The aerobic oxidation and oxidative esterification of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) catalyzed by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) supported on a semicrystalline nanoporous multiblock copolymer matrix consisting of syndiotactic poly(styrene)-cis-1,4-poly(butadiene) (sPSB) have been investigated. Depending on the reaction parameters (support nanoporosity, presence of water, solvent, temperature, cocatalyst, oxygen pressure), the conversion of HMF can be finely addressed to the formation of the desired oxidation product, such as 2,5-diformylfuran (DFF), 5-formylfuran-2-carboxylic acid (FFCA), methyl 5-(hydroxymethyl)furan-2-carboxylate (MHMFC), dimethyl furan-2,5-dicarboxylate (DMFC), and furan-2,5-dicarboxylic acid (FDCA), under optimized reaction conditions. The AuNP-sPSB catalyst is highly effective and selective because the polymer support acts as a conveyor and concentrator of the reactants toward the catalytic sites.

The first arylogous Michael reaction of 3-aryl phthalides has been developed. The reaction, promoted by catalytic amounts of KOH or KPO and dibenzo-18-crown-6, affords the corresponding 3,3-disubstituted phthalides in good to high yields and as single diastereomers in nearly all studied cases.

An enantioselective organocatalytic conjugate azidation of α,β‐unsaturated ketones is presented. A bifunctional organocatalyst activates TMSN3, triggering the nucleophilic addition of the azido group to enones in absence of external promoters and avoiding the direct use or the pre‐formation of highly toxic and explosive hydrazoic acid. This protocol proceeds with excellent enantiocontrol under mild conditions. DFT calculations and mechanistic trials have been performed in order to demonstrate the direct activation performed by the bifunctional organocatalyst.magnified image

No abstract