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Chemical synthesis is the process by which one or more chemical reactions are performed with the aim of converting a reactant or starting material into a product or multiple products. Chemical synthesis is at the heart of much chemistry research as it is the basis for discovering compounds with new physical or biological properties.
The precision synthesis of cyclic polymers with ultrahigh molar mass (UHMM) and circularity is challenging. Now, a method that involves superbase-mediated living linear-chain growth followed by macromolecular cyclization triggered by protic quenching enables the on-demand production of UHMM cyclic polymers with a narrow dispersity and closed-loop chemical recyclability.
Electrophilic halogenation approaches often suffer from low reactivity and chemoselectivity when it comes to complex compounds. Now a class of halogenating reagents based on anomeric amides that can halogenate complex bioactive molecules with diverse functional groups and heterocycles has been developed. The higher reactivity of these anomeric amide reagents is attributed to the energy stored in the pyramidalized nitrogen.
Direct radical C–H amination strategies have exhibited innovation, but challenges remain with C–H amination of electron-poor nitroarenes due to the essence of the electron-deficient nitrogen radical. Herein, the authors report a transition metal-free dehydrogenative C(sp2)-H/N-H cross-coupling between electron-poor nitroarenes and amines.
The chemistry of beryllium, one of the periodic table’s lightest elements, remains poorly understood. Now, a nucleophilic beryllium complex with a highly polarized Be–Be bond has been prepared—this compound could be seen as a mixed-oxidation state Be(0)/Be(II) complex. The Be–Be bond is cleaved upon reaction with an organic substrate.
The direct C−H-difluoromethylation of pyridines represents a highly efficient economic way to access azines. However, the direct meta-difluoromethylation of pyridines remains elusive. Here, the authors demonstrate switchable meta- as well as para-C−H difluoromethylation of pyridines through radical processes by using oxazino pyridine intermediates.
The precision synthesis of cyclic polymers with ultrahigh molar mass (UHMM) and circularity is challenging. Now, a method that involves superbase-mediated living linear-chain growth followed by macromolecular cyclization triggered by protic quenching enables the on-demand production of UHMM cyclic polymers with a narrow dispersity and closed-loop chemical recyclability.
Irreproducible synthetic methods consume time, money, and resources. Here, we highlight the steps Nature Synthesis takes to help authors make their synthetic procedures as reproducible as possible.
The idea that three different free radicals could be used together to carry out specific steps in a chemical reaction has long been implausible. A ‘radical sorting’ strategy now achieves this feat to make organic molecules.