Selective and scalable oxygenation of heteroatoms using the elements of nature: air, water, and light

• Damiano Diprima,
• Hannes Gemoets,
• Stefano Bonciolini and
• Koen Van Aken

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1146–1154, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.82

• oxygen- or radical-sensitive functionalities (i.e., an amino (2w) or nitro group (2x)). On the other hand, oxidizable groups, such as alcohols (2e), and halogens, such as such as chloro and fluoro on the aromatic ring (2i ,2j, 2k), were well tolerated. However, the presence of a iodo group (2v

• originates from water. In this tentative mechanism, the sulfide I forms with water and oxygen a photoactive complex II which is excited at 365 nm towards III. Via single-electron transfer both a radical cation IV and the superoxide V are generated. Subsequently, the sulfide radical cation IV undergoes a

• nucleophilic attack by water. The superoxide first abstracts a proton to form the perhydroxyl radical VII followed by hydrogen atom abstraction from intermediate VIII to yield sulfoxide IX. The generated hydrogen peroxide decomposes into water and oxygen. The novel proposed pathway can either be dominant or

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

• the most appropriate for a given reaction, scale and purpose of a project. Keywords: consecutive photoinduced electron transfer; electro-activated photoredox catalysis; photoelectrochemistry; photoredox catalysis; radical ions; Review 1 Introduction Owing to the unique reactivity patterns of free

• intermediate is proposed in conPET and PEC reactions (e.g., a photoexcited radical anion), yet different reactivity outcomes arise; the underlying reasons for such are discussed. Finally, we provide our perspective on current challenges and target areas for future exploration. 1.1 Multi-photon processes As

• radical anion or radical cation. As a semi-stable, higher energy ground-state entity, this can accumulate in sufficient concentration under the reaction conditions to absorb another photon and thereby generate a super-reducing or super-oxidizing excited state (Figure 2 left). In addition to ‘radical ion

The effect of dark states on the intersystem crossing and thermally activated delayed fluorescence of naphthalimide-phenothiazine dyads

• Liyuan Cao,
• Xi Liu,
• Xue Zhang,
• Jianzhang Zhao,
• Fabiao Yu and
• Yan Wan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1028–1046, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.79

• nm) [39], while this positive absorption band is closer to that of NI−•, which was determined at ca. 430 nm [58]. Therefore, this absorption band is assigned to the NI radical anion. The excited state absorption (ESA) band centered at 460 nm is attributed to the 3NI state. Moreover, another positive

Photoredox catalysis enabling decarboxylative radical cyclization of γ,γ-dimethylallyltryptophan (DMAT) derivatives: formal synthesis of 6,7-secoagroclavine

• Alessio Regni,
• Francesca Bartoccini and
• Giovanni Piersanti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 918–927, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.70

• Alessio Regni Francesca Bartoccini Giovanni Piersanti Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino, Carlo Bo Piazza Rinascimento 6, 61029 Urbino, PU, Italy 10.3762/bjoc.19.70 Abstract An unusual photoredox-catalyzed radical decarboxylative cyclization cascade reaction of γ,γ

• easily generate reactive open-shell radical species and/or intermediates. The substrate is consequently activated for bond cleavage, atom abstraction, or nucleophilic or electrophilic attack. After quenching, the oxidized or reduced photocatalyst regains or loses an electron to return to the starting

• selectively targeted by photoredox catalysis to enable unprecedented modification of the amino acid. In this context, it is worth mentioning that the single-electron oxidation of the indole moiety in tryptophan provides the radical cation, which enables selective C-radical generation at the weaker benzylic

Synthesis of aliphatic nitriles from cyclobutanone oxime mediated by sulfuryl fluoride (SO₂F₂)

• Xian-Lin Chen and
• Hua-Li Qin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 901–908, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.68

• ][26][27][28][29], a synthesis method for δ-olefin-containing aliphatic nitriles by the radical C–C bond cleavage of cycloketone oxime ester derivatives was developed by Shi’s group (Scheme 2a) [30], which emerged as an efficient strategy to construct C(sp2)–C(sp3) bonds [31][32][33]. Later, Xiao [34

• successfully obtained in 45% yield, which indirectly proved the existence of an oxime sulfonyl ester intermediate (fluorosulfonate). As shown in Scheme 5b, in the presence of one equivalent of TEMPO, a commonly used radical scavenger, the yield of 3aa significantly decreased, in addition, the reaction was

