Facile one-pot reduction of β-nitrostyrenes to phenethylamines using sodium borohydride and copper(II) chloride

• Laura D’Andrea and
• Simon Jademyr

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 39–46, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.4

• substituted β-nitrostyrenes. This one-pot procedure allows the quick isolation of substituted β-nitrostyrene scaffolds with 62–83% yield under mild conditions, without the need for special precautions, inert atmosphere, and time-consuming purification techniques. Keywords: 2C-X; CuCl2; NaBH4; β-nitrostyrene

• ]. One of the most studied and inexpensive routes to synthesize substituted phenethylamines focuses on the reduction of their α,β-unsaturated nitroalkene analogue (β-nitrostyrene), where both the double bond and the nitro group need to be reduced to deliver the corresponding primary amine. Their

• aluminum hydride, sodium borohydride is a non-pyrophoric and easy-to-handle reducing agent. Since the first attempts in 1967, NaBH4 has been employed to reduce β-nitrostyrene scaffolds to the corresponding nitroalkanes [19][20][21]. Several catalysts have been combined with NaBH4 to facilitate full

Advances in the use of metal-free tetrapyrrolic macrocycles as catalysts

• Mandeep K. Chahal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3085–3112, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.257

• 1,4-conjugate addition (Michael addition) of 2,4-pentanedione (51) to β-nitrostyrene (50) (Figure 9) [63]. The OxP-macrocycles turned out to combine the advantages of porphyrins and calix[4]pyrroles. Due to their nonplanar geometry, OxPs have easily accessible inner –NH groups, similarly to calix[4

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

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

• lead to a decrease in selectivity. Connon and co-workers have attached a cinchona thiourea organocatalyst to magnetic nanoparticles 13 for the Michael addition of dimethyl malonate (10) to trans-β-nitrostyrene (11) (Scheme 3) [31]. To explore the potential impact of nanoparticles on catalyst efficiency

• the conjugate addition of propanal (22) and trans-β-nitrostyrene (11) catalysed by a simple solid-supported peptidic catalyst 24 using a continuous flow reactor. To overcome the diffusion limitations, elevated pressure was applied. Increasing the pressure from atmospheric to 60 bar resulted in a 12

• organocatalysts' catalytic activities and enantioselectivity values were evaluated in the Michael addition of pentane-2,4-dione (32) and trans-β-nitrostyrene (11). The catalysts could be reused over five reaction cycles through centrifugation, without significant loss of activity (Scheme 10). The catalysts showed

A novel recyclable organocatalyst for the gram-scale enantioselective synthesis of (S)-baclofen

• Gyula Dargó,
• Dóra Erdélyi,
• Balázs Molnár,
• Péter Kisszékelyi,
• Zsófia Garádi and
• József Kupai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1811–1824, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.133

• , application, and recycling of a new lipophilic cinchona squaramide organocatalyst. The synthesized lipophilic organocatalyst was applied in Michael additions. The catalyst was utilized to promote the Michael addition of cyclohexyl Meldrum’s acid to 4-chloro-trans-β-nitrostyrene (quantitative yield, up to 96

• addition of trans-β-nitrostyrene (12) and acetylacetone (13). Choosing the best solvent for the reaction is crucial, thus, solubility tests were carried out (Table 1). Since homogeneous catalysts usually exhibit higher activity and selectivity than their heterogeneous counterparts [27], our aim was to

• reaction could be used in the synthesis of several drugs to form a carbon–carbon bond in a stereoselective manner [6][35]. Our goal was to synthesize the chiral precursor 17 of baclofen (Scheme 3). To achieve this objective, we first planned to use Meldrum’s acid and 4-chloro-trans-β-nitrostyrene (16

Acetaldehyde in the Enders triple cascade reaction via acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal

• Alessandro Brusa,
• Debora Iapadre,
• Maria Edith Casacchia,
• Alessio Carioscia,
• Giuliana Giorgianni,
• Giandomenico Magagnano,
• Fabio Pesciaioli and
• Armando Carlone

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1243–1250, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.92

• and Discussion In order to explore the feasibility of the triple cascade reaction with acetaldehyde (2a) as a substrate, we tested the original reaction conditions reported by Enders using trans-β-nitrostyrene (3) and trans-cinnamaldehyde (4) as the other substrates (Table 1, entry 1). The reaction

First synthesis of acylated nitrocyclopropanes

• Kento Iwai,
• Rikiya Kamidate,
• Khimiya Wada,
• Haruyasu Asahara and
• Nagatoshi Nishiwaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 892–900, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.67

• Pharmaceutical Sciences, Osaka University, Yamadaoka 1-6, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.19.67 Abstract Although nitrocyclopropanedicarboxylic acid esters are widely used in organic syntheses, nitrocyclopropanes with an acyl group have not yet been synthesized. When adducts of β-nitrostyrene and 1,3

