Fluorous biphasic catalysis concept

The fluorous biphasic catalysis concept was successfully demonstrated first by hydroformylation of 1-decene carried out in perfluoromethylcyclohexane and toluene, which forms a homogeneous liquid phase at 100°C in the presence of catalyst 2 prepared in situ according to Eq. (14.1) 125,133... 

These critical aspects of the classical fluorous biphasic catalysis led in recent works to the development of protocols for the conversions with modified catalyst systems in non-fluorinated hydrocarbons as solvents. As part of the BMBE lighthouse project, Gladyzs and coworkers appHed this concept to C - C coupHng reactions (Suzuki reaction) and other metal-catalyzed addition reactions (hydrosilylation, selective alcoholysis of alkynes), which have direct relevance for the synthesis of fine chemicals and specialties [74]. 

Fluorous compounds and solvents have emerged as powerful tools in modem synthetic organic chemistry. The concept of fluorous biphasic system and fluorous biphasic catalysis is based on catalysis through the use of reagents that have perfluorinated carbon chains. 

Fluorous Biphasic Catalysis A Green Chemistry Concept for Alkane and Alkene Oxidation... 

Figure 8. The general concept of fluorous biphasic catalysis...

The successful demonstration of the fluorous biphasic concept for performing organometallic catalysis sparked extensive interest in the methodology and it has subsequently been applied to a wide variety of catalytic reactions, including hydrogenation [59], Heck and Suzuki couplings [60, 61] and polymerizations [62]. The publication of a special Symposium in print devoted to the subject [63] attests to the broad interest in this area. 

Similar to the fluorous biphasic concept, a system was developed that formed a homogenous phase at elevated temperature, but phase-separated at room temperature [49c]. It was found that a mixture of functionalized PNIPAM polymer, ethanol, heptane and water exhibited these properties. The hydrogenation of 1-octadecene and 1-dodecene using a phosphine functionalized PNIPAM with a rhodium precursor were taken as test reactions and the high activity was foimd was similar to that of RhCl(PPh3)3. At room temperature the mixture phase separated and the catalysis stopped since the catalyst is completely insoluble in heptane. The substrate is dissolved in the heptane allowing a facile catalyst/product separation without the loss of activity. The concept is obviously limited to substrates that show... 

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