6-Aryl-5,6-dihydrodibenzo[c,e][1,2]azaborinines display restricted rotation at the boron–carbon aryl bond, yielding conformational isomers or atropisomers. The stereodynamic processes were monitored by variable-temperature NMR (D-NMR), dynamic enantioselective HPLC (D-HPLC), or kinetic racemization measurements. The absolute configuration of stable atropisomers (compound 1d, ΔG^⧧_rac = 26.0 kcal·mol^–1) was determined by TD-DFT simulation of the electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectra. The racemization energy of 1d is more than 12 kcal·mol^–1 smaller than its isostere 9-(2-methylnaphthalen-1-yl)phenanthrene.

The 1,1a,2,7b-tetrahydrocyclopropa[c]chromene, arising from fusion of chromane and cyclopropane rings is the core of medicinally relevant compounds. Engaging sulfoxonium ylides in enantioselective aminocatalytic reactions for the first time, a convenient entry to this scaffold is presented. Several ring-fused derivatives were obtained in moderate-to-good yields and enantioselectivities and with perfect diastereoselectivity at the cyclopropane, using an α,α-diphenylprolinol aminocatalyst. The versatility of the hemiacetal moiety in the products was leveraged to effect various synthetic manipulations.

In this work, we show how the structural features of photoactive azobenzene derivatives can influence the photoexcited state behavior and the yield of the trans/cis photoisomerization process. By combining high-resolution transient absorption experiments in the vis-NIR region and quantum chemistry calculations (TDDFT and RASPT2), we address the origin of the transient signals of three poly-substituted push-pull azobenzenes with an increasing strength of the intramolecular interactions stabilizing the planar trans isomer (absence of intramolecular H-bonds, methyl, and traditional H-bond, respectively, for 4-diethyl-4'-nitroazobenzene, Disperse Blue 366, and Disperse Blue 165) and a commercial red dye showing keto-enol tautomerism involving the azo group (Sudan Red G). Our results indicate that the intramolecular H-bonds can act as a "molecular lock" stabilizing the trans isomer and increasing the energy barrier along the photoreactive CNNC torsion coordinate, thus preventing photoisomerization in the Disperse Blue dyes. In contrast, the involvement of the azo group in keto-enol tautomerism can be employed as a strategy to change the nature of the lower excited state and remove the nonproductive symmetric CNN/NNC bending pathway typical of the azo group, thus favoring the productive torsional motion. Taken together, our results can provide guidelines for the structural design of azobenzene-based photoswitches with a tunable excited state behavior.

An enantioselective one‐pot catalytic strategy to dihydroquinoxalinones, featuring novel 1‐phenylsulfonyl‐1‐cyano enantioenriched epoxides as masked α‐halo acyl halide synthons, followed by a domino ring‐opening cyclization (DROC), is documented. A popular quinine‐derived urea served as the catalyst in two out of the three steps performed in the same solvent using commercially available aldehydes, (phenylsulfonyl)acetonitrile, cumyl hydroperoxide and 1,2‐phenylendiamines. Medicinally relevant 3‐aryl/alkyl‐substituted heterocycles are isolated in generally good to high overall yield and high enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee). A rare example of excellent reusability of an organocatalyst at higher scale, subjected to oxidative conditions, is demonstrated. Mechanistically, labile α‐ketosulfone has been detected as the intermediate involved in the DROC process. Theoretical calculations on the key epoxidation step rationalize the observed stereocontrol, highlighting the important role played by the sulfone group.

The absolute configuration (AC) assignment of two very flexible organic molecules by TD-DFT simulation of ECD spectra is evaluated by modifying the calculation level in the various steps of the AC assignment process.