• ) halogenation, and 3) ring closure (Scheme 2). β-Nitrostyrene 2 serves as an appropriate acceptor for conjugate addition by diethyl malonate (3a) to afford adduct 4a, in which the methine group flanked by two carbonyl groups is readily halogenated, and the subsequent intramolecular nucleophilic substitution by

N-Sulfinylpyrrolidine-containing ureas and thioureas as bifunctional organocatalysts

• Viera Poláčková,
• Dominika Krištofíková,
• Boglárka Némethová,
• Renata Górová,
• Mária Mečiarová and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2629–2641, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.176

• )benzene (7b). Hexanal (6b) reacted successfully with 4-fluoro-β-nitrostyrene (7c) and gave product 8d under all conditions tested (in solution, solvent-free, and ball-milling conditions, vide infra). Again, small amounts of catalyst (S,R)-C2 gave the best chemical yield. Catalyst (S,R)-C2 (3 mol %) in

• ) was reacted with 4-fluoro-β-nitrostyrene (7c). In the presence of catalyst (S,R)-C2 only traces of product 8f (THF/H2O, NMM as the base, and additive PhCO2H) were obtained (Scheme 3). Michael acceptors containing heterocyclic groups have been studied only sparingly, but the corresponding chiral

• °C. The experimental results of the addition reactions of aldehydes 6a–c with nitrostyrenes 7b,c catalyzed with (S,R)-C2 are summarized in Table 4. The aliphatic aldehyde 6a in the Michael addition with 4-methoxy-β-nitrostyrene (7b) catalyzed by catalyst (S,R)-C2 gave the corresponding Michael adduct

Recent advances in organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael reactions of amines and amides

• Pratibha Sharma,
• Raakhi Gupta and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2585–2610, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.173

• et al. They carried out asymmetric conjugate amination of tert-butylbenzyloxycarbamate (50) to β-nitrostyrene 51 under neutral phase-transfer conditions in the presence of chiral bifunctional tetraalkylammonium bromide (cat. 52) in water-rich biphasic solvent. The reaction proceeded with high ee

A comprehensive review of flow chemistry techniques tailored to the flavours and fragrances industries

• Guido Gambacorta,
• James S. Sharley and
• Ian R. Baxendale

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1181–1312, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.90

• comparable outcomes. A similar system was later described by Asefa et al. The authors packed a jacketed glass capillary microreactor with an amine-functionalised mesoporous silica (AP-T) pressed into small pellets (Scheme 22) [134]. The apparatus enabled the preparation of p-hydroxy-β-nitrostyrene (103) in

Nitroalkene reduction in deep eutectic solvents promoted by BH₃NH₃

• Chiara Faverio,
• Monica Fiorenza Boselli,
• Patricia Camarero Gonzalez,
• Alessandra Puglisi and
• Maurizio Benaglia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1041–1047, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.83

• attention on the use of some choline chloride (ChCl)-based eutectic mixtures as reaction media. The reduction of β-nitrostyrene to afford (2-nitroethyl)benzene was selected as model reaction, and it was performed typically in the presence of 1 molar equiv of ammonia borane for 18 h at 60 °C (see Table 1

• pipette. The crude product was purified by column chromatography (silica as stationary phase; eluent: n-hexane/ethyl acetate). For the subsequent runs, fresh β-methyl-β-nitrostyrene (326 mg, 2 mmol) was suspended in the DES, and ammonia borane (1 equiv) was added to the mixture. The procedure is analogous

• 7 mL vial with a 3.5 cm-long magnetic stir bar, 2.5 g of DES were freshly prepared, ChCl and glycerol (1:2 molar ratio) were mixed, and the mixture was heated at 70 °C for 15 min until it became a colorless liquid. Then, the DES was slowly cooled to room temperature in 15 min. trans-β-Methyl-β

Microwave-assisted multicomponent reactions in heterocyclic chemistry and mechanistic aspects

• Shivani Gulati,
• Stephy Elza John and
• Nagula Shankaraiah

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 819–865, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.71

• co-workers [50] demonstrated an aqueous phase, diastereoselective, multicomponent reaction involving substituted isatins 35, β-nitrostyrene 36 and benzylamine (20) or α-amino acids 37 using microwave irradiation to afford a library of spirooxindoles 38 in good yields under catalyst-free conditions

Synthesis of (Z)-3-[amino(phenyl)methylidene]-1,3-dihydro-2H-indol-2-ones using an Eschenmoser coupling reaction

• Lukáš Marek,
• Lukáš Kolman,
• Jiří Váňa,
• Jan Svoboda and
• Jiří Hanusek

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 527–539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.47

• order to avoid the relatively long synthesis of the precursors we tried to change Br for another leaving group Y (Scheme 4). First, we prepared 3-chlorooxindole (1f) which is available from β-nitrostyrene and acetyl chloride under FeCl3 catalysis [41]. Unfortunately, the Eschenmoser coupling reaction

