Thermodynamics and polarity-driven properties of fluorinated cyclopropanes

• Matheus P. Freitas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1742–1747, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.137

• substitution is endothermic and, therefore, destabilizing [8]. This destabilization was attributed to the greater s-character of the orbital involved in bonding to the substituent. In contrast, our calculations at the B3LYP-GD3BJ/6-311++G(d,p) level revealed that the reactions leading to the fluorinated

3,3'-Linked BINOL macrocycles: optimized synthesis of crown ethers featuring one or two BINOL units

• Somayyeh Kheirjou,
• Jan Riebe,
• Maike Thiele,
• Christoph Wölper and
• Jochen Niemeyer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1719–1729, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.134

• ]. For the synthesis of macrocycles M2 with two BINOL units, we relied on the monoiodide 12, which was first reacted in a two-fold Suzuki coupling to install the first linker, followed by silyl deprotection and introduction of the second linker via nucleophilic substitution [51]. Both procedures require

• . Yields for the macrocyclization step depended strongly on ring size and substitution pattern and ranged from 11–74%. Second, we could use Me/H/iPr-2 as starting materials for bis-BINOL macrocycles. Attachment of ethylene glycol chains with suitable leaving groups (tosylate or chloride), followed by

Continuous-flow-enabled intensification in nitration processes: a review of technological developments and practical applications over the past decade

• Feng Zhou,
• Chuansong Duanmu,
• Yanxing Li,
• Jin Li,
• Haiqing Xu,
• Pan Wang and
• Kai Zhu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1678–1699, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.132

• aliphatic counterparts) due to their predictable electrophilic substitution mechanisms and relatively mild reaction conditions, which enable superior controllability and regioselectivity. Unlike aromatic nitrations that predominantly follow ionic mechanisms, aliphatic systems governed by free radical

• •NO2 radical substitution mechanism during the HNO3-mediated nitration of arylboronic acids, providing mechanistic justification for this synthetically valuable transformation [58]. Parallel evidence came from Plouffe and colleagues microreactor studies on salicylic acid nitration, where kinetics

• dehydration. This electrophilic species subsequently engages in an aromatic electrophilic substitution, with reaction kinetics heavily influenced by the electronic nature of substituents and acid strength. Table 2 analyzes studies in the literature that utilize the flow-chemistry technology to investigate the

Structural analysis of stereoselective galactose pyruvylation toward the synthesis of bacterial capsular polysaccharides

• Tsun-Yi Chiang,
• Mei-Huei Lin,
• Chun-Wei Chang,
• Jinq-Chyi Lee and
• Cheng-Chung Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1671–1677, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.131

• the foundational work of Kulkarni, Codée, Boons, and other outstanding groups in their studies on zwitterionic polysaccharides [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Pyruvylation of carbohydrate diols is commonly achieved through acetal substitution in the presence of acid during chemical synthesis. In this process

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

• 3-aryl-2H-azirines with different substitution patterns of the aryl group (Scheme 2). As the presented data show, the reaction is insensitive to the electronic effects of substituents in the aryl group and, in the majority of cases, gives very high yields of annulation products. The introduction of

Thermodynamic equilibrium between locally excited and charge transfer states in perylene–phenothiazine dyads

• Issei Fukunaga,
• Shunsuke Kobashi,
• Yuki Nagai,
• Hiroki Horita,
• Hiromitsu Maeda and
• Yoichi Kobayashi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1577–1586, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.121

• than that of the LE band of the Pe moiety in other compounds. This suggests that the phenyl spacer effectively suppressed the CT interaction. It is noted that the substitution of the TPA group increases the relative amplitude of the CT emission band. On the other hand, it was found that the intensity

• absorption spectra and dynamics observed were generally similar to those of Pe–PTZ(TPA)2 (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S29c). However, the broad band between 700–800 nm is split into two peaks at 720 and 790 nm, likely due to asymmetric substitution of a single TPA group. The time constants of

pH-Controlled isomerization kinetics of ortho-disubstituted benzamidines: E/Z isomerism and axial chirality

• Ryota Kimura,
• Satoshi Ichikawa and
• Akira Katsuyama

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.120

• substitution of an ortho-disubstituted benzamide (DiBA) increases the rotational barrier of the C–N and C–N/C–C concerted rotation (Figure 1a,b) [20]. The observation can be explained mainly by the double-bond nature of the chalcogen amide C–N bond, which is attributed to a zwitterionic resonance structure of

