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

• anodic oxidation of chloride ions, thus replacing stoichiometric chemical oxidants. This catalytic electrochemical chlorination method is suitable for β-ketoesters 68 with electron-withdrawing or electron-donating groups on aryl substituents, as well as for β-diketone, and β-ketoamides. In 2020, Fang

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

• are of interest and have been recently investigated by Jørgensen and co-workers. The authors employed an enantioselective aminocatalytic cycloaddition between 5H-benzo[a]pyrrolizine-3-carbaldehydes 22 and naphthyl-substituted nitroalkenes, α,β-unsaturated ketoesters, or α,β-unsaturated aldehydes 23

• heteroannulation [50]. The SPINOL-derived chiral phosphoric acid C26 catalyzed the formation of axially chiral products 81 from diarylketones 79a–f and ketoesters 80a–c (Scheme 26). The substrate scope contained a broad range of substituents, including electron-donor groups and whole benzene rings. The authors

• it with another aromatic moiety such as phenyl or 2-thiophenyl led to no product being formed. An organocatalytic atroposelective three-component cascade heteroannulation was done by Wang et al. [87]. It was a reaction of ketoesters 192, anilines 193, and cyclohexadiones 194 catalyzed by SPINOL

Reactivity of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents bearing a benzylamine with sulfenate salts

• Beatriz Dedeiras,
• Catarina S. Caldeira,
• José C. Cunha,
• Clara S. B. Gomes and
• M. Manuel B. Marques

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3281–3289, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.272

• VIII (named BBX), and investigated its reactivity on the α-amination of indanone-based β-ketoesters (Scheme 1) [4]. Very recently, Minakata’s group also reported iodine(III) reagents with transferable amino groups, particularly a benziodoxolone bearing a transferable NH2 group (IX) [20]. HIRs have been

• moieties to various β-sulfinyl esters via an umpolung mechanism, generating the corresponding sulfonamides. Examples of cyclic HIRs with a nitrogen-based group transfer [4][10][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Electrophilic α‑amination of indanone-based β-ketoesters [4]. Scope of the different (benzylamino

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

• compounds (β-diketones, β-ketoesters, and malonic esters) with TBHP via homogeneous and heterogeneous Cu(II)-catalysis were developed (Scheme 10) [45][46][47]. It was assumed that the reaction pathway includes the formation of diketonate complex A from β-dicarbonyl compound 19 and copper(II) salt, which

• photocatalytic system under visible light irradiation (443 nm) [56]. Peroxidation of β-ketoesters, cyanoacetic esters, and malonic esters 37 was performed using the TBAI/TBHP system (Scheme 15) [57]. The highest product yields in the TBAI-catalyzed peroxidation were achieved with malonic acid esters, in contrast

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

• is that the reaction with methylhydrazine leads to two different regioisomers. Shen et al. used a concept developed by them for the C-acylation of β-ketoesters for the one-pot synthesis of pyrazoles. SmCl3-catalyzed acylation of these yields the 1,3-diketones 4, and after cyclization with hydrazine

• formate (Scheme 8) [58]. Upon reaction with β-ketoesters, hydrazone 30 is formed, which reacts via intramolecular Knoevenagel condensation to give the corresponding pyrazoles 27. The method tolerates β-ketoesters with alkyl substituents and various ketoamides. In addition, an example could be synthesized

• microwave-assisted pseudo-five-component synthesis of tris(pyrazolyl)methanes 35, where first β-ketoesters and hydrazines form pyrazolones 36. One equivalent reacts in a Knoevenagel condensation with 4-formylpyrazole 34 to give pyrazolidine pyrazole 37, while the second equivalent undergoes a Michael

Negishi-coupling-enabled synthesis of α-heteroaryl-α-amino acid building blocks for DNA-encoded chemical library applications

• Matteo Gasparetto,
• Balázs Fődi and
• Gellért Sipos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1922–1932, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.168

