Recent advances in allylation of chiral secondary alkylcopper species

• Minjae Kim,
• Gwanggyun Kim,
• Doyoon Kim,
• Jun Hee Lee and
• Seung Hwan Cho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 639–658, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.51

• nucleophiles 5 that have conjugate acids with pKa values greater than 25 such as organolithium, organomagnesium, organozinc, and organozirconium reagents. This crucial distinction effectively expanded the scope of allylic substitution reactions beyond traditional boundaries. The evolution of copper-catalyzed

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

• was crucial for the formation of the organozinc reagent (Scheme 19) [36]. Spiro-2,3-dihydroquinazolinones 26 were formed exploiting a one-pot multicomponent reaction, using isatoic anhydride, ketones and primary amines. The isolation of the amide intermediate XXIII obtained by the copper-catalyzed

Multicomponent synthesis of α-branched amines using organozinc reagents generated from alkyl bromides

• Baptiste Leroux,
• Alexis Beaufils,
• Federico Banchini,
• Olivier Jackowski,
• Alejandro Perez-Luna,
• Fabrice Chemla,
• Marc Presset and
• Erwan Le Gall

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2834–2839, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.239

• Paris, France 10.3762/bjoc.20.239 Abstract The use of alkylzinc bromides in the multicomponent Mannich reaction is described. Heteroleptic organozinc compounds were obtained in THF or 2-MeTHF by direct insertion of zinc dust into the C–Br bond of alkyl bromides. It was found that the presence of a

• stoichiometric amount of LiCl was essential for the efficiency of the subsequent three-component coupling with aldehydes and amines. A variety of primary, secondary, and tertiary organozinc reagents as well as secondary amines and aromatic aldehydes could be used for the straightforward preparation of α-branched

• amines. Interestingly, whereas previously reported work describing the preparation and reaction of organozinc iodides in acetonitrile showed higher reactivity of secondary organozinc reagents over primary ones, reactions in THF in the presence of LiCl led to opposite results, with higher reactivity of

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

• within 4 h in the dark, irradiation with blue light halves the reaction time for many compounds. Overall, these observations are in line with those of Alcazar et al. [43]. In their work, the authors demonstrated the formation of a complex between palladium and the organozinc reagent which is absorbing in

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

• of RAEs with organozinc reagents under Co-catalysis, effecting diverse arylation, alkenylation, and alkynylation reactions [92]. The second type of reaction is referred to as cross-electrophile coupling and involves the Ni-catalyzed reaction of NHPI esters with aryl- and vinyl halides under reducing

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

• functionalization of aryl C(sp2)–H bonds. FeCl3-catalyzed carbosulfenylation of unactivated alkenes. Copper-catalyzed electrophilic thiolation of organozinc halides. h-BN@Copper(II) nanomaterial catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of sulfoximines and N‑(arylthio)succinimide. AlCl3‑mediated cyclization and

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

• selective method for the synthesis of a wide range of organic compounds [55][56]. Organometallic reagents, such as organolithium, organomagnesium, and organozinc reagents are commonly used in conjugate addition reactions. 2.2.1 Reaction with Grignard reagents: Organomagnesium reagents, such as Grignard

• site-selective NHC–Cu-catalyzed hydroboration of enantiomerically enriched allenes and conversion to the corresponding β-vinyl ketones demonstrates the importance of the strategy. An example is shown below (Scheme 44). 2.2.4 Reaction with organozinc reagents: Organozinc reagents, such as diethylzinc

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

• intermediates among other metal enolates obtained in conjugate additions. Experimental General procedure for the one-pot conjugate addition of organozinc reagents to acylimidazole followed by trapping with carbocations: In a flame-dried Schlenk flask flushed with Ar, Cu(OTf)2 (1.81 mg, 0.005 mmol, 2 mol %) and

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

• were successfully employed in asymmetric conjugate additions (ACA) [3][4][5][6][7][8][9], mainly organozinc [10], Grignard [11][12][13], trialkylaluminum [14], or organozirconium reagents [15]. Additions with these reagents lead to corresponding zinc, magnesium, aluminum, and zirconium enolates, which

