Three highly enantio- and diastereoselective one-pot procedures for the synthesis of cyclopropyl and iodocyclopropyl alcohols with up to four contiguous stereocenters are reported. Route 1 involves asymmetric addition of an alkylzinc reagent to an enal followed by diastereoselective cyclopropanation. Route 2 parallels route 1, except that iodoform is used to generate the zinc carbenoid, and the products are iodocyclopropyl alcohols. Route 3 entails asymmetric vinylation of an aldehyde with divinylzinc reagents and subsequent diastereoselective cyclopropanation.

A direct cross-coupling between sodium sulfinates and 2H-indazoles has been developed under electrochemical conditions. The utilization of a graphite anode and platinum cathode in an undivided cell with a constant current of 7 mA allowed the concurrent oxidations of sulfinates and 2H-indazoles to sulfonyl radical and radical cationic 2H-indazoles, facilitating the direct radical–radical coupling strategy to 3-sulfonylated 2H-indazole derivatives. The transition-metal- and redox-reagent-free synthetic approach should serve as a valuable synthetic tool to achieve heteroaromatic compounds.

The lack of methods for the stereoselective transfer of functionalized carbenoids is one of the most significant deficiencies of Simmons–Smith cyclopropanation reactions. Outlined herein are one-pot methods for the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of halocyclopropyl alcohols with up to four stereogenic centers from achiral starting materials. The first method involves asymmetric alkyl addition to a conjugated enal to generate an allylic alkoxide followed by tandem diastereoselective iodo-, bromo- or chlorocyclopropanation to furnish halocyclopropyl alcohols. Enantioselectivities in these processes range from 89–99% and dr > 20:1 were achieved with all substrates optimized. The second method consists of an asymmetric vinylation of a saturated or aromatic aldehyde followed by a diastereoselective iodocyclopropanation to produce iodocyclopropyl alcohols with enantioselectivities between 86 and 99% and dr > 20:1. These complementary methods enable the efficient synthesis of a variety of halocyclopropyl alcohols in one-pot procedures. Preliminary efforts to functionalize iodocyclopropanes involve reaction with an excess of LiCu(n-Bu)2 to generate the cyclopropyl cuprate. This intermediate can be quenched with allyl bromides to generate the allylated cyclopropyl alcohols without loss of enantio- or diastereoselectivity.

A direct acyl radical addition to 2 H-indazoles has been achieved for the first time, where the less-aromatic quinonoid 2 H-indazoles readily accepted radical species to the C-3 position. Motivated by the lack of direct acylation strategy for 2 H-indazoles, the current method utilizes the radical acceptability of 2 H-indazoles, discovering an ambient temperature reaction to provide facile access to a diverse array of 3-acyl-2 H-indazoles with three points of structural diversification in 25%-83% yields.

The elimination pathway of stereochemically defined β-halovinyl ketones has been investigated using a mild base, NEt(3), leading to the formation of allenyl ketones and propargyl ketones. A preferential α-vinyl enolization of (E)-β-chlorovinyl ketones has been observed where a nonplanar s-cis conformation is proposed as a dominant conformation as opposed to a planar s-cis conformation of (Z)-β-chlorovinyl ketones. Other eliminative pathways, such as concerted syn- and anti-E2 as well as γ-deprotonation, are excluded on the basis of the deuterium isotope studies. The synthetic utility of the elimination reaction of β-chlorovinyl ketones was further demonstrated for a one-pot synthesis of 2,5-disubstituted furans in the presence of 1 mol % CuCl.