Decarboxylative Alkyl–Alkyl Cross‐Coupling Reactions

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137566/1/anie201605593_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137566/2/anie201605593.pd

Mixed plastics waste valorization through tandem chemical oxidation and biological funneling

115 p.-4 fig.-45 fig. supl.-14 tab supl.Mixed plastics waste represents an abundant and largely untapped feedstock for the production of valuable products. The chemical diversity and complexity of thesematerials, however, present major barriers to realizing this opportunity. In this work, we show that metal-catalyzed autoxidation depolymerizes comingled polymers into a mixture of oxygenated small molecules that are advantaged substrates for biological conversion. We engineer a robust soil bacterium, Pseudomonas putida, to funnel these oxygenated compounds into a single exemplary chemical product, either b-ketoadipate or polyhydroxyalkanoates. This hybrid process establishes a strategy for the selective conversion of mixed plastics waste into useful chemical products.Funding was provided by the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO), and Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). This work was performed as part of the BOTTLE Consortium and was supported by AMO and BETO under contract no. DE-AC36- 08GO28308 with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. The BOTTLE Consortium includes members from MIT, funded under contract no. DE-AC36-08GO28308 with NREL. Contributions by S.S.S. were supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under award no. DEFG02-05ER15690.Peer reviewe

Development of Nickel-Catalyzed Coupling Reactions: Intramolecular Alkyl-Heck and Reductive Cross-Electrophile Cyclizations and Hydroarylation of Alkynes

Transition metal catalyzed reactions are ubiquitous in the realm of synthetic chemistry, allowing for the strategic construction of complex molecular frameworks of pharmaceuticals, natural products, and synthetic materials. Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions are part of the foundation of these transformations, insofar as they were recognized with the 2010 Nobel Prize in chemistry. Traditionally, these reactions have relied on aryl and vinyl electrophiles, whereas the alkyl counterparts have only recently begun to emerge in the literature. Nickel has been on the forefront of enantioconvergent alkyl cross-coupling reactions due to its propensity to undergo single electron chemistry. However, under special conditions, it has a unique ability to break strong carbon–oxygen bonds in a stereospecific manner, making research into its reactivity a valuable endeavor to the field of organometallic chemistry. Chapter 1 describes the development of a stereospecific intramolecular alkyl-Heck cyclization of benzylic ethers. The reaction proceeds with inversion at the electrophilic carbon, for the synthesis of methylenecyclopentanes of both extended π-electron and simple aromatic systems. The enantioenriched products can be effectively derivatized to cyclic α-aryl ketones in good yields with good transfer of chirality. Avenues to expand the utility of this reaction have been identified and further studies are ongoing.Chapter 2 discusses the development of nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling reactions of benzylic esters and aryl halides. An intermolecular reaction proceeds in high yields for primary benzylic esters for the synthesis of pharmacologically relevant diarylmethanes. The corresponding intramolecular cyclization proceeds under mild conditions, demonstrating the first example of a stereospecific cross-electrophile coupling of secondary benzylic esters. A variety of heterocyclic and functionalized substrates are tolerated under the reaction conditions.Chapter 3 examines the development a regio- and stereoselective nickel-catalyzed hydroarylation of alkynes with arylboronic acids. The reaction is facilitated by propargyl carbamates as directing groups. The reaction is tolerant of a range of functional groups and heterocycles. Mechanistic studies reveal that the acidic protons of the arylboronic acid coupling partner serve as the origin of hydrogen. Furthermore, the synthesis of tamoxifen can be completed in two steps from a simple hydroarylation product

Enantiospecific Intramolecular Heck Reactions of Secondary Benzylic Ethers

Enantioenriched methylene­cyclo­pentanes are synthesized by stereospecific, nickel-catalyzed Heck cyclizations of secondary benzylic ethers. The reaction proceeds in high yield and enantiospecificity for benzylic ethers of both π-extended and simple arenes. Ethers with pendant 1,2-disubstituted olefins form trisubstituted olefins with control of both absolute configuration and alkene geometry. Diastereoselective synthesis of a polycyclic furan is demonstrated