• recent realizations of this strategy focusing on lesser-studied trapping reactions and works after 2010. We also present here our attempts to broaden the scope of these enolate trapping reactions by using different types of electrophilic reagents. Review Conjugate additions with organozinc reagents

• Following the seminal work of Feringa in 1997 [21], the tandem asymmetric organozinc conjugate addition followed by subsequent aldol reaction was scarcely applied in the last decade. Welker and Woodward studied the reaction of zinc enolates 2 with chiral acetals 3 (Scheme 2) [22]. The Lewis acid (TiCl4 or

Transition-metal-catalyzed domino reactions of strained bicyclic alkenes

• Austin Pounder,
• Eric Neufeld,
• Peter Myler and
• William Tam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 487–540, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.38

• –Fe(II) complex 82. Transmetalation with an organozinc produces 78a which can be trapped by an electrophile to generate the final product 79a. Cobalt-catalyzed reactions In 2014, the Yoshikai lab investigated the Co-catalyzed addition of arylzinc reagents 83 of norbornene derivatives 15 (Scheme 14

1,4-Dithianes: attractive C2-building blocks for the synthesis of complex molecular architectures

• Bram Ryckaert,
• Ellen Demeyere,
• Frederick Degroote,
• Hilde Janssens and
• Johan M. Winne

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 115–132, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.12

• °C and 0 °C, temperatures at which these organometallic reagents are also reported to be quite stable. The zincated dithiins can also be prepared by transmetalation of the magnesiated dithiins at −30 °C, and these organozinc reagents can then be used in room temperature Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling

• , a reactivity mode normally observed for electron-rich heteroarylzinc species. This mild metalation reaction of dithiins, and the unique stability of the organozinc derivatives further opens the door for synthetic applications of these heterocycles that aim to conserve the dithiin ring system

Synthesis and characterization of S,N-heterotetracenes

• Astrid Vogt,
• Florian Henne,
• Christoph Wetzel,
• Elena Mena-Osteritz and
• Peter Bäuerle

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2636–2644, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.214

• -dibromothiophene 6 and Pd(dppf)Cl2 as catalyst to give the corresponding dibromide 7 in a yield of 70%. Organozinc species 6 was obtained from 2,3-dibromothiophene by lithiation with n-BuLi and reaction with zink dichloride. Annulation to TIPS-protected SN4-Hex 8 was achieved in 87% yield by a tandem Buchwald

Disposable cartridge concept for the on-demand synthesis of turbo Grignards, Knochel–Hauser amides, and magnesium alkoxides

• Mateo Berton,
• Kevin Sheehan,
• Andrea Adamo and
• D. Tyler McQuade

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1343–1356, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.115

• combined with a solution-phase reagent, including: (1) copper(I) oxide to produce N-heterocyclic carbene–Cu(I) complexes for use as catalysts [13]; (2) proline to perform proline-based catalytic reactions [14]; (3) zinc powder to produce organozinc halides in tandem with Negishi couplings [15]; (4) zinc

• advantages allow a more straightforward production and use of these critical reagents. The preparation of organozinc species using zinc packed-bed columns [15][33][34][35] provides examples for the progression toward the on-demand synthesis of other organometallic reagents. While the concept of a reactive

• use a practical system with a broad range of substrates [40][41][42]. The Alcázar group reported the generation and subsequent use of Grignard reagents [40]. In 2018, the Loren group extended the scope of the organozinc reagents made in flow to aryl and tertiary alkyl halides by the in situ formation

Fluorinated phenylalanines: synthesis and pharmaceutical applications

• Laila F. Awad and
• Mohammed Salah Ayoup

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1022–1050, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.91

• reported herein different methods for their synthesis. 1.1. Negishi cross coupling of aryl halide and organozinc compounds Jackson and co-workers reported the synthesis of a range of phenylalanine derivatives via Negishi cross-coupling reactions of aryl halides and Zn homoenolates of the protected (R

• )-iodoalanine 2. The reaction was activated using Pd(0) as a catalyst. A palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction between an organozinc iodide and aryl halides offers a convenient method for the direct preparation of protected fluorinated Phe analogues 3. Thus, cross coupling of the protected iodoalanine 2

