Oxetanes: formation, reactivity and total syntheses of natural products

• Peter Gabko,
• Martin Kalník and
• Maroš Bella

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1324–1373, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.101

• traced back to 3-oxetanone. In 2018, Bull and co-workers disclosed the first lithium-catalysed thiol alkylation using electron-rich 3-aryloxetan-3-ols 142 (Scheme 35) [84]. This protocol is completely chemoselective as no ring-opening was observed and the resulting oxetane sulphides 143 were obtained in

Synthetic approach to borrelidin fragments: focus on key intermediates

• Yudhi Dwi Kurniawan,
• Zetryana Puteri Tachrim,
• Teni Ernawati,
• Faris Hermawan,
• Ima Nurasiyah and
• Muhammad Alfin Sulmantara

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1135–1160, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.91

• results, with reactant decomposition observed. Similarly, when the lithium derivative was reacted with CuSPh to form the corresponding heterocuprate species prior to reacting with the epoxide, the same decomposition occurred, despite this strategy being successful in a related case. Finally, replacing the

• reacting it with Eschenmoser’s salt, followed by hydrolysis with lithium hydroxide. The resulting unsaturated acid 54, isolated in 92% yield, underwent asymmetric hydrogenation using both (Ra)-50 and (Sa)-50 catalysts. This step provided the respective compounds 55 and 56 in excellent high yield and

• in 96% yield. Hydrolysis of the acetate group in 69 with potassium carbonate followed by treatment with TBDMSCl and imidazole converted it into silyl ether 70. The ester group in 70 was then hydrolyzed using lithium hydroxide, and the resulting acid was coupled with Evans’ chiral oxazolidinone in the

Supramolecular assembly of hypervalent iodine macrocycles and alkali metals

• Krishna Pandey,
• Lucas X. Orton,
• Grayson Venus,
• Waseem A. Hussain,
• Toby Woods,
• Lichang Wang and
• Kyle N. Plunkett

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1095–1103, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.87

• at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, United States 10.3762/bjoc.21.87 Abstract This study explores the solution- and solid-state assembly of phenylalanine-based hypervalent iodine macrocycles (HIMs) with lithium and sodium cations. The metal cation binding of HIMs was evaluated by addition of

• lithium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate ethyl etherate LiBArF20 and sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate NaBArF24. The electron-rich, outwardly projected carbonyl oxygens of the HIM co-crystalize with the cations into bent supramolecular architectures. Both crystal structures show a

• pattern of assembly between HIM and metal cation in 2:1 ratio. While association with sodium leads to a polymer-like network, the lithium crystal structure was limited to dimeric assemblies of HIM. In the lithium-coordinating complex, the oxygen–lithium–oxygen bond angle is approximately 98.83

Pd-Catalyzed asymmetric allylic amination with isatin using a P,olefin-type chiral ligand with C–N bond axial chirality

• Natsume Akimoto,
• Kaho Takaya,
• Yoshio Kasashima,
• Kohei Watanabe,
• Yasushi Yoshida and
• Takashi Mino

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1018–1023, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.83

• reaction with nucleophilic lithium amide from n-propylamine, the reduction of phosphine oxide 9 by trichlorosilane/triethylamine, and the N-acylation of 10 with cinnamoyl chloride in three steps (Scheme 1). We also analyzed amide compound 7 by HPLC analysis using a chiral stationary phase column with a CD

A convergent synthetic approach to the tetracyclic core framework of khayanolide-type limonoids

• Zhiyang Zhang,
• Jialei Hu,
• Hanfeng Ding,
• Li Zhang and
• Peirong Rao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 926–934, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.75

• followed by interception of the lithium enolate with PhNTf2 to give enol triflate 25 in 59% overall yield. The following palladium-catalyzed methoxycarbonylation produced methyl ester 26 in a satisfactory yield of 84%. TIPS-protected allylic alcohol 28 was selected as the appropriate precursor for the α,β

Cu–Bpin-mediated dimerization of 4,4-dichloro-2-butenoic acid derivatives enables the synthesis of densely functionalized cyclopropanes

• Patricia Gómez-Roibás,
• Andrea Chaves-Pouso and
• Martín Fañanás-Mastral

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 877–883, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.71

