Since the discovery of organic azides by Peter Griess more than 140 years ago, numerous syntheses of these energy-rich molecules have been developed. In more recent times in particular, completely new perspectives have been developed for their use in peptide chemistry, combinatorial chemistry, and heterocyclic synthesis. Organic azides have assumed an important position at the interface between chemistry, biology, medicine, and materials science. In this Review, the fundamental characteristics of azide chemistry and current developments are presented. The focus will be placed on cycloadditions (Huisgen reaction), aza ylide chemistry, and the synthesis of heterocycles. Further reactions such as the aza-Wittig reaction, the Sundberg rearrangement, the Staudinger ligation, the Boyer and Boyer-Aube rearrangements, the Curtius rearrangement, the Schmidt rearrangement, and the Hemetsberger rearrangement bear witness to the versatility of modern azide chemistry.

Organic Azides: An Exploding Diversity of a Unique Class of Compounds

Transition-Metal-Catalyzed C−S, C−Se, and C−Te Bond Formation via Cross-Coupling and Atom-Economic Addition Reactions

Metal-catalyzed carbon-sulfur bond formation.

Research and industrial interest in radical C–H activation/radical cross-coupling chemistry has continuously grown over the past few decades. These reactions offer fascinating and unconventional approaches toward connecting molecular fragments with high atom- and step-economy that are often complementary to traditional methods. Success in this area of research was made possible through the development of photocatalysis and first-row transition metal catalysis along with the use of peroxides as radical initiators. This Review provides a brief and concise overview of the current status and latest methodologies using radicals or radical cations as key intermediates produced via radical C–H activation. This Review includes radical addition, radical cascade cyclization, radical/radical cross-coupling, coupling of radicals with M–R groups, and coupling of radical cations with nucleophiles (Nu).

Recent Advances in Radical C-H Activation/Radical Cross-Coupling.

Radicals are an important class of versatile and highly reactive species. Compared with the wide applications of various C-centred radicals, however, the N-radical species including N-centred radicals and radical ions remain largely unexplored due to the lack of convenient methods for their generation. In recent years, visible light photoredox catalysis has emerged as a powerful platform for the generation of various N-radical species and methodology development towards the synthesis of diverse N-containing compounds. In this tutorial review, we highlight recent advances in this rapidly developing area with particular emphases put on the working models and new reaction design.

Visible light photoredox-controlled reactions of N-radicals and radical ions

Over the last thirty years organic azides have drawn a great deal of attention as radical traps for carbon- and heteroatom-centered radicals, both in intra- and in intermolecular processes. The resulting intermediates (nitrogen-centered radicals such as triazenyls, aminyls, or even iminyls) can be conveniently employed in the synthesis of a variety of cyclic and acyclic nitrogen-containing compounds.

From azides to nitrogen-centered radicals: applications of azide radical chemistry to organic synthesis.

Reaction of benzenethiol at 100 °C with neat alkyl- and dialkyl-acetylenes leads to virtually quantitative formation of isomeric mixtures of (E)- and (Z)-vinyl sulphide adducts in ratios which depend largely upon both the extent and the nature of alkyl substitution. Results are explained in terms of rapidly interconverting sp2-hybridized (E)- and (Z)-1-alkyl-2-(phenylthio)vinyl radical intermediates which can undergo hydrogen transfer from benzenethiol to an extent which is essentially dependent upon the steric hindrance of their cis-2-substituent. Consistent results are provided by related radical reactions of diphenyl disulphide with alkyl-substituted alkynes to afford varying amounts of 1,2-bis(phenylthio)ethylene adducts ascribable to SH2 reaction of the resulting 1-alkyl-2-(phenylthio)vinyl radicals with the disulphide present. Under analogous conditions benzenethiol and diphenyl disulphide react with phenylacetylenes to give vinyl sulphide or bissulphide adducts in a trans-stereoselective fashion. The findings are interpreted by suggesting, for the intermediate sp-hybridized 1-phenyl-2-(phenylthio)vinyl radicals, the occurrence of significant bonding interaction between the unpaired electron and the adjacent sulphur, which would essentially prevent attack of radical scavenger on the side cis to PhS. Evidence is also presented that 1-phenyl-2-(phenylthio)vinyl radicals can exhibit homolytic intramolecular cyclization reactions, leading to benzothiophene products to a comparatively much greater extent than the 1-alkyl-2-substituted analogues; however, 1-tert-butyl-2-(phenylthio)vinyl radical would represent a special case.

Free-radical reactions of benzenethiol and diphenyl disulphide with alkynes. Chemical reactivity of intermediate 2-(phenylthio)vinyl radicals

Hexamethyldisilathiane: Its Use in the Conversion of Aromatic and Heteroaromatic Azides to Amines

Approach to Spirocyclohexadienimines and Corresponding Dienones through Radical ipso Cyclization onto Aromatic Azides

An explorative study of the Thiol−Yne Coupling (TYC) reaction has been carried out using an aliphatic (1-octyne) and an aromatic alkyne (phenylacetylene) and two alkanethiols (methyl thioglycolate and N-acetyl-L-cysteine methyl ester). The outcomes of the TYC reactions strongly depend on the experimental conditions (e.g., temperature, solvent, and alkyne/thiol ratio), but these can be properly adjusted to achieve selective production of either mono- or bis-coupling products. With respect to 1-octyne, phenylacetylene undergoes notably easier radical hydrothiolation, further showing a notably higher aptitude for monohydrothiolation exclusive of bis-hydrothiolation. The overall findings were exploited in glycosylation of cysteine derivatives as well as of cysteine-containing peptides. A sugar featuring an arylacetylene moiety gave rise to a true click-reaction, that is, glycosylation of the tripeptide glutathione in its native form, by means of virtually equimolar amounts of reagents. This reaction was succe...

An Insight into the Radical Thiol/Yne Coupling: The Emergence of Arylalkyne-Tagged Sugars for the Direct Photoinduced Glycosylation of Cysteine-Containing Peptides

Piero Spagnolo

Papers

From azides to nitrogen-centered radicals: applications of azide radical chemistry to organic synthesis.

Free-radical reactions of benzenethiol and diphenyl disulphide with alkynes. Chemical reactivity of intermediate 2-(phenylthio)vinyl radicals

Hexamethyldisilathiane: Its Use in the Conversion of Aromatic and Heteroaromatic Azides to Amines

Approach to Spirocyclohexadienimines and Corresponding Dienones through Radical ipso Cyclization onto Aromatic Azides

An Insight into the Radical Thiol/Yne Coupling: The Emergence of Arylalkyne-Tagged Sugars for the Direct Photoinduced Glycosylation of Cysteine-Containing Peptides