• afford the iminyl radical intermediate II. In the following step, the ring-strain of cyclobutanone is released under the promotion of the imine radical, giving the C-centered radical III which is subsequently captured by the alkene. Meanwhile, the radical IV transfers an electron to [Cun+1] regenerating

Pyridine C(sp²)–H bond functionalization under transition-metal and rare earth metal catalysis

• Haritha Sindhe,
• Malladi Mounika Reddy,
• Karthikeyan Rajkumar,
• Akshay Kamble,
• Amardeep Singh,
• Anand Kumar and
• Satyasheel Sharma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 820–863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.62

• starting from both cyclic and acyclic alkyl bromides. The findings of the reaction’s stereochemistry and observations made during some cyclization or ring-opening reactions indicated that the C–H alkylation may proceed through a radical-type mechanism. Next, in 2013, Wang and co-workers [52] reported a

• N-oxide 119b was formed during benzylation of 2-ethylpyridine N-oxide. A possible mechanism has also been reported (Scheme 23b). Electrophilic palladation at the C2-position of pyridine N-oxide 9 provides intermediate 120. The radical intermediate 121 is generated in situ by H-atom abstraction from

• toluene 117 by sulfate radical anion. Coordination of intermediate 120 and 121 leads to complex 122 which undergoes reductive elimination to provide product 119. 2-Ethyl-substituted pyridine N-oxides may undergo a dual C–H activation due to the buttressing effect of the ethyl group to produce azafluorene

Sulfate radical anion-induced benzylic oxidation of N-(arylsulfonyl)benzylamines to N-arylsulfonylimines

• Joydev K. Laha,
• Pankaj Gupta and
• Amitava Hazra

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 771–777, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.57

• -aryl(benzyl)amines to N-arylimines using K2S2O8 is reported to be problematic, the oxidation of N-(arylsulfonyl)benzylamines to N-arylsulfonylimines using K2S2O8 has been achieved for the first time. The dual role of the sulfate radical anion (SO4·−), including hydrogen atom abstraction (HAT) and

• single electron transfer (SET), is proposed to be involved in the plausible reaction mechanism. Keywords: arylsulfonylimine; benzylic oxidation; benzyl sulfonamide; K2S2O8; sulfate radical anion; Introduction Among various imine compounds [1], N-arylsulfonylimines are perhaps the most prominent due to

• abstraction (HAT) followed by single electron transfer (SET) enabled by the sulfate radical anion (SO4·−). Results and Discussion Initially, we investigated the reaction of N-benzenesulfonyl(benzyl)amine (1a) as a model substrate with K2S2O8 in MeCN at 80 °C for 12 h, conditions that were used earlier in our

Strategies in the synthesis of dibenzo[b,f]heteropines

• David I. H. Maier,
• Barend C. B. Bezuidenhoudt and
• Charlene Marais

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 700–718, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.51

• the enol carboxylate and subsequent 1,2 radical rearrangement and decarboxylation. Moderate to good yields of dibenzo[b,f]oxepine carboxylates 25 were achieved (63–85%). Stopka et al. [46] reported on tandem C–H functionalisation and ring expansion as an alternative to the Wagner–Meerwin rearrangement

Synthesis of medium and large phostams, phostones, and phostines

• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 687–699, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.50

• refluxing acetonitrile for 6 h. It underwent a radical cyclization in refluxing benzene for 20 h to give rise to a nine-membered phostone thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidine-fused 2-hydroxy-1,2-oxaphosphonane 2-oxide 46 as a potential inhibitor after the deprotection of the benzyl group in the presence of DABCO in

• -bromohex-5-en-1-yl methylphosphinate (63), 2-methyl-3-methylene-1,2-oxaphosphepane 2-oxide (64) was obtained in low 17% yield at 110 °C (Scheme 13) [34]. The Mn-catalyzed intramolecular radical arylation of 2-(naphthalen-1-yl)ethyl phenylphosphinate (65) gave a mixture of 4-phenyl-1,2-dihydronaphtho[2,1-c

Photocatalytic sequential C–H functionalization expediting acetoxymalonylation of imidazo heterocycles

