A useful source: Arylsulfonyl hydrazides have been identified as synthetically useful aryl sources for the Pd(OAc)2 catalyzed oxidative Mizoroki–Heck‐type reaction under molecular oxygen to provide a convenient access to polysubstituted alkenes in a highly regio‐ and stereoselective manner (see scheme). The reaction well tolerates various functional groups such as alkoxy, halo, alcohol, carboxylic acid, ester, amide, sulfonamide, and sulfone.

An unprecedented protocol has been developed for the regioselective synthesis of structurally diverse indene derivatives from readily accessible N-benzylic sulfonamides and disubstituted alkynes through FeCl(3)-catalyzed cleavage of sp(3) carbon-nitrogen bonds to generate benzyl cation intermediates. In the presence of 10 mol % of FeCl(3), a broad range of N-benzylic sulfonamides smoothly react with internal alkynes, alkynylcarbonyl compounds, alkynyl chalcogenides, or alkynyl halides to afford various functionalized indene derivatives with extremely high regioselectivity.

Ann-Bu4NI-catalyzed C–P(O) formation reaction of alcohols with phosphites, phosphonites, and phosphinites is developed for the synthesis of useful phosphoryl compounds.

A mild and extra activator-free dehydrative alkylation of stabilized phosphonium ylides with allylic alcohols in water is developed in the presence of [Pd(allyl)Cl] 2 /dppf catalyst. A wide range of aryl, heteroaryl, alkyl and even allylic tertiary alcohols can readily react with stabilized phosphonium ylides with high regioselectivity for the efficient synthesis of functionalized skipped dienes in moderate to high yields. The role of water was investigated by means of a high-resolution mass spectrum and diffusion-ordered spectroscopy nuclear magnetic resonance, and the results revealed that water might play a crucial role in the formation of the p-allylpalladium complex via hydrogen bond. However, the present method is not suitable for water-sensitive phosphonium ylides.

A practical and efficient method for selective intramolecular radical trifluoromethylacylation and -arylation of alkenes with inexpensive CF3SO2Na and K2S2O8 in aqueous media has been developed, respectively, affording the highly chemoselective synthesis of CF3-functionalized chroman-4-ones and chromanes in satisfactory yields. Control experiments and DFT calculations indicate that the CF3SO2Na/K2S2O8 system is capable of trifluoromethylating the substrate of alkenes without a transition metal catalyst and the oxidation of CF3SO2Na to ·CF3 by K2S2O8 is involved in the rate-determining step.

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Owing to the importance of amine/amide derivatives in all fields of chemistry, and also the green and environmentally benign features of using alcohols as alkylating reagents, the relatively high atom economic dehydrative N-alkylation reactions of amines/amides with alcohols through hydrogen autotransfer processes have received much attention and have developed rapidly in recent decades. Various efficient homogeneous and heterogeneous transition metal catalysts, nano materials, electrochemical methods, biomimetic methods, asymmetric N-alkylation reactions, aerobic oxidative methods, and even certain transition metal-free, catalyst-free, or autocatalyzed methods, have also been developed in recent years. With a brief introduction to the background and developments in this area of research, this chapter focuses mainly on recent progress and technical and conceptual advances contributing to the development of this research in the last decade. In addition to mainstream research on homogeneous and heterogeneous transition metal-catalyzed reactions, possible mechanistic routes for hydrogen transfer and alcohol activation, which are key processes in N-alkylation reactions but seldom discussed in the past, the recent reports on computational mechanistic studies of the N-alkylation reactions, and the newly emerged N-alkylation methods based on novel alcohol activation protocols such as air-promoted reactions and transition metal-free methods, are also reviewed in this chapter. Problems and bottlenecks that remained to be solved in the field, and promising new research that deserves greater future attention and effort, are also reviewed and discussed.

A range of ketone-stabilized phosphonium ylides were allylated with high regioselectivity by primary allylic amines in the presence of 5 mol % Pd(PPh3)4 and 10 mol % B(OH)3, and subsequent one-pot Wittig olefination gave structurally diverse α,β-unsaturated ketones in good to excellent overall yields with excellent E selectivity. The one-pot allylation/olefination reaction was extended to ester- and nitrile-stabilized phosphonium ylides by replacing B(OH)3 with TsOH, and the corresponding α,β-unsaturated esters and nitriles were obtained in moderate overall yields.