Nucleophilic Activation Research Articles

Non-thermal effect of microwave on organic sulfur removal from coal by microwave with peroxyacetic acid

This work investigated the non-thermal microwave effect during organic sulfur removal from coal by microwave irradiation combined with oxidation assistants. XANES was used to analyze the change of sulfur forms in the desulfurization process of high organic sulfur coal under microwave heating and conventional heating conditions. The effects of microwave fields on the molecular properties, bond strength and reaction kinetic of organic sulfur-containing groups were studied by quantum chemical calculation. Results showed that the desulfurization rate with microwave heating improved by 26% at the same temperature compared with conventional heating. The XANES analysis indicated that microwave radiation promoted the transformation of low-valence sulfur into high-valence sulfur, which resulted in the sulfur in the treated coal mainly existing as heterocyclic sulfur and oxidized sulfur. For the theoretical calculation, it is observed that the nucleophilic reaction activity of sulfur-containing groups could be improved and the strength of CS bands could be reduced under the extra electric fields due to the non-thermal microwave effect. Besides, the reaction activation energy was reduced and the reaction rate was increased under the same extra electric fields, promoting the formation of oxidized sulfur in coal. Therefore, there was a competitive relationship between sulfur-containing bond dissociation and group oxidation under the action of microwave non-thermal effect, which provided a reference for coal desulfurization research.

Structural Factors That Determine the Activity of the Xenobiotic Reductase B Enzyme from Pseudomonas putida on Nitroaromatic Compounds

Xenobiotic reductase B (XenB) catalyzes the reduction of the aromatic ring or nitro groups of nitroaromatic compounds with methyl, amino or hydroxyl radicals. This reaction is of biotechnological interest for bioremediation, the reuse of industrial waste or the activation of prodrugs. However, the structural factors that explain the binding of XenB to different substrates are unknown. Molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanical calculations were performed to identify the residues involved in the formation and stabilization of the enzyme/substrate complex and to explain the use of different substrates by this enzyme. Our results show that Tyr65 and Tyr335 residues stabilize the ligands through hydrophobic interactions mediated by the aromatic rings of these aminoacids. The higher XenB activity determined with the substrates 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene is consistent with the lower energy of the highest occupied molecular orbital (LUMO) orbitals and a lower energy of the homo orbital (LUMO), which favors electrophile and nucleophilic activity, respectively. The electrostatic potential maps of these compounds suggest that the bonding requires a large hydrophobic region in the aromatic ring, which is promoted by substituents in ortho and para positions. These results are consistent with experimental data and could be used to propose point mutations that allow this enzyme to process new molecules of biotechnological interest.

Activation of Alkynes by a Redox-Active Carboranyl Diphosphine and Formation of Boron-Containing Phosphacycles.

In this work, we report the reactivity of the carboranyl diphosphine, 1-PtBu2-2-PiPr2-C2B10H10, with terminal alkynes, resulting in the formation of boron-containing phosphacycles. The reported system combines the nucleophilic activation of electron-deficient terminal alkynes via electron-rich phosphine groups with the redox behavior of carborane clusters to promote a sequence of metal-free intramolecular B-H bond activation and cyclization, creating an alkenylphosphonium cycle fused with a reduced open nido-carborane cluster.

3-Position-Selective C-H Trifluoromethylation of Pyridine Rings Based on Nucleophilic Activation.

The first example of the 3-position-selective C(sp2)-H trifluoromethylation of pyridine rings was established. 3-Position-selective trifluoromethylation was achieved by the nucleophilic activation of pyridine and quinoline derivatives through hydrosilylation and successive electrophilic trifluoromethylation of the enamine intermediate. This reaction was applicable to perfluoroalkylation at the 3 position of the pyridine rings and late-stage trifluoromethylation of a bioactive molecule. Mechanistic studies indicated that the reaction proceeds via the formation of N-silyl enamine and trifluoromethylated enamine intermediates.