• reactions, rather than the less-reactive organozinc reagents [36] (Scheme 1). Decreasing the molar ratio of Pd2(dba)3/SPhos to 0.25:0.5 mol % provided a lower yield of 3a (21%), whereas 3b showed only a slight decrease in yield (77%). The two-inseparable para/meta isomers of all-cis-2,3,5,6

Copper-catalysed alkylation of heterocyclic acceptors with organometallic reagents

• Yafei Guo and
• Syuzanna R. Harutyunyan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1006–1021, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.90

• heterocyclic ring, while the second part deals with acceptors in which the reacting unsaturated double bond is located outside of the heterocyclic unit (e.g., alkenyl-substituted heterocycles). The organometallics discussed in this minireview include organoaluminium, organozinc, organozirconium, organolithium

• enantioselectivity have been reported for conjugate additions of both organoaluminium and organozinc reagents, these reagents also present major drawbacks, namely their commercial availability and atom efficiency, given that only one alkyl group is transferred from the organometallic reagent to the Michael acceptor

• . In contrast, Grignard reagents are very favourable organometallics in terms of both their availability and atom efficiency. On the other hand, Grignard reagents are significantly more reactive than organoaluminium and organozinc reagents, rendering the catalytic control of both the regio- and

Copper-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate addition of organometallic reagents to challenging Michael acceptors

• Delphine Pichon,
• Jennifer Morvan,
• Christophe Crévisy and
• Marc Mauduit

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 212–232, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.24

• catalytic species, the resulting metallic enolate intermediate can also react with the starting material to form the aldol byproduct, significantly altering the yield of the expected 1,4-product (Scheme 1). The first successful copper-catalyzed ECA to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with organozinc and Grignard

Allylic cross-coupling using aromatic aldehydes as α-alkoxyalkyl anions

• Akihiro Yuasa,
• Kazunori Nagao and
• Hirohisa Ohmiya

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 185–189, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.21

• , agrochemicals and bioactive natural products. Generally, α-alkoxyalkyl anions are presynthesized as stoichiometric organometallic reagents such as organolithium, organozinc, organocuprate, organostannane, organosilane and organoboron compounds [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Alternatively, we showed that easily available

Recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed incorporation of fluorine-containing groups

• Xiaowei Li,
• Xiaolin Shi,
• Xiangqian Li and
• Dayong Shi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2213–2270, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.218

Synthesis of the polyketide section of seragamide A and related cyclodepsipeptides via Negishi cross coupling

• Jan Hendrik Lang and
• Thomas Lindel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 577–583, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.53

• sp3–sp2 Negishi cross coupling. The required organozinc reagent 8 has been applied occasionally and is accessible from the corresponding commercially available chiral bromide [30][31][32][33][34]. The coupling partner would be an (E)-iodoalkene that was to be constructed from enantiomerically pure (R

• published a route to a 1:1 mixture of diastereomers of a TBS-protected analogue of building block 18 [41]. Negishi cross coupling of sp3 organozinc homoenolate 8 (2.75 equiv) and iodoalkene 18 (10 mol % [Pd(dppf)Cl2 × DCM] in DCM) afforded a satisfying 75% yield of the protected nonenoic acid 20 (Scheme 3

• ). For the synthesis of organozinc homoenolate 8, the MnBr2/CuCl-catalyzed reaction of diethylzinc with β-bromopropionic acid ester 19 in DMPU proved to be the best choice [42]. Racemization was avoided. The PMP protecting group was removed (CAN) affording methyl ester 7 (82%, Scheme 3). For comparison

Synthesis of C₃-symmetric star-shaped molecules containing α-amino acids and dipeptides via Negishi coupling as a key step

• Sambasivarao Kotha and
• Saidulu Todeti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 371–377, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.33

• electroluminescent devices [33]. To address these challenges, we [34] and others [35][36] have synthesized functionalized C3-symmetric molecules containing amino acids and peptides. The Negishi cross coupling [37][38] is a reliable synthetic method, which involves palladium or nickel-catalyzed coupling of organozinc

