Recent metallosurfactants for sustainable catalysis in water

In the field of green chemistry, micellar catalysis plays a central role for organic solvent replacement. Micelles ensure the solubilization or dispersion of catalyst and organic substrates in water imparting unique features in terms of chemo-, regio- and stereoselectivity. For metal-catalyzed reactions, a more robust approach for catalyst recycling consists in the synthesis of so-called metallosurfactants, in which a hydrophilic metal–containing headgroup is endowed with a hydrophobic ponytail, leading in water to the formation of metallomicelles. This fast-growing field of research is critically reviewed in this contribution, describing new trends and classifying the literature since 2017 based on the nature of the newly formed bond. Particular emphasis is reported on the specific features of metallosurfactants in terms of activities, selectivities and recyclability of the self-assembling catalysts.     

Recent advances in asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis

The use of chiral nonracemic onium salts and crown ethers as effective phase-transfer catalysts have been studied intensively primarily for enantioselective carbon-carbon or carbon-heteroatom bond-forming reactions under mild biphasic conditions. An essential issue for optimal asymmetric catalysis is the rational design of catalysts for targeted reaction, which allows generation of a well-defined chiral ion pair that reacts with electrophiles in a highly efficient and stereoselective manner. This concept, together with the synthetic versatility of phase-transfer catalysis, provides a reliable and general strategy for the practical asymmetric synthesis of highly valuable organic compounds.     

Phase-transfer catalysis in analytical chemistry

Phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) has been a well-established technique on the synthesis of organic chemicals for more than three decades. Its scope and underlying mechanistic features have been the subject of numerous studies and appear to be recognized and understood.

This review is intended to approach the subject by focusing on the extraction–preconcentration–derivatization/reaction prior to analysis and to chronicle recent progress made. We present the salient aspects of PTC modes followed by a brief review of mechanistic considerations including reaction mechanisms, selectivity, rates and kinetics pointing out to the potency of PTC in analytical chemistry. Specific guidelines are given on how to optimize a PTC-based analysis with respect to catalyst, solvent, reaction conditions and more, based on reaction characteristics.

Finally, using the PTC principles as a framework, selected real-life applications are provided, the capabilities and limitations of PTC are addressed for the purpose of direct analysis of organic analytes and certain advantages are highlighted.     

光热协同催化去除挥发性有机化合物和CO的研究进展

随着社会和经济的快速发展,环境污染和能源短缺等问题,尤其是空气污染,已经影响了人类的可持续发展.挥发性有机化合物(VOCs),如苯、甲苯、甲醛和丙酮是主要的空气污染物,它们主要来源于油漆、有机化学品、石油化工产品、药物和工业生产过程.大多VOCs具有特殊的气味,而且具有一定的毒性、致畸性和致癌作用,尤其是苯、甲苯和甲醛...     

Micellar catalysis on 1,10-phenanthroline promoted hexavalent chromium oxidation of ethanol

The kinetics and mechanism of Cr(VI) oxidation of ethanol in the presence and absence of 1,10-phenanthroline in aqueous acid media have been carried out. Monomeric species of Cr(VI) are kinetically active in the absence of phen, while in the phen catalyzed path, the Cr(VI)-phen complex has been suggested as the active oxidant. In the catalyzed path, the Cr(VI)-phen complex participates in the oxidation of ethanol and ultimately is converted into the Cr(III)-phen complex. In the uncatalyzed path, the Cr(VI)-substrate ester experiences an acid catalyzed redox decomposition in the rate-determining step. The uncatalyzed path shows a second-order dependence on [H⁺], while the phen catalyzed path shows a first-order dependence on [H⁺]. Both the uncatalyzed and phen-catalyzed paths show first-order dependence on [ethanol]_T and [Cr(VI)]_T. The phen-catalyzed path is first order in [phen]_T. These observations remain unaltered in the presence of externally added surfactants. CPC inhibits the reactions while SDS catalyzes the reactions. The observed miceller effects have been explained by considering partitioning of the reactants between the miceller and aqueous phase.     

Recent applications of chiral ferrocene ligands in asymmetric catalysis

Despite the impressive progress achieved in asymmetric catalysis during the last decade, an increasing number of new catalysts, ligands, and applications are reported every year to satisfy the need to embrace a wider range of reactions and to improve the efficiency of existing processes. Because of their availability, unique stereochemical aspects, and wide variety of coordination modes and possibilities for the fine-tuning of the steric and electronic properties, ferrocene-based ligands constitute one of the most versatile ligand architectures in the current scenario of asymmetric catalysis. Over the last few years ferrocene catalysts have been successfully applied in an amazing variety of enantioselective processes. This Review documents these recent advances, with special emphasis on the most innovative asymmetric processes and the development of novel, efficient types of ferrocene ligands.     

