiral carbon center in product 3a. Next, a small set of functionalized derivatives of cyclopentadienes as organocatalysts was surveyed in the model reaction

Halides as versatile anions in asymmetric anion-binding organocatalysis

• Lukas Schifferer,
• Martin Stinglhamer,
• Kirandeep Kaur and
• Olga García Macheño

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2270–2286, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.145

• catalysts and asymmetric methodologies, a few innovative nonchiral alternative H-donor or halide-binding organocatalysts, like, e.g., tridentate phosphoramides [41], onium salts [42] such as Berkessel's pyridinium systems [43], or Huber's bis-iodo imidazolium [44] and neutral bridged 2,6-diiodo‐3,4,5

Transition-metal-free intramolecular Friedel–Crafts reaction by alkene activation: A method for the synthesis of some novel xanthene derivatives

• Tülay Yıldız,
• İrem Baştaş and
• Hatice Başpınar Küçük

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2203–2208, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.142

• organometallic chemistry and using transition metal catalysts, which need expensive and toxic chemicals. With the increasing interest in these methods, new organocatalysts and reagents that are less toxic, easier to use, readily accessible, and cheap have been developed [37]. In particular, the synthesis of

• arenes using the FCA methods with π-activated alcohols and organocatalysts has begun to be preferred over using conventional reagents, such as organohalogens and transition metal catalysts, which are toxic and require working under harsher conditions [38]. After these developments, the intramolecular FCA