Clayfen solid support

A facile method for the oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds has been reported by Varma et al. using montmorillonite K 10 clay-supported iron(III) nitrate (clayfen) under solvent-free conditions [100], This MW-expedited reaction presumably proceeds via the intermediacy of nitrosonium ions. Interestingly, no carboxylic acids are formed in the oxidation of primary alcohols. The simple solvent-free experimental procedure involves mixing of neat substrates with clayfen and a brief exposure of the reaction mixture to irradiation in a MW oven for 15-60 s. This rapid, ma-nipulatively simple, inexpensive and selective procedure avoids the use of excess solvents and toxic oxidants (Scheme 6.30) [100]. Solid state use of clayfen has afforded higher yields and the amounts used are half of that used by Laszlo et al. [17,19]. 

Solid-state synthesis of /J-nitrostyrenes has been reported by Varma et al. in a process that uses readily available styrene and its substituted derivatives and inexpensive clay-supported nitrate salts, clayfen and clayan (Scheme 6.50) [170], In a simple experiment, admixed styrene with clayfen or clayan is irradiated in a MW oven (-100-110 °C, 3 min) or heated in an oil bath (-100-110 °C, 15 min). For clayan intermittent heating is recommended with 30-s intervals to maintain the temperature below 60-70 °C. Remarkably, the reaction proceeds only in solid state and leads to the formation of polymeric products in organic solvent. 

Clayfen (0.125 g) was thoroughly mixed with neat benzoin lc (0.106 g, 0.5 mmol) in the solid state using a vortex mixer and the material was placed in an alumina bath inside the microwave oven and irradiated. Upon completion of the reaction, monitored on TLC (hexane-AcOEt, 10 1, v/v), the product 2c was extracted into methylene chloride. That the effect is not purely thermal is supported by the fact that this reaction could be completed in 18 h in an oil bath at a comparable temperature of 65 °C. 

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