Cu–Bpin-mediated dimerization of 4,4-dichloro-2-butenoic acid derivatives enables the synthesis of densely functionalized cyclopropanes

• Patricia Gómez-Roibás,
• Andrea Chaves-Pouso and
• Martín Fañanás-Mastral

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 877–883, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.71

• organoboron compound with CuOt-Bu and subsequent SN2’-selective allylic alkylation of 1. The densely functionalized structure of these dimerization products offers a versatile synthetic handle for further chemoselective functionalization. Considering the presence of two enolizable esters together with the

Recent advances in allylation of chiral secondary alkylcopper species

• Minjae Kim,
• Gwanggyun Kim,
• Doyoon Kim,
• Jun Hee Lee and
• Seung Hwan Cho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 639–658, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.51

• asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA) has been remarkable since its initial development in 1995, when Bäckvall and van Koten first reported moderate enantioselectivity using Grignard reagents with allylic acetates [21][22]. This discovery triggered extensive research endeavors, significantly expanding the

• largely depends on the choice of the nucleophilic organometallic species (Scheme 2). For example, the asymmetric copper-catalyzed allylic alkylation utilizing organometallic species 5 bearing a primary carbon–metal bond predominantly constructs the stereogenic center derived from electrophiles. The

• low configurational stability of the chiral secondary organometallic 9 and organocopper species 10 [38]. Therefore, the development of a more broadly applicable catalytic system that could accomplish copper-catalyzed stereoselective allylic alkylation with chiral secondary nucleophiles represents a

Recent advances in organocatalytic atroposelective reactions

• Henrich Szabados and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 55–121, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.6

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

• final ring-opened adduct 37. Copper-catalyzed reactions In 2009, Pineschi and co-workers explored the Cu-catalyzed rearrangement/allylic alkylation of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]heptenes 47 with Grignard reagents 48 (Scheme 8) [41]. The reaction is thought to proceed via the Lewis acid-catalyzed [3,4

Regioselectivity of the S_EAr-based cyclizations and S_EAr-terminated annulations of 3,5-unsubstituted, 4-substituted indoles

• Jonali Das and
• Sajal Kumar Das

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 293–302, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.33

• [Pd(C3H5)Cl]2 and ligand L1 (Scheme 2) [11]. The reaction, that could also be considered as Friedel–Crafts type, intramolecular allylic alkylation, delivered nine-membered ring bearing 3,4-fused indoles 2 in moderate to good yields. In the asymmetric version of the reaction catalyzed by [Ir(cod)Cl]2

Visible-light-mediated copper photocatalysis for organic syntheses

• Yajing Zhang,
• Qian Wang,
• Zongsheng Yan,
• Donglai Ma and
• Yuguang Zheng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2520–2542, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.169

• alkylation Under mild conditions, copper salts are able to catalyze olefinic C–H functionalization or allylic alkylation, thus allow introducing alkenyl or allyl groups into organic molecules. Alkenylation and allylation reactions have been extensively investigated under thermal conditions. However, only few

• -base photocatalysis. Olefinic C–H functionalization and allylic alkylation. Cross-coupling of unactivated alkenes and CF3SO2Cl. Chlorosulfonylation/cyanofluoroalkylation of alkenes. Hydroamination of alkenes. Cross-coupling reaction of alkenes, alkyl halides with nucleophiles. Cross-coupling of alkenes

• bonds and can be applied to radical chemistry. This review discusses copper-catalyzed reactions including alkene and alkyne, organic halide, and alkyl C–H functionalization. 3. Visible-light-mediated copper-catalyzed alkene and alkyne functionalization 3.1 Olefinic C–H functionalization and allylic

Direct C(sp³)–H allylation of 2-alkylpyridines with Morita–Baylis–Hillman carbonates via a tandem nucleophilic substitution/aza-Cope rearrangement

• Siyu Wang,
• Lianyou Zheng,
• Shutao Wang,
• Shulin Ning,
• Zhuoqi Zhang and
• Jinbao Xiang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2505–2510, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.167

• (sp3)–H allylic alkylation of 2-alkylpyridines with Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) carbonates is described. A plausible mechanism of the reaction might involve a tandem SN2’ type nucleophilic substitution followed by an aza-Cope rearrangement. Various alkyl substituents on 2-alkylpyridines were tolerated

• in the reaction to give the allylation products in 26–91% yields. The developed method provides a straightforward and operational simple strategy for the allylic functionalization of 2-alkypyridine derivatives. Keywords: 2-alkylpyridines; allylic alkylation; aza-Cope rearrangement; catalyst-free

• synergistic catalyzed allylic alkylation between electron-deficient 2-ethyl benzoxazoles and MBH carbonates by the combination of a Lewis base and a metal salt [24]. In their studies, although pyridine derivatives were also applicable in the reaction, the presence of a strong electron-withdrawing NO2 group

Asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives

• Natália M. Moreira,
• Lorena S. R. Martelli and
• Arlene G. Corrêa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1952–1980, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.128

• dihydrocinchonine 26 in combination with trifluoracetic acid (TFA) as Brønsted acid [39]. The reaction provides pyranocoumarins 25 with three vicinal stereogenic centers in high regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivities through a tandem allylic alkylation/intramolecular oxa-Michael addition (Scheme 7). A

• described an allylic alkylation reaction between 3-cyano-4-methylcoumarins 39 and Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) carbonates 40 [45]. In this case, the catalyst (DHQ)2PYR 42 activates the MBH substrate and generates the dienolate in the vinylogous coumarin moiety, acting as a base. After the nucleophilic

• -hydroxycoumarin 1 with α,β-unsaturated ketones 2 catalyzed by a chiral primary amino amide 32. Catalytic asymmetric β-C–H functionalization of ketones via enamine oxidation. Enantioselective synthesis of polycyclic coumarin derivatives 37 catalyzed by an primary amine-imine catalyst 38. Allylic alkylation

Recent developments in enantioselective photocatalysis

• Callum Prentice,
• James Morrisson,
• Andrew D. Smith and
• Eli Zysman-Colman

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2363–2441, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.197

Copper-catalysed alkylation of heterocyclic acceptors with organometallic reagents

• Yafei Guo and
• Syuzanna R. Harutyunyan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1006–1021, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.90

• lead to versatile chiral building blocks, such as a β-alkyl-substituted aldehyde (66% yield, 94:6 er) or a β-bromo-γ-alkyl-substituted alcohol (71% yield, 93:7 er). The asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA) is a very useful method that allows the enantioselective formation of C–C bonds, and copper

Combining enyne metathesis with long-established organic transformations: a powerful strategy for the sustainable synthesis of bioactive molecules

• Valerian Dragutan,
• Ileana Dragutan,
• Albert Demonceau and
• Lionel Delaude

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 738–755, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.68

• -metal-catalyzed transformations were needed to achieve the total synthesis of des-epoxy-amphidinolide N, including a palladium asymmetric allylic alkylation (Pd-AAA), a Mukaiyama aldol reaction (with Sn), and a Krische allylation (with Ir) [72]. As special feature of this procedure, an Evans aldol

DABCO- and DBU-promoted one-pot reaction of N-sulfonyl ketimines with Morita–Baylis–Hillman carbonates: a sequential approach to (2-hydroxyaryl)nicotinate derivatives

• Soumitra Guin,
• Raman Gupta,
• Debashis Majee and
• Sampak Samanta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2771–2778, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.254

• -hydroxyaryl)pyridine derivatives bearing a carboxylate or a nitrile group suitably placed at C3 position of the aza-ring has been achieved in acceptable chemical yields with a broad functional group tolerance. This sequential C–C/C–N bond making process proceeds through a regioselective allylic alkylation/aza

• . This reaction produced 87% yield of allylic alkylation adduct 3a along with a small amount of 9,10-dihydro-8H-benzo[e]pyrido[1,2-c]oxathiazine 6,6-dioxide 4a in 4% yield (entry 1, Table 1). Gratifyingly, high yields (88%) of cyclized product 4a and a trace amount of desired nicotinate 5aa (2% yield

• generality and scope of the reaction by reacting several aryl/heteroaryl-substituted MBH carbonates derived from acrylates 2a–j and 4-methyl-N-sulfonyl ketimines 1a–e under present sequential reaction conditions. The results are incorporated in Scheme 3. The regioselective allylic alkylation/aromatization

D-Fructose-based spiro-fused PHOX ligands: synthesis and application in enantioselective allylic alkylation

• Michael R. Imrich,
• Jochen Kraft,
• Cäcilia Maichle-Mössmer and
• Thomas Ziegler

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2082–2089, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.182

• .14.182 Abstract Phosphinooxazoline (PHOX) ligands are an important class of ligands in asymmetric catalysis. We synthesized ten novel D-fructose-derived spiro-fused PHOX ligands with different steric and electronic demand. The application of two of them was tested in asymmetric allylic alkylation. The

• protective groups (5b) and one with ester groups (5i). As a model system for the Pd-catalyzed Tsuji–Trost reaction we chose diphenylallyl acetate 15 (Scheme 7) with dimethyl malonate. The latter allylic alkylation is well investigated and has often been used as a benchmark test for the selectivity of novel

Recent applications of chiral calixarenes in asymmetric catalysis

• Mustafa Durmaz,
• Erkan Halay and
• Selahattin Bozkurt

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1389–1412, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.117

