Supported Noble Metal Catalysts and Adsorbents with Soft Lewis Acid Functions

Heterogeneous noble metal catalysts exhibit various functions. Although their redox functions have been extensively studied, we focused on their soft Lewis acid functions. Supported Au, Pt, and Pd catalysts electrophilically attack the π-electrons of soft bases such as alkynes, alkenes, and aromatic compounds to perform addition and substitution reactions. Hydroamination, intramolecular cyclization of alkynyl carboxylic acids, isomerization of allylic esters, vinyl exchange reactions, Wacker oxidation, and oxidative homocoupling of aromatics are introduced based on a discussion of the active species and reaction mechanisms. Furthermore, the adsorption of sulfur compounds, which are soft bases, onto the supported AuNPs is discussed. The adsorption and removal of 1,3-dimethyltrisulfane (DMTS), which is the compound responsible for the stale odor of "hine-ka" in alcoholic beverages, particularly Japanese sake, is described.

Cellulose-Supported Heterogeneous Gold-Catalyzed Cycloisomerization Reactions of Alkynoic Acids and Allenynamides

Herein, we describe efficient nanogold-catalyzed cycloisomerization reactions of alkynoic acids and allenynamides to enol lactones and dihydropyrroles, respectively (the latter via an Alder-ene reaction). The gold nanoparticles were immobilized on thiol-functionalized microcrystalline cellulose and characterized by electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and by XPS. The thiol-stabilized gold nanoparticles (Au0) were obtained in the size range 1.5-6 nm at the cellulose surface. The robust and sustainable cellulose-supported gold nanocatalyst can be recycled for multiple cycles without losing activity.

Synthesis of γ-Pyrones and N-Methyl-4-pyridones via the Au Nanoparticle-Catalyzed Cyclization of Skipped Diynones in the Presence of Water or Aqueous Methylamine

Supported Au nanoparticles on TiO₂ catalyze the hydration/6-endo cyclization of skipped diynones to γ-pyrones in aqueous dioxane, via triple bond activation. The isomeric 3(2H)-furanones which could be formed through a competing and often prevailing 5-exo cyclization pathway using homogeneous ionic Au(I) catalysts were not seen. The reaction does not proceed via the initial 1,3-transposition of the skipped diynones to their corresponding conjugated 1,3-diynone isomers. If aqueous methylamine is added, N-methyl-4-pyridones are exclusively formed in 69-79% yields via an analogous hydroamination/Au-catalyzed 6-endo cyclization pathway.

Cycloisomerization of π-Coupled Heteroatom Nucleophiles by Gold Catalysis: En Route to Regiochemically Defined Heterocycles

Since the dawn of millennium, catalytic gold chemistry is at the forefront to set off diverse organic reactions via unique activation of π-bonded molecules. Within this purview, cycloisomerization of heteroatom nucleophiles linked to a π-system is one of the well recognized chemistry for the construction of numerous heterocyclic cores. Though the rudimentary aspects of this transformation are reviewed by several groups in different timeline, a holistic view on regiochemistry of such reactions went largely overlooked. Hence, this account emphasizes the gold catalyzed regioselective cycloisomerization of structurally distinctive π-connected hetero-nucleophiles leading to different heterocycles documented in the last two decades. From an application perspective, this account also highlights those methodologies which find a role in the total synthesis of natural products. Wherever appropriate, mechanistic details and contributing factors for selectivity are also discussed.

Gold-Catalyzed Addition of Carboxylic Acids to Alkynes and Allenes: Valuable Tools for Organic Synthesis

In this contribution, the application of gold-based catalysts in the hydrofunctionalization reactions of alkynes and allenes with carboxylic acids is comprehensively reviewed. Both intra- and intermolecular processes, leading respectively to lactones and linear unsaturated esters, are covered. In addition, cascade transformations involving the initial cycloisomerization of an alkynoic acid are also discussed.

Gold nanoparticles stabilized by PEG-tagged imidazolium salts as recyclable catalysts for the synthesis of propargylamines and the cycloisomerization of γ-alkynoic acids

Water-soluble gold nanoparticles prepared in the presence of PEG-tagged tris-imidazolium bromide, containing Au(0) and Au(i) species, are reusable catalysts.

