An efficient and practical method to a wide range of perfluorinated unsymmetrical diarylmethanes with good to excellent yields and high regioselectivities has been developed by Pd-catalyzed direct benzylation of highly electron-deficient perfluoroarenes; excellent compatibility of functional groups has also been established.

Palladium-catalyzed S-benzylation of unprotected mercaptobenzoic acids with benzyl alcohols gave only S-benzylated mercaptobenzoic acids in good yields. Water may play an important role for the smooth generation of the (η(3)-benzyl)palladium species by activation of the hydroxyl group of the benzyl alcohol.

A palladium-catalyzed regio- and chemoselective direct benzylation of primary benzamides with 2-bromobenzyl bromides under a mild basic condition has been developed affording various substituted diarylmethanes in good yields. Furthermore, the directing amide group (-CONH2) was subjected to intramolecular N-arylation with the aryl bromide moiety present in diarylmethanes leading to a concise syn...

We report a mild and environmentally benign method for the synthesis of tertiary amines using alcohols as the alkylating reagents. Not only secondary amines such as piperazines but also amino acids and amino alcohols can be N-alkylated selectively. For N,O-benzyl protected amino alcohols, both N,O-de-benzylation and N-methylation were achieved in one-pot.

The first enantioselective aldehyde α-benzylation using electron-deficient aryl and heteroaryl substrates has been accomplished. The productive merger of a chiral imidazolidinone organocatalyst and a commercially available iridium photoredox catalyst in the presence of household fluorescent light directly affords the desired homobenzylic stereogenicity in good to excellent yield and enantiosele...

Enantiomerically pure 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate 1 (MEP) is synthesized from 1,2-O-isopropylidene-α-D-xylofuranose via facile benzylation in good yield. Subsequently, 1 is used for enzymatic synthesis of 4-diphosphocytidyl-2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 2 (CDP-ME) using 4-diphosphocytidyl-2-C-methyl-D-erythritol synthase (IspD). The chemoenzymatically synthesized 2 can be used as substrate fo...

2-Benzyl-3-hydroxybutanoic acid(1) was prepared starting with acetoacitic ester following benzylation, reduction using sodium dithionite and hydrolysis under alkaline condition. The inhibitory kinetic evaluation showed that 1(Ki =107μM) is potent than 2-benzyl-3-hydroxypropanoic acid(Ki =610μM) as inhibitor for carboxypeptidase A, suggesting that introducing of a methyl group at the β-position ...

Allylation and benzylation of p-quinones was achieved through an unusual redox chain reaction. Mechanistic studies suggest that the existence of trace hydroquinone initiates a redox chain reaction that consists of a Lewis acid catalyzed Friedel-Crafts alkylation and a subsequent redox equilibrium that regenerates hydroquinone. The electrophiles could be various allylic and benzylic esters. The ...