Exploring acetylene chemistry in superbasic media: A theoretical study of the effect of water on vinylation and ethynylation reactions with acetylene in KOH/DMSO and NaOH/DMSO systems

Molecular Level Understanding of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Depolymerization in Base/Alcohol Hybrid Systems

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) depolymerization in base/alcohol hybrid systems represents a promising low-energy approach for chemically recycling PET waste into valuable monomers. This study investigates the mechanistic pathways of PET depolymerization in NaOH/alcohol solutions, emphasizing the competing roles of hydroxide and alkoxide species. Utilizing a combination of experimental techniques, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we explore how factors such as base concentration, alcohol chain length, and pKa values of alcohols influence PET depolymerization efficiency and pathways. Our findings indicate that alkoxide ions (RO-) exhibit notably higher reactivity than hydroxide ions (HO-), favoring an alcoholysis pathway in the base/alcohol hybrid system. Experimental results across a series of C1 to C5 alcohols show that longer-chain alcohols, particularly 1-butanol, achieve higher PET conversion, although this does not align solely with simple nucleophilicity trends of alkoxides. While DFT calculations reveal comparable activation energies for various alkoxides in PET depolymerization, MD simulations underscore the significant role of alcohol chain length, with longer-chain alcohols forming more stable or frequent interactions with PET. Additionally, the alkoxide concentration, influenced by the alcohol's pKa, directly impacts PET conversion. These suggest that PET depolymerization is governed by a balance between alkoxide concentration and alkoxide-PET interactions, rather than activation energies or nucleophilicity alone. From a practical perspective, incorporating long-chain alcohols as cosolvents may enhance process efficiency but increases raw material costs by approximately 30%. However, long-chain alcohols present a safer and more sustainable alternative to hazardous cosolvents such as dichloromethane. This work offers a molecular-level understanding of PET depolymerization in base/alcohol systems and provides insights into optimizing these systems for more efficient and sustainable PET recycling processes.

Selective Synthesis of Vinyl Sulfides or 2-Methyl Benzothiazoles from Disulfides and CaC2 Mediated by a Trisulfur Radical Anion

In this report, we have established a novel and efficient method for selectively synthesizing either vinyl sulfides or 2-methylbenzothiazoles from the reaction of CaC2 and disulfides. The selective synthesis of these two distinct products can be controlled by simply adjusting the amount of K2S. The underlying reaction mechanism has been thoroughly investigated through control experiments, HRMS, and FTIR, which collectively support the pivotal role of a trisulfur radical anion. This radical species, generated in situ from K2S, is essential for the homolytic cleavage of the S-S bonds in a catalytic manner. Additionally, the trisulfur radical anion also acts as an effective mediator for activating the vinyl group of 2-aminophenyl vinyl sulfides, facilitating the crucial intramolecular cyclization required to produce 2-methylbenzothiazoles. Moreover, CaC2 not only serves as an acetylene source but also creates the basic conditions essential for the selective formation of vinyl sulfides. This methodology demonstrates broad substrate compatibility and excellent functional group tolerance, significantly enhancing its practical utility in diverse synthetic applications.

NaOH-Assisted Multicomponent Reaction and Polymerizations of Elemental Sulfur, Diisocyanides, and Diols to Access Functional Poly(O-thiocarbamate)s

Sulfur-containing polymers with unique structures and fascinating properties have attracted much attention recently, the efficient and economic synthetic approaches for various sulfur-containing polymers have rapidly developed. Herein, the multicomponent reaction of elemental sulfur, isocyanide, and alcohol was designed at mild condition in the presence of NaOH, and the corresponding NaOH-assisted multicomponent polymerization of elemental sulfur, diisocyanides, and diols were developed at room temperature or 40 °C in air, to produce poly(O-thiocarbamate)s with well-defined structures, high molecular weights (Mws up to 32 500 g/mol) and high yields (up to 99 %). The facilely available monomers, mild condition, and high efficiency of this MCP enabled scale-up synthesis of poly(O-thiocarbamate)s, and 7.33 g polymer was obtained in 98 % yield. These functional poly(O-thiocarbamate)s could enrich Au3+ from aqueous solution with high enrichment capacity (983 mg⋅Au3+/g) and high efficiency (>99.77 %) in 1 min, demonstrating superior gold enrichment performance and their potential industrial and economic values.

Reaction mechanism of the ethynylation of formaldehyde on copper terminated Cu2O(100) surfaces: a DFT study

1,4-Butanediol (BDO) is an important chemical raw material for a series of high-value-added products. And the ethynylation of formaldehyde is the key step for the production of BDO by the Reppe process. However, little work has been done to reveal the reaction mechanism. In this work, the reaction mechanism for the ethynylation of formaldehyde process on copper-terminated Cu2O(100) surfaces was investigated with density functional theory (DFT). The reaction network of the ethynylation of formaldehyde was constructed first and the adsorption properties of the related species were calculated. Then the energy barrier and reaction energy of the related reactions and the geometric configuration were calculated. It is a consecutive reaction including two processes. For the propargyl alcohol (PA) formation process, the most favorable pathway is the direct addition of acetylene to formaldehyde followed by a hydrogen transfer reaction. And the rate control step is the hydrogen transfer reaction with an energy barrier of 1.43 eV. For the 1,4-butynediol (BYD) formation process, the most competitive pathway is the addition of PA to CH2OH, including formaldehyde hydrogenation to form CH2OH, coupling addition, and dehydrogenation reaction. The rate control step of this pathway is the dehydrogenation reaction with an energy barrier of 1.51 eV.