Anchoring Triazole-Gold(I) Complex into Porous Organic Polymer To Boost the Stability and Reactivity of Gold(I) Catalyst

Stability and reactivity have been recognized as some critical issues for gold(I) catalysts. Such issues can be well-circumvented by anchoring the gold(I) complex onto the backbones of porous organic polymer (POP) followed by coordination with a triazole ligand as illustrated in the present work via a series of gold(I)-catalyzed reactions. In this strategy, 1,2,3-triazole was used as the special "X-factor" to avoid the formation of solid AgCl involved in typical gold-activation processes. The catalyst could be readily recycled without loss of reactivity. Moreover, compared with the PPh₃-modified polystyrene beads, the POP support was advantageous by providing high surface area, hierarchical porosity, and better stabilization of cations. In some cases, significantly improved reactivity was observed, even more so than using the homogeneous system, which further highlighted the great potential of this heterogeneous gold catalyst.

Engineering ligands on the Au center: discovering broadly applicable gold catalysis with high turnover numbers

The research groups of Hammond/Xu and Zhang report the discovery of new ligands for gold catalysis.

Metalloenzyme-mimicking supramolecular catalyst for highly active and selective intramolecular alkyne carboxylation

Creation of synthetic catalysts with enzyme-like behavior is challenging despite strong interest in such systems. Extraction of tetrachloroaurate into the hydrophilic core of an interfacially cross-linked reverse micelle (ICRM) produced an artificial "metalloenzyme" with highly unusual catalytic properties. The ICRM pulled the substrate toward the catalytic metal, which converted it efficiently to the product that was rapidly ejected. These features enabled greatly reduced catalyst loading (30-100 times lower than typical levels used in literature examples), constant high reaction rate throughout the course of the reaction, lack of the hydrolyzed side product, and substrate selectivity unobserved in conventional gold catalysts.

Pd(II)-SDP-catalyzed enantioselective 5-exo-dig cyclization of γ-alkynoic acids: application to the synthesis of functionalized dihydofuran-2(3H)-ones containing a chiral quaternary carbon center

The Pd(II)-SDP-catalyzed first enantioselective intramolecular cyclization of α,α-disubstituted γ-alkynoic acids is described. This 5-exo-dig cyclization afforded dihydrofuran-2(3H)-ones bearing a chiral quaternary carbon center in excellent yields with enantioselectivities up to 71%. A mechanism involving palladium(II) species is proposed to rationalize the outcome of the reaction.

New multicomponent catalysts for the selective aerobic oxidative condensation of benzylamine to N-benzylidenebenzylamine

Nano-oxide domains partially embedded inside the UVM-7 silica walls act as excellent support for Au in the oxidative condensation of benzylamine.

Chemical Synthesis of Complex Molecules Using Nanoparticle Catalysis

Nanoparticle catalysis has emerged as an active topic in organic synthesis. Of particular interest is the development of enabling methodologies to efficiently assemble complex molecules using nanoparticle catalysis. This Viewpoint highlights recent developments and discusses future perspectives in this emerging field.

A technique for extending the precision and the range of temperature programmed desorption toward extremely low coverages

In this paper, an improvement of the temperature programmed desorption (TPD) technique is introduced, which facilitates fully automated sampling of TPD spectra with excellent reproducibility, especially useful for extremely low coverages. By averaging many sampled TPD spectra, the range of the TPD technique can be extended toward lower coverages, as well as the quality of the spectra can be improved. This allows for easy extraction of information about the adsorbate-surface bond. A state of the art TPD apparatus with a two chamber setup and a high quality quadrupole mass spectrometer was extended by automated components. These are an automated gas dosing system, ensuring precise dosing of gas, combined with a motor driven sample manipulation unit and a liquid nitrogen cryostat with automatic refilling. In addition all components were controlled by a computer. A large number of TPD cycles could be sampled without the need of interaction of an operator. Here, it is shown for up to more than 400 TPD cycles. This opens a wide range of new interesting applications for the TPD technique, especially in the limit of zero coverage. Here, basic experiments on well known adsorbate systems are shown to view the ability and limit of this approach.

Heterogeneous Au and Rh catalysts for cycloisomerization reactions of γ-acetylenic carboxylic acids

Au- and Rh-based heterogeneized catalytic systems have been prepared and analyzed. Their efficiency has been evaluated for the cycloisomerization of γ-acetylenic carboxylic acids leading to valuable γ-alkylidene γ-butyrolactones. Bulk AuO3 was found to be a valuable and easy-to-handle catalyst for selective transformations, whereas [C6mim][AuCl4] presented a high activity and Au/β-zeolite was recyclable.