Cu(OTf)₂-catalyzed multicomponent reactions

• Sara Colombo,
• Camilla Loro,
• Egle M. Beccalli,
• Gianluigi Broggini and
• Marta Papis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 122–145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.7

• . Electron-poor and electron-rich aromatic aldehydes gave good results, whereas aliphatic aldehydes gave moderate yields (Scheme 11) [24]. The asymmetric conjugate addition of dialkylzinc and benzaldehyde to unsaturated carbonyls under copper catalysis in the presence of optically pure phosphanes was

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

• transformation is an asymmetric conjugate addition leading to a central chiral intermediate that tautomerizes to the axially chiral product. Chiral phosphoric acid C33 was utilized in the construction of products 136 bearing both axial and central chirality (Scheme 40) [68] through the reaction of bisindoles 134

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

• , they can be attacked by a nucleophile and undergo a 1,2-addition or conjugate addition leading to the production of allylic amines or aliphatic imines, respectively. They can also behave as C4 synthons in cycloaddition reactions such as the aza-Diels–Alder reaction, giving access to nitrogen-containing

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

Access to optically active tetrafluoroethylenated amines based on [1,3]-proton shift reaction

• Yuta Kabumoto,
• Eiichiro Yoshimoto,
• Bing Xiaohuan,
• Masato Morita,
• Motohiro Yasui,
• Shigeyuki Yamada and
• Tsutomu Konno

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2776–2783, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.233

• published that the asymmetric conjugate addition of 4-methylphenylboronic acid towards (E)-5-bromo-4,4,5,5-tetrafluoro-1-phenyl-2-penten-1-one (8) in the presence of a rhodium catalyst coordinated with (S)-BINAP gave the corresponding Michael adduct 9 in 94% enantiomeric excess (reaction 2, Scheme 1) [22

Hypervalent iodine-mediated cyclization of bishomoallylamides to prolinols

• Smaher E. Butt,
• Konrad Kepski,
• Jean-Marc Sotiropoulos and
• Wesley J. Moran

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2455–2460, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.209

• important area of study as this ring system is prevalent in many useful molecules. Typical literature procedures include multistep derivations of proline itself, e.g., the destruction of the stereocenter and then its reinstallation by an enantioselective conjugate addition [9]. Other methods include the

• enantioselective conjugate addition to α,β-unsaturated pyroglutamic acid derivatives followed by deoxygenation [10], and the enantioselective organocatalytic reaction between 2-acylaminomalonates and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes [11][12]. The development of new synthetic methods using hypervalent iodine reagents has

Natural resorcylic lactones derived from alternariol

• Joachim Podlech

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2171–2207, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.187

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

• 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

Diastereoselective synthesis of highly substituted cyclohexanones and tetrahydrochromene-4-ones via conjugate addition of curcumins to arylidenemalonates

• Deepa Nair,
• Abhishek Tiwari,
• Banamali Laha and
• Irishi N. N. Namboothiri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2016–2023, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.177

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

• the conjugate addition product 3aa in 58–62% yield with 74% ee (Table 1, entry 1). On the other hand, 9-amino-9-deoxyepicinchonine (II) [30] furnished the opposite enantiomer ent-3aa in 62% yield and 66% ee (Table 1, entry 2). Among the screened organocatalysts (see Table S1 in Supporting Information

• %) furnished ent-3aa in 76% yield and 87.5% ee (Table 1, entry 13). With the optimal reaction conditions at hands, the 1,4-conjugate addition reaction of a series of α,β-unsaturated ketones 1 with pyrazolin-5-one (2a) were studied next (Scheme 2). Aryl α,β-unsaturated ketones bearing a halogen, electron

• ). Representative examples of asymmetric organocatalytic conjugate addition of pyrazolin-5-ones to α,β-unsaturated ketones and present study. Scope of substrates. Reaction conditions: 1 (0.3 mmol), 2 (0.2 mmol), 15 mol % of catalyst I, 30 mol % A5 (for 3) or 15 mol % catalyst II, 30 mol % A5 (for ent-3) in 1.0 mL

Generation of alkyl and acyl radicals by visible-light photoredox catalysis: direct activation of C–O bonds in organic transformations

• Mithu Roy,
• Bitan Sardar,
• Itu Mallick and
• Dipankar Srimani

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1348–1375, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.119

• bond activation of benzyl alcohols. Deoxygenative arylation of alcohols using NHC to activate alcohols. Deoxygenative conjugate addition of alcohol using NHC as alcohol activator. Synthesis of polysubstituted aldehydes. Funding The author thanks SERB, India (CRG/2021/000402) for financial assistance.