Synthesis of substituted Z-styrenes by Hiyama-type coupling of oxasilacycloalkenes: application to the synthesis of a 1-benzoxocane

Several Hiyama cross-coupling reactions of oxasilacycloalkenes and aryl iodides are described that produce trisubstituted Z-styrenes in moderate to excellent yields. Both electron-rich and electron-poor aryl iodides are tolerated in the cross-coupling reaction. The oxasilacycloalkene coupling partners were prepared by ruthenium-catalyzed intramolecular anti-hydrosilylation of alkynols. One of the cross-coupling products was converted to a 1-benzoxocane, albeit in low yield, using an intramolecular Buchwald–Hartwig etherification. The cyclic ether produced contains the carbon skeleton of heliannuol A

Validation of minor actinides fission neutron cross-sections

Verification of neutron fission cross-sections of minor actinides from some recently available evaluated nuclear data libraries was carried out by comparison of the reaction rates calculated by the MCNP6.1 computer code to the experimental values. The experimental samples, containing thin layers of 235U, 237Np, 238,239,240,241Pu, 242mAm, 243Cm, 245Cm, and 247Cm, deposited on metal support and foils of 235U (pseudo-alloy 27Al + 235U), 238U, natIn, 64Zn, 27Al, and multi-component sample alloy 27Al + 55Mn + natCu + natLu + 197Au, were irradiated in the channels of the tank containing fluorine salts 0.52NaF + 0.48ZrF4, labelled as the Micromodel Salt Blanket, inserted in the lattice centre of the MAKET heavy water critical assembly at the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics, Moscow. This paper is a continuation of earlier initiated scientific-research activities carried out for validation of the evaluated fission cross-sections of actinides that were supposed to be used for the quality examination of the fuel design of the accelerator driven systems or fast reactors, and consequently, determination of transmutation rates of actinides, and therefore, determination of operation parameters of these reactor facilities. These scientific-research activities were carried out within a frame of scientific projects supported by the International Science and Technology Center and the International Atomic Energy Agency co-ordinated research activities, from 1999 to 2010. Obtained results confirm that further research is needed in evaluations in order to establish better neutron cross-section data for the minor actinides and selected nuclides which could be used in the accelerator driven systems or fast reactors

Biochemical and structural characterization of a sphingomonad diarylpropane lyase for cofactorless deformylation

Lignin valorization is being intensely pursued via tandem catalytic depolymerization and biological funneling to produce single products. In many lignin depolymerization processes, aromatic dimers and oligomers linked by carbon-carbon bonds remain intact, necessitating the development of enzymes capable of cleaving these compounds to monomers. Recently, the catabolism of erythro-1,2-diguaiacylpropane-1,3-diol (erythro-DGPD), a ring-opened lignin-derived β-1 dimer, was reported in Novosphingobium aromaticivorans. The first enzyme in this pathway, LdpA (formerly LsdE), is a member of the nuclear transport factor 2 (NTF-2)-like structural superfamily that converts erythro-DGPD to lignostilbene through a heretofore unknown mechanism. In this study, we performed biochemical, structural, and mechanistic characterization of the N. aromaticivorans LdpA and another homolog identified in Sphingobium sp. SYK-6, for which activity was confirmed in vivo. For both enzymes, we first demonstrated that formaldehyde is the C1 reaction product, and we further demonstrated that both enantiomers of erythro-DGPD were transformed simultaneously, suggesting that LdpA, while diastereomerically specific, lacks enantioselectivity. We also show that LdpA is subject to a severe competitive product inhibition by lignostilbene. Three-dimensional structures of LdpA were determined using X-ray crystallography, including substrate-bound complexes, revealing several residues that were shown to be catalytically essential. We used density functional theory to validate a proposed mechanism that proceeds via dehydroxylation and formation of a quinone methide intermediate that serves as an electron sink for the ensuing deformylation. Overall, this study expands the range of chemistry catalyzed by the NTF-2-like protein family to a prevalent lignin dimer through a cofactorless deformylation reaction