A convenient synthesis of epoxides from olefins using molecular oxygen in the absence of metal catalysts

Practical Epoxidation of Olefins Using Air and Ubiquitous Iron-Based Fluorous Salen Complex

The epoxidation of olefins by substituting "air" for potentially harmful oxidants was achieved using an oxidation method that integrated a fluorous iron(III) salen catalyst derived from common metals and pivalaldehyde. Several aromatic disubstituted olefins were converted into their corresponding epoxides with high efficiency and quantitative yields. This reaction represents an environmentally friendly oxidation process that utilizes an abundant source of air and employs a readily available metal, iron, in the form of salen complexes, making it an environmentally conscious oxidation reaction.

Revisiting the Mukaiyama-type epoxidation for the conversion of styrene into styrene carbonate in the presence of O2 and CO2

Alkene epoxidation using the Mukaiyama process involving O2 and a sacrificial aldehyde, as the first step of the global alkene oxidative carboxylation, does not necessarily require a metal catalyst.

Rapid gas–liquid reaction in flow. Continuous synthesis and production of cyclohexene oxide

The enhanced reaction rate in the epoxidation of cyclohexene with air as an oxidant was discovered without any added catalyst utilizing a continuous flow reactor constructed with readily available stainless steel parts and devices. This continuous-flow process demonstrates a significant improvement in reaction time for highly selective epoxide production over the batch process due to the efficient mass transfer between the liquid phase and air. The flow process discovered was operated continuously with good operational stability, evaluated by a constant high yield of cyclohexene oxide, to obtain the desired product with high productivity.

Sulfur-Rich Polymers Based Cathode with Epoxy/Ally Dual-Sulfur-Fixing Mechanism for High Stability Lithium-Sulfur Battery

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted a great deal of attention for the next-generation energy storage devices due to their inherently high theoretical energy density, high natural abundance, and low cost. However, the dissolution of polysulfides in electrolytes and their undesirable shuttle behavior lead to poor cycling performance, which obstructs practical application. Herein, we report a dual-sulfur-fixing mechanism of epoxy/allyl compound/sulfur system to prepare poly(sulfur-random-4-vinyl-1,2-epoxycyclohexane) (SVE) copolymers as powerful cathode materials. Benefiting from the stable C-S bond and a uniform distribution of ultrafine Li₂S/S₈ in the SVE-based polymer matrix, the SVE electrodes exerted an embedding effect to reduce polysulfides migration. The thiosulfate/polythionate protective layer derived from the terminal hydroxyl group of SVE also ensured the cycle stability of SVE electrodes during cycling. As a result, optimized SVE electrodes deliver a high reversible specific capacity of 1248 mA h g^-1 at rates of 0.1 C, together with a stable cycling performance of no capacity decay per cycle over more than 400 cycles. This work provides an effective strategy for the practical application of organosulfur polymers Li-S batteries and inspires the exploration of the reaction mechanism of epoxy/allyl compound/sulfur system.

Aldehyde-catalyzed epoxidation of unactivated alkenes with aqueous hydrogen peroxide

The organocatalytic epoxidation of unactivated alkenes using aqueous hydrogen peroxide provides various indispensable products and intermediates in a sustainable manner. While formyl functionalities typically undergo irreversible oxidations when activating an oxidant, an atropisomeric two-axis aldehyde capable of catalytic turnover was identified for high-yielding epoxidations of cyclic and acyclic alkenes. The relative configuration of the stereogenic axes of the catalyst and the resulting proximity of the aldehyde and backbone residues resulted in high catalytic efficiencies. Mechanistic studies support a non-radical alkene oxidation by an aldehyde-derived dioxirane intermediate generated from hydrogen peroxide through the Payne and Criegee intermediates.

Aerobic oxidative CC bond cleavage of aromatic alkenes by a high valency iron-containing perovskite catalyst

High-valency iron-containing perovskite catalyst BaFeO_3−δ could efficiently promote the additive-free oxidative CC bond cleavage of various aromatic alkenes using O₂ as the sole oxidant.

Auto-oxidation of Ent-beyer-15-en-19-al isolated from the essential oil of the heartwood of Erythroxylum monogynum Roxb.: formation of 15,16-epoxy-ent-beyeran-19-oic acid and other products

Chemical investigation of the essential oil obtained from the heartwood of Erythroxylum monogynum Roxb. yielded three beyerene type diterpenoids ent-beyer-15-ene (1), ent-beyer-15-en-19-ol (erythroxylol A) (2) and ent-beyer-15-en-19-al (3). Ent-beyer-15-en-19-al (3) was found to be unstable at room temperature, giving rise to hitherto unknown 15,16-epoxy-ent-beyeran-19-oic acid (4). This conversion involves the auto-oxidation of a C-4 axial aldehyde group of an ent-beyer-15-ene diterpenoid with the concurrent epoxidation of the C-15 double bond. This is the first report of the auto-oxidation of an aldehyde group to a carboxylic acid group with the concurrent epoxidation of a double bond in the same compound. Further investigation of this observation under controlled conditions resulted in the isolation and identification of ent-beyer-15-en-19-oic acid (5), two new epoxy hydroperoxides, 15,16-epoxy-19-nor-ent-beyeran-4α-hydroperoxide (6a), 15,16-epoxy-18-nor-ent-beyeran-4β-hydroperoxide (6b), and two new hydroperoxides, ent-beyer-19-nor-15-en-4α-hydroperoxide (7), ent-beyer-18-nor-15-en-4β-hydroperoxide (8) and ent-beyer-18-nor-15-en-4β-ol (9). Identification of these compounds was carried out by the extensive usage of spectroscopic data including 1D and 2D NMR. The acid 5 and the alcohol 9 have been reported previously as natural products from Elaeoselinum asclepium and Erythroxylum monogynum. The mechanistic basis of this auto-oxidation reaction is discussed.

