Formaldehyde surrogates in multicomponent reactions

• Cecilia I. Attorresi,
• Javier A. Ramírez and
• Bernhard Westermann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 564–595, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.45

• only when aliphatic disulfides are used because of the higher Lewis basicity of the alkylated sulfur atom, which poisons the copper catalyst. When the reaction was carried out with paraformaldehyde and other solvents (such as DMF, 1,4- dioxane, toluene, and DCE) the yield was very low (between 0–34

• , in which the copper catalyst (CuCl, 15 mol %) only activates the C–H bond of the terminal alkyne, and the resulting nucleophile A reacts with the iminium ion F generated from CH2Cl2 and the secondary amine via an aminal intermediate E (Scheme 24) [68]. However, Yu et al. found no evidence for the

Dioxazolones as electrophilic amide sources in copper-catalyzed and -mediated transformations

• Seungmin Lee,
• Minsuk Kim,
• Hyewon Han and
• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 200–216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.12

• ) nitrenoid intermediate INT-7. Subsequent nitrene insertion, protodemetalation, and intramolecular cyclization furnish the desired 1,2,4-triazole. 1.3 Three-component formation of N-acyl amidines In 2019, N-acyl amidines were prepared from dioxazolones using a copper catalyst with terminal alkynes and

• copper catalyst, providing the vinyl copper intermediate INT-30. This intermediate then undergoes oxidative addition to the N–O bond of the dioxazolone to generate INT-31. Subsequently, decarboxylative reductive elimination occurs, forming the copper imidate INT-32. The active copper species is

• was proposed for the copper-catalyzed synthesis of primary amides. Dioxazolone first binds to the copper catalyst, forming the dioxazolone-copper complex (INT-34). The silane reductant then reduces INT-34, forming the copper imidate radical species INT-35, furnishing the formation of primary amides 28

Recent advances in electrochemical copper catalysis for modern organic synthesis

• Yemin Kim and
• Won Jun Jang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 155–178, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.9

• terminal alkyne 2 in the presence of a chiral copper catalyst and base, which reacts with the electrophilic iminium intermediate 15 to yield the desired chiral product 14. Active Cu(I) is regenerated either through cathodic reduction or by reaction with TEMPO–H. A year after the Mei group’s report, the Xu

• pair (AQDS•−, 20•+) then generate a benzylic radical 23 and a semiquinone radical ([AQDS–H]•) through proton transfer. The benzylic radical intermediate 23 subsequently reacts with the chiral copper catalyst L3Cu(II)(CN)2 (25) to form a Cu(III) complex 26, which undergoes reductive elimination to

• produce a chiral product 22. The reduced copper catalyst 24 and [AQDS–H]• are reoxidized to L3Cu(II)(CN)2 (25) and AQDS at the anode, respectively, completing the catalytic cycle. In the same year, following a similar approach, the Liu group explored a Cu-catalyzed photoelectrochemical enantioselective

Nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling of 2-fluorobenzofurans with arylboronic acids via aromatic C–F bond activation

• Takeshi Fujita,
• Haruna Yabuki,
• Ryutaro Morioka,
• Kohei Fuchibe and
• Junji Ichikawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 146–154, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.8

• (GlassContour) equipped with columns of activated alumina and supported-copper catalyst (Q-5) before use. 1,4-Dioxane and methanol were distilled from sodium, and stored over 4 Å molecular sieves. Unless otherwise noted, materials were obtained from commercial sources and used directly without further

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

• or radical (Figure 1). The latter is typically operative when the reaction is carried out under oxidative conditions, usually in the presence of O2 and TEMPO, involving the formation of radical species through single-electron transfer (SET) from a copper catalyst to a precursor. Subsequent addition

• some cases, activation of a carbonyl group by the copper catalyst to facilitate nucleophilic attack has also been reported. Moreover, both activations can be operative simultaneously. Since copper shows affinity either for multiple C–C bonds or polar functional groups, it seems the ideal tool for this

• inhibition of the reaction in the presence of TEMPO confirmed this hypothesis. The copper catalyst assisted in the addition step of the alkylsulfonyl radical X to the alkyne. The presence of 2-iodopropane as additive improved the yields. The role was unclear, but it might facilitate the conversion of the

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

• –peroxidation of unsaturated alkenes 43 using AgSCF3 and TBHP was realized in the presence of the copper catalyst (Scheme 18) [60]. The radical trifluoromethylthiolation of alkenes 43 triggers a 1,5-HAT and further recombination of the generated C-centered radical with the tert-butylperoxy radical to afford the

Recent advances in transition-metal-free arylation reactions involving hypervalent iodine salts

• Ritu Mamgain,
• Kokila Sakthivel and
• Fateh V. Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2891–2920, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.243

• copper catalyst afforded nearly better results for the arylated products. In 2022, Linde et al., demonstrated a conventional approach for achieving arylations of nitrogen- and oxygen nucleophiles via SNAr reaction, using o-fluorinated diaryliodonium salts 40, which enabled access to a greater range of

