Visible-light-promoted radical cyclisation of unactivated alkenes in benzimidazoles: synthesis of difluoromethyl- and aryldifluoromethyl-substituted polycyclic imidazoles

• Yujun Pang,
• Jinglan Yan,
• Nawaf Al-Maharik,
• Qian Zhang,
• Zeguo Fang and
• Dong Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 234–241, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.15

• exchange between PIDA and CF2HCOOH would generate PhI(OCOCF2H)2 A. Homolysis of A under visible light (72 W white light) produced an iodanyl radical B and a CF2H radical. The CF2H radical regioselectively added to 1a to form intermediate C. Subsequently, intermediate C could be converted into the radical

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

• peroxides, oxaziridines, and their derived species are often applied as terminal oxidants [7][8]. The weakness of the O–O bond allows alkoxy radicals to form through homolysis or reduction [9]. The generated alkoxy radicals provide an accessible tool for selective radical cascades, where a variety of

• photoredox catalysis [26][27][28]. These methods allow selectivity to be controlled despite the presence of the complex cocktail of radical species generated by hydroperoxides under redox or homolysis conditions. The main challenge in selective radical peroxidation is the wide range of possible pathways

Transition-metal-free synthesis of arylboronates via thermal generation of aryl radicals from triarylbismuthines in air

• Yuki Yamamoto,
• Yuki Konakazawa,
• Kohsuke Fujiwara and
• Akiya Ogawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2577–2584, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.216

• , and their derivatives can be easily synthesized by common Grignard reactions [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44]. Three activation methods have been reported for their use as aryl radical sources. It has been reported that the homolysis of Ar–Bi bonds could be achieved by photoirradiation in the presence

• of photocatalysts or UV light irradiation without metal catalysts [45][46][47][48]. Similar homolysis by electrolysis has also been reported [49]. These two activation methods required special equipment (i.e., light sources or electronic devices). To achieve thermal homolysis of the Ar–Bi bonds, the

• the presence of TEMPO, the decomposition of 2 was sightly occurred, and almost all of 2 was recovered (see Supporting Information File 1). Based on the results, diboron 2 could also be activated via the thermal homolysis of the B–B bond in the presence of oxygen (air). Based on the results of the

Efficacy of radical reactions of isocyanides with heteroatom radicals in organic synthesis

• Akiya Ogawa and
• Yuki Yamamoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2114–2128, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.182

• '-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN). Then, E• adds to isocyanide 1 to form imidoyl radical 2, which abstracts hydrogen from E–H. The addition reaction proceeds by a radical chain mechanism, producing the 1,1-addition product 3 with regeneration of E•. In method 2, E• is generated by homolysis of a heteroatom

• , when using sunlight, which is an inexhaustible natural energy, it is expected to be the most environmentally friendly method. The homolysis of E–E upon visible light irradiation is induced by exciting one electron of the isolated electron pair on E to the anti-bonding orbital of the E–E-bond (σ

• • can be generated by photoirradiation. On the other hand, the photoinduced homolysis of groups 13 and 14 interelement compounds with B–B, Si–Si, Sn–Sn bonds, etc. is generally impossible, because such E–E compounds have no isolated electronic pair. Therefore, the use of a photocatalyst (method 3) or

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

• that can produce reactive radicals by homolysis of the C–O bond. These radicals can then go through a variety of transformations that are beneficial for the construction of synthetic materials that are otherwise difficult to access. This study summarizes current developments in the use of organic

• prefunctionalized alcohols that are used under visible-light photoredox conditions to generate alkyl radicals by homolysis of C–O bonds. Thiocarbonyl: In 2014, Ollivier and co-workers [43] demonstrated visible-light-mediated iridium-catalyzed reduction of thiocarbonyl derivatives derived from alcohols. The

• -mediated deoxygenative trifluoromethylation technique worked with both benzylic and unactivated thiocarbonates. The proposed mechanism starts with the homolysis of (bpy)Cu(III)(CF3)3 by blue-light irradiation, which produces CF3 radicals and (bpy)Cu(II)(CF3)2. Subsequently, the interaction between the CF3