• Deepak Singh,
• Shyamal Pramanik and
• Soumitra Maity

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 666–673, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.48

• reaction conditions, generating the corresponding acetoxymalonylated products 4u–w in good to excellent yields. Several control experiments were performed to gain insights into the mechanistic pathway of this reaction. Firstly, a radical scavenging experiment using the radical scavenger TEMPO was performed

• the involvement of a malonyl radical and an acetyl radical in the course of the reaction (see Supporting Information File 1 for details). Additionally, when an aliphatic alkene, 5-hexen-1-ol was introduced into the reaction mixture under standard conditions without Zn(OAc)2, an ATRA product 9 was

• isolated, further confirming the involvement of a malonyl radical generated by the cleavage of the C–Br bond of 2a [28]. Next, an attempt was made to identify the key intermediate of the reaction (Scheme 3B). When compound 5 was subjected to the acetylation reaction individually with Zn(OAc)2 and AcOH

Nucleophile-induced ring contraction in pyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzothiazines: access to pyrrolo[2,1-b][1,3]benzothiazoles

• Ekaterina A. Lystsova,
• Maksim V. Dmitriev,
• Andrey N. Maslivets and
• Ekaterina E. Khramtsova

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 646–657, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.46

• ) [32]. The third group of approaches to the PBTA scaffold includes only one example, the intramolecular radical substitution reaction in 1-(2-bromophenyl)-5-(butylsulfanyl)pyrrolidin-2-one (Scheme 3, entry 13) [8]. The fourth group of approaches to the PBTA scaffold is the intramolecular cyclization of

• proceeds through a different pathway from the one to pyrrolobenzothiazoles 3, 7, and 12. Biologically active PBTAs. Electrophilic centers in FPDs. Approaches to PBTAs via annulation of benzothiazoles. Approaches to PBTAs via annulation of o-aminothiophenols. Approach to PBTAs via radical substitution

Enolates ambushed – asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and subsequent enolate trapping with conventional and less traditional electrophiles

• Péter Kisszékelyi and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 593–634, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.44

• , transformation to potassium trifluoroborate salt, hydrolysis, C–C cross-coupling, base-mediated elimination, radical C–B cleavage) [72]. Therefore, enantioenriched boronates are commonly applied intermediates in organometallic, medicinal, and other fields of chemistry. At the same time, some organoboronic acid

Direct C2–H alkylation of indoles driven by the photochemical activity of halogen-bonded complexes

• Martina Mamone,
• Giuseppe Gentile,
• Jacopo Dosso,
• Maurizio Prato and
• Giacomo Filippini

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 575–581, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.42

• charge transfer state which results in a bathochromic shift of the absorption towards the visible range [19][20]. Upon light irradiation, the EDA complex may undergo an intramolecular single-electron-transfer (SET) process to produce a radical ion pair (D•+, A•−). To avoid the occurrence of a back

• -electron-transfer (BET), a suitable leaving group (LG) needs to be included in one of the precursors. In this manner, reactive intermediates (e.g., radical species) may be generated in solution through the irreversible fragmentation of the substrates [15][21][22]. These intermediates eventually react to

• yield the final products "A–D". This approach is not limited to reagents with appropriate donor–acceptor characteristics [13][19]. Indeed, sacrificial electron donors and electron-deficient radical precursors can be used to form photoactive EDA complexes. Specifically, these aggregates can be employed

A new oxidatively stable ligand for the chiral functionalization of amino acids in Ni(II)–Schiff base complexes

• Alena V. Dmitrieva,
• Oleg A. Levitskiy,
• Yuri K. Grishin and
• Tatiana V. Magdesieva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 566–574, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.41

• dimerization of the Schiff base complex and the radical cation formed under one-electron electrochemical oxidation will be sufficiently stable, opening a route to further oxidative modification of the amino acid side chain under appropriate conditions. Additionally, this bulky group may significantly alter the

• fragment in the oxidized (GlyNi)L7 and (ΔAlaNi)L7 complexes bears a certain spin density (as it has been previously shown for the t-Bu-free analogs [31]), the bulky t-Bu substituent does prevent dimerization of the radical cations formed in the electron-transfer step increasing their kinetic stability

