Non-covalent organocatalyzed enantioselective cyclization reactions of α,β-unsaturated imines

• Sergio Torres-Oya and
• Mercedes Zurro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3221–3255, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.268

• concerted mechanism which could be explained by the transition state depicted in Scheme 16: the chiral phosphoric acid could act as a bifunctional catalyst; the OH group acts as a Brønsted acid activating the 1-azadiene, while the phosphoryl oxygen atom activates the enecarbamates as a Lewis base. In order

• Scheme 25, the chiral phosphoric acid acts as a bifunctional catalyst activating both the 1,3-diazadiene and the indole, procuring a transition state in which both reaction partners are approached. Also in June 2022, Wang, Xu and Mei reported the chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed asymmetric Attanasi

N-Sulfenylsuccinimide/phthalimide: an alternative sulfenylating reagent in organic transformations

• Fatemeh Doraghi,
• Seyedeh Pegah Aledavoud,
• Mehdi Ghanbarlou,
• Bagher Larijani and
• Mohammad Mahdavi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1471–1502, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.106

• ) [92]. Besides α-fluoro-β-ketoamides, α-chloro-substituted ketoamide was also tolerated well in this transformation. Screening several chiral guanidines as the bifunctional catalyst revealed that these organocatalysts were suitable for the synthesis of α-fluoro/chloro-α-sulfenyl-β-ketoamides 144 and

Mechanochemical solid state synthesis of copper(I)/NHC complexes with K₃PO₄

• Ina Remy-Speckmann,
• Birte M. Zimmermann,
• Mahadeb Gorai,
• Martin Lerch and
• Johannes F. Teichert

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 440–447, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.34

• sophisticated copper(I)/N-heterocyclic carbene complex bearing a guanidine moiety. In this way, the present approach circumvents commonly employed silver(I) complexes which are associated with significant and undesired waste formation and the excessive use of solvents. The resulting bifunctional catalyst has

• simultaneous organocatalytic activation of the ester on the other hand. Following a previously established synthetic pathway [49], we have found that transmetallation via silver(I)/NHC complex 4 was the only viable synthetic entry point to this sophisticated bifunctional catalyst (Scheme 2) [10][12][14][50

• , utilizing Cu2O for a “built-in base” approach did not give complex 5 (Table 1, entry 6). Since our attempts to establish direct synthetic routes to 5 from 3 in liquid state were not fruitful, we turned our attention to the mechanochemical synthesis of bifunctional catalyst 5, based on two recent reports on

Design, synthesis, and evaluation of chiral thiophosphorus acids as organocatalysts

• Karen R. Winters and
• Jean-Luc Montchamp

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1471–1478, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.154

• a chiral pocket or environment for enantioselective transformations within the proximity of the acidic proton and phosphoryl oxygen. Additionally, the choice of phosphoric acid diesters also provides a bifunctional catalyst containing both an acidic and basic site (Figure 1). Despite the proven

Recent advances in the asymmetric phosphoric acid-catalyzed synthesis of axially chiral compounds

• Alemayehu Gashaw Woldegiorgis and
• Xufeng Lin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2729–2764, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.185

• 2019, Li and co-workers developed a synthetic strategy for the atroposelective construction of phenylindole 20 by the chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed cross-coupling of quinones 18 and indoles 19. In this reaction, the chiral phosphoric acid (R)-CPA 6 acts as a bifunctional catalyst to activate indoles

Halides as versatile anions in asymmetric anion-binding organocatalysis

• Lukas Schifferer,
• Martin Stinglhamer,
• Kirandeep Kaur and
• Olga García Macheño

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2270–2286, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.145

• heterolytic cleavage of HCl as displayed in Scheme 7 [55]. Moreover, other catalysts with amine functional groups were found more efficient in the enantioselective α-alkylation of aldehydes (Scheme 10b) [48] or in the asymmetric Mannich synthesis of α-amino esters using Takemoto’s bifunctional catalyst 44 [67

• proton of the enolizable β-ketoester 49 and thus activating the nucleophilic species. This enolate then adds to the cationic substrate from in situ upon halide abstraction of α-chloro amino acid derivatives 48 by the thiourea moiety of the bifunctional catalyst (Scheme 10c, key intermediate), leading to

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

• methodology developed made it possible to obtain a mixture of open and closed forms of (R)-warfarin (3a) from a bifunctional catalyst of squaramide by the formation of an iminium ion intermediate with enone and hydrogen bonding with hydroxycoumarin (Scheme 27a). By using the squaramide catalyst with tertiary

• Scheme 30. An asymmetric Michael addition of 4-hydroxycoumarin (1) to α,β-unsaturated ketones 2 promoted by chiral primary amine thiourea bifunctional catalyst 97 was reported by Mei et al. [66]. Using the optimized conditions, a series of Michael adducts 3 were obtained in excellent yields (up to 97

