Dedicated to Ryoma on the occasion of his birthday.A new metal-free hydrohalogenation method for alkynes has been developed, which proceeds through a pseudo-intramolecular process. In this reaction, ethynylaniline serves as a substrate to quantitatively form an anilinium salt upon treatment with hydrochloric acid. The spatial proximity facilitates the efficient electrophilic addition of HCl to the ethynyl group in syn-mode, affording the corresponding chloroalkene without overaddition. This protocol was applied to HBr and HI, and the corresponding bromo-and iodoalkenes were obtained, respectively. The obtained chloroalkene was converted to tri-substituted alkenes possessing different aryl/alkynyl groups through Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.

α-Nitrocinnamate underwent the conjugate addition of an active methylene compound such as nitroacetate, 1,3-dicarbonyl compound, or α-nitroketone, and the following ring closure afforded functionalized heterocyclic frameworks. The reaction of cinnamate with nitroacetate occurs via nucleophilic substitution of a nitro group by the O-attack of the nitronate, which results in isoxazoline N-oxide. This protocol was applicable to 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds to afford dihydrofuran derivatives, including those derived from direct substitution of a nitro group caused by O-attack of enolate. It was found the reactivity was lowered by an electron-withdrawing group on the carbonyl moiety. When α-nitroketone was employed as a substrate, three kinds of products were possibly formed; of these, only isoxazoline N-oxide was identified. This result indicates that the substituting ability of nitronate is higher than that of enolate for the direct SN2 substitution of a nitro group.

A new synthetic method for 10-arylated dibenzo[b,f]azepines was developed. The pseudo-intramolecular hydrohalogenation of 2-(2’-bromophenyl)ethynylaniline, which proceeded in a syn-selective manner without forming any detectable over-addition product, was a crucial step....

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