Recent trends of industrial catalysts for resid hydroprocessing in Japan

To meet the gradual changes in petroleum demand, in particular a reduced demand for heavy fuel oil, advanced technology for resid hydroprocessing is now extremely necessary. The catalyst technology for resid hydroprocessing in Japan, especially fixed bed type of hydrodesulfurization and hydroconversion, is reviewed in this article.     

Iodoetherification of 4-penten-1,3-diols: stereoselective synthesis of cis 2-iodomethyl-3-hydroxytetrahydrofurans

cis 2-Iodomethyl-3-hydroxytetrahydrofurans have been obtained in high yields and in high selectivities by treatment of 4-penten-1,3-diols with iodine (ether-H₂O, NaHCO₃).     

Novel oxy-perfluoroalkylation

(Perfluoroalkyl)phenyliodonium sulfonates underwent novel oxy-perfluoroalkylation with alkenes under oxygen atmosphere in the presence of a base.     

Selective 1,4-diacetoxylation of conjugated dienes with tellurium (IV) oxide

Oxidation of several linear conjugated dienes with tellurium (IV) oxide and lithium bromide in acetic acid affords an isomeric mixture of the corresponding diacetoxyalkenes (1,2- and 1,4-addition products), 1,4-isomer being highly selectively produced when the ratio of LiBr/TeO₂, is 5–10.     

Synthesis of lipid A analogues containing glucose instead of glucosamine and their LPS-antagonistic activities

Lipid A analogues containing glucose in substitution for glucosamine on the reducing end were synthesized, and the inhibitory activities on LPS-induced TNFα production (LPS-antagonistic activity) in vitro using human whole blood cells were measured. The IC₅₀ values (nM) of these ten compounds, 8, 14, 21, 31, 40, 51, 57, 62, 67 and 72, were 11.2, 15.4, 2.7, 0.1, 0.4, 1.3, 3.2, 3.2, 1.4 and 14.4, respectively. And also inhibitory activities (ID₅₀) on TNFα production toward galactosamine loaded C3H/HeN mice in vivo of compounds 21, 31, 57, 62 and 67 were measured. The values of these compounds were 0.29, 0.50, 0.61, not dose-dependent and 0.33 mg/kg, respectively.     

Conformation of solvent N,N-dimethylpropionamide in the coordination sphere of the zinc(II) ion studied by Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations

Solvation structure of the zinc(II) ion in N,N-dimethylpropionamide (DMPA) was studied by Raman spectroscopy at varying temperature and by quantum mechanical calculations. No significant ion-pair formation was found for the Zn(ClO4)2 solution in the molality range m(Zn) < 1.5 mol kg(-1), and the solvation number of the zinc(II) ion was determined to be 4, indicating that 6-coordination of DMPA is sterically hindered. Interestingly, DMPA molecules are under equilibrium between planar cis and nonplanar staggered conformers, and the latter is more preferred in the coordination sphere, while the reverse is the case in the bulk. The DeltaG degrees , DeltaH degrees , and TDeltaS degrees values of conformational change from planar cis to nonplanar staggered in the coordination sphere were obtained to be -0.9, -8.5, and -7.5 kJ mol(-1), respectively. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the planar cis conformer is more favorable than the nonplanar staggered one in the 1:2 cluster, as is the case for a single DMPA molecule and H(DMPA)+, indicating that there hardly occurs solvent-solvent interaction through the metal ion in the Zn2+-DMPA 1:2 cluster. On the other hand, the SCF energy of [Zn(planar cis-DMPA)4-n(nonplanar staggered DMPA)n]2+ (n = 0-4) decreases with increasing n, implying that the nonplanar staggered conformer is preferred in the solvate ion. It is thus concluded that solvent-solvent interaction through space, or solvation steric effect, plays a crucial role in the conformational equilibrium in the coordination sphere of the four-solvate metal ion.     

Palladium-catalyzed allylic oxidation of olefins by t-butyl hydroperoxide and tellurium(IV) oxide

Treatment of several cyclic olefins, β-pinene, allylbenzene, and estragole with palladium(II) salt in acetic acid in the presence of t-butyl hydroperoxide and tellurium(IV) oxide afforded mainly the corresponding allylic acetates. The reaction proceeded catalytically with palladium(II) salt, t-BuOOH working as a reoxidizing agent.     

Asymmetric synthesis of β-lactams. I. The reaction of dimethylketene silyl acetal with (S)-alkylidene(1-arylethyl)amines promoted by titanium tetrachloride

Asymmetric synthesis of β-lactams by means of the reaction of dimethylketene silyl acetal with (S)-alkylidene(1-arylethyl)amines in the presence of titanium tetrachloride was studied. The extent of the asymmetric induction was in the range of 44–78% (diastereomeric purity 72–89%) and the (S)-configuration was turned to be preferentially induced at the ⁴C position of the resulting β-lactams.     

Metal ions dramatically enhance the enantioselectivity for lipase-catalysed reactions in organic solvents

We propose a simple and a powerful method to enhance the enantioselectivity for lipase-catalysed transformations in organic solvents by an addition of metal ion-containing water to the reaction mixture. In this paper, various metal ions such as LiCl or MgCl2 are tested to improve the enantioselectivity for the model reactions. The enantioselectivities obtained are dramatically enhanced, the E values of which are about 100-fold as compared with the ordinary conditions without a metal ion, for example, E = 200 by addition of LiCl. Furthermore, lowering the reaction temperature led to an almost perfect enantioselectivity of lipase in the presence of a metal ion, for example, E = 1,300 by addition of LiCl. Also, a mechanism for the drastic enhancement by metal ions is discussed briefly on the basis of the EPR spectroscopic study and the initial rate for each enantiomer of the substrate.