Front Cover Picture: Two‐Step Continuous‐Flow Synthesis of Fungicide Metalaxyl through Catalytic C−N Bond‐Formation Processes (Adv. Synth. Catal. 1/2022)

The front cover picture, depicts Metalaxyl, an acylalanine fungicide, which was synthesized through catalytic continuous sequential-flow reactions. A halide-free approach including two continuous-flow catalytic processes, heterogeneous Pt-catalyzed reductive alkylation and homogeneous acid-catalyzed amidation with an acid anhydride, was developed to minimize waste and enhance efficiency. Systematic examination of the two reactions in flow mode enabled a high-yielding, two-step sequential continuous-flow process, achieving continuous synthesis of an agrochemical. Details can be found in the Communication by Shu Kobayashi and co-workers (H. Ishitani, Z. Yu, T. Ichitsuka, N. Koumura, S.-y. Onozawa, K. Sato, S. Kobayashi, Adv. Synth. Catal. 2022, 364, XXXX-XXXX; DOI: 10.1002/adsc.202100898)