Enhancing chemical synthesis planning: automated quantum mechanics-based regioselectivity prediction for C–H activation with directing groups

• Julius Seumer,
• Nicolai Ree and
• Jan H. Jensen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1171–1182, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.94

• whether the connectivity has changed. The connectivity of the complex before and after optimization is compared only for bonds not involving the transition metal since the determination of bonds to transition metals is prone to errors. Instead, the geometry of the four atoms adjacent to the transition

• Pd(OAc)2 catalyst, which cannot be used since the following step relies on the Merck molecular force field (MMFF, version MMFF94s), which is not parameterized for transition metals like Pd [30][31]. If the embedding fails, the corresponding pair is removed. When a 3D geometry could be obtained, we

Recent advances in synthetic approaches for bioactive cinnamic acid derivatives

• Betty A. Kustiana,
• Galuh Widiyarti and
• Teni Ernawati

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1031–1086, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.85

• release (82). Numerous cinnamic acid derivatives with electron-withdrawing and -donating groups were converted to the corresponding amides 76–81 in moderate to excellent yields (Scheme 24B) [60]. 2.1.2 Transition-metal catalysis: Several transition metals have been exploited to catalyze O/N-acylations of

• intermediate 85 followed by reductive elimination with tertiary amine to give intermediate 86. The utilization of earth-abundant transition metals for O/N-acylation has emerged due to their low cost. For instance, Son and co-workers (2023) utilized a more cost-efficient Cu salt to access N-acyliminophosphorane

• /N-acylation reactions, metal catalysts, particularly precious transition metals, are considered less sustainable due to their limited availability. Therefore, metal-free catalysis methods have emerged as an alternative to respond to the green chemistry agenda. For instance, Huy and Mbouhom (2019

Recent total synthesis of natural products leveraging a strategy of enamide cyclization

• Chun-Yu Mi,
• Jia-Yuan Zhai and
• Xiao-Ming Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 999–1009, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.81

• the α-position of enamide to be an active cyclization site, with the alkyne tether acting as the nucleophile. Since it is well-established that alkynes, when activated by transition metals such as gold or platinum, can also function as electrophiles, modulating the reactivity of the decahydroquinoline

Silver(I) triflate-catalyzed post-Ugi synthesis of pyrazolodiazepines

• Muhammad Hasan,
• Anatoly A. Peshkov,
• Syed Anis Ali Shah,
• Andrey Belyaev,
• Chang-Keun Lim,
• Shunyi Wang and
• Vsevolod A. Peshkov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 915–925, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.74

• 13). Catalytic systems based on other transition metals including Cu(OTf)2 and the AuPPh3Cl/AgOTf combination were also tested (Table 1, entries 14 and 15). However, their performance was significantly poorer compared to AgOTf. To evaluate the scope and limitations of the optimized protocol (Table 1

Recent advances in the electrochemical synthesis of organophosphorus compounds

• Babak Kaboudin,
• Milad Behroozi,
• Sepideh Sadighi and
• Fatemeh Asgharzadeh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 770–797, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.61

• exhibited higher stability compared to 4d and 5d transition metals. Through the study of a series of previous experiments, it was shown that the electron density of the nitrogen atom in the quinoline structure significantly affects the efficiency of nickel-electrocatalysis; however, other N,N- or N,O

• corresponding thiophosphorylated product (Scheme 27). Recently, a novel and one-pot electrochemical oxidation method was reported for synthesizing S-(hetero)aryl phosphorothioates without using any oxidants or transition metals at room temperature [68]. The reaction was carried out in an undivided cell. The

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

• terminus. In search of complementary approaches, other transition metals including W [9], Mo [10], Ru [11][12], Rh [13][14][15], and Ni [16][17] have been explored. Among these alternatives, Ir catalysis emerged as a particularly powerful complement to Pd catalysis. The field of iridium-catalyzed allylic

Unraveling aromaticity: the dual worlds of pyrazole, pyrazoline, and 3D carborane

• Zahra Noori,
• Miquel Solà,
• Clara Viñas,
• Francesc Teixidor and
• Jordi Poater

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 412–420, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.29

• their broader use. With this in mind, Lee and colleagues have recently developed an efficient synthetic method for producing o-carborane-fused pyrazoles as a novel scaffold, without using transition metals. Their approach involves reacting B(4)-acylmethyl and B(3,5)-diacylmethyl o-carborane with 2-azido

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

• advantageous for large-scale applications, offering enhanced safety and operational simplicity. Traditionally, research in this field has focused on metal-based photocatalysts, particularly those based on transition metals like ruthenium and osmium due to their intrinsic photophysical properties. However, with

• organic photocatalysts. Unlike metal-based systems, organic photocatalysts such as phthalocyanins, squaraines and cyanins, offer effective electron and energy transfer under red-light irradiation without relying on transition metals. This shift towards organic catalysts opens new possibilities for

• of lower-energy photons in second- and third-row transition metals compared to their first-row counterparts [13]. These phenomena are specifically improved when potent π-acceptor ligands are used due to their low-energy π* antibonding orbitals resulting in a bathochromic shift of the MLCT absorption

