Mechanochemical difluoromethylations of ketones

• Jinbo Ke,
• Pit van Bonn and
• Carsten Bolm

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2799–2805, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.235

• sodium fluoride catalyst, with simple ketones, which resulted in the formation of difluoromethyl 2,2-difluorocyclopropyl ethers (Scheme 1B). Although the reactions worked well, it is also noteworthy that the use of TFDA as reagent, liberated fluoro(trimethyl)silane (TMSF), carbon dioxide, and ozone

Access to optically active tetrafluoroethylenated amines based on [1,3]-proton shift reaction

• Yuta Kabumoto,
• Eiichiro Yoshimoto,
• Bing Xiaohuan,
• Masato Morita,
• Motohiro Yasui,
• Shigeyuki Yamada and
• Tsutomu Konno

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2776–2783, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.233

• published that the asymmetric conjugate addition of 4-methylphenylboronic acid towards (E)-5-bromo-4,4,5,5-tetrafluoro-1-phenyl-2-penten-1-one (8) in the presence of a rhodium catalyst coordinated with (S)-BINAP gave the corresponding Michael adduct 9 in 94% enantiomeric excess (reaction 2, Scheme 1) [22

• chlorides in the presence of a copper catalyst to afford the corresponding tetrafluoroethylenated ketones 19. The ketones were then condensed with (R)-1-phenylethylamine under the influence of TiCl4 [34][35] to prepare various optically active imines (R)-16 in high yields (Scheme 3). Based on the result of

Copper-catalyzed yne-allylic substitutions: concept and recent developments

• Shuang Yang and
• Xinqiang Fang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2739–2775, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.232

• alkoxylation and alkylation products with the assistance of Lewis acid as co-catalyst (Scheme 9). Starting from four different racemic substrates, the same product 6g with 96% ee was obtained under standard conditions. This indicates that the reactions proceed through the same transition state and the

• stereocenter of the product is controlled by the catalyst. A single crystal of Cu(I) was investigated by X-ray and proved to be the dicopper complex, while the Cu(II) catalyst was revealed as mononuclear copper coordinated with two ligands. Further kinetic isotope experiments and nonlinear relationship studies

• demonstrated that the terminal alkyne unit is crucial for the process and the reactions using different isomers all proceed via the same intermediate. Nonlinear relationship experiments proved that the active catalyst is a mono-copper complex containing one ligand. A catalytic cycle is proposed in which copper

Synthesis of spiroindolenines through a one-pot multistep process mediated by visible light

• Francesco Gambuti,
• Jacopo Pizzorno,
• Chiara Lambruschini,
• Renata Riva and
• Lisa Moni

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2722–2731, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.230

• -pot multistep synthesis of unprecedent 2,3-diaminoindolenines using graphene oxide (GO) as heterogeneous catalyst [21]. The protocol involves the three-component Ugi (3C-Ugi) reaction between aldehydes, isocyanides and 2 equivalents of electron-rich anilines to give α-aminoamidines, which undergo a C

• ] 3. Based on our experience on the use of graphene oxide (GO) as heterogeneous catalyst to promote MCRs and subsequent C–N bond oxidation [16][21], we first investigated the GO-promoted oxidation of N-Ph-THIQ and the subsequent 3C Ugi reaction to give α-aminoamidine 2a. Applying the previously

• isocyanide without the presence of a catalyst. In order to establish the role of GO we carried out the 3C Ugi-type reaction starting from iminium ion 1a, freshly prepared by visible light irradiation in the presence of bromochloroform [28]. This protocol resulted quite convenient as can be conducted under

5th International Symposium on Synthesis and Catalysis (ISySyCat2023)

• Anthony J. Burke and
• Elisabete P. Carreiro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2704–2707, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.227

• novel lipophilic cinchona squaramide organocatalyst. This organocatalyst was evaluated in a benchmark Michael addition of acetylacetone to trans-β-nitrostyrene, yielding the Michael adduct with high yield and enantioselectivity. The hydrophobic chain of the catalyst allowed the organocatalyst to be

• easily recovered by precipitation using polar solvents. This catalyst proved to be excellent for the preparation of (S)-baclofen on a gram scale, furnishing the main chiral intermediate in high yield and enantioselectivity. Furthermore, the catalyst was recycled over five cycles while maintaining its

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

• First, we optimized the conditions of the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling in reference to the report by Yang et al. (Table 1) [43]. Upon the treatment of multihalogenated vinyl ether 1a with phenylboronic acid 4a (1.3 equiv) and palladium diacetate (10 mol %) as a catalyst at 40 °C, Suzuki–Miyaura cross

