Complete Field Guide to Asymmetric BINOL-Phosphate Derived Brønsted Acid and Metal Catalysis: History and Classification by Mode of Activation; Brønsted Acidity, Hydrogen Bonding, Ion Pairing, and Metal Phosphates

Iron Catalysis in Organic Synthesis

Isatins As Privileged Molecules in Design and Synthesis of Spiro-Fused Cyclic Frameworks

Flow chemistry involves the use of channels or tubing to conduct a reaction in a continuous stream rather than in a flask Flow equipment provides chemists with unique control over reaction parameters enhancing reactivity or in some cases enabling new reactions This relatively young technology has received a remarkable amount of attention in the past decade with many reports on what can be done in flow Until recently, however, the question, “Should we do this in flow?” has merely been an afterthought This review introduces readers to the basic principles and fundamentals of flow chemistry and critically discusses recent flow chemistry accounts

The Hitchhiker's Guide to Flow Chemistry

The legacy of Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875-1946) pervades the lexicon of chemical bonding and reactivity. The power of his concept of donor-acceptor bonding is evident in the eponymous foundations of electron-pair acceptors (Lewis acids) and donors (Lewis bases). Lewis recognized that acids are not restricted to those substances that contain hydrogen (Bronsted acids), and helped overthrow the "modern cult of the proton". His discovery ushered in the use of Lewis acids as reagents and catalysts for organic reactions. However, in recent years, the recognition that Lewis bases can also serve in this capacity has grown enormously. Most importantly, it has become increasingly apparent that the behavior of Lewis bases as agents for promoting chemical reactions is not merely as an electronic complement of the cognate Lewis acids: in fact Lewis bases are capable of enhancing both the electrophilic and nucleophilic character of molecules to which they are bound. This diversity of behavior leads to a remarkable versatility for the catalysis of reactions by Lewis bases.

Lewis Base Catalysis in Organic Synthesis

A chiral Lewis acid-catalyzed enantioselective addition of thiols to silyl glyoxylates was developed. The reaction proceeds well with a broad range of thiols and acylsilanes, affording the target tertiary chiral α-silyl–α-sulfydryl alcohols with multi-hetero-atom carbon stereocenters in excellent yields (up to 99%) and enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee). A series of control experiments were conducted to elucidate the reaction mechanism.

/pdf/catalytic-asymmetric-addition-of-thiols-to-silyl-glyoxylates-oiccmoh5mv.pdf

Catalytic asymmetric addition of thiols to silyl glyoxylates for synthesis of multi-hetero-atom substituted carbon stereocenters.

A Chiral N,N′‐Dioxide—ZnII Complex Catalyzes the Enantioselective [2 + 2] Cycloaddition of Alkynones with Cyclic Enol Silyl Ethers.

L-Thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid monolayer was prepared on gold electrodes through the self-assembly approach. Such novel thioether-based monolayer could efficiently preconcentrate Cu2+, which provided a simple, stable and reproducible method for the determination of Cu2+. The modified electrodes were stable enough to be continuously used for one week (more than 30 times regeneration) with lower than 10% decrease in the response. They retained their initial activity for more than one month if used once a day. The calibration curve was linear for Cu2+ from 0.6 to 158.8 μg L−1 with a detection limit of 0.38 μg L−1. The relative standard deviation was 3.2% for a series of six successive measurements. The proposed method was applied in the determination of Cu2+ in mineral water and human hair samples.

Application of l-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid monolayer in electrochemical determination of copper(II)

Regio- and enantioselective conjugate addition of β-nitro α,β-unsaturated carbonyls to construct 3-alkenyl disubstituted oxindoles

An asymmetric organocatalytic nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction of azlactones with electron-deficient aryls was established. A variety of α-aryl α-alkyl α-amino acid esters and peptides were obtained in decent yields and stereoselectivities. A new bifunctional catalytic mode involving charge-transfer interaction and hydrogen bonding is proposed to explain the enantioselectivity.

Xiaohua Liu

Papers

Catalytic asymmetric addition of thiols to silyl glyoxylates for synthesis of multi-hetero-atom substituted carbon stereocenters.

A Chiral N,N′‐Dioxide—ZnII Complex Catalyzes the Enantioselective [2 + 2] Cycloaddition of Alkynones with Cyclic Enol Silyl Ethers.

Application of l-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid monolayer in electrochemical determination of copper(II)

Regio- and enantioselective conjugate addition of β-nitro α,β-unsaturated carbonyls to construct 3-alkenyl disubstituted oxindoles

Enantioselective Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution Reaction of Azlactones to Synthesize Quaternary α-Amino Acid Derivatives