• , no reaction was observed with indazoles and furans using the first two conditions, requiring the formation of the ketoesters 4j and 4r first, followed by the functional group interconversion (FGI) with NH2OH·HCl (Scheme 6, blue and green sections). The Riley oxidation of the furanyl derivative 2j

Access to 2-oxoazetidine-3-carboxylic acid derivatives via thermal microwave-assisted Wolff rearrangement of 3-diazotetramic acids in the presence of nucleophiles

• Ivan Lyutin,
• Vasilisa Krivovicheva,
• Grigory Kantin and
• Dmitry Dar’in

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1894–1899, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.164

• reported in the literature are based on the construction of the β-lactam ring (Scheme 1). The main methods include the [2 + 2] cycloaddition of acyl ketenes, generated by various methods, with imines [11][12][13][14] and the Wolff rearrangement of γ-amino-α-diazo-β-ketoesters followed by intramolecular

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

• plausible mechanistic understanding at hand, we next investigated the application scope and limitations of this methodology. As outlined in Scheme 3, a series of differently substituted α-azido-β-ketoesters 2 as well as analogous α-azido-β-ketoketones 5 and the α-azido-β-ketoamide 6 could be accessed

• straightforwardly. Furthermore, this procedure was also successfully extended to γ-butyrolactone-based products 7. Unfortunately, this methodology came to its limits when using tetralone-based β-ketoesters like compound 8, which resulted in a complex product mixture, or the acylic β-ketoester 9, which did not show

• ]. Gratifyingly, employing NaNO2 (2.2 equiv) under our established oxidative α-azidation conditions we found it possible to access the α-NO2-β-ketoesters 10a–c as well (Scheme 4), which in our opinion represents an interesting proof-of-concept for an ammonium hypoiodite-mediated α-nitration. In this case we

Domino reactions of chromones with activated carbonyl compounds

• Peter Langer

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

• a substituent R5 located at carbon C-4 gave good yields, except for methoxy and benzyloxy which did not work at all. Dienes derived from 1,3-diketones (R6 = Me, Ph) gave similar yields to those obtained from dienes derived form β-ketoesters, although yields were slightly lower in case of R6 = Me

• %. Employment of dienes derived from 1,3-diketones (R3 = Me, Ph) proved to be unsuccessful, presumably due to the lower nucleophilicity of these dienes as compared to those derived from β-ketoesters (R3 = Oalkyl). Substituents located at carbon C-4 of the diene (R1) were generally tolerated as well. In fact

Bismuth(III) triflate: an economical and environmentally friendly catalyst for the Nazarov reaction

• Manoel T. Rodrigues Jr.,
• Aline S. B. de Oliveira,
• Ralph C. Gomes,
• Amanda Soares Hirata,
• Lucas A. Zeoly,
• Hugo Santos,
• João Arantes,
• Catarina Sofia Mateus Reis-Silva,
• João Agostinho Machado-Neto,
• Leticia Veras Costa-Lotufo and
• Fernando Coelho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1167–1178, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.99

• . In addition to the synthetic simplicity, the moisture stability of bismuth triflate allows the protocol to be carried out under ambient atmospheric conditions. Results and Discussion Preparation of β-ketoesters We initiated our studies with the preparation of the β-ketoesters, which were synthesized

• according to well-established protocols [71][72][73][74]. The β-ketoesters were obtained employing a sequence of two reactions, the formation of the benzylic alcohol derivative, through a Reformatsky reaction using In(0), followed by a pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) oxidation, giving the β-ketoesters 7a–g

• in moderate to good yields. With the β-ketoesters prepared, we began the synthesis of the Knoevenagel derivatives. To do so, we employed an adapted protocol from the literature. Using 1.00 equiv of β-ketoester, 1.50 equiv of aldehyde, 0.60 equiv of acetic acid, and 0.25 equiv of piperidine, the

Carbonylative synthesis and functionalization of indoles

• Alex De Salvo,
• Raffaella Mancuso and
• Xiao-Feng Wu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 973–1000, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.87