Game of Aliphatics: A Density Functional Theory Study of Base-Catalyzed Substrate-Controlled Dimerizations of Aliphatic Alkynones

The present work focuses on a comprehensive density functional theory (DFT) study of newly discovered base-catalyzed substrate-controlled dimerizations of aliphatic alkynones. In order to understand the origin of selectivity of the cascade assemblies of 6-methylene-5-oxaspiro[2.4]heptanones and 2-alkenylfurans, structural and electronic properties of neutral and deprotonated alkynone molecules, thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics of the deprotonation of alkynones having diverse C-H active substituents at the carbonyl function under the action of a base, and thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics of possible mechanisms of the discussed cascade reactions were theoretically assessed. The obtained computational results have confirmed and clarified an early qualitative assumption on the key role of the nature of the aliphatic substituent. Apart from fully rationalizing the experimental results, the theoretical DFT data give valuable details and data for predicting the outcome of related base-catalyzed reactions between various electrophilic substrates and nucleophilic species formed from C-H active aliphatic alkynones.

Water-solvent regulation on complete hydrolysis of thermosetting polyester and complete separation of degradation products

As one of the largest productions of thermosetting plastics, unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) is difficult to be effectively chemcycled after it is discarded due to its dense network structure. Herein, we demonstrate a mild method for efficient alkaline hydrolysis of UPR into useful feedstocks in mixed solvents of polar aprotic solvent and a small amount of H₂O by utilizing the fragmentation effect of the solvent on the UPR and the swelling effect of H₂O on the subsequent partially hydrolyzed UPR respectively. The mixed solvents also play a key role in the aggregation and solubility of the degradation products. It is worth noting that the tetrahydrofuran (THF)-H₂O system achieved 100 % separation of degradation products in an energy-efficient way taking advantage of the insolubility of the carboxylate-containing products in THF and the low boiling point of THF. The participation of non-reactive mixed solvents greatly promotes both the degradation and the separation process of thermosetting polymers.

Ultrafast formation of ANFs with kinetic advantage and new insight into the mechanism

Aramid nanofibers (ANFs) have important applications in many fields, including electrical insulation and battery separators. However, a few limitations seriously restrict the application of ANFs currently, such as low preparation efficiency and the unclear preparation mechanism. To overcome these limitations, the present work proposes a new view-point from the perspective of reaction kinetics. The preparation efficiency was proven to essentially rely on the effective c(OH-). With a simple pre-treatment, a kinetic advantage was created and the preparation time of ANFs was reduced from multiple hours to 10 minutes, which was a considerable step towards practical applications. Moreover, the resultant ANF membranes still exhibited excellent properties in terms of mechanical strength (tensile strength > 160 MPa), thermal stability, light transmittance, and electrical insulation (above 90 kV mm-1). This work not only presents an ultrafast method to produce ANFs but also provides new insights into the mechanism that will benefit the subsequent development of ANF-based materials.

Understanding the solubilization of Ca acetylide with a new computational model for ionic pairs

The unique reactivity of the acetylenic unit in DMSO gives rise to ubiquitous synthetic methods. We theoretically consider CaC2 solubility and protolysis in DMSO and formulate a strategy for CaC2 activation in solution-phase chemical transformations. For this, we use a new strategy for the modeling of ionic compounds in strongly coordinating solvents combining Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics with the DFTB3-D3(BJ) Hamiltonian and static DFT computations at the PBE0-D3(BJ)/pob-TZVP-gCP level. We modeled the thermodynamics of CaC2 protolysis under ambient conditions, taking into account its known heterogeneity and considering three polymorphs of CaC2. We give a theoretical basis for the existence of the elusive intermediate HC[triple bond, length as m-dash]C-Ca-OH and show that CaC2 insolubility in DMSO is of thermodynamic nature. We confirm the unique role of water and specific properties of DMSO in CaC2 activation and explain how the activation is realized. The proposed strategy for the utilization of CaC2 in sustainable organic synthesis is outlined.

