Organocatalysis [review article]

Reactions carried out with substoichiometric quantities of organic molecules as catalysts have received much attention over the past decade. This review highlights progress in 2011 towards highly enantioselective organocatalytic systems and the natural product/biologically active compounds that can be prepared using these types of processes

The synthesis and functionalisation of chiral cleft molecules and their application as asymmetric hydrogen bond organocatalysts

The synthesis and functionalisation of chiral cleft molecules and their application as asymmetric hydrogen bond organocatalyst

The au(I) catalyzed activation of allenamides and their subsequent transformation into chromanes: a method for the regiocontrolled addition to the alpha- and gamma-positions of the allene unit

Au(I) activation of allenamides in the presence of phenols leads to the formation of chromanes in moderate to good yields. This catalytic process is dependent on the counterion which facilitates the activation of the in situ formed imine. Furthermore, this iminium can be intercepted by trimethylallyl silane, via the Hosomi–Sakurai reaction, giving a formal procedure for the regioselective intermolecular addition of two carbon nucleophiles to an allenamide at the α- and γ-positions

Controlling the assembly of C2-symmetric molecular tectons using a thiocarbamate appended carbocyclic cleft molecule analogous to Tröger’s base

By way of appending the C2-symmetric carbocyclic cleft diol with thiocarbamates with varying substituents, significant control of the hydrogen bonded network can be achieved. Smaller alkyl substituents lead to the formation of stacked columns of components with the apex of one molecule suitably aligned in the cleft of a second. Aryl substituents however, lead to the formation of ribbons via an H-bonding network. Additionally, the packing of these ribbons into networks is considerably different between the enantiopure and racemic clefts, with the latter giving rise to channels within the crystal structure