Hierarchically assembled helicates as reaction platform – from stoichiometric Diels–Alder reactions to enamine catalysis

• David Van Craen,
• Jenny Begall,
• Johannes Großkurth,
• Leonard Himmel,
• Oliver Linnenberg,
• Elisabeth Isaak and
• Markus Albrecht

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2338–2345, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.195

• measurement of the yield and the diastereoselectivity was possible by NMR spectroscopy. The nitro-Michael reaction of 3 equivalents propanal (14) and β-nitrostyrene (15) with 25 mol % of 13a-H2 after 2 days at room temperature resulted in 45% yield of product 16 and a nearly 1:1 diastereomeric ratio (Table 2

One-pot and metal-free synthesis of 3-arylated-4-nitrophenols via polyfunctionalized cyclohexanones from β-nitrostyrenes

• Haruyasu Asahara,
• Minami Hiraishi and
• Nagatoshi Nishiwaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1830–1836, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.150

• method toward the preparation of 3-arylated-4-nitrophenols. On the other hand, nitroalkenes possess an electron-deficient double bond, and hence, they serve as an excellent Michael acceptor and dienophile [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. When β-nitrostyrene (1, Ar = Ph) is subjected to the Diels–Alder

• nitroalkene properties and consequently suppressed the Diels–Alder reaction with 2. It is noteworthy that not only the benzene ring, but also a heteroaromatic ring could be introduced into the nitrophenol framework by using this method (Table 3, entry 5). Conclusion β-Nitrostyrene 1a underwent a Diels–Alder

Photocatalysis with organic dyes: facile access to reactive intermediates for synthesis

• Stephanie G. E. Amos,
• Marion Garreau,
• Luca Buzzetti and
• Jerome Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1163–1187, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.103

• -hydroxyphthalimide (NHPI, OD22, similar to the benzophenone photocatalysts OD9 and OD10) can abstract an H atom from the aldehyde substrate 20.1. The resulting acyl radical adds to the (E)-β-nitrostyrene 20.2, and the following denitrosylation affords the chalcones 20.3. Alkenyl and aryl radical ions (radical

Recent advances on the transition-metal-catalyzed synthesis of imidazopyridines: an updated coverage

• Gagandeep Kour Reen,
• Ashok Kumar and
• Pratibha Sharma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1612–1704, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.165

• addition with a subsequent intramolecular cyclization catalyzed by Cu(BDC)MOF. Further, the LC–MS study of the reaction mixture has shown the imine formation to be the major pathway rather than β-nitrostyrene. The reaction involved a two-step reaction mechanism in which aza-Michael adduct 13 was formed in

Ugi reaction-derived prolyl peptide catalysts grafted on the renewable polymer polyfurfuryl alcohol for applications in heterogeneous enamine catalysis

• Alexander F. de la Torre,
• Gabriel S. Scatena,
• Oscar Valdés,
• Daniel G. Rivera and
• Márcio W. Paixão

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1210–1216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.118

• asymmetric Michael addition of n-butanal to β-nitrostyrene that was used as a model reaction. This work supports the potential of multicomponent reactions towards the assembly of catalysts and their simultaneous functionalization for immobilization. Keywords: flow chemistry; heterogeneous catalysis

• -butanal to trans-β-nitrostyrene was implemented. During the initial screening, standard reaction conditions comprising the use of 10 mol % of catalyst, toluene as solvent and room temperature were chosen. As shown in Table 1, PFA – used as control – did not afford the Michael product (Table 1, entry 1

• continuous-flow conditions started with the optimization of the flow rate. Initially, a solution of β-nitrostyrene (1 equiv, 0.25 M) and n-butanal (3 equiv, 0.75 M) in toluene was pumped using a syringe-pump at 2.5 µL·min−1 (τ = 140 min, Figure 1, top). The concentration was chosen by considering the

Assembly of fully substituted triazolochromenes via a novel multicomponent reaction or mechanochemical synthesis

• Robby Vroemans,
• Yenthel Verhaegen,
• My Tran Thi Dieu and
• Wim Dehaen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2689–2697, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.246

• reaction was further optimized using salicylaldehyde (1a), β-nitrostyrene (2a) and benzyl azide (3a) as model substrates (see Supporting Information File 1, pages S4–S8 for full description of the optimization study). The optimized conditions for the one-pot three-component reaction were determined to be 1

Asymmetric Michael addition reactions catalyzed by calix[4]thiourea cyclohexanediamine derivatives

• Zheng-Yi Li,
• Hong-Xiao Tong,
• Yuan Chen,
• Hong-Kui Su,
• Tangxin Xiao,
• Xiao-Qiang Sun and
• Leyong Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1901–1907, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.164

