Heterogeneous multifunctional catalysts for tandem processes: an approach toward sustainability

Chiral ammonium-capped rhodium(0) nanocatalysts: synthesis, characterization, and advances in asymmetric hydrogenation in neat water

Optically active amphiphilic compounds derived from N-methylephedrine, N-methylprolinol, or cinchona derivatives possessing bromide or chiral lactate counterions were efficiently used as protective agents for rhodium(0) nanoparticles. The full characterization of these surfactants and the obtained nanocatalysts was performed by means of different techniques. These spherical nanoparticles, with sizes between 0.8-2.5 nm depending on the stabilizer, were evaluated in the hydrogenation of model substrates in neat water as a green solvent. The rhodium catalysts showed relevant kinetic properties, but modest enantiomeric excess values of up to 13 % in the hydrogenation of ethyl pyruvate. They were also investigated in the hydrogenation of disubstituted arenes, such as m-methylanisole, providing interesting catalytic activities and a preferential cis selectivity of around 80 %; however, no asymmetric induction was observed.

An efficient palladium catalyst system for the oxidative carbonylation of glycerol to glycerol carbonate

Glycerol carbonate can be readily synthesized from the oxidative carbonylation of glycerol catalyzed by PdCl(2)(phen) (phen=1,10-phenanthroline) with the aid of CuI. High conversion (95 %) and selectivity (98 %) are achieved and the turnover frequency (TOF) reaches 455 h(-1). Furthermore, a new zeolite-Y-confined Pd catalyst, PdCl(2)(phen)@Y, has been successfully prepared by a ''flexible ligand'' method. The structure and composition of the heterogeneous catalyst have been characterized by atomic absorption spectroscopy, elemental analysis, N(2) sorption, XRD, FTIR, solid-state NMR, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. This catalyst exhibits a comparable activity to its homogeneous counterpart and could be reused five times without significant decrease in activity. This is the most efficient heterogeneous system for synthesizing glycerol carbonate by the oxidative carbonylation of glycerol to date.

Aryl aldehydes as traceless dielectrophiles in bifunctional titanocene-catalyzed propargylic C-X activations

The titanocene-catalyzed construction of all-carbon substituted tertiary centers directly from aromatic aldehydes is described. The starting aldehyde behaves as a traceless functionality in the formation of multiple carbon-carbon bonds through consecutive carbon-heteroatom bond activations. The sequential addition of a metal acetylide and a second carbon nucleophile to the dielectrophilic aldehyde enables the construction of symmetrical and unsymmetrical 1,4-diynes in good yields.

Tandem catalysis: from alkynoic acids and aryl iodides to 1,2,3-triazoles in one pot

A tandem catalysis protocol based on decarboxylative coupling of alkynoic acids and 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azides enables a highly efficient synthesis of a variety of functionalized 1,2,3-triazoles. The three-step, one-pot method avoids usage of gaseous or highly volatile terminal alkynes, reduces handling of potentially unstable and explosive azides to a minimum, and furnishes target structures in excellent yields and a very good purity without the need for additional purification.

A useful, reliable and safer protocol for hydrogenation and the hydrogenolysis of O-benzyl groups: the in situ preparation of an active Pd(0)/C catalyst with well-defined properties

A simple, highly reproducible protocol for the hydrogenation of alkenes and alkynes and for the hydrogenolysis of O-benzyl ethers has been developed. The method features the in situ preparation of an active Pd(0)/C catalyst from Pd(OAc)(2) and charcoal, in methanol. The mild reaction conditions (25°C) and low catalyst loading required (0.025 mol%), as well as the absence of contamination of the product by palladium residues (<4 ppb), make this a sustainable, useful process for organic chemists. Alternatively, the protocol can be carried out under microwave activation, to shorten the reaction times, with cyclohexene as the hydrogen source.

Sequential reactions directed by core/shell catalytic reactors

Millimeter-sized reactor particles made of permeable polymer doped with catalysts arranged in a core/shell fashion direct sequences of chemical reactions (e.g., alkyne coupling followed by hydrogenation or hydrosilylation followed by hydrogenation). Spatial compartmentalization of catalysts coupled with the diffusion of substrates controls reaction order and avoids formation of byproducts. The experimentally observed yields of reaction sequences are reproduced by a theoretical model, which accounts for the reaction kinetics and the diffusion of the species involved.

Synthesis of oxindoles by tandem Heck-reduction-cyclization (HRC) from a single bifunctional, in situ generated Pd/C catalyst

A tandem sequence involving palladium-catalyzed sequential Heck-reduction-cyclization transformations in mild conditions has been developed for the synthesis of oxindoles. The protocol involves inexpensive reagents and does not require any additives such as base or ligands.

Copper + nickel-in-charcoal (Cu-Ni/C): a bimetallic, heterogeneous catalyst for cross-couplings

A new heterogeneous catalyst composed of copper and nickel oxide particles supported within charcoal has been developed. It catalyzes cross-couplings that traditionally use palladium, nickel, or copper, including Suzuki-Miyaura reactions, Buchwald-Hartwig aminations, vinylalane alkylations, etherifications of aryl halides, aryl halide reductions, asymmetric conjugate reductions of activated olefins, and azide-alkyne "click" reactions.