Schaufelberger F, Ramström O. Activated Self-Resolution and Error-Correction in Catalytic Reaction Networks*.
Chemistry 2021;
27:10335-10340. [PMID:
33780566 DOI:
10.1002/chem.202100208]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the emergence of function in complex reaction networks is a primary goal of systems chemistry and origin-of-life studies. Especially challenging is to create systems that simultaneously exhibit several emergent functions that can be independently tuned. In this work, a multifunctional complex reaction network of nucleophilic small molecule catalysts for the Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction is demonstrated. The dynamic system exhibited triggered self-resolution, preferentially amplifying a specific catalyst/product set out of a many potential alternatives. By utilizing selective reversibility of the products of the reaction set, systemic thermodynamically driven error-correction could also be introduced. To achieve this, a dynamic covalent MBH reaction based on adducts with internal H-transfer capabilities was developed. By careful tuning of the substituents, rate accelerations of retro-MBH reactions of up to four orders of magnitude could be obtained. This study thus demonstrates how efficient self-sorting of catalytic systems can be achieved through an interplay of several complex emergent functionalities.
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