• species A which is in equilibrium with the Cu–O enolate B [11]. In the presence of excess of LiOt-Bu, a salt metathesis reaction between this base and intermediate B generates lithium enolate C and LCuOt-Bu to close the copper catalytic cycle. The formation of a lithium enolate is consistent with the

• different diastereoselectivity observed when other bases featuring different metal cations were used (Table 1, entry 2 vs entry 5), and the absence of any significant stereochemical influence from the copper complex (Table 1, entries 9–14). Lithium enolate C would then undergo a diastereoselective conjugate

• summary, we have discovered an unanticipated Cu–Bpin-promoted diastereoselective dimerization of 4,4-dichloro-2-butenoic acid derivatives. The reaction occurs via initial Cu–Bpin insertion followed by keto–enol isomerization and salt metathesis to generate a lithium enolate which is then trapped by a

Regioselective formal hydrocyanation of allenes: synthesis of β,γ-unsaturated nitriles with α-all-carbon quaternary centers

• Seeun Lim,
• Teresa Kim and
• Yunmi Lee

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 800–806, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.63

• % yield under basic conditions using sodium hydroxide and tert-butanol. The reduction of nitrile 3q with lithium aluminum hydride generated amine 7 in an 85% yield, whereas the selective hydrogenation of the alkene moiety of 3q using a Pd/C catalyst in a H2 gas environment smoothly produced product 8 in a

Recent advances in the electrochemical synthesis of organophosphorus compounds

• Babak Kaboudin,
• Milad Behroozi,
• Sepideh Sadighi and
• Fatemeh Asgharzadeh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 770–797, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.61

• generates an electric current. Some of its applications include batteries (e.g., lithium-ion batteries) and fuel cells. These cells are usually in a divided state. Electrolytic cell These cells require an external voltage to drive chemical reactions. They use electrical energy to carry out a non-spontaneous

Recent advances in allylation of chiral secondary alkylcopper species

• Minjae Kim,
• Gwanggyun Kim,
• Doyoon Kim,
• Jun Hee Lee and
• Seung Hwan Cho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 639–658, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.51

• interactions and enhanced electronic stabilization through lithium coordination. This explains the critical role of lithium in achieving a high enantioselectivity. Isotope-labeling experiments using 10B-enriched 1,1-diborylalkanes (S)-49 further supported this mechanism, showing a stereoinvertive

• addition mechanism. In this pathway, the chiral α-borylalkylcopper intermediate approaches from the face opposite to the leaving group, consistent with the observed stereochemical outcome. To explore the stereochemical origins and examine the mechanistic influence of the lithium benzoate additive

• energy compared to (S,S)-TS9. Both transition states demonstrated a lithium center's coordination involving bromide, benzoate, and ligand oxygen atoms. The (S,R)-TS8 transition state exhibited a significantly shorter Li–Br interaction distance (2.81 Å compared to 3.74 Å in (S,S)-TS9), offering

Facile one-pot reduction of β-nitrostyrenes to phenethylamines using sodium borohydride and copper(II) chloride

• Laura D’Andrea and
• Simon Jademyr

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 39–46, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.4

• reduction can be accomplished via catalytic hydrogenation, involving stepwise reactions and workup, use of additional reagents, and reaction time between 3 and 24 hours [11][12]. Most commonly, metal hydrides are employed, typically lithium aluminum hydride [13][14][15][16][17][18], requiring an inert

• atmosphere, special precautions, and with isolated yields up to 60% [14][15]. Due to the formation of side products, final purification of the amino derivatives requires the use of either multiple separation techniques, chromatography, or distillation [15][16][17][18] (Scheme 1). Differently from lithium

Synthesis, structure and π-expansion of tris(4,5-dehydro-2,3:6,7-dibenzotropone)

• Yongming Xiong,
• Xue Lin Ma,
• Shilong Su and
• Qian Miao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1–7, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.1

• recently showed that polymerizing negatively curved polycyclic arenes produced an amorphous covalent network. This network was able to mimic the structure and function of carbon schwarzites, serving as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries with high capacity [21]. Further exploration of bottom-up

gem-Difluorovinyl and trifluorovinyl Michael acceptors in the synthesis of α,β-unsaturated fluorinated and nonfluorinated amides

• Monika Bilska-Markowska,
• Marcin Kaźmierczak,
• Wojciech Jankowski and
• Marcin Hoffmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2946–2953, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.247

