Synthesis of Levulinic Acids From Muconic Acids in Hot Water

Levulinic acid is a key biorenewable platform molecule. Its current chemical production from sugars is plagued by limited yields, char formation and difficult separations. An alternative and selective route starting from muconic acid via simple heating in water at high temperature (180 °C) has been developed. Muconic acid can be obtained from sugars or catechol fermentation. Chemical oxidation of catechol is another possibility which advantageously can also be applied on substituted catechols, hereby providing substituted muconic acids. When applying the disclosed hydrothermal protocol on these substrates hitherto unknown substituted levulinic acids were accessed. In particular, 3-propyllevulinic acid has been synthesized from 4-propylcatechol, prepared from pine wood. This propylated derivative has been used for the synthesis of a 3-propyllevulinate diester, i.e. butane-1,4-diyl bis(4-oxo-3-propylpentanoate), via esterification with 1,4-butanediol. The diester showed superior performance as plasticizer in comparison to the corresponding levulinate diester in both PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and PLA (polylactic acid). It plasticizes equally effective as the notorious commercial phthalate-based benchmark DEHP (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) in PVC.

Efficient Synthesis of Novel Plasticizers by Direct Palladium-Catalyzed Di- or Multi-carbonylations

Diesters are of fundamental importance in the chemical industry and are used for many applications, e.g. as plasticizers, surfactants, emulsifiers, and lubricants. Herein, we present a straightforward and efficient method for the selective synthesis of diesters via palladium-catalyzed direct carbonylation of di- or polyols with readily available alkenes. Key-to-success is the use of a specific palladium catalyst with the "built-in-base" ligand L16 providing esterification of all alcohols and a high n/iso ratio. The synthesized diesters were evaluated as potential plasticizers in PVC films by measuring the glass transition temperature (T_g ) via differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

Synthesis of homochiral sulfanyl- and sulfoxide-substituted naphthyltriazoles and study of the conformational stability

The preparation of a series of novel homochiral atropisomeric sulfanyl- and sulfoxide-substituted naphthyltriazoles is described. The triazolization methodology used presents a new way towards novel and highly stable 1,2,3-triazole-based atropisomers, and introduces a new and complementary synthetic pathway towards 4-sulfanyl substituted 1,2,3-triazoles. Starting from sulfanyl-substituted naphthyl ketones, enantiopure amines, and 4-nitrophenyl azide, a collection of 16 sulfanyl-substituted naphthyltriazoles were obtained via the triazolization reaction in which the homochiral diastereomers are readily isolated. Subsequent monooxidation results in the preparation of several sulfoxide-substituted naphthyltriazoles. The absolute configuration of a set of diastereomeric sulfanyl- and sulfoxide-appended naphthyltriazoles was deduced via X-ray crystallography. Furthermore, the conformational stability of the atropisomers was determined experimentally, and further confirmed and analyzed with the aid of computational DFT calculations.

5-Formyltriazoles as Valuable Starting Materials for Unsymmetrically Substituted Bi-1,2,3-Triazoles

Herein, we present the first synthetic methodologies toward non-symmetrical 5,5′-C, C-linked bi-1,2,3-triazoles starting from 5-formyl-1,2,3-triazole via two related pathways. In a first reaction, 5-formyl-1,2,3-triazole is successfully reacted with a variety of nitroalkanes and organic azides in a one-pot three-component fashion resulting in tetra-ortho-substituted bi-1,2,3-triazoles. In the second, closely related reaction, 5-formyl-1,2,3-triazole is initially converted with nitromethane to the corresponding nitroalkene, and then subsequently oxidatively cyclized with a number of organic azides toward 4-nitro substituted non-symmetrical tetra-ortho-substituted 5,5′-bi-1,2,3-triazoles. The scope of both reactions and furtherr post-functionalizations are examined, and the atropisomeric properties of the obtained bi-1,2,3-triazoles are evaluated.

Assembly of fully substituted triazolochromenes via a novel multicomponent reaction or mechanochemical synthesis

A new metal-free one-pot three-component procedure towards fully substituted triazolochromenes has been developed, starting from commercially available materials. Salicylaldehydes and nitroalkenes were reacted under solvent-free conditions, followed by a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the intermediate 3-nitro-2H-chromenes with organic azides in a one-pot two-step sequence. The triazolochromenes were formed with complete regioselectivity and new biologically relevant structures were synthesized via extension of the developed procedure and via postfunctionalization. The mechanochemical synthesis was carried out for several salicylaldehydes and gave a clear improvement in the yield of the corresponding triazolochromenes and consequently showed to be a viable alternative for solid salicylaldehydes.

Sequential Ugi reaction/base-induced ring closing/IAAC protocol toward triazolobenzodiazepine-fused diketopiperazines and hydantoins

A practical three-step protocol for the assembly of triazolobenzodiazepine-fused diketopiperazines and hydantoins has been developed. The synthesis of these tetracyclic ring systems was initiated by an Ugi reaction, which brought together all necessary functionalities for further transformations. The Ugi adducts were then subjected to a base-induced ring closing and an intramolecular azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction in succession to obtain highly fused benzodiazepine frameworks.