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During the past decades, N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)‐catalyzed reactions have emerged as a versatile tool in synthetic chemistry. In particular, NHC‐catalyzed cross‐coupling reaction has been significantly developed in many respects, including new reaction development and mechanistic investigation. This concept article presents recent advances towards direct cross‐coupling reactions of aldehydes with alkyl halides enabled by NHC organocatalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Site‐specifically deuterated organocatalysts were prepared and found to show improved reactivity over the non‐deuterated analogs. Two privileged C2‐symmetric chiral binaphthyl‐modified tetraalkylammonium salts were selected for this study. The stability of these phase‐transfer catalysts was generally improved by site‐specific deuteration, though the degree of improvement was structure dependent. In particular, a large secondary kinetic isotope effect was observed for the tetradeuterated phase‐transfer catalyst. The performance of these deuterated catalysts in the asymmetric catalytic alkylation of amino acid derivatives was better than that of non‐deuterated analogs at low catalyst loadings. The results suggest that catalyst deuteration is a promising strategy for enhancing the stability and performance of organocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) organocatalysis, typically leading to the formation of acyl azolium reactive intermediates, constitutes one of the most important activation strategies for the NHC‐catalyzed chemical transformations. Here, we report an unprecedented oxidative radical NHC catalysis by using peroxyester as the external single‐electron oxidant to realize divergent difunctionalization of olefins. The key to success of this chemistry is the catalytic generation of oxygen radicals that could trigger an intermolecular hydrogen atom transfer to activate the inert C−H bonds, thereby enabling the productive radical relay process. With this protocol, commonly used general chemicals could serve as radical precursors to allow efficient synthesis of value‐added products in a straightforward and cost‐effective manner. Preliminary mechanistic investigations, including control experiments and DFT calculations, shed light on the NHC organocatalytic radical reaction mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The direct functionalization of inert C(sp3)−H bonds under environmentally benign catalytic conditions remains a challenging task in synthetic chemistry. Here, we report an organocatalytic remote C(sp3)−H acylation of amides and cascade cyclization through a radical‐mediated 1,5‐hydrogen atom transfer mechanism using N‐heterocyclic carbene as the catalyst. Notably, a diversity of nitrogen‐containing substrates, including simple linear aliphatic carbamates and ortho‐alkyl benzamides, can be successfully applied to this organocatalytic system. With the established protocol, over 120 examples of functionalized δ‐amino ketones and isoquinolinones with diverse substituents were easily synthesized in up to 99 % yield under mild conditions. The robustness and generality of the organocatalytic strategy were further highlighted by the successful acylation of unactivated C(sp3)−H bonds and late‐stage modification of pharmaceutical molecules. Then, the asymmetric control of the radical reaction was attempted and proven feasible by using a newly designed chiral thiazolium catalyst, and moderate enantioselectivity was obtained at the current stage. Preliminary mechanistic investigations including several control reactions, KIE experiments, and computational studies shed light on the organocatalytic radical reaction mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asymmetric catalysis, deuteration, kinetic isotope effects, organocatalysis, phase-transfer catalysis Keywords: asymmetric catalysis; deuteration; kinetic isotope effects; organocatalysis; phase-transfer catalysis EN asymmetric catalysis deuteration kinetic isotope effects organocatalysis phase-transfer catalysis 1 1 1 09/25/23 20230921 NES 230921 B Incorporating deuteriums into the correct positions of organocatalysts b increases their stability and robustness, just like the story of "The Three Little Pigs": the first two pigs hastily construct houses made of straw and sticks (non-deuterated and dideuterated catalysts), but they were quickly destroyed by the wolf's huffing and puffing (OH SP - sp ). Cover Feature: Impact of Catalyst Deuteration on the Reactivity of Chiral Phase-Transfer Organocatalysts (Chem. Eur. J. 53/2023). [Extracted from the article]