Highly ortho‐Selective Chlorination of Anilines Using a Secondary Ammonium Salt Organocatalyst

An organocatalytic, highly facile, efficient, and regioselective ortho‐chlorination of anilines is described. A secondary ammonium chloride salt has been employed as the catalyst and the reaction can be conducted at room temperature without protection from air and moisture. In addition, the reaction is readily scalable and the catalyst can be recycled and reused. This catalytic protocol has been applied to the efficient synthesis of a highly potent c‐Met kinase inhibitor. Mechanistic studies revealed that unique structural features of the secondary ammonium chloride salt are important for both the catalysis and regioselectivity of the electrophilic ortho‐chlorination.     

Molten‐Salt‐Mediated Synthesis of an Atomic Nickel Co‐catalyst on TiO2 for Improved Photocatalytic H2 Evolution

Atomic co‐catalysts offer high potential to improve the photocatalytic performance, of which the preparation with earth‐abundant elements is challenging. Here, a new molten salt method (MSM) is designed to prepare atomic Ni co‐catalyst on widely studied TiO₂ nanoparticles. The liquid environment and space confinement effect of the molten salt leads to atomic dispersion of Ni ions on TiO₂, while the strong polarizing force provided by the molten salt promotes formation of strong Ni?O bonds. Interestingly, Ni atoms are found to facilitate the formation of oxygen vacancies (OV) on TiO₂ during the MSM process, which benefits the charge transfer and hydrogen evolution reaction. The synergy of atomic Ni co‐catalyst and OV results in 4‐time increase in H₂ evolution rate compared to that of the Ni co‐catalyst on TiO₂ prepared by an impregnation method. This work provides a new strategy of controlling atomic co‐catalyst together with defects for efficient photocatalytic water splitting.     

Nickel‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of N‐Sulfonyl Imines

An efficient nickel‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of N‐tBu ‐ sulfonyl imines was developed with excellent yields and enantioselectivities using (R,R)‐QuinoxP* as a chiral ligand. The use of a much lower catalyst loading (0.0095 mol %, S/C=10500) represents the highest catalytic activity for the Ni‐catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenations reported so far. Mechanistic studies suggest that a coordination equilibrium exists between the nickel salt and its complex, and that excess nickel salt promotes the formation of the active Ni‐complex, and therefore improved the efficiency of the hydrogenation. The catalytic cycle was also investigated by calculations to determine the origin of the enantioselectivity. An extensive network of numerous weak attractive interactions was found to exist between the catalyst and substrate in the transition state and may also contribute to the high catalytic activity.     

C‐2 Selective Arylation of Indoles with Heterogeneous Nanopalladium and Diaryliodonium Salts

A simple and efficient method to prepare synthetically useful 2‐arylindoles is presented, using a heterogeneous Pd catalyst and diaryliodonium salts in water under mild conditions. A remarkably low leaching of metal catalyst was observed under the applied conditions. The developed protocol is highly C‐2 selective and tolerates structural variations both in the indole and in the diaryliodonium salt. Arylations of both N?H indoles and N‐protected indoles with ortho‐substituted, electron‐rich, electron‐deficient, or halogenated diaryliodonium salts were achieved to give the desired products in high to excellent isolated yields within 6 to 15 h at room temperature or 40 °C.     

One‐Pot Synthesis of Fused Pyrroles through a Key Gold‐Catalysis‐Triggered Cascade

A two‐step, one‐pot synthesis of fused pyrroles is realized by firstly condensing an N‐alkynylhydroxammonium salt with a readily enolizable ketone under mild basic conditions and then subjecting the reaction mixture to a gold catalyst, which triggers a cascade reaction involving a facile initial [3.3]‐sigmatropic rearrangement of the gold‐catalysis product, that is, an N,O‐dialkenylhydroxamine. The reaction provides a facile access to polycyclic pyrroles in moderate to good yields.     