Recent developments on artificial switchable catalysis

This Digest letter aims to stimulate the readers with some recent developments in the field of artificial switchable catalysis achieved during the last couple of years. The significance of this young but burgeoning field was emphasized with the help of these latest examples.     

Recent topics in dual hydrogen bonding catalysis

Dual hydrogen bonding donors have received much attention in the area of organocatalysis after the discovery of chiral thiourea derivatives that act as asymmetric catalysts. This digest focuses on recent advances in this area categorized in the following three topics: 1) enhanced hydrogen bonding donor catalysis; new scaffolds with improved reactivity and selectivity are introduced and compared with established catalysts; 2) anion binding catalysis; recent advances in terms of catalysts and their applications is addressed; 3) multiple catalysis involving dual hydrogen bonding catalysts; a relatively new field of dual hydrogen bonding donor catalysis combined with other catalysis is introduced.     

Recent advances in the iron-catalysed multicomponent reactions

Iron-catalysed reactions are widely used in organic synthesis owing to its benefits over other metals. Among the important organic reactions, multicomponent reactions play a significant role due to its greener aspects like high atom economy, minimal amount of by-product, economic feasibility etc. For the past few years, iron-catalysed multicomponent reactions have attracted the attention of several chemists which lead to the invention of some fine chemistry. The majority of iron-catalysed multicomponent reactions results in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds having biologically active natural products, pharmaceutical etc. These developments in the iron-catalysed multicomponent reactions are the focus of this review. This is the first review in this topic which covers the literature up to 2020, and it encompasses the different methods for the synthesis of acyclic, carbocyclic and heterocyclic compounds.     

1，1’—联—2—萘酚在不对称催化中的应用新进展

光学活性的1，1’—联—2—萘酚(BINOL)及其衍生物作为优异的手性配体应用 于不对称催化中已取得了巨大进展，显示出广阔的应用前景．对BINOL小分子和高 分子在各种不对称催化反应中的最新进展和发展方向进行了评述，并介绍了有关 BINOL的几种新型催化策略．     

Recent advances in oxidation catalysis using ionic liquids as solvents

Ionic liquids are an interesting alternative to classical solvents presenting several advantages. A variety of catalysts show good or even enhanced activities when applied in ionic liquids. Oxidation catalysis represents a large segment of industrial chemistry, providing both bulk chemicals and intermediates for high value added special products and pharmaceuticals. Particularly for the latter products organometallic and inorganic catalysts are being developed that can be applied in systems consisting of or containing ionic liquids. This work provides an overview on recent developments in this field.     

催化不对称反应新发展: 不对称活化

介绍了催化不对称催化反应中的一个新概念－不对称活化(asymmetricactivation)及其研究的最新发展。运用不对称活化策略,一个光学活性的整或者甚至外消旋的催化剂可以被另一种手性活化剂(chiralactivator)选择性的活化,从而催化反应生成非外消旋产物。该方法较不对称活化(asymmetricactivation)方法的优点是被活化的催化剂能够产生较使用光学纯催化剂更高对映体过量的产物。     

金属催化合成呋喃衍生物的最新进展

综述了近几年来利用金属催化合成多取代呋喃环的方法。分两大类介绍：一是通过对呋喃环进行结构改造,即呋喃金属试剂在过渡金属催化下与卤化物或酰氯发生偶联反应得到,或呋喃卤化物与金属试剂、烯烃、炔烃偶联得到;二是以非环状化合物为前体进行呋喃环的构筑,即在金属试剂催化下,1,2-联烯基酮、β-碘代-β-烯酮、叁键在α,β-、β,γ-、γ,δ-的炔酮、4-炔-2-烯醇可以关环得到多取代的呋喃产物。此外,在Ru~2(OAc)~4催化下,α-叠氮酮与炔烃反应得到金属卡宾中间体,然后关环也可得到取代呋喃产物。     

Recent developments in enantioselective gold(I) catalysis

The use of gold(I) complexes as catalysts for organic transformations has become increasingly common over the past decade, leading to the development of a number of useful carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond-forming processes. In contrast, enantioselective catalysis employing gold(I) complexes was, until recently, exceedingly rare, due in large part to the pronounced tendency of gold(I) to form linear, two-coordinate complexes. However, new approaches and strategies have emerged over the past two years, leading to the development of a number of effective gold(I)-catalyzed enantioselective transformations, most notably the enantioselective hydrofunctionalization of allenes. Outlined herein is an overview of enantioselective gold(I) catalysis since 2005.     

