2019, Mertens, M.A. Stephanie, Thomas, Fabian, Nöth, Maximilian, Moegling, Julian, El‐Awaad, Islam, Sauer, Daniel F., Dhoke, Gaurao V., Xu, Wenjing, Pich, Andrij, Herres‐Pawlis, Sonja, Schwaneberg, Ulrich

Chemoenzymatic cascades enable reactions with the high productivity of chemocatalysts and high selectivity of enzymes. Nevertheless, the combination of these different fields of catalysis is prone to mutual deactivation of metal- and biocatalysts. In this study, a one-pot sequential two-step catalytic cascade reaction was successfully implemented for the synthesis of a methylene-bridged bis(2-substituted benzofuran). In the first step, a palladium-free Sonogashira reaction is used for the synthesis of a benzofuran derivative. In the subsequent step, the formed 2-substituted benzofuran is hydroxylated by the monooxygenase P450 BM3 variant (A74S-F87V-L188Q) and undergoes further elimination reactions. The study proofs that combination of Cu scorpionate catalyzed Sonogashira cross-coupling and P450 mediated oxidation is possible and results in up to 84 % yield of the final product. The oxidation reaction is boosted by capturing inhibiting reaction components.

2019, Ghosh, Swarup, Schäfer, Pascal M., Dittrich, Dennis, Scheiper, Christoph, Steiniger, Phillip, Fink, Gerhard, Ksiazkiewicz, Agnieszka N., Tjaberings, Alexander, Wölper, Christoph, Gröschel, André H., Pich, Andrij, Herres‐Pawlis, Sonja, Schulz, Stephan

Zinc phenoxide complexes L1ZnOAr 1–4 (L1=Me2NC2H4NC(Me)CHC(Me)O) and L2ZnOAr 5–8 (L2=Me2NC3H6NC(Me)CHC(Me)O) with donor-functionalized β-ketoiminate ligands (L1/2) and OAr substituents (Ar=Ph 1, 5; 2,6-Me2-C6H3 2, 6; 3,5-Me2-C6H3 3, 7; 4-Bu-C6H4 4, 8) with tuneable electronic and steric properties were synthesized and characterized. 1–8 adopt binuclear structures in the solid state except for 5, while they are monomeric in CDCl3 solution. 1–8 are active catalysts for the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of lactide (LA) in CH2Cl2 at ambient temperature and the catalytic activity is controlled by the electronic and steric properties of the OAr substituent, yielding polymers with high average molecular weight (Mn) and moderately controlled molecular weight distribution (MWDs). 1 and 5 showed a living polymerization character and kinetic studies on the ROP of L–LA with 1 and 5 proved first order dependencies on the monomer concentration. Homonuclear decoupled 1H-NMR analyses of polylactic acid (PLA) formed with rac-LA proved isotactic enrichment of the PLA microstructure. © 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.