Advances in Zr-mediated radical transformations and applications to total synthesis

• Hiroshige Ogawa and
• Hugh Nakamura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 71–87, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.3

• afford reactions that are cheaper, safer, and less toxic. In this context, we focus on mild radical reactions mediated by zirconium (Zr), which has recently attracted attention because of its low toxicity and ease of handling. We discuss the utility of Zr in such radical processes and consider prospects

• for future development. Keywords: halogen atom transfer; photoredox; radical; total synthesis; zirconium; Introduction Zirconium, a transition metal in the same group as titanium, has been employed across research fields and in medical applications owing to its distinctive physical and chemical

• properties [1]. Among its notable physical attributes is its high corrosion resistance: metallic zirconium is exceptionally stable toward acids and bases at ambient temperature and is less susceptible to corrosion than titanium. Its low toxicity and excellent biocompatibility have historically supported the

Synthesis and applications of alkenyl chlorides (vinyl chlorides): a review

• Daniel S. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 1–63, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.1

• bimetallic 1,1-alkenyl species bearing both boron and zirconium centers selectively undergo chlorination at the zirconium site, leaving the boron moiety untouched (not shown) [124]. 1.5 Elimination reactions The first elimination-based synthesis of alkenyl chlorides was reported by Biltz as early as 1897

Oxetanes: formation, reactivity and total syntheses of natural products

• Peter Gabko,
• Martin Kalník and
• Maroš Bella

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1324–1373, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.101

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

• regenerated by the zirconium species, producing the formation of the desired product via the zirconium imidate INT-33 after aqueous workup. Overall, this copper-catalyzed transformation requires a stoichiometric amount of zirconium species to achieve the anti-Markovnikov amidation. 3 Miscellaneous 3.1

Nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling of 2-fluorobenzofurans with arylboronic acids via aromatic C–F bond activation

• Takeshi Fujita,
• Haruna Yabuki,
• Ryutaro Morioka,
• Kohei Fuchibe and
• Junji Ichikawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 146–154, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.8

• developed efficient metal-mediated methods for activating (i) vinylic [8][9][10][11][12][13] and (ii) allylic C–F bonds [14][15][16][17][18] using β-fluorine elimination under mild conditions. In these studies, (i) we discovered zirconium-mediated β-fluorine elimination from zirconacyclopropanes A, which

Green and sustainable approaches for the Friedel–Crafts reaction between aldehydes and indoles

• Periklis X. Kolagkis,
• Eirini M. Galathri and
• Christoforos G. Kokotos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 379–426, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.36

• nanoparticles to conduct the Friedel–Crafts reaction between indoles and aldehydes [104]. In an effort to synthesize the sulfated zirconia nanocompounds, a new two-step precipitation method was developed. The first step involved the employment of zirconium oxychloride and its precipitation with ammonium

• hydroxide. In the second step, the formed zirconium hydroxide undergoes a sulfate impregnation, utilizing sulfuric acid in the presence of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the surfactant, to prevent particle agglomeration, leading to the formation of the desired sulfated zirconia nanoparticles after a last

Pyridine C(sp²)–H bond functionalization under transition-metal and rare earth metal catalysis

• Haritha Sindhe,
• Malladi Mounika Reddy,
• Karthikeyan Rajkumar,
• Akshay Kamble,
• Amardeep Singh,
• Anand Kumar and
• Satyasheel Sharma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 820–863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.62

• using a cationic zirconium complex under a H2 atmosphere in 1989 and the work done by Bergman and Ellmann [49] in 2010 for the ortho-C–H alkylation of pyridines under Rh(I) catalysis at high temperature, in 2011 Hou and Guan reported an atom economical method for the selective ortho-alkylation of

• demonstrated that the reaction in the presence of cationic zirconium complexes derived from zirconium dibenzyl complexes bearing tridentate [ONO]-type amine-bridged bis(phenolato) ligands and [Ph3C][B(C6F5)4] (Scheme 5), gave rise to ortho-selective C–H alkylated pyridines 19 and 21. It was observed that the

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

• trapping was observed, however, we isolated trapping products with onium compounds having tropylium, benzodithiolium, and 1,3-dithian-2-ylium cations. The zirconium enolate also reacted with a highly activated alkene (Scheme 33) [69]. A comparison with related Mg and Si enolates revealed a lower reactivity