• the new chiral amino-substituted thioureas [33][39]. For this, the Michael addition reaction of acetylacetone (8) to β-nitrostyrene (7a) was chosen as the model reaction to evaluate the efficiency of compounds 1–4 as chiral organocatalysts (Table 1, entries 1–4). From Table 1, it can be seen that the

CF₃SO₂X (X = Na, Cl) as reagents for trifluoromethylation, trifluoromethylsulfenyl-, -sulfinyl- and -sulfonylation and chlorination. Part 2: Use of CF₃SO₂Cl

• Hélène Chachignon,
• Hélène Guyon and
• Dominique Cahard

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 2800–2818, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.273

• -nitroalkenes because of the lower stability of the radical intermediate 38 generated. The variation of stability of this species also explained the higher yields obtained with β-nitrostyrene derivatives substituted by electron-withdrawing groups. Trifluoromethylation of alkynes: o-Azidoarylalkynes also proved

Synthesis of new pyrrolidine-based organocatalysts and study of their use in the asymmetric Michael addition of aldehydes to nitroolefins

• Alejandro Castán,
• Ramón Badorrey,
• José A. Gálvez and
• María D. Díaz-de-Villegas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 612–619, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.59

• the reaction of trans-β-nitrostyrene with 3-phenylpropionaldehyde in order to determine the influence that the relative configuration of the pyrrolidine had on the results (Table 1). The reaction was initially carried out at room temperature in the presence of 10 mol % of the catalyst and using CH2Cl2

• trans-β-nitrostyrene and 3-phenylpropionaldehyde promoted by OC4 (Table 4). When thioureas were used as additives the reaction was performed in toluene in order to improve the solubility. The addition of benzoic or acetic acid increased the reactivity and anti-enantioselectivity but it was detrimental

• were less reactive and the reaction temperature had to be increased. Linear aliphatic aldehydes reacted with β-nitrostyrene to provide the Michael adducts in good yields when the reaction was conducted at room temperature. The diastereoselectivity was moderate to good (dr = 79:21–95:5) in favour of the

Continuous-flow synthesis of primary amines: Metal-free reduction of aliphatic and aromatic nitro derivatives with trichlorosilane

• Riccardo Porta,
• Alessandra Puglisi,
• Giacomo Colombo,
• Sergio Rossi and
• Maurizio Benaglia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 2614–2619, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.257

• obtained in quantitative yield as a clean product with no need for purification. We also investigated the continuous-flow reduction of nitro ester 5, which can be conveniently prepared in one step through the organocatalyzed addition of diethyl malonate to trans-β-nitrostyrene promoted by a chiral thiourea

Stereoselective amine-thiourea-catalysed sulfa-Michael/nitroaldol cascade approach to 3,4,5-substituted tetrahydrothiophenes bearing a quaternary stereocenter

• Sara Meninno,
• Chiara Volpe,
• Giorgio Della Sala,
• Amedeo Capobianco and
• Alessandra Lattanzi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 643–647, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.63

• diastereoisomeric tetrahydrothiophenes were observed when using tertiary amines such Et3N, DBU or TMG [21][22]. At the outset, the sulfa-Michael/nitroaldol reaction was studied by reacting trans-β-nitrostyrene, (E)-1-phenyl-2-nitropropene and (E)-1-phenyl-2-nitrobutene in toluene at room temperature with 1,4

• -dithiane-2,5-diol as precursor of mercaptoacetaldehyde, using 10 mol % loading of different bifunctional organocatalysts (Scheme 1, Table 1). In the case of trans-β-nitrostyrene (1), a mixture of diastereoisomers 5 and 6 were rapidly formed, irrespective of the catalyst used, with a poor level of diastereo

Supported bifunctional thioureas as recoverable and reusable catalysts for enantioselective nitro-Michael reactions

• José M. Andrés,
• Miriam Ceballos,
• Alicia Maestro,
• Isabel Sanz and
• Rafael Pedrosa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 628–635, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.61

• bifunctional thioureas on sulfonylpolystyrene resins has been studied in the nitro-Michael addition of different nucleophiles to trans-β-nitrostyrene derivatives. The activity of the catalysts depends on the length of the tether linking the chiral thiourea to the polymer. The best results were obtained with

• reactions of 4-chloro- (1b) and 4-fluoronitrostyrene (1c) were very similar than those obtained in the reaction with β-nitrostyrene (1a), maintaining the yield and the enantioselectivity, although 1c reacted slowly within 48 h (compare entries 1 and 2 in Table 2 versus entry 5 in Table 1), but the less

• . The results obtained with the described catalysts are similar to those previously reported by using bottom-up synthesized materials prepared by co-polymerization of monomeric thioureas as organocatalysts [29]. Catalyst V has been also used in the addition of α-nitrocyclohexanone (6a) to β-nitrostyrene