Biaryl coupling (often labelled 'C-H activation') of aromatic systems can be achieved by potassium tert-butoxide alone in the absence of any amine or bipyridine catalyst (1,10-phenanthroline or N,N'-dimethylethylenediamine being the most common), previously reported to be essential. Various mechanistic studies and observations are presented which suggest that when 1,10-phenanthroline is employe...

In current paper we demonstrate the applicability of high viscous oligomeric alkoxide concentrates in fabrication of technologically interesting structures like nanometer diameter fibers (down to 200 nm), nanoneedles (tip radii 15-25 nm) and some micrometers wide linear surface structures. The approach is cost-effective and simple as it utilizes low-cost precursor materials (metal alkoxides) co...

The formation mechanism of amorphous tantalum oxides was studied by total scattering experiments starting from alkoxide precursors. Hydrolysed TaxOyHz clusters form in highly dilute solutions which were transformed into L-Ta2O5 calcination.

The alkoxide-catalyzed addition of alcohols 2 to a-chloroacrylonitrile (1) at -35°C gives rise to 3-alkoxy-2-chloropropancnitriles 3; at D-5°C with excess _2 alkyl 3-alkoxy-2-chloropropanicidates 3 are obtained. The yields of 3 or 4 decrease with increasing pK, values of the alcohols 2. In the basecatalyzed addition of phenols 5 to 1, a temperature-dependent addition equilibrium is set up in wh...

Introduction Material surfaces composed of glass, metal oxide or potentially any oxide/hydroxide functional group are routinely tailored using organosilane reagents, affording new physico-chemical surface properties and enabling diverse application. The classic modification is based upon a hydrolysiscondensation mechanism. Reagent of the type YSiX3 (Y= terminally functionalized alkyl; X= alkoxi...

Phase-pure, ultrafine nanocrystalline anatase with high specific surface area (up to 250 m(2) g(-1)) was obtained upon injection of a titanium alkoxide precursor into ethanol with designed volume of water under mild solvothermal conditions (<200 degrees C, 2 h). Primary particle sizes were tuned by adjusting various reaction parameters, with the smallest grain sizes occurring at low temperature...

Among the fundamental transformations that comprise a catalytic cycle for cross coupling, transmetalation from the nucleophile to the metal catalyst is perhaps the least understood. Optimizing this elementary step has enabled the first example of a cobalt-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross coupling between aryl triflate electrophiles and heteroaryl boron nucleophiles. Key to this discovery was the ...

Two new magnesium complexes containing the important utility amide 2,2,6,6tetramethylpiperidide (TMP) have been synthesised. Treating the magnesium bis(alkyl) reagent (Me3SiCH2)2Mg with a molar equivalent of TMP(H) in hydrocarbon medium produces the dimeric alkylmagnesium amide complex [(Me3SiCH2)Mg(μ-TMP)]2 2, which was isolated in high yield. X-ray crystallography revealed that 2 was an unsym...