• the C=N bond), diffusion controlled (the slope of the ln ipc vs ln v dependence is 0.48), and reversible; the direct and reverse peak separation value was 57 mV at 100 mV/s, and Ia/Ic peak current ratio was close to unity. This means that the radical anion of (GlyNi)L7 is stable, at least in the

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

• photoexcitation of the photosensitizer 43 to form 44 which can oxidize aniline 36a to give radical cation 46 (Scheme 7). Deprotonation by DBU produces the radical 40. The radical anion photosensitizer 45 can reduce Ni(I) to Ni(0), closing the first catalytic cycle. The Ni(0) complex can undergo oxidative addition

• into the C–O bond of the oxabicyclic alkene 30a to afford the σ-allyl intermediate 38 which can isomerize to the more stable π-allyl intermediate 39. Addition of the α-amino radical to the Ni(II) center generates the Ni(III) complex 41. Reductive elimination, followed by protodemetalation, leads to the

Combretastatins D series and analogues: from isolation, synthetic challenges and biological activities

• Jorge de Lima Neto and
• Paulo Henrique Menezes

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 399–427, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.31

• pathway was proposed by Ponnapalli and co-workers [14] and was initially based on the conversion of phenylalanine into tyrosine by phenylalanine hydroxylase and m-tyrosine via radical hydroxylation (Scheme 2). Subsequent deamination of tyrosine, with concomitant hydroxylation/deamination of m-tyrosine

Discrimination of β-cyclodextrin/hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) oil/flavonoid glycoside and flavonolignan ternary complexes by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy coupled with principal component analysis

• Nicoleta G. Hădărugă,
• Gabriela Popescu,
• Dina Gligor (Pane),
• Cristina L. Mitroi,
• Sorin M. Stanciu and
• Daniel Ioan Hădărugă

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 380–398, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.30

• domestica Borkh.) on the basis of antioxidant properties and radical scavenging kinetics [27][60][61]. However, only few studies have been published on the discrimination of CD-based complexes using multivariate statistical analysis. They are especially related to the retention behavior of various

Strategies to access the [5-8] bicyclic core encountered in the sesquiterpene, diterpene and sesterterpene series

• Cécile Alleman,
• Charlène Gadais,
• Laurent Legentil and
• François-Hugues Porée

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 245–281, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.23

• construction of the 8-membered ring from an appropriate cyclopentane precursor. The proposed strategies include metathesis, Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi (NHK) cyclization, Pd-mediated cyclization, radical cyclization, Pauson–Khand reaction, Lewis acid-promoted cyclization, rearrangement, cycloaddition and biocatalysis

• precursor. The proposed strategies include metathesis, Nozaki–Hiyama–Kishi (NHK) cyclization, Pd-mediated cyclization, radical cyclization (including SmI2), Pauson–Khand reaction, Lewis acid-promoted cyclization, rearrangement, cycloaddition, and biocatalysis. In particular, the purpose will focus on the

• by a vinyl ketone (compound 135) or a butenolide (compound 137) moiety dramatically influenced the outcome of the reaction and no cycloadduct was observed in both cases (Scheme 27). 4 Radical cyclization (including SmI2) Introduced by Kagan more than four decades ago, samarium diiodide (SmI2) has

An efficient metal-free and catalyst-free C–S/C–O bond-formation strategy: synthesis of pyrazole-conjugated thioamides and amides

• Shubham Sharma,
• Dharmender Singh,
• Sunit Kumar,
• Vaishali,
• Rahul Jamra,
• Naveen Banyal,
• Deepika,
• Chandi C. Malakar and
• Virender Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 231–244, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.22

• ) in 86% yield. To find out more information about the mechanistic route of the reaction, we performed a control experiment in the presence of TEMPO as a radical scavenger as depicted in Scheme 6. The reaction of pyrazole-3-carbaldehyde 1, pyrrolidine (A) and elemental sulfur in the presence of 1.1

• equiv of TEMPO delivered the targeted product in 76% yield. On the basis of this experiment, it was concluded that TEMPO did not affect the progress of the reaction and the formation of product 1A. Hence, a radical mechanism of the reaction may be ruled out. The successful synthesis of pyrazole C-3/4/5

Nostochopcerol, a new antibacterial monoacylglycerol from the edible cyanobacterium Nostochopsis lobatus

• Naoya Oku,
• Saki Hayashi,
• Yuji Yamaguchi,
• Hiroyuki Takenaka and
• Yasuhiro Igarashi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 133–138, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.13

