An expansion of the solvent‐free synthetic toolbox is essential for advances in the sustainable chemical industry. Mechanochemical reactions offer a superior safety profile and reduced amount of waste compared to conventional solvent‐based synthesis. Herein a new mechanochemical method was developed for nucleophilic substitution of alcohols using fluoro‐N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylformamidinium hexafluorophosphate (TFFH) and K2HPO4 as an alcohol‐activating reagent and a base, respectively. Alcohol activation and reaction with a nucleophile were performed in one milling jar via reactive isouronium intermediates. Nucleophilic substitution with amines afforded alkylated amines in 31–91 % yields. The complete stereoinversion occurred for the SN2 reaction of (R)‐ and (S)‐ethyl lactates. Substitution with halide anions (F−, Br−, I−) and oxygen‐centered (CH3OH, PhO−) nucleophiles was also tested. Application of the method to the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients has been demonstrated.

In order to investigate the ability of bis(zinc octaethylporphyrin) (bis–ZnOEP) to discriminate cyclohexanohemicucurbit[n]urils (cycHC[n]) of different shapes and sizes, the self-assembly of barrel-shaped chiral cycHC[n] with bis–ZnOEP was studied by various spectroscopic methods (absorption, fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD), and NMR). While the binding of 6-membered cycHC[6] induced a tweezer-like conformation followed by the formation of anti-form of bis–ZnOEP upon further addition of cycHC[6], the interaction of 8-membered cycHC[8] is more complex and proceeds through the featured syn-to-anti conformational change of bis–ZnOEP and further intermolecular self-assembly via multiple noncovalent associations between cycHC[8] and bis–ZnOEP. Whilst bis–porphyrins are known to be effective chemical sensors able to differentiate various guests based on their chirality via induced CD, their ability to sense small differences in the shape and size of relatively large macrocycles, such as chiral cycHC[6] and cycHC[8], is scarcely examined. Both studied complexes exhibited characteristic induced CD signals in the region of porphyrin absorption upon complexation.

Organomagnesium halides (Grignard reagents) are essential carbanionic building blocks widely used in carbon‐carbon and carbon‐heteroatom bond‐forming reactions with various electrophiles. In the Barbier variant of the Grignard synthesis, the generation of air‐ and moisture‐sensitive Grignard reagents occurs concurrently with their reaction with an electrophile. Although operationally simpler, the classic Barbier approach suffers from low yields due to multiple side reactions, thereby limiting the scope of its application. Here, we report a mechanochemical adaptation of the Mg‐mediated Barbier reaction, which overcomes these limitations and facilitates the coupling of versatile organic halides (e.g., allylic, vinylic, aromatic, aliphatic) with a diverse range of electrophilic substrates (e.g., aromatic aldehydes, ketones, esters, amides, O‐benzoyl hydroxylamine, chlorosilane, borate ester) to assemble C−C, C−N, C−Si, and C−B bonds. The mechanochemical approach has the advantage of being essentially solvent‐free, operationally simple, immune to air, and surprisingly tolerant to water and some weak Brønsted acids. Notably, solid ammonium chloride was found to improve yields in the reactions of ketones. Mechanistic studies have clarified the role of mechanochemistry in the process, indicating the generation of transient organometallics facilitated by improved mass transfer and activation of the surface of magnesium metal.

Organomagnesium halides (Grignard reagents) are essential carbanionic building blocks widely used in carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions with various electrophiles. In the Barbier variant of the Grignard synthesis, the generation of air- and moisture-sensitive Grignard reagents occurs concurrently with their reaction with an electrophile. Although operationally simpler, the classic Barbier approach suffers from low yields due to multiple side reactions, thereby limiting the scope of its application. Here, we report a mechanochemical adaptation of the Mg-mediated Barbier reaction, which overcomes these limitations and facilitates the coupling of versatile organic halides (e.g., allylic, vinylic, aromatic, aliphatic) with a diverse range of electrophilic substrates (e.g., aldehydes, ketones, esters, amides, O-benzoyl hydroxylamine, chlorosilane, borate ester) to assemble C–C, C–N, C–Si, and C–B bonds. In contrast to the classic two-step Grignard synthesis, the mechanochemical approach has the advantage of being essentially solvent-free, single step, operationally simple, immune to air, and surprisingly tolerant to water and other proton donors. Mechanistic studies have clarified the role of mechanochemistry in the process, indicating that the reaction predominantly proceeds via the generation of transient organometallics, which occurs rapidly due to improved mass transfer and activation of the surface of magnesium metal

Organomagnesium halides (Grignard reagents) are essential carbanionic building blocks widely used in carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond forming reactions with various electrophiles. In the Barbier variant of the Grignard synthesis, the generation of air- and moisture-sensitive Grignard reagents occurs concurrently with their reaction with an electrophile. Although operationally simpler, the classic Barbier approach suffers from low yields due to multiple side reactions, limiting its application scope. Here, we report a mechanochemical adaptation of the Mg-mediated Barbier reaction, which overcomes these limitations and makes it suitable for the coupling of versatile organic halides (allylic, vinylic, aromatic, aliphatic) with diverse range of electrophilic substrates (aldehydes, ketones, esters, amides, O-benzoyl hydroxylamine, chlorosilane, borate ester) to assemble C–C, C–N, C–Si, and C–B bonds. In contrast to the classic two-step Grignard synthesis, the mechanochemical approach offers the advantages of being essentially solvent-free, single step and operationally simple, immune to air, and surprisingly tolerant to water and other proton donors. Mechanistic studies clarify the role of mechanochemistry in the process, indicating that the reaction predominantly proceeds via generation of transient organometallics, which occurs rapidly due to improved mass transfer and activation of the surface of magnesium metal