• formal substitution of the carbonyl oxygen atom of DiBA to an NH group, could act as a pH-responsive molecular switch (Figure 1c). Namely, the double-bond nature of an amidine moiety can be altered by the protonation of the amidine nitrogen atom. This suggests the possibility of controlling the rate of C

• usefulness of the single-atom substitution strategy on DiBA. By replacing the oxygen atom of DiBA with a nitrogen atom (and thus NH), which has been shown to be photo-responsive when replaced with sulfur or selenium, the pH-responsive property was acquired. Such minimal changes in physical properties can be

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

• (Figure 3b, red ring) than 4-NO2 or 4-Cl substituents (IC50 of 5h was lower than 5l and 5f). The presence of a methoxy group in the imine aromatic core (blue ring) also had a significant impact on cytotoxicity. This can be concluded from the results obtained for compounds 5f and 5g: the substitution of

Azide–alkyne cycloaddition (click) reaction in biomass-derived solvent Cyrene^TM under one-pot conditions

• Zoltán Medgyesi and
• László T. Mika

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1544–1551, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.117

• , a wide range of organic reactions, e.g., urea and amide formation [32][33], amide coupling [34], aldol condensation [35], C–H difluoromethylation [36], aromatic substitution [37], and MOFs synthesis [38] were demonstrated in CyreneTM. Very recently, Fasano and Citarella first reported a CuAAC

Azobenzene protonation as a tool for temperature sensing

• Antti Siiskonen,
• Sami Vesamäki and
• Arri Priimagi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1528–1534, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.115

• Due to the lone pairs on their nitrogen atoms, azobenzenes are weak bases. Their basicity can be increased by electron-donating substituents on the benzene rings. para-Alkoxy substitution effectively increases the electron density at the azo-nitrogens without introducing additional protonation sites

• . We opted for methoxy substitution on one or both benzene rings as the simplest alkoxy substituent. The protonation of azobenzene (1), 4-methoxyazobenzene (2), and 4,4'-dimethoxyazobenzene (3) is schematized in Figure 1A. In the presence of a strong acid, these compounds form an equilibrium of neutral

Ambident reactivity of enolizable 5-mercapto-1H-tetrazoles in trapping reactions with in situ-generated thiocarbonyl S-methanides derived from sterically crowded cycloaliphatic thioketones

• Grzegorz Mlostoń,
• Małgorzata Celeda,
• Marcin Palusiak,
• Heinz Heimgartner,
• Marta Denel-Bobrowska and
• Agnieszka B. Olejniczak

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1508–1519, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.113

• the substitution pattern of both substrates, i.e., substituent Ar in the starting cyclopropane 3 and the R–N(1) moiety in the tetrazole derivative 4 [15]. Taking into account the known and widely documented importance of enolizable 5-mercapto-1H-tetrazoles as important bioisosters [17][18][19][20][21

• , ensuring that no additional symmetry elements were omitted during structure refinement. The obtained data undoubtedly confirmed the anticipated structures and their experimental characterizations. Thioaminal 9i and dithioacetal 10i differ significantly in the substitution of the tetrazole ring. This

• instances, depending on the substitution pattern, thermodynamically less stable thioaminals 9 underwent thermal isomerization in CDCl3 solution yielding the corresponding dithioacetals 10. Comparison of the results obtained with dispiro-substituted thiocarbonyl S-methanides 4c (less hindered) and 4d (more

Highly distinguishable isomeric states of a tripodal arylazopyrazole derivative on graphite through electron/hole-induced switching at ambient conditions

• Himani Malik,
• Sudha Devi,
• Debapriya Gupta,
• Ankit Kumar Gaur,
• Sugumar Venkataramani and
• Thiruvancheril G. Gopakumar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1496–1507, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.112

• surface at ambient conditions. The fluorine substitution is chosen in FNAAP for its better photoisomerization efficiency (in solution as well as in solid state) and higher molecular stability [29]. Possible photoisomers of FNAAP, EEE, EEZ, EZZ and ZZZ are shown in Figure 1. FNAAP molecules assemble into

Photoredox-catalyzed arylation of isonitriles by diaryliodonium salts towards benzamides

• Nadezhda M. Metalnikova,
• Nikita S. Antonkin,
• Tuan K. Nguyen,
• Natalia S. Soldatova,
• Alexander V. Nyuchev,
• Mikhail A. Kinzhalov and
• Pavel S. Postnikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1480–1488, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.110

