Transition-state aromaticity and its relationship with reactivity in pericyclic reactions

• Israel Fernández

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1613–1626, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.125

• cycloadditions involving metal cyaphides should be in-plane aromatic species due to the cyclic delocalization of 6-electrons in the molecular plane. Indeed, the evolution of the NICS(3, +1) values along a z-axis perpendicular to the molecular plane shows the expected bell shape with a maximum value at z = 0 Å

Synthesis of optically active folded cyclic dimers and trimers

• Ena Kumamoto,
• Kana Ogawa,
• Kazunori Okamoto and
• Yasuhiro Morisaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1603–1612, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.124

• structures, such as one-handed helical and propeller-shaped structures, can be constructed by folding the π-conjugated system using [2.2]paracyclophane as the chiral crossing unit, leading to circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) properties. Chiral cyclic dimers and trimers were synthesized using planar

• term for cyclic compounds with at least one aromatic ring in the main chain backbone [1]. Cyclophane compounds have long been known; [2.2]paracyclophane was first reported as a cyclic dimer of paraxylylene by Brown et al. in 1949 [2]. In 1951, Cram et al. reported the practical synthesis of [2.2

• , enantiopure [2.2]paracyclophane was used as a chiral monomer to prepare optically active conjugated polymers and cyclic trimers [21], in which π-electron systems were stacked to form zigzag and triangular structures, respectively. The conjugated polymers and cyclic trimers exhibited circularly polarized

3-Aryl-2H-azirines as annulation reagents in the Ni(II)-catalyzed synthesis of 1H-benzo[4,5]thieno[3,2-b]pyrroles

• Julia I. Pavlenko,
• Pavel A. Sakharov,
• Anastasiya V. Agafonova,
• Derenik A. Isadzhanyan,
• Alexander F. Khlebnikov and
• Mikhail S. Novikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1595–1602, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.123

• , differing in the nature and number of heteroatoms and their mutual arrangement. These also include ortho-fused heterocycles, which are obtained from functionalized cyclic systems and azirines as annulation reagents. Significant progress has been achieved in the synthesis of pyrrolo-fused systems by the

• , while changing the solvent gave completely unsatisfactory results. The absence of the methoxycarbonyl group in the obtained product 3a was unexpected, since there are no examples in the literature of the annulation reactions of cyclic substrates with azirines which are accompanied by the loss of an

• mechanisms of the formation of azirindine 16 under Ni(II)- and Cu(I)-catalysis. Oxidative dimerization of non-aromatic cyclic enols has been previously observed in their reactions with 3-arylazirines catalyzed by Cu(I) and Cu(II) complexes and was attributed to the recombination of intermediate free radicals

Synthesis of an aza[5]helicene-incorporated macrocyclic heteroarene via oxidation of an o-phenylene-pyrrole-thiophene icosamer

• Yusuke Matsuo,
• Aoi Nakagawa,
• Shu Seki and
• Takayuki Tanaka

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1561–1567, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.119

• largest cyclic array in the series. The oxidative fusion reaction with [bis(trifluoroacetoxy)iodo]benzene (PIFA) afforded a cyclophane-type aza[5]helicene-incorporated macrocycle, the structure of which was unambiguously revealed by X-ray diffraction analysis. Its optical properties have been investigated

• ][2][3][4][5]. In addition to these promising functionalities, their cyclic polyaromatic frameworks can be further transformed into fused structures. To this end, belt-like polyaromatic architectures can be developed, inspiring ongoing efforts toward the construction of carbon nanotube analogs (Figure

•  1) [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Nevertheless, partially fused macrocyclic intermediates are also important as they exhibit structural strain associated with both the polycyclic segments and the inherent strain stemming from the macrocyclic structure. For instance, cyclic chrysenylenes [13][14][15][16

Facile synthesis of hydantoin/1,2,4-oxadiazoline spiro-compounds via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to 5-iminohydantoins

• Juliana V. Petrova,
• Varvara T. Tkachenko,
• Victor A. Tafeenko,
• Anna S. Pestretsova,
• Vadim S. Pokrovsky,
• Maxim E. Kukushkin and
• Elena K. Beloglazkina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1552–1560, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.118

• another cycle via the single quaternary carbon atom C5 demonstrated significant biological activity, greater than analogs with non-spiro-bonded cyclic fragments [3][4]. Hydantoin derivatives also exhibit a wide range of biological activities. Compounds containing the hydantoin pharmacophore group, are

General method for the synthesis of enaminones via photocatalysis

• Paula Pérez-Ramos,
• Raquel G. Soengas and
• Humberto Rodríguez-Solla

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1535–1543, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.116

