The enzyme mechanism of patchoulol synthase

• Houchao Xu,
• Bernd Goldfuss,
• Gregor Schnakenburg and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 13–24, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.2

• compound 3 and several biogenetically related terpene hydrocarbons including α-patchoulene (4), β-patchoulene (5), α-bulnesene (6) and α-guaiene (7) (Figure 1) [7]. The enzyme was subsequently made available by cDNA gene cloning, revealing germacrene A (8), α-humulene (9), (E)-β-caryophyllene (10

Targeting active site residues and structural anchoring positions in terpene synthases

• Anwei Hou and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2441–2449, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.161

• attack of an olefinic double bond to the cationic centre Wagner–Meerwein rearrangements, and proton or hydride migrations [2]. These multistep cascade reactions ultimately result in terpene hydrocarbons that are often (poly)cyclic and contain several stereogenic centres [3][4]. In some cases, water is

Photoredox catalysis in nickel-catalyzed C–H functionalization

• Lusina Mantry,
• Rajaram Maayuri,
• Vikash Kumar and
• Parthasarathy Gandeepan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2209–2259, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.143

• this protocol using the chiral iPrBiOx ligand under slightly modified reaction conditions (Scheme 19) [72]. Recently, Chu achieved the selective assembly of vinyl and aryl functionalities onto saturated cyclic hydrocarbons via a photoredox nickel-catalyzed sequential C–O decarboxylative vinylation

• method to introduce keto functional groups onto complex organic molecules. During the last decade, the acylation of hydrocarbons through direct C–H activation has been achieved by means of transition-metal catalysis using various acyl precursors [118][119]. The renaissance of metallaphotoredox catalysis

On the application of 3d metals for C–H activation toward bioactive compounds: The key step for the synthesis of silver bullets

• Renato L. Carvalho,
• Amanda S. de Miranda,
• Mateus P. Nunes,
• Roberto S. Gomes,
• Guilherme A. M. Jardim and
• Eufrânio N. da Silva Júnior

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1849–1938, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.126

• derivatives. Using H2O2 as an oxidant agent, ketones and aldehydes were obtained from hydrocarbons with high yields (85–99%, Scheme 9B and 9C). Although the authors did not explore the biological effects of the obtained products, this class of molecules resembles the basic structure of several important

Development of N-F fluorinating agents and their fluorinations: Historical perspective

• Teruo Umemoto,
• Yuhao Yang and
• Gerald B. Hammond

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1752–1813, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.123

• powerful fluorinating agent with a high fluorine content, F: 103 g/1 kg (comparison; 54 g/1 kg for Selectfluor). 1-25. N-Fluoro-2,4-dinitroimidazole In 1998, Laali et al. reported the fluorination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with N-fluoro-2,4-dinitroimidazole (25-1) [87] (Scheme 56). This

Design, synthesis and photophysical properties of novel star-shaped truxene-based heterocycles utilizing ring-closing metathesis, Clauson–Kaas, Van Leusen and Ullmann-type reactions as key tools

• Shakeel Alvi and
• Rashid Ali

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1374–1384, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.96

• Shakeel Alvi Rashid Ali Department of Chemistry, Jamia Millia Islamia, Jamia Nagar, Okhla, New Delhi-110025, India; Phone: +91-7011867613 10.3762/bjoc.17.96 Abstract Design, synthesis and properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has historically attracted a considerable

Icilio Guareschi and his amazing “1897 reaction”

• Gian Cesare Tron,
• Alberto Minassi,
• Giovanni Sorba,
• Mara Fausone and
• Giovanni Appendino

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1335–1351, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.93

• “Guareschi 1897 reaction”, is one of the most unusual reactions in organic chemistry, involving the radical-mediated paradoxical aerobic generation of hydrocarbons in near-neutral water solution. A discussion of the mechanism of this amazing reaction, the only metal-free process that generates hydrocarbons

• , inorganic, and analytical branches and systematically crosses the divide between pure and applied science as well as between the history of chemistry and the personal contributions to its development. Keywords: Guareschi; history of chemistry; hydrocarbons; name reactions; pyridine; Introduction Modern