• iodo compound 6 was treated with freshly activated Zn in DMF at room temperature to afford the zinc insertion product 7 (Scheme 1) [43]. With the organozinc compound 7 at hand we turned to the synthesis of the halide component for the attempted Negishi coupling. For this 4-iodoacetophenone (8) was

• treated with silicon tetrachloride and ethanol (SiCl4/EtOH) at room temperature for 6 h to produce the iodonated trimerized product 9 in 71% yield (Scheme 2) [45][46]. Then, the organozinc reagent 7 was coupled with triiodo derivative 9 in the presence of tetrakis(triphenylphosphane)palladium(0) (Pd(PPh3

Cobalt- and rhodium-catalyzed carboxylation using carbon dioxide as the C1 source

• Tetsuaki Fujihara and
• Yasushi Tsuji

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2435–2460, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.221

• transmetalation between D and AlMe3, with the concomitant regeneration of methyl-Co(I) A (step d). Carboxyzincation of alkynes The good reactivity and high functional-group compatibility of organozinc compounds render them as important reagents in organic synthesis [38][39]. For their preparation, direct and

• useful methods such as the transition-metal-catalyzed carbozincation of alkynes that affords stereodefined alkenylzinc compounds have been developed. To date, a variety of organozinc reagents (RZnX and R2Zn: R = aryl, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, allyl, and benzyl groups) have been used in these reactions

Practical tetrafluoroethylene fragment installation through a coupling reaction of (1,1,2,2-tetrafluorobut-3-en-1-yl)zinc bromide with various electrophiles

• Ken Tamamoto,
• Shigeyuki Yamada and
• Tsutomu Konno

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2375–2383, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.213

• into the CF2–Br bond of commercially available 4-bromo-3,3,4,4-tetrafluorobut-1-ene in DMF at 0 °C for 0.5 h, The resultant polyfluorinated zinc reagent was found to be thermally stable at ambient temperature and storable for at least 1.5 years in the refrigerator. This CF2CF2-containing organozinc

• stability is highly desirable. Our strategy focused on the preparation of a thermally stable CF2CF2-containing metal species for which the “unreactive” form can be easily changed to the “reactive” form through chemical transformation. Out of a variety of organometallics, we selected an organozinc reagent

• that possesses higher thermal stability than the corresponding organolithium or -magnesium species due to the almost covalent C–Zn bond [29][30]. Moreover, organozinc reagents can be easily transformed to the “reactive” species, through a transmetallation process with a transition metal (e.g., Pd or Cu

Visible light-mediated difluoroalkylation of electron-deficient alkenes

• Vyacheslav I. Supranovich,
• Vitalij V. Levin,
• Marina I. Struchkova,
• Jinbo Hu and
• Alexander D. Dilman

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1637–1641, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.139

• availability issues [25][26][27][28][29]. Recently, we developed a general protocol for the synthesis of iodides 1 from organozinc reagents and a source of difluorocarbene [30][31][32] (Scheme 1). Moreover, it was shown that compounds bearing the CF2I group can be obtained from carbonyl compounds and

Three-component coupling of aryl iodides, allenes, and aldehydes catalyzed by a Co/Cr-hybrid catalyst

• Kimihiro Komeyama,
• Shunsuke Sakiyama,
• Kento Iwashita,
• Itaru Osaka and
• Ken Takaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1413–1420, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.118

• organolithium, organomagnesium, organozinc, and organochromium A, to facilitate addition reactions of appropriate carbon electrophiles such as aldehydes (Scheme 1, top) [1]. In contrast, π-electrophilic carbon-connected late transition metals B facilitate the carbometalation of carbon–carbon multiple bonds

Recent developments in the asymmetric Reformatsky-type reaction

• Hélène Pellissier

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 325–344, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.21

• ][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Moreover in 2014, two book chapters dealing with organozinc reagents were published covering the literature up to 2011 [14][15], and a review focusing on general SmI2-mediated cross-coupling reactions including only two references dated of 2013 concerning diastereoselective