Deoxydehydration (DODH) is the net reduction of diols and polyols to alkenes or dienes and water. Molybdenum cis -dioxo bis-phenolate ONO complexes were synthesized and have been shown to be active for DODH. Catalysts were screened for activity at 150–190 °C, and appreciable yields of up to 59% were obtained. PPh 3 , Na 2 SO 3 , Zn, C, 3-octanol and 2-propanol were screened as reductants. Additionally, the reactivities of a variety of diols were screened. With ( R , R )-(+)-hydrobenzoin as substrate, DODH occurs via a mechanism where reduction of the Mo catalyst is a result of diol oxidation to form two equivalents of aldehyde. These reactions result in complete conversion and near quantitative yields of trans-stilbene and benzaldehyde.
more »
« less
A Colorimetric Method for Quantifying Cis and Trans Alkenes Using an Indicator Displacement Assay
Abstract: A colorimetric indicator displacement assay (IDA) amenable to high-throughput experimentation was developed to determine the percentage of cis and trans alkenes. Using 96-well plates two steps are performed: a reaction plate for dihydroxylation of the alkenes followed by an IDA screening plate consisting of an indicator and a boronic acid. The dihydroxylation generates either erythro or threo vicinal diols from cis or trans alkenes, depending upon their syn- or antiaddition mechanisms. Threo diols preferentially associate with the boronic acid due to the creation of more stable boronate esters, thus displacing the indicator to a greater extent. The generality of the protocol was demonstrated using seven sets of cis and trans alkenes. Blind mixtures of cis and trans alkenes were made, resulting in an average error of 2% in the percentage of cis or trans alkenes, and implementing E2 and Wittig reactions gave errors of 3%. Furthermore, we developed variants of the IDA for which the color may be tuned to optimize the response for the human eye.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1665040
- PAR ID:
- 10249679
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Angewandte Chemie
- Volume:
- 133
- ISSN:
- 0170-9046
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1-6
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Derivatization reactions are commonly used in mass spectrometry to improve analyte signals, specifically by enhancing the ionization efficiency of those compounds. Vicinal diols are one group of biologically important compounds that have been commonly derivatized using boronic acid. In this study, a boronic acid with a tertiary amine was adapted for the derivatization of vicinal diol metabolites in B73 maize tissue cross‐sections for mass spectrometry imaging analysis. Using this method, dozens of vicinal diol metabolites were derivatized, effectively improving the signal of those metabolites. Many of these metabolites were tentatively assigned using high‐resolution accurate mass measurements. In addition, reaction interference and cross‐reactivity with various other functional groups were systematically studied to verify data interpretation.more » « less
-
Abstract Rieske dioxygenase enzymes can perform thecis‐dihydroxylation of aliphatic olefins, representing a potential green alternative to established methods of performing this important transformation. However, the activity of the natural enzymes in this context is low relative to their more well‐known activity in thecis‐dihydroxylation of aromatics. To enable the engineering of dioxygenase enzymes for improved activity in the dihydroxylation of aliphatic olefins, we have developed an assay system to detect the relevant diol metabolites produced from whole‐cell fermentation cultures. Optimization studies were carried out to maximize the sensitivity of the assay system, and its utility in thein vitroscreening of enzyme variant libraries was demonstrated. The assay system was utilized in screening studies that identified Rieske dioxygenase variants with significantly improved activity in the dihydroxylation of aliphatic olefins relative to the wild‐type enzyme.more » « less
-
Alkyl boronic acids and esters are versatile synthetic intermediates that generally require several steps to synthesize. Three-component alkene arylboration reactions allow for the rapid synthesis of alkyl boronic esters. Herein, we report the base-free aerobic Pd-catalyzed three-component alkene arylboration, which allows direct access, in a single step, to alkyl boronic esters from readily available precursors: aryl boronic acids, alkenes, and bis(pinacol)diboron. This approach allows for the formal insertion of an alkene into an Ar–B bond, and thus, generates an alkyl boronic ester from an aryl boronic acid. The reaction proceeds with both electron-rich and electron-deficient aryl boronic acids as well as strained cyclic, internal, and terminal olefins. The reactions are regioselective: 1,2-arylboration products are formed with strained cyclic alkenes and b-alkyl-styrenes while 1,1-arylboration products are generated from terminal alkenes. Forty-five examples are presented with isolated yields of the resulting alkyl boronic esters ranging from 20-74%, along with several examples demonstrating the synthetic utility of the products. Mechanistic investigations support that the catalytic cycle occurs through direct arylboration of the alkene. Further, p-benzyl intermediates form when possible, and the rate of borylation is increased with electron-rich arenes relative to electron-poor. Finally, we demonstrate that aryl boroxines, generated in situ, are essential for the transformation as they rapidly undergo base-free transmetalation with the proposed palladium peroxo intermediate.more » « less
-
The transesterification rate of boronate esters with diols is tunable over 14 orders of magnitude. Rate acceleration is achieved by internal base catalysis, which lowers the barrier for proton transfer. Here we report a photoswitchable internal catalyst that tunes the rate of boronic ester/diol exchange over 4 orders of magnitude. We employed an acylhydrazone molecular photoswitch, which forms a thermally stable but photoreversible intramolecular H-bond, to gate the activity of the internal base catalyst in 8-quinoline boronic ester. The photoswitch is bidirectional and can be cycled repeatedly. The intramolecular H-bond is found to be essential to the design of this photoswitchable internal catalyst, as protonating the quinoline with external sources of acid has little effect on the exchange rate.more » « less
An official website of the United States government

