Carbon Nanotubes as Activating Tyrosinase Supports for the Selective Synthesis of Catechols

A series of redox catalysts based on the immobilization of tyrosinase on multiwalled carbon nanotubes has been prepared by applying the layer-by-layer principle. The oxidized nanotubes (ox-MWCNTs) were treated with poly­(diallyl dimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and tyrosinase to yield ox-MWCNTs/PDDA/tyrosinase <b>I</b>. Catalysts <b>II</b> and <b>III</b> have been prepared by increasing the number of layers of PDDA and enzyme, while <b>IV</b> was obtained by co-immobilization of tyrosinase with bovine serum albumin (ox-MWCNTs/PDDA/BSA-tyrosinase). Attempts to covalently bind tyrosinase provided weakly active systems. The coating of the enzyme based on the simple layer-by-layer principle has afforded catalysts <b>I–III</b>, with a range of activity from 21 units/mg (multilayer, <b>II</b>) to 66 units/mg (monolayer, <b>I</b>), the best system being catalyst <b>IV</b> (80 units/mg). The novel catalysts were fully characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, showing increased activity with respect to that of the native enzyme. These catalysts were used in the selective synthesis of catechols by oxidation of <i>meta</i>- and <i>para</i>-substituted phenols in an organic solvent (CH₂Cl₂) as the reaction medium. It is worth noting that immobilized tyrosinase was able to catalyze the oxidation of very hindered phenol derivatives that are slightly reactive with the native enzyme. The increased reactivity can be ascribed to a stabilization of the immobilized tyrosinase. The novel catalysts <b>I</b> and <b>IV</b> retained their activity for five subsequent reactions, showing a higher stability in organic solvent than under traditional buffer conditions

Amides in Bio-oil by Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Organic Wastes: A Mass Spectrometric Study of the Thermochemical Reaction Products of Binary Mixtures of Amino Acids and Fatty Acids

Among biofuels, the bio-oil produced by hydrothermal liquefaction of waste biomass can be considered an alternative to fossil fuels in industry as well as transport and heating compartments. The bio-oil complex composition is directly dependent upon the specific biomass used as feedstock and the process used for the chemical conversion. The coexistence of proteins and lipids can explain, in principle, the high percentage of fatty acid amides found in the produced bio-oil. In the present study, the amides in a sample of bio-oil have been separated by gas chromatography and identified at first on the basis of their electron impact (EI) mass spectra. To distinguish between <i>N</i>-alkyl isomers, standard amides have been synthesized and analyzed. Because the most reasonable origin of fatty acid amides in hydrothermal bio-oils is the condensation reaction between fatty acids and the decarboxylation products of amino acids, a series of model experiments have been carried out by reacting hexadecanoic acid, at high temperature and pressure, with each of the 20 amino acids constitutive of proteins, looking for the formation of fatty acid amides. Remarkably, by such experiments, all of the amides present in the bio-oil have been recognized as hydrothermal coupling compounds of the decomposition products of amino acids with fatty acids, thus allowing for their structural elucidation and, also important, confirming their (bio)­chemical origin

Ligand-Controlled Regioselectivity in the Hydrothiolation of Alkynes by Rhodium N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysts

Rh–N-heterocyclic carbene compounds [Rh­(μ-Cl)­(IPr)­(η²-olefin)]₂ and RhCl­(IPr)­(py)­(η²-olefin) (IPr = 1,3-bis­(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)­imidazol-2-carbene, py = pyridine, olefin = cyclooctene or ethylene) are highly active catalysts for alkyne hydrothiolation under mild conditions. A regioselectivity switch from linear to 1-substituted vinyl sulfides was observed when mononuclear RhCl­(IPr)­(py)­(η²-olefin) catalysts were used instead of dinuclear precursors. A complex interplay between electronic and steric effects exerted by IPr, pyridine, and hydride ligands accounts for the observed regioselectivity. Both IPr and pyridine ligands stabilize formation of square-pyramidal thiolate–hydride active species in which the encumbered and powerful electron-donor IPr ligand directs coordination of pyridine trans to it, consequently blocking access of the incoming alkyne in this position. Simultaneously, the higher trans director hydride ligand paves the way to a cis thiolate–alkyne disposition, favoring formation of 2,2-disubstituted metal–alkenyl species and subsequently the Markovnikov vinyl sulfides via alkenyl–hydride reductive elimination. DFT calculations support a plausible reaction pathway where migratory insertion of the alkyