In this work, an organopromoted metal-free pharmaceutical-oriented selectivity-switchable benzylic oxidation was developed, affording mono-, di-, and trioxygenation products, respectively, using oxygen as the oxidant under mild conditions. This process facilitates dioxygenation of 2,6-benzylic positions of heterocycles, which could be inhibited by heterocycle chelation to the metal cocatalysts. Enantiopure chiral ketones could also be prepared. The noninvolvement of transition metals and toxins avoids metal or hazardous residues, consequently ensuring a final-stage gram-scale synthesis of Lenperone.

Synthesis of linear α,β-unsaturated aldehydes via a room-temperature oxidative dehydrogenation has been realized by the cocatalysis of an organic nitrite and palladium with molecular oxygen as the sole clean oxidant. Linear α,β-unsaturated aldehydes could be efficiently prepared under aerobic catalytic conditions directly from the corresponding saturated linear aldehydes. Besides linear products, the aromatic analogy could also be smoothly achieved by the same standard method. The organic nitrite redox cocatalyst and alcohol solvent play a key role for realizing this method.Keywords: cocatalysis; dehydrogenation; organic nitrite; palladium; α,β-unsaturated aldehydes;

A pharmaceutical-oriented, transition-metal-free, cyanide-free one-step direct transformation of methylarenes to aryl nitriles is described. For the dimethylarenes, the selectivity can be well-controlled to form mononitriles or dinitriles. Enantioenriched nitriles can also be synthesized by this method. As a pharmaceutically practical method, the antidepressant drug citalopram was synthesized from cheap and commercially abundant m-xylene on a gram scale in high yield, avoiding transition-metal residues and toxic cyanides.

A heterogeneous iridium-complex-catalyzed N–O-cleaving rearrangement/cyclization of 2,3-dihydroisoxazoles with alkenes has been developed. It provides divergent access to multiple substituted pyrrolidines, pyrroles, and carbazoles. The iridium catalyst remains highly catalytic active after seven cycles. The gram-scale synthesis afforded a carbazole with strong bluish-violet fluorescence.

A transition-metal-free deacylative C(sp3)–C(sp2) bond cleavage for the synthetically practical oxidative amination of ketones and aldehydes to nitriles is first described, using cheap and commercially abundant NaNO2 as the oxidant and the nitrogen source. Various nitriles bearing aryl, heteroaryl, alkyl, and alkenyl groups could be smoothly obtained from ketones and aldehydes in high yields, avoiding highly toxic cyanides or transition metals.

An aerobic acetoxyhydroxylation of alkenes cooperatively catalyzed by organic nitrite and palladium at room temperature using clean and cheap air as the sole oxidant has been developed. Various vicinal diols, diacetoxyalkanes, and dihalogenoalkanes have been synthesized. The gram-scale synthesis has also been approached. Vicinal difluorination and dichlorolation products have also been achieved via this reaction.

Triflic acid-catalyzed direct oxidative lactonization of alkenoic acids mediated solely by NaIO4 without halogen salts is described. Sodium periodate works not only as an oxidant, but also as an active reagent and directly mediates the lactonization. A new cheap, green, and practical oxidative lactonization approach has been developed using NaIO4 as the sole reagent.

An aldehyde-selective aerobic Wacker–Tsuji oxidation is developed. Using tert-butyl nitrite as a simple organic redox cocatalyst instead of copper or silver salts, a variety of aldehydes were achieved as major products in up to 30/1 regioselectivity as well as good to high yields at room temperature.

Oxychlorination of alkenyl oximes is harder compared to the analogous oxybromination or oxyiodination because of the difficulty associated with the formation of chlorine cations or radicals. A transition-metal-free oxychlorination of alkenyl oximes has been developed, using t-BuONO as a dual oxidant and AlCl3 as a chlorine source. This convenient and practical method has been used to construct chloroisoxazolines in moderate to good yields, whereas N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) failed to promote this reaction.

•No transition metal has been involved.•No toxic cyanide is needed.•This method demonstrates functional group-tolerant.•Either aryl or alkyl substitutions are suitable.•This access to nitriles is synthetically practical.Tin or gallium chloride catalyzed transformation of oximes or aldehydes to nitriles is described. Various nitriles were obtained in up to 99% of yields. The gram-scale reaction or the optically active dinitrile was also available. This synthetically useful method has avoided toxic organic or inorganic cyanides as well as transition or noble metal catalysts.