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

• chlorides in the presence of a copper catalyst to afford the corresponding tetrafluoroethylenated ketones 19. The ketones were then condensed with (R)-1-phenylethylamine under the influence of TiCl4 [34][35] to prepare various optically active imines (R)-16 in high yields (Scheme 3). Based on the result of

Copper-catalyzed yne-allylic substitutions: concept and recent developments

• Shuang Yang and
• Xinqiang Fang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2739–2775, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.232

• showed that the reaction exhibits a negative nonlinear effect, while the kinetic experiments indicate that a mono-copper catalyst might be involved in the rate-limiting step. They speculated that the observed nonlinear effect might arise from the existence of both the inactive homo-dimer of ligands and

• yne-allylic cation intermediate, followed by an intramolecular cyclization. The disparity in reactivity could stem from the chelation between acyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl enolates and the copper catalyst, enhancing γ-position attack in an intramolecular manner. Conversely, Meldrum's acid's rigid cyclic

• , followed by a Conia-ene cyclization. The absolute configuration of the products is controlled by the ligand, which further confirms the remote stereocontrol of the copper catalyst. They obtained a single crystal of dinuclear copper and confirmed that the catalytic efficiency of the single crystal is

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

• secondary and tertiary substrates too. In 2012, Lectka reported a fluorination of mostly aliphatic C–H bonds that used a molecularly defined copper catalyst with a bis imine ligand, along with co-catalytic N-hydroxyphthalimide and a phase-transfer catalyst [51]. Although only a few benzylic substrates were

• yields quoted vs copper catalyst. Iron-catalysed intramolecular fluorine-atom-transfer from N–F amides. Vanadium-catalysed benzylic fluorination with Selectfluor. NDHPI-catalysed radical benzylic C(sp3)–H fluorination with Selectfluor. Potassium persulfate-mediated radical benzylic C(sp3)–H fluorination

Ortho-ester-substituted diaryliodonium salts enabled regioselective arylocyclization of naphthols toward 3,4-benzocoumarins

• Ke Jiang,
• Cheng Pan,
• Limin Wang,
• Hao-Yang Wang and
• Jianwei Han

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 841–851, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.76

• , herein, we utilized a copper catalyst to activate the C–I bond of diaryliodonium salts in the generation of aryl radicals, thus resulting in an annulation reaction with naphthols and substituted phenols. This approach yielded a diverse array of 3,4-benzocoumarin derivatives bearing various substituents

SOMOphilic alkyne vs radical-polar crossover approaches: The full story of the azido-alkynylation of alkenes

• Julien Borrel and
• Jerome Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 701–713, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.64

• ]. Moreover, different azide sources are known to efficiently promote the diazidation of alkenes in the presence of a copper catalyst, often proceeding via a radical mechanism [24][29][30][31]. A second approach would involve SOMOphilic alkynes to trap the radical by a purely open-shell mechanism (Scheme 1B

• a non-complexed copper catalyst formed during the transformation [24][51]. When iridium-based photocatalysts were tested, no product formation or only traces were observed (Table 2, entries 2 and 3). Using Ru(bpy)3Cl2·6H2O afforded 17% of 4a, a similar yield as with Cu(dap)2Cl with a reduced

Copper-catalyzed multicomponent reaction of β-trifluoromethyl β-diazo esters enabling the synthesis of β-trifluoromethyl N,N-diacyl-β-amino esters

• Youlong Du,
• Haibo Mei,
• Ata Makarem,
• Ramin Javahershenas,
• Vadim A. Soloshonok and
• Jianlin Han

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 212–219, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.21

• efficient way for the synthesis of β-trifluoromethyl β-diacylamino esters. Furthermore, this reaction represents the first example of a Mumm rearrangement of β-trifluoromethyl β-diazo esters. Keywords: β-carbonyl diazo; copper catalyst; fluoroalkyl diazo; Mumm rearrangement; unsymmetrical β-diacylamino

• reacts with the copper catalyst generating the Cu-carbene intermediate B, which undergoes nucleophilic attack by acetonitrile to form the intermediate C. Subsequently, nucleophilic addition of benzoic acid to intermediate C affords the acetimidic anhydride D with the release of CuI catalyst for the next

Metal-catalyzed coupling/carbonylative cyclizations for accessing dibenzodiazepinones: an expedient route to clozapine and other drugs

• Amina Moutayakine and
• Anthony J. Burke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 193–204, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.19

• DBDA in a one-pot manner. In the first reaction, o-phenylenediamine (1a) and 2-bromophenylboronic acid (7) were reacted in a pressure flask under an inert atmosphere using copper iodide (CuI) as the copper catalyst, Et3N, and Mo(CO)6 as CO surrogate in the presence of Pd(OAc)2/XantPhos as catalytic

• (1a), followed by the oxygen-promoted insertion of the phenylboronic acid coupling partner 7 to deliver intermediate II that undergoes reductive elimination to give diarylamine 3a along with regeneration of the copper catalyst (Scheme 5). Then, a palladium-promoted oxidative addition of the C–Br bond