• so-called “1897 reaction” is not well known [7], despite that the unique mechanistic aspects make it one of the most unusual reactions in organic chemistry, involving the paradoxical radical-mediated aerobic generation of hydrocarbons in water under only slightly basic conditions [8]. Also

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

• perfluoroalkyl iodide form a halogen-bond adduct, and then light-induced electron transfer happens in order to give a perfluoroalkyl radical. The protocol can realize alkene- and alkyne iodide perfluoroalkylation and C–H perfluoroalkylation of electron-rich heteroaromatic hydrocarbons, providing a novel protocol

• conditions, more attention has been paid to this efficient strategy for C–C-bond formation. In 2015, Yu and colleagues [27] proposed a method for direct C–H trifluoromethylation of aromatic hydrocarbons through an EDA complex. Trifluoromethylated product 61 was synthesized by employing tryptamine derivative

Synthesis of dibenzosuberenone-based novel polycyclic π-conjugated dihydropyridazines, pyridazines and pyrroles

• Ramazan Koçak and
• Arif Daştan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 719–729, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.61

• exhibit photophysical properties such as photosensitization [13], fluorescence, and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) [14][15][16]. π-Conjugated polycyclic hydrocarbons (CPHs) containing polycyclic heteroaromatic molecules (PHAs) and aza-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (aza-PAHs) have been attracting

Valorisation of plastic waste via metal-catalysed depolymerisation

• Francesca Liguori,
• Carmen Moreno-Marrodán and
• Pierluigi Barbaro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 589–621, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.53

• ], catalytic cracking [56] and gasification [57]. These are usually unselective, high-temperature treatments (300–1000 °C) that may efficiently provide light hydrocarbons or small molecules [58][59]. Chemolytic processes, wherein a chemical reagent is used to achieve depolymerisation, mainly involve solvolysis

• packaging, squeezable bottles, plastic bags and medical devices [140]. PEs (except cross-linked samples) are partially soluble in (hot) aromatic hydrocarbons or in chlorinated solvents [141]. Depolymerisation of PE by catalytic pyrolysis or cracking into liquid fuels was recently reviewed [67][142]. Most of

• these processes are promoted by heterogeneous acid catalysts (e.g., zeolites, alumina, silica) and are usually unselective, resulting in a broad distribution of gas (C3 and C4 hydrocarbons), liquids (cycloparaffins, oligomers, aromatics) and solid products (char, coke) as a consequence of the random

Helicene synthesis by Brønsted acid-catalyzed cycloaromatization in HFIP [(CF₃)₂CHOH]

• Takeshi Fujita,
• Noriaki Shoji,
• Nao Yoshikawa and
• Junji Ichikawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 396–403, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.35

• gram-scale syntheses of higher-order helicenes, double helical helicenes, and heterohelicenes. Keywords: acid; catalyst; cyclization; fluoroalcohol; helicenes; Introduction Helicenes are a class of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that consist of ortho-fused aromatic rings arranged in a helical

• ], which are rarely found in planar aromatic hydrocarbons (e.g., acenes and phenacenes). Therefore, the wide breadth of applications of helicenes as organic optical materials make them interesting synthetic targets. Although several methods for the synthesis of helicenes have been reported, there are still

On the mass spectrometric fragmentations of the bacterial sesterterpenes sestermobaraenes A–C

• Anwei Hou and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2807–2819, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.231

• investigation of the electron impact mass spectrometry (EIMS) fragmentation reactions of these sesterterpene hydrocarbons. Keywords: isotopes; mass spectrometry; reaction mechanisms; sesterterpenes; Streptomyces mobaraensis; Introduction The sestermobaraenes A–F (1–6) and sestermobaraol (7) are a series of

• initiate a cationic cyclisation cascade, leading to structurally highly complex and usually polycyclic terpenes in just one enzymatic transformation. The initially formed products are non-functionalised terpene hydrocarbons or, if the terminal cationic intermediate of the cyclisation cascade is trapped by