Alkene Isomerization–Hydroarylation Tandem Catalysis: Indole C2‐Alkylation with Aryl‐Substituted Alkenes Leading to 1,1‐Diarylalkanes

A cobalt‐N‐heterocyclic carbene catalyst generated from CoBr₂, imidazolium salt, and cyclohexylmagnesium bromide was found to promote the imine‐directed C2‐alkylation of indoles with nonconjugated arylalkenes through a tandem alkene isomerization–hydroarylation process, affording 1,1‐diarylalkanes with exclusive regioselectivity. The feasibility of the tandem catalysis was demonstrated for allyl‐, homoallyl‐, and bishomoallylbenzene derivatives. The catalytic system is also applicable to a variety of β‐substituted styrene derivatives. Mechanistic experiments using deuterium‐labeled indole substrate and Grignard reagent provided insight into the cobalt‐mediated C? H activation step, which likely involves exchange of the C2‐hydrogen atom of the former and the β‐hydrogen atoms of the latter.     

Efficient Method for the Synthesis of 1,5‐Benzodiazepine Derivatives Catalyzed by Monoammonium Salt of 12‐Tungstophosphoric Acid

Monoammonium salt of 12‐tungstophosphoric acid [(NH₄)H₂PW₁₂O₄₀] was found to be a practical, inexpensive, reusable, and efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the preparation of 1,5‐benzodiazepine derivatives of o‐phenylenediamine and ketones. The heteropolyacid‐based catalyst has the advantages of simple workup procedure, water insolubility with good activity, and high‐yielding reaction for the synthesis of 1,5‐benzodiazepine derivatives.     

Gold(I)‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Desymmetrization of meso‐Alkynyl Diols and Kinetic Resolution of the Corresponding dl‐Diols: Effects of Celite Filtration and Silver Salts

The asymmetric desymmetrization of meso‐2‐alkynylbenzenediols through the use of a combination of axially chiral diphosphine(AuCl)₂ precatalysts and silver salt co‐catalysts gave optically active isochromene compounds with high enantioselectivities in good yields. The corresponding dl ‐diol isomers underwent efficient kinetic resolution to give the cyclized isochromenes and recovered diols with high enantioselectivities under similar conditions. The high reactivity and selectivity in the desymmetrization of the meso‐diols is independent of the combination of axially chiral diphosphine(AuCl)₂ precatalyst and silver salt co‐catalyst, whereas the corresponding tricarbonylchromium complexes of alkynylbenzenediols were affected by the combination of the diphosphine(AuCl)₂ and silver salt. The reactivity was largely dependent on the nature of the gold(I) species.     

A Novel Organocatalytic Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of α,β‐Unsaturated Aldehydes

α,β‐Unsaturated aldehydes reacted with diimide (diazene) in the presence of optically active ammonium salt 1 as a catalyst to give the corresponding saturated aldehydes in excellent yields and up to 98 : 2 er. Attractive features of the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation are its high yields, and chemo‐, and enantioselectivities.     

Thermal Decomposition Behavior and Non-isothermal Decomposition Reaction of Copper（ll） Salt of 4-Hydroxy-3,5-dinitropyridine Oxide and Its Application in Solid Rocket Propellant

The thermal decomposition behavior and kinetic parameters of the exothermic decomposition reactions of the title compound in a temperature‐programmed mode have been investigated by means of DSC, TG‐DTG and lower rate Thermolysis/FTIR. The possible reaction mechanism was proposed. The critical temperature of thermal explosion was calculated. The influence of the title compound on the combustion characteristic of composite modified double base propellant containing RDX has been explored with the strand burner. The results show that the kinetic model function in differential form, apparent activation energy E_a and pre‐exponential factor A of the major exothermic decomposition reaction are 1‐a,207.98 kJ*mol^?1 and 10^15.64 s^?1, respectively. The critical temperature of thermal explosion of the compound is 312.87 C. The kinetic equation of the major exothermic decomposition process of the title compound at 0.1 MPa could be expressed as: dα/dT=10^16.42 (1–α)e‐2.502×10⁴/T As an auxiliary catalyst, the title compound can help the main catalyst lead salt of 4‐hydroxy‐3,5dinitropyridine oxide to enhance the burning rate and reduce the pressure exponent of RDX‐CMDB propellant.     