• for unsymmetrical iodonium salts. Therefore, we moved to these to test the selectivity of aryl transfer under the established conditions. Since iodonium salts are prone to repeat the selectivity pattern of nucleophilic substitution in photoredox processes [35][36][37][38][39][40][41], we evaluated

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 reactions [1]. In particular, the authors elaborate the concept and recent developments in this field, which allows access to enantioenriched chiral enynes. Interestingly, the article also illustrates the effects of the copper salt and the ligand employed, as well as the influence of the substrate

• 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

• community in that it elegantly reviews recent advances in allylation reactions of copper-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions of chiral secondary alkylcopper species [5]. In summary, the contribution includes stereospecific transmetalations of organolithium and -boron compounds, copper

Wittig reaction of cyclobisbiphenylenecarbonyl

• Taito Moribe,
• Junichiro Hirano,
• Hideaki Takano,
• Hiroshi Shinokubo and
• Norihito Fukui

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1454–1461, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.107

• nucleophilic substitution of the thus generated alkoxide to form an oxygen-containing five-membered ring. At least, density functional theory (DFT) calculations support that the nucleophilic attack of methylenetriphenylphosphorane to the exo-methylene unit is slightly favorable over reaction with the carbonyl

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

• sensitivity of chiral excited-state properties to heteroatom substitution within the helicene framework. Extending this design principle, the group reported a double N,S-hetero[5]helicene 58 constructed from two benzo[b]phenothiazine units in 2023 [73]. Compared to the N,O-analogue 57b, this new compound

• two π-extended hetero[6]helicenes – 61a and 61b – incorporating thiadiazole and selenadiazole moieties, respectively [76]. Substitution of sulfur with selenium enhanced intermolecular interactions and led to a notable reduction in the optical bandgap, highlighting the effectiveness of heteroatom

Tautomerism and switching in 7-hydroxy-8-(azophenyl)quinoline and similar compounds

• Lidia Zaharieva,
• Vera Deneva,
• Fadhil S. Kamounah,
• Nikolay Vassilev,
• Ivan Angelov,
• Michael Pittelkow and
• Liudmil Antonov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1404–1421, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.105

• on the substitution in the 7OHQ moiety. The relative energies of K in respect of E under various substitution in 7OHQ are collected in Tables S3 (Supporting Information File 1) and the directions of change are illustrated in Figure 8a. It seems that substitution on positions 2 (with exception of a

• substitution in the 7OHQ part of 1 is illustrated in Figure 8b–d and the corresponding values are collected in Table S4, Supporting Information File 1. In 1 all three criteria for clean switching are not fulfilled and it is interesting to see how the substitution can change the situation. In respect of ΔE(K-E

• on position 4 lead to changes in the desired direction. The substitution on positions 5 and 6 leads to strong stabilization of KE, which is not needed. The cyano group on position 5 destabilizes KE strongly. The value of ΔE(KK-K) has also to be larger than 2 and, as seen from Figure 8d, it cannot be

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

• discussed in more detail and illustrated by specific examples. 1.1 C–O bond-forming cyclisations 1.1.1 Intramolecular Williamson etherifications: Discovered by Alexander Williamson in 1850, this reaction is an SN2 substitution in which a leaving group, typically a halide or sulphonate ester, is displaced by

• methods for oxetane synthesis, mainly due to its practicality and versatility. 1.1.1.1 Substitution of a leaving group: In 2017, Moody et al. developed a new route towards spiro-oxetanes 8 utilising a combination of 1,4-C–H insertion and Williamson etherification (Scheme 3) [38]. The methodology commences

• and colleagues published a one-step synthesis of spirooxindole 2,2-disubstituted oxetanes 11 via an unprecedented addition/substitution cascade (Scheme 4) [39]. The protocol reacts readily available 3-hydroxyindolinones 9 with phenyl vinyl selenone (10) in aqueous KOH at room temperature and gives

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

• easily adapted to more modular approaches, limiting the variety of possible substitution patterns. This is why more modern approaches continue to be developed. Modern approaches to azulene-embedded nanographenes Modern synthetic approaches have greatly benefited from the discovery of palladium-catalysed