A base-catalyzed/promoted transition-metal-free direct alkylation of amines with alcohols has been developed, giving the desired amines in generally high yields from either aromatic or aliphatic alcohols. On the basis of the 1H NMR and in situ IR (React-IR) monitoring experiments, isotope-labeling experiments, as well as control experiments, a novel “hemiaminal” model is proposed to understand the mechanism, which explains the formation of the “extra” aldehyde in the reaction.

An unprecedented base-promoted direct olefination of aryl alcohols with sulfones via a Julia-type reaction has been described. No extra reductants are needed for Julia reaction since alcohols work as double sources of aldehydes and the hydride. Generally high yields were given for both terminal and highly (E)-selective internal olefins.

Phenanthroline and tert-butoxide have been established as powerful radical initiators in reactions such as the SRN1-type coupling reactions due to the cooperation of large heteroarenes and a special feature of tert-butoxide. The first phenanthroline-tert-butoxide-catalyzed transition-metal-free allylic isomerization is described. The resulting ketones are key intermediates for indenes. The control experiments rule out the base-promoted allylic anion pathway. The radical pathway is supported by experimental evidence that includes kinetic study, kinetic isotope effect, isotope-labeling experiments, trapping experiments, and EPR experiments.

A palladium-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of planar chiral metallocene compounds is reported. The reaction stereoselectively functionalized one of the ortho C–H bonds of Cp rings by intramolecular cyclization to form indenone derivatives in high yields with excellent enantioselectivity. The mild set of reaction conditions allowed a wide variety of chiral metallocene compounds to be synthesized with broad functional group tolerance. The influences of preinstalled chiralities on the other Cp-ring were also investigated.

A strategy of ruthenium-catalyzed self-hydride transferring cleavage of N–O bonds was designed and utilized in a cascade 1,3-dipolar cyclization of alkenes and N-methyl nitrones followed by an N-demethylative rearrangement, furnishing synthetically useful N–H 1,3-oxazinanes.

A highly efficient ruthenium-catalyzed stereospecific N-demethylative rearrangement of isoxazolidines to synthetically useful N–H-1,3-oxazinanes is described. 1,3-Oxazinanes are useful building blocks, which can be further converted to N–H-1,3-aminoalcohols in one step. This new method was used in a three-step gram-scale total synthesis of HPA-12 in an overall 24% yield.

An asymmetric N-demethylative rearrangement of 1,2-isoxazolidines catalyzed by ruthenium is described. Enantioenriched syn-1,3-aminoalcohols as well as cis-1,3-oxazinanes, which are useful building blocks, can be efficiently prepared stereospecifically by this reaction in good yields, via the isoxazolidine intermediates in situ generated from a nitrone bearing a chiral auxiliary and styrenes. This asymmetric reaction was also applied in the asymmetric total syntheses of both (−)-(1R,3S)-HPA-12 and (+)-(1S,3R)-HPA-12.

Oxychlorination of alkenyl oximes is harder compared to the analogous oxybromination or oxyiodination because of the difficulty associated with the formation of chlorine cations or radicals. A transition-metal-free oxychlorination of alkenyl oximes has been developed, using t-BuONO as a dual oxidant and AlCl3 as a chlorine source. This convenient and practical method has been used to construct chloroisoxazolines in moderate to good yields, whereas N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) failed to promote this reaction.

An unprecedented base-promoted direct olefination of aryl alcohols with sulfones via a Julia-type reaction has been described. No extra reductants are needed for Julia reaction since alcohols work as double sources of aldehydes and the hydride. Generally high yields were given for both terminal and highly (E)-selective internal olefins.

Triflic acid-catalyzed direct oxidative lactonization of alkenoic acids mediated solely by NaIO4 without halogen salts is described. Sodium periodate works not only as an oxidant, but also as an active reagent and directly mediates the lactonization. A new cheap, green, and practical oxidative lactonization approach has been developed using NaIO4 as the sole reagent.