• synthesized in 84% yield under reflux conditions (Table 1, entries 3 and 4). Next, we examined an effective catalyst for the cross-coupling. Reactions using palladium dichloride or bis(2,4-pentanedionato)palladium significantly reduced the yields of 2a (Table 1, entries 5 and 6, respectively). When an

• allylpalladium chloride dimer or bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium dichloride were used as catalyst, the reaction proceeded with the same yield as that in Table 1, entry 4 (entries 7 and 8). Utilizing palladium catalyst such as bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium dichloride, all these reactions could convert 1a into

Computational design for enantioselective CO₂ capture: asymmetric frustrated Lewis pairs in epoxide transformations

• Maxime Ferrer,
• Iñigo Iribarren,
• Tim Renningholtz,
• Ibon Alkorta and
• Cristina Trujillo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2668–2681, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.224

• catalyst efficiency and selectivity in sustainable chemistry applications. Keywords: asymmetric catalysis; carbon dioxide; CO2; epoxide; frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs); volcano plot; Introduction The field of frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) has flourished since their seminal discovery in 2006 by Stephan and

• H2 over CO2 becomes crucial for effective CO2 reduction [7]. Additionally, the strength of the interaction between the catalyst and the resulting system after hydride transfer presents a limitation. The formation of a robust LA–oxygen interaction may impede proton transfer to the basic oxygen atom

• catalyst [23][24][25]. Therefore, the stereochemical aspects of CO2 insertion into PO enabled by FLP catalysts should be investigated. To the best of our knowledge, only one paper has proposed an asymmetric approach to this reaction using a metal-based catalyst [23]. However, our approach differs

Transition-metal-free decarbonylation–oxidation of 3-arylbenzofuran-2(3H)-ones: access to 2-hydroxybenzophenones

• Bhaskar B. Dhotare,
• Seema V. Kanojia,
• Chahna K. Sakhiya,
• Amey Wadawale and
• Dibakar Goswami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2655–2667, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.223

• (3H)-ones to 2-hydroxybenzophenones via decarbonylation–oxidation quickly and without the need of a transition-metal catalyst. Herein, a novel decarbonylation–oxidation method for 3-arylbenzofuran-2(3H)-ones has been developed for the synthesis of 2-hydroxybenzophenones via a transition-metal-free

• catalyst was essential for this reaction to happen at a higher temperature, and the products were obtained in negligible yields without the catalyst. Our protocol established that the reaction proceeds without the need for a transition-metal catalyst, as well as at a lower temperature. Additionally, the

The scent gland composition of the Mangshan pit viper, Protobothrops mangshanensis

• Jonas Holste,
• Paul Weldon,
• Donald Boyer and
• Stefan Schulz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2644–2654, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.222

• concentrated under a stream of N2. Hydrogenation: The solvent of the natural extract (100 µL) was removed with a stream of N2 and taken up in pentane (100 µL) and a catalytic amount of Pd/C was added. The reaction was then stirred for 1 h under a H2 atmosphere. The catalyst was filtered and rinsed with pentane

Efficient modification of peroxydisulfate oxidation reactions of nitrogen-containing heterocycles 6-methyluracil and pyridine

• Alfiya R. Gimadieva,
• Yuliya Z. Khazimullina,
• Aigiza A. Gilimkhanova and
• Akhat G. Mustafin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2599–2607, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.219

• use of catalysts reduced the duration of the oxidation reaction and significantly increased the yield of sulfate derivatives. In the presence of РсМ, the optimal duration for the oxidation reaction of MU (1) was found to be 4 hours. When the catalyst was not applied, the yield of MU-5-ammonium sulfate

• catalyst increasing by a factor of 10 in each successive experiment. As described in [13] PcFe(II), PcСo, and PcFe(III) exhibited the highest activity in oxidizing reactions of MU (1). Addition of these catalysts in the amount of 0.01–0.05 wt % increased the yield of MU-5-ammonium sulfate 2 to 82–95%. The

• maximum yield of compound 2, equal to 95%, was obtained when 0.05 wt % PcFe(II) was introduced into the reaction. However, on enhancing the catalyst's quantity to 0.1 wt %, the product yield decreased to 33–45%. Further increase in the quantity of catalyst led to a greater decline in the yield of MU-5

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

• with halogen or triflate groups. Recently, transition-metal-catalyzed direct borylation of arenes via C–H bond activation has been reported, although the design of the substrate and ligands is somewhat complicated [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Since the complete removal of catalyst-derived metal