• ear, and decrease writhing response induced by intraperitoneal injection of acetic acid in rodent models [11], thus supporting the ethnophamacological testimonies. Moreover, radical scavenging activity [11][12], hyaluronidase inhibitory activity [13], and tyrosinase inhibitory activity [14] were

1,4-Dithianes: attractive C2-building blocks for the synthesis of complex molecular architectures

• Bram Ryckaert,
• Ellen Demeyere,
• Frederick Degroote,
• Hilde Janssens and
• Johan M. Winne

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 115–132, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.12

• -formation processes (Scheme 12) [82][83]. These recently obtained results indicate that a sulfur-stabilized carbon radical derived from 1,4-dithiane (1) is a viable reaction intermediate, opening up the use of 1,4-dithianes in various free radical-type cross-couplings. 5 Synthetic equivalents of the allyl

Synthesis and characterisation of new antimalarial fluorinated triazolopyrazine compounds

• Kah Yean Lum,
• Jonathan M. White,
• Daniel J. G. Johnson,
• Vicky M. Avery and
• Rohan A. Davis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 107–114, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.11

• lead compounds without the need for de novo synthesis [5]. Baran et al. has developed an operationally simple, radical-based functionalisation strategy that allows direct transformation of C–H bonds to C–C bonds in a practical manner [11]. This strategy involves the utilisation of sodium and zinc

• [14], we had undertaken some preliminary investigations into the use of commercially available Diversinate™ reagents and showed the bicyclic nitrogen-rich core of Series 4 was amenable to this chemistry, with radical sulfinate substitution occurring with high-selectivity at C-8 and in respectable

Practical synthesis of isocoumarins via Rh(III)-catalyzed C–H activation/annulation cascade

• Qian-Ci Gao,
• Yi-Fei Li,
• Jun Xuan and
• Xiao-Qiang Hu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 100–106, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.10

• reactions and radical transformations [36][37][38]. Based on the literature precedents [27] and our previous work [33][34][35], a mechanism for this Rh-catalyzed C–H activation/annulation reaction was proposed and depicted in Scheme 5. In the presence of AgSbF6, dimeric [Cp*RhCl2]2 transforms into the

NaI/PPh₃-catalyzed visible-light-mediated decarboxylative radical cascade cyclization of N-arylacrylamides for the efficient synthesis of quaternary oxindoles

• Dan Liu,
• Yue Zhao and
• Frederic W. Patureau

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 57–65, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.5

• Dan Liu Yue Zhao Frederic W. Patureau Institute of Organic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen University, Landoltweg 1, 52074 Aachen, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.19.5 Abstract A practical NaI/PPh3-catalyzed decarboxylative radical cascade cyclization of N-arylacrylamides with redox-active esters is described, which

• afforded various functionalized oxindoles featuring a C3 quaternary stereogenic center. Mechanistic experiments suggest a radical mechanism. Keywords: decarboxylative cascade cyclization; iodide catalysis; metal-free photocatalysis; oxindole; phosphine catalysis; Introduction Radical-initiated cascade

• reactions constitute a powerful synthetic approach to construct multiple C–C or C–X bonds in one pot. As such, these tend to allow facile access to many complex natural molecules and drugs [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Recently, radical-initiated cascade cyclizations involving acrylamides have attracted considerable

Combining the best of both worlds: radical-based divergent total synthesis

• Kyriaki Gennaiou,
• Antonios Kelesidis,
• Maria Kourgiantaki and
• Alexandros L. Zografos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1–26, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.1

• of atom economy and protecting-group-free synthesis dominating the field of total synthesis. In this new era, total synthesis is moving towards natural efficacy by utilizing both the biosynthetic knowledge of divergent synthesis and the latest developments in radical chemistry. This contemporary

• for biological screening. The era of scalability [2] in total synthesis prompts researchers in this field to make use of more direct retrosynthetic disconnections with the aid of “radical” retrosynthetic analysis, as the advancement in the area now allows to harness one-electron power in a highly

• disconnections. As radical disconnections are gaining ground, more sophisticated retrosyntheses of natural products are unlocked, enriching thus their synthetic scalability [6][7]. A direct comparison of a classic vs a radical approach highlights the complementarity and, more often than not, the superiority of