Light on the sustainable preparation of aryl-cored dibromides

• Fabrizio Roncaglia,
• Alberto Ughetti,
• Nicola Porcelli,
• Biagio Anderlini,
• Andrea Severini and
• Luca Rigamonti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1076–1087, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.95

• functionalisation on the aromatic ring when used in the dark [20]. A classic example is the bromination of toluene with molecular bromine. When the system is exposed to light (right side of Figure 1), a radical mechanism is initiated by Br• coming from Br2 homolysis. Propagation involves the reversible abstraction

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

• source. Upon light irradiation, it can release an azide radical by homolysis of the I−N3 bond [46]. We were pleased to see that irradiation of a mixture of styrene (1a), Ph-EBX (2) and Ts-ABZ (3) afforded 17% isolated yield of the desired homopropargylic azide 4a (Table 1, entry 1). Heating the reaction

• generate a large quantity of iodanyl radical from Ts-ABZ (3) homolysis and from the addition–elimination on Ph-EBX (2). Since no quencher is present in the mixture, we wondered if the accumulation of those radicals could be responsible for the low yields obtained. Addition of (TMS)3SiH, a H• donor

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

• (PC•–) (Scheme 4A). This strong reducing agent mediates the one-electron reduction of the NHPI ester 10, forming radical anion intermediate 11. Fragmentation of 11 via N–O bond homolysis and decarboxylation forms the key tertiary radical 12 with concomitant formation of phthalimidyl anion (–Nphth) and

Visible-light-induced radical cascade cyclization: a catalyst-free synthetic approach to trifluoromethylated heterocycles

• Chuan Yang,
• Wei Shi,
• Jian Tian,
• Lin Guo,
• Yating Zhao and
• Wujiong Xia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 118–124, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.12

• radicals. This method allows the efficient synthesis of various indole derivatives without the need of photocatalysts or transition-metal catalysts. Mechanism experiments indicate that the process involves a radical chain process initiated by the homolysis of Umemoto's reagent. This straightforward method

• , Umemoto’s reagent undergoes a homolysis process to generate the trifluoromethyl radical species. The trifluoromethyl radical is trapped by the terminal alkene and forms a relayed radical intermediate 6, which is intercepted by the indole ring realizing an intramolecular cyclization (6-exo-trig). The newly

• room temperature without additives. Mechanistic investigations support a photochemical process initiated by the homolysis of Umemoto's reagent under visible light irradiation. This method provides rapid access to a diverse range of trifluoromethylated dihydropyrido[1,2-a]indolone derivatives in

Radical chemistry in polymer science: an overview and recent advances

• Zixiao Wang,
• Feichen Cui,
• Yang Sui and
• Jiajun Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1580–1603, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.116

• ]. In a typical thiol–ene system, the polymerization undergoes a free-radical chain mechanism, involving an initiation step from a thiol group via radical transfer or homolysis (Scheme 11, initiation), radical addition of the thiyl radical to the ene functionality (propagation 1), transfer from the

• , such as organic peroxides, hydrogen peroxide, persulfates undergo homolysis of O–O bonds generating radicals that can break C–H bonds followed by a hydrogen abstraction reaction. Phenolic compounds can be oxidized by molecular oxygen in the presence of laccase, and the resulting phenolic radical reacts

Radical ligand transfer: a general strategy for radical functionalization

• David T. Nemoto Jr,
• Kang-Jie Bian,
• Shih-Chieh Kao and
• Julian G. West

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1225–1233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.90

• achieved (Scheme 1), showing that photolysis of stoichiometric Cu(II) chloride in the presence of unactivated alkenes allows for direct formation of vicinal dichloride products. The mechanistic study implicated initial formation of a chlorine radical through homolysis of a Cu–Cl bond via ligand-to-metal

• is proposed via thermal homolysis of a Mn(III) azide species and RLT from a second equivalent of Mn(III) azide furnishes the desired organic diazide, providing a strong demonstration of the applicability of RLT to not only photochemical but electrochemical conditions as well [35]. RLT in