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

• complex, C(sp3)–H bonds underwent azidation with high chemoselectivity, even in the absence of a directing group. The proposed mechanism involves the formation of the active catalyst Mn(III)(N3) via ligand exchange, followed by anodic oxidation to a Mn(IV)(N3)2 complex. This high–valent Mn(IV) species

• benzylic position (Scheme 31). 1.3.2 Co-assisted anodic oxidation. In 2021, Xu and colleagues developed an electrocatalytic approach for the intramolecular oxidative allylic amination and C–H alkylation using cobalt–salen complexes as catalysts [43]. In this reaction, the cobalt catalyst [Co(II)] is first

• back to [Co(II)] at the anode (Scheme 32). Recently, two additional studies on cobalt–salen complex-induced (cyclo)additions were reported by the Kim [44] and Findlater groups [45]. By employing cobalt–salen as a catalyst, along with PhMeSiH2 and dimethoxypyridine as additives, n-Bu4NPF6 as the

Visible-light-mediated flow protocol for Achmatowicz rearrangement

• Joachyutharayalu Oja,
• Sanjeev Kumar and
• Srihari Pabbaraja

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2493–2499, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.213

• platforms, we herein present a photo-flow platform for Achmatowicz reactions. A novel photo-flow solar panel reactor was fabricated to test and validate the Achmatowicz rearrangement reaction (Figure S1, Supporting Information File 1), and the reaction conditions were optimized with a ruthenium catalyst. As

• -off experiment was performed to examine the Achmatowicz rearrangement's dependence on light, and it was observed that continuous light irradiation was required (Table 1, entry 2). Next, we considered running the process without utilizing the Ru(bpy)3Cl2·6H2O catalyst (Table 1, entry 3). There was no

• evidence of product formation, indicating that the Ru catalyst was required to pursue the photoinduced Achmatowicz rearrangement. Furthermore, it was observed that the product yield depended on resident time and it dropped over time as the residence time was reduced (see details in Supporting Information

HFIP as a versatile solvent in resorcin[n]arene synthesis

• Hormoz Khosravi,
• Valeria Stevens and
• Raúl Hernández Sánchez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2469–2475, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.211

• as the catalyst (Table 1, entries 1–4). The removal of HCl from the reaction conditions unveiled the crucial role of the catalyst in the process (Table 1, entry 5), which was expected; however, note that here we use the acid in catalytic amounts and not in excess as reported in the literature [73][74

• ][75]. Variations in catalyst nature between a Brønsted and Lewis acid, and the acid’s pKa (Table 1, entries 6–8) did not improve the yield compared to HCl (Table 1, entry 4). Last, further exploration of the conditions using HFIP/HCl revealed that the reaction progress achieves its maximum conversion

Photoredox-catalyzed intramolecular nucleophilic amidation of alkenes with β-lactams

• Valentina Giraldi,
• Giandomenico Magagnano,
• Daria Giacomini,
• Pier Giorgio Cozzi and
• Andrea Gualandi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2461–2468, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.210

• the linked alkene moiety, followed by hydrogen transfer from the hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) catalyst. This process was used to successfully prepare 2-alkylated clavam derivatives. Keywords: β-lactam; acridinium photocatalyst; alkenes; amides; intramolecular radical reaction; photoredox catalysis

• intramolecular nucleophilic attack induced by photocatalytic oxidation was reported by Yoon et al. with tosylamide derivatives [29]. Specifically, amides were employed in a photoredox cyclization process using a strong photooxidative acridinium catalyst such as the Fukuzumi catalyst (I, Figure 1B) [30][31

• reaction was carried out in DCM with acridinium PC IV (5 mol %), 50 mol % of PhSSPh as HAT catalyst, and lutidine (50 mol %) as the base. Upon 72 hours of irradiation with a blue light at 456 nm, the product 11c was obtained in a satisfactory yield as a mixture of diastereoisomers in a 1.4:1 ratio (Table 1

Evaluating the halogen bonding strength of a iodoloisoxazolium(III) salt

• Dominik L. Reinhard,
• Anna Schmidt,
• Marc Sons,
• Julian Wolf,
• Elric Engelage and
• Stefan M. Huber

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2401–2407, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.204

• abstractions, e.g. to activate gold chloride complexes [18][19]. Therefore, besides the development of new bidentate catalyst motifs, we were still interested in the optimization of these “simpler” derivatives. Thus, we designed a new catalyst motif [20] featuring an isoxazole ring, XB donor 7Z, and compared

