Red light excitation: illuminating photocatalysis in a new spectrum

• Lucas Fortier,
• Corentin Lefebvre and
• Norbert Hoffmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 296–326, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.22

• involving π–π-stacking [75]. The resulting radical anion releases NO also yielding the anion 63. Electron transfer to the radical cation of the photocatalyst regenerates it. In this step, the neutral radical 64 is also formed. Hydrogen abstraction (hydrogen atom transfer, HAT) yields compound 65. NO and the

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

• abstraction to yield the hydrodifluoromethylation product. Building upon this work, we hypothesized that if the newly formed alkyl radical could undergo intramolecular cyclization with an aromatic ring, instead of hydrogen abstraction, it could enable the construction of polycyclic structures. Thus, as part

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 and reactivity of the di(9-anthryl)methyl radical

• Tomohiko Nishiuchi,
• Kazuma Takahashi,
• Yuta Makihara and
• Takashi Kubo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2254–2260, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.193

• pathway involving hydrogen abstraction from water yielding 4, and a major pathway involving oxygen addition to the central carbon to afford 1,2-dioxetane (DOT) intermediate. Usually, DOT derivatives are known to readily decompose [38], and this DOT intermediate is also considered to decompose upon C–C and

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

• aware of resource recycling, and promote the use of natural energy [16]. The following three methods are generally used to generate heteroatom radicals (E•) (Scheme 1). In method 1, E• is generated by hydrogen abstraction from E–H by cyanoisopropyl radicals generated by thermal decomposition of 2,2

• product (c-C6H11CH2CH2CN) after hydrogen abstraction from tris(trimethylsilyl)silane (TTMSS, (Me3Si)3SiH) (Scheme 9b) [44]. Triethylsilane (Et3SiH), one of the most popular hydrosilanes, has a strong Si–H bond (90 kcal/mol), and therefore the radical-chain reaction using Et3SiH is often difficult to

• generates a stannylated imidoyl radical 20. The subsequent 5-exo cyclization, hydrogen abstraction from n-Bu3SnH, and aromatization successfully afforded the stannylated indole derivative 21 (Scheme 13) [8][54][55][56]. The stannyl group of 21 could be transferred to aryl or vinyl group by cross-coupling

Ring opening of photogenerated azetidinols as a strategy for the synthesis of aminodioxolanes

• Henning Maag,
• Daniel J. Lemcke and
• Johannes M. Wahl

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1671–1676, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.148

• synthesis of azetidinols. Mechanistically, the Norrish–Yang cyclization involves a 1,5-hydrogen abstraction (HAT) step followed by ring closure to forge the azetidine scaffold (Scheme 2a, 1 → 3, via 1,4-biradical 2) [26]. The respective α-aminoacetophenones 1 were synthesized using a modular approach

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

• be required to promote hydrogen abstraction. By changing the photocatalyst to xanthone and replacing Selectfluor with 3 equivalents of Selectfluor II, the authors afforded gem-difluoride products of primary and secondary benzylic substrates in high yields (Figure 24). In 2014, Lectka and co-workers

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

• reaction time (Table 1, entry 7), giving total conversion and excellent selectivity toward 3a. Water is an essential constituent of the system, as its polar nature favours the extraction of HBr from the organic phase, resulting in a useful shift of the reversible hydrogen abstraction from the substrate

Photoinduced in situ generation of DNA-targeting ligands: DNA-binding and DNA-photodamaging properties of benzo[c]quinolizinium ions

• Julika Schlosser,
• Olga Fedorova,
• Yuri Fedorov and
• Heiko Ihmels

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 101–117, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.11

• radicals 4 and 5, namely by addition of the radical or by hydrogen abstraction at the methylene group of the ethyl substituent (Scheme 4). Subsequently, the intermediate radicals 4 and 5 induce DNA-strand breaks initiated by hydrogen abstraction reactions at the ribose residues [78][87]. Most notably

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

• technique requires radical generation on the polymer backbone. A typical approach involves hydrogen abstraction by organic oxidants such as oxygen radicals from peroxide initiators [114], which is similar to the radical crosslinking process, vide infra. Radicals may also be generated thermally, through

• vinyl groups [132], demonstrating a promising new orientation of radical hydrosilylation. It is noteworthy, that since the 1940s, polysiloxanes were crosslinked via hydrogen abstraction from Si–CH3 and a radical coupling mechanism like polyolefins, vide supra [133]. Irradiation can also lead to 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

