Because of the ubiquity of the secondary carbinol subunit, the development of new methods for its enantioselective synthesis remains an important ongoing challenge. In this report, we describe the first nonenzymatic method for the dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) of secondary alcohols (specifically, aryl alkyl carbinols) through enantioselective acylation, and we substantially expand the scope ...

Nano sized indium oxide is found to be an efficient catalyst for the conversion of thiols to sulfides using Na2CO3 as base and TBATB as reagent in DMSO at 110 °C. Here in situ generation of bromo intermediate by TBATB takes place through indium surface. A variety of aryl sulfides can be synthesized in excellent yields from less reactive chlorides, boronic acids and thiols.

A new class of organic-inorganic hybrid aerogels having small pores and narrow pore size distribution are synthesized from well-dispersed clay platelets in water as base catalyst. Clay-catalyzed organic gels have strong advantage in controlling nanopore structure as well as reducing drying shrinkage by reinforcing the organic network with inorganic platelets.

The nitrogen-substituted delaminated ITQ-2 zeolite was found to be a highly active and recyclable catalyst for the Knoevenagel condensation of bulky aromatic aldehydes with ethyl cyanoacetate which cannot take place over the base sites placed within the micropores of conventional zeolites due to spatial limitations.

A base-controlled synthesis of 2-substituted secondary and tertiary 1H-indole-3-carboxamides through PdCl(2)-catalyzed cyclization of o-alkynyltrifluoroacetanilides followed by isocyanide insertion has been developed. The reaction proceeds smoothly at ambient temperature using O(2) in air as the sole oxidant of the palladium catalyst.

We report herein the asymmetric coupling of flow-generated unstabilized diazo compounds and propargylated amine derivatives, using a new pyridinebis(imidazoline) ligand, a copper catalyst and base. The reaction proceeds rapidly, generating chiral allenes in 10-20 minutes with high enantioselectivity (89-98 % de/ee), moderate yields and a wide functional group tolerance.

A highly stereoselective one-pot procedure involving an enantioselective Michael addition promoted by low loading of an amino-squaramide catalyst followed by an achiral base catalyzed domino Michael-Knoevenagel-type 1,2-addition sequence provides efficient access to fully substituted cyclohexanes bearing five contiguous stereogenic centers in good yields (68-86%) and excellent stereoselectiviti...

The potency of 2-deoxy-2-fluoroglycosides in activity-based profiling of human acid β-glucosidase is drastically improved by introducing an N-phenyl trifluoroacetimidate leaving group at the anomeric center. Protonation by the general acid-base catalyst in the active site turned out to be a prerequisite, making the imidate probe a genuine mechanism-based glycosidase inactivator.

A new polymer acid catalyst, sulfonated hyperbranched poly(arylene oxindole), 5-OH-SHPAO, was prepared for selective cellulose hydrolysis. Its superior catalysis, showing high glucose selectivity at almost full cellulose conversion, is attributed to the presence of an hydroxyl group next to the sulfonic acid, therefore mimicking the separate acid-base pair in the cellulase active site.

The catalyst system prepared in situ from iron(III) salts, tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine and a base readily catalyses the intradiol dioxygenation of pyrocatechol in methanol, to primarily afford the half-methyl ester of muconic acid. Dimethyl adipate is obtained by the subsequent, one-step catalytic hydrogenation/esterification, thus providing a green route to this important nylon precursor.