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Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Theoretical mechanistic investigation of zinc(ii) catalyzed oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes and esters
    (London : RSC Publishing, 2016) Nisa, Riffat Un; Mahmood, Tariq; Ludwig, Ralf; Ayub, Khurshid
    The mechanism of the Zn(II) catalyzed oxidation of benzylic alcohol to benzaldehyde and ester by H2O2 oxidant was investigated through density functional theory methods and compared with the similar oxidation mechanisms of other late transition metals. Both inner sphere and intermediate sphere mechanisms have been analyzed in the presence and absence of pyridine-2-carboxylic acid (ligand). An intermediate sphere mechanism involving the transfer of hydrogen from alcohol to H2O2 was found to be preferred over the competitive inner sphere mechanism involving β-hydride elimination. Kinetic barriers associated with the intermediate sphere mechanism are consistent with the experimental observations, suggesting that the intermediate sphere mechanism is a plausible mechanism under these reaction conditions. The oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes (first step) is kinetically more demanding than the oxidation of hemiacetals to esters (second step). Changing the oxidant to tert-butyl hydrogen peroxide (TBHP) increases the activation barrier for the oxidation of alcohol to aldehyde by 0.4 kcal mol−1, but decreases the activation barrier by 3.24 kcal mol−1 for oxidation of hemiacetal to ester. Replacement of zinc bromide with zinc iodide causes the second step to be more demanding than the first step. Pyridine-2-carboxylic acid ligand remarkably decreases the activation barriers for the intermediate sphere pathway, whereas a less pronounced inverse effect is estimated for the inner sphere mechanism.
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    Brønsted acid-catalyzed hydroarylation of activated olefins
    (London : RSC Publishing, 2014) Fleischer, Ivana; Pospech, Jola
    A mild, regiospecific Brønsted acid-catalyzed hydroarylation of activated olefins, capable of the formation of quinone methide-like intermediates, has been investigated. Variously substituted 2- and 4-vinylphenols, 4-vinylaniline or 6-vinyl-naphthalen-2-ol were successfully implemented in a sequential protonation and Friedel–Crafts-type alkylation reaction of electron-rich arenes.
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    Photocatalytic degradation and toxicity evaluation of diclofenac by nanotubular titanium dioxide–PES membrane in a static and continuous setup
    (London : RSC Publishing, 2015) Fischer, K.; Kühnert, M.; Gläser, R.; Schulze, A.
    Diclofenac is a commonly used anti-inflammatory drug, which has been found in surface waters. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) seem to be the most suitable technique to prevent the entry of diclofenac and other pollutants into surface waters. TiO2 is especially reliable in mineralizing many organic molecules. The combination of TiO2 nanotubes with a polymer microfiltration membrane (polyethersulfone, PES) showed high photocatalytic activity by degrading diclofenac combined with an excellent membrane performance and long-term stability. By continuously degrading pollutants from water via a cross-flow setup, the molecules to be degraded are transported right to the membrane surface so that the overall reaction rate is increased. The toxicity of diclofenac was reduced by photocatalysis and photolysis; however, photocatalysis had greater impact. Moreover, the complete degradation of pollutants is very important to avoid highly toxic intermediate products.
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    Construction of cost-effective bimetallic nanoparticles on titanium carbides as a superb catalyst for promoting hydrolysis of ammonia borane
    (London : RSC Publishing, 2018) Guo, Zhangwei; Liu, Tong; Wang, Qingtao; Gao, Guanhui
    Bimetallic cost-effective CoNi nanoparticles (NPs) are conveniently supported on titanium carbides (MXene) by a simple one-step wet-chemical method. The synthesized CoNi/MXene catalysts are characterized by XPS, TEM, STEM-HAADF and ICP-AES. The as-prepared CoNi NPs with a size of 2.8 nm are well dispersed on the MXene surface. It is found that among the CoNi bimetallic system, Co0.7Ni0.3 shows the best performance toward catalyzing ammonia borane (AB) decomposition with a turnover frequency value of 87.6 molH2 molcat−1 min−1 at 50 °C. The remarkable catalytic performance is attributed to the mild affiliation of MXene to NPs, which not only stabilizes NPs to maintain a good dispersion but also leaves sufficient surface active sites to facilitate the catalytic reaction.
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    Mechanistic insight of TiCl4catalyzed formal [3 + 3] cyclization of 1,3-bis(silyl enol ethers) with 1,3-dielectrophiles
    (London : RSC Publishing, 2015) Nisa, Riffat Un; Maria, Maria; Wasim, Fatima; Mahmood, Tariq; Ludwig, Ralf; Ayub, Khurshid
    The mechanism of TiCl4 mediated formal [3 + 3] cyclization of 1,3-bis(silyl enol ethers) with 1,3-dielectrophiles is studied at the B3LYP level of density functional theory (DFT) to rationalize the experimental regioselectivity. Methyl and trifluoromethyl substituted 1,3 dielectrophiles are studied theoretically since they show different regioselectivities. Two different mechanisms involving 1,2 and 1,4 addition of 1,3-bis(silyl enol ethers) on 1,3-dielectrophiles are studied for each dienophile. The intramolecular transition metal catalyzed and non-catalyzed dynamic shift of the silyl moiety is also studied. The structure of the 1,3 dienophile and the associated Mulliken charges are the driving forces for different regioselectivities in methyl and trifluoromethyl dienophiles.