Deciphering the Chameleonic Chemistry of Allenols: Breaking the Taboo of a Onetime Esoteric Functionality

The allene functionality has participated in one of the most exciting voyages in organic chemistry, from chemical curiosities to a recurring building block in modern organic chemistry. In the last decades, a special kind of allene, namely, allenol, has emerged. Allenols, formed by an allene moiety and a hydroxyl functional group with diverse connectivity, have become common building blocks for the synthesis of a wide range of structures and frequent motif in naturally occurring systems. The synergistic effect of the allene and hydroxyl functional groups enables allenols to be considered as a unique and sole functionality exhibiting a special reactivity. This Review summarizes the most significant contributions to the chemistry of allenols that appeared during the past decade, with emphasis on their synthesis, reactivity, and occurrence in natural products.

Gold-catalyzed preparation of annelated 2-azetidinones via divergent heterocyclization of enyne-tethered oxazolidines

The divergent and selective syntheses of two types of annelated β-lactams, namely, furan- and tetrahydropyridine-fused 2-azetidinones, have been accomplished directly from 2-azetidinone-tethered oxazolidine-enynes through gold catalysis.

Stereoselective preparation of conjugated (Z)-1,3-enynes by dehydration reactions of allenic bromohydrins and the use of the enynes in base-mediated tandem allylation ene-carbocyclization reactions with β-ketoesters

A procedure has been developed for the concise, stereoselective synthesis of (Z)-5-bromo-4-aryl-pent-3-en-1-ynes through Sc(OTf)₃ catalyzed dehydration reactions of allenic bromohydrins. (Z)-1,3-Enynes are transformed to methylenecyclopentenes when subjected to a sequential, one-pot process involving base mediated allylation reactions with ethyl acetoacetate followed by ene-carbocyclization reactions. An unprecedented rearrangement reaction involving 1,5-acyl migration takes place when the methylenecyclopentenes are treated with acid to form highly substituted cyclopentadienes.

Cu-Catalyzed hydrophosphorylative ring opening of propargyl epoxides: highly selective access to 4-phosphoryl 2,3-allenols

A CuI-catalyzed cross-coupling of propargyl epoxides with P(O)H compounds to produce 4-phosphoryl 2,3-allenols with excellent selectivity under mild conditions is disclosed.

The metal tin promoted cascade reaction of ketones in aqueous media for the construction of 2-bromo-4-aryl-1,3-pentadiene

A novel type of transformation was discovered serendipitously during the Barbier-type allenylation reaction of aromatic ketones promoted by the metal, tin, in aqueous media. Additionally, a series of new, highly functionalized 2-bromo-4-aryl-1,3-pentadienes could be obtained with good yields in this reaction. This cascade reaction shows the unique properties of the metal, tin. Furthermore, it is actually a cascade reaction which involves two steps: one is the Barbier-type allenylation of the carbonyl compound, and the other is an SN2' type addition-elimination reaction. Notably, this reaction has the advantages of simple, mild conditions and is easy to operate. Furthermore, the corresponding product could be applied to various coupling reactions or other diversified transformations.

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of 1,3-enyne scaffolds: design and synthesis of conjugated nitro dienynes as novel Michael acceptors and development of a new synthetic methodology

A catalytic enantioselective synthesis of 1,3-enynes for the development of nitro dienynes as novel Michael acceptors has been developed.