Water-soluble host–guest complexes between fullerenes and a sugar-functionalized tribenzotriquinacene assembling to microspheres

• Si-Yuan Liu,
• Xin-Rui Wang,
• Man-Ping Li,
• Wen-Rong Xu and
• Dietmar Kuck

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2551–2561, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.207

• ][20]. Tribenzotriquinacene (TBTQ) and its derivatives, owing to their unique rigid, C3v-symmetric, concave-convex trifuso-triindane skeleton that consists of three perfectly orthogonally oriented indane wings, bear a similar potential as molecular hosts. TBTQ hydrocarbons are chemically stable and

• shallow cavity of the parent TBTQ hydrocarbons, thus allowing for the inclusion of large guest molecules, such as the fullerenes. Several TBTQ derivatives with extended cavities have been developed by us and other groups. Volkmer et al. designed a series of novel TBTQ-based receptors, 1–3, and studied

A new method for the synthesis of diamantane by hydroisomerization of binor-S on treatment with sulfuric acid

• Rishat I. Aminov and
• Ravil I. Khusnutdinov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2534–2539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.205

• of diamond-like hydrocarbons, diamantane, in 65% yield by hydroisomerization of the norbornadiene dimer, endo-endo-heptacyclo[8.4.0.02,12.03,8.04,6.05,9.011,13]tetradecane (binor-S) on treatment with concentrated sulfuric acid (98%). In the presence of H2SO4 of lower concentration (75–80%), the

• hydrocarbons and show peculiar chemical behavior. Crude oil is known to be the main natural source of diamondoids. In the oil and gas field exploration, the presence of diamondoids is used to evaluate the field maturity. Whereas the synthesis and chemical reactivity of adamantane, the first member of the

• homologous series, has been poorly studied. The main cause of this situation is the lack of facile methods for its synthesis. In the literature, diamantane (1) is prepared by skeletal isomerization of strained С14Н20 polycyclic hydrocarbons [2][3][4][5][6][7]. In particular, the most suitable initial

Synthetic approaches to bowl-shaped π-conjugated sumanene and its congeners

• Shakeel Alvi and
• Rashid Ali

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2212–2259, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.186

• in materials science and technology. Keywords: buckybowls; heterosumanenes; polyaromatic hydrocarbons; sumanene; synthesis; Review 1 Introduction Over a long period of time, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have attracted a tremendous attention of the scientific community because of their diverse

In silico rationalisation of selectivity and reactivity in Pd-catalysed C–H activation reactions

• Liwei Cao,
• Mikhail Kabeshov,
• Steven V. Ley and
• Alexei A. Lapkin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1465–1475, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.122

• developing machine learning models for predicting reaction outcomes. C–H activation reactions allow conversion of relatively inexpensive and abundant hydrocarbons into the more sophisticated value-added molecules [11]. With the notion of step-economical and environmentally friendly synthesis, direct

An overview on disulfide-catalyzed and -cocatalyzed photoreactions

• Yeersen Patehebieke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1418–1435, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.118

• also catalyze the formation of four-membered ring intermediates between double or triple bonds and oxygen, and thus converting unsaturated hydrocarbons to carbonyl compounds. Regarding the oxidation of alkynes, Wang reported a method for preparing diaryl-1,2-diketones from diarylalkynes in the presence

Oxime radicals: generation, properties and application in organic synthesis

• Igor B. Krylov,
• Stanislav A. Paveliev,
• Alexander S. Budnikov and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1234–1276, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.107

• the relatively stable di-tert-butyliminoxyl radical was studied as a reagent in oxidative transformations of various substrates, such as unsaturated hydrocarbons, phenols, amines, and organometallic compounds. A breakthrough in the synthetic use of iminoxyl radicals has occurred in recent years when

• with a C=C double bond was explained by the steric hindrance of the iminoxyl radical. On the other hand, di-tert-butyliminoxyl radical (8) can react with unsaturated hydrocarbons by abstracting the hydrogen atom from the allyl or benzyl position (Scheme 10) [35][45][60][61]. The C-centered radicals

One-pot synthesis of dicyclopenta-fused peropyrene via a fourfold alkyne annulation

