Visible-light-induced radical cascade cyclization: a catalyst-free synthetic approach to trifluoromethylated heterocycles

• Chuan Yang,
• Wei Shi,
• Jian Tian,
• Lin Guo,
• Yating Zhao and
• Wujiong Xia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 118–124, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.12

• radicals. This method allows the efficient synthesis of various indole derivatives without the need of photocatalysts or transition-metal catalysts. Mechanism experiments indicate that the process involves a radical chain process initiated by the homolysis of Umemoto's reagent. This straightforward method

• ], Friedel–Crafts acylation [12], radical cascade reactions [2][13], and photoinduced radical cyclizations [14][15][16][17]. However, these methods often suffer from drawbacks such as harsh reaction conditions and the requirement of transition-metal catalysts. Although photocatalyzed cyclization reactions

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

• stimulated the search for alternative catalysts and conditions for the hydration of alkynes, in order to identify safer and more sustainable methods [11][12][13]. In particular, transition-metal catalysts containing Au(I) or (III) [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24], Ru(II) [25][26][27][28][29][30

• conditions, without transition metal catalysts, added oxidants, or strong acids involved, using Selectfluor (1-(chloromethyl)-4-fluoro-1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane-1,4-diium ditetrafluoroborate) as essential additive [73]. With regard to the reaction medium, the idea of replacing classic organic solvents

Recent advancements in iodide/phosphine-mediated photoredox radical reactions

• Tinglan Liu,
• Yu Zhou,
• Junhong Tang and
• Chengming Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1785–1803, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.131

• of fused ketones 34, eliminating the need for transition-metal catalysts or oxidants. The technique offered a broad substrate scope, remarkable selectivity, and simple reaction conditions. A plausible mechanism had been proposed for the photocatalytic decarboxylative [3 + 2]/[4 + 2] annulation, as

Lewis acid-promoted direct synthesis of isoxazole derivatives

• Dengxu Qiu,
• Chenhui Jiang,
• Pan Gao and
• Yu Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1562–1567, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.113

• nitrogen source (Scheme 1, reaction 2). In 2017, Xu and co-workers [19] developed a copper-mediated annulation reaction to synthesize isoxazoles from two different alkynes. In fact, most methods mostly used highly toxic transition-metal catalysts such as copper metals. In order to develop cheaper and more

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

• -coupling, and direct sulfenylation reactions, which are classified into three categories: sulfenylation catalyzed by i) transition metal catalysts, ii) organocompound catalysts, and iii) catalyst-free sulfenylation. Review Sulfenylation of organic compounds by N-(sulfenyl)succinimides/phthalimides Metal

• conversion of 1-I to 2-II was confirmed by mechanistic studies due to the stability of the benzyl carbocation, followed by 6-endo-dig cyclization. In this method, toxic transition metal catalysts, oxidants, or bases are not used, which made it economically and environmentally reliable. In 2023, Gao et al

Application of N-heterocyclic carbene–Cu(I) complexes as catalysts in organic synthesis: a review

• Nosheen Beig,
• Varsha Goyal and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1408–1442, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.102

• have been found versatile synthons for medicinally important and naturally occurring nitrogen-containing compounds (Scheme 54) [72][73][74]. In the past, several transition-metal catalysts were used for this reaction and Li and co-workers reviewed the use of transition-metal salts for the A3 reactions

• conditions, although the transition-metal catalysts were preserved, the reactions require high temperature conditions [76]. In 2008, Wang and co-workers [77] for the first time employed an NHC–Cu(I) complex (2 mol %) and its silica-immobilized version 141 (2 mol %) as catalyst for an A3 coupling reaction

Exploring the role of halogen bonding in iodonium ylides: insights into unexpected reactivity and reaction control

• Carlee A. Montgomery and
• Graham K. Murphy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1171–1190, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.86

• cycloaddition reactions that occur without transition metal catalysts, the unexpected initiation of single electron transfer (SET) processes or photochemical transformations, and even proton transfers that appear to defy pKa limitations. The reaction pathways followed by iodonium ylides and Lewis basic reaction

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

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

• acid catalysts and transition metal catalysts. The goal of this review is to summarize the synthesis of various N-substituted pyrrole derivatives using a modified Clauson–Kaas reaction under diverse conventional and greener reaction conditions. Keywords: catalyst; Clauson–Kaas pyrrole synthesis; 2,5