Hydroformylation of 2,5‐norbornadiene in organic/aqueous two‐phase system and acceleration by cationic surfactants

The organic/aqueous biphasic hydroformylation of 2,5‐norbornadiene (NBD) was investigated for the first time using HRh(CO)(TPPTS)₃ (TPPTS: trisodium salt of tri(m‐sulphonylphenyl)phosphine) as the catalyst precursor. A comparison was made of homogeneous and biphasic systems. The optimum reaction parameters are discussed and the reaction mechanism is presented. In order to ensure the process attained high activity under moderate conditions, the effect of various cationic surfactants was tested in the biphasic hydroformylation of NBD. The results indicated that the hydroformylation of NBD in the biphasic system exhibited high activity and high selectivity to dialdehyde products under mild conditions. The addition of cationic surfactants markedly accelerated the reaction. A single long‐chain surfactant seemed to exert a greater impact on the hydroformylation of NBD than a double long‐chain surfactant. Moreover, the recycling of aqueous solution containing catalyst with or without surfactant was investigated. In the absence of the surfactant, the aqueous catalyst could be recycled six times without a significant decrease in activity and selectivity. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and characterization of a novel organic–inorganic hybrid salt and its application as a highly effectual Brønsted–Lewis acidic catalyst for the production of N,N′‐alkylidene bisamides

In this research, a novel organic–inorganic hybrid salt, namely, N¹,N¹,N²,N²‐tetramethyl‐N¹,N²‐bis(sulfo)ethane‐1,2‐diaminium tetrachloroferrate ([TMBSED][FeCl₄]₂) was prepared and characterized by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), elemental mapping, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric (TG), differential thermal gravimetric (DTG), and vibrating‐sample magnetometry (VSM) analyses. Catalytic activity of the hybrid salt was tested for the synthesis of N,N′‐alkylidene bisamides through the reaction of benzamide (2 eq.) and aromatic aldehydes (1 eq.) under solvent‐free conditions in which the products were obtained in high yields and short reaction times. The catalyst was superior to many of the reported catalysts in terms of two or more of these factors: the reaction medium and temperature, yield, time, and turnover frequency (TOF). [TMBSED][FeCl₄]₂ is a Brønsted–Lewis acidic catalyst; there are two SO₃H groups (as Brønsted acidic sites) and two tetrachloroferrate anions (as Lewis acidic sites) in its structure. Highly effectiveness of the catalyst for the synthesis of N,N′‐alkylidene bisamides can be attributed to synergy of the Brønsted and Lewis acids and also possessing two sites of each acid.     

Simple and Efficient Method for the Synthesis of Benzimidazole Derivatives using Monoammonium Salt of 12‐Tungstophosphoric Acid

Benzimidazoles have been synthesized in very good yield from o‐phenylenediamine and aromatic aldehydes in the presence of monoammonium salt of 12‐tungstophosphoric acid [(NH₄)H₂PW₁₂O₄₀], an efficient heterogeneous catalyst. This catalyst has the advantages of simple workup procedure, water insolubility, and good activity with high yield for the synthesis of benzimidazole derivatives.     

Asymmetric Aldol Reactions in Caprolactam?Quaternary Ammonium Salt Coordination Ionic Liquid Catalyzed by L‐Pro‐L‐Trp

A direct asymmetric aldol reaction of aldehydes and acetone catalyzed by L ‐Pro‐L ‐Trp was performed in β‐caprolactam? quaternary ammonium salt coordination ionic liquid media in the presence of N‐methylmorpholine (NMM) in high yield and with good enantioselectivity. The approach has the advantages of simple product isolation, and reusable catalyst and coordination ion liquids.     

Electrochemical Synthesis of Benzazoles from Alcohols and o‐Substituted Anilines with a Catalytic Amount of CoII Salt

An electrochemical synthesis of benzazoles directly from alcohols and o‐substituted anilines has been developed. The reaction conditions have been optimized by varying the composition of the electrolyte and the metal salt used as catalyst. The cyclization proceeds smoothly with a catalytic amount of a cobalt salt under air at room temperature to afford 2‐substituted benzimidazoles, benzothiazoles, and benzoxazoles in good to excellent yields with a wide substrate scope.     