(Bio)isosteres of ortho- and meta-substituted benzenes

• H. Erik Diepers and
• Johannes C. L. Walker

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 859–890, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.78

• 1,4-BCHs (Scheme 11B) [55]. From carboxylic acid 100e, Curtius rearrangement led to amine 101 and a photoredox decarboxylative conjugate addition to diester 102. From boronate ester 100f, oxidative deborylation led to alcohol 103, arylation led to furan 104 and Matteson homologation to boronate ester

Mechanisms for radical reactions initiating from N-hydroxyphthalimide esters

• Carlos R. Azpilcueta-Nicolas and
• Jean-Philip Lumb

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 346–378, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.35

• esters for the construction of quaternary carbons via conjugate addition of 3° radicals [39][40]. In general, this transformation operates under a reductive quenching photocatalytic cycle, requiring a stoichiometric reductant (Scheme 4A). Both TM complexes, and organic dyes such as eosin Y [41][42][43

• CO2. Radical 12 undergoes intermolecular addition to the olefin acceptor 13 to form radical intermediate 14. Finally, under reductive conditions radical 14 can undergo hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) or sequential electron transfer and proton transfer (ET/PT) to form the conjugate addition product 15

Additive-controlled chemoselective inter-/intramolecular hydroamination via electrochemical PCET process

• Kazuhiro Okamoto,
• Naoki Shida and
• Mahito Atobe

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 264–271, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.27

• of conjugate addition of a cathodically generated carbamate anion was ruled out, prompting us to consider that N-alkylation proceeded via a radical mechanism. On the other hand, the addition of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP) led to the predominant formation of cyclized dimer 4 without N

Catalytic multi-step domino and one-pot reactions

• Svetlana B. Tsogoeva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 254–256, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.25

• facile stereoselective tandem reaction based on the asymmetric conjugate addition of dialkylzinc reagents to unsaturated acylimidazoles, followed by trapping of the intermediate zinc enolate with carbocations [12]. A practical one-pot synthesis of fluorescent pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridin-6-ones by reacting 5

Using the phospha-Michael reaction for making phosphonium phenolate zwitterions

• Matthias R. Steiner,
• Max Schmallegger,
• Larissa Donner,
• Johann A. Hlina,
• Christoph Marschner,
• Judith Baumgartner and
• Christian Slugovc

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 41–51, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.6

• the mentioned reactions, the first step of the catalytic cycle is the nucleophilic attack of the phosphine on the electrophile, in many cases an electron-deficient olefin. The zwitterion formed from this conjugate addition can subsequently act as a nucleophile or as a base [3][4][5]. The efficiency of

• this zwitterion formation is of great importance since it is the initiation step for the catalytic cycle in Michael reactions [8]. Generally, the conjugate addition is favored for strong nucleophiles, which is why electron-rich trialkylphosphines were among the first catalysts used in this type of

• for the conversion of acrylamide, which is probably disturbed when the hydrogen bond donor solvent methanol is interacting with the amide group and/or the hydroxy group. Conclusion The conjugate addition of 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-(diphenylphosphino)phenol to Michael acceptor molecules allows for a facile

Application of N-heterocyclic carbene–Cu(I) complexes as catalysts in organic synthesis: a review

• Nosheen Beig,
• Varsha Goyal and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1408–1442, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.102

• diversity, low cost, and versatile applications. This article overviews applications of NHC–Cu(I) complexes as catalysts in organic synthesis over the last 12 years, which include hydrosilylation reactions, conjugate addition, [3 + 2] cycloaddition, A3 reaction, boration and hydroboration, N–H and C(sp2)–H

• complex 57 was obtained through reduction of the phenoxyimine-imidazolium bromide 55a (R = t-Bu) with NaBH4 followed by successive alkylation with iPrBr and reaction with Cu2O (Scheme 19) [32]. The use of the synthesized complexes 56a and 57 as precatalysts for the 1,4-conjugate addition to enones and the

• [(IMes)2Cu]+FHF− (91) was also obtained. These complexes exhibit an interesting catalytic activity that will be described later. 2 Application as catalysts In 2001, Woodward, for the first time, reported an NHC–Cu-mediated catalysis in the conjugate addition of diethylzinc to enones (Scheme 33) [46

Non-noble metal-catalyzed cross-dehydrogenation coupling (CDC) involving ether α-C(sp³)–H to construct C–C bonds

• Hui Yu and
• Feng Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1259–1288, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.94

• reaction. First, ether radicals A are produced by the reaction with a tert-butoxyl radical. The ether radicals A could undergo a conjugate addition to the 1,4-unsaturated system to form a new radical intermediate B. This intermediate extracts a hydrogen from tert-butanol to form a neutral target product

Metal catalyst-free N-allylation/alkylation of imidazole and benzimidazole with Morita–Baylis–Hillman (MBH) alcohols and acetates

• Olfa Mhasni,
• Jalloul Bouajila and
• Farhat Rezgui

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1251–1258, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.93

• alcohols 4, such as 4a, starts with a conjugate addition of imidazole (2a) at the C-β position of the Michael acceptor 4a, followed by elimination of the hydroxy moiety, affording the intermediate I. Similarly, a further second β’-conjugate addition of imidazole (2a) to I might occur, followed by