• of zirconium enolates, presumably, due to the considerable steric hindrance caused by bulky ligands around the Zr center. Fletcher investigated the formylation of zirconium enolates with the Vilsmeier–Haack reagent [70]. Interestingly, the reaction afforded chloroformylation rather than simple

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

• ) and excess of triene 53 was carried out using boron trifluoride diethyl etherate or zirconium(IV) tetrachloride to furnish product 54 in good yield (Scheme 15). The same group also explored the Diels–Alder reaction of menadione (10) with trienes 55, 57, and 59 (Scheme 16) [110]. The scandium(III

A comprehensive review of flow chemistry techniques tailored to the flavours and fragrances industries

• Guido Gambacorta,
• James S. Sharley and
• Ian R. Baxendale

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1181–1312, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.90

Valorisation of plastic waste via metal-catalysed depolymerisation

• Francesca Liguori,
• Carmen Moreno-Marrodán and
• Pierluigi Barbaro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 589–621, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.53

• , glycolysis of PET was performed under microwave heating in the presence of Zn(OAc)2, yielding BHET with an 80% selectivity at 97% conversion due to formation of dimers (Table 2, entry 7) [203][204]. Soluble metal chlorides (zinc, magnesium, iron, zirconium, cobalt, nickel) were also explored as catalysts in

Direct synthesis of anomeric tetrazolyl iminosugars from sugar-derived lactams

• Michał M. Więcław and
• Bartłomiej Furman

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 115–123, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.12

• spontaneous decomposition of the zirconium complex INT-1-A to the free imine species INT-3. This process is much more likely to occur via the 5-membered cyclic transition state TS-1-A than the alternative TS-1-B, as the energy barrier of 60.1 kcal·mol−1 is definitely too high for the reaction to take place

Progress in the total synthesis of inthomycins

• Bidyut Kumar Senapati

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 58–82, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.7

• TMS group of 126 was found to be extremely challenging. The commonly used conditions provided the allene as a major product instead of the desired product. Ultimately, the mono-desilylated product 127 was obtained in 85% yield by using sodium sulfide in a mixture of THF and water. Next, the zirconium

Particle size effect in the mechanically assisted synthesis of β-cyclodextrin mesitylene sulfonate

• Stéphane Menuel,
• Sébastien Saitzek,
• Eric Monflier and
• Frédéric Hapiot

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2598–2606, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.211

• (290 mg, 1.32 mmol) were placed in a 10 mL zirconium oxide reactor containing one zirconium oxide ball of 9 mm diameter. The solid mixture was shaken for 5 min at 30 Hz. Shaking was then stopped for 5 min. The procedure was repeated 54 times for a total grinding time of 270 min. The reactor was opened

Syntheses of spliceostatins and thailanstatins: a review

• William A. Donaldson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1991–2006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.166

• epoxidation [37] of 5-methyl-2-methylene-4-penten-1-ol gave the epoxyalcohol 92 in 94% ee, which was oxidized to the aldehyde 93. While the addition of the lithium salt of methyl propynoate proceeded in a nondiastereoselective fashion, the use of a zirconium/silver-mediated alkynylation gave the alcohol 94

Mechanochemical green synthesis of hyper-crosslinked cyclodextrin polymers

• Alberto Rubin Pedrazzo,
• Fabrizio Caldera,
• Marco Zanetti,
• Silvia Lucia Appleton,
• Nilesh Kumar Dhakar and
• Francesco Trotta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1554–1563, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.127

• zirconium oxide balls of 10 mm diameter in 2 jars of 50 mL (10 balls per jar), also made from zirconium oxide. Rotation speed: sun wheel speed 600 rpm, changing rotation direction from clockwise to anticlockwise every 15 min. Thermogravimetric analyses were carried out on a Hi-res TGA 2050 Thermogravimetric

Metal-free mechanochemical oxidations in Ertalyte^® jars

• Andrea Porcheddu,
• Francesco Delogu,
• Lidia De Luca,
• Claudia Fattuoni and
• Evelina Colacino

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1786–1794, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.172

• a general mechanochemical oxidative process of alcohols in Ertalyte® jars. The latter material never has been explored before in any of the mechanochemical transformations described in the literature and produced outperforming results compared to those obtained in zirconium oxide jars. Oxidation of