• calixarenes and their catalytic performances in the asymmetric Suzuki–Miyaura coupling and Tsuji–Trost allylic alkylation reactions (Scheme 7) [42]. Calix[4]arene mono and dithiophosphines 24–26 were efficiently synthesized from p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene by a one pot Mitsunobu alkylation using

• asymmetric Tsuji–Trost allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenylprop-2-enyl acetate (33) with dimethyl malonate (34, Scheme 9). Both, good catalytic activity and enantioselectivity (ee values up to 86%) were obtained with the potassium cation. This was due to the more strongly interaction of the dimethyl malonate

• phosphinoferrocenyl-substituted calixarene ligands 27–29. Asymmetric coupling reaction of aryl boronates and aryl halides in the presence of calixarene mono and di(ferrocenylphosphine) ligands 27 and 28. Asymmetric allylic alkylation in the presence of calix[4]arene ligand (S,S)-29. Asymmetric Tsuji–Trost reaction in

Recent progress in the racemic and enantioselective synthesis of monofluoroalkene-based dipeptide isosteres

• Myriam Drouin and
• Jean-François Paquin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 2637–2658, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.262

• ]-Gly isostere [26] via a SN2’ reaction (Scheme 3). The defluorinative allylic alkylation of terminal 3,3-difluoropropene 10 with triethylaluminium selectively provided the corresponding (Z)-monofluoroalkene 11. In this case, the use of Et3Al allowed access to a norvaline (Nva) isostere. Then, alcohol

• starting from the commercially available protected chiral hydroxyl ester 75. Reduction to the aldehyde followed by coupling with bromodifluoropropene gave two diastereoisomers 76a and 76b separable by flash chromatography. Then, the copper-catalyzed defluorinative allylic alkylation using Grignard reagents

Mechanochemical N-alkylation of imides

• Anamarija Briš,
• Mateja Đud and
• Davor Margetić

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1745–1752, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.169

• of imides with alkyl halogenides, and the results are presented in this paper. Until now, ball milling N-alkylations of ureas [15], hydrazones [16], imines [17][18], pyridines [19], pyrimidines [20], imidazoles [21], secondary amines [22], as well as allylic alkylation reactions [23] were reported in

Enantioconvergent catalysis

• Justin T. Mohr,
• Jared T. Moore and
• Brian M. Stoltz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 2038–2045, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.192

• protonation (dba = dibenzylideneacetone). Enantioconvergent allylic alkylation with two racemic starting materials. Enantioconvergent parallel kinetic resolution by two complementary biocatalysts. Enantioconvergent PKR by Nocardia EH1. Acknowledgements This publication is supported in part by the NIH-NIGMS

Opportunities and challenges for direct C–H functionalization of piperazines

• Zhishi Ye,
• Kristen E. Gettys and
• Mingji Dai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 702–715, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.70

• -catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation [24]. The most straightforward and attractive way of synthesizing α-carbon-substituted piperazines is the selective (regioselective, diastereoselective, and enantioselective) activation and functionalization of the existing C–H bonds of piperazine substrates (Figure 2

Spiro-fused carbohydrate oxazoline ligands: Synthesis and application as enantio-discrimination agents in asymmetric allylic alkylation

• Jochen Kraft,
• Martin Golkowski and
• Thomas Ziegler

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 166–171, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.18

• chiral ligands in palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenylallyl acetate with dimethyl malonate. The D-fructo-PyOx ligand provided mainly the (R)-enantiomer while the D-psico-configurated ligand gave the (S)-enantiomer with a lower enantiomeric excess. Keywords: asymmetric catalysis

• of tertiary carbon stereocenters, remains an ongoing challenge. Over the last decades though, transition metal-catalyzed reactions like the asymmetric allylic alkylation (Tsuji–Trost reaction) have evolved into one of the more powerful tools for synthesizing such tertiary stereocenters [7][8]. As a

• decomposition of 10a in seconds. With ligands 9 and 10 in hand, we moved on to the application in asymmetric catalysis. As a model system, the Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation of dimethyl malonate (13) to rac-1,3-diphenylallyl acetate (12) was chosen (Scheme 3). As mentioned above, this reaction was often used

Recent advances in copper-catalyzed asymmetric coupling reactions

• Fengtao Zhou and
• Qian Cai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 2600–2615, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.280

• allyl–allyl cross-coupling was only achieved by employing a Pd-catalyst system [74]. Copper-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation (Cu-AAA) with allylmetal is still a great challenge. In 2013, Feringa et al. [75] reported the first copper-catalyzed highly enantioselective allyl–allyl cross-coupling of

• terminal alkynes The catalytic enantioselective allylic alkylation of alkynyl nucleophiles is a powerful tool for the preparation of 1,4-enynes, which are versatile synthetic intermediates in asymmetric organic synthesis [82]. In 2014, Sawamura et al. [83] successfully developed a highly enantioselective

