Total Synthesis and Stereochemical Revision of Phacelocarpus 2‐Pyrone A

Pd-Catalyzed Cross-Couplings: On the Importance of the Catalyst Quantity Descriptors, mol % and ppm

This Review examines parts per million (ppm) palladium concentrations in catalytic cross-coupling reactions and their relationship with mole percentage (mol %). Most studies in catalytic cross-coupling chemistry have historically focused on the concentration ratio between (pre)catalyst and the limiting reagent (substrate), expressed as mol %. Several recent papers have outlined the use of “ppm level” palladium as an alternative means of describing catalytic cross-coupling reaction systems. This led us to delve deeper into the literature to assess whether “ppm level” palladium is a practically useful descriptor of catalyst quantities in palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions. Indeed, we conjectured that many reactions could, unknowingly, have employed low “ppm levels” of palladium (pre)catalyst, and generally, what would the spread of ppm palladium look like across a selection of studies reported across the vast array of the cross-coupling chemistry literature. In a few selected examples, we have examined other metal catalyst systems for comparison with palladium.

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Intramolecular Double Hydrofunctionalization of Alkynes. Synthesis of Spirocyclic Hemiaminal Ethers and Their Lewis Acid-Mediated Cleavage/Nucleophilic Addition

[RuCl₂(p-cymene)]₂/AgNO₃-catalyzed intramolecular double hydrofunctionalization of internal alkynes having nitrogen and oxygen nucleophilic groups at appropriate positions provided a series of spirocyclic hemiaminal ether derivatives in good to excellent yields. The product spiro-hemiaminal ethers underwent Lewis acid-mediated chemoselective cleavage, and in situ-generated iminium/oxocarbenium ions could be trapped with nucleophiles to afford a range of nitrogen and oxygen heterocycles.

Total synthesis: the structural confirmation of natural products

This feature article highlights total synthesis as one of the reliable tools for the structural confirmation of natural products.

Gold-alkynyls in catalysis: alkyne activation, gold cumulenes and nuclearity

The use of cationic gold(i) species in the activation of substrates containing C[triple bond, length as m-dash]C bonds has become a valuable tool for synthetic chemists. Despite the seemingly simple label of 'alkyne activation', numerous patterns of reactivity and product structure are observed in systems employing related substrates and catalysts. The complications of mechanistic determination are compounded as the number of implicated gold(i) centres involved in catalysis increases and debate about the bonding in proposed intermediates clouds the number and importance of potential reaction pathways. This perspective aims to illustrate some of the principles underpinning gold-alkynyl interactions whilst highlighting some of the contentious areas in the field and offering some insight into other, often ignored, mechanistic possibilities based on recent findings.