Paul M. Roberts

TL;DR: The development by Ohmori and co-workers of a fluorinative variant of the Mitsunobu reaction, involving the electrooxidative generation and subsequent thermal decomposition of alkoxytriphenylphosphonium tetrafluoroborates, allowing for the conversion of alcohols to the corresponding alkyl fluorides with inversion of configuration.

TL;DR: Conjugate addition of lithium (R)-N-allyl-N-(α-methylbenzyl)amide or lithium(R)-n-but-3-enyl-n-(α)-methyl benzyl), followed by ring-closing metathesis of the olefin functionalities within the resultant β-amino ester, generates a range of diastereoisomerically pure azacycles in good yield as discussed by the authors.

TL;DR: An experimentally simple protocol for the very highly (E)-selective Wadsworth-Emmons reaction [(E):(Z) selectivities in excess of 180:1 in some cases] of a range of straight-chain and branched aliphatic, substituted aromatic, and base-sensitive aldehydes via reaction with an alkyl diethylphosphonoacetate and MeMgBr is reported.

TL;DR: The versatile synthetic intermediates resulting from the ammonium-directed olefinic oxidation reactions are readily transformed into a range of amino diols.

TL;DR: A range of substituted aryl epoxides undergo efficient ring-opening hydrofluorination upon treatment with 0.33 equiv of BF(3) x OEt(2) in CH(2), consistent with a mechanism involving a stereoselective S(N)1-type epoxide ring- opening process.