• view of these results, it seems evident that six-membered cyclic amines have the optimal ring size for the photocatalyzed enaminone formation process. For enaminones 9b–k the remaining mass balance comprised mainly unreacted starting materials. The scalability of the process was demonstrated in

Copper catalysis: a constantly evolving field

• Elena Fernández and
• Jaesook Yun

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1477–1479, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.109

• substitution pattern on the regioselectivity and stereoselectivity of the reactions. A Review article by Papis and co-workers discusses various copper(II) triflate-catalyzed multicomponent reaction types [2]. Therein, the synthesis of cyclic and acyclic compounds, as well as three-component and four-component

Microwave-enhanced additive-free C–H amination of benzoxazoles catalysed by supported copper

• Andrei Paraschiv,
• Valentina Maruzzo,
• Filippo Pettazzi,
• Stefano Magliocco,
• Paolo Inaudi,
• Daria Brambilla,
• Gloria Berlier,
• Giancarlo Cravotto and
• Katia Martina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1462–1476, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.108

• Cu(I) derivative. Next, the scope of the optimised heterogeneous MW-assisted protocol was tested with a set of 16 different secondary amines (Scheme 3). This set included linear, branched aliphatic, and cyclic amines, both commercially available and ad-hoc synthesised derivatives (see Supporting

• Information File 1 for the syntheses of derivatives 1k, 1m–s). Encouragingly, all 16 amines were successfully converted to the corresponding 2-aminobenzoxazole derivatives with yields greater than 50%. Beyond piperidine, other cyclic amines, such as morpholine, piperazine, and pyrrolidine, also reacted

• its 5- or 6-substituted derivatives with a variety of cyclic, alkyl and branched secondary amines, probing the protocol’s versatility and confirming its potential usefulness. This study provides the basis for the application of the protocol in continuous flow systems, such as a continuous

Advances in nitrogen-containing helicenes: synthesis, chiroptical properties, and optoelectronic applications

• Meng Qiu,
• Jing Du,
• Nai-Te Yao,
• Xin-Yue Wang and
• Han-Yuan Gong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1422–1453, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.106

• , two cyclic dimers, designated as compounds 12c and 12d, were isolated, exhibiting strong absorption bands at 493 and 474 nm, high PLQYs of 0.61 and 0.54, and notable CPL activity (|glum| = 0.74 × 10−3 and 1.3 × 10−3, respectively), with corresponding brightness values (BCPL) reaching 19 and 31 M−1 cm

Reactions of acryl thioamides with iminoiodinanes as a one-step synthesis of N-sulfonyl-2,3-dihydro-1,2-thiazoles

• Vladimir G. Ilkin,
• Pavel S. Silaichev,
• Valeriy O. Filimonov,
• Tetyana V. Beryozkina,
• Margarita D. Likhacheva,
• Pavel A. Slepukhin,
• Wim Dehaen and
• Vasiliy A. Bakulev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1397–1403, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.104

• , pyridinyl, furyl, isopropyl, and cyclohexyl substituents were introduced into position 3; cyano and various carbonyl groups were added to position 4 and cyclic amine residues were added to position 5 which increase the solubility of the synthesized compounds 3 (Scheme 2). An analysis of the yields of

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

• Peter Gabko Martin Kalnik Maros Bella Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 38 Bratislava, Slovakia 10.3762/bjoc.21.101 Abstract Oxetanes are 4-membered cyclic monoethers which have found important applications in medicinal chemistry as polar and metabolically

• was generally accepted that this cyclic ether is planar but this myth was eventually debunked by Luger and Buschmann in 1984 who carried out the first X-ray analysis of oxetane [2] and calculated a small puckering angle of 8.7° at 140 K, which is much smaller than the approximate 30° puckering angle

• base [5]. In fact, its hydrogen-bond-accepting ability is even stronger than that of the other 3-, 5- and 6-membered cyclic ethers, as well as the carbonyls of aldehydes, ketones, esters and carbonates [6][7][8]. The only better carbonyl-based hydrogen-bond acceptors are amides, carbamates and ureas [9

Recent advances and future challenges in the bottom-up synthesis of azulene-embedded nanographenes

• Bartłomiej Pigulski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1272–1305, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.99

• with dibromide 11 to form cyclic bisphosphonium salt 12, which was then subjected to alkaline hydrolysis. The direct precursor 13 was isolated in 10% yield after two steps and, finally, oxidized to PAH 14 using DDQ (2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone). The second approach was inspired by well

Recent advances in oxidative radical difunctionalization of N-arylacrylamides enabled by carbon radical reagents

• Jiangfei Chen,
• Yi-Lin Qu,
• Ming Yuan,
• Xiang-Mei Wu,
• Heng-Pei Jiang,
• Ying Fu and
• Shengrong Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1207–1271, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.98