• 7Br, which hints that also in solution stronger binding to Lewis bases and therefore higher activity as catalyst may be expected (compared to prototypic iodolium 1Z). As a benchmark for the halogen-bonding strength in solution, the activation of (PPh3)AuCl was chosen. The activated gold(I) complex was

• applied as catalyst for the cyclization of propargylic amide 11, a typical benchmark reaction in gold catalysis (Scheme 2) [24][25][26][27], which had previously already been activated by iodine(I) and iodine(III)-based XB donors [15][18]. To evaluate the activity of the new iodoloisoxazolium 7BArF, it

Asymmetric organocatalytic synthesis of chiral homoallylic amines

• Nikolay S. Kondratyev and
• Andrei V. Malkov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2349–2377, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.201

• enantioselectivities (90–99% ee) and good yields (75–94%) have been achieved on a wide range of aromatic and aliphatic N-acylimines 2 using chiral 3,3’-diaryl-BINOL 3 as catalyst (Scheme 2). The reaction proved to be highly tolerant to the nature of the R1 substituent in imine 2, demonstrating high yields and

• 11. It was proposed, that the internal hydrogen bond between the catalyst 11 and the P=O fragment of the protecting group of imine 9 is responsible for the observed high enantioselectivities (76–98% ee). The scope included a wide range of substrates, such as aromatic, heteroaromatic, aliphatic, and α

• -pyridyl)phenol (23) as an activator, 3 equivalents of HFIP and a slightly different catalyst, 3,3’-bis(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-BINOL 21 at 20 mol % loading (Scheme 5). Interestingly, the reaction showed an opposite trend and worked better with Z-geranylboronic acid (14). The scope was tested over

Stereoselective mechanochemical synthesis of thiomalonate Michael adducts via iminium catalysis by chiral primary amines

• Michał Błauciak,
• Dominika Andrzejczyk,
• Błażej Dziuk and
• Rafał Kowalczyk

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2313–2322, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.198

• ][7][8]. Furthermore, the integration of mechanochemistry and organocatalysis leads to the development of more sustainable transformations, characterized by reduced reaction times, decreased catalyst loadings, and significantly diminished solvent usage and waste production [9][10][11]. The pioneering

• catalysis with hydrogen bonding units has been essential for achieving high reactivity and enantioselectivities [21][22]. Additionally, the reactivity of the nucleophilic addition is influenced by substitutions near the electron-poor double bond. This approach requires 30 mol % of catalyst and a reaction

• by extended reaction times, sometimes up to 168 hours. An intriguing example involves the use of a bifunctional primary amine-sulfonamide catalyst, which activates benzylideneacetone towards dibenzyl malonate, with the presence of water accelerating the reaction [25]. An alternative approach, where

Catalysing (organo-)catalysis: Trends in the application of machine learning to enantioselective organocatalysis

• Stefan P. Schmid,
• Leon Schlosser,
• Frank Glorius and
• Kjell Jorner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2280–2304, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.196

• transformations. Subsequently, we review ML employed for privileged catalysts, before focusing on its application for catalyst and reaction design. Concluding, we give our view on current challenges and future directions for this field, drawing inspiration from the application of ML to other scientific domains

• . Keywords: catalyst design; machine learning; modelling; organocatalysis; selectivity prediction; Introduction Since the beginning of the 21st century, organocatalysts [1] have established themselves as a third group of homogeneous catalysts, next to biocatalysts [2] (enzymes) and transition metal-based

• ]. Despite the prominence of organocatalytic reactions, catalyst development has so far mostly been conducted guided by intuition of skilled organic chemists. Given that organocatalytic reactions are governed by different competing interactions, the influence of a change in molecular structure is often non

gem-Difluorination of carbon–carbon triple bonds using Brønsted acid/Bu₄NBF₄ or electrogenerated acid

• Mizuki Yamaguchi,
• Hiroki Shimao,
• Kengo Hamasaki,
• Keiji Nishiwaki,
• Shigenori Kashimura and
• Kouichi Matsumoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2261–2269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.194

• ][31][32], although the original work was developed by Linn and Plueddeman using HF [33][34][35]. As another example, Renoux and co-workers developed the utility of SbF5/HF (Figure 1, reaction 2) [36]. In 2014, the HF/N,N’-dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU) complex in the presence of an Au catalyst was found

Selective hydrolysis of α-oxo ketene N,S-acetals in water: switchable aqueous synthesis of β-keto thioesters and β-keto amides