Highly Active and Efficient Cu@SiO2 Catalyst: Enabled Nucleophilic and Electrophilic Activation of Active Methylene Compounds

AbstractThe utility of copper is strikingly afforded due to the variable oxidation state being widely used in various organic reactions. The copper‐catalyzed C−C bond formation with active methylene compounds are a straightforward approach with widespread uses in synthetic organic chemistry. A significantly lower amount of Cu‐supported SiO2 catalyst was synthesized through sol‐gel method. The microscopy analysis reveals the formation of spherical morphology and the uniform distribution of Cu nanoparticles of 2.5 nm size. Furthermore, copper was found in Cu+2 state by XPS analysis. The NH3‐TPD analysis estimated the 0.092 mmol/g acidic sites. The synthesized multifunctional catalyst was used for gabapentin intermediates through a series of active methylene compounds through tandem organic reactions. The catalyst gave excellent conversion (99%) and selectivity (99%) of the desired product. The catalyst was found to be highly stable and recycled for six cycles without losing any activity and selectivity to the reaction product.

Physicochemical Characterization of the Catalytic Unit of Hammerhead Ribozyme and Its Relationship with the Catalytic Activity

The catalytic mechanism of hammerhead ribozymes (HHRzs) attracted great attention in relation to the chemical origin of life. However, the basicity (pKa) of the catalytic sites of HHRzs has not been studied so far. As a result, the investigation of the currently assumed mechanism from an experimentally derived pKa value has been impossible. In HHRzs, there exists a highly functionalized structural unit (A9-G10.1 site) with a catalytic residue (G12) for the nucleophile activation and metal ion-binding residue (G10.1). As inferred from this fact, there might be a possibility that HHRzs may utilize specific functions of the A9-G10.1 motif for the catalytic reaction. Therefore, here we studied the basicity of G12/G10.1-corresponding residues using RNA duplexes including the A9-G10.1 motif without other conserved residues of HHRzs. From the pH-titration experiments with NMR spectra, we have obtained the intrinsic basicity of the G12/G10.1-corresponding residues in the motif, with pKa > 11.5 (N1 of G12) and pKa 4.5 (N7 of G10.1) for the first time. Based on the derived irregular basicity, their correlation with a catalytic activity and a metal affinity were investigated. In total, the derived thermodynamic properties are an intrinsic nature of the exclusive catalytic unit of HHRzs, which will be an outstanding pivot point for the mechanistic analyses.

Enantioselective Nickel-Catalyzed Electrochemical Radical Allylation.

A simplified and appealing strategy via a chiral catalyst to facilitate the electrochemical process and provide asymmetric induction of radical reactions is particularly desirable and would have potential applications in electrosynthesis, organic chemistry, and drug discovery. Here, we introduced a novel electrolytic system that diverts the standard ionic reactivity to new catalytic functions, enabling mechanistically distinct single-electron transfer-based enantioselective routes to exhibit a brand-new pattern of reactivity-electricity-driven asymmetric catalysis as a privileged chiral platform for enantioselective radical allylation. The nickel-catalyzed activation of nucleophiles triggered a single-electron transfer process to provide a chiral catalyst-bound radical cation intermediate, which could be applied as an alternative strategy for the development of stereocontrolled radical reactions.

Enantioselective Nickel‐Catalyzed Electrochemical Radical Allylation

AbstractA simplified and appealing strategy via a chiral catalyst to facilitate the electrochemical process and provide asymmetric induction of radical reactions is particularly desirable and would have potential applications in electrosynthesis, organic chemistry, and drug discovery. Here, we introduced a novel electrolytic system that diverts the standard ionic reactivity to new catalytic functions, enabling mechanistically distinct single‐electron transfer‐based enantioselective routes to exhibit a brand‐new pattern of reactivity—electricity‐driven asymmetric catalysis as a privileged chiral platform for enantioselective radical allylation. The nickel‐catalyzed activation of nucleophiles triggered a single‐electron transfer process to provide a chiral catalyst‐bound radical cation intermediate, which could be applied as an alternative strategy for the development of stereocontrolled radical reactions.