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

• widely used as N-acylamide sources in amidation processes of challenging substrates, typically employing precious transition metals. However, these catalytic systems often present several challenges associated with cost, toxicity, stability, and recyclability. Among the 3d transition metals, copper

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

• –heteroatom (C–X, where X = N, O, or halogens) bonds in organic synthesis. Copper was one of the first transition metals employed in cross-coupling to form C–C and C–X bonds [1][2]. In 1901, Ullmann reported the first cross-coupling reaction for the formation of biaryl compounds in the presence of

• ], however, no comprehensive review focusing on Cu-catalyzed electrochemistry has been reported to date. Copper catalysts are potential candidates for pharmaceutical applications owing to their abundance, low cost, and lower toxicity compared with noble transition metals such as palladium [39]. In terms of

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

• -catalyst containing transition metals but are purely of organocatalytic nature. In these experiments, the chiral phosphoric acid C28 catalyzed the reaction of aminopyrroles 101 and 1,4-diketones 102. Under the optimized reaction conditions, the yields were good to excellent, and high levels of

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

• or without the use of transition metals [44]. Thus, they address both the financial and environmental challenges associated with organic synthesis by acting as environmentally benign substitutes for costly organometallic catalysts and heavy-metal-based oxidants. Diaryl iodide salts consist of two

• group of the iodonium salt was also investigated. A potential radical-mediated mechanism was evaluated. Under mild conditions, a base-promoted arylation of general sulfinates 86 without the need for transition metals was introduced using diaryliodonium salts 16 as an aryl source (Scheme 35). Inspired by

Transition-metal-free decarbonylation–oxidation of 3-arylbenzofuran-2(3H)-ones: access to 2-hydroxybenzophenones

• Bhaskar B. Dhotare,
• Seema V. Kanojia,
• Chahna K. Sakhiya,
• Amey Wadawale and
• Dibakar Goswami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2655–2667, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.223

• oxidative coupling of salicylaldehyde with arylboronic acids to successfully produce 2-hydroxybenzophenones [14]. Recently, a Ni-catalyzed decarbonylation–oxidation of 3-arylbenzofuran-2(3H)-ones emerged as an innovative route to access 2-hydroxybenzophenones [2]. The use of transition metals poses

1,2-Difluoroethylene (HFO-1132): synthesis and chemistry

• Liubov V. Sokolenko,
• Taras M. Sokolenko and
• Yurii L. Yagupolskii

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1955–1966, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.171

• catalyst (Pd, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ru, Ir, Ni/Cu, Ag, Au, Zn, Cr, Co, Scheme 5) [62][63]. Further, 1,2-Dichloroethylene was reacted with hydrogen fluoride in the presence of metal fluorides or transition metals (Cr, Al, Co, Mn, Ni, Fe) to form 1,2-difluoroethylene (Scheme 6) [56][58]. In patents [59][60], an exotic

Divergent role of PIDA and PIFA in the AlX₃ (X = Cl, Br) halogenation of 2-naphthol: a mechanistic study

• Kevin A. Juárez-Ornelas,
• Manuel Solís-Hernández,
• Pedro Navarro-Santos,
• J. Oscar C. Jiménez-Halla and
• César R. Solorio-Alvarado

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1580–1589, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.141

• reactivity [9] usually associated with transition metals [10][11]. Iodine(III) compounds have been used for the formation of different bond types, such as C–C [12][13], C–O [14][15], C–N [16], C–S [17], C–CN [18], C–F [19][20][21], C–I [22][23], C–NO2 [24][25] and, in the context of this work, C–X (X = Cl

Diameter-selective extraction of single-walled carbon nanotubes by interlocking with Cu-tethered square nanobrackets

• Guoqing Cheng and
• Naoki Komatsu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1298–1307, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.113

• can calculate larger system (>500 atoms) containing transition metals more precisely [16][17]. Result and Discussion Synthesis of Cu-tethered square nanobrackets 1b A pyrene-based nanobracket 4b was synthesized via a one-pot Suzuki coupling followed by the formation of dipyrrin from the dialdehyde 3

Manganese-catalyzed C–C and C–N bond formation with alcohols via borrowing hydrogen or hydrogen auto-transfer

• Mohd Farhan Ansari,
• Atul Kumar Maurya,
• Abhishek Kumar and
• Saravanakumar Elangovan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1111–1166, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.98

• , expensive, and limited in availability. Hence, replacing them with the first row of transition metals would increase the sustainability and profitability of this procedure [13]. Indeed, many 3d-metal-based homogeneous catalysts have been documented for BH reactions [14][15] since these metals are

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

• to furnish trifluoromethylated dihyropyrido[1,2-a]indolones under mild conditions, without the need of photocatalysts or transition metals [28]. Results and Discussion We initialized our study by employing Ru(bpy)3Cl2·6H2O and Umemoto’s reagent to generate trifluoromethyl radicals via a photo

