Current Organic Chemistry - Volume 8, Issue 9, 2004

An overview of recent research on isopolyhalomethanes is presented that examines their formation, structure, properties and cyclopropanation reactions with olefins. Timeresolved experimental results show isopolyhalomethanes are formed vibrationally hot within a few picoseconds following solvent induced geminate recombination of the initially produced haloalkyl radical and halogen atom fragments of the parent p Read More

This article summarizes the recent (1999 to mid-2003) advance of intramolecular aryl radical reactions in the synthesis of nitrogen- and oxygen-containing heterocyclic molecules including natural products and other biologically interesting compounds.

This review summarises the development of the intramolecular Heck chemistry from its first report in 1977 to the present status of the reaction as a versatile methodology for the construction of carbocycles and heterocycles. Examples of the application of intramolecular Heck cyclisations as the key steps in the preparation of many complex natural product syntheses are given. The development of the intramolecular asymme Read More

The catalysis of organic reactions by gold-catalysts has received in the past only little attention because of the preconceived opinion that gold is expensive and inert. The successful application of supported gold catalysts to pollution abatement changed this assessment and spurred on the explosion of interest in gold catalysis towards organic synthesis. Supported Au catalyst and homogeneous gold(III)- catalysts are effectiv Read More

Selenabenzene is one of the heterobenzenes in which a selenium atom has replaced a carbon atom of benzene. Selenabenzenes and their benzo-analogs stabilized by an electron-withdrawing group were synthesized in order to study their structures, properties, and reactivities. Cyano-substituted 1- and 2-selenanaphthalenes were isolated as orange crystals, while selenabenzenes with an electron-withdrawing group we Read More

Several methodologies based on the aza Wittig-type reaction of bis(iminophosphoranes) have been used for the preparation of a wide variety of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ring systems. The resulting aza Wittig products, functionalized heterocumulenes, undergo cyclization either by electrocyclic ring-closure, intramolecular amination, [2+2] cycloaddition or intramolecular Diels-Alder cycloaddition. The synthetic utility Read More