Activation Modes in Asymmetric Anion-Binding Catalysis

AbstractOver the past two decades, enantioselective anion-binding catalysis has emerged as a powerful strategy for the induction of chirality in organic transformations. The stereoselectivity is achieved in a range of different reactions by using non-covalent interactions between a chiral catalyst and an ionic substrate or intermediate, and subsequent formation of a chiral contact ion pair upon anion binding. This strategy offers vast possibilities in catalysis and the constant development of new reactions has led to various substrate activation approaches. This review provides an overview on the different activation modes in asymmetric anion-binding catalysis by looking at representative examples and recent advances made in this field.1 Introduction2 Electrophile Activation by Single Anion-Binding Catalysis2.1 Prior In Situ Charged Electrophiles2.2 Neutral Electrophile Activation via Anion Abstraction2.2.1 Anion Abstraction via an SN1 Mechanism2.2.2 Anion Abstraction via an SN2 Mechanism3 Nucleophile Activation and Delivery4 Bifunctional and Cooperative Co-catalysis Strategies4.1 Amine Groups for Bifunctional and Cooperative Catalysis4.2 Brønsted Acid Co-catalysis4.3 Lewis Acid Co-catalysis4.4 Lewis Base Co-catalysis4.5 Nucleophilic Co-catalysis for Activation of Electrophiles4.6 Cooperative Metal and Anion-Binding Catalysis4.7 Combination of Photoredox and Anion-Binding Catalysis5 Anion-π Catalysis6 Conclusion

Cooperative catalysis: Condensation-aromatization for synthesis of 2-(4-nitrophenyl)-1H-benzimidazole by silica immobilized Brønsted-Lewis acidic ionic liquid (Si-BLAIL)

Herein, pleasing the advantageous of both Brønsted and Lewis acidic site of Si-BLAIL the condensation-aromatization reaction has been carried out. The striking distinctiveness of work is optimum reaction condition, easy work-up, high yield, catalyst recyclability, non-inertness of reaction flask, simple catalyst loading method. The decreases in the amount of catalyst and reaction time shows good to high (71%–93%) yield suggests about the involvement of some interesting mechanism such as cooperative catalysis. The mechanism has been hypothesizes as, the Si-BLAIL increase the efficiency of condensation reaction possibly by providing the proton in 2-position of cationic imidazolium ring of BLAIL through the hydrogen bond interaction with carbonyl group and nucleophilic activation during aromatization by hydrogen bond acceptor ability of Lewis adduct anion of BLAIL. The catalyst Si-BLAIL shows massive affirm for industrial applications. The Si-BLAIL has identified as the best acid catalyst for 2-(4-nitrophenyl) benzimidazole synthesis with additional benefits of cooperative catalysis.

Non-Stabilized Vinyl Anion Equivalents from Styrenes by N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysis and Its Use in Catalytic Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution.

A protocol for the catalytic nucleophilic activation of unactivated styrenes is reported, which enables the generation of a non-stabilized alkenyl anion equivalent as a transient intermediate. In the reaction, N-heterocyclic carbenes add across styrenes to generate ylide intermediates, which can then be used in intramolecular nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions of aryl fluorides, chlorides, and methyl ethers. The method allows for straightforward access to complex polyaromatic compounds.

Nucleophilic borylation of fluorobenzenes with reduced arylboranes.

Two challenging but rewarding topics in chemical synthesis are C-F-bond activation and the development of B-centered nucleophiles. We have now tackled both subjects simultaneously by forming aryl-B bonds via SNAr-type reactions on fluorobenzenes under mild conditions using Na2[FluBBFlu], Li2[HBFlu], and Li2[Me2DBA] (BFlu = 9-borafluorenyl, Me2DBA = 9,10-dimethyl-9,10-dihydro-9,10-diboraanthracene).

The Participation of 3,3,3-Trichloro-1-nitroprop-1-ene in the [3 + 2] Cycloaddition Reaction with Selected Nitrile N-Oxides in the Light of the Experimental and MEDT Quantum Chemical Study.

