On the Possibilities of Straightforward Characterization of Plasma Activated Water

Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing - Plasma activated deionized water from a hot arc 150 W PAW synthesizer has been analyzed for nitrite, nitrate and peroxide densities. Observed nitrite and...     

Metallacarboranes as Photoredox Catalysts in Water

Metallacarboranes with the shape of the Greek letter θ, such as [Co(C₂B₉H₁₁)₂]⁻, were tested, for the first time, as efficient photoredox catalysts in the oxidation of aromatic and aliphatic alcohols in water. Their efficiency is linked to their high solubility in water, their high oxidizing power (Co^4+/3+), and their absence of fluorescence on excitation, among others. In most of the studied examples, using a catalyst load of 0.4 mol % gave high yields of 90–95 % with selectivity greater than 99 %. By reducing the catalyst load to 0.01 mol %, quantitative conversion of reactants to products was achieved, in some cases with greater than 99 % yield, high catalyst efficiency reaching a turnover number of 10 000, and a higher yield with a 45 times lower concentration of catalyst. The metallacarboranes can be recovered easily by precipitation on addition of [NMe₄]Cl. A pathway for the photoredox-catalyzed oxidation of alcohols is proposed.     

Synthesis of alkyl α- and β-<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-glucopyranoside-based chiral crown ethers and their application as enantioselective phase-transfer catalysts

Chiral monoaza-15-crown-5-type lariat ethers annelated to alkyl 4,6-O-benzylidene-α- and β-d-glucopyranosides have been synthesized. These macrocycles generated significant asymmetric induction as phase-transfer catalysts in a few two-phase reactions. The catalytic effect of the lariat ethers with methoxy, ethoxy, and i-propoxy substituents on C-1 of the sugar unit in both α and β positions was compared. In liquid–liquid two-phase reactions, the nature and position of the substituents did not have much effect. The α-anomers were somewhat more efficient in terms of enantioselectivity than the β forms. In asymmetric Darzens condensations, in the epoxidation of trans-chalcone, in the Michael addition of β-nitrostyrene and diethyl acetamidomalonate, and in the reaction of 2-benzylidene-1,3-indandione with diethyl bromomalonate, maximum enantioselectivities of 73, 94, 78, and 72%, respectively, were obtained in presence of glucopyranoside-based lariat ethers as catalysts.