Regiodivergent Organocatalytic Reactions

Organocatalysts are abundantly used for various transformations, particularly to obtain highly enantio- and diastereomeric pure products by controlling the stereochemistry. These applications of organocatalysts have been the topic of several reviews. Organocatalysts have emerged as one of the very essential areas of research due to their mild reaction conditions, cost-effective nature, non-toxicity, and environmentally benign approach that obviates the need for transition metal catalysts and other toxic reagents. Various types of organocatalysts including amine catalysts, Brønsted acids, and Lewis bases such as N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysts, cinchona alkaloids, 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), and hydrogen bond-donating catalysts, have gained renewed interest because of their regioselectivity. In this review, we present recent advances in regiodivergent reactions that are governed by organocatalysts. Additionally, we briefly discuss the reaction pathways of achieving regiodivergent products by changes in conditions such as solvents, additives, or the temperature.

Quantum Chemical-Guided Steglich Rearrangement of Azlactones and Isoxazolones

The theoretical-guided evaluation of the Steglich rearrangement of azlactones and isoxazolones allowed the determination of the reactivity patterns in these heterocycles, including the factors that drive the regioselectivity toward both possible sites. These results allowed the first experimental report on the regioselective Steglich rearrangement of isoxazolones, affording the nitrogen- or carbon-acyloxy adducts.