• -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

Transition-metal-catalyzed domino reactions of strained bicyclic alkenes

• Austin Pounder,
• Eric Neufeld,
• Peter Myler and
• William Tam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 487–540, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.38

• active Cu(I) catalyst. The reaction was broadly successful with the steric and electronic nature of the aryl iodide having little effect on the reaction. Iron-catalyzed reactions Being the most earth-abundant d-block element, as well as orders of magnitude less expensive than other transition-metal

• catalysts, iron is bringing a renaissance to the idea of sustainable, green catalysis. In 2011, Ito et al. reported a diastereoselective Fe-catalyzed carbozincation of heterobicyclic alkenes 1 with diphenylzinc (74a) (Scheme 13) [47]. Using an ortho-phenylene diphosphine ligand L3, the authors were able to

Group 13 exchange and transborylation in catalysis

• Dominic R. Willcox and
• Stephen P. Thomas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 325–348, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.28

• after In‒N/B‒H exchange with HBpin gave a borylimine iron complex 110. A second hydroelementation and In‒N/B‒H exchange gave the bisborylamine 113 and regenerated the HInCl2 107 co-catalyst (Scheme 27). Conclusion Increasing concerns over the sustainability and toxicity of many transition-metal

• catalysts has led synthetic chemists to seek alternative elements for catalysis. Group 13 compounds have been at the forefront of chemical research for the past century as organic reagents and functional handles. Group 13 exchange reactions have enabled these reagents to move beyond stoichiometric

Heterogeneous metallaphotoredox catalysis in a continuous-flow packed-bed reactor

• Wei-Hsin Hsu,
• Susanne Reischauer,
• Peter H. Seeberger,
• Bartholomäus Pieber and
• Dario Cambié

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1123–1130, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.115

• catalytic approaches [9]. Especially the combination with other transition metal catalysts (metallaphotoredox catalysis), such as nickel complexes, resulted in a vast number of new methods to achieve cross-couplings under mild conditions [10]. However, the conditions of these methods are often hard to

Electrochemical formal homocoupling of sec-alcohols

• Kosuke Yamamoto,
• Kazuhisa Arita,
• Masashi Shiota,
• Masami Kuriyama and
• Osamu Onomura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1062–1069, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.108

• alcohol derivatives. The present transformations smoothly proceed in a simple undivided cell under constant current conditions without the use of external chemical oxidants/reductants, and transition-metal catalysts. Keywords: alcohols; dimerization; electrooxidation; electroreduction; paired

Automated grindstone chemistry: a simple and facile way for PEG-assisted stoichiometry-controlled halogenation of phenols and anilines using N-halosuccinimides

• Dharmendra Das,
• Akhil A. Bhosle,
• Amrita Chatterjee and
• Mainak Banerjee

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 999–1008, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.100

• with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) was carried out in toxic polar solvents (e.g., DMF), but no iodinated or chlorinated products were obtained because of the low reactivity of NIS and NCS (Scheme 1a) [24][25][26][27]. In recent time, the use of Lewis or Brønsted acids, Lewis bases, and transition-metal

• catalysts (Pd, Rh, Fe, etc.) were employed to boost the reactivity of NXS (Scheme 1b) [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. However, the use of toxic and expensive metals, high catalyst loading, and heating conditions are some sheer hurdles to achieving sustainability. Among notable other

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

• . Transition-metal catalysts play an important role for the development of intricate pharmaceutical drugs. Although transition-metal catalysts based on rhodium, cobalt, and palladium have been intensively studied, gold catalysis has received encouraging attention only recently [67][68]. Since selectivity of

Synthesis of piperidine and pyrrolidine derivatives by electroreductive cyclization of imine with terminal dihaloalkanes in a flow microreactor

• Yuki Naito,
• Naoki Shida and
• Mahito Atobe

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 350–359, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.39

• (route (5)). However, these methods involve the use of toxic acids, bases, or transition metal catalysts, and typically require elevated temperatures [14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. In addition, very recently, Molander and co-workers have developed a photoredox-mediated radical/polar crossover process

Me₃Al-mediated domino nucleophilic addition/intramolecular cyclisation of 2-(2-oxo-2-phenylethyl)benzonitriles with amines; a convenient approach for the synthesis of substituted 1-aminoisoquinolines