• allylic alkylation of terminal alkynes with primary allylic phosphates through a copper/NHC chiral catalyst system. The authors obtained chiral enynes with a tertiary stereocenter at the allylic propargylic position in good yield and with excellent enantioselectivity (Scheme 35). Conclusion Copper

Copper-catalysed asymmetric allylic alkylation of alkylzirconocenes to racemic 3,6-dihydro-2H-pyrans

• Emeline Rideau and
• Stephen P. Fletcher

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 2435–2443, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.264

• Emeline Rideau Stephen P. Fletcher Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, 12 Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK, Fax: +44(1865)285002 10.3762/bjoc.11.264 Abstract Asymmetric allylic alkylation is a powerful reaction that allows the enantioselective

• assistance of a design of experiments statistical approach (83% ee, 12% yield). 1H NMR spectroscopy was used to gain insight into the reaction mechanisms. Keywords: allylic alkylation; asymmetric catalysis; copper; design of experiments; dynamic kinetic asymmetric transformation; heterocycles; Schwartz

• reagent; Introduction Asymmetry is found in many natural products and biologically active molecules. Using racemic starting materials to synthesize enantiomerically enriched products is a powerful and underdeveloped strategy [1][2][3][4]. In some cases transition metal-catalysed asymmetric allylic

Highly selective palladium–benzothiazole carbene-catalyzed allylation of active methylene compounds under neutral conditions

• Antonio Monopoli,
• Pietro Cotugno,
• Carlo G. Zambonin,
• Francesco Ciminale and
• Angelo Nacci

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 994–999, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.111

• allylic alkylation of nucleophiles [30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. Some years ago, we synthesized the first example of Pd–benzothiazol-2-ylidene complex I (Figure 1), which proved to be an efficient catalyst for several C–C coupling reactions (like carbonylations and Heck olefinations) carried out in both

Formal total syntheses of classic natural product target molecules via palladium-catalyzed enantioselective alkylation

• Yiyang Liu,
• Marc Liniger,
• Ryan M. McFadden,
• Jenny L. Roizen,
• Jacquie Malette,
• Corey M. Reeves,
• Douglas C. Behenna,
• Masaki Seto,
• Jimin Kim,
• Justin T. Mohr,
• Scott C. Virgil and
• Brian M. Stoltz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 2501–2512, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.261

• will impact both academic and industrial settings, where the synthesis of stereogenic quaternary carbons is a continuing challenge. Keywords: enantioselective alkylation; natural products; palladium; Introduction Catalytic enantioselective allylic alkylation has emerged as a powerful method for the

• construction of building blocks bearing quaternary carbon and fully substituted tertiary centers [1][2]. A recent addition developed by our laboratory is the allylic alkylation of nonstabilized enolate precursors to form α-quaternary carbonyl compounds (Scheme 1) [3]. Once the key stereocenter is set by this

• asymmetric chemistry in formal total syntheses of “classic” natural product targets across a range of compound families by strategic selection of allylic alkylation substrates and subsequent product transformations. Results and Discussion A) Thujopsene The Japanese hiba tree, Thujopsis dolabrata has been

Synthesis of 1-[bis(trifluoromethyl)phosphine]-1’-oxazolinylferrocene ligands and their application in regio- and enantioselective Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation of monosubstituted allyl substrates

• Zeng-Wei Lai,
• Rong-Fei Yang,
• Ke-Yin Ye,
• Hongbin Sun and
• Shu-Li You

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 1261–1266, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.126

• ’-oxazolinylferrocene ligands has been synthesized from ferrocene. It became apparent that these ligands can be used in the regio- and enantioselective Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation of monosubstituted allyl substrates in a highly efficient manner. Excellent regio- and enantioselectivity could be obtained for a wide

• range of substrates. Keywords: allylic substitution; enantioselectivity; ferrocene; organophosphorus; palladium; regioselectivity; Introduction The palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA) reaction is now becoming an efficient method for the construction of carbon–carbon bonds [1][2][3

• Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation reaction. Excellent results were obtained for the bulky and electron-rich aryl allyl substrates [25][26][27]. In 2001, Dai, Hou and their coworkers synthesized a new class of 1,1’-ferrocene-based P,N-ligands, namely SiocPhox. The application of these SiocPhox ligands

New developments in gold-catalyzed manipulation of inactivated alkenes

• Michel Chiarucci and
• Marco Bandini

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2013, 9, 2586–2614, doi:10.3762/bjoc.9.294

• by Bandini and Miscione [66][67][68] that documented on the intramolecular enantioselective allylic alkylation of indoles. Combined computational and experimental studies revealed the presence of a complex H-bond network between the indole ring, the counterion (i.e. OTf−) and the leaving OH group