Hydrolysis and subsequent degradation of microcrystalline cellulose in five ionic liquids (ILs) using metal salts and/or Brønsted acids as catalysts allowed for the direct access to 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), an important renewable biofuel precursor and a useful building block. For each catalytic system, several reaction parameters (temperature, reaction time, catalyst, and cellulose loading) have been selectively changed. Four systems ([BMIM]­Cl-CrCl3, [BMIM]­Cl-FeCl3, [BMIM]­Cl-[MIMC4SO3H]­[HSO4] and the not yet investigated [BMIM]­Cl-TiOSO4) were found to be effective for cellulose degradation into HMF. The extraction of HMF from the reaction media represents however the weak point of all these processes being able to affect negatively both HMF recovery and IL recyclability. The critical step which causes the drastic decrease in HMF yield starting from the first recycle has been clearly identified. Furthermore, the possibility to use TiOSO4 as a sustainable and robust catalyst for the conversion of saccharides (or polysaccharides) in HMF has been shown. The present study could open new perspectives for the one-pot synthesis of HMF starting from cellulose and/or other sugars.

A new family of ethylene-based copolymers with controlled amounts of a norbornene comonomer (N ArOH ) bearing a stabilizing antioxidant functionality (2,6-di-tert-butyl phenol) was prepared. Due to unavoidable exo/endo equilibrium operative in N ArOH comonomer, a complete and detailed NMR assignment of the structure of the prepared ethylene/N ArOH copolymers was carried out for the determination of the exo/ endo ratio inside the polymer. These novel functionalized comonomers can be considered suitable starting material for preparing ethylene-based copolymers, with tunable comonomer content, as non-releasing macromolecular antioxidant additives for specific application in safe food and/or drug packaging V C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 50: [4647][4648][4649][4650][4651][4652][4653][4654][4655] 2012 Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article.

The silver-catalysed Doyle-Kirmse reaction of propargyl and allyl sulfides with diazo compounds is disclosed. The carbon-carbon bond forming process proceeds with a range of substituents and functionality under mild conditions.

This review discusses recent advances concerning morphologies and functions obtained from single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs). SCNPs are unimolecular, soft nano-objects consisting of individual polymer chains collapsed to a certain degree by means of intramolecular bonding. Many of potential applications of SCNPs rely on their peculiar molecular morphology adopted in solution. SCNPs coming from random or block copolymers can yield ordered structures by self-assembly in a wide range of morphologies including spheres, cylinders, bicontinuous structures, lamellae, vesicles, and many other complex or hierarchical assemblies. These nanocomposites can provide practical applications, still in their infancy, in several fields. The classification of SCNPs according to their morphologies will help to link their function to the specific applications.

The single step conversion of cellulose into levulinic acid has been studied under hydrothermal conditions with several catalytic systems.