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

• methoxy (-OMe) and halogens (-F, -Cl, -Br), as well as electron-withdrawing functionalities like trifluoromethyl (-CF₃) and ester groups (-CO₂Me). However, highly electron-deficient substrates, such as those bearing cyano (-CN) or nitro (-NO₂) groups, did not react. Additionally, the study explored

• incorporation of fluorinated motifs such as trifluoromethyl and difluoroalkyl groups offers unique physicochemical properties, and has become a burgeoning area of research. In 2018, Zeng’s group reported a novel electrochemical trifluoromethylation/cyclization reaction of N-arylacrylamides catalyzed by bromide

• catalysts for generating trifluoromethyl radicals, thereby eliminating the need for expensive transition-metal catalysts and external oxidants, which enhances both the economic and environmental benefits of the process. Furthermore, the research demonstrated the method's broad applicability across various N

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

• 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

• hypervalent iodine-based macrocyclic complex. Furthermore, we have experimentally and computationally compared the association constants of lithium tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)borate ethyl etherate LiBArF20 and sodium tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate NaBArF24 in the phenylalanine HIM system

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

• using tris(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)phosphine (TMPP) to obtain methyl cinnamate (44) in good yield (Scheme 18) [50]. Herein, the phosphine group attacks the acid fluoride to give intermediate 55, fluoride attack then triggers methoxy group release. Toste and co-workers (2021) synthesized N-trifluoromethyl

Silver(I) triflate-catalyzed post-Ugi synthesis of pyrazolodiazepines

• Muhammad Hasan,
• Anatoly A. Peshkov,
• Syed Anis Ali Shah,
• Andrey Belyaev,
• Chang-Keun Lim,
• Shunyi Wang and
• Vsevolod A. Peshkov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 915–925, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.74

• trifluoromethyl and nitro groups. Furthermore, substrates 15m–o derived from aliphatic amines, also performed well, furnishing pyrazolodiazepines 16m–o in up to 89% yield. The structure of 16m, a representative compound of this series, was confirmed through single-crystal X-ray diffraction (scXRD) analysis

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

• , ethyl, phenethyl, and allyl groups, also underwent smooth cyanation, resulting in α-quaternary nitriles 3f–i in yields of 85–94%. Furthermore, aryl-substituted allenes 1j–o, incorporating electron-donating or electron-withdrawing substituents such as methyl, fluoro, chloro, bromo, trifluoromethyl, or

• , bromo, trifluoromethyl, or methoxy groups on the phenyl ring, were smoothly converted into β,γ-unsaturated nitriles 3t–x with high efficiency. Particularly, allenes 1y and 1z containing benzodioxane or naphthalene moieties were well-tolerated under these reaction conditions, affording nitriles 3y and 3z

Origami with small molecules: exploiting the C–F bond as a conformational tool

• Patrick Ryan,
• Ramsha Iftikhar and
• Luke Hunter

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 680–716, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.54

• which has potentially useful chameleonic polarity (and also lipophilic H-bond-donor ability). Progressing to the trifluoromethyl system (45, Figure 6): now there is an even stronger tendency for the fluorinated group to be oriented orthogonal to the aryl plane [80]. This can be explained by two factors

• . First, π → σ*O–C(F) hyperconjugation is stronger in the trifluoromethyl case. Second, the steric demand of the trifluoromethyl group would cause a significant clash with the aryl moiety in the planar conformation. The increased accessibility of the orthogonal conformation of highly fluorinated ethers is

Asymmetric synthesis of fluorinated derivatives of aromatic and γ-branched amino acids via a chiral Ni(II) complex

• Maurizio Iannuzzi,
• Thomas Hohmann,
• Michael Dyrks,
• Kilian Haoues,
• Katarzyna Salamon-Krokosz and
• Beate Koksch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 659–669, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.52

• -trifluoromethylphenylalanine ([2.3.5.6F]TfMePhe, 2) and bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylalanine (bisTfMePhe, 3) (Scheme 1). Neither amino acid has, to our knowledge, been described in the context of peptide chemistry yet. In general, fluorinated aromatic amino acids are essential building blocks that allow a modification of

• (d, J = 19.1 Hz), 125.98, 124.25, 71.38, 68.54, 63.06, 58.50, 37.65, 34.44 (d, J = 27.1 Hz), 34.08 (d, J = 26.7 Hz), 30.90, 24.12, 14.86 ppm; 19F NMR (565 MHz, CDCl3) δ −73.28 (d, J = 9.0 Hz) ppm. (S)-2-((((9H-Fluoren-9-yl)methoxy)carbonyl)amino)-3-(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl

• )propanoic acid [tetrafluoro(trifluoromethyl)phenylalanine, [2.3.5.6F]TfMePhe] (2): At room temperature, aq HCl (3 M, 15.4 mL, 46.3 mmol, 5.0 equiv) was added to a stirring solution of 6 (7.70 g, 9.26 mmol, 1.0 equiv) in DME (30.9 mL). The resulting mixture was stirred at 60 °C for 2 h. After cooling to room

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

• with olefins bearing electronic directing groups (such as aryl, boryl, or trifluoromethyl substituents) that guide regioselective hydrocupration, unactivated alkyl-substituted alkenes pose a persistent challenge. The recent breakthrough in CuH-catalyzed enantioselective and diastereoselective allylic

Vinylogous functionalization of 4-alkylidene-5-aminopyrazoles with methyl trifluoropyruvates

• Judit Hostalet-Romero,
• Laura Carceller-Ferrer,
• Gonzalo Blay,
• Amparo Sanz-Marco,
• José R. Pedro and
• Carlos Vila

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 533–540, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.41

• between 4-alkylidene-5-aminopyrazoles and alkyl trifluoropyruvates leading to highly functionalized tertiary alcohols bearing a trifluoromethyl group and a pyrazole ring is presented. The corresponding trifluoromethyl alcohols are obtained in moderate to good yields (up to 80%) and high

• for the synthesis of tertiary trifluoromethyl carbinols [6][7]. In this context, trifluoromethyl carbinols constitute a key structural motif present in a wide range of molecules with important biological activities (Figure 1) [8][9][10], on account of the distinctive properties of organofluorine

• . Next, we evaluated the 5-aminopyrazole 3da prepared from tetrahydro-4H-pyran-4-one, and interestingly the corresponding trifluoromethyl carbinol 5daa was afforded, under both reaction conditions, in good yields (66% and 59% yield, respectively) but with a very low diastereoisomeric ratio (near to 1:1

Deep-blue emitting 9,10-bis(perfluorobenzyl)anthracene

• Long K. San,
• Sebastian Balser,
• Brian J. Reeves,
• Tyler T. Clikeman,
• Yu-Sheng Chen,
• Steven H. Strauss and
• Olga V. Boltalina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 515–525, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.39

• (trifluoromethyl)benzene (1,4-C6H4(CF3)2, Central Glass Co., 99%); dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, Fisher Scientific, ACS grade); anhydrous magnesium sulfate (MgSO4, Fisher Scientific); Cu powder (Strem Chemicals, 99%); dichloromethane (EMD Chemicals, ACS grade); acetone (technical grade); THF (Aldrich/Merck, ACS grade

Organocatalytic kinetic resolution of 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds through a retro-Michael reaction

• James Guevara-Pulido,
• Fernando González-Pérez,
• José M. Andrés and
• Rafael Pedrosa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 473–482, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.34

• without a co-catalyst but is slower, resulting in a lower enantiomeric ratio than in an acidic medium. The obtained results show that the diphenylprolinol derivative A provides a better enantiomeric ratio than that achieved with the α,α-bis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]prolinol derivative B (compare

Dioxazolones as electrophilic amide sources in copper-catalyzed and -mediated transformations

• Seungmin Lee,
• Minsuk Kim,
• Hyewon Han and
• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 200–216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.12

• , styrene derivatives bearing both electron-rich and electron-poor groups underwent the desired transformation with high yields and enantioselectivities (23g and 23h). However, the styrene scaffold bearing a trifluoromethyl group showed reduced enantioselectivity (23i). Styrenes containing heterocyclic

Nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling of 2-fluorobenzofurans with arylboronic acids via aromatic C–F bond activation

• Takeshi Fujita,
• Haruna Yabuki,
• Ryutaro Morioka,
• Kohei Fuchibe and
• Junji Ichikawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 146–154, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.8

• -(trifluoromethyl)-1-alkenes strongly interact with electron-rich zero-valent nickel species to form nickelacyclopropanes C [15][16][17]. These intermediates enable C–F bond activation through the formation of nickelacyclopentenes D with alkynes, followed by β-fluorine elimination, leading to defluorinative