En route to CO2-containing renewable materials: catalytic synthesis of polycarbonates and non-isocyanate polyhydroxyurethanes derived from cyclic carbonates

The strategies and challenges in the preparation of fully renewable materials prepared from CO₂ and biomass enabled by catalysis are presented.

Oxidase catalysis via aerobically generated hypervalent iodine intermediates

The development of sustainable oxidation chemistry demands strategies to harness O₂ as a terminal oxidant. Oxidase catalysis, in which O₂ serves as a chemical oxidant without necessitating incorporation of oxygen into reaction products, would allow diverse substrate functionalization chemistry to be coupled to O₂ reduction. Direct O₂ utilization suffers from intrinsic challenges imposed by the triplet ground state of O₂ and the disparate electron inventories of four-electron O₂ reduction and two-electron substrate oxidation. Here, we generate hypervalent iodine reagents-a broadly useful class of selective two-electron oxidants-from O₂. This is achieved by intercepting reactive intermediates of aldehyde autoxidation to aerobically generate hypervalent iodine reagents for a broad array of substrate oxidation reactions. The use of aryl iodides as mediators of aerobic oxidation underpins an oxidase catalysis platform that couples substrate oxidation directly to O₂ reduction. We anticipate that aerobically generated hypervalent iodine reagents will expand the scope of aerobic oxidation chemistry in chemical synthesis.

Epoxidation using molecular oxygen in flow: facts and questions on the mechanism of the Mukaiyama epoxidation

Mukaiyama reaction was performed G/L continuous-flow microreactor. In less than 5 minutes at room temperature, cyclooctene was efficiently transformed to the corresponding epoxide using O₂ as oxidant and aldehyde as co-reductant.

Aerobic C-N bond activation: a simple strategy to construct pyridines and quinolines

Inspired by the autoxidation processes, a dioxygen induced C-N bond activation of primary alkyl amines was demonstrated toward the synthesis of pyridines and quinolines. The transition-metal free conditions with O2 as the sole oxidant make this transformation very attractive. Notably, the substrate applicability of different kinds of ketones is greatly broadened for this transformation.

Oxoiron(iv)-mediated Baeyer–Villiger oxidation of cyclohexanones generated by dioxygen with co-oxidation of aldehydes

Mechanistic studies on the Fe(ii)-catalyzed Baeyer–Villiger oxidation are described, including the formation and the reactivity of the trapped oxoiron(iv) intermediate.

A new avenue to the Dakin reaction in H2O2–WERSA

We have developed a novel protocol to realize the Dakin reaction in H₂O₂–WERSA at room temperature and the system does not require activation, toxic ligand, additive/promoter, transition metal catalyst, base, organic solvent and so on.

Oxidation of N-heterocyclics: A green approach

chemical structure image Environmentally benign oxidation methods satisfy the postulates of green chemistry. Heterocyclic Noxides have applications in synthetic organic chemistry, chemotherapy and agrochemicals. Synthesis of Noxides using green oxidants will be attractive over the conventional methods. The presence of the N-oxide group in the azine ring makes it more subject to electrophilic and nucleophilic attack and substantially expands the synthetic approaches for the modification of nitrogen-containing heterocyclics. That is the reason for the increasing interest in the chemistry of heterocyclic N-oxides. Some reactions adopted for oxidation of N-heterocyclics have been discussed. Stereochemical and spectroscopic aspects have been mentioned. It will be advantageous if anchored catalysts are employed for industrial exploitation. Several physiochemical aspects of various methods have been discussed.

Mechanistic Studies on the Mukaiyama Epoxidation

A detailed mechanistic study on the Mukaiyama epoxidation of limonene with dioxygen as oxidant, bis(acetylacetonato)nickel(II) as catalyst, and an aldehyde as co-reagent is reported. All major products of the reaction have been quantitatively identified, both with isobutyraldehyde and 2-methylundecanal as co-reacting aldehydes. Limonene epoxide is formed in good yield. The main products evolving from the aldehyde are carboxylic acid, CO(2), CO, and lower molecular weight ketone and alcohol (K + A). A mechanism is proposed in which an acylperoxy radical formed by the autoxidation of the aldehyde is the epoxidizing species. The observation of carbon dioxide and (K + A) in a 1:1 molar ratio supports this mechanism. CO(2) and (K + A) are formed in molar amounts of 50-60% with respect to the amount of epoxide produced, indicating that epoxidation takes place not only via acylperoxy radicals but also via a peracid route. Cyclohexene epoxidation was also investigated with a number of different metal complexes as catalysts. Cyclohexene is very sensitive for allylic oxidation, which provides information about the action of the catalyst, e.g., metals that form strongly oxidizing stable high-valence complexes are more likely to induce allylic oxidation. Color changes in the reaction mixture indicate the presence of such high-valence species. In the case of nickel, it was found that low-valence compounds predominate during the reaction, which is in line with the fact that this metal displays the highest selectivity for epoxide. A mechanism that accounts for the observations is presented.

Mechanism of oxygen transfer in the epoxidation of an olefin by molecular oxygen in the presence of an aldehyde

[reaction: see text] The reaction pathway for peroxide-initiated aldehyde-mediated oxidation of olefins to epoxides by molecular oxygen has been studied. The pathways of reaction via a peroxy acid or an acyl peroxy radical have been differentiated by investigation of the reaction of 4 with oxygen to provide 6 via 8.