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Furans are attractive staring materials in organic chemistry, due to the ease of functionalisation and sourcing from renewable feedstocks. Here the authors show the ring opening of furans to silane intermediates, followed by further conversion to cyclopropanes and other high value targets.

To mark the occasion of Nature Chemistry turning 10 years old, we asked scientists working in different areas of chemistry to tell us what they thought the most exciting, interesting or challenging aspects related to the development of their main field of research will be — here is what they said.

Although many natural products and drug molecules contain N–N linkages, the chemistry of N–N coupling is somewhat underdeveloped. Now, a nitrene-mediated intermolecular N–N coupling of dioxazolones and arylamines that relies on iridium or iron catalysis has been developed. These reactions offer a simple and efficient method for the synthesis of hydrazides from readily available precursors.

The C–H functionalization of polymers enables the direct incorporation of new functional groups into polymer backbones but developing reactions that achieve selective functionalization while preserving the intrinsic features of polymers remains challenging. Here, the authors present a transition metal-free post-functionalization approach for polyethers via a photoinduced C–H amidation reaction.

Chiral γ-lactams are of significant interest being present in numerous pharmaceutical agents; however, their chemical synthesis is complex, requiring pre-functionalized starting materials. Now, Park and Chang report an iridium-based catalyst system for the production of chiral γ-lactams from an abundant feedstock via an intramolecular asymmetric sp³ C−H amidation.

The synthesis of sulfinate esters and sulfinamides has garnered significant interest owing to their potential for applications. Here, the authors report the reductive sulfinylation of diverse nucleophiles with sulfonylpyridinium salts through nucleophilic chain substitution, which involves S(VI) to S(IV) nucleophilic chain isomerization process.

Accessing chiral alkylamines is highly important due to their ubiquity in bioactive molecules. Here, the authors present the development of stereoretentive decarboxylative amidation of carboxylic acids using dioxazolone under ambient conditions.

Strategies for the asymmetric synthesis of β-lactams are highly sought after. Now, a NiH-catalysed enantioselective intramolecular hydroamidation of alkenes affording β-lactam scaffolds is described, whereby the C–N bond is formed with unusual regioselectivity at the more proximal position.

There is currently a lack of effective synthetic strategies for combining lactams and pyridines within a single molecular structure. Now, diastereoselective pyridyl lactamization has been developed using a photoinduced [3+2] cycloaddition of triplet diradical N–N pyridinium ylides with pendant alkenes. This method provides a useful synthon for preparing pyridyl γ- and δ-lactam scaffolds with syn-configuration.

Cyclic amines are commonly present in natural products and synthetic compounds, but methods for their skeletal diversification are limited. Here, the authors report a strategy for selective ring-opening functionalization of unstrained cyclic amines to pluripotent products that can be further diversified.

The reactivity of transient carbocations provides interesting synthetic opportunities, but the selectivity control is challenging. Now, catalytic access to carbocation intermediates via metal-nitrenoid transfer into alkenes is reported and their regiocontrolled elimination is achieved, allowing the production of allylic lactams.

The direct arylation of C–H bonds is an attractive synthetic step, but the reductive elimination of an organometallic catalyst carrying the desired C–H and aryl functionalities has remained challenging. Now, this step has been achieved by first oxidizing the iridium centre of the catalyst, which facilitates the arylation of arene C–H bonds of a range of substrates.

This Primer provides an overview of the best practices for C–H activation as well as key advances in asymmetric, photoinduced and electrocatalytic-mediated catalysis for this synthetic platform. An overview of how C–H activation facilitates the synthesis of molecules such as structurally complex (bio)polymers and drugs is provided along with the current challenges and priorities for the next decade.