• at the 4-position (2d) also produced high yields (94–98%). For arylboronic acid 2f, which has a methoxy group at the 4-position, the use of potassium phosphate as a base resulted in a 94% yield of 3bf. For arylboronic acid 2g, which features a strongly electron-withdrawing trifluoromethyl group, we

• distinct aryl groups onto a benzofuran ring through orthogonal coupling reactions, exploiting the reactivity difference between C–F and C–Br bonds (Scheme 4). Using a palladium catalyst, 5-bromo-2-fluorobenzofuran (1e) was coupled with [4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]boronic acid (2g). In this reaction, only

Cu(OTf)₂-catalyzed multicomponent reactions

• Sara Colombo,
• Camilla Loro,
• Egle M. Beccalli,
• Gianluigi Broggini and
• Marta Papis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 122–145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.7

• -difunctionalization of alkenes carried out with carbazates (N-aminocarbamates) and (hetero)arene nucleophiles or amines exploiting N-(tert-butyl)-N-fluoro-3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzenesulfonamide (NFBS) as intermolecular hydrogen-atom-transfer reagent results in alkylarylation processes (Scheme 5) [19]. The

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

• , 56.33, 56.48, 114.24, 114.96, 123.38, 127.73, 152.65, 153.22; ESI-MS m/z: [M + 1]+ 195.1; found, 196.2; mp 213–215 °C. 2-(2,5-Dimethoxy-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)ethan-1-amine hydrochloride (6b): The product was isolated by use of (II) as a white solid (71%). 1H NMR (400 MHz, CD3OD) δ 3.03 (t, J = 7.38

Giese-type alkylation of dehydroalanine derivatives via silane-mediated alkyl bromide activation

• Perry van der Heide,
• Michele Retini,
• Fabiola Fanini,
• Giovanni Piersanti,
• Francesco Secci,
• Daniele Mazzarella,
• Timothy Noël and
• Alberto Luridiana

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3274–3280, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.271

• )silane and a substoichiometric amount of (4-methoxyphenyl)(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)methanone (BP l) (Table 1) [26][27]. The reaction was performed in batch, using a 390 nm Kessil UV-A lamp, stirring at 600 rpm overnight at 25 °C (see Supporting Information File 1 for a more detailed optimization). The

• initiated by a photocatalyst. Alkyl bromide and Dha derivative scope. Reaction conditions: Dha derivative (0.5 mmol), alkyl bromide (1.25 mmol), tris(trimethylsilyl)silane (0.55 mmol), (4-methoxyphenyl)(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)methanone (0.1 mmol), PBS 0.2 M solution (2.5 mL), λ = 390 nm, 25 °C. a4 hours

• of reaction time, b3 hours of reaction time. The isolated product yields are reported. Scaled-up reaction. Reaction conditions: Dha derivative (2.2 mmol), alkyl bromide (5.4 mmol), tris(trimethylsilyl)silane (2.4 mmol), (4-methoxyphenyl)(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)methanone (0.4 mmol), PBS 0.2 M

Tailored charge-neutral self-assembled L₂Zn₂ container for taming oxalate

• David Ocklenburg and
• David Van Craen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3007–3015, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.250

• this issue is to exchange the counteranions with less competitive ones, such as replacing tetrafluoroborate with tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate [64]. Alternatively, an emerging solution is the utilization of ligand–metal combinations that self-assemble into charge-neutral host systems

Advances in radical peroxidation with hydroperoxides

• Oleg V. Bityukov,
• Pavel Yu. Serdyuchenko,
• Andrey S. Kirillov,
• Gennady I. Nikishin,
• Vera A. Vil’ and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2959–3006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.249

• alkenes 41 was disclosed (Scheme 17) [59]. The target 6-trifluoromethyl peroxides 42 were synthesized in good yields under mild conditions. The electrophilic CF3 radical A, generated from CF3SO2Na through single-electron oxidation by using Mnn/TBHP system, is captured by the carbon–carbon double bond to

• copper catalysis the complex Cu(II)OO-t-Bu was proposed [122]. The difunctionalization of styrenes 175 with trifluoromethyl and peroxy groups was carried out using Togni reagent II (176) as a CF3-group precursor and the metal organic framework Cu3(BTC)2 as a heterogeneous catalyst (Scheme 54) [123]. The

