A unique Ni-catalyzed transformation is reported for the one-pot highly selective synthesis of previously unknown monoseleno-substituted 1,3-dienes starting from easily available terminal alkynes and benzeneselenol. The combination of a readily available catalyst precursor, Ni(acac)2, and an appropriately tuned phosphine ligand, PPh2Cy, resulted in the exclusive assembly of the s-gauche diene skeleton via the selective formation of C-C and C-Se bonds. The unusual diene products were stable under regular experimental conditions, and the products maintained the s-gauche geometry both in the solid state and in solution, as confirmed by X-ray analysis and NMR spectroscopy. Thorough mechanistic studies using ESI-MS revealed the key Ni-containing species involved in the reaction.

The challenges of the modern society and the growing demand of high-technology sectors of industrial production bring about a new phase in the development of organic synthesis. A cutting edge of modern synthetic methods is introduction of functional groups and more complex structural units into organic molecules with unprecedented control over the course of chemical transformation. Analysis of the state-of-the-art achievements in selective organic synthesis indicates the appearance of a new trend the synthesis of organic molecules, biologically active compounds, pharmaceutical substances and smart materials with absolute selectivity. Most advanced approaches to organic synthesis anticipated in the near future can be defined as 'atomic precision' in chemical reactions. The present review considers selective methods of organic synthesis suitable for transformation of complex functionalized molecules under mild conditions. Selected key trends in the modern organic synthesis are considered including the preparation of organofiuorine compounds, catalytic cross-coupling and oxidative cross-coupling reactions, atom-economic addition reactions, methathesis processes, oxidation and reduction reactions, synthesis of heterocyclic compounds, design of new homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic systems, application of photocatalysis, scaling up synthetic procedures to industrial level and development of new approaches to investigation of mechanisms of catalytic reactions. The bibliography includes 840 references.

AbstractThe hydrophosphorylation of internal alkynes (I) can be controlled by the catalyst loading to give mono‐ and bis‐phosphonates selectively.

The experimental study of dechlorination activity of a Au/Ag bimetallic system has shown formation of a variety of chlorinated bimetallic Au/Ag clusters with well-defined Au:Ag ratios from 1:1 to 4:1. It is the formation of the Au/Ag cluster species that mediated CCl bond breakage, since neither Au nor Ag species alone exhibited a comparable activity. The nature of the products and the mechanism of dechlorination were investigated by ESI-MS, GC-MS, NMR, and quantum chemical calculations at the M06/6-311G(d)&SDD level of theory. It was revealed that formation of bimetallic clusters facilitated dechlorination activity due to the thermodynamic factor: CCl bond breakage by metal clusters was thermodynamically favored and resulted in the formation of chlorinated bimetallic species. An appropriate Au:Ag ratio for an efficient hydrodechlorination process was determined in a joint experimental and theoretical study carried out in the present work. This mechanistic finding was followed by synthesis of molecular bimetallic clusters, which were successfully involved in the hydrodechlorination of CCl4 as a low molecular weight environment pollutant and in the dechlorination of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) as an eco-toxic insecticide. High activity of the designed bimetallic system made it possible to carry out a dechlorination process under mild conditions at room temperature.

In the present review we describe the emerging tendency for creating target-oriented analytical approaches designed to solve important chemical tasks by using a combination of analytical tools. The concept is illustrated by selected examples of advances of NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and electron microscopy in the analysis and study of gas-phase, liquid-state and solid-state chemical systems. Comparative description of chemical applications of these analytical methods is presented and discussed. The bibliography includes 359 references.

A unique nickel-based catalytic system was developed where the direction of the hydrophosphorylation reaction can be controlled by varying the catalyst loading. A flexible one-pot access to vinylmonophosphonates and alkylbisphosphonates was demonstrated using simple starting materials in an atom-economic reaction without any specific solvents or ligands. Monitoring of the reaction mechanism with joint NMR and MS studies revealed key information about the reaction intermediates. The synthetic scope of the developed catalytic system was explored and the utility of the synthesized products for the fire protection of cotton materials was demonstrated.

An easy and convenient procedure is described for monitoring chemical reactions and characterization of compounds dissolved in ionic liquids using the well-known tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) technique. Generation of wastes was avoided by utilizing an easy procedure for analysis of ionic liquid systems without preliminary isolation and purification. The described procedure also decreased the risk of plausible contamination and damage of the ESI-MS hardware and in-creased sensitivity and accuracy of the measurements. ESI-MS detection in MS/MS mode was shown to be efficient in ionic liquids systems for structural and mechanistic studies, which are rather difficult otherwise. The developed ESI-MS/MS approach was applied to study samples corresponding to peptide systems in ionic liquids and to platform chemical directed biomass conversion in ionic liquids.

