Enantioselective alkylation of β-keto esters promoted by dimeric Cinchona-derived ammonium salts as recoverable organocatalysts

Dimeric anthracenyldimethyl-derived Cinchona ammonium salts are used as chiral organocatalysts in 5 mol% for the phase-transfer enantioselective alkylation reaction of 2-alkoxycarbonyl-1-indanones with activated bromides. The corresponding adducts bearing a new all-carbon quaternary center are obtained usually in high yield and with moderate and opposite enantioselectivity (up to 55%) when using ammonium salts derived from quinidine and its pseudoenantiomer quinine as organocatalysts. These catalysts can be almost quantitatively recovered by precipitation in ether and reused.

Ion-tagged prolinamide organocatalysts for the direct aldol reaction on-water

A concise synthesis of two imidazolium ion-tagged prolinamide organocatalysts 3 and 4, varying in anionic component (CF3COO- and PF6 -, respectively) is presented. The latter could be classified as an ionic liquid with a melting point of 66.3 °C, and glass transition temperature of 14.5 °C. The efficiency of each catalyst was compared via a direct aldol reaction revealing a large contrast in catalytic performance, with the catalyst bearing the PF6 - anion being superior. The optimal conditions were determined to be an on-water reaction system, and substrate scoping gave a range of desired aldol products in high conversion (up to >99 %), dr (up to 98:2), and er (up to 96:4). The application of these catalysts to beta-nitrostyrene conjugate addition is also presented. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]

Recoverable silica-gel supported binam-prolinamides as organocatalysts for the enantioselective solvent-free intra- and intermolecular aldol reaction

Silica-gel supported binam-derived prolinamides are efficient organocatalysts for the direct intramolecular and intermolecular aldol reaction under solvent-free conditions using conventional magnetic stirring. These organocatalysts in combination with benzoic acid showed similar results to those obtained under similar homogeneous reaction conditions using an organocatalyst of related structure. For the intermolecular process, the aldol products were obtained at room temperature and using only 2 equiv of the ketone with high yields, regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivities. Under these reaction conditions, also the cross aldol reaction between aldehydes is possible. The recovered catalyst can be reused up to nine times providing similar results. More interestingly, these heterogeneous organocatalysts can be used in the intramolecular aldol reaction allowing the synthesis of the Wieland–Miescher and ketone analogues with up to 92% ee, with its reused being possible up to five times without detrimental on the obtained results.

Pyrimidine-Derived Prolinamides as Recoverable Bifunctional Organocatalysts for Enantioselective Inter- and Intramolecular Aldol Reactions under Solvent-Free Conditions

Chiral L-prolinamides 2 containing the (R,R)- and (S,S)-trans-cyclohexane-1,2-diamine scaffold and a 2-pyrimidinyl unit are synthesized and used as general organocatalysts for intermolecular and intramolecular aldol reactions with 1,6-hexanedioic acid as a co-catalyst under solvent-free conditions. The intermolecular reaction between ketone–aldehyde and aldehyde–aldehyde must be performed under wet conditions with catalyst (S,S)-2b at 10 °C, which affords anti-aldols with high regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivities. For the Hajos–Parrish–Eder–Sauer–Wiechert reaction, both diastereomers of catalyst 2 give similar results at room temperature in the absence of water to give the corresponding Wieland–Miescher ketone and derivatives. Both types of reactions were scaled up to 1 g, and the organocatalysts were recovered by extractive workup and reused without any appreciable loss in activity. DFT calculations support the stereochemical results of the intermolecular process and the bifunctional role played by the organocatalyst by providing a computational comparison of the H-bonding networks occurring with catalysts 2a and 2b.

Self-assembled gold nanofilms as a simple, recoverable and recyclable catalyst for nitro-reduction

Hexaazamacrocycle (L) stabilized gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared by combining L with HAuCl4 center dot 3H(2)O in a variety of alcohol-water (1 : 1) mixtures. The dual roles of L as a reducing and stabilizing agent were exploited for the synthesis of AuNPs under the optimized ratio of L to Au3+ (2 : 1). Self-assembled gold nanofilms (AuNFs) were constructed at liquid-liquid interfaces by adding equal volumes of hexane to the dispersions of AuNPs in the alcohol-water systems. The nanofilms were formed spontaneously by shaking the two-phase mixture for a minute followed by standing. The alcohols explored for the self-assembly phenomenon were methanol, ethanol, i-propanol and t-butanol. The systems containing methanol or t-butanol resulted in AuNFs at the interfaces, whereas the other two alcohols were found not suitable and the AuNPs remained dispersed in the corresponding alcohol-water medium. The AuNFs prepared under suitable conditions were coated on a variety of surfaces by the dip and lift-off method/solvent removal approach. The AuNFs were characterized by UV-vis, SEM, TEM, AFM and contact angle measurement techniques. A coated glass-vial or cuvette was used as a catalytic reservoir for nitro-reduction reactions under ambient and aqueous conditions using NaBH4 as the reducing agent. The reduced products (amines) were extracted by aqueous work-up using ethyl acetate followed by evaporation of the organic layer; the isolated products required no further purification. The catalyst was recovered by simply decanting the reaction mixture whereupon the isolated catalyst remained coated inside the vessel. The recovered catalyst was found to be equally efficient for further catalytic cycles.

