Oxetanes: formation, reactivity and total syntheses of natural products

• Peter Gabko,
• Martin Kalník and
• Maroš Bella

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1324–1373, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.101

• (Corey–Chaykovsky reaction), oxetanes can also be conveniently prepared from carbonyl compounds using a larger excess (>2 equiv) of the carbanion. However, harsh reaction conditions should be avoided as using 6 equiv of the ylide 105 with respect to the oxetane and elevated temperatures (120–130 °C) can

Synthesis of β-ketophosphonates through aerobic copper(II)-mediated phosphorylation of enol acetates

• Alexander S. Budnikov,
• Igor B. Krylov,
• Fedor K. Monin,
• Valentina M. Merkulova,
• Alexey I. Ilovaisky,
• Liu Yan,
• Bing Yu and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1192–1200, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.96

• precursors of α-substituted carbonyl compounds that have been recently applied as coupling partners for radical functionalization with the formation of C–C [63][64][65][66] and C–Het [67][68][69][70] bonds. The ready availability of enol acetates from the corresponding carbonyl compounds in just one

• reactions leading to the corresponding unfunctionalized carbonyl compounds. To date, only the Xu group reported oxidative phosphorylation of enol acetates with dialkyl H-phosphonates and Mn(acac)3 as an oxidant (Scheme 1b) [71]. However, the reported approach is limited by an excess of manganese salt, long

Recent total synthesis of natural products leveraging a strategy of enamide cyclization

• Chun-Yu Mi,
• Jia-Yuan Zhai and
• Xiao-Ming Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 999–1009, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.81

• first report by Stork in the 1950s [1][2][3]. Compared with enols, enamines benefit from the lone pair of electrons on the nitrogen atom, which enhances the nucleophilicity of the alkene, enabling it to react with a broad range of electrophiles. This activation mode of carbonyl compounds has been so

4-(1-Methylamino)ethylidene-1,5-disubstituted pyrrolidine-2,3-diones: synthesis, anti-inflammatory effect and in silico approaches

• Nguyen Tran Nguyen,
• Vo Viet Dai,
• Luc Van Meervelt,
• Do Thi Thao and
• Nguyen Minh Thong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 817–829, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.65

• forms 3a’–e’ will be attacked by methylamine (4) to yield the tetrahedral intermediate 6 and then, the intramolecular proton transfer will lead to intermediate 7. It has been proven that Schiff’ bases show normally higher reactivity than the corresponding carbonyl compounds towards nitrogen-containing

Origami with small molecules: exploiting the C–F bond as a conformational tool

• Patrick Ryan,
• Ramsha Iftikhar and
• Luke Hunter

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 680–716, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.54

• scaffolds – alkanes – then we will progress to ethers, alcohols, sugars, amines (and their derivatives), carbonyl compounds, peptides, and finally sulfur-containing compounds. By arranging the material in this way, we hope that newcomers to the field might be able to readily envisage ways to apply these

• reduction of the H-bond-donor acidity of the hydroxy group of 58. (See section 6, which focuses on carbonyl compounds, for a further explanation of the predicted conformation of 58.) Finally, two structural variations on the hydroxy group should be mentioned. First, if the hydroxy group is acylated (i.e

Sequential two-step, one-pot microwave-assisted Urech synthesis of 5-monosubstituted hydantoins from L-amino acids in water

• Wei-Jin Chang,
• Sook Yee Liew,
• Thomas Kurz and
• Siow-Ping Tan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 596–600, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.46

• antibacterial [1], antiviral [2], anticancer [3], anti-inflammatory [4], and anticonvulsant [5]. Hydantoins were traditionally accessed from amino acids by conversion to urea derivatives followed by cyclization (Urech reaction) or from carbonyl compounds through the cyanohydrin intermediate (Bucherer–Bergs) [6

Asymmetric synthesis of β-amino cyanoesters with contiguous tetrasubstituted carbon centers by halogen-bonding catalysis with chiral halonium salt

• Yasushi Yoshida,
• Maho Aono,
• Takashi Mino and
• Masami Sakamoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 547–555, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.43

• -workers developed chiral amine 1 with an electron-deficient iodine atom, which catalyzed the Mannich reaction in excellent yields and enantioselectivities [17]. In 2020, Huber and co-workers reported the bis(iodoimidazolium) 2-catalyzed Mukaiyama–aldol reaction of carbonyl compounds with enol silyl ethers

Vinylogous functionalization of 4-alkylidene-5-aminopyrazoles with methyl trifluoropyruvates

• Judit Hostalet-Romero,
• Laura Carceller-Ferrer,
• Gonzalo Blay,
• Amparo Sanz-Marco,
• José R. Pedro and
• Carlos Vila

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 533–540, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.41

• compounds is a significant and important reaction for the selective synthesis of homoallylic alcohols in an efficient and sustainable way [2][3]. As carbonyl compounds, alkyl trifluoropyruvates [4][5] are an interesting class of compounds that have been used in addition reactions of different nucleophiles

• properties along a C=C double bond [1]. This effect has been established to be very advantageous to expand the range of reactions of different functional groups that can be coupled efficiently through a conjugated π-system. In this context, the addition reaction of vinylogous nucleophiles to carbonyl

