Organocatalysis by poly(amidoamine) dendrimers; Knoevenagel and Mannich reactions catalyzed in water

Knoevenagel condensation between carbonyl compounds and active methylene compounds as well as three component Mannich reaction between aldehydes, ketones and amines proceeded smoothly in water with good to excellent yield and high selectivity in the presence of zero and first generation poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers. The products and the catalyst were separated by simple biphasic extraction. The catalyst was found to be reusable.

New supported transition metal complexes: synthesis, characterization and application as catalysts for oxidation/hydrodesulphurization reactions

This thesis deals with the synthesis and charcterisation of some supported transition metal complexes and their catalytic properties. Two industrially important reactions were carried out: i) cyclohexanol oxidation and ii) hydrodesulphurization of diesel. Thesis is divided into nine chapters. An overview of the heterogenised homogeneous systems is given in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 deals with the materials and methods used for the preparation and characterisation. Details regarding the synthesis and characterisation of zeolite encapsulated transition metal complexes are given in Chapter 3 to Chapter 7. In Chapter 8, the results of catalytic activity studies of the cyclohexanol oxidation using the zeolite encapsulated complexes are presented. Details of preparation of hydrodesulphurization catalysts through the molecular designed dispersion method, their characterization and catalytic activity studies are presented in Chapter 9. References are given at the end of the thesis.

Studies on some supported transition metal complex and metal oxide catalysts for oxidation reactions

Zeolite encapsulated transition metal complexes have received wide attention as an effective heterogenized system that combines the tremendous activity of the metal complexes and the attractive features of the zeolite structure. Zeolite encapsulated complexes offer a bright future for attempts to replace homogeneous systems retaining its catalytic activity and minimizing the technical problems. especially for the partial oxidation of organic compounds. Studies on some zeolite encapsulated transition metal complexes are presented in this thesis. The ligands selected are technically important in a bio-mimetic or structural perspective. Attempts have been made in this study to investigate the composition, structure and stability of encapsulated complexes using available techniques. The catalytic activity of encapsulated complexes was evaluated for the oxidation of some organic compounds. The recycling ability of the catalyst as a result of the encapsulation was also studied.Our studies on Cu-Cr/Al2O3, a typical metal oxide catalyst. illustrate the use of design techniques to modify the properties of such conventional catalysts. The catalytic activity of this catalyst for the oxidation of carbon monoxide was measured. The effect of additives like Ce02 or Ti02 on the activity and stability of this system was also investigated. The additive is potent to improve the activity and stability ofthe catalyst so as to be more effective in commercial usage.

A comparative study of medium and large pore zeolites in alkylation reactions

In this thesis an attempt has been made to compare the catalytic activity of some medium and large pore zeolites in a few alkylation and acylation reactions. The work reported in the present study is basically centered around the following zeolites namely, ZSM-5, mordenite, zeolite Y and beta. The major reactions carried out were benzoylation of o-xylene, propionylation of toluene and anisole and benzylation of 0xylene.The programme involves the synthesis, modifications and characterization of the zeolite catalysts by various methods. The influence of various parameters such as non-framework cations, Si/AI ratio of zeolites, temperature of the reaction, catalyst concentration, molar ratio of the reactants and recycling of the catalysts were also examined upon the conversion of reactants and the formation of the desired products in the alkylation / acylation reactions.The general conclusions drawn by us from the results obtained are summarized in the last chapter of the thesis. Zeolite beta offers interesting opportunities as a potential catalyst in alkylation reactions and the area of catalysis by medium and large pore zeolites is very fascinating and there is plenty of scope for further research in this field. Moreover, zeolite based catalysts are effective in meeting current industrial processing and more stringent environment pollution limits.

Organic Reactions Catalysed by Modified Clays

Department of Applied Chemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology

Synergic Reactions in the Estuarine Environment leading to Modulation of Aluminium metal during Transport Processes (in Cochin Estuary)

The research work which was carried out to Synergic Reactions in the Estuarine Environment leading to Modulation of Aluminium metal during Transport Processes (in Cochin Estuary)Estuaries are considered as sink or source for terrestrial and various anthropogenically generated materials. These include naturally occurring elements Al, Si, Fe or trace inorganics or industrial pollutants of different types. There have been reports on both positive and negative impacts by the introduction of above materials into the ecosystem.This thesis deals with the trace metal Aluminium (Al) whose average concentration (about 8%) in the earths crust is surpassed only by that of Oxygen and Silicon. There can be no doubt that most of the land derived materials reaches the ocean through rivers via estuaries. An important aspect noticed here is that the concentration of dissolved Al is much lower in sea water than in river water.On critically analysing Cochin estuary, for the entire cycles, covering monsoon, postmonsoon and premonsoon, the following salient features are documented as hereunder. Dissolved Al exhibits high and variable trends in Cochin estuary, the influencing parameters being salinity, SPM, pH and dissolved Si. A general profile showed removal in upper/mid estuary followed by regeneration in the mid/lower estuary and further decrease seawards in the southern/northem arms.Distribution appears to be a function of freshwater input, the monsoon season exhibiting very high concentrations throughout the estuary. As the river discharge decreased with the progress of seasons, dissolved Al concentration also decreased, the metal limiting itself to the upper and mid estuary.