Aldiminium and 1,2,3-triazolium dithiocarboxylate zwitterions derived from cyclic (alkyl)(amino) and mesoionic carbenes

• Nedra Touj,
• François Mazars,
• Guillermo Zaragoza and
• Lionel Delaude

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1947–1956, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.145

• -dithiocarboxylate zwitterions (Figure 2) [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. These 1,1-dithiolate inner salts strongly bind main group elements and transition metals through various coordination modes. Indeed, we and others have already reported the synthesis of diverse metallic complexes

• center that may act as a source of chirality. Thus, the novel compounds reported in this study represent a valuable addition to the family of neutral dithiolate ligands derived from stable nucleophilic carbenes, and we are currently investigating their coordination chemistry toward various transition

• metals. Details of these studies will be disclosed in a forthcoming publication. Various types of stable singlet carbenes and their acronyms. Various types of NHC·CS2 zwitterions and their coordination modes. ORTEP representations of zwitterions 4a (CAAC-Mes-Cy·CS2, top) and 4c (CAAC-Die-MePh·CS2, bottom

Substituent-controlled construction of A₄B₂-hexaphyrins and A₃B-porphyrins: a mechanistic evaluation

• Seda Cinar,
• Dilek Isik Tasgin and
• Canan Unaleroglu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1832–1840, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.135

• their structural stability, flexibility, or complexing ability with transition metals [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. meso-Aryl-substituted dipyrromethanes or tripyrranes are the most commonly used starting materials in hexaphyrin syntheses [13][14][15][16]. Osuka et al. made significant contributions to the

Recent advancements in iodide/phosphine-mediated photoredox radical reactions

• Tinglan Liu,
• Yu Zhou,
• Junhong Tang and
• Chengming Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1785–1803, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.131

• light irradiation at either 440 nm or 456 nm, and they occurred in acetone at room temperature, without the need for transition metals or organic dyes as photosensitizers. Interestingly, it was discovered that solvation played a vital role in the overall process. These findings shed light on the

Selectivity control towards CO versus H₂ for photo-driven CO₂ reduction with a novel Co(II) catalyst

• Lisa-Lou Gracia,
• Philip Henkel,
• Olaf Fuhr and
• Claudia Bizzarri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1766–1775, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.129

• ]. Among the most employed earth-abundant metal-based PS, Cu(I) complexes have the first place, not only in artificial photosynthesis, but also in a large variety of photo(redox)catalyses [12][13][14][15][16][17]. On the other hand, several complexes based on 3d transition metals, like manganese [18], iron

• [19][20][21], cobalt [22][23], and nickel [24][25], have been designed as CO2 reduction catalysts. This (supra)molecular approach is appealing for gaining a structure–property understanding with the goal of tunable and efficient activity. Among the 3d transition metals, cobalt is relatively abundant

Tying a knot between crown ethers and porphyrins

• Maksym Matviyishyn and
• Bartosz Szyszko

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1630–1650, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.120

• oligo(ethylene glycol) segment. These hybrid systems constitute a broad group of compounds, including crowned porphyrins, crownphyrins, and calixpyrrole-crown ether systems forming Pacman complexes with transition metals. Their unique nature accustoms them as excellent ligands and hosts capable of

• /electrostatic interactions [18][19][20]. Replacing oxygen atoms with other elements, such as nitrogen, sulfur, etc., alters the crown ethers' affinity toward cations, extending their role as macrocyclic ligands to transition metals [21]. One can say that in many aspects, porphyrins and crown ethers are

• ]. The field remained practically unexplored until 2005 when the Love group reported Schiff-base calixpyrrole macrocycles introducing crown ether segments [66][67]. The hybrid systems were demonstrated to form a plethora of coordination compounds with transition metals. In 2019 Ravikanth developed

Lewis acid-promoted direct synthesis of isoxazole derivatives

• Dengxu Qiu,
• Chenhui Jiang,
• Pan Gao and
• Yu Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1562–1567, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.113

• nitrite as a nitrogen-oxygen source, and solely using aluminum trichloride as the additive. This approach circumvents the need for costly or highly toxic transition metals and presents a novel pathway for the synthesis of isoxazole derivatives. Keywords: aluminum trichloride; Lewis acid; isoxazole

• derivatives; sodium nitrite; transition metals; Introduction The isoxazole derivatives not only exist in many natural products [1][2][3] and pharmaceutical intermediates [4][5][6][7], but also have great application values in organic synthesis [8][9] (Figure 1). In the past decades, many methods have been

• toxic transition metals and provides a new way to synthesize isoxazole molecules. Further related transformations of products and application of this method are currently developed in our laboratory. Experimental Representative procedure for the synthesis of compound 3a. To a flame-dried 15 mL Schlenk

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

• in DMF at 100 °C for 5 h [30]. We hypothesized that electron-withdrawing p-cyanophenyl azide 2b, would be better suited for optimizing the reaction conditions compared to the unsubstituted phenyl azide 2a. Taking a clue from the literature, we looked at transition metals that facilitate