Copper-promoted C5-selective bromination of 8-aminoquinoline amides with alkyl bromides

• Changdong Shao,
• Chen Ma,
• Li Li,
• Jingyi Liu,
• Yanan Shen,
• Chen Chen,
• Qionglin Yang,
• Tianyi Xu,
• Zhengsong Hu,
• Yuhe Kan and
• Tingting Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 155–161, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.14

• intermediate C is then generated, followed by the combination of the bromine anion with intermediate B. Finally, selective C5 bromination is accomplished via aromatic electrophilic substitution of 1a with intermediate C promoted by the copper catalyst to afford the desired product 3aa. Conclusion In summary

Morpholine-mediated defluorinative cycloaddition of gem-difluoroalkenes and organic azides

• Tzu-Yu Huang,
• Mario Djugovski,
• Sweta Adhikari,
• Destinee L. Manning and
• Sudeshna Roy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1545–1554, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.111

• did not improve the yields when a cyano group was present on the azide handle. In fact, the use of CuSO4 with the cyano group lowered the yield (31%, see entry 12 in Table 1) which might be due to a coordination of the copper catalyst with the cyano group hindering the triazole formation [37]. The

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

• the presence of N-(2-bromophenylthio)succinimide 1’ and copper catalyst led to intermolecular sulfenoamination of alkenes and subsequent C–N coupling to produce dihydrobenzothiazine structures 27 in a one-pot manner. Furthermore, deprotection of the amine unit by K2CO3 and Na metal was performed in

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

Copper-catalyzed N-arylation of amines with aryliodonium ylides in water

• Kasturi U. Nabar,
• Bhalchandra M. Bhanage and
• Sudam G. Dawande

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1008–1014, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.76

• , catalyzed by a copper catalyst [39]. Murphy and co-workers reported blue LED-mediated metal-free cyclopropanation of alkenes with iodonium ylides through a diradical intermediate [40]. However, iodonium ylides are relatively unexplored for the arylation of amines. So far only Spyroudis’s group reported N

• 35% yield (Table 1, entry 2). When the reaction was carried out at 60 °C the product yield was improved to 49% with complete consumption of starting materials in 4 hours (Table 1, entry 3). Next, to examine the role of the copper catalyst, we screened a variety of Cu(II) salts, namely, Cu(OAc)2

Synthesis of aliphatic nitriles from cyclobutanone oxime mediated by sulfuryl fluoride (SO₂F₂)

• Xian-Lin Chen and
• Hua-Li Qin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 901–908, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.68

• Scheme 5. Under the promotion of the base, cyclobutanone oxime preliminarily reacts with SO2F2, generating the activated precursor fluorosulfonate, which further reacts with the alkene 2a in the presence of the copper catalyst under Ar atmosphere for 9 h (Scheme 5a). The corresponding product was

Inline purification in continuous flow synthesis – opportunities and challenges

• Jorge García-Lacuna and
• Marcus Baumann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1720–1740, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.182

• -butylimino-2-diethylamino-1,3-dimethylperhydro-1,3,2-diazaphosphorine on polystyrene) which is valuable for reaction scale-ups [75] is used. Alternatively, a CuAAc (copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition) reaction has been demonstrated where the copper catalyst is supported on an Amberlist A-21 resin

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

• and 23 steps) to access grayananes with a cyclopentenone moiety on the A ring. It should be noted that although this is a racemic synthesis, intermediate 37 was also synthesized in enantioenriched form using a chiral copper catalyst for the cyclopropanation and a chiral auxiliary on the ester moiety

Preparation of β-cyclodextrin-based dimers with selectively methylated rims and their use for solubilization of tetracene

• Konstantin Lebedinskiy,
• Volodymyr Lobaz and
• Jindřich Jindřich

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1596–1606, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.170

• most crucial restriction in coupling two CD units by propargyl ether is the volatility of the latter compound. Thus, we discovered that performing the reaction at room temperature, prolonging the reaction time, and using an equivalent amount of the copper catalyst resulted in the best yields. Another

Synthesis of novel alkynyl imidazopyridinyl selenides: copper-catalyzed tandem selenation of selenium with 2-arylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and terminal alkynes

• Mio Matsumura,
• Kaho Tsukada,
• Kiwa Sugimoto,
• Yuki Murata and
• Shuji Yasuike

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 863–871, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.87

• reagents and 1,3-dipolar azide–alkyne cycloaddition based on the alkyne moiety. Keywords: alkynyl imidazopyridinyl selenide; copper catalyst; imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine; selenium; tandem reaction; terminal alkyne; Introduction Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines are important heterocycles that serve as key functional

Inductive heating and flow chemistry – a perfect synergy of emerging enabling technologies

• Conrad Kuhwald,
• Sibel Türkhan and
• Andreas Kirschning

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 688–706, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.70

• reactors (Scheme 12, case A). There, it performs a second role by also becoming a source for a copper catalyst, either by being released into solution or by acting as a surface-active species capable of promoting "click" reactions between alkynes and azides [76][77][78][79][80][81]. The process can be