• bathochromically shifted compared to isomeric terrylenebisimide (λmax = 650 nm) [86] and even larger rylene bisimides like hexarylenebisimide (λmax = 953 nm) [87]. Bisimide 129 might be regioselectivily brominated using NBS, yielding PAH 130 in 80%. The bromide 130 undergoes nucleophilic substitution with

• methoxide or morpholine, giving the corresponding substitution products 131 and 132 in 60% and 74%, respectively. Very recently, during revision of this work, Aratani and co-workers reported the use of this strategy in the synthesis of two azulene-embedded isomers of perylene monoimide [88]. Cyclization of

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

• . This alkyl radical then adds across the C–C double bond in the enyne, forming an alkyl radical intermediate B, which reacts with the C–C triple bond to generate a vinyl radical intermediate C. Depending on the substitution effect at the 3-position of the acrylamide moiety, the intermediate undergoes

• substrate scope was extensively explored, demonstrating compatibility with various N-arylacrylamides and perfluoroalkyl iodides. N-Arylacrylamides with electron-donating and electron-withdrawing substituents (80a–e), as well as different substitution patterns on the aromatic ring, gave good to excellent

• cation B and an α-carbon radical A. The α-carbon radical A then undergoes intermolecular radical addition to the acrylamide, forming a new carbon-centered radical intermediate C, which subsequently undergoes intramolecular cyclization to yield the oxindole product 88a via homolytic aromatic substitution

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

• ) and electron-donating (-OMe) substituents were used. Additionally, a heterocycle could be incorporated. Different benzyl substituents were employed, and substitution at the benzothiazole core was also tolerated (Table 1). As an alternative to 1,4-dioxane, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran was tested the solvent

Synthesis of β-ketophosphonates through aerobic copper(II)-mediated phosphorylation of enol acetates

• Alexander S. Budnikov,
• Igor B. Krylov,
• Fedor K. Monin,
• Valentina M. Merkulova,
• Alexey I. Ilovaisky,
• Liu Yan,
• Bing Yu and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1192–1200, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.96

• substitution pattern in the aryl ring does not have a significant effect on the yield of 3 for both acceptor and donor derivatives, which shows the versatility of the developed protocol. However, among halogen-containing derivatives, higher yields were observed for bromine-substituted ones (products 3i and 3l

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

• ]. Widespread use of 3D π-skeletons requires not only efficient construction of the skeletons but also functionalization with precise control of substitution numbers and positions. Along this line, fully π-fused [4.4.4]- and [3.3.3]propellanes [40][41][42][43] were able to be brominated and nitrated at six

• same protocol was successfully applicable to pristine π-fused [3.3.3]propellane [3.3.3], giving [3.3.3]_CHO selectively in 67% yield (Table 1, entry 3). In electrophilic aromatic substitutions, multifold reactions are possible, and the number of substitution is sometimes difficult to control by tuning

Enhancing chemical synthesis planning: automated quantum mechanics-based regioselectivity prediction for C–H activation with directing groups

• Julius Seumer,
• Nicolai Ree and
• Jan H. Jensen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1171–1182, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.94

• electrophilic aromatic substitution and a proton abstraction mechanism via CMD, where they calculated the relative energies of the intermediates. Using their workflow, they were able to predict correctly the regioselectivity for 18 tested substrates. The main limitation of this work is the computational cost

• groups following the CMD mechanism. This workflow employs (semi-empirical) quantum calculations in a hierarchical way to predict regioselective outcomes, delivering results within seconds to minutes. For substrates that are expected to follow the electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism without the

• influence of DGs, we refer the reader to previous work done by Kromann et al. [15] and Ree and colleagues [16][17]. The there developed RegioSQM predicts the regioselectivity of reactions following the electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism within seconds to minutes using a web interface or a Python

A multicomponent reaction-initiated synthesis of imidazopyridine-fused isoquinolinones

• Ashutosh Nath,
• John Mark Awad and
• Wei Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1161–1169, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.92

• (IMDA), and dehydrative re-aromatization reactions for the synthesis of imidazopyridine-fused isoquinolinones is developed. Gaussian computation analysis on the effect of the substitution groups for the IMDA reaction is performed to understand the reaction mechanism. Keywords: Groebke–Blackburn

• charge and the electronic consequences of the 5-Br substitution 6j were considered, which were found to inhibit the system from attaining the requisite conditions for successful cycloaddition. Secondly, the interatomic distances between the reactive centers of the diene and dienophile are almost similar