Catalyst-free

Quaternized esteramines are usually derived from fat or fatty acid that reacts with an alcoholamine to give an intermediate esteramine. The esteramines are then quaternized. A typical reaction scheme for the preparation of a diester quaternary is shown in equation 9 (210), where R is a fatty alkyl group. Reaction occurs at 75—115°C in the presence of sodium methoxide catalyst. Free fatty acids (230) and glycerides (231) can be used in place of the fatty acid methylester. 

By a simple filtration step, catalyst-free products can be obtained. 

Polyacrylics are produced by copolymerizing acrylonitrile with other monomers such as vinyl acetate, vinyl chloride, and acrylamide. Solution polymerization may be used where water is the solvent in the presence of a redox catalyst. Free radical or anionic initiators may also be used. The produced polymer is insoluble in water and precipitates. Precipitation polymerization, whether self nucleation or aggregate nucleation, has been reviewed by Juba. The following equation is for an acrylonitrile polymer initiated by a free radical ... 

As mentioned above, by this technique using a suspended catalyst free fatty acids also can be hydrogenated, provided the reaction is performed in an excess of the corresponding fatty alcohol as solvent [40]. 

Hiratsuka et al102 used water-soluble tetrasulfonated Co and Ni phthalocyanines (M-TSP) as homogeneous catalysts for C02 reduction to formic acid at an amalgamated platinum electrode. The current-potential and capacitance-potential curves showed that the reduction potential of C02 was reduced by ca. 0.2 to 0.4 V at 1 mA/cm2 in Clark-Lubs buffer solutions in the presence of catalysts compared to catalyst-free solutions. The authors suggested that a two-step mechanism for C02 reduction in which a C02-M-TSP complex was formed at ca. —0.8 V versus SCE, the first reduction wave of M-TSP, and then the reduction of C02-M-TSP took place at ca. -1.2 V versus SCE, the second reduction wave. Recently, metal phthalocyanines deposited on carbon electrodes have been used127 for electroreduction of C02 in aqueous solutions. The catalytic activity of the catalysts depended on the central metal ions and the relative order Co2+ > Ni2+ Fe2+ = Cu2+ > Cr3+, Sn2+ was obtained. On electrolysis at a potential between -1.2 and -1.4V (versus SCE), formic acid was the product with a current efficiency of ca. 60% in solutions of pH greater than 5, while at lower pH... 

Masjedizadeh and coworkers have recently described similar microwave-promoted hydrogen-deuterium exchange reactions in a series of heterocydes using mixtures of deuterium oxide and deuteriomethanol (Scheme 6.173 b) [328], The rapid exchange method was applied to the deuteration of the anti-tumor antibiotic bleomycin A under catalyst-free conditions [328],... 

Where R = H or Me and Rj = Aiyl and substituted aryl groups Scheme 6.24 Formation of hydrazones under solvent-free and catalyst-free conditions. 

MW irradiation conditions [80]. More recently, however, Varma and Kocevar s group have shown that a solvent-free and catalyst-free reaction of hydrazines with carbonyl compounds is possible upon MW irradiation (Scheme 6.24) [81]. Interestingly, the general reaction proceeds smoothly even for solid reactants and is completed below the melting points of the two reactants possibly via the formation of a eutectic. The reactions have been conducted in household MW oven and the control experiments are conducted concurrently in separate open beakers the reactions can be essentially followed by visual observation when a melt is obtained [82],... 

Scheme 6. Interplay of the C8- and C -production channels for the cyclo-oligomerization of 1,3-butadiene with zero valent PR3/P(OR)3-stabilized nickel complexes as the catalyst. Free energies (AG, AGJ in kcalmol-1) are given relative to the favorable rf-synrfiC A-cis isomer of 2a for catalysts bearing strong a-donor ligands namely I (L = PMe3), III (L = PPrj), VI (L = PBU3), and -acceptor ligands namely V (L = P(OMe)3), IV...