Photoredox catalysis harvesting multiple photon or electrochemical energies

• Mattia Lepori,
• Simon Schmid and
• Joshua P. Barham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1055–1145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.81

Redox-active molecules as organocatalysts for selective oxidative transformations – an unperceived organocatalysis field

• Elena R. Lopat’eva,
• Igor B. Krylov,
• Dmitry A. Lapshin and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1672–1695, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.179

• ] (Scheme 36). One of the emerging areas in the chemistry of iodine(III) reagents with high synthetic potential is the visible-light induced I–O bond homolysis [152], which is currently employed mainly for the initiation of chain processes or stoichiometric oxidations, but definitely should find application

Simple synthesis of multi-halogenated alkenes from 2-bromo-2-chloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane (halothane)

• Yukiko Karuo,
• Atsushi Tarui,
• Kazuyuki Sato,
• Kentaro Kawai and
• Masaaki Omote

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1567–1574, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.167

• highly halogenated carbon centers, which enable halothane to participate in various reactions such as homolysis of carbon–halogen bonds and deprotonation. Multi-fluorinated compounds such as HCFC-133a (CF3CH2Cl) and HFC-134a (CF3CH2F) have been widely used in reactions with a variety of nucleophiles to

Synthesis of α-(perfluoroalkylsulfonyl)propiophenones: a new set of reagents for the light-mediated perfluoroalkylation of aromatics

• Durbis J. Castillo-Pazos,
• Juan D. Lasso and
• Chao-Jun Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 788–795, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.79

• solubility of this class of molecules, perfluoroalkyl iodides have a tendency to be weakly soluble in common organic solvents (i.e., ethyl acetate and methanol) rendering their application troublesome [9]. Moreover, the homolysis of the perfluoroalkyl iodide produces iodine radicals that can result in stray

• -sulfonylpropiophenone moiety readily undergoes homolysis into three parts upon irradiation of light: a propiophenone radical – forming a stabilized and bulky “dummy group” –, a molecule of SO2, and our radical of interest. Once this radical is formed in solution, radical addition to the aromatic substrate undergoes

• in yields of 64% and 20%, respectively. Arenes containing halogens were attempted; however, in accordance to previous reported literature, the compounds were found to decompose under the ultraviolet radiation necessary for the homolysis of the reagent [25]. Lastly, some heteroaromatic substrates such

Menadione: a platform and a target to valuable compounds synthesis

• Acácio S. de Souza,
• Ruan Carlos B. Ribeiro,
• Dora C. S. Costa,
• Fernanda P. Pauli,
• David R. Pinho,
• Matheus G. de Moraes,
• Fernando de C. da Silva,
• Luana da S. M. Forezi and
• Vitor F. Ferreira

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 381–419, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.43

High-speed C–H chlorination of ethylene carbonate using a new photoflow setup

• Takayoshi Kasakado,
• Takahide Fukuyama,
• Tomohiro Nakagawa,
• Shinji Taguchi and
• Ilhyong Ryu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 152–158, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.16

• homolysis of the Cl–Cl bond to generate chlorine radicals. In a subsequent step, a SH2 reaction by chlorine radicals at C–H bonds generates alkyl radicals and HCl. The second SH2 reaction between alkyl radicals and molecular chlorine then occurs to give the C–H chlorinated product and a chlorine radical

Iron-catalyzed domino coupling reactions of π-systems

• Austin Pounder and
• William Tam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2848–2893, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.196

• isotope studies revealed the cleavage of the C(sp3)–H bond may be involved in the rate-determining step of this transformation. Mechanistically, prototypical homolysis of the peroxide in the presence of the Fe(II) catalyst will generate the alkyl radical 78 formed via hydrogen abstraction. The

• yield. After the prototypical homolysis of the peroxide in the presence of the Fe(II) catalyst, a silicon-centered radical 110 is formed via hydrogen abstraction. The addition of radical 110 across the alkene generates the alkyl radical intermediate 111. Oxidation of 111 by Fe(III)Ot-Bu delivers the