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

• of 1-fluorobis(phenylsulfonyl)methane (FBSM) to α,β-unsaturated ketones with cinchona alkaloids [9]. Fluorinated Michael acceptors usually contain one fluorine atom or a trifluoromethyl group in the structure [10][11][12]. There are also known examples of gem-difluoroalkenes being used as Michael

Recent advances in transition-metal-free arylation reactions involving hypervalent iodine salts

• Ritu Mamgain,
• Kokila Sakthivel and
• Fateh V. Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2891–2920, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.243

• . Notably, the efficiency of the cross-coupling reaction was observed to increase with the transfer of electron-poor aryl groups from the hypervalent iodine salt. Thus, electron-withdrawing substituents such as trifluoromethyl, m-chloro, and fluorine on the aryl group promoted efficient coupling. Moreover

Synthesis of benzo[f]quinazoline-1,3(2H,4H)-diones

• Ruben Manuel Figueira de Abreu,
• Peter Ehlers and
• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2708–2719, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.228

• isolated in moderate to excellent yields (Scheme 3). The best yield was obtained for 5a with 99%. Several functional groups, such as methyl, N,N-dimethylamino, and trifluoromethyl, are tolerated by the developed procedure. However, a fluorine group was converted to a hydroxy functional group (5h), most

• ), 281 (7), 207 (15), 202 (8); HRESIMS-TOF (m/z): [M + H]+ calcd for C23H24N3O2, 374.1868; found, 374.1859. 6-(4-(N,N-Dimethylamino)phenyl)-2,4-dimethyl-8-(trifluoromethyl)benzo[f]quinazoline-1,3-(2H,4H)-dione (5f). According to general procedure, compound 5f was obtained as a brown solid in 70% yield

Synthesis of fluoroalkenes and fluoroenynes via cross-coupling reactions using novel multihalogenated vinyl ethers

• Yukiko Karuo,
• Keita Hirata,
• Atsushi Tarui,
• Kazuyuki Sato,
• Kentaro Kawai and
• Masaaki Omote

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2691–2703, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.226

• -naphthylacetylene (5g) provided the corresponding enynes (3b–g) in 43–92% yields (Table 4, entries 1–6). On the contrary, electron-withdrawing substituents such as chloro, trifluoromethyl and nitro groups resulted in low cross-coupling yields (3h–j) (Table 4, entries 7–9). p-Acetyl or p-formylphenylacetylene (5k or

Transition-metal-free synthesis of arylboronates via thermal generation of aryl radicals from triarylbismuthines in air

• Yuki Yamamoto,
• Yuki Konakazawa,
• Kohsuke Fujiwara and
• Akiya Ogawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2577–2584, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.216

• resulted in the low conversion. This system could be applied to the unstable dimethyl acetal-substituted triphenylbismuthine 1f, and 3f was obtained in 51% yield. Interestingly, the use of triarylbismuthines 1i and 1j with strong electron-withdrawing groups such as trifluoromethyl and formyl groups was

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

Facile preparation of fluorine-containing 2,3-epoxypropanoates and their epoxy ring-opening reactions with various nucleophiles

• Yutaro Miyashita,
• Sae Someya,
• Tomoko Kawasaki-Takasuka,
• Tomohiro Agou and
• Takashi Yamazaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2421–2433, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.206

• organometallic species [16][17][18][19]. At least in part, its high reactivity was considered to be due to the significantly lower-lying LUMO energy level by the attachment of electron-withdrawing trifluoromethyl (CF3) and ethoxycarbonyl groups [20]. As we previously pointed out [10][21], the effective

• , 1519, 1458, 1238, 1204, 1156, 1138, 1097, 1030, 822, 749 cm−1; HRMS–FAB (m/z): [M]+ calcd for C18H18F3NO4, 369.1182; found, 369.1209. General procedure for the ring opening of epoxides by enolates (GP-3). 4-Benzyl 5-ethyl anti,syn-tetrahydro-2-oxo-3-(trifluoromethyl)-furan-4,5-dicarboxylate (anti,syn

• -7a) and 4,5-diethyl anti,syn-tetrahydro-2-oxo-3-(trifluoromethyl)furan-4,5-dicarboxylate (anti,syn-7b) Diethyl malonate (0.18 mL, 1.20 mmol) was added to a flask containing 0.0673 g (0.60 mmol) of t-BuOK in DMSO (1.8 mL) under an argon atmosphere and the resultant mixture was stirred for 15 min at