Synthesis of fragrance compounds from acyclic monoterpenes : rhodium catalyzed hydroformylation and tandem hydroformylation/acetalization of linalool and B-citronellene.

Rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of acyclic monoterpenic compounds, i.e., linalool and _- citronellene, was studied in toluene and ethanol solutions in the presence of PPh3 or P(O-o-tBuPh)3 ligands. Although both substrates have a monosubstituted terminal double bond, they show different behavior under the hydroformylation conditions. In toluene, linalool gave almost quantitatively a cyclic hemiacetal; whereas the hydroformylation of _-citronellene resulted in two isomeric aldehydes also in a nearly quantitative combined yield. The reactions occurred approximately two times faster in ethanol than in toluene giving the corresponding acetals even in the absence of additional acid co-catalysts. In the absence of phosphorous ligands, linalool (differently from _-citronellene) was very resistant to hydroformylation probably due to the binding with rhodium through both the double bond and the hydroxyl group to form stable chelates. The P(O-o-tBuPh)3 ligand exerted a remarkable effect on the reactivity of both substrates accelerating the reactions by 5–20 times as compared to the system with PPh3. Several fragrance compounds were obtained in high yields through a simple one-pot procedure starting from the substrates easily available from natural bio-renewable resources

Heteropoly acid catalysts for the synthesis of fragrance compounds from biorenewables : isomerization of limonene oxide.

The liquid-phase isomerization of limonene oxide was studied in the presence of heteropoly acid catalysts in aprotic solvents in homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. Among the catalysts were bulk and silica-supported tungstophosphoric acid H3PW12O40 and its acidic Cs salt Cs0.5H0.5PW12O40 (CsPW). The reaction gave dihydrocarvone, a valuable fragrance intermediate, as the main product with turnover numbers of up to 8000. The nature of the solvent had a strong effect on reaction rate and selectivity. CsPW (0.1 mol%) was found to be a highly efficient and truly heterogeneous catalyst for this reaction, providing 82% yield of dihydrocarvone in 1,4-dioxane as a solvent under ambient conditions. This simple catalytic method represents economically attractive route to industrially important compounds starting from bio-renewable substrates easily available from essential oils

Coupling of monoterpenic alkenes and alcohols with benzaldehyde catalyzed by silica-supported tungstophosphoric heteropoly acid.

The reactions of biomass-based substrates, i.e., limonene, -pinene, -pinene, terpinolene, -terpineol,nerol and linalool, with benzaldehyde in the presence of tungstophosphoric heteropoly acid H3PW12O40(HPW) supported on silica give an oxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonene compound with fragrance characteristics ingood to excellent yields. The reactions apparently involve the formation of -terpenyl carbenium ion bythe protonation of alkene or dehydration of alcohol followed by the nucleophilic attack of benzaldehyde.The subsequent oxonium-ene cyclization of the resulting oxocarbenium ion gives the oxabicyclic product.The process is an environmentally benign and heterogeneous and can be performed under mild conditionswith low catalyst amounts and no significant leaching of active components

Phosphotungstic heteropoly acid as efficient heterogeneous catalyst for solvent-free isomerization of a-pinene and longifolene.

Silica-supported H3PW12O40 (PW), the strongest heteropoly acid in the Keggin series, is an efficient, environmentally friendly heterogeneous catalyst for the liquid-phase isomerization of a-pinene and longifolene into their more valuable isomers – camphene and isolongifolene, respectively, which are intermediates in the synthesis of expensive fragrances. The reactions occur under solvent-free conditions in the temperature range of 80–100 8C, with low catalyst loadings (0.15–5 wt%) and high turnover numbers (up to 6000 per proton). The catalyst can be easily recovered and reused. No PW leaching is observed in the reaction system

Synthesis of fragrance compounds from biorenewables : tandem hydroformylation–acetalization of bicyclic monoterpenes.

The Rhodium-catalyzed tandem hydroformylation–acetalization of the terpenes 3-carene, 2-carene, a-pinene, and b-pinene was studied in ethanol solutions in the presence of PPh3 or tris(O-tert-butylphenyl)phosphate, P(O-o-tBuPh)3, ligands. All these terpenes are constituents of turpentine oils obtained commercially from coniferous trees. b-Pinene gave the corresponding aldehyde and acetal in excellent combined yields in both systems. 3-Carene, 2-carene, and a-pinene, which contain sterically encumbered endocyclic double bonds, showed an extremely low reactivity with PPh3. The use of P(O-o-tBuPh)3 not only accelerated the hydroformylation of all four substrates remarkably but also increased the acetalization activity of the catalyst. In the Rh/P(O-o-tBuPh)3 system, various fragrance acetals and aldehydes were obtained from these renewable substrates in nearly quantitative combined yields. The process was performed under mild conditions, in environmentally friendly ethanol as a solvent, and in the absence of acid cocatalysts

Heteropoly acid catalysts in the valorization of the essential oils : acetoxylation of b-caryophyllene.