• ), failed to react effectively. Additionally, the detailed reaction mechanism, explored through control experiments and cyclic voltammetry analysis, revealed a complex series of chemical transformations. The proposed mechanism involves the anodic oxidation of bromide ions to generate molecular Br2, which

• cyclization and deprotonation to yield the desired cyclic product 40, with Umemoto’s reagent serving both as the trifluoromethyl source and the oxidant. In 2023, Li and Fu’s group reported a novel metal-free electrochemical oxidative difluoroethylation method for constructing azaheterocycles, using sodium

• experiments and cyclic voltammetry (CV) indicated that the reaction mechanism proceeds via a radical pathway. DFES-Na undergoes single-electron oxidation at the anode, generating a radical that reacts with the olefinic amide, followed by intramolecular cyclization to form the target difluoroalkylated

Optimized synthesis of aroyl-S,N-ketene acetals by omission of solubilizing alcohol cosolvents

• Julius Krenzer and
• Thomas J. J. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1201–1206, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.97

• estimated from parameters for enamines (N = 10–16), cyclic N,N-ketene acetals (N = 18–20) [11][12] , and the deoxy-Breslow intermediate (N =15.6) [13]. The nucleophilicity of S,N-ketene acetal 4 clearly exceeds that of ethanol (N = 7.4). In addition, triethylamine is more nucleophilic (N = 17.30 in

Selective monoformylation of naphthalene-fused propellanes for methylene-alternating copolymers

• Kenichi Kato,
• Tatsuki Hiroi,
• Seina Okada,
• Shunsuke Ohtani and
• Tomoki Ogoshi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1183–1191, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.95

• well with the observed reactivities and selectivity. Attempted macrocyclization leading to linear polymers Formyl groups have diverse reactivities and enable facile condensation, dynamic covalent chemistry, and so on. In this work, we tried the synthesis of cyclic oligomers composed of naphthalene

• molecular weights. These results implied that formation of well-defined cyclic oligomers was quite limited. To increase the well-defined species, [4.3.3]_CH2OH was separated into two enantiopure fractions (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S505), one of which was used for the acid-mediated reaction

Gold extraction at the molecular level using α- and β-cyclodextrins

• Susana Santos Braga

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1116–1125, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.89

• together to form cyclic oligosaccharides. The naturally occurring cyclodextrins, also named native cyclodextrins, have typically six (α-CD), seven (β-CD) or eight (γ-CD) ᴅ-glucose units [26][27]. Their monomers are all linked by α-1,4 glycosidic bonds, which results in a molecular geometry with a shape

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

• curcumscribe the small cyclic core represented by blue color. Three carbonyl amides project outward. B) DFT image of 1 displaying the distribution of Mulliken charges on iodine (purple), oxygen (red), and carbon (grey); benzyl groups are ommited for clarity. C) Calculated electrostatic potential map showing

Recent advances in synthetic approaches for bioactive cinnamic acid derivatives

• Betty A. Kustiana,
• Galuh Widiyarti and
• Teni Ernawati

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1031–1086, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.85

• and co-workers (2021) utilized oxime chloride and cinnamic acid to synthesize O-acylhydroxamate 68 in good yield (Scheme 23A) [57]. In the presence of a base, oxime chloride was converted to electrophilic nitrile oxide 69 and reacted with carboxylic acid to form the cyclic intermediate 70. On the

• bond of cyclopropenone to give a cyclic intermediate 316 (Scheme 74A) [125]. On the other hand, Wu and co-workers (2022) developed a Pd-catalyzed selective ring-opening of cyclopropenones and vinyl epoxide 318 to give the corresponding esters 319–321 in good yields via a π–allyl palladium intermediate

Biobased carbon dots as photoreductants – an investigation by using triarylsulfonium salts

• Valentina Benazzi,
• Arianna Bini,
• Ilaria Bertuol,
• Mariangela Novello,
• Federica Baldi,
• Matteo Hoch,
• Alvise Perosa and
• Stefano Protti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1024–1030, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.84

• biocompatibility. The electrochemical properties of such materials have been then evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV). For all the properties mentioned above, CDs emerged as low-cost and sustainable photocatalysts. Indeed, upon visible-light irradiation, the generated excited state CD* can operate as either

• four different CDs from citric acid and from blackberries with triarylsulfonium salts. A diffusional rate value was found for all examined nanomaterials (Table 3), pointing to an efficient interaction between the photoexcited CDs and 1b. Cyclic voltammetry experiments have been carried out on both CDs

• product was detected. Conclusion The results arising from cyclic voltammetry analyses, along with the Stern–Volmer fluorescence quenching data and with the isolated products and the GC yields obtained when irradiating the carbon dots in the presence of triarylsulfonium salts, indicate that carbon dots are