• Haifeng Yu,
• Wanting Zhang,
• Xuejing Cui,
• Zida Liu,
• Xifu Zhang and
• Xiaobo Zhao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2225–2233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.190

• , the optimized reaction conditions for the synthesis of 2a were determined to be 1.0 equiv of DBSA as catalyst and reflux temperature (conditions A). Subsequently, we turned our attention to the hydrolysis reaction in the presence of hydroxide for the preparation of 3-oxo-N,3-diphenylpropanamide (3a

• , entries 11 and 14), while the reaction afforded 3a in low yield in the presence of weak bases such as Na2CO3 and Et3N (Table 1, entries 15 and 16). Accordingly, the optimal reaction conditions for the synthesis of 3a were 3.0 equiv of NaOH as catalyst and reflux temperature (conditions B). With the

Novel truxene-based dipyrromethanes (DPMs): synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and photophysical properties

• Shakeel Alvi and
• Rashid Ali

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2163–2170, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.186

• truxenes with freshly distilled pyrrole using trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as an acidic catalyst afforded the anticipated DPM-appended truxene derivatives (14, 16 and 18) in good yields (60–80%). All the newly prepared DPM-linked truxene-hybrid molecules as well as the intermediate acetylated truxene

Factors influencing the performance of organocatalysts immobilised on solid supports: A review

• Zsuzsanna Fehér,
• Dóra Richter,
• Gyula Dargó and
• József Kupai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2129–2142, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.183

• , providing a cost-effective alternative to traditional catalytic methods. The immobilisation of organocatalysts offers the potential to increase catalyst reusability and efficiency in organic reactions. This article reviews the key parameters that influence the effectiveness of immobilised organocatalysts

• applications in organic chemistry. Keywords: asymmetric synthesis; catalyst recycling; heterogenisation; organocatalysis; solid support; Introduction Organocatalysts are small molecules that do not contain a metal atom in the reaction centre and are able to increase the speed of reactions. They have proven

• MacMillan were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2021 for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis [6]. To date, industrial companies have used a number of asymmetric organocatalytic processes to synthesise pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals on large scales [7]. Catalyst recycling is key from both an economic

Multicomponent syntheses of pyrazoles via (3 + 2)-cyclocondensation and (3 + 2)-cycloaddition key steps

• Ignaz Betcke,
• Alissa C. Götzinger,
• Maryna M. Kornet and
• Thomas J. J. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2024–2077, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.178

• , 3,4,5-substituted pyrazoles 5 are formed (Scheme 2) [45]. The Lewis acid catalyst accelerates the reaction via participation in the formation of β-diketonate complexes. Other carbonyl compounds suitable for pyrazole synthesis are 2,4-diketoesters 13. These intermediates can be prepared from diethyl

• approach was also used to synthesize pyrazoles since the intermediary-formed diketone 18 forms the corresponding pyrazoles 17 in a Knorr reaction with 2-hydrazinyl-4-phenylthiazoles 15 in a one-pot process (Scheme 4) [52]. Piperidine was used as a catalyst for the Knoevenagel condensation. Remarkably

• -acetoacetylcoumarin 41, 3-bromoacylpyran 42, and semicarbazide 40 (Scheme 12) [65]. Alternatively, the corresponding chromenes can replace the 3-bromoacylpyrans. A notable advantage of this process is its catalyst-free nature and the achievement of good regioselectivity. Due to the high heterocycle density, this

Diastereoselective synthesis of highly substituted cyclohexanones and tetrahydrochromene-4-ones via conjugate addition of curcumins to arylidenemalonates

• Deepa Nair,
• Abhishek Tiwari,
• Banamali Laha and
• Irishi N. N. Namboothiri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2016–2023, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.177

• from curcumins and arylidenemalonates is reported. This strategy works in the presence of aqueous KOH using TBAB as a suitable phase transfer catalyst at room temperature. The functionalized cyclohexanones are formed as major products in moderate to excellent yields with complete diastereoselectivity

• -arylidene-1,3-indandiones was reported by Zhang and co-workers using quinine as a catalyst, giving multicyclic spiro-1,3-indandiones in moderate yields with enantioselectivities as well as diastereoselectivities [39]. However, to the best of our knowledge, arylidenemalonates have not been employed as

• base (KOH) and a phase-transfer catalyst (PTC) in a biphasic medium (toluene–H2O) at room temperature, leading to highly functionalized cyclohexanones and tetrahydrochromenones as major and minor products, respectively, in moderate to high yield and excellent diastereoselectivity. Results and