• hexaketocyclohexane octahydrate as the CO source again. This cyclic hexaketone is a non-toxic stable solid and therefore, it is simple and safe to use unlike of carbon monoxide. It was used as reagent to obtain indol-α-ketoesters by the Cu-catalyzed direct double-carbonylation of indoles and alcohols [76]. The

Synthesis of 2,2-difluoro-1,3-diketone and 2,2-difluoro-1,3-ketoester derivatives using fluorine gas

• Alexander S. Hampton,
• David R. W. Hodgson,
• Graham McDougald,
• Linhua Wang and
• Graham Sandford

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 460–469, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.41

• . Monofluorination of 2-ketoesters using fluorine gas has been scaled up to the manufacturing level [33], whereas preparative methods for the synthesis of 2,2-difluoro-3-ketoesters using fluorine gas have not been realized. Ethyl benzoylacetate (4a) was used as a model system for the development of conditions for

• yields. As was observed in attempted fluorination reaction of 1c towards difluorodiketone 3c, methoxy ketoester derivative 4b gave substantial amounts of product arising from competing fluorination of the aromatic ring. Structures of difluorinated ketoesters 5a–h were confirmed by NMR spectroscopy. The

• fluorinations of ethyl benzoylacetate derivatives 4a–g. Conclusion From our experiments, we conclude that quinuclidine is the most effective mediating agent for the difluorination of 1,3-dicarbonyl species using fluorine. Difluorinations of 1,3-diketones 1 and 1,3-ketoesters 4 were achieved by the addition of

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

• complex as a catalyst and a Brønsted base were applied in the procedure. It is interesting to note that in such a method, sulfenylation of NH-oxindoles resulted in the thiolated products with excellent enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee). In 2013, sulfenylation and chlorination of β-ketoesters 93, and 95

• . Sulfenylation and chlorination of β-ketoesters. Intramolecular sulfenoamination of olefins. Plausible mechanism for intramolecular sulfenoamination of olefins. α-Sulfenylation of 5H-oxazol-4-ones. Metal-free C–H sulfenylation of electron-rich arenes. TFA-promoted C–H sulfenylation indoles. Proposed mechanism

New one-pot synthesis of 4-arylpyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridin-6-ones based on 5-aminopyrazoles and azlactones

• Vladislav Yu. Shuvalov,
• Ekaterina Yu. Vlasova,
• Tatyana Yu. Zheleznova and
• Alexander S. Fisyuk

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1155–1160, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.83

• few (Scheme 1). To obtain 4-arylpyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridin-6-ones, the only known one-step method is most often used, including the acid-catalyzed condensation of aminopyrazoles with ketoesters [1][16][18] (method A). Its significant disadvantage is the low yields of the target products (11–60%). Yields

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

• generation of carbene as a reactive intermediate [36][37]. Also, spirocyclic iodonium ylides have been used for radiolabeling techniques [38]. In 2013, Shibata’s research group reported a novel trifluoromethanesulfonyl iodonium ylide for trifluoromethylthiolation of enamines, indoles, and ketoesters

Practical synthesis of isocoumarins via Rh(III)-catalyzed C–H activation/annulation cascade

• Qian-Ci Gao,
• Yi-Fei Li,
• Jun Xuan and
• Xiao-Qiang Hu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 100–106, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.10

• easily available, which have been established as versatile synthetic building blocks for the synthesis of cyclic scaffolds [25]. In 2016, Zhu et al. reported the first example of a Rh-catalyzed C–H functionalization of enaminones with alkynes and α-diazo-β-ketoesters to access naphthalenes [26]. Very

A one-pot electrochemical synthesis of 2-aminothiazoles from active methylene ketones and thioureas mediated by NH₄I

• Shang-Feng Yang,
• Pei Li,
• Zi-Lin Fang,
• Sen Liang,
• Hong-Yu Tian,
• Bao-Guo Sun,
• Kun Xu and
• Cheng-Chu Zeng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1249–1255, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.130