Recent total synthesis of natural products leveraging a strategy of enamide cyclization

• Chun-Yu Mi,
• Jia-Yuan Zhai and
• Xiao-Ming Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 999–1009, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.81

• oxidation, the Meinwald rearrangement/aldol reaction gave rise to the bridge cyclic intermediate 35, which can finally be converted into both (−)-fortuneicyclidin A and (−)-fortuneicyclidin B. Polycyclization Cyclization/Pictet–Spengler reaction The hexahydropyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinoline or tetrahydropyrrolo

Recent advances in controllable/divergent synthesis

• Jilei Cao,
• Leiyang Bai and
• Xuefeng Jiang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 890–914, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.73

• utilizing in situ-generated π-allylpalladium complexes to capture strained cyclic allene intermediates (Scheme 4) [22]. By modulating the ligands in the reaction system, two distinct polycyclic scaffolds, 13 or 14, could be synthesized with high selectivity. Mechanistically, the Pd(0) catalyst coordinates

• to substrate 11, followed by oxidative addition and release of carbon dioxide to form the zwitterionic π-allylpalladium intermediate Int-21. Under the reaction conditions, silyl triflate 12 undergoes a fluoride-mediated 1,2-elimination to generate the cyclic allene intermediate Int-22. Through a

• , Koenigs, and co-workers demonstrated solvent-controlled bifurcation in the light-driven reactivity of cyclic diazo imides 41 with thiols 42, unveiling two mechanistically distinct pathways (Scheme 11) [40]. In dichloromethane (DCM), the reaction proceeds via a carbene intermediate, enabling cascade C(sp2

Dicarboxylate recognition based on ultracycle hosts through cooperative hydrogen bonding and anion–π interactions

• Wen-Hui Mi,
• Teng-Yu Huang,
• Xu-Dong Wang,
• Yu-Fei Ao,
• Qi-Qiang Wang and
• De-Xian Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 884–889, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.72

• metabolism [3][4]; cyclic peptides play critical roles in plant or bacterial defenses and as well as animal hormone signaling [5][6]; cyclic proteins exhibit diverse therapeutic functions [7]; and cyclic nucleotides are essential for molecular cloning and hold potential for disease treatment [8]. In contrast

Light-enabled intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition via photoactivation of simple alkenylboronic esters

• Lewis McGhie,
• Hannah M. Kortman,
• Jenna Rumpf,
• Peter H. Seeberger and
• John J. Molloy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 854–863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.69

• energy sensitizers, would represent an attractive platform for future reaction design. Here, we disclose the photoactivation of simple alkenylboronic esters established using alkene scrambling as a rapid reaction probe to identify a suitable catalyst and boron motif. Cyclic voltammetry, UV–vis analysis

• detrimental to reactivity leading to substrate degradation. Given the ease of access and enhanced stability of pinacol esters to column chromatography, this motif was advanced for further reaction design. Cyclic voltammetry analysis of 1a indicates that single-electron-transfer processes with the excited

• details). Conclusion In summary, photoactivation of simple alkenylboronic esters was established using alkene scrambling as a rapid reaction probe to determine the catalyst and boron moiety for sensitization. The use of cyclic voltammetry, UV–vis analysis, and control reaction probes support sensitization

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

• that when the reaction was carried out in the presence of TEMPO as a radical scavenger, a side product, TEMPO-P(O)R2, was formed (it was confirmed using high-resolution mass spectrometry). The results revealed that the reaction proceeded in a radical pathway (Scheme 1). Based on the cyclic voltammetry

• gave much better results than a graphite plate. The desired product was likely not formed due to the higher oxidation potential of diethyl phosphonate. Cyclic voltammetry experiments confirmed that Cp2Fe is oxidized first due to its lower oxidation potential than other compounds. Moreover, the reaction

• reaction proceeded via anodic indole oxidation, followed by a reaction with trialkyl phosphite to give the corresponding indole phosphonate (Scheme 11). Cyclic voltammetry experiments confirmed that free indole can oxidize at the anode and generate a radical-cation intermediate. Also, no product was

Development and mechanistic studies of calcium–BINOL phosphate-catalyzed hydrocyanation of hydrazones

• Carola Tortora,
• Christian A. Fischer,
• Sascha Kohlbauer,
• Alexandru Zamfir,
• Gerd M. Ballmann,
• Jürgen Pahl,
• Sjoerd Harder and
• Svetlana B. Tsogoeva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 755–765, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.59

• -state structure, two bonds (Ca–O and Si–C) are broken, while a Si–O bond is simultaneously formed, in a concerted step implying a cyclic flow of six electrons in a five-membered ring. The isocyanide Ca–N–C bond angle in TS 11-12 lies between that of 7 and 9. While the replacement step is slow, and hence