The regioselective zw-type [3 + 2] cycloaddition (32CA) reactions of a series of aryl-substituted nitrile N-oxides (NOs) with trichloronitropropene (TNP) have been both experimentally and theoretically studied within the Molecular Electron Density Theory (MEDT). Zwitterionic NOs behave as moderate nucleophiles while TNP acts as a very strong electrophile in these polar 32CA reactions of forward electron density flux, which present moderate activation Gibbs free energies of 22.8–25.6 kcal·mol−1 and an exergonic character of 28.4 kcal·mol−1 that makes them irreversible and kinetically controlled. The most favorable reaction is that involving the most nucleophilic MeO-substituted NO. Despite Parr functions correctly predicting the experimental regioselectivity with the most favorable O-CCCl3 interaction, these reactions follow a two-stage one-step mechanism in which formation of the O-C(CCl3) bond takes place once the C-C(NO2) bond is already formed. The present MEDT concludes that the reactivity differences in the series of NOs come from their different nucleophilic activation and polar character of the reactions, rather than any mechanistic feature.

Identification of a Catalytic Nucleophile-Activating Network in the endo-α-N-Acetylgalactosaminidase of Family GH101.

Bifidobacterium longum endo-α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase (GH101), EngBF, is highly specific toward the mucin Core 1 glycan, Galβ1-3GalNAc. Apart from the side chains involved in the retaining mechanism of EngBF, Asp-682 is important for the activity. In the crystal structures of both EngBF and EngSP (from Streptococcus pneumoniae), we identified a conserved water molecule in proximity to Asp-682 and the homologue residue in EngSP. The water molecule also coordinates the catalytic nucleophile and three other residues conserved in GH101 enzymes; in EngBF, these residues are His-685, His-718, and Asn-720. With casein-glycomacropeptide as the substrate, the importance of Asp-682 was confirmed by the lack of a detectable activity for the D682N enzyme. The enzyme variants, H685A, H718A, H685Q, and H718Q, all displayed only a modestly reduction in kcat of up to 15 fold for the H718A variant. However, the double-substituted variants, H685A/H718A and H685Q/H718Q, had a greatly reduced kcat value by about 200 fold compared to that of wild-type EngBF. With the synthetic substrate, Galβ(1-3)GalNAcα1-para-nitrophenol, kcat of the double-substituted variants was only up to 30-fold reduced and was found to increase with pH. Compared to the pre-steady-state kinetics of wild-type EngBF, a burst of about the size of the enzyme concentration was absent with the double-substituted EngBF variants, indicating that the nucleophilic attack had become at least as slow as the hydrolysis of the enzyme intermediate. Together, the results indicate that not only Asp-682 but also the entire conserved network of His-685, His-718, and what we suggest is a catalytic water molecule is important in the activation of the catalytic nucleophile.

Phosphine/Photoredox Catalyzed Anti-Markovnikov Hydroamination of Olefins with Primary Sulfonamides via α-Scission from Phosphoranyl Radicals.

New strategies to access radicals from common feedstock chemicals hold the potential to broadly impact synthetic chemistry. We report a dual phosphine and photoredox catalytic system that enables direct formation of sulfonamidyl radicals from primary sulfonamides. Mechanistic investigations support that the N-centered radical is generated via α-scission of the P-N bond of a phosphoranyl radical intermediate, formed by sulfonamide nucleophilic addition to a phosphine radical cation. As compared to the recently well-explored β-scission chemistry of phosphoranyl radicals, this strategy is applicable to activation of N-based nucleophiles and is catalytic in phosphine. We highlight application of this activation strategy to an intermolecular anti-Markovnikov hydroamination of unactivated olefins with primary sulfonamides. A range of structurally diverse secondary sulfonamides can be prepared in good to excellent yields under mild conditions.

Phosphine-Catalyzed Vinylation at Low Acetylene Pressure.