Efficient algorithm was developed for the analysis of products of the catalytic reaction of diynes multiphosphorylation based on combined application of 31 P NMR DOSY spectra and HPLC-MS method. Using this analytical approach the reaction of H-phosphonates addition to diynes was investigated and a simple synthetic procedure got alkyl tetraphosphonates preparation was developed.

On treatment with methylmagnesium iodide, 3β-acetoxy-5β,6β-epoxy-16α,17α-cyclo-hexapregnan-20-one undergoes 3- O -deacetylation along with the opening of the 5β,6β-epoxide ring to form 5α-methyl-6β-hydroxy steroid and the 6α-methyl-6β-hydroxy isomer, the 20-keto group remaining intact.

A new concept for the design of ligands for transition-metal-catalyzed reactions is described. It was shown that the steric effect of triarylphosphanes upon coordination to a metal center can be controlled by switching between unrestricted and restricted rotation modes. The ligands studied were intrinsically tuned to possess characteristic signals in the 1H, 13C, 31P NMR and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), thus allowing mechanistic studies to be easily carried out. The efficiency of the developed method was demonstrated in a study on the mechanistic pathways of Pd-catalyzed hydrophosphorylation of alkynes. The catalytic cycle was explored step-by-step by using ESI-MS and NMR methods. Several Pd species were detected under catalytic conditions and the nature of the intermediate metal complexes were evaluated. The process responsible for capturing the Pd catalyst in the inactive resting state and the routes leading to catalyst decomposition were identified and described. For the first time, the catalytic reaction mechanism of hydrophosphorylation of alkynes was revealed at a molecular level, which led to the design of a novel practical procedure for Pd-mediated CP bond formation. A new Pd/P[(MeO)nC6H5n]3 catalytic system was proposed with the outstanding ability to control reaction selectivity simply by adjusting the methoxy substituents in the phosphane ligand.

Poly(ethylene glycol)s (PEGs) are an interesting environment-friendly alternative to classical solvents. Their combination with metals and metallic salts provides powerful reaction systems for a wide variety of transformations. This study presents an overview of the various reactions developed in PEG together with a metallic species. The influence of PEG on the reaction course, the stabilizing effects of the polymer on the metals and the recycling possibility are reported for the various metallic elements of the periodic table.

In the present chapter we discuss transition-metal-catalyzed phosphorus-hydrogen (P H) bond addition to the triple bond of alkynes and to the double bond of alkenes, dienes, imines, aldehydes and ketones. Main attention is paid to highlight the factors responsible for development of highly efficient catalytic systems and to carry out the addition reaction with high stereo-, regio- and enantioselectivity.

Main factors have been analyzed necessary for creation of an efficient catalytic system for alkynes hydrophosphorylation based on nickel complexes, and a valid model system was suggested for the comparison with palladium complexes. It has been discovered for the first time that the insertion of an alkyne into the metal-hydrogen bond occurs with a considerably lower activation barrier than into the metal-phosphorus bond, whereas the variation in the reaction energy corresponds in both cases to an exothermic reaction. Under the optimized conditions the transformation catalyzed by nickel complexes does not require acid addition and may proceed even in the absence of a phosphine ligand.

The nickel catalyst prepared in situ from nickel bis(acetylacetonate) [Ni(acac)(2)] precursor and bis(diphenylphosphino) ethane (DPPE) ligand has shown excellent performance in the hydrophosphorylation of alkynes. Markovnikov-type regioselective addition to terminal alkynes and stereoselective addition to internal alkynes were carried out with high selectivity without an acidic co-catalyst (in contrast to the palladium/acid catalytic system). Various H-phosphonates and alkynes reacted smoothly in the developed catalytic system with up to 99% yield. The mechanisms of catalyst activation and C-P bond formation were revealed by experimental (NMR, ESI-MS, X-ray) and theoretical (density functional calculations) studies. Two different pathways of the alkyne insertion in the coordination sphere of the metal are reported for the first time.

The cover picture shows a multistage mechanism for nickel-catalyzed hydrophosphorylation of alkynes, with several pathways possible. Only one route leads to product in a quite complicated way. In their full paper on pages 2979 – 2992, V. P. Ananikov, I. P. Beletskaya and co-workers report on the nickel-catalyzed regio- and stereoselective addition of H-phophonates to alkynes without an acidic co-catalyst. The mechanisms of catalyst activation and C–P bond formation are revealed by experimental and theoretical studies.

A novel catalytic system has been developed to accomplish the hydrophosphorylation of terminal and internal alkynes with high isolated yields (up to 96%) and excellent regio- and stereo-selectivity (>99:1). The key factor was to apply a low-ligated palladium/triphenylphosphane (1:2) catalytic system in the presence of a catalytic amount of trifluoroacetic acid. The catalytic system so developed has been applied successfully to permit the formation of diverse alkenylphosphonates utilizing a variety of available H-phosphonates and alkynes.