The Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed Friedel−Crafts alkylation reaction with an alcohol, an arenecarbaldehyde or an arenecarbaldehyde acetal as the alkylating agent affords a diarylmethane or an allylbenzene derivative highly selectively. The salient feature of this reaction is that only a catalytic amount of Sc(OTf)3 can effect the reaction. Furthermore, Sc(OTf)3 is recoverable and reusable after the synthetic reaction. The Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed benzylation using an arenecarbaldehyde and 1,3-propanediol or their acetal affords diarylmethane as a sole product in excellent yields in sharp contrast to the original Friedel−Crafts reaction. Since no reaction occurs in the absence of 1,3-propanediol, the reaction is considered to proceed through a redox process including a hydride shift. The hydride shift mechanism is strongly supported by the experimental evidence. The reaction of benzaldehyde with benzene in the presence of 1,3-propanediol-1,1,3,3,-d 4 gives rise to the deuterium incorporation into the benzylic carbon of diphenylmethane. Worthy of note is that 1,3-propanediol acts as the hydride source. Herein, diphenylmethyl 3-hydroxypropyl ether is assumed to be the most likely intermediate. In this reaction, Sc(OTf)3 catalyst effectively promotes initial acetal formation, electrophilic aromatic substitution, and successive intramolecular hydride transfer.

syn-Diastereoselective conjugate addition of 1-pyrroline esters to nitroalkenes in good yields with an excellent enantioselectivity by using CuOAc/Me-FcPHOX catalyst in the presence of pyridine. In contrast, AgOAc/tBu-ThioClickFerrophos catalyzed the anti diastereoselective conjugate addition with a high enantioselectivity without additional base. Thus, the preparation of chiral 1-pyrroline derivatives bearing diverse stereochemistry could be achieved. The diastereoselective reduction of the imine group in the conjugate adduct could afford the 2,5-cis-proline ester derivative.

Twisted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were prepared by the successive rhodium-catalyzed annulation and dehydrogenative cyclization of bis(arylethynyl)arenes with di-tert-butylbiphenyl-2-ylboronic acid. The molecular structures of the PAHs were determined by single-crystal XRD analysis. The PAHs showed up to four fjord regions, and the twisting angle was 46.7°. The nonplanarity (NP) and harmonic oscillator model of aromaticity (HOMA) were calculated by using the structural data obtained from XRD analysis. The PAHs derived from dialkynyl naphthalenes showed low planarity and HOMA of the central ring. The optical properties of the PAHs were investigated by UV/Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy analyses. The absorption and emission maxima of the PAHs with a larger planar region appeared at a longer wavelength. DFT calculations support that the absorption band at λ≈450 nm can be mainly attributed to the HOMO-LUMO transition.

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