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

• bulkier. The obtained nitrocyclopropane was transformed into furan upon treatment with tin(II) chloride via a ring-opening/ring-closure process. Keywords: acetoxyiodine; conjugate addition; dihydrofuran; nitroalkene; nitrocyclopropane; Introduction 3-Arylated 2-nitrocyclopropane-1,1-dicarbonylic acid

• ). These structural features enable the construction of a five-membered ring upon treatment with alkenes [9], diazo compounds (reaction g) [10], and nitriles [11]. Several approaches are available for the synthesis of cyclopropanedicarboxylates 1a, which consist of three steps: 1) conjugate addition, 2

• ) 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

Asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and reaction with carbocations on acylimidazole Michael acceptors

• Brigita Mudráková,
• Renata Marcia de Figueiredo,
• Jean-Marc Campagne and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 881–888, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.65

• 10.3762/bjoc.19.65 Abstract We present here a stereoselective tandem reaction based on the asymmetric conjugate addition of dialkylzinc reagents to unsaturated acylimidazoles followed by trapping of the intermediate zinc enolate with carbocations. The use of a chiral NHC ligand provides chiral zinc

• obtained by other conjugate addition reactions. Keywords: acylimidazole; asymmetric catalysis; carbocation; conjugate addition; enolate; Introduction Asymmetric metal-catalyzed conjugate additions provide access to numerous chiral scaffolds. This type of C–C bond formation efficiently enables the

• . Results and Discussion For initial experiments, we have selected the conjugate addition of Me2Zn to acylimidazole 1a catalyzed by a chiral NHC ligand derived from imidazolium salt L1. This NHC precursor has been described previously by Gérard, Mauduit, Campagne and co-workers [19]. The ligand L1 is

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

• years of development. The effort of our group to broaden possibilities to engage metal enolates in reactions with new electrophiles is described. The material is divided according to the organometallic reagent employed in the conjugate addition step, and thus to the particular metal enolate formed

• . Short information on applications in total synthesis is also given. Keywords: asymmetric catalysis; conjugate addition; electrophile; enolate; tandem reaction; Introduction The formation of complex chiral molecules is a crucial task of organic synthesis that enables the synthesis of pharmaceuticals

• , and Mannich-type reactions, Michael addition, nucleophilic substitutions, cyclopropanations, and reactions with carbocations. The field of asymmetric conjugate addition with its extension into enolate trapping reactions began to develop approximately in 1996. In this review article, we analyze more

An accelerated Rauhut–Currier dimerization enabled the synthesis of (±)-incarvilleatone and anticancer studies

• Tharun K. Kotammagari,
• Sweta Misra,
• Sayantan Paul,
• Sunita Kunte,
• Rajesh G. Gonnade,
• Manas K. Santra and
• Asish K. Bhattacharya

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 204–211, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.19

• addition reaction involved. The low reactivity of intermolecular RC reactions can be improved by incorporating the nucleophilic functionality within a molecule like I (Scheme 1). This nucleophilic functionality present within the enone system first undergoes an intramolecular conjugate addition and is

• followed by an intermolecular conjugate addition to form a C–C bond (path A). In an alternative approach (path B) first I undergoes a nucleophilic conjugate addition in intermolecular fashion to give intermediate III and followed by an intramolecular addition to give compound IV. In both paths, the

• involvement of one intramolecular and one intermolecular conjugate addition reaction leads to notable high acceleration in RC reactions. Based on the accelerated intermolecular Rauhut–Currier reaction reported in the literature [7][8][9] and our interest in the synthesis of dimeric complex natural products

Synthetic study toward tridachiapyrone B

• Morgan Cormier,
• Florian Hernvann and
• Michaël De Paolis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1741–1748, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.183

• chiral tetrahydrofuran (Scheme 1b). To assemble the skeleton of the natural product, we developed a new strategy in which the α,α’-dimethoxy-γ-pyrone motif 2 was first desymmetrized by a sequence encompassing the conjugate addition of 2-lithio-1,3-dithiane, elimination of methoxide lithium, and

• ambitious coupling, however, met a dead-end and a less direct approach was explored. With a more reactive and less hindered nucleophile, we explored the coupling of lithiocyclopentadiene to compound 2. After conjugate addition and elimination of lithium methoxide, the resulting 6a would be deprotonated by

• AlMe3 to 4,4-dimethyl-2,5-cyclohexadienone in the presence of a copper salt/chiral ligand and silylating reagent [37][38]. The racemic conjugate addition of nucleophiles to 5 was first investigated, starting with the Gilman reagent which was used in Takemoto and Iwata study (Scheme 6). In addition, a

Total synthesis of grayanane natural products

• Nicolas Fay,
• Rémi Blieck,
• Cyrille Kouklovsky and
• Aurélien de la Torre

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1707–1719, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.181

• radical cyclization of an alkynyl ketone as the key step. The synthesis started by a Cu-catalyzed conjugate addition of the vinyl Grignard reagent, followed by TMS α-propargylation under basic conditions, affording the TMS-alkynyl ketone 76 as the major diastereomer (Scheme 11). Originally a Au-catalyzed