Centre (Sheen, 1992) (Figure 8.4). In this trial, 11 tonnes of acetylated fibre was produced for evaluation, and this led to the development of a continuous fibre acetylation process. The process used a solvent and catalyst-free acetylation system, because the use of either would complicate a commercial process and introduce unnecessary costs. A range of reaction conditions were studied and the following conclusions were drawn ... 

There are a few reports of poly(naphthalene) thin films. Yoshino and co-workers. used electrochemical polymerization to obtain poly(2,6-naphthalene) film from a solution of naphthalene and nitrobenzene with a composite electrolyte of copper(II) chloride and lithium hexafluoroarsenate. Zotti and co-workers prepared poly( 1,4-naphthalene) film by anionic coupling of naphthalene on. platinum or glassy carbon electrodes with tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate as an electrolyte in anhydrous acetonitrile and 1,2-dichloroethane. Recently, Hara and Toshima prepared a purple-colored poly( 1,4-naphthalene) film by electrochemical polymerization of naphthalene using a mixed electrolyte of aluminum chloride and cuprous chloride. Although the film was contaminated with the electrolyte, the polymer had very high thermal stability (decomposition temperature of 546°C). The only catalyst-free poly(naphthalene) which utilized a unique chemistry, Bergman s cycloaromatization, was obtained by Tour and co-workers recently (vide infra). 

Perhaps the most viable short-term use for dendritic macromolecules lies in their use as novel catalytic systems since it offers the possibility to combine the activity of small molecule catalysts with the isolation benefits of crosslinked polymeric systems. These potential advantages are intimately connected with the ability to control the number and nature of the surface functional groups. Unlike linear or crosslinked polymers where catalytic sites may be buried within the random coil structure, all the catalytic sites can be precisely located at the chain ends, or periphery, of the dendrimer. This maximizes the activity of each individual catalytic site and leads to activities approaching small molecule systems. However the well defined and monodisperse size of dendrimers permits their easy separation by ultrafiltration and leads to the recovery of catalyst-free products. The first examples of such dendrimer catalysts have recently been reported... 

Another example of imidazo[2,l-b][l,3]thiazole formation was reported by Adib et al. in their publication concerning eco-friendly catalyst-free MCR in the water [133]. Reaction of cyclohexyl isocyanide with diverse aromatic aldehydes and 2-aminothiazoles in water at 70°C allowed the isolation of heterocycles 96 in good-to-excellent yields (Scheme 43). According to the spectral data, compotmds 96 were determined as single products of the MCR. 

Scheme 31 Catalyst-free three-component synthesis of functionalized imidazolones...

An interesting entry to functionalized dihydropyrans has been intensively studied by Tietze in the 1990s using a three-component domino-Knoevenagel Hetero-Diels-Alder sequence. The overall transformation involves the transient formation of an activated heterodienophile by condensation of simple aldehydes with 1,3-dicarbonyls such as barbituric acids [127], Meldrum s acid [128], or activated carbonyls. In situ cycloaddition with electron-rich alkenes furnished the expected functionalized dihydropyrans. Two recent examples concern the reactivity of 1,4-benzoquinones and pyrazolones as 1,3-dicarbonyl equivalents under microwave irradiation. In the first case, a new three-component catalyst-free efficient one-pot transformation was proposed for the synthesis of pyrano-1,4-benzoquinone scaffolds [129]. In this synthetic method, 2,5-dihydroxy-3-undecyl-1,4-benzoquinone, paraformaldehyde, and alkenes were suspended in ethanol and placed under microwave irradiations to lead regioselectively the corresponding pyrano-l,4-benzoquinone derivatives (Scheme 38). The total regioselectivity was... 

More recently, a catalyst-free aqueous version of this strategy was proposed with simple acyclic 1,3-dicarbonyls, formaldehyde, and styrene or anilines derivatives (Scheme 40) [131], In the first case (Scheme 40), the very reactive 2-methylene-1,3-dicarbonyl intermediate reacts smoothly at 80°C with a variety of substituted styrenes to give the corresponding dihydropyrans in moderate to good yields. Remarkably, when styrenes were replaced by A-ethylaniline, a novel five-component reaction involving twofold excess of both formaldehyde and 1,3-dicarbonyl selectively occurred (Scheme 41). The result is the formation of complex fused pyranoquinolines following a Friedel-Craft alkylation - dehydration sequence to furnish the quinoline nucleus, which suffers the Hetero-Diels-Alder cyclization in synthetically useful yields. 