Synthesis and reactions of flavazoles

The study deals with the production of l-phenylflavazoles with chloro, amino, hydroxy, chloromethyl, carboxamido, trichloromethyl, N-pyrrolidyl and N-pyrrolidylmethyl groups substituted at position 3. The interconversions of 3-amino, 3-hydroxy and 3-chlorol- phenylflavazoles were also investigated. Further, an unusual phenylation reaction was found to take place if stored or air-oxidised phenylhydrazine was used as the condensing agent for the formation of flavazoles from quinoxaline-2-carboxaldehyde phenylhydrazones. By this phenylation reaction 1,3-diphenyl, l-p-tolyl-3-phenyl, l-p-chlorophenyl-3-phenyl, l-p-bromophenyl- 3-phenyl and l-phenyl-3-p-tolylflavazoles were prepared. In addition to establishing the structure of the phenylation products, the reaction was shown to take place by a free radical mechanism involving phenyl radicals formed from oxidised phenylhydrazine. Also the oxidation, reduction and bromination reactions of l-phenylflavazole were investigated. The product obtained when a mixture of l-phenylflavazole and sodium borohydride in isopropanol was heated under reflux was shown to be 2-anilinoquinoxaline-3-carboxamide which when refluxed with concentrated hydrochloric acid gave the known 2-anilinoquinoxaline. New procedures were worked out for the oxidative cyclisation reactions of quinoxaline-2carboxaldehyde phenylhydrazones to l-phenylflavazoles in excellent yields using azobenzene as a dehydrogenating agent. These cyclisations were also shown to take place, though in low Yield, if the quinoxaline2- carboxaldehyde phenylhydrazones were heated above their melting points in an atmosphere containing oxygen.

Palladium Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon/Carbonheteroatom Bond Formation Reactions Utilizing Pentafulvene Derived Bicyclic Hydrazines

The reactions involving fulvenes and its derivatives have received a great deal of attention over the years in synthetic organic chemistry. Functionalizations of fulvenes provide versatile and powerful approaches to various polycyclic systems and natural products. They serve as versatile intermediates in the construction of various ring systems through inter- as well as intramolecular cycloadditions. Compared to the rich literature on the cycloaddition reactions of pentafulvenes, much less attention has been paid to the synthetic utilization of their cycloadducts. Tactical manipulations on the chosen adduct offer the prospects for designing a variety of useful molecular skeletons. Addition of heterodienophiles to fulvenes offers an efficient strategy towards the synthesis of azabicyclic olefins. However, there have been no serious attempts to study the synthetic utility of these substrates. In this context and with the intention of utilizing pentafulvenes towards synthetically important molecules, author decided to explore the reactivity of pentafulvene derived azabicyclic olefins. Our attention was focused on the synthetic potential associated with the ring opening of fulvene derived bicyclic hydrazines under palladium catalysis. It was envisioned that the desymmetrization of these adducts using various soft nucleophiles will provide a novel access to synthetically and biologically important alkylidene cyclopentenes. The investigations along this line form the focal theme of this thesis entitled “PALLADIUM CATALYZED CARBONCARBON/ CARBON-HETEROATOM BOND FORMATION REACTIONS UTILIZING PENTAFULVENE DERIVED BICYCLIC HYDRAZINES

Synthesis And Reactions Of Pyrazoldouinoxalines

The present work reports the synthesis of 2-ary1—3—oxo-3—pyrazolino[3,4-b]quinoxalines for the first time. These compounds have been prepared by the reaction of ethyl 2-chloroquinoxaline—3—carboxylate with different phenylhydrazines. 2-Aryl—3-oxo—3—pyrazolino[3,4—b]quinoxalines are generally light yellow in either neutral or acid solutions but changed the colour to deep violet or green in basic media. The change in colour appears to be sharp and therefore these compounds may be used as acid base indicators. Their UV absorption maxima under acidic and basic media are also very different. However, the actual conditions under which these compounds may be used as indicators have not been worked out. The synthesis and reactions of a new heterocyclic system, lH—l,5—benzodiazepino[2,3—b]quinoxaline is also reported here. This novel nitrogen heterocycke was prepared by the condensation of ethyl 2-chloroquinoxaline-3—carboxylate with o-phenylene diamine and subsequent manipulationsa to give the parent compound. Several derivatives which are expected tx> have valuable biological properties have also beenlreported. The structures of all new compounds have been established by elemental analysis and also by analysing their spectral data smch as ultraviolet, infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. Compounds obtained from this work will be submitted for screening their biological properties.

Enzyme reactions as index of freshness of Fish and Shellfish

An attempt has been made in this study to screen some fish muscle enzymes to assess their potential worth in testing the degree of freshness of fish. A problem with routine enzyme activity determinations is the complexity of the method of enzyme assay. Hence, in the present study as far as possible simple assay techniques were adopted. Several species were screened to assess the possibility of employing this procedure on a large scale. It is hoped that findings of this study will lead to the development of meaningful criteria in testing the freshness of fish. This thesis has been divided into five chapters

Kinetics and mechanism of urea - formaldehyde and related reactions

Urea-formaldehyde resins find numerous applications in adhesive, textile finishing and moulded plastic industries. Kinetic investigations of the reactions of urea and its related compounds with formaldehyde in aqueous acid, alkaline and neutral media have been carried out. A thin—layer chromatographic method was developed for the separation and estimation of the products of these reactions. Using this technique the various initial steps in the reactions were analysed and the rate constants have been determined.