Water, under microwave irradiation and at a temperature of 473 K, reaches pressures above 16 bar, being capable to act as catalyst, without the use of organic solvents and oxidants, for meso-substituted porphyrin synthesis. Sustainability of the reaction is proved by E Factor=35 and EcoScale value of 50.5, the highest so far obtained for porphyrin synthesis. Methodology's wide versatility is clearly demonstrated by the good yields obtained for both aryl and alkyl substituted porphyrins. These reaction conditions represent a huge development, not only by using very high concentrations, minimizing organic solvent usage, but also by eradicating toxic expensive solvents and oxidants.
The synthesis and full characterization of manganese and chromium metalloporphyrins and hybrid magnetic nanocomposites prepared thereof is described. Their application in homogeneous and heterogeneous sequential epoxidation/CO2 cycloaddition reactions by using O2 or H2O2 as the oxidant showed high activity and selectivity for the preparation of a variety of cyclic carbonates directly from olefins. The combination of manganese and chromium nanocomposites allowed us to set the keystone for the development of a reusable dual catalytic system to transform olefins into cyclic carbonates.
The easy access and low price of pyrrole and aldehydes, conjugated with the simplicity in preparing meso-substituted porphyrins, makes this type of porphyrins very attractive for a broad range of applications. However, there is an increasing demand for the development of new synthetic processes involving more sustainable chemical principles substituting, whenever possible, dangerous organic solvents by alternative solvents, chromatographic purifications by precipitations and energy-intensive procedures by alternative energy sources such as microwaves and ultrasounds. In this review we will address some recent strategies to synthesize meso-substituted porphyrins using alternative energy sources, reaction media and catalysts, namely microwave irradiation, water as solvent, or solid microporous acid catalysts.
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