2‐Acetylbenzonitriles have been conveniently synthesized by the oxidation of the respective 2‐ethylbenzonitriles, combining in a one‐pot procedure radical bromination and hydrolysis reactions. The obtained ketones reacted under very mild conditions with carbon and hetero nucleophiles to give a wide range of 3,3‐disubstituted isoindolinones in yields of 80–99 % by a tandem process consisting of an addition step and a subsequent Dimroth‐type rearrangement. Among the tested nucleophiles, the addition of water in the presence of a catalytic amount of KOH allowed a convenient access to an unprecedented variety of novel 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylisoindolinones.

A novel high yielding, enantio- and diastereoselective protocol for the synthesis of α-allylated highly functionalised β-amino acid derivatives by adding isoxazolidin-5-ones to MBH carbonates under asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis has been developed.

The first asymmetric α-trifluoromethylthiolation of 2-substituted isoxazolidin-5-ones was developed using Maruoka type N-spiro ammonium catalysts under phase-transfer conditions. The resulting products, containing a trifluoromethylthiolated quaternary chiral carbon, were obtained in moderate to good yields and up to 98:2 enantiomeric ratio. Moreover, the easy N− O bond cleavage provided access to undescribed α-trifluoromethylthio-β 2,2 -amino acids, with promising applications in biochemistry and medicinal chemistry. Letter pubs.acs.org/OrgLett

The first asymmetric synthesis of 3-amino-substituted isoindolinones was accomplished via cascade hemiaminal-heterocyclization-intramolecular aza-Mannich reaction of amines and 2-formylbenzonitriles using chiral phase transfer conditions (PTC).

Coupling of CO2 with epoxides is a green emerging alternative for the synthesis of cyclic organic carbonates (COC) and aliphatic polycarbonates (APC). The scope of this work is to provide a comprehensive overview of metal complexes having sulfur-containing ligands as homogeneous catalytic systems able to efficiently promote this transformation with a concise discussion of the most significant results. The crucial role of sulfur as the hemilabile ligand and its influence on the catalytic activity are highlighted as well.