Gerhard Hilt

The transformation of primary and secondary alcohols under electrochemical and neutral conditions with disulfides by a Mitsunobu-type reaction led to unsymmetrical sulfides in acceptable to good yields.

The unprecedented reaction of an organo sodium reagent, generated in a sodium-packed bed reactor, with (difluoromethyl)- or (trichloromethyl)benzene derivatives provided alkenes in acceptable to good yields.

Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Gernot Frenking on the occasion of his 80th birthday. The electrochemical iodination of electron-deficient arenes beyond the hitherto described scope of such reactions performed with other iodinating agents is realized in a divided cell at a platinum anode in nitromethane utilizing I₂ in stoichiometric amounts and catalytic amounts of Bu₄NCl. The electrolysis generates the proposed reactive species [I₂Cl]⁺ · CH₃NO₂ in the anode compartment (4.2 mA·cm⁻²) on a 0.25–1.00 mmol scale and leads to the desired meta-substituted iodinated products in high to excellent regioselectivities. For the iodination of dimethyl phthalate as electron-deficient arenes, which gave a mixture of products, the reactivity and the regioselectivity of the I₂/Cl⁻ system can be fine-tuned to a certain degree by addition of small amounts of Bu₄NI, so that a unique variable electrochemical iodinating system could be established. Received: 19 December 2025 Accepted after revision: 11 February 2026 Article published online: 03 March 2026 © 2026. Thieme. All rights reserved. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany

The transfer-hydrogenation emerged as an interesting alternative to traditional hydrogenations with H₂ under transition metal catalysis. Herein, we describe I₂ as an initiator for the catalysis in CH₂Cl₂ for the transfer-hydrogenation from 1,4-cyclohexadiene to aryl-substituted alkenes as well as for the deoxygenation of benzylic alcohols at room temperature.

A formal cross‐electrophile coupling approach enables the base‐free synthesis of (un)symmetric (hetero)aryl and alkyl sulfides from organic halides and disulfides. This water and air‐tolerant process utilizes the addition of electrochemically generated thiolate to an in situ‐generated reactive nickel species.

Temperature-controlled CVD growth with an azupyrene precursor enables tunable defect concentration in graphene-like films, with high defect homogeneity.

The transformation of alkyl and aryl sodium reagents with N-alkyl amides is described. The reaction sequence is initiated by an alkyl sodium reagent, which is generated in a flow reactor. The alkyl sodium reagent is either directly reacted with N-alkyl amides or used for the reaction with alkyl-substituted or alkoxy-substituted arenes to generate secondary sodium reagents which were then reacted with the amides to afford the desired ketones in moderate to good yields.

A stereoselective cross‐dimerization between silyl‐substituted donor alkynes and aryl‐ or alkyl‐substituted terminal acceptor alkynes using an in situ generated Co(I)‐phosphine catalyst is reported. The reaction optimization for both classes of acceptor alkynes is conducted via Design of Experiments and showed high E‐selectivities using different reaction conditions. Moreover, activated internal alkynes are successfully applied as acceptor alkynes in the cross‐hydroalkynylation, leading to highly substituted 1,3‐enynes in good regioselectivities and good to excellent yields.

Die direkte Iodierung von elektronenarmen Aromaten und Heteroaromaten ist ein seit langer Zeit ungelöstes Problem in der Organischen Synthese. In diesem Beitrag beschreiben wir die elektrochemische Iodierung in Nitromethan mit Bu₄NI als Iodid‐Quelle und Leitsalz unter Lewis‐Säure freien Bedingungen in Anwesenheit von katalytischen Mengen von Chlorid‐Ionen. Das elektrochemisch generierte Reagenz konnte für die direkte Iodierung von halogenierten Aromaten, aromatischen Aldehyden, Säuren, Estern, Ketonen sowie von Nitroaromaten genutzt werden, um die gewünschten Produkte in guten bis exzellenten Ausbeuten zu erzeugen.

The iodination of electron‐deficient arenes and heteroarenes is a long‐standing problem in organic synthesis. Herein we describe the electrochemical iodination in nitromethane with Bu₄NI as iodine source and supporting electrolyte under Lewis acid‐free conditions in the presence of small amounts of chloride anions. The electrochemically generated reagent could be applied for the iodination of halogenated arenes, aromatic aldehydes, acids, esters, ketones, as well as nitroarenes to afford the products in good to excellent yields.