Acetylenes in the Superbase-Promoted Assembly of Carbocycles and Heterocycles

In this Account, we briefly discuss the recently discovered and rapidly developing superbase-promoted self-organization reactions of several equivalents of acetylenes and ketones to afford complex compounds that represent promising synthetic building blocks common in natural products. Notably, acetylenes play a special role in these reactions because of their dual (acting as an electrophile and a nucleophile) and flexible reactivity. These unique properties of acetylenes are elegantly expressed in superbasic media, where acetylenes are more deprotonated and their electrophilicity increases as a result of complexation with alkali metal cations, with simultaneous enhancement of the nucleophilic reactants due to desolvation. Under these conditions, acetylenes behave as a driving and organizing force toward other reactants. Various combinations of nucleophilic addition to the triple bond and acetylene deprotonation in the presence of other reactants with dual reactivity (e.g., ketones) enables the self-organization of complex molecular architectures that are inaccessible by conventional reactions. Herein we analyze recent achievements in this area concerning the reactions of acetylenes with ketones in superbasic KOH/DMSO-type systems that selectively afford synthetically and pharmaceutically valuable carbo- and heterocycles. Most of the reactions are triggered by the nucleophilic addition of deprotonated ketones (enolate anions) to acetylenes (superbase-catalyzed C-vinylation of ketones with acetylenes, which was recently introduced by our group into a toolkit of organic chemistry). The β,γ-ethylenic ketones thus formed can then take part in cascade processes with ketones and acetylenes to afford either carbocycles (e.g., hexahydroazulenones, acyl terphenyls, functionalized and cyclopentenols) or heterocycles (e.g., furans, benzoxepines, dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes, and dioxadispiro[5.1.5.2]pentadecanes), depending on the structure of the reactants and the reaction conditions. Most of these compounds are selectively built from several equivalents of ketones and acetylenes in different combinations, and despite the presence of two or more asymmetric carbons in the products, they are generated as single diastereomers. When other nucleophiles (hydroxylamine, hydrazines, guanidine, and oximes) and ketones are involved in these self-organization processes, the intermediate β,γ-ethylenic ketones allow the formation of diverse heterocyclic systems (pyrroles, isoxazolines, pyrazolines, aminopyrimidines, and azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes). The discovered unique chemical transformations do not require transition metal catalysts and proceed under mild and operationally simple conditions. Most of these syntheses involve cascade addition reactions and therefore represent pot-, atom-, step-, and energy-saving processes that meet the requirements of green chemistry. The significance of the approach discussed herein is that it represents a viable alternative to existing classic and modern transition-metal-based catalytic syntheses of some fundamental carbo- and heterocycles. This is demonstrated by its employment of readily available, inexpensive starting materials like acetylenes and ketones and simple, widely accessible superbasic systems such as KOH/DMSO, which serves as a highly active universal catalyst and auxiliary. As shown in this Account, as this approach has developed, the number of preparatively attractive methods for the synthesis of diverse and potentially useful compounds has rapidly ballooned. The impressive experimental results presented in this Account will hopefully draw the attention of large circles of organic chemists involved in the design of rational and ecologically sound synthetic procedures and thus increase the application of these techniques in medicinal chemistry and materials science.

Investigation of Nonlinear Output-Input Microwave Power of DMSO-Ethanol Mixture by Molecular Dynamics Simulation

The nonlinear response of output-input microwave power for DMSO-ethanol mixture, which was exhibited as the direct evidence of non-thermal effect in experiment, was investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. Effects of microwave field on the mixture were evaluated from the alteration in structure, transport, hydrogen bonding dynamics and intermolecular interaction energy. Increasing the strength of the microwave field did not lead to any markedly conformational change, but decrease the diffusion coefficient. Prolonged hydrogen bonding lifetimes, which caused by the redistribution of microwave energy, was also detected. Distinct threshold effect was observed, which was consistent with the behavior in the experiment.

Transition-Metal-Free C-Vinylation of Ketones with Acetylenes: A Quantum-Chemical Rationalization of Similarities and Differences in Catalysis by Superbases MOH/DMSO and tBuOM/DMSO (M = Na, K)

Transition-metal-free C-vinylation of acetone with phenylacetylene catalyzed by superbases MOH/DMSO and tBuOM/DMSO (M = Na, K) has been theoretically evaluated in the B3LYP/6-311++G**//B3LYP/6-31+G* approach to rationalize similarities and differences in activity of the above catalytic systems. The close solvate surroundings of sodium and potassium tert-butoxides have been studied. Formation of tBuOM· nDMSO complexes and their structure and thermodynamic stability are discussed in comparison with similar complexes of alkali-metal hydroxides MOH· nDMSO. Activation barriers of the title reaction in the presence of tBuOM· nDMSO complexes are found to be less than those with MOH· nDMSO complexes participating.

Nucleophilic Addition of Ketones To Acetylenes and Allenes: A Quantum-Chemical Insight

A CBS-Q//B3 based study has been carried out to elucidate the mechanism of the KOH/DMSO superbase catalyzed ketones nucleophilic addition to alkyl propargyl and alkyl allenyl ethers yielding, along with (Z)-monoadducts, up to 26% of unexpected (E)-diadducts. The impact of different substrates (alkynes versus allenes) on the reaction mechanism has been discussed in detail. Along with the model reaction of acetone addition to propyne and allene, the addition of acetone and acetophenone to methyl propargyl and methyl allenyl ethers is considered. The limiting reaction stage of the starting ketone carbanion addition to propargyl and allenyl systems occurs with activation energies typical for vinylation of ketones. In contrast, the addition of intermediate α-carbanions to the terminal position of methyl allenyl ether is associated with unusually low activation barriers. The results obtained explain the composition of the reaction products and indicate the participation of mainly the allene form in the reaction.