Scheme 41 Catalyst-free aqueous MCR from formaldehyde,1,3-dicarbonyl and aniline derivative...

Sotoca E, Constantieux T, Rodriguez J (2008) Solvent- and catalyst-free three-component reaction with beta-ketoamides for the stereoselective one-pot access to 1,4-diazepines. Synlett 1313-1316... 

Gu Y, De Sousa R, Frapper P, Bachmann C, Barrault J, Jer me F (2009) Catalyst-free aqueous multicomponent domino reaction from formaldehyde and 1,3-dicarbonyls derivatives. Green Chem 11 1968-1972... 

Kumaravel K, Vasuki G (2009) Four-component catalyst-free reaction in water combinatorial library synthesis of novel 2-amino-4-(5-hydroxy-3-methyl-lH-pyrazol-4-yl) H-chro-mene-3-carbonitrile derivatives. Green Chem 11 1945-1947... 

With a tungsten pentacarbonyl catalyst, the calculated mechanisms are summarized in Scheme 4.15 [26]. Coordination of the 4-pentyn-l-ol substrate to the pentacarbonyl tungsten leads to the formation of the 7i-alkyne-W(CO)5 adduct Wl. This coordination process was calculated to be exothermic by 24.3 kcal mol. The cydoisomerization leading to a five-membered-ring exo product starts with the 7i-complex Wl via a one-step process with a barrier of 46.5 kcal mol (path a of Scheme 4.15). The barrier calculated here is comparable with that calculated for the catalyst-free process. From Wl to W3, the tungsten metal center does not play a significant role in the isomerization process. 

In contrast, 3,3-dimethylbutene readily undergoes skeletal rearrangement (over specially prepared alumina catalyst free of alkali ions possessing intrinsic acidic sites, at 350°C).101 The extent of isomerization strongly depends on reaction conditions. At low contact time, isomeric 2,3-dimethylbutenes are the main products (Scheme 4.8, a) in accordance with the involvement of tertiary carbocation 7. 

Ikejiri, K Noborisaka, J Hara, S. et al. (2007) Mechanism of catalyst-free growth of GaAs nanowires by selective area MOVPE. Journal of Crystal Growth, 298(SPEC. ISS), 616-19. 

A regioselective and highly syn-stereoselective catalyst-free intermolecular alkylation of aryl borates with aryl epoxides under mild, neutral conditions has been reported.27 The reaction of /ra .s-stilbene oxide with tri(3,5-dimethylphenyl)borate gave a 38% yield (>95% syn) of the C-alkylated product (13), easily separated from (g) the O-alkylated product(s). Triflic anhydride has been used to activate enones to nucleophilic attack by electron-rich arenes in the presence of a sterically hindered base.28 Resorcinol dimethyl ether, for example, reacted with cyclohex-2-en-l-one to... 

This mechanism for cleavage may be supported by the fact that the addition of pentamethyldisilane to olefins in the presence of a platinum catalyst free from any protic solvent proceeds smoothly (Section IV, A, l,c). 

Two-Step Preparation for Catalyst-Free Biodiesel Fuel Production... 

A catalyst-free supercritical methanol method for biodiesel fuel production was proposed with the optimum conditions of 350°C, 20 MPa, a molar ratio of 42 in methanol, and a 4-min treatment period (12-13). This method has been proved to produce a high yield, because of simultaneous reactions of transesterification of triglycerides and methyl esterification of free fatty acids (10). The only shortcoming of this one-step method is that it requires a severe reaction condition compared with the conventional commercial method with acid or alkaline catalyst. Consequently, our method would require a special alloy to cover the high temperature and high pressure of the reaction system. 

---