• reacted smoothly with thiourea 2a under the optimized conditions, giving the corresponding products in 30–80% yields (3a–d). In addition, allyl and benzyl acetoacetate were also suitable substrates to give the desired 2-aminothiazoles 3e and 3f in 78% and 52% yields, respectively. β-ketoesters containing

Vicinal ketoesters – key intermediates in the total synthesis of natural products

• Marc Paul Beller and
• Ulrich Koert

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1236–1248, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.129

• Marc Paul Beller Ulrich Koert Fachbereich Chemie, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Hans-Meerwein-Straße 4, 35032 Marburg, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.18.129 Abstract This review summarizes examples for the application of vicinal ketoesters such as α-ketoesters, mesoxalic esters, and α,β-diketoesters as key

• stabilization of reactive conformations by chelation or dipole control. Keywords: aldol addition; ketoesters; natural products; total synthesis; Introduction Vicinal ketoesters contain a carbonyl group adjacent to an ester group. One keto group results in α-ketoesters 1 and two vicinal keto groups lead to α,β

• were used as key intermediates. For reasons of clarity and better comparability all syntheses are strongly summarized highlighting the key step only. The presentation of the examples is structured in three parts: α-Ketoesters as key intermediates: (+)-euphorikanin A, (−)-preussochromone A

Synthesis of 3,4,5-trisubstituted isoxazoles in water via a [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of nitrile oxides and 1,3-diketones, β-ketoesters, or β-ketoamides

• Md Imran Hossain,
• Md Imdadul H. Khan,
• Seong Jong Kim and
• Hoang V. Le

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 446–458, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.47

• 1,3-diketones, β-ketoesters, or β-ketoamides. We optimized the reaction conditions to control the selectivity of the production of isoxazoles and circumvent other competing reactions, such as O-imidoylation or hetero [3 + 2]-cycloaddition. The reaction happens fast in water and completes within 1–2

• , β-ketoesters or β-ketoamides are a commonly used 2-step route to 3,4,5-trisubstituted isoxazoles [24][25]. Xiao Zhou et al. recently reported a direct access to 3,4,5-trisubstituted isoxazoles via an enolate-mediated 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of β-functionalized ketones with nitrile oxides using

• , we herein report a method for the synthesis of 3,4,5-trisubstituted isoxazoles in water under mild basic conditions at room temperature via a [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of nitrile oxides and 1,3-diketones, β-ketoesters, or β-ketoamides (Figure 1). No additional metal catalyst was used. Results and

Synthesis of 5-unsubstituted dihydropyrimidinone-4-carboxylates from deep eutectic mixtures

• Sangram Gore,
• Sundarababu Baskaran and
• Burkhard König

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 331–336, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.37

• of 5-unsubstituted dihydropyrimidinones from β,γ-unsaturated ketoesters in low melting ʟ-(+)-tartaric acid–N,N-dimethylurea mixtures is reported. This solvent-free method is very general and provides easy access to 5-unsubstituted dihydropyrimidinone-4-carboxylate derivatives in good yields

• ketoacids [39]. In the present study, in continuation of our interest in the synthesis of functionalized DHPMs [27], we utilized β,γ-unsaturated ketoesters and subjected them to the melt conditions to achieve the synthesis of 5-unsubstituted DHPMs. We envisaged that the simple Michael addition reaction of

• urea derivatives with β,γ-unsaturated ketoesters and subsequent intramolecular condensation could lead to 5-unsubstituted DHPM derivatives. β,γ-Unsaturated ketoester 7, derived from benzaldehyde and pyruvic acid [40], on exposure to ʟ-(+)-tartaric acid–N,N-dimethylurea (DMU) melt underwent smooth

Organocatalytic asymmetric nitroso aldol reaction of α-substituted malonamates

• Ekta Gupta,
• Narendra Kumar Vaishanv,
• Sandeep Kumar,
• Raja Krishnan Purshottam,
• Ruchir Kant and
• Kishor Mohanan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 217–224, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.25