• Krishna M. S. Adusumalli,
• Lakshmi N. S. Konidena,
• Hima B. Gandham,
• Krishnaiah Kumari,
• Krishna R. Valluru,
• Satya K. R. Nidasanametla,
• Venkateswara R. Battula and
• Hari K. Namballa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2765–2772, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.186

• ] receptors. They are useful in the synthesis of phosphorescent materials [22][23][24], fluorosensors [25]. and also found as chiral ligands in a variety of transition metal catalysts [26][27][28][29][30]. Given the pharmacological promiscuity of this scaffold, extensive efforts from different groups led to

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

• aryl–aryl cross-coupling using various transition-metal catalysts has rarely been successful for the enantioselective construction of hindered biaryls [39] due to the discord between the temperature tolerance of the rotational axis and the high temperature required for C–H activation and suffered from

Advances in mercury(II)-salt-mediated cyclization reactions of unsaturated bonds

• Sumana Mandal,
• Raju D. Chaudhari and
• Goutam Biswas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2348–2376, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.153

• toxicity concerns, Hg(II) salts are cheap, stable, and versatile in terms of reactivity, making them a viable option to similar transition metal catalysts. Schematic representation of Hg(II)-mediated addition to an unsaturated bond. First report of Hg(II)-mediated synthesis of 2,5-dioxane derivatives from

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

Catalyzed and uncatalyzed procedures for the syntheses of isomeric covalent multi-indolyl hetero non-metallides: an account

• Ranadeep Talukdar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2102–2122, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.137

• with 5-iodoindole (182) in the presence of thiourea and a recyclable CuO nanoparticle catalyst (Scheme 26) [116]. This heterogeneous catalysis strategy bypasses the use of unpleasant aryl thiols, which are generally coupled with other aryl halides in the presence of transition-metal catalysts for

Sustainable manganese catalysis for late-stage C–H functionalization of bioactive structural motifs

• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1733–1751, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.122

• [49]. To date, there are several examples of late-stage C–H amination methods that utilize iron and manganese as 3d transition metal catalysts [50][51][52]. However, intermolecular benzylic C–H amination has rarely been explored due to the challenges associated with selectivity and reactivity. In 2018

Cerium-photocatalyzed aerobic oxidation of benzylic alcohols to aldehydes and ketones

• Girish Suresh Yedase,
• Sumit Kumar,
• Jessica Stahl,
• Burkhard König and
• Veera Reddy Yatham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1727–1732, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.121

• reported methods require either specific nanoparticle catalysts [39][40][41][42] or the catalytic method is limited to electron-rich or electron-neutral benzylic alcohols [56]. An operationally simple method avoiding waste and potentially toxic transition-metal catalysts that is able to convert any

Recent advances in palladium-catalysed asymmetric 1,4–additions of arylboronic acids to conjugated enones and chromones

• Jan Bartáček,
• Jan Svoboda,
• Martin Kocúrik,
• Jaroslav Pochobradský,
• Alexander Čegan,
• Miloš Sedlák and
• Jiří Váňa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1048–1085, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.84

• successful transition-metal catalysts are those based on rhodium, as evidenced by the number of reports that deal with the issue. The rhodium-catalysed addition of various boronic acids to conjugated cyclic enones (the so-called Hayashi–Miyaura reaction) is a well-established method for 3-unsubstituted

Synthetic reactions driven by electron-donor–acceptor (EDA) complexes

• Zhonglie Yang,
• Yutong Liu,
• Kun Cao,
• Xiaobin Zhang,
• Hezhong Jiang and
• Jiahong Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 771–799, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.67

• the excited state, causing an electron transfer to give radicals and to initiate subsequent reactions. Besides light as an external energy source, reactions involving the participation of EDA complexes are mild, obviating transition metal catalysts or photosensitizers in the majority of cases and are

• synthesis has encouraged chemists to pursue more efficient methods to manufacture fine and usable chemicals [7]. The reactions that EDA complexes participate in have been shown to be an enormous success, mainly due to the fact that they obviate photoredox catalysts or transition metal catalysts in the vast

• -metal catalysts, such as in the Suzuki–Miyaura and Heck coupling reactions. Methodologies for forming different C–C bonds have recently been developed in the field of single-electron chemistry [63][64][65]. Considering that EDA-complex-initiated free-radical reactions are carried out under mild