• Ji Ma,
• Yubin Fu,
• Junzhi Liu and
• Xinliang Feng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 791–797, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.72

• an efficient method to develop π-extended aromatic hydrocarbons with cyclopenta moieties. Keywords: alkyne annulation; cyclopenta-fused polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; nonplanarity; peropyrene; regioselectivity; Introduction Significant efforts have been recently devoted to the synthesis of

• nonalternant cyclopenta-fused polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (CP-PAHs), which represent the topological subunits of fullerenes and exhibit high chemical, physical and biological activities [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. Thanks to development in organic synthetic methodology, CP-PAHs with peripheral

• as an efficient route to get access to aromatic hydrocarbons with peri-fused five-membered rings [25][26][27]. For instance, the dicyclopenta-fused pyrene derivatives ii and iii (Scheme 1) were successfully synthesized through palladium-catalyzed carbannulation of brominated pyrene with

Synthesis of C₇₀-fragment buckybowls bearing alkoxy substituents

• Yumi Yakiyama,
• Shota Hishikawa and
• Hidehiro Sakurai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 681–690, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.66

• equilibrium between the Pd(IV) intermediates through C–H bond activation. Keywords: buckybowl; C70; rearrangement through C–H bond activation; Introduction The study of buckybowls, the bowl-shaped π-conjugated aromatic hydrocarbons corresponding to the fragments of fullerenes, pioneered by the works on

Efficient synthesis of 3,6,13,16-tetrasubstituted-tetrabenzo[a,d,j,m]coronenes by selective C–H/C–O arylations of anthraquinone derivatives

• Seiya Terai,
• Yuki Sato,
• Takuya Kochi and
• Fumitoshi Kakiuchi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 544–550, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.51

• tetrabenzo[a,d,j,m]coronene product indicated its self-assembling behavior in CDCl3. Keywords: C–H arylation; C–O arylation; oxidative cyclization; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; ruthenium catalyst; Introduction Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivatives have attracted much attention

Copper-catalyzed remote C–H arylation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)

• Anping Luo,
• Min Zhang,
• Zhangyi Fu,
• Jingbo Lan,
• Di Wu and
• Jingsong You

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 530–536, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.49

• substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is a desired but challenging task. A copper-catalyzed C7–H arylation of 1-naphthamides has been developed by using aryliodonium salts as arylating reagents. This protocol does not need to use precious metal catalysts and tolerates wide variety of functional

• arylation; nonprecious metal catalyst; copper catalysis; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); regioselectivity; Introduction Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) with rigid planar structure, such as naphthalene, phenanthrene, pyrene and their derivatives, can usually emit relatively strong

Synthesis of triphenylene-fused phosphole oxides via C–H functionalizations

• Md. Shafiqur Rahman and
• Naohiko Yoshikai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 524–529, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.48

• nature as hybrids of triphenylene and benzo[b]phosphole. Keywords: C–H functionalization; fluorescence; phosphole; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; triphenylene; Introduction The phosphorus-containing five-membered ring, phosphole, has attracted significant attention as a structural motif in π

• extended π-system. These included, in particular, those fused with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) for possible applications in organic electronics, bioimaging and sensing, and asymmetric catalysis (Figure 1). To name a few examples, Yamaguchi et al. described synthetic routes to novel phosphorus

Six-fold C–H borylation of hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene

• Mai Nagase,
• Kenta Kato,
• Akiko Yagi,
• Yasutomo Segawa and
• Kenichiro Itami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 391–397, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.37

• calculations. The spectra revealed a bathochromic shift of absorption bands compared with unsubstituted HBC under the effect of the σ-donation of boryl groups. Keywords: C–H borylation; hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene; iridium catalyst; X-ray crystallography; Introduction Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs

Terpenes

• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2966–2967, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.292

• initially formed terpene hydrocarbons can subsequently be modified by enzymatic oxidations that often involve radical chemistry. The non-functionalised hydrocarbons are volatile and often exhibit interesting odour properties [3]. As a consequence, these compounds may act as chemical signals such as