On-Board Experimental Study Of Bubble Thermocapillary Migration In A Recoverable Satellite

An on-board space experiment of bubble thermocapillary migration was performed in the Chinese 22nd recoverable satellite in 2005. Silicone oil of nominal viscosity 5cSt was used as the continuous phase in the experiment. Air bubbles were injected into the liquid in the same direction as the constant temperature gradient in the liquid. The velocities of bubbles were obtained by recording the paths of the bubbles. The results indicate that the scaled velocity of bubbles decreases with an increase of the Marangoni number extended to 9288, which agrees with the results of previous space experiments and numerical simulation. In addition, the interaction between two bubbles was also observed in the space experiment. The trajectories and the velocities of the bubbles were obtained. The two-bubble experiment results are also consistent with the theoretical analysis.

苯乙酮、氨甲酸酯参与的直接Mannich反应

Mannich反应是有机化学中最重要的碳-碳键形成反应，其产物是合成手性胺的通用中间体。间接Mannich反应使用不稳定的预制烯醇等当体，以未修饰的酮为给体的直接方法将增强Mannich反应的效率。针对低活性苯乙酮、氨甲酸酯参与的直接Mannich反应，研究工作将更具挑战性。 在前期实验中，我们发现Lewis酸-NbCl5可高效催化苯乙酮、芳香醛、芳香胺三组分直接Mannich反应，反应在环境温度下进行，高收率获得Mannich碱。这是以苯乙酮参与的Mannich反应中，实现催化量Lewis酸催化的首次报道。该方法高效且操作简单。但就底物而言，对易去保护、低活性的氨甲酸酯类底物收率较低。我们设想Brønst酸可解决此类底物问题。令人高兴的是，杂多酸可高效催化芳香酮、芳香醛、氨甲酸酯三组分直接Mannich反应，反应在环境温度下进行，高收率获得N-保护的β-氨基酮。该方法底物范围广泛，普适性强且催化剂便宜。 基于杂多酸在苯乙酮、氨甲酸酯为底物直接Mannich反应中的高效性，我们设想杂多酸与功能化的手性有机小分子-手性伯胺组装可解决催化剂回收问题，同时实现不对称催化。实验结果表明，非共价键固载手性伯胺不能有效催化苯乙酮为底物的直接Mannich反应，无论是对映选择性还是收率均较低。随后，我们以丙二酸酯及α-氨基砜为底物，以增强底物活性，同时绕开亚胺的不稳定性。辛可宁伯胺以氢键双活化底物，有效催化原位产生氨甲酸酯类亚胺与丙二酸酯的Mannich反应，高收率获得Mannich碱，ee值中等。 我们采用逐步解决问题的策略解决Mannich反应中的部分问题并在Lewis酸催化、Brønst酸催化、非共价键固载手性伯胺催化及手性伯胺氢键催化的直接Mannich反应中做出了有益探索。 The Mannich reactions are among the most fundamental carbon-carbon bond forming reactions in organic chemistry, and the reaction products are versatile intermediates in the synthesis of chiral amines. The indirect Mannich reaction uses preformed enolate equivalents. However the preformed enolates are unstable. Thus, a direct methodology based on unmodified ketone donors would enhance the efficiency of the Mannich reaction. Especially researches for the directed Mannich reactions of acetophenone, carbamate, which own lower activities, will be more challengeable. In the initial experiments, we found an efficient Lewis acid-NbCl5 which could catalyze three-component Mannich-type reaction of acetophenone, aromatic aldehydes and aromatic amines at ambient temperature in high yields. This is the first report that use catalytic amount of Lewis acid in the Mannich reactions of .acetophenone. The method reported is not only simple to operate but also efficient. However, as far as amines are concerned, the substrates of carbamates which can be deprotected more easily and less reactive than amines give low yields. We envisaged that Brønsted acid would resolve this problem. Pleasingly, heteropoly acids (HPA) efficiently catalyzed one-pot three-component Mannich reactions of aryl aldehydes, aryl ketones, and carbamates at ambient temperature and afforded the corresponding N-protected β-amino ketones in good to excellent yields. This method provides a novel and improved modification of three-component Mannich reactions in terms of a wide scope of aldehydes, ketones and carbamates, economic viability. Based on the high efficiency of heteropoly acids in the Mannich reaction of acetophenone and carbamates, we envisaged that if HPA were combined with functionalized chiral organocatalysts–chiral primary amines the assemblies may be able to act as recoverable asymmetric organocatalysts. The results of exprimentals showed that noncovalently supported heterogeneous chiral primary amine couldn’t effectively catalyze the Mannich reactions which own two the substrate of acetophenone regardless of enantioselectivity and yield. Then, we employed malonates and α-amido sulfones as substrates to enhance reactivity of substrates and circumvent the instability of imines. A moderately enantioselective and highly yield Mannich reaction with in situ generation of carbamate-protected imines from stable α-amido sulfones catalyzed by cinchonine primary amine catalyst was developed. It is noteworthy that cinchonine primary amine can dual activate substrates through H-bond activation and thus promote the reaction. We applied step-by-step-strategy to resolve some problems in the Mannich reactions and did some instructive explorations in Lewis acid catalysis, Brønst acid catalysis, noncovalently supported heterogeneous chiral primary amine catalysis and chiral primary amine as hydrogen-bond catalysis.

