TiCl4-promoted aldol reaction of ketones as aldol acceptors followed by elimination of the titanoxy group from the Ti-aldolates affords β,β-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in a one-pot procedure. The use of additives, such as DMF, N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine, and pyridine, in the elimination step was found to be important.

A simple strategy avoiding the decomposition of a naked trifluoromethyl anion to difluorocarbene by a sterically very demanding organo-superbase without the help of a trifluoromethyl anion reservoir such as DMF is reported. The direct non-metallic trifluoromethylation of carbonyl compounds using fluoroform in the presence of t-Bu-P4 base afforded trifluoromethyl alcohols in high yields.

Equilibria between carbonyl compounds and their enamines (from O-TBDPS-derived prolinol) have been examined by NMR spectroscopy in DMSO-d(6). By comparing the exchange reactions between pairs (enamine A + carbonyl B → carbonyl A + enamine B), a quite general scale of the tendency of carbonyl groups to form enamines has been established. Aldehydes quickly give enamines that are relatively more s...

The enantioselective synthesis of α-disubstituted N-heterocyclic carbonyl compounds has been accomplished using palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation. These catalytic conditions enable access to various heterocycles, such as morpholinone, thiomorpholinone, oxazolidin-4-one, 1,2-oxazepan-3-one, 1,3-oxazinan-4-one, and structurally related lactams, all bearing fully substituted α-positions. Broa...

The catalytic asymmetric phospha-Michael reaction of dialkyl phosphine oxides with β,β-disubstituted α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds was achieved. The products bearing tetrasubstituted carbon stereocenters were obtained in high yields with excellent enantioselectivities (up to >99% ee).

The first examples of a Pd-catalyzed carbonylation of aryl boronic acids with sp(3) carbon partners are presented. Various boronic acids were shown to react with 1,3-diesters and 1,3-diketones to afford structurally unique carbonyl compounds. By employing 2-substituted 1,3-diesters, synthetically-challenging quaternary carbon centres were accessed. In total, 42 examples of aryl carbonyl compoun...

THE NEW TYPE OF THE CHEMICAL CASCADE REACTION WAS FOUND formation of cyclopropanes from carbonyl compounds and CH acid by the only bromine direct action. The action of aqueous bromine on the carbonyl compounds and malononitrile in EtOH-H2O solutions in the presence of NaOAc results in the formation of 3-substituted 1,1,2,2-tetracyanocyclopropanes in 48-93% yields. The latter are well-known prec...

Starting from unsaturated carbonyl compounds a mild new cascade reaction involving enolboration, rhodium-catalysed hydroformylation and intramolecular aldol addition in a regio- and diastereoselective fashion leads to cyclic compounds containing highly-functionalised quaternary carbon centres.

We report the arylation and heteroarylation of α,α-difluoro-α-(trimethylsilyl)acetamides with aryl and heteroaryl bromides catalyzed by an air- and moisture-stable palladacyclic complex containing P(t-Bu)2Cy as ligand. A broad range of electronically varied aryl and heteroaryl bromides underwent this transformation to afford α-aryl-α,α-difluoroacetamides in high yields. Due to the electrophilic...

Cycloadditions are among the most trusted of chemical transformations available to the synthetic chemist. The predictability of the transition state based on steric and electronic considerations allows for the strategic construction of complex molecular assemblies. While the Diels–Alder reaction has received the most attention, 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions have also maintained a place of prominen...