Photomechanochemistry: harnessing mechanical forces to enhance photochemical reactions

• Francesco Mele,
• Ana M. Constantin,
• Andrea Porcheddu,
• Raimondo Maggi,
• Giovanni Maestri,
• Nicola Della Ca’ and
• Luca Capaldo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 458–472, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.33

• exposing fresh material to light. In 2016, König and co-workers exploited rod milling to develop a photomechanochemical approach for the riboflavin tetraacetate (RFTA)-catalyzed photocatalytic oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding carbonyl compounds upon irradiation with five LEDs (λ = 455 nm) [69

• benefits of the photomechanochemical approach in the field of synthesis [77]. Specifically, they developed photomechanochemical conditions for the atom-transfer-radical addition (ATRA) of sulfonyl chlorides to alkenes, pinacol coupling of carbonyl compounds, decarboxylative acylation, and photocatalyzed [2

Three-component reactions of conjugated dienes, CH acids and formaldehyde under diffusion mixing conditions

• Dmitry E. Shybanov,
• Maxim E. Kukushkin,
• Eugene V. Babaev,
• Nikolai V. Zyk and
• Elena K. Beloglazkina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 262–269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.18

• various CH acid derivatives and conjugated dienes (cyclopentadiene, 1,3-cyclohexadiene, 2,3-dimethylbutadiene and isoprene), leading to [4 + 2]-cycloaddition adducts (Scheme 1). It should be noted that in previous works describing three-component reactions of carbonyl compounds, conjugated dienes and

Multicomponent reactions driving the discovery and optimization of agents targeting central nervous system pathologies

• Lucía Campos-Prieto,
• Aitor García-Rey,
• Eddy Sotelo and
• Ana Mallo-Abreu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3151–3173, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.261

• a multicomponent reaction to obtain SIRT2 inhibitors (Scheme 12). The authors suggest a Knoevenagel condensation approach between isatin derivatives and ethyl cyanoacetate, followed by a Michael addition with C–H activated carbonyl compounds and intramolecular cyclization [50]. They synthesized 45

Advances in radical peroxidation with hydroperoxides

• Oleg V. Bityukov,
• Pavel Yu. Serdyuchenko,
• Andrey S. Kirillov,
• Gennady I. Nikishin,
• Vera A. Vil’ and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2959–3006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.249

• leads to the formation of the target product 139. Later, iron-catalyzed three-component reactions of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds 140, aldehydes 141, and TBHP leading to α-ester-β-keto peroxides 142 have been developed (Scheme 45b) [106][107][108]. Radical coupling of arylaldehydes 144 with α,β

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

• blocks. When using them as nucleophilic reagents [15][16][17][18][19][20], the reaction between anion species, such as fluorine-containing Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons reagents, and carbonyl compounds led to E-selective olefination (Scheme 1A) [15]. On the other hand, some reactions with electrophilic

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

Synthesis, electrochemical properties, and antioxidant activity of sterically hindered catechols with 1,3,4-oxadiazole, 1,2,4-triazole, thiazole or pyridine fragments

• Daria A. Burmistrova,
• Andrey Galustyan,
• Nadezhda P. Pomortseva,
• Kristina D. Pashaeva,
• Maxim V. Arsenyev,
• Oleg P. Demidov,
• Mikhail A. Kiskin,
• Andrey I. Poddel’sky,
• Nadezhda T. Berberova and
• Ivan V. Smolyaninov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2378–2391, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.202

• heterocycle substitute at the sulfur atom [49][50][54]. Non-enzymatic process of the rat (Wistar) liver homogenate lipid peroxidation (LP) in the presence of additives of target compounds 1–9 was studied in vitro. The concentration of the carbonyl compounds forming in the reaction of the lipid peroxidation

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

• blocks or their transformation with additional components besides hydrazines is a logical entry to MCR syntheses of pyrazoles. Therefore, 1,3-dielectrophiles encompass 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds and α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, including alkenoyl and alkynoyl systems, across various oxidation states

• , 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

• serves a dual role as a Lewis acid and an oxidizing agent. However, a significant limitation of the method is that it only tolerates aliphatic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, as the reaction with aromatic carbonyl compounds leads to very low yields. Improved yields for the latter can be achieved by isolating

Harnessing the versatility of hydrazones through electrosynthetic oxidative transformations

• Aurélie Claraz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1988–2004, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.175

• electron donor to furnish the olefin product 148. In the cathodic chamber, reduction of the acidic proton of TFA counterbalance the overall transformation. A wide range of carbonyl compounds including aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes and ketones as well as various alkene partners were compatible. Of note

The Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reaction in its maturity: innovation and improvements since its 21st birthday (2019–2023)

• Cristina Martini,
• Muhammad Idham Darussalam Mardjan and
• Andrea Basso

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1839–1879, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.162

• series of novel building blocks, mainly carbonyl derivatives, have been used as starting materials. 2.1 Novel aldehydes Carbonyl compounds are among the most common starting materials for multicomponent reactions: aldehydes play a central role also in the GBB-3CR. Several experiments have demonstrated