• via domino reaction between 4-hydroxycoumarins (1) and substituted methylene malononitriles 92. Conjugated addition of 4-hydroxycoumarins 1 to nitroolefins 95. Michael addition of 4-hydroxycoumarin 1 to α,β-unsaturated ketones 2 promoted by primary amine thiourea bifunctional catalyst 97

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

• interaction with the reagents. As a result, several hollow fibres-immobilised catalysts have been prepared and applied in flow scenarios [112]. A titania-, zirconia- and silica-implanted polyamide-imide (PAI) hollow fibre was grafted with aminosilane functional groups in order to create a bifunctional

• catalyst for continuous-flow aldol condensations. A solution of the reagents was directed into the stainless steel module, containing a series of five hollow fibres, perpendicular to the fibre alignment. The solution permeates the fibres and is pushed through the reactor using a nitrogen flow stream

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

• different approaches have been developed that use a single catalyst. Alemán et al.’s approach combines the two catalytic motifs into a single bifunctional catalyst 38, using thioxanthone as the chromophore (Scheme 5) [31]. The catalyst 38 was then applied to known reactions such as the α-functionalization

• that is trapped intermolecularly by N-hydroxycarbamates 152 (Scheme 21b) [71]. Bach et al. has recently reported a bifunctional catalyst 154, which contains both a photoactive thioxanthone unit and a CPA (Scheme 22) [72]. They have applied this photocatalyst to the [2 + 2] photocycloaddition of

One-pot synthesis of isosorbide from cellulose or lignocellulosic biomass: a challenge?

• Isaline Bonnin,
• Raphaël Mereau,
• Thierry Tassaing and
• Karine De Oliveira Vigier

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1713–1721, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.143

• first run was observed. A sustainable method for the isosorbide production from cellulose is the use of a bifunctional catalyst (Scheme 7). A series of Ru catalysts on acid support were prepared by the adsorption of colloidal Ru nanoparticles on mesoporous and bulk niobium phosphate, mesoporous and bulk

• . This study shows that a bifunctional catalyst can be a more sustainable solution to produce isosorbide from (ligno)cellulose. Conclusion The isosorbide synthesis from cellulose is performed via acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of cellulose, followed by hydrogenation of glucose to sorbitol and further

1,2,3-Triazolium macrocycles in supramolecular chemistry

• Mastaneh Safarnejad Shad,
• Pulikkal Veettil Santhini and
• Wim Dehaen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2142–2155, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.211

• kinetic resolution of epoxides with CO2 remains a big challenge. Recently, Ema and co-workers described a chiral binaphthyl strapped Zn(II) porphyrin with triazolium halide units as a bifunctional catalyst for the kinetic resolution of epoxides with CO2 [63]. The condensation of click-reaction-derived

Synthesis of chiral 3-substituted 3-amino-2-oxindoles through enantioselective catalytic nucleophilic additions to isatin imines

• Hélène Pellissier

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1349–1369, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.114

• -isatin imines 3 with naphthols performed in the presence of cinchona alkaloid-derived thiourea 40 [66]. As shown in Scheme 15, the reaction of 1-naphthols 42 promoted by 2 mol % of this bifunctional catalyst in toluene at room temperature led to the corresponding chiral 3-substituted 3-amino-2-oxindoles

Chiral phase-transfer catalysis in the asymmetric α-heterofunctionalization of prochiral nucleophiles

• Johannes Schörgenhumer,
• Maximilian Tiffner and
• Mario Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1753–1769, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.170

• synthesis of differently substituted ketoesters 3 with good to high enantioselectivities by using just 2 mol % of the bifunctional catalyst. Very interestingly, Shi’s group very recently also reported PEG-bound derivatives of these catalysts which performed more or less equally selective for this

Bifunctional organocatalysts for the asymmetric synthesis of axially chiral benzamides

• Ryota Miyaji,
• Yuuki Wada,
• Akira Matsumoto,
• Keisuke Asano and
• Seijiro Matsubara

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1518–1523, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.151

• chiral benzamides [36][37]. Results and Discussion We initiated our investigations using 3-hydroxy-N,N-diisopropylbenzamide (1a) and N-bromoacetamide (NBA, 4a) as a brominating reagent, with 10 mol % quinidine-derived bifunctional catalyst 3a, in toluene, at −40 °C. As expected, the tribrominated product

Synthesis of 1-indanones with a broad range of biological activity

• Marika Turek,
• Dorota Szczęsna,
• Marek Koprowski and
• Piotr Bałczewski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 451–494, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.48

Bifunctional catalysis

• Darren J. Dixon

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1079–1080, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.102

• , stereochemically defined products through the action of the bifunctional catalyst system. Many bifunctional catalysts possess either Lewis or Brønsted basic functionality and a hydrogen-bond donor group suitably positioned over a chiral scaffold. Compared to single functional group catalysts, the cooperative

• field continues to expand at an impressive pace. The present Thematic Series serves to highlight the current state-of-the-art of bifunctional catalysis from new bifunctional catalyst design and development, their application in new asymmetric metholodgy development, to their application in natural

