(Ar-tpy)RuII(ACN)3: A Water-Soluble Catalyst for Aldehyde Amidation, Olefin Oxo-Scissoring, and Alkyne Oxygenation

The synthetic chemists always look for developing new catalysts, sustainable catalysis, and their applications in various organic transformations. Herein, we report a new class of water-soluble complexes, (Ar-tpy)Ru^II(ACN)₃, utilizing designed terpyridines possessing electron-donating and -withdrawing aromatic residues for tuning the catalytic activity of the Ru(II) complex. These complexes displayed excellent catalytic activity for several oxidative organic transformations including late-stage C-H functionalization of aldehydes with NH₂OR to valuable primary amides in nonconventional aqueous media with excellent yield. Its diverse catalytic power was established for direct oxo-scissoring of a wide range of alkenes to furnish aldehydes and/or ketones in high yield using a low catalyst loading in the water. Its smart catalytic activity under mild conditions was validated for dioxygenation of alkynes to highly demanding labile synthons, 1,2-diketones, and/or acids. This general and sustainable catalysis was successfully employed on sugar-based substrates to obtain the chiral amides, aldehydes, and labile 1,2-diketones. The catalyst is recovered and reused with a moderate turnover. The proposed mechanistic pathway is supported by isolation of the intermediates and their characterization. This multifaceted sustainable catalysis is a unique tool, especially for late-stage functionalization, to furnish the targeted compounds through frequently used amidation and oxygenation processes in the academia and industry.

Reactions in Water - A Greener Approach Using Ruthenium Catalysts

Reactions using transition metals as catalysts have emerged as an efficient method in the recent times. However, the selection of solvent plays a crucial role in this regard. Several solvents used traditionally suffer majorly with problems of toxicity; high boiling point etc. leading to drastic reaction conditions. Water being a non-toxic, non-inflammable and environmentally benign can replace the hazardous organic solvents in laboratory as well as industry. Maintaining a minimum catalyst loading percentage we can advantageously avail high levels of selectivity. Water was found to be a good solvent medium for several metal catalysed reactions. An intramolecular deprotonation mechanism is followed by the ruthenium (II) catalysts in water; thereby, facilitating the catalytic action of the metal. These studies can help the industrial chemists to utilize water as a solvent for their reactions towards improvement of their waste management procedure. This review mainly focuses on the several recent developments in the above direction.

Catalytic Organic Reactions in Water toward Sustainable Society

Traditional organic synthesis relies heavily on organic solvents for a multitude of tasks, including dissolving the components and facilitating chemical reactions, because many reagents and reactive species are incompatible or immiscible with water. Given that they are used in vast quantities as compared to reactants, solvents have been the focus of environmental concerns. Along with reducing the environmental impact of organic synthesis, the use of water as a reaction medium also benefits chemical processes by simplifying operations, allowing mild reaction conditions, and sometimes delivering unforeseen reactivities and selectivities. After the "watershed" in organic synthesis revealed the importance of water, the development of water-compatible catalysts has flourished, triggering a quantum leap in water-centered organic synthesis. Given that organic compounds are typically practically insoluble in water, simple extractive workup can readily separate a water-soluble homogeneous catalyst as an aqueous solution from a product that is soluble in organic solvents. In contrast, the use of heterogeneous catalysts facilitates catalyst recycling by allowing simple centrifugation and filtration methods to be used. This Review addresses advances over the past decade in catalytic reactions using water as a reaction medium.

Hemilability-Driven Water Activation: A NiII Catalyst for Base-Free Hydration of Nitriles to Amides

The Ni^II complex 1 containing pyridyl- and hydroxy-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) is synthesized and its catalytic utility for the selective nitrile hydration to the corresponding amide under base-free conditions is evaluated. The title compound exploits a hemilabile pyridyl unit to interact with a catalytically relevant water molecule through hydrogen-bonding and promotes a nucleophilic water attack to the nitrile. A wide variety of nitriles is hydrated to the corresponding amides including the pharmaceutical drugs rufinamide, Rifater, and piracetam. Synthetically challenging α-hydroxyamides are accessed from cyanohydrins under neutral conditions. Related catalysts that lack the pyridyl unit (i.e., compounds 2 and 4) are not active whereas those containing both the pyridyl and the hydroxy or only the pyridyl pendant (i.e., compounds 1 and 3) show substantial activity. The linkage isomer 1' where the hydroxy group is bound to the metal instead of the pyridyl group was isolated under different crystallization conditions insinuating a ligand hemilabile behavior. Additional pK_a measurements reveal an accessible pyridyl unit under the catalytic conditions. Kinetic studies support a ligand-promoted nucleophilic water addition to a metal-bound nitrile group. This work reports a Ni-based catalyst that exhibits functional hemilability for hydration chemistry.

Gold nanoparticles supported on layered TiO2–RGO hybrid as an enhanced and recyclable catalyst for microwave-assisted hydration reaction

A novel composite (Au–SO₄²⁻/TiO₂–RGO) is synthesized and serves as an enhanced catalyst for alkyne hydration.

Highly efficient synthesis of primary amides via aldoximes rearrangement in water under air atmosphere catalyzed by an ionic ruthenium pincer complex

An ionic Ru pincer complex was demonstrated to be highly efficient catalyst for conversion of aldoximes and aldehydes into corresponding primary amides with environmental benignity, operational convenience and catalytic loading as low as 0.5 mol%.

Catalytic synthesis of amides via aldoximes rearrangement

This Feature article provides a comprehensive overview of the developments achieved in the catalytic synthesis of amides via rearrangement of aldoximes.

Palladium(ii) complexes with a phosphino-oxime ligand: synthesis, structure and applications to the catalytic rearrangement and dehydration of aldoximes

The catalytic rearrangement and dehydration of aldoximes with phosphino-oxime-palladium complexes is described.

Phosphine-free ruthenium-arene complex for low temperature one-pot catalytic conversion of aldehydes to primary amides in water

A simple and highly efficient catalytic system based on a phosphine-free ruthenium arene complex for aqueous-phase one-pot direct synthesis of primary amides from aldehydes and hydroxylamine hydrochloride, with a high tolerance for other reactive functional groups, is described.