BINOL as a chiral element in mechanically interlocked molecules

• Matthias Krajnc and
• Jochen Niemeyer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 508–523, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.53

• radical addition of a thiol-based stopper to the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl unit in 12% yield. In this reaction, addition of the thiyl radical to the β-position first gives rise to the corresponding rotaxane radical with the unpaired electron in the α-position, followed by hydrogen abstraction from the next

• thiol. This generates a new stereocenter in the α-position, which takes place under the chiral environment of the BINOL-based macrocycle. However, the hydrogen abstraction takes place with little stereoselectivity, so that both diastereoisomers are formed in almost equal amounts (er = 53:47, see Figure

DABCO-promoted photocatalytic C–H functionalization of aldehydes

• Bruno Maia da Silva Santos,
• Mariana dos Santos Dupim,
• Cauê Paula de Souza,
• Thiago Messias Cardozo and
• Fernanda Gadini Finelli

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2959–2967, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.205

• radical hydrogen abstraction may be possible under similar conditions [31][32]. However, even small amounts of DABCO (Table 1, entry 1) seem to completely shut down this alternative path, probably due to a fast quenching of the excited state photocatalyst, leading to no mechanism competition under the

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

• would give the oxindole scaffold. Hydrogen abstraction would regenerate the reduced iron catalyst and produce the final product. Two years later, Zhou and co-workers expanded the reaction for the synthesis of substituted isoquinoline-1,3(2H,4H)-dione derivatives 64 (Scheme 10) [81]. Both laboratories

• 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

• in the presence of radical scavengers. Both laboratories suggested the mechanism, wherein, after tert-butoxyl radical production, hydrogen abstraction can generate the appropriate radical species. Subsequent radical addition to the π-system followed by a 5-endo-trig radical cyclization would afford

Sustainable manganese catalysis for late-stage C–H functionalization of bioactive structural motifs

• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1733–1751, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.122

• the A-ring system were the most reactive sites for hydrogen abstraction, yielding fluorinated steroids 4a and 4b in 32% and 23% yield, respectively. For both products, α-fluorination was dominant over β-fluorination, likely because α-fluorination occurred on the less sterically hindered face

Methodologies for the synthesis of quaternary carbon centers via hydroalkylation of unactivated olefins: twenty years of advances

• Thiago S. Silva and
• Fernando Coelho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1565–1590, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.112

• (reductive ATR), in which carbon-centered radicals are added to the olefin double bond, followed by a hydrogen abstraction, are a complementary approach to the MHAT methodologies and allow the generation of anti-Markovnikov hydroalkylation products [112][113][114][115][116]. The polar complementarity

• -substituted iodides (Scheme 36B). The radical addition of the electron-poor carbon-centered radical formed to the olefin double bond then leads to another radical intermediate that, after hydrogen abstraction from TBC, affords 92. The ethyl and the α-EWG-substituted radicals formed in the initial steps could

Icilio Guareschi and his amazing “1897 reaction”

• Gian Cesare Tron,
• Alberto Minassi,
• Giovanni Sorba,
• Mara Fausone and
• Giovanni Appendino

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1335–1351, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.93

• irreversible one-electron oxidation at 0.80 V, in accordance with the involvement of oxygen in the reaction. Remarkably, when the glutarimide was labeled with deuterium in position 3, the deuterium labeling was transferred to the hydrocarbon liberated in the reaction, showing that hydrogen abstraction was

• carried out by the alkyl residue lost from C-4. Based on these observations, a mechanism was proposed, triggered by hydrogen abstraction from C-3 by oxygen (Scheme 5). The stabilized radical generated in this way acts then as a chain carrier, aromatizing by loss of one of the alkyl residues at C-4. In

• turn, this next abstracts hydrogen at C-3, regenerating the carrier and continuing the cycle. The C–H bond at position 3 of Guareschi imides is unusually weak. Hydrogen abstraction by an alkyl radical and formation of a hydrocarbon C–H bond is strongly exothermic (calculated enthalpy change: ≈20 kcal

Heterogeneous photocatalytic cyanomethylarylation of alkenes with acetonitrile: synthesis of diverse nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds

• Guanglong Pan,
• Qian Yang,
• Wentao Wang,
• Yurong Tang and
• Yunfei Cai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1171–1180, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.89

