Non‐covalent molecular interactions on the basis of halogen and chalcogen bonding represent a promising, powerful catalytic activation mode. However, these “unusual” non‐covalent interactions are typically employed in the solid state and scarcely exploited in catalysis. In recent years, an increased interest in halogen and chalcogen bonding has been awaken, as they provide profound characteristics that make them an appealing alternative to the well‐explored hydrogen bonding. Being particularly relevant in the binding of “soft” substrates, the similar strength to hydrogen bonding interactions and its higher directionality allows for solution‐phase applications with halogen and chalcogen bonding as the key interaction. In this mini‐review, the special features, state‐of‐the‐art and key examples of these so‐called σ‐hole interactions in the field of organocatalysis are presented.

Easily accessible and tunable chiral triazoles have been introduced as a novel class of C-H bond-based H-donors for anion-binding organocatalysis. They have proven to be effective catalysts for the dearomatization reaction of different N-heteroarenes. Although this dearomatization approach represents a powerful strategy to build chiral heterocycles, to date only a few catalytic methods to this end exist. In this work, the organocatalyzed enantioselective Reissert-type dearomatization of isoquinoline derivatives employing a number of structurally diverse chiral triazoles as anion-binding catalysts was realized. The here presented method was employed to synthesize a number of chiral 1,2-dihydroisoquinoline substrates with an enantioselectivity up to 86:14 e.r. Moreover, a thorough study of the determining parameters affecting the activity of this type of anion- binding catalysts was carried out.

A metal‐free synthesis of biologically important benzazepines is achieved through a single synthetic operation involving an oxidative C–H bond functionalization and ring expansion with diazomethanes as key reagent. This represents a new, strong methodology for the straightforward construction of the seven‐ring N‐heterocyclic structures under mild conditions using a 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine 1‐oxyl (TEMPO) oxoammonium salt as oxidant. Moderate to good yields are achieved from simple, readily available tetrahydroisoquinolines, and this methodology has been further successfully applied for the synthesis of the 3‐benzazepine drug Lorcaserin. A possible mechanistic pathway for the ring expansion step, comprising the extrusion of nitrogen in a concerted asynchronic process, is proposed based on both mechanistic proof and density function theory (DFT) calculations.magnified image

A general and highly enantioselective synthesis of oxygen heterocycles from readily available in situ generated pyrylium derivatives has been realized by embracing a multi‐coordination approach with helical anion‐binding tetrakistriazole catalysts. The high activity of the tetrakistriazole (TetraTri) catalysts, with distinct confined anion‐binding pockets, allows for remarkably low catalyst loadings (down to 0.05 mol %), while providing a simple access to chiral chromanones and dihydropyrones in high enantioselectivities (up to 98:2 e.r.). Moreover, experimental and theoretical studies provide new insights into the hydrogen‐donor ability and key binding interactions of the TetraTri catalysts and its host:guest complexes, suggesting the formation of a 1:3 species.