A direct Pd-catalyzed C-H functionalization of benzoquinone (BQ) can be controlled to give either mono- or disubstituted BQ, including the installation of two different groups in a one-pot procedure. BQ can now be directly functionalized with aryl, heteroaryl, cycloalkyl, and cycloalkene groups and, moreover, the reaction is conducted in environmentally benign water or acetone as solvents.

A novel homochiral phosphine ligand, (3R,9aS)[2-aryl-3-(2-diphenylphosphino)phenyl]tetrahydro-1H-imidazo[1,5-a]indole-1-one, was designed, prepared, and anchored onto an amphiphilic polystyrene-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymer (PS-PEG) resin. Catalytic asymmetric substitution of a racemic mixture of cycloalkenyl esters with carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen nucleophiles was achieved in water as the s...

A detailed study on all stages associated with the reaction mechanisms for the denitrogenation of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene derivatives (DBX, with X substituents at the methano-bridge carbon atom, X = H and OH) is presented. In particular, we have characterized the processes leading to cycloalkene derivatives through migration-type mechanisms as well as the processes leading to cyclopen...