Mechanochemical synthesis of hyper-crosslinked polymers: influences on their pore structure and adsorption behaviour for organic vapors

• Sven Grätz,
• Sebastian Zink,
• Hanna Kraffczyk,
• Marcus Rose and
• Lars Borchardt

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1154–1161, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.112

• ’-biphenyl) and six equiv of anhydrous iron(III) chloride as mediator into a 45 mL zirconium oxide milling vessel filled with 22 balls (10 mm, 3.19 ± 0.05 g) of the same material (Figure 1). Consequently, the vessel was transferred into a (Pulverisette 7) premium line (Fritsch GmbH) and milled at 500 rpm for

• procedure HCP was synthesised through a mechanochemical reaction. This was accomplished by transferring 0.821 g 4,4’-bis(chloromethyl)-1,1’-biphenyl (Sigma-Aldrich) and 3.179 g (six equiv) of anhydrous iron(III) chloride (Sigma-Aldrich) as mediator into a 45 mL zirconium oxide milling vessel filled with 22

A chemoenzymatic synthesis of ceramide trafficking inhibitor HPA-12

• Seema V. Kanojia,
• Sucheta Chatterjee,
• Subrata Chattopadhyay and
• Dibakar Goswami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 490–496, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.42

• researches involving CERT inhibition. For this, a number of groups have successfully accomplished the synthesis of HPA-12 [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. The first synthesis of HPA-12 comprised [13] a three-component asymmetric Mannich reaction catalyzed by a chiral zirconium catalyst

Fluorogenic PNA probes

• Tirayut Vilaivan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 253–281, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.17

• restoration of the fluorescence in pretty much the same way as GO. Likewise, carbon nitride nanosheets [148] and a zirconium-based nano metal-organic framework (UiO-66) [149] behaved similarly. In addition, they have been successfully used in combination with PNA for monitoring of miRNA inside living cells

Mechanically induced oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and ketones in ambient air: Revisiting TEMPO-assisted oxidations

• Andrea Porcheddu,
• Evelina Colacino,
• Giancarlo Cravotto,
• Francesco Delogu and
• Lidia De Luca

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 2049–2055, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.202

• detectable amounts of the carboxylic acid. Next, we replaced the starting stainless-steel grinding jar and balls with a zirconia jar (45 mL) and six zirconium oxide balls (5 and 12 mm Ø) with the aim of avoiding contamination due to metal release. Under these conditions, it was possible to reduce the loading

High-speed vibration-milling-promoted synthesis of symmetrical frameworks containing two or three pyrrole units

• Marco Leonardi,
• Mercedes Villacampa and
• J. Carlos Menéndez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1957–1962, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.190

• -iodoketones (2 molecules), prepared in situ from aryl ketones, was performed efficiently under mechanochemical conditions involving high-speed vibration milling with a single zirconium oxide ball. This reaction afforded symmetrical frameworks containing two pyrrole or fused pyrrole units joined by a spacer

Pd(OAc)₂/Ph₃P-catalyzed dimerization of isoprene and synthesis of monoterpenic heterocycles

• Dominik Kellner,
• Maximilian Weger,
• Andrea Gini and
• Olga García Mancheño

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1807–1815, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.175

• , titanium-, zirconium-, iron-, cobalt-, vanadium- or aluminum-based Ziegler-type catalysts lead mostly to the linear tail-to-head 2-TH dimer 2,6-dimethyl-1,3,6-octatriene (alloocimene) [27], and the use of nickel catalysts allows the preparation of the tail-to-tail dimer 2-TT (2,7-dimethyl-1,3,7-octatriene

The chemistry and biology of mycolactones

• Matthias Gehringer and
• Karl-Heinz Altmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1596–1660, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.159

Total syntheses of the archazolids: an emerging class of novel anticancer drugs

• Stephan Scheeff and
• Dirk Menche

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1085–1098, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.108

• -elimination sequence to form the triene system C9 to C14 [44]. In a second generation fragment synthesis building block 62 was firstly synthesized in 2014 [46]. Starting with the TBS-protected alkyne 58 [87] a zirconium-mediated carboalumination reaction [88] and subsequent coupling with aldehyde 59 gave