The vinylation of various nucleophiles with acetylene at a maximum pressure of 1.5 bar is achieved by organocatalysis with easily accessible phosphines like tri-n-butylphosphine. A detailed mechanistic investigation by quantum-chemical and experimental methods supports a nucleophilic activation of acetylene by the phosphine catalyst. At 140 °C and typically 5 mol % catalyst loading, cyclic amides, oxazolidinones, ureas, unsaturated cyclic amines, and alcohols were successfully vinylated. Furthermore, the in situ generation of a vinyl phosphonium species can also be utilized in Wittig-type functionalization of aldehydes.

Nucleophilic Activation of Sulfur Hexafluoride by N-Heterocyclic Carbenes and N-Heterocyclic Olefins: A Computational Study.

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 ) is considered as a potent greenhouse gas, whose effective degradation is challenging. Here we report a computational study on the nucleophilic activation of sulfur hexafluoride by N-heterocyclic carbenes and N-heterocyclic olefins. The result shows that the activation of SF6 is both thermodynamically and kinetically favorable at mild condition using NHOs with fluoro-substituted azolium and sulfur pentafluoride anion being formed. The Gibbs free energy barrier during the activation of SF6 has a linear relationship with the energy of HOMO of substrates, which could be a guideline for applying those compounds that feature higher energy in HOMO to activate SF6 in high efficiency.

Chiral Cobalt(III) Tris(1,2-diamine) Catalysts That Incorporate Nitrogenous Base Containing Anions for the Bifunctional Activation of Nucleophiles and Electrophiles in Enantioselective Addition Reactions

Chiral Cobalt(III) Tris(1,2-diamine) Catalysts That Incorporate Nitrogenous Base Containing Anions for the Bifunctional Activation of Nucleophiles and Electrophiles in Enantioselective Addition Reactions

“Responsive” ionic liquids to catalyze the transformation of carbon dioxide under atmospheric pressure

The efficient conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the valuable chemicals is of great significance but the development of robust catalyst is still an interesting and challenging issue. Four novel ionic liquids are facilely synthesized with the ability to adsorb carbon dioxide (CO2). [BZTMA+][−O2EEPZ+][Br−] and [DBUH+][−O2EEPZ+][Br−] could catalyze the cycloaddition of CO2 into cyclic carbonates under atmospheric pressure at 50 °C with 99.3 % and 97.5 % yields in the absence of co-catalyst and solvent. Moreover, the [DBUH+][−O2EEPZ+][Br−] could be reutilized by 11 times with a slightly decreased product yield. A new mechanism is proposed by the density functional theory (DFT). The excellent catalytic performance is mainly attributed to the ability of ionic liquids to adsorb CO2. After the CO2 is adsorbed, the formed intermediate would push the electrons towards the Br- anion leading to the stronger nucleophilic activation. This work introduces a new pathway to explore the ionic liquids for the chemical fixation of CO2.

Reductive Activation and Hydrofunctionalization of Olefins by Multiphoton Tandem Photoredox Catalysis

The conversion of olefin feedstocks to architecturally complex alkanes represents an important strategy in the expedient generation of valuable molecules for the chemical and life sciences. Synthetic approaches are reliant on the electrophilic activation of unactivated olefins, necessitating functionalization with nucleophiles. However, the reductive functionalization of unactivated and less activated olefins with electrophiles remains an ongoing challenge in synthetic chemistry. Here, we report the nucleophilic activation of inert styrenes through a photoinduced direct single electron reduction to the corresponding nucleophilic radical anion. Central to this approach is the multiphoton tandem photoredox cycle of the iridium photocatalyst [Ir(ppy)2(dtbbpy)] PF6, which triggers in situ formation of a high-energy photoreductant that selectively reduces styrene olefinic π bonds to radical anions without stoichiometric reductants or dissolving metals. This mild strategy enables the chemoselective reduction and hydrofunctionalization of styrenes to furnish valuable alkane and tertiary alcohol derivatives. Mechanistic studies support the formation of a styrene olefinic radical anion intermediate and a Birch-type reduction involving two sequential single electron transfers. Overall, this complementary mode of olefin activation achieves the hydrofunctionalization of less activated alkenes with electrophiles, adding value to abundant olefins as valuable building blocks in modern synthetic protocols.