Beng and Antonio Moreno (CWU’s 2019 Distinguished Thesis Award Winner) publish three papers in Royal Society of Chemistry journals:

1. Timothy K. Beng and Antonio Moreno; “Copper-catalyzed alkenylation of novel N-iodoarylated allylic ketopiperazinonates with unactivated alkenes”, New Journal of Chemistry, 2020, ASAP, DOI: 10.1039/c9nj06178a.

Highlight: Novel allylic piperazines are prepared and engaged in copper-catalyzed cross-coupling with simple alkenes. The method affords highly functionalized and medicinally relevant N-stilbeno/styrenyl ketopiperazines.

2. Timothy K. Beng and Antonio Moreno; “Catalytic, selective, and stereocontrolled construction of C4 quaternary and homobenzylic dihydroisoquinolones by sp3 C–H benzylation”, RSC Advances, 2020, 10, 8805.

Highlight: Although C1 benzylated isoquinoline derivatives are replete in the literature, their C4 congeners remain elusive. This work describes a diastereoselective, catalytic, and modular C(sp3)−C(sp3) coupling protocol wherein β-amino sp3 C‒H bonds of readily affordable vicinally functionalized dihydroisoquinolones are replaced by sp3 C‒benzyl bonds. The method provides expedient access to attractive fragments for potential drug discovery.

3. Antonio Moreno and Timothy K. Beng; “Direct access to vicinally functionalized and N-trifluoroacetylated (bicyclic) ketopiperazines using a readily affordable N-heterocyclic anhydride”, Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry, 2020, 18, 1577.

Highlight: Functionalized 2-piperazinones play essential roles as conformationally-constrained peptidomimetics by mimicking inverse γ-turns in peptides. An efficient, scalable, stereoselective, modular, and chemoselective annulation protocol between a novel N-trifluoroacetyl anhydride and several reactive partners, leading to vicinally functionalized (bicyclic) 2-piperazinones is described.