Polythiophene-functionalized magnetic carbon nanotube-supported copper(I) complex: a novel and retrievable heterogeneous catalyst for the "Phosphine- and Palladium-Free" Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction

Efficient Suzuki coupling over novel magnetic nanoparticle: Fe3O4/L-(+)-tartaric acid/Pd(0)

A new eco-friendly catalytic system is devised for C-C bond formation through Suzuki coupling, using an impressive nanocatalyst (Fe₃O₄/L-(+)-tartaric acid/Pd-NPs). It contains immobilized palladium (0) onto magnetite nanoparticles, stabilized by tartaric acid, and is characterized by FT-IR, XRD, EDS, SEM, TEM, TGA, and VSM. The catalyst is used in an efficient synthesis of biaryls in EtOH/H₂O (1:1), in the presence of K₂CO₃. Our Fe₃O₄/tartaric acid/Pd-NPs exhibit magnetic recoverability and reusability for five cycles without measurable loss of its activity.

A detailed theoretical investigation to unravel the molecular mechanism of the ligand-free copper-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reaction

The Suzuki-Miyaura coupling (SMC) represents a very efficacious method for constructing C-C bonds in organic synthesis. The ligand-free variants of SMC have been grabbing attention these days. Despite this momentousness, the mechanistic details of the ligand-free variants are scant in the literature. Herein, we have carried out a detailed mechanistic investigation into the ligand-free Cu-catalyzed SMC of unsaturated organic halides with aryl boronic acid with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations employing the conductor-like polarizable continuum model (CPCM) method. The present study elucidates that in the absence of ancillary ligands on the metal, the substrates, base, and solvent molecules could act as pseudo-ancillary ligands to facilitate the cross-coupling reaction. The investigation further revealed that unsaturated halides like alkynyl halides/vinyl halides could act as good ancillary ligands for copper by forming a Cu-π intermediate and promoting a facile transmetalation process. However, regarding the oxidative addition and reductive elimination steps, a concerted pathway is observed contrary to Pd catalyzed Suzuki coupling, owing to the instability of Cu(III) species and the favourability of Csp²-Csp bond formation. In the whole set of mechanisms explored, oxidative addition/oxidative nucleophilic substitution was the rate-determining step in all the cases. A thermodynamically stable π-coordinated intermediate species where the substrate and base molecule are coordinated to the metal center is identified as the rate-determining species for the ligand-free Suzuki cross-coupling reaction. The presence of the aforesaid intermediate increases the energy span and consequently the activation barrier for the rate-determining step. This study unveiled a theoretical rationale for the high-temperature requirement in the ligand-free Cu-catalyzed SMC reaction.

Progress on the natural asphalt applications as a new class of carbonious heterogeneous support; synthesis of Na[Pd-NAS] and study of its catalytic activity in the formation of carbon-carbon bonds

In continuation of our recent research on introducing natural asphalt as a new carbonious, eco-friendly, highly economical support, and also in addition to our plan to develop its application in heterogeneous catalyst chemistry, palladium grafted on natural asphalt sulfonate (Na [Pd-NAS]), was prepared and characterized using usual spectroscopy techniques. This new carbon-based heterogeneous nanocatalyst was successfully applied as an efficient catalyst for the Suzuki, Stille and Heck reactions under mild and sustainable conditions. The reaction of various aryl halides with triphenyltin chloride, phenylboronic acid or n-butyl acrylate provided the corresponding products with moderate to good yields. Na [Pd-NAS] was characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma, thermogravimetric analysis techniques and N₂ adsorption-desorption measurement. SEM image illustrated that the Na [Pd-NAS] has vermicular and flaky shapes. According to the IUPAC classiication, the sample exhibited IV type curves. More importantly, this ligand-free catalyst is stable under the reaction conditions. Besides, the catalyst was separated by simple filtration and reused for the several times without any deterioration in its activity. In this research we report Na[Pd-NAS] as a versatile and reusable nanocatalyst for the C-C coupling reactions.

A facile green synthesis of MgCoFe2O4 nanomaterials with robust catalytic performance in the synthesis of pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidinedione and their bis-derivatives

In this study, an efficient, rapid and simple plant-mediated green sol-gel auto-combustion procedure was presented to synthesis magnesium-cobalt ferrite (MgCoFe₂O₄) nanocatalyst using an aqueous extract of apple skins as a chelating/combustion agent. The catalyst was assessed by multiple techniques, including FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, EDS, elemental mapping, TGA-DTA and VSM. Then, the catalytic potential of the as-prepared MgCoFe₂O₄ nanocatalyst was examined in the three-component condensation reaction of 1,3-dimethyl barbituric acid, aldehydes and malononitrile for the one-pot synthesis of pyrano[2,3-d]pyrimidinedione and their bis-derivatives. The obtained results indicated the excellent catalytic activity of the MgCoFe₂O₄ in the three-component reaction. The high catalytic activity of these nanomaterials could be attributed to the synergistic electronic effect between nanoparticles, which showcased the enormous potential of multi-metallic nanomaterials in the catalysis field. More importantly, MgCoFe₂O₄ showed excellent magnetic properties, and it could be successfully separated and recovered by applying an external magnetic for further reuses. To the best of our knowledge, green synthesis of MgCoFe₂O₄ mediated by aqueous plant extract was reported here for the first time, and this work, therefore, can open up a new insight in the course of design, green synthesis and application of excellent green nanocatalyst for the sustainable processes. MgCoFe₂O₄ as a magnetically recyclable heterogeneous catalyst, has been synthesized through plant-mediated procedure using an aqueous extract of apple skins.