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of biologically important 3-hydroxyoxindoles: an update

• Bin Yu,
• Hui Xing,
• De-Quan Yu and
• Hong-Min Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 1000–1039, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.98

• ). Interestingly, a satisfactory result (89% yield and >99% ee) was also obtained when the reaction was performed on a 7.0 mmol scale using 15% of catalyst loading. Similarly, Chen and co-workers reported that β-ICD, as a bifunctional catalyst, can also efficiently catalyze the MBH reactions of 7-azaisatins with

1H-Imidazol-4(5H)-ones and thiazol-4(5H)-ones as emerging pronucleophiles in asymmetric catalysis

• Antonia Mielgo and
• Claudio Palomo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 918–936, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.90

• and to tertiary thiols and thioethers in the case of thiazolones. In the future, other Brønsted base or bifunctional catalyst promoted reactions with these compounds can be envisaged. Some α-substituted heterocycles for asymmetric catalysis, their reactivity patterns against enolization, and resulting

• ureidopeptide-like bifunctional Brønsted base catalyst C5 [85]. Ureidopeptide-like Brønsted base bifunctional catalyst preparation. NMM = N-methylmorpholine, THF = tetrahydrofuran [85]. Selected examples of the Michael addition of thiazolones to different nitroolefins promoted by catalyst C5 [85]. Elaboration

The aminoindanol core as a key scaffold in bifunctional organocatalysts

• Isaac G. Sonsona,
• Eugenia Marqués-López and
• Raquel P. Herrera

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 505–523, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.50

• indole derivatives 2. Indeed, as discussed below, other authors proposed the compound 6 as a plausible bifunctional catalyst. The Enders’ group used its enantiomer (ent-6) to develop a pioneering scalable one-pot multicatalytic method for the C2/C3-annulation of the indoles 2 (Scheme 4) [26]. In this

(Thio)urea-mediated synthesis of functionalized six-membered rings with multiple chiral centers

• Giorgos Koutoulogenis,
• Nikolaos Kaplaneris and
• Christoforos G. Kokotos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 462–495, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.48

• of a bifunctional catalyst. The first family of these bifunctional catalysts, that are going to be discussed, are the "primary amine-thioureas". Initially, catalyst 4 was studied as an organocatalyst in the addition of isobutyraldehyde (1) to (E)-methyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbut-3-enoate (2) for the

Cupreines and cupreidines: an established class of bifunctional cinchona organocatalysts

• Laura A. Bryant,
• Rossana Fanelli and
• Alexander J. A. Cobb

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 429–443, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.46

• asymmetric organocatalysis. This fascinating class of bifunctional catalyst offers a genuine alternative to the more commonly used thiourea systems and because of the different spacing between the functional groups, can control enantioselectivity where other organocatalysts have failed. In the main, this

Application of 7-azaisatins in enantioselective Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction

• Qing He,
• Gu Zhan,
• Wei Du and
• Ying-Chun Chen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 309–313, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.33

• high yield by using N-methylisatin (4) as the substrate (Scheme 1). Conclusion In summary, we have developed an efficient and enantioselective Morita–Baylis–Hillman reaction between 7-azaisatins and maleimides and other activated alkenes in the presence of the bifunctional catalyst β-ICD. 7-Azaisatins

Organocatalytic asymmetric Henry reaction of 1H-pyrrole-2,3-diones with bifunctional amine-thiourea catalysts bearing multiple hydrogen-bond donors

• Ming-Liang Zhang,
• Deng-Feng Yue,
• Zhen-Hua Wang,
• Yuan Luo,
• Xiao-Ying Xu,
• Xiao-Mei Zhang and
• Wei-Cheng Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 295–300, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.31

• enantioselectivity (up to 73% ee). A possible transition-state model, characterized by the bifunctional catalyst acting as a multiple hydrogen-bond donor, is also proposed. The application of 1H-pyrrole-2,3-diones in the catalytic asymmetric reactions for the preparation of biologically relevant compounds is

Asymmetric α-amination of β-keto esters using a guanidine–bisurea bifunctional organocatalyst

• Minami Odagi,
• Yoshiharu Yamamoto and
• Kazuo Nagasawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 198–203, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.22

• presence of a guanidine–bisurea bifunctional organocatalyst was investigated. The α-amination products were obtained in up to 99% yield with up to 94% ee. Keywords: α-amination; bifunctional catalyst; guanidine; hydrogen-bonding catalyst; urea; Introduction Asymmetric α-amination of β-keto esters is an

CO₂ Chemistry

• Thomas E. Müller and
• Walter Leitner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 675–677, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.76

• fixation of CO2, which can be applied in the synthesis of carboxylic acids [8]. Also highly interesting is the combination of enzymatic and photocatalytic approaches for activating CO2 [9]. Bifunctional catalyst systems are frequently needed and well-understood in the synthesis of cyclic carbonates [10