Hydroarylation of alkynes and alkenes through alumina-sulfuric acid catalyzed regioselective CC bond formation

A highly atom-efficient synthetic protocol for hydroarylation of terminal-aryl alkynes and styrene through the regioselective CC bond formation via the electrophilic addition of naphthols and substituted phenols has been developed using alumina-sulfuric acid as a heterogeneous supported solid acid catalyst. This methodology shows excellent regioselectivity and affords the desired product in good to excellent yield. The heterogeneous catalyst can also be recycled efficiently without much loss of activity.     

Recent advances in the synthesis of C-5-substituted analogs of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-ones: A review

3,4-Dihydropyrimidin-2-ones act as a versatile scaffold in organic synthesis, which serves as a significant template for the development of various therapeutic agents and shows a wide spectrum of activities. The attractive application of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-ones in organic synthesis is undoubtedly owing to C-5 ester group, which is responsible for the change in its bioactivity. Introduction of various groups like electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups at positions 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 greatly increased biological activity. Significant efforts have been undertaken to exploit different synthetic routes to synthesize various derivatives of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-ones. This review article gives a comprehensive account of the synthetic utility of C-5 substitution of 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-ones used in the design and synthesis of different types of compounds with greater emphasis on recent literature.     

Sodium halides as the source of electrophilic halogens in green synthesis of 3-halo- and 3,n-dihalobenzo[b]thiophenes

A convenient methodology for the synthesis of mono- and di-halogenated benzo[b]thiophenes is described herein, which utilizes copper(II) sulfate pentahydrate and various sodium halides in the presence of substituted 2-alkynylthioanisoles. The proposed method is facile, uses ethanol as a green solvent, and results in uniquely substituted benzo[b]thiophene structures with isolated yields up to 96%. The most useful component of this methodology is the selective introduction of bromine atoms at every available position (2–7) around the benzo[b]thiophene ring, while keeping position 3 occupied by a specific halogen atom such as Cl, Br or I. Aromatic halogens are useful reactive handles; therefore, the selective introduction of halogens at specific positions would be valuable in the targeted synthesis of bioactive molecules and complex organic materials via metal-catalyzed cross coupling reactions. This work is a novel approach towards the synthesis of dihalo substituted benzo[b]thiophene core structures, which provides a superior alternative to the current methods discussed herein.     

Thermodynamics and kinetics of hydrogen absorption–desorption of vanadium synthesized by aluminothermy

This paper studies the addition (0–40% w/w) of natural zeolite (NZ, 84% clinoptilolite) in blended cements made with Portland cement (PC) with low and medium C₃A content. The isothermal calorimetry was used to understand the effect of NZ on the early cement hydration. For low C₃A cement, the addition of NZ produces mainly a dilution effect and then the heat released curve is similar to plain cement with lower intensity. For medium C₃A cement, the curve shows the C₃S peak in advance and a high intensity of third peak attributed to C₃A hydration. The high cation fixed of NZ reduces the ions concentration (especially alkalis) in the mixing water stimulating the PC hydration. The flowability decreases when the NZ replacement level increases. Results of Fratini’s test show that NZ with both PCs used presents slow pozzolanic activity. At early age, XRD and FTIR analyses confirm that hydration products are the same as that of the corresponding PC and the CH is progressively reduced after 28 days and some AFm phases (hemi- and monocarboaluminate) appear depending on the NZ percentage and the PC used. For low replacement levels, the compressive strength is higher than the corresponding PC from 2 to 28 days. For high replacement levels, the early compressive strength is lower than that of corresponding plain PC and the pozzolanic reaction improves the later compressive strength of blended cements.     

An efficient, rapid, and regioselective bromination of anilines and phenols with 1-butyl-3-methylpyridinium tribromide as a new reagent/solvent under mild conditions

1-Butyl-3-methylpyridinium tribromide, [BMPy]Br₃ proves to be a highly efficient, regioselective reagent/solvent for nuclear bromination of various anilines and phenols. The synthesis and characterization of the room temperature ionic liquid [BMPy]Br₃ (2) is described. The bromination was carried out in the absence of organic solvents and in most cases the only extraction solvent needed was water. The spent 1-butyl-3-methylpyridinium bromide (1) was easily recycled.     

Direct synthesis of esters and amides from unprotected hydroxyaromatic and -aliphatic carboxylic acids

A facile method for the activation of hydroxy-substituted carboxylic acids using benzotriazole chemistry without prior protection of the hydroxy substituents is presented. The N-acylbenzotriazole intermediates 2a-g, 6a-d, and 9a-c have been used for high-yielding synthesis of both aliphatic (3a-l) and aromatic (7a-h, 10a-f) hydroxy carboxamides. High yields of aromatic hydroxy esters 12a-h and 13a-i were obtained using either neat alcohols in neutral microwave conditions or nucleophilic alkoxides and the intermediate N-(arylacyl)benzotriazoles. Moderate yields were obtained in the case of aliphatic hydroxy esters 11a,b and thiolesters 11e-g from the intermediates 2a-c.     

Control of structure formation in phase-separating systems

In this paper, we study the evolution of phase-separating binary mixtures which are subjected to alternate cooling and heating cycles. An initially homogeneous mixture is rapidly quenched to a temperature T(1)T(c). These cycles are repeated to create a domain morphology with multiple length scales, i.e., the structure factor is characterized by multiple peaks. For phase separation in d = 2 systems, we present numerical and analytical results for the emergence and growth of this multiple-scale morphology.     

Effect of a cocatalyst modifier in the synthesis of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene having reduced number of entanglements

The use of a hindered phenol to trap free trimethylaluminum (TMA) in methylaluminoxane (MAO) solutions has been reported to improve the performance of single‐site, homogeneous catalysts for olefin polymerization. In the present study, with the help of rheological analyses, we have investigated and compared the molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and entanglement density of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene synthesized with a single‐site catalyst activated by MAO and phenol‐modified MAO. While the number average molecular weight (M_n) of the obtained polymers remains the same for both activations, a higher yield and a higher entanglement density are found in the initial stages of polymerization on using phenol‐modified MAO as the cocatalyst. These results suggest that on using the phenol‐modified MAO as activator, a higher number of active sites are obtained. Surprisingly in the presence of untreated MAO, a tail in the higher molecular mass region is produced. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013     

Immobilized Carboxypeptidase A for Sequential Analysis

The use of carboxypeptidase for sequence determination is attractive because of its technical simplicity. In chemical methods all molecules of a peptide are made to go through a degradation cycle before a new cycle is started. In the enzymatic degradation of a protein, the order of the amino acid residues is not necessarily determined in a stepwise fashion but rather from the rate at which the amino acids appear in the digest, i.e., an amino acid appearing faster than another presumably precedes it in the sequence. Under favorable circumstances the rate of appearance of the amino acids released during digestion give sufficient evidence for the C-terminal sequence to be deduced. The present work pertains to a study on the use of immobilized carboxypeptidase A columns for sequential analyses.     

RuCl3 · xH2O: A New Efficient Catalyst for Facile Preparation of 1,1‐Diacetates from Aldehydes

An efficient, facile preparation of aldehyde 1,1‐diacetates (acylals) in excellent yields catalyzed by RuCl₃ · xH₂O is described. Ketones do not react under these conditions.