Enantioselective Sulfur‐Michael Addition of Thioacetic Acid to Nitroalkenes Catalyzed by Bifunctional Amine‐Thiourea Catalysts

An enantioselective Michael addition of thioacetic acid (AcSH) to nitroalkenes, catalyzed by a leucine‐derived bifunctional amine? thiourea, was developed with high yields and moderate enantioselectivities. The thiourea‐ammonium salt formed in the reaction is identified as the active catalyst, and the multiple H‐bonding system is responsible for the stereocontrol. The resulting thioester products are useful intermediates for the synthesis of enantiomerically enriched S‐containing compounds.     

Synthesis of the Novel Chiral Catalysts by Click Chemistry and Their Application

Novel cinchonine ammonium salt derivatives have been prepared by 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition. Their chiral catalytic efficacy was investigated in the asymmetric alkylation of N‐diphenylmethyleneglycine t‐butyl ester in the water phase. As the special structure of the catalyst, its asymmetric alkylation catalytic behavior both in organic solvents and in water is satisfactory, which is environmentally friendly.     

Imidazole‐coordinated monodentate NHC–Pd(II) complex derived from proline and its application to the coupling reaction of arylboronic acids with carboxylic acid anhydrides in water at room temperature

Cleavage of a C N bond of imidazolium salt derived from N‐phenyl‐substituted proline was observed in this laboratory. A novel imidazole‐coordinated monodentate NHC–Pd(II) complex 5 was obtained as the sole product in good yield in the reaction of imidazolium salt 4 with Pd(OAc)₂ in refluxing THF. The structure of complex 5 was determined unambiguously by an X‐ray diffraction. The complex was found to be a good catalyst in the cross‐coupling reaction of arylboronic acids with carboxylic acid anhydrides in water at room temperature. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Highly active polymeric organocatalyst: Chiral ionic polymers prepared from 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidinium salt

Since few examples of 10,11‐didehydrogenated (3‐ethynyl) cinchona alkaloids have been utilized as organocatalysts in asymmetric reaction, we synthesized 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidine. The 3‐vinyl group of cinchonidine was transformed into a 3‐ethynyl functionality. Based on the resulting 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidine, the corresponding quaternary ammonium salt and its dimers were prepared. The ion‐exchange reaction between the quaternary ammonium salt and sodium sulfonate produced the quaternary ammonium sulfonate as a stable ionic compound. Chiral ionic polymers were then synthesized by the ion‐exchange polymerization of the 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidinium salt dimer and a disulfonate. The chiral ionic polymers were found to be capable of efficiently catalyzing the asymmetric alkylation of N‐(diphenylmethylene)glycine tert‐butyl ester. The enantioselectivities obtained with the polymeric catalysts were higher than those obtained with the corresponding monomeric catalyst. Dimers of 10,11‐didehydrogenated cinchonidinium salts were prepared. Treatment of the dimer with disodium disulfonate gave the chiral ionic polymers, which showed high catalytic activity in asymmetric benzylation of N‐(diphenylmethylen)glycine tert‐butyl ester. The polymeric catalysts were reused several times without the loss of catalytic activity. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 621–627     

Enantioselective Intramolecular Desymmetric α‐Addition of Cyclohexanone to Propiolamide Catalyzed by Sodium L‐Prolinate

An enantioselective desymmetric nucleophilic α‐addition of cyclohexanone to propiolamide has been developed through a 6‐exo‐dig cyclization reaction. By employing simple and readily available L‐proline sodium salt as a bifunctional catalyst, a series of chiral 6,6‐bicyclic bridged products bearing morphan scaffold have been isolated in good yields and excellent enantioselectivities. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidated the origins of the enantioselectivity and regioselectivity of this transformation. A salt bridge that links the amide carbonyl group with proline carboxylate in the transition state was proven to be the driving force for the induction of excellent enantioselectivity.