Benzylic C(sp³)–H fluorination

• Alexander P. Atkins,
• Alice C. Dean and
• Alastair J. J. Lennox

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1527–1547, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.137

• demonstrating their suitability, as precursors for further functionalisation. Reviews on the broad area of C–H fluorination have been written [11][12][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] with the focus varying, for example between aliphatic fluorination [23], α-fluorination of carbonyl compounds [30

Primary amine-catalyzed enantioselective 1,4-Michael addition reaction of pyrazolin-5-ones to α,β-unsaturated ketones

• Pooja Goyal,
• Akhil K. Dubey,
• Raghunath Chowdhury and
• Amey Wadawale

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1518–1526, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.136

• -covalent catalysis via bifunctional hydrogen-bonding organocatalysts. The C-4 nucleophilicity of pyrazolin-5-ones was also explored in enantioselective reactions with α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds through covalent catalysis with chiral amine-based catalysts; however, it has achieved limited success

Tetrabutylammonium iodide-catalyzed oxidative α-azidation of β-ketocarbonyl compounds using sodium azide

• Christopher Mairhofer,
• David Naderer and
• Mario Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1510–1517, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.135

• Christopher Mairhofer David Naderer Mario Waser Institute of Organic Chemistry, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenbergerstrasse 69, 4040 Linz, Austria 10.3762/bjoc.20.135 Abstract We herein report the oxidative α-azidation of carbonyl compounds by using NaN3 in the presence of dibenzoyl

• carbonyl compounds (Scheme 1A). Hereby different strategies using different quaternary ammonium iodide derivatives and different azide sources were investigated and especially Uyanik’s and Ishihara’s recent approach using NaN3 in combination with the carefully designed achiral catalyst C1 represents a

• briefly tested whether this concept can be extended to an analogous α-nitration approach. Different strategies for α-nitrations of carbonyl compounds have been reported [45][46][47][48][49][50], but the use of NaNO2 under simple oxidative conditions has so far received relatively little attention [51

Domino reactions of chromones with activated carbonyl compounds

• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1256–1269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.108

• carbonyl compounds, such as dimethyl acetone-1,3-dicarboxylate and 1,3-diphenylacetone, and with 1,3-bis(silyloxy)-1,3-butadienes, electroneutral equivalents of 1,3-dicarbonyl dianions, allow for a convenient synthesis of a great variety of products. The regioselectivity and course of the reaction depends

• , we studied also cyclization reactions of chromones with heterocyclic enamines [30][31]. The present review aims to provide a personalized account of our work related to domino reactions of various types of chromones with carbonyl compounds, such as 3 and 4, and with 1,3-bis(silyloxy)-1,3-butadienes

• for long chained 2-fluoro-1,3-bis(silyloxy)-1,3-butadienes. In conclusion, the interaction of activated carbonyl compounds with chromones offer a great variety of different reaction pathways leading to various types of products with potential applications in materials science and medicinal chemistry

Mechanistic investigations of polyaza[7]helicene in photoredox and energy transfer catalysis

• Johannes Rocker,
• Till J. B. Zähringer,
• Matthias Schmitz,
• Till Opatz and
• Christoph Kerzig

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1236–1245, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.106

• ]. Prominent examples include: (i) carbonyl compounds such as benzophenone [31][32] and thioxanthone [33][34][35], (ii) TADF emitters with small singlet-triplet energy splitting [8][36], (iii) substitution with heavy atoms such as sulphur [37] and halides [38] for fast ISC, or a combination of the above

Manganese-catalyzed C–C and C–N bond formation with alcohols via borrowing hydrogen or hydrogen auto-transfer

• Mohd Farhan Ansari,
• Atul Kumar Maurya,
• Abhishek Kumar and
• Saravanakumar Elangovan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1111–1166, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.98

• commonly used reaction in synthetic chemistry [50][51]. The selective α-functionalization of carbonyl compounds with organohalides in the presence of bases is one of the most fundamental reactions. This methodology usually suffers from the use of stoichiometric amounts of bases and the use of halides

• corresponding alkylated ketones or alcohols. As depicted in the general Scheme 23, in the first step, the manganese-catalyzed dehydrogenation of alcohols delivers carbonyl compounds, which condense with other carbonyl compounds in the presence of a base to afford unsaturated intermediate compounds. In the final

• synthesize β-branched carbonyl compounds [67]. The reaction conditions were optimized by treating the 2,3,4,5,6-pentamethylacetophenone with cyclohexanol by different manganese complexes. Among all the complexes, 2 mol % of Mn13 and one equiv of t-BuOK as base in toluene at 140 °C for 24 h under an argon

Novel route to enhance the thermo-optical performance of bicyclic diene photoswitches for solar thermal batteries

• Akanksha Ashok Sangolkar,
• Rama Krishna Kadiyam and
• Ravinder Pawar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1053–1068, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.93

• pathway, however the energetic stability of the parent diene favours the reversible photoswitching. Extending the unsaturated bridge of the bicyclic diene with an –O– unit promotes the thermal degradation of the photoproduct to the carbonyl compounds. Among the studied systems, the bicyclic diene