Highly efficient and recoverable dendritic organocatalyst from click chemistry for the asymmetric michael addition of ketones to nitroolefins without the use of organic solvent

A series Of pyrrolidine-triazole based dendritic catalysts have been synthesized and applied directly in the asymmetric Michael addition of ketones to nitroolefins without the use of an organic solvent. Good yields (up to 99%), and high diastereoselectivities (up to syn/anti = 45:1) and enantioselectivities (up to 95% ee) have been obtained. Furthermore. the third generation catalyst can be reused at least five times without significant loss of catalytic activity. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selective oxidations on recoverable catalysts assembled in emulsions

Catalysts assembled in emulsions are found to be potentially recoverable and efficient for a number of catalytic reactions. The catalysts composed of polyoxometalate anions and quaternary ammonium cations have been designed and synthesized according to the catalytic reactions and by optimizing the structures of cations and anions. The catalysts act essentially as surfactants, which are uniformly distributed in the interface of the emulsion droplets, and accordingly behave like homogeneous catalysts. The catalysts show remarkable selectivity and activity in the oxidation of sulfur-containing molecules to sulfones in diesel and the selective oxidation of alcohols to ketones, using H2O2 as oxidant. For an example, the catalyst demonstrated over 96% efficiency of H2O2 and similar to 100% selectivity to sulfones for the selective oxidation of sulfur-containing molecules in real diesel. Moreover, the catalysts can be separated and recycled by a simple demulsification and re-emulsification.

Increasing recoverable energy storage in electroceramic capacitors using “dead-layer” engineering

The manner in which ultrathin films of alumina, deposited at the dielectric-electrode interface, affect the recoverable energy density associated with (BiFeO3)0.6–(SrTiO3)0.4 (BFST) thin film capacitors has been characterised. Approximately 6 nm of alumina on 400 nm of BFST increases the maximum recoverable energy of the system by around 30% from 13 Jcc1 to 17 Jcc1.
Essentially, the alumina acts in the same way as a naturally present parasitic “dead-layer,” distorting the polarisation-field response such that the ultimate polarisation associated with the BFST is pushed to higher values of electric field. The work acts as a proof-of-principle to illustrate how the design of artificial interfacial dielectric “dead-layers” can increase energy densities in simple dielectric capacitors, allowing them to compete more generally with other energy storage technologies.

Silica-encapsulated nanomagnetic particle as a new recoverable biocatalyst carrier

Enzymes are versatile biocatalysts with major advantages of ultrahigh reaction selectivity and specificity under mild conditions, which currently find increasing applications. However, their applications are often hampered by difficulties in recovery and recycling. As a result, we carried out detailed investigations on the synthesis and characterization of silica-encapsulated iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles of controlled dimension as an enzyme carrier. It is shown that the relatively smaller sized silica-coated magnetic nanoparticle prepared by the microemlusion technique can a carry bulky enzyme, beta-lactamase, via chemical linkages on the silica overlayer without severely blocking the enzymatic active center ( which is commonly encountered in conventional solid supports). An activity study by Michalis-Menten kinetics reflects that this new type of immobilization allows enzyme isolation with accessibility as good as free enzyme. The recovery and reusability of the nanoparticle-supported enzyme upon application of magnetic separation are also demonstrated.

Cupreines and cupreidines: an established class of bifunctional cinchona organocatalysts

Cinchona alkaloids with a free 6'-OH functionality are being increasingly used within asymmetric organocatalysis. This fascinating class of bifunctional catalyst offers a genuine alternative to the more commonly used thiourea systems and because of the different spacing between the functional groups, can control enantioselectivity where other organocatalysts have failed. In the main, this review covers the highlights from the last five years and attempts to show the diversity of reactions that these systems can control. It is hoped that chemists developing asymmetric methodologies will see the value in adding these easily accessible, but underused organocatalysts to their screens.

On the catalytic hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons into less toxic compounds by a facile recoverable catalyst

Here we present the catalytic hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to less toxic mixtures of saturated and partial unsaturated polycyclic hydrocarbons under mild reaction conditions using a magnetically recoverable rhodium catalyst and molecular hydrogen as the exclusive H source. The catalyst is easily recovered after each reaction by placing a permanent magnet on the reactor wall and it can be reused in successive runs without any significant loss of catalytic activity. As an example, anthracene was totally converted into the saturated polycyclic hydrocarbon form (ca. 60%) and the partially hydrogenated form, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8-octahydroanthracene (ca. 40%). The catalyst operates in a broad range of temperature and H(2) pressure in both organic and aqueous/organic solutions of anthracene and it also exhibits significant activity at low substrate concentrations (20 ppm). This can be an efficient recycling process for hydrogenation of PAHs present in contaminated fluid waste streams. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.