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

• . The mechanisms underlying photoredox catalysis of CuI complexes have special features and include ligand exchange and rebound mechanisms [38]. CuII complexes provide new avenues for photoredox catalysis, since CuII can undergo ligand exchange/light accelerated homolysis processes, which accelerates

• homolysis to produce CuI species and radical intermediates. These intermediates can initiate productive organic transformations [39]. 2.1 Visible-light-mediated Cu(I) catalytic cycle Upon the absorption of a photon (Scheme 4), CuILn forms a singlet MLCT state, which subsequently yields the excited triplet

Photoredox catalysis in nickel-catalyzed C–H functionalization

• Lusina Mantry,
• Rajaram Maayuri,
• Vikash Kumar and
• Parthasarathy Gandeepan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2209–2259, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.143

• the excited photocatalyst to the 5-IV complex resulted in excited 5-V. Subsequently, the homolysis of the Ni–Br bond in 5-V followed by a HAT process results in species 5-VI. The nickel–alkyl–aryl complex 5-VI undergoes reductive elimination to release the desired product 10a and regenerates the

• ]. Homolysis of the excited nickel(II) species 7-V results in the formation of a bromine radical, which then readily abstracts the allylic C(sp3)‒H to give the allylic radical species. Thus, the generated allylic radical species rebound to nickel complex and followed by reductive elimination delivers the

• the mechanistic studies, the authors proposed a catalytic cycle involving a triplet–triplet energy transfer between the excited iridium photocatalyst 17-II and nickel(II) complex 17-IV (Figure 17) [121]. The excited nickel(II) complex 17-V undergoes Ni‒Cl bond homolysis followed by a HAT event of the

Breaking paracyclophane: the unexpected formation of non-symmetric disubstituted nitro[2.2]metaparacyclophanes

• Suraj Patel,
• Tyson N. Dais,
• Paul G. Plieger and
• Gareth J. Rowlands

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1518–1526, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.109

• pathway involves electrophilic addition para to the phenol to form the ipso-substituted nitro 12 compound. Subsequent rearrangement of the nitro species 12 to the nitrito dienone 13, by homolysis and recombination of the radical pair, is followed by hydrolysis to furnish alcohol 6 [70]. Addition of the

The preparation and properties of 1,1-difluorocyclopropane derivatives

• Kymbat S. Adekenova,
• Peter B. Wyatt and
• Sergazy M. Adekenov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 245–272, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.25

• the activation energies for both cis–trans-isomerization and for the transformation of vinylcyclopropanes into cyclopentenes. Both processes could occur by a C–C-bond homolysis to form a diradical. Computational studies by Gety, Hrovat, and Borden indicated that there would be a preference for

• -valent transition metals such as Pd(0) also have a valuable catalytic role, particularly because of their ability to participate in oxidative addition reactions and to form π-allyl complexes. In the absence of nucleophiles, homolysis of the distal C–C bond takes place under the effect of high temperature

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

When metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization meets visible-light photocatalysis

• Lucas Guillemard and
• Joanna Wencel-Delord

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1754–1804, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.147

An overview on disulfide-catalyzed and -cocatalyzed photoreactions

• Yeersen Patehebieke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1418–1435, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.118

• of vinylcyclopropanes with olefins [8]. The reaction mechanism of this cycloaddition process was similar to other thiyl radical-catalyzed cycloaddition cascade reactions. The alkylthiyl radical generated by the homolysis of a disulfide-bridged peptide precatalyst under UV-light irradiation triggers

• radical 17 (Mes–Acr–Ph•). The subsequent reaction of the formed styrene radical 16 with another styrene 18 gives the radical species 19 and the reoxidation of the acridine radical 17 by a thiyl radical, which is generated by the homolysis of diphenyl disulfide, regenerating the photocatalyst. In a

• decomposes into ketone or aldehyde products (Scheme 9). However, in the absence of light or oxygen, disulfide could not catalyze the oxidative cleavage of olefins. It was proposed that disulfide and the olefin might be able to form a charge-transfer complex, which may rationalize the unconventional homolysis