Easy access on water: A cobalt-catalyzed asymmetric preparation of trifluoromethylcyclopropanes has been developed that yields high enantioselectivities with a broad range of styrene substrates (see scheme). The reaction presents a new access to enantioenriched CF₃-containing building blocks

No abstract

A palladium-catalyzed C-H functionalization reaction for the synthesis of highly substituted aromatic nitriles is reported. The modularity of the reaction is demonstrated by the broad range of aryl iodides which can be coupled with metal cyanides and alkyl halides or aryl bromides.

A norbornene-mediated palladium-catalyzed tandem alkylation/cyanation sequence is described in which an alkyl-aryl bond and a nitrile-aryl bond are formed in one pot. A variety of sterically hindered, five-, six-, and seven-membered ring benzonitriles were synthesized in good yields from easily accessible starting materials.

They all fall down: The value of domino processes can be greatly enhanced when the possibility exists for one to selectively diverge from a common intermediate. In preliminary studies the dual reactivity of aryl-palladium intermediates is exploited. A diverse array of fluorene and phenanthrene derivatives were synthesized in a rapid and efficient manner (see scheme).