• radical A. The subsequent hydrogen abstraction by radical A yields the key alkyl radical B. The addition of radical B or A to the alkene 7a following by an intramolecular cyclization provides the radical intermediates C or E, which are oxidized by the hole of CN-K via SET delivering the product 8a or

Manganese/bipyridine-catalyzed non-directed C(sp³)–H bromination using NBS and TMSN₃

• Kumar Sneh,
• Takeru Torigoe and
• Yoichiro Kuninobu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 885–890, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.74

• gram scale. The introduced bromine atom can be converted into fluorine and allyl groups. Keywords: bromination; C–H transformation; hydrogen abstraction; manganese; radical; Introduction Organic halides are versatile precursors for various synthetic protocols and are frequently used to introduce a

• homolytic cleavage of the weak Br–N3 bond in bromine azide [54][55]; (3) the bromine radical can also be generated from NBS with the formation of a succinimide radical; (4) alkyl radical intermediate A is then formed via hydrogen abstraction by the succinimidyl radical and/or azidyl radical [56][57]; (5

Pentannulation of N-heterocycles by a tandem gold-catalyzed [3,3]-rearrangement/Nazarov reaction of propargyl ester derivatives: a computational study on the crucial role of the nitrogen atom

• Giovanna Zanella,
• Martina Petrović,
• Dina Scarpi,
• Ernesto G. Occhiato and
• Enrique Gómez-Bengoa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 3059–3068, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.255

• hydrogen abstraction and protodeauration with HOTf. Triflate-mediated abstraction of the hydrogen atom Ha and protodeauration. Synthesis of the enynyl acetate starting material 14. Synthesis and cyclization of enynyl acetate 20. Gold(I)-catalyzed [3,3]-rearrangement/Nazarov reaction of 14.a Supporting

All-carbon [3 + 2] cycloaddition in natural product synthesis

• Zhuo Wang and
• Junyang Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 3015–3031, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.251

• catalytic amount of tributylstannane [40] led to a radical cyclization, in which the resultant alkyl radical formed was trapped by AIBN to give a proposed nitrogen-centered radical 70. An 1,4-hydrogen abstraction of the nitrogen-centered radical on 70 produced carbon-centered radical 71, which underwent

Metal-free synthesis of phosphinoylchroman-4-ones via a radical phosphinoylation–cyclization cascade mediated by K₂S₂O₈

• Qiang Liu,
• Weibang Lu,
• Guanqun Xie and
• Xiaoxia Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1974–1982, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.164

• bond of 1 to generate a new carbon-centered radical II, with sequential attack on the aldehyde group. The oxygen radical III thus formed undergoes a formal 1,2-H shift to generate the benzyl radical IV [45][46]. Finally, hydrogen abstraction by the sulfate radical anion (SO4•−) from the benzyl radical

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

• by homolysis of diphenyl disulfide under visible light triggers the HAT-initialized pathway 1. The hydrogen abstraction from the Hantzsch ester 44 by the thiyl radical 43 gives the ester radical 45. Then, the subsequent SET from the Hantzsch ester radical 45 to the acetamide 46 forms the amide

Oxime radicals: generation, properties and application in organic synthesis

• Igor B. Krylov,
• Stanislav A. Paveliev,
• Alexander S. Budnikov and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1234–1276, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.107

• intermediate, 4,5-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazole. An example of such intermediate 74 is shown in Scheme 27. Oxidative aromatization of 74 leads to 1,2,4-oxadiazole 72a (Scheme 26). The second pathway, hydrogen abstraction followed by β-scission presumably leads to iminyl radical, which forms the observed

p-Pyridinyl oxime carbamates: synthesis, DNA binding, DNA photocleaving activity and theoretical photodegradation studies

• Panagiotis S. Gritzapis,
• Panayiotis C. Varras,
• Nikolaos-Panagiotis Andreou,
• Katerina R. Katsani,
• Konstantinos Dafnopoulos,
• George Psomas,
• Zisis V. Peitsinis,
• Alexandros E. Koumbis and
• Konstantina C. Fylaktakidou

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 337–350, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.33

• one of the residual fragments produced by the N–O homolytic cleavage is a carboxylic or a sulfonic acid, generated upon hydrogen abstraction from the corresponding oxygen centred radicals, carbonyloxyl and sulfonyloxyl, respectively. Some are used in the field of photoresists for semiconductor