As some of the oldest organic chemical reactions known, the ionic additions of elemental halogens such as bromine and chlorine to alkenes are prototypical examples of stereospecific reactions, typically delivering vicinal dihalides resulting from anti-addition. Whilst the invention of enantioselective variants is an ongoing challenge, the ability to overturn the intrinsic anti-diastereospecificity of these transformations is also a largely unsolved problem. In this Article, we describe the first catalytic, syn-stereospecific dichlorination of alkenes, employing a group transfer catalyst based on a redox-active main group element (i.e., selenium). Thus, with diphenyl diselenide (PhSeSePh) (5 mol %) as the pre-catalyst, benzyltriethylammonium chloride (BnEt3NCl) as the chloride source, and an N-fluoropyridinium salt as the oxidant, a wide variety of functionalized cyclic and acyclic 1,2-disubstituted alkenes, including simple allylic alcohols, deliver syn-dichlorides with exquisite stereocontrol. This methodology is expected to find applications in streamlining the synthesis of polychlorinated natural products such as the chlorosulfolipids.

Although recent years have witnessed significant advances in the development of catalytic, enantioselective halofunctionalizations of alkenes, the related dihalogenation of olefins to afford enantioenriched vicinal dihalide products remains comparatively underdeveloped. However, the growing number of complex natural products bearing halogen atoms at stereogenic centers has underscored this critical gap in the synthetic chemist's arsenal. This Review highlights the selectivity challenges inherent in the design of enantioselective dihalogenation processes, and formulates a mechanism-based classification of alkene dihalogenations, including those that may circumvent the "classical" haliranium (or alkene-dihalogen π-complex) intermediates. A variety of metal and main group halide reagents that have been used for the dichlorination or dibromination of alkenes are discussed, and the proposed mechanisms of these transformations are critically evaluated. AbstractCatalysis of alkene dihalogenation , under different activation modes, with control over both the absolute and relative stereochemical course of dihalogen addition, is one of the most vexing problems in stereoselective synthesis. Dihalogenations that circumvent the "classical" haliranium (or alkene-dihalogen π complex) intermediates provide new and exciting opportunities for catalysis, potentially having broader implications for the design of stereoselective alkene difunctionalizations.

A high yielding route to the (-)-platensimycin core is communicated. This entailed the discovery of Bi(OTf)(3) to catalyze a Friedel-Crafts cyclization of a free lactol, supplemented by LiClO(4) to suppress the Lewis basicity of the sulfonate group. After TBAF-promoted cyclodearomatization, a diastereoselective conjugate reduction of a dienone was achieved by adopting amine-based organocatalytic rationales to reverse the inherent steric control of the substrate.

The enantioselective dichlorination of alkenes is a continuing challenge in organic synthesis owing to the limitations of selective and independent antarafacial delivery of both electrophilic chlorenium and nucleophilic chloride to an olefin. Development of a general method for the enantioselective dichlorination of isolated alkenes would allow access to a wide variety of polyhalogenated natural products. Accordingly, the enantioselective suprafacial dichlorination of alkenes catalyzed by electrophilic organoselenium reagents has been developed to address these limitations. The evaluation of twenty-three diselenides as precatalysts for enantioselective dichlorination is described, with a maximum e.r. of 76:24 Additionally, mechanistic studies suggest an unexpected Dynamic Kinetic Asymmetric Transformation (DyKAT) process may be operative.