In the presence of a mixture of n-BuLi and Me2SCH2 reagents, aryl epoxides underwent a novel ring-opening α-methylenation providing conjugated allyl alcohols with an unusual regioselective pattern.

A series of styrene oxides in the presence of a 1:1 mixture of n-butyllithium (n-BuLi) and lithioacetonitrile (LiCH2CN) in THF are converted into one-carbon homologated allyl alcohols in an unusual regioselective manner.

Starting from natural d-mannose, a C(42–63) B-ring tetrahydropyran fragment in karlotoxin 2 has been prepared via a common THP intermediate in a concise manner. E-Selective Julia–Kocienski olefination efficiently assembled a C(51–63) chlorodiene subunit and a C(42–50) tetrahydropyran segment.

α-Diaminoboryl carbanions, readily prepared from acetonitrile, stereoselectively convert 2-nitrobenzaldehydes into nitrophenyl (Z)-acrylonitriles. Subsequent reductive cyclization leads to a series of 2-aminoquinoline derivatives. The entire procedure is practically operated in a single flask.

Stepwise, selective DIBAL reduction of the acetonide diester derived from tartaric acid followed by the Horner– Emmons reaction effectively provided desymmetrized hydroxy mono-olefination products in a one-pot operation.

An α-diaminoboryl carbanion-mediated one-pot olefination directly converts an acetonitrile or the homologous nitrile into a series of α,β-disubstituted acrylonitriles in a stereoselective manner. The protocol involves the formation of an α-substituted α-diaminoboryl acetonitrile and subsequent olefination with an aldehyde. The use of an aryl or conjugated aldehyde preferentially leads to a (Z)-acrylonitrile, while an aliphatic aldehyde gave an (E)-isomer as a major product. Two complementary approaches, a linear method and a divergent method, are developed.

A simple three-step single-pot procedure for Z-stereoselective synthesis of β-monosubstituted acrylonitriles has been established. The reaction involves olefination of aldehydes with an in situ generated α-diaminoboryl carbanion species. Various aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes were smoothly converted into the corresponding (Z)-olefin products (up to 96:4 ratio) in good yields (80−98%).

α-Diaminoboryl carbanions, readily prepared from acetonitrile, stereoselectively convert 2-nitrobenzaldehydes into nitrophenyl (Z)-acrylonitriles. Subsequent reductive cyclization leads to a series of 2-aminoquinoline derivatives. The entire procedure is practically operated in a single flask.