Recent advances in heterogeneous catalysis for the nonoxidative conversion of methane

The direct conversion of methane to high-value chemicals is an attractive process that efficiently uses abundant natural/shale gas to provide an energy supply. The direct conversion of methane to high-value chemicals is an attractive process that efficiently uses abundant natural/shale gas to provide an energy supply. Among all the routes used for methane transformation, nonoxidative conversion of methane is noteworthy owing to its highly economic selectivity to bulk chemicals such as aromatics and olefins. Innovations in catalysts for selective C–H activation and controllable C–C coupling thus play a key role in this process and have been intensively investigated in recent years. In this review, we briefly summarize the recent advances in conventional metal/zeolite catalysts in the nonoxidative coupling of methane to aromatics, as well as the newly emerging single-atom based catalysts for the conversion of methane to olefins. The emphasis is primarily the experimental findings and the theoretical understanding of the active sites and reaction mechanisms. We also present our perspectives on the design of catalysts for C–H activation and C–C coupling of methane, to shed some light on improving the potential industrial applications of the nonoxidative conversion of methane into chemicals.

The direct conversion of methane to high-value chemicals is an attractive process that efficiently uses abundant natural/shale gas to provide an energy supply.     

Recent advances in the synthesis of 1,1-diarylalkanes by transition-metal catalysis

1,1-Diaryl moieties are core structures in a wide range of bioactive and pharmaceutical compounds.Transition-metal catalysis is a convenient approach to accessing these invaluable compounds affording high yields and enantioselectivities.This review summarizes 1,1-diarylalkanes synthesis through transition metal catalysis.Particular focus is given to recent developments,such as reductive cross-electrophile couplings,benzylic C–H bond arylation,transformations involving metal migration,asymmetric hydrogenation of 1,1-diarylalkenes and three-component coupling reactions.     

Derivatization of carboxylic acids with 9-bromomethylacridine using micellar phase-transfer catalysis

Summary Micellar phase-transfer catalysis (MPTC) offers the opportunity to derivatize carboxylic acids directly in an aqueous matrix without prior extraction of the acids into a suitable aprotic solvent. The currently developed MPTC system consists of a non-ionic surfactant, Arkopal N-130, an ion-pair agent, tetrakis-(decyl)-ammonium bromide, and a novel fluorescence reagent, 9-bromomethylacridine. The MPTC system can be applied to the derivatization of many types of carboxylic acids. The reaction rate is affected by the lipophilicity of the acid and by the presence of other functional groups. For lipophilic carboxylic acids the reaction is complete within 5 min at 60°C and pH 7.0.     

Recent advances in photo-enhanced dry reforming of methane: A review

Converting methane and carbon dioxide into hydrogen and carbon monoxide is significant and attractive because it can mitigate the greenhouse effect and produce useful chemical intermediate. However, these two greenhouse gases are challenging to convert due to their high bond energy and chemically inert. Although thermocatalytic dry reforming of methane (DRM) achieves high efficiency, it requires high energy and often causes deactivation due to carbon deposition. Recently, a lot of research results show that photo-enhanced DRM is a promising and green route for this reaction under relatively mild conditions. This review first introduces the importance and challenge of CH₄ and CO₂ conversion. Then, we summarize the related reports of photo-enhanced dry reforming of methane in detail, including material preparation, experimental conditions and results, and mechanism study. In particular, the related studies have been classified according to types of input energy and the types of catalyst. Finally, we provide insightful perspectives and prospects for the future development of this field.     

Recent advances towards catalytic asymmetric Conia-ene-type reactions

Conia-ene reactions,as a type of ene reactions,have not become a remarkable focus until the beginning of21~(st) century,when Lewis acids served as powerful catalysts and found an increasingly broad utilization in this field.Consequently,the catalytic Conia-ene reactions have gained great significance in synthetic chemistry due to their high efficiency and atom economy on the construction of valuable cyclic molecules.During the past two decades,the rapid development of transition-metal catalysis and organocatalysis has imposed a profound impact on the exploration of asymmetric Conia-ene reactions.As a result,several strategies have been developed and applied successfully.Organized on the basis of the catalytic system,this review comprehensively presents a summary of recent progress achieved in this emerging domain,aimed at highlighting the reactions' features,practicalities,and the mechanistic rationale is presented where possible.