H3PW12O40 (PW), the strongest heteropoly acid in the Keggin series, is an active and environmentally friendly catalyst for the liquid-phase conversion of b-caryophyllene (1) to b-caryolanyl acetate (2) in homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. An efficient and clean method for the synthesis of 2, providing amixture containing two stereoisomeric b-caryolanyl acetates 2a and 2b, 2a/2b = 80/20 mol/ mol, with 100% GC yield, has been developed using PW as a homogeneous catalyst under mild reaction conditions. The reaction occurs at 25 8C with a catalyst turnover number of 2000. The catalyst can be recovered without neutralization and reused without loss of activity and selectivity

Isomerization of styrene oxide to phenylacetaldehyde over supported phosphotungstic heteropoly acid.

Silica-supported H3PW12O40 (PW), the strongest heteropoly acid in the Keggin series, is an efficient, environmentally friendly heterogeneous catalyst for the liquid-phase isomerization of styrene oxide into phenylacetaldehyde, an industrially important intermediate for fine chemical synthesis. The reaction occurs in cyclohexane as a solvent under mild conditions at 25?70 ?C with low catalyst loadings and without PW leaching in solution. At 60 ?C, the yield of phenylacetaldehyde reaches 92% at 97% styrene oxide conversion, with a catalyst turnover number of 19 600. The catalyst can be recovered and reused

Esterification of camphene over heterogeneous heteropoly acid catalysts : synthesis of isobornyl carboxylates.

Silica supported H3PW12O40 (PW), the strongest heteropoly acid in the Keggin series, is an active and environmentally friendly solid acid catalyst for liquid-phase esterification of camphene, a renewable biomass-based substrate, with C2, C4 and C6 short-chain fatty acids. The reaction provides isobornyl carboxylates, useful as fragrances, in virtually 100% selectivity and 80–90% yield. The reaction is equilibrium-controlled and occurs under mild conditions with a catalyst turnover number of up to 3000. The use of hydrocarbon solvent prevents PW from leaching to allow easy catalyst recovery. The catalyst can be reused several times without loss of activity and selectivity

Heteropoly acid catalyzed cyclization of nerolidol and farnesol : synthesis of bisabolol.

Heteropoly acid H3PW12O40 is an active and environmentally friendly homogeneous catalyst for the synthesis of _-bisabolol, a high-priced and highly demanded ingredient for the fragrance, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries, starting from more abundant biomass-based sesquiterpenic alcohols. The solvent nature remarkably affects the reaction pathways and product selectivity. In acetone solutions, _-bisabolol can be obtained in 55–60% GC yields from nerolidol and 60–70% GC yields from farnesol at complete substrate conversions, which are probably the best results ever reported for these reactions. _-Bisabolol synthesized by this method contains no farnesol, which is a potentially allergenic compound and should be avoided in the commercially used _-bisabolol. This advantage is especially important because the distillative separation of _-bisabolol and farnesol is a troublesome task. The catalyst shows high turnover numbers and operates under mild nearly ambient conditions

Heteropoly acid catalysis for the isomerization of biomass-derived limonene oxide and kinetic separation of the trans-isomer in green solvents.

Terpenes are an abundant class of natural products, which is important for flavor and fragrance industry. Many acid catalyzed reactions used for upgrading terpenes still involve mineral acids as homogeneous catalysts and/or toxic solvents. Heteropoly acids represent a well-established eco-friendly alternative to conventional acid catalysts. As these reactions are usually performed in the liquid phase, solvents play a critical role for the process sustainability. In the present work, we developed a catalytic route to valuable fragrance ingredients, dihydrocarvone and carvenone, from limonene oxide by its isomerization using silica-supported tungstophosphoric acid as a heterogeneous catalyst and dialkylcarbonates as green solvents. The reaction pathway can be switched between dihydrocarvone and carvenone (obtained in 90% yield each) simply by changing the reaction temperature. In addition, we developed an efficient method for kinetic separation of trans-limonene oxide from commercial cis/trans-limonene oxide mixture and stereoselective synthesis of trans-dihydrocarvone