• reported a squaramide-catalyzed asymmetric nitroso aldol reaction of cyclic β-ketoesters and malonamate [61]. Inspired by this, we decided to investigate the use of malonamate in the asymmetric nitroso aldol reaction using thiourea catalysis. Herein, we report a novel nitroso aldol reaction of malonamates

Regioselective synthesis of methyl 5-(N-Boc-cycloaminyl)-1,2-oxazole-4-carboxylates as new amino acid-like building blocks

• Jolita Bruzgulienė,
• Greta Račkauskienė,
• Aurimas Bieliauskas,
• Vaida Milišiūnaitė,
• Miglė Dagilienė,
• Gita Matulevičiūtė,
• Vytas Martynaitis,
• Sonata Krikštolaitytė,
• Frank A. Sløk and
• Algirdas Šačkus

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 102–109, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.11

• blocks was developed. Regioisomeric methyl 5-(N-Boc-cycloaminyl)-1,2-oxazole-4-carboxylates were prepared by the reaction of β-enamino ketoesters (including azetidine, pyrrolidine or piperidine enamines) with hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Unambiguous structural assignments were based on chiral HPLC

• analysis, 1H, 13C, and 15N NMR spectroscopy, HRMS, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. Keywords: β-enamino ketoesters; heterocyclic amino acids; 15N-labeled 1,2-oxazole; NMR (1H; 13C; 15N); 1,2-oxazole (isoxazole); X-ray structure analysis; Introduction 1,2-Oxazoles (isoxazoles) constitute an

• Meldrum’s acid in the presence of EDC·HCl and DMAP, followed by methanolysis of the corresponding adducts [27][28][31][36][37][38]. Reaction of the resulting β-keto esters 2a–h with N,N-dimethylformamide dimethylacetal afforded cycloaminyl β-enamino ketoesters 3a–h. After isolation of compounds 3a–h from

Recent advances in organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael reactions of amines and amides

• Pratibha Sharma,
• Raakhi Gupta and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2585–2610, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.173

• halogenated 2-hydroxypyridines (pyridin-2(1H)-ones) 38 and α,β-unsaturated 1,4-diketones or 1,4-ketoesters 39 in different solvents. The best results (yield 96%, ee >91%) were obtained on using squaramide catalyst in chloroform. However, for others, the yields ranged from 50–98% with good to excellent

Asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives

• Natália M. Moreira,
• Lorena S. R. Martelli and
• Arlene G. Corrêa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1952–1980, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.128

• compared to the one-pot procedure. The obtained products possess a (R)-configuration, determined by X-ray crystallography (Scheme 26). Sebesta and colleagues described an enantioselective Michael/hemiketalization addition of hydroxycoumarins 1 to enones 2 and ketoesters 86 using squaramide 85 [62]. The

• conjugate addition of 4-hydroxycoumarin (1) to β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters 106 was reported the Kim’s group [69]. In this case, a bifunctional binaphthyl-modified thiourea organocatalyst 108 was used, and among the solvents probed (such as CH2Cl2, CH3CN and toluene), the best results were achieved when the

• [dihydrofurocoumarin/pyrazolone] 83. Michael/hemiketalization addition enantioselective of hydroxycoumarins (1) to: (a) enones 2 and (b) α-ketoesters 86. Synthesis of 2,3-dihydrofurocoumarins 89 through Michael addition of 4-hydroxycoumarins 1 to β-nitrostyrenes 88. Synthesis of pyrano[3,2-c]chromene derivatives 93

Development of N-F fluorinating agents and their fluorinations: Historical perspective

• Teruo Umemoto,
• Yuhao Yang and
• Gerald B. Hammond

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1752–1813, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.123

• -dichlorocamphorsultam) 17-2 [75] (Scheme 37). The maximum enantioselectivity of enolates of β-ketoesters with (−)-9-1 or (+)-9-2, first prepared by Lang in 1988 (see section 1-9), was 70% ee. The asymmetric fluorination with (+)- or (−)-17-2 afforded up to 75% ee as indicated in Scheme 38. The dichloro reagent 17-2