Nano palladium supported on high‐surface‐area metal–organic framework MIL‐101: an efficient catalyst for Sonogashira coupling of aryl and heteroaryl bromides with alkynes

Palladium nanoparticle‐incorporated metal–organic framework MIL‐101 (Pd/MIL‐101) was successfully synthesized and characterized using X‐ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, X‐ray photoelectron, UV–visible and infrared spectroscopies, and transmission electron microscopy. The characterization techniques confirmed high porosity and high surface area of MIL‐101 and high stability of nano‐size palladium particles. Pd/MIL‐101 nanocomposite was investigated for the Sonogashira cross‐coupling reaction of aryl and heteroaryl bromides with various alkynes under copper‐free conditions. The reusability of the catalyst was tested for up to four cycles without any significant loss in catalytic activity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First principles study on the structural,electronic and phonon properties of monolayer B2Si

Using first principles density functional theory, we predict a monolayer B₂Si structure with space group Pmm2 in the present work. This structure is confirmed to be dynamically stable. Based on the plane wave pseudopotential approach, the charge density, electron localization function, density of states, energy band, phonon property and thermal conductivity of Pmm2-B₂Si are systematically studied. It is interesting that the sp² hybridization and coordination bond of Si are found in Pmm2-B₂Si, which is the most important factor for its structural stability. The density of states and energy band analysis reveals that Pmm2-B₂Si is metallic because of the partial occupied Si 3pz and B 2pz states. Moreover, the acoustic-optical coupling is important for phonon transport in Pmm2-B₂Si, and the contribution of optical modes to the lattice thermal conductivity along the [100] and [010] directions is 13% and 12%, respectively. This study gives a fundamental understanding of the structural, electronic and phonon properties in Pmm2-B₂Si.     

Kinetics of phenol hydrogenation over supported palladium catalyst

Kinetics of vapor phase hydrogenation of phenol to cyclohexanone over Pd/MgO system has been studied in a flow microreactor under normal atmospheric pressure. The reaction rate is found to be negative order with respect to the partial pressure of phenol and has increased from −0.5 to 0.5 with increasing temperature (473 to 563 K). The apparent activation energy (E_a) of the process is found to be close to 65 kJ per mol. On the basis of kinetic results a surface mechanism is proposed.     

Experimental observation of quantum corrections to electrical resistivity in nanocrystalline soft magnetic alloys

X-ray diffraction patterns of nanocrystalline Fe-Cu-Nb-Si-B (FINEMET) alloys reveal that bcc α-Fe/α-FeSi crystallites with the average grain size of 20(5) nm are dispersed in amorphous matrix. Enhanced electron—electron interaction (EEI) and quantum interference (QI) effects as well as electron-magnon (and/or electron-spin fluctuation) scattering turn out to be the main mechanisms that govern the temperature dependence of resistivity. Of all the inelastic scattering processes, inelastic electron-phonon scattering is the most effective mechanism to destroy phase coherence of electron wave functions. The diffusion constant, density of states at the Fermi level and the inelastic scattering time have been estimated, for the first time, for the alloys in question Article presented at the International Symposium on Advances in Superconductivity and Magnetism: Materials, Mechanisms and Devices, ASMM2D-2001, 25–28 September 2001, Mangalore, India.     

Stereoselective synthesis of (6S)-5,6-dihydro-6-[(2R)-2-hydroxy-6-phenylhexyl]-2H-pyran-2-one

A stereoselective synthesis of (6S)-5,6-dihydro-6-[(2R)-2-hydroxy-6-phenylhexyl]-2H-pyran-2-one is reported. The strategy utilizes an olefin cross-metathesis, syn-benzylidene acetal formation and a preferential (Z)-Wittig olefination reaction and lactonization as the key steps.     

Rapid and efficient synthesis of optically active pyrazoles under solvent-free conditions

2-Formyl glycals undergo rapid condensation with arylhydrazines under solvent-free conditions to give the corresponding optically pure 4-substituted pyrazoles in good yields with high selectivity. The stereochemistry of the products was assigned by various NMR experiments.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Silica@Copper Core–Shell Nanoparticles: Application for Conjugate Addition Reactions

Silica@copper (SiO₂@Cu) core–shell nanoparticles were synthesized and well characterized by XRD, TEM, AFM, XPS, UV/Vis, TGA–MS, and ICP–AES techniques. The synthesized SiO₂@Cu core–shell nanoparticles were employed as catalysts for the conjugate addition of amines to α,β‐unsaturated compounds in water to obtain β‐amino carbonyl compounds in excellent yields in shorter reaction times. Furthermore, the catalyst works well for hetero‐Michael addition reactions of heteroatom nucleophiles such as thiols to α,β‐unsaturated compounds. As the reaction is performed in water, it allows for easy recycling of the catalyst with consistent activity.     

Vanadium(III) chloride catalyzed Biginelli condensation: solution phase library generation of dihydropyrimidin-(2H)-ones

The three component condensation of an aldehyde, a β-keto ester and urea (thiourea) in the presence of a catalytic amount of VCl₃ is disclosed for the solution phase synthesis of dihydropyrimidinones. The ease of synthesis and work-up allowed the parallel synthesis of a 48-membered library of dihydropyrimidinones quickly and efficiently in good yields.