Recent advances on micellar catalysis in water.

Alkenes are versatile building blocks in modern organic synthesis. In the difunctionalization reactions of alkenes, two functional groups can be simultaneously introduced into the π system. This is an efficient strategy for the synthesis of multifunctional compounds with complex structures and has the advantages of atom and step economy. Nitrogen-containing organic compounds are widely found in natural products and synthetic compounds, such as dyes, pesticides, medicines, artificial resins, and so on. Many natural products with high biological activity and a broad range of drugs have nitrogen-containing functional groups. The research on the construction methods of C-N bonds has always been one of the most important tasks in organic synthesis, especially in drug synthesis, and the synthetic methods starting from simple and easily available raw materials have been a topic of interest to chemists. The aminative difunctionalization of alkenes can efficiently construct C-N bonds, and at the same time, prepare some compounds that usually require multiple steps of reaction. It is one of the most effective strategies for the simple and efficient synthesis of functionalized nitrogen-containing compounds. This review outlines the major developments focusing on the transition metal-catalyzed or metal-free diamination, aminohalogenation, aminocarbonation, amino-oxidation and aminoboronation reactions of alkenes from 2015-2020.

Recent advances in aminative difunctionalization of alkenes

Photoredox-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Cross-Coupling of α-Amino Acids with Nitrones.

A hemin/H2O2 catalytic system for oxidative phenol–indole [3 + 2] coupling in aqueous solution has been developed, enabling benign synthesis of valuable benzofuroindolines under sustainable conditions. Mechanistic studies revealed the dual role of iron porphyrin responsible for both phenol oxidation and Lewis acid activation, which differs from the well-explored chemistry of hemin in carbene and nitrene insertion reactions. A preliminary experiment with cytochrome c showed that the turnover of iron porphyrin was amenable for a macromolecular setting with remarkable efficiency (ca. 13 300 TON).

Hemin-catalyzed biomimetic oxidative phenol–indole [3 + 2] reactions in aqueous media

Cinchona Alkaloid Derived Iodide Catalyzed Enantioselective Oxidative α-Amination of Carbonyl Compounds toward the Construction of Spiroindolyloxindole.

Dangui Wang

Papers

Intermolecular Vicinal Diaminative Assembly of Tetrahydroquinoxalines via Metal-free Oxidative [4 + 2] Cycloaddition Strategy

Unified and Benign Synthesis of Spirooxindoles via Bifunctional and Recyclable Iodide‐Salt‐Catalyzed Oxidative Coupling in Water