• was to be evidenced by a substitution reaction at the alpha position. We started testing the different bases with lithium bis(trimethylsilyl)amide [39]. The reactions did not take place in the presence of LiHMDS (Table 1, entries 1 and 2), using either benzyl bromide or methyl iodide as electrophiles

Multicomponent synthesis of α-branched amines using organozinc reagents generated from alkyl bromides

• Baptiste Leroux,
• Alexis Beaufils,
• Federico Banchini,
• Olivier Jackowski,
• Alejandro Perez-Luna,
• Fabrice Chemla,
• Marc Presset and
• Erwan Le Gall

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2834–2839, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.239

• delight, we found that the subsequent multicomponent coupling of the organozinc bromide with piperidine and benzaldehyde was possible, although it required the additional presence of lithium chloride to furnish a satisfactory result. We attributed the beneficial role of LiCl to the formation of more

• the reaction medium. With these results in hands, we tried to determine whether LiCl could be replaced by other common lithium salts that could lead to improved metalation (Table 1, entries 4–6). These experiments revealed that LiCl gave the best results, as a significant drop of the zincation yield

Synthesis of tricarbonylated propargylamine and conversion to 2,5-disubstituted oxazole-4-carboxylates

• Kento Iwai,
• Akari Hikasa,
• Kotaro Yoshioka,
• Shinki Tani,
• Kazuto Umezu and
• Nagatoshi Nishiwaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2827–2833, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.238

• ,O-acetal derived from diethyl mesoxalate (DEMO) undergoes elimination of acetic acid upon treatment with a base, leading to the formation of N-acylimine in situ. Lithium acetylide readily attacks the imino group to afford N,1,1-tricarbonylated propargylamines. When the resulting propargylamine

• various nucleophiles. This is because the imino carbon atom of 2 is also highly electrophilic, similar to DEMO [23][24][25]. This method offers an advantage over conventional methods as the N-acyl group can be modified by altering the acid amide. In this study, lithium acetylides were employed as

• nucleophiles to synthesize PCPAs, and their ring closures were also investigated. Results and Discussion NAI 2 can be generated by treating N,O-acetal 1 with a base, such as triethylamine. However, the addition of an amine was omitted because lithium acetylide functions both as nucleophile and base. When 1a

A review of recent advances in electrochemical and photoelectrochemical late-stage functionalization classified by anodic oxidation, cathodic reduction, and paired electrolysis

• Nian Li,
• Ruzal Sitdikov,
• Ajit Prabhakar Kale,
• Joost Steverlynck,
• Bo Li and
• Magnus Rueping

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2500–2566, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.214

Synthesis and reactivity of the di(9-anthryl)methyl radical

• Tomohiko Nishiuchi,
• Kazuma Takahashi,
• Yuta Makihara and
• Takashi Kubo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2254–2260, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.193

• to the DAntM radical is shown in Scheme 1. The alcohol precursor 3 was prepared via addition reaction of lithium reagent 2 to 10-mesitylanthracene-9-carbaldehyde (1) in moderate yield (59%). The generation of the DAntM radical was performed using stannous chloride dihydrate with hydrogen chloride in

Selective hydrolysis of α-oxo ketene N,S-acetals in water: switchable aqueous synthesis of β-keto thioesters and β-keto amides

• Haifeng Yu,
• Wanting Zhang,
• Xuejing Cui,
• Zida Liu,
• Xifu Zhang and
• Xiaobo Zhao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2225–2233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.190

• with diketenes (Scheme 1b, path 3) [35] as well as isocyanates with various nucleophilic reagents (Scheme 1b, path 4), such as silyl enol ethers [36], enamines [37], α-acylphosphonium ylides [38] and lithium enolates [39]. Recently, the hydrolysis of α-oxo ketene N,S-acetals was developed to prepare

Natural resorcylic lactones derived from alternariol

• Joachim Podlech

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2171–2207, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.187

Multicomponent syntheses of pyrazoles via (3 + 2)-cyclocondensation and (3 + 2)-cycloaddition key steps

• Ignaz Betcke,
• Alissa C. Götzinger,
• Maryna M. Kornet and
• Thomas J. J. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2024–2077, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.178

• oxalate (9) and alkylphenones 10 through a sterically hindered Claisen condensation, producing a six-membered lithium enolate salt. Subsequent cyclocondensation with hydrazines concludes the formation of pyrazoles. However, this process could not be performed as a one-pot synthesis, as the solvent had to

• from di-tert-butyldiazocarboxylate (23), aryl-substituted di-Boc-hydrazines 26 were prepared by the addition of aryllithium species generated in situ by lithium-halogen exchange of aryl halides [55]. Gerstenberger et al. used this entry for the one-pot synthesis of N-arylpyrazoles 25, as depicted in

• pyrazole 88 (Scheme 31) [114]. In addition to pyrazoles, functionalized pyrimidines can also be prepared in a one-pot process using this method. In 2001, Bouillon et al. reported a one-pot process for synthesizing fluorinated pyrazoles. Initially, a lithium–halogen exchange was carried out on fluorinated

Harnessing the versatility of hydrazones through electrosynthetic oxidative transformations

• Aurélie Claraz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1988–2004, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.175

• thiocyanation of ketene dithioacetals, Wang and Yang et al. mentioned one example of thiocyanation of benzaldehyde-derived hydrazone 120 using potassium thiocyanate as a source of thiocyanate radical. The electrolysis was conducted in the presence of two equivalents of water in acetonitrile with lithium

• reaction conditions. For instance, the use of lithium perchlorate as supporting electrolyte in acetonitrile at room temperature in a divided cell equipped with two platinum electrodes led exclusively to diazines 131 in good yields. In contrast, when the electrolysis was conducted in methanol containing

• yield the unsubstituted hydrazone 146. Dropwise addition of this solution during the electrolysis to the anodic chamber containing the olefin 147, lithium perchlorate and the photocatalyst in acetonitrile delivered the desired olefin product 148. From a mechanistic point of view, the

1,2-Difluoroethylene (HFO-1132): synthesis and chemistry

• Liubov V. Sokolenko,
• Taras M. Sokolenko and
• Yurii L. Yagupolskii

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1955–1966, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.171

• -difluoroethylene was based on 1,2-dichloro-1,2-difluoroethane (HCFC-132) [48][49][50][51][52], prepared from 1,1,2,2-tetrachloro-1,2-difluoroethane (CFC-112) by reduction using lithium aluminum hydride [48][49][50][51] or photoreduction (Scheme 2) [51]. The resulting HCFC-132 reacted with zinc [47][49][52] or

Electrochemical radical cation aza-Wacker cyclizations

• Sota Adachi and
• Yohei Okada

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1900–1905, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.165

• condition gave better results (Table 1, entry 6). Previously, we reported that lithium perchlorate (LiClO4)/nitromethane (CH3NO2) solution was an effective medium to facilitate radical cation reactions [21][22][23][24][25]. However, interestingly, it was not productive for the electrochemical aza-Wacker

A facile three-component route to powerful 5-aryldeazaalloxazine photocatalysts

• Ivana Weisheitelová,
• Radek Cibulka,
• Marek Sikorski and
• Tetiana Pavlovska

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1831–1838, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.161

• -deazaflavins [11][12][13]. Recently, it has been discovered that both 5-deazaflavins 1 and 5-deazaalloxazines 2, which have an aryl substituent in position C(5), form stable radicals that act as powerful reductive photocatalysts with a reducing power comparable to that of lithium [E*(1/1•) = −3.3 V vs SCE

Syntheses and medicinal chemistry of spiro heterocyclic steroids

• Laura L. Romero-Hernández,
• Ana Isabel Ahuja-Casarín,
• Penélope Merino-Montiel,
• Sara Montiel-Smith,
• José Luis Vega-Báez and
• Jesús Sandoval-Ramírez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1713–1745, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.152

• steroidal 17-ketones were first alkylated in the presence of the lithium derivative of ethyl propiolate. After stereoselective formation of the corresponding adduct, the triple bond was chemoselectively reduced under catalytic hydrogenation using 5% palladium on charcoal. As a final step, a p

Benzylic C(sp³)–H fluorination

• Alexander P. Atkins,
• Alice C. Dean and
• Alastair J. J. Lennox

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1527–1547, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.137

• for the heterobenzylic position, as shown by compound 4. In 2018, a subsequent publication by the same group detailed the use of increased lithium carbonate and NFSI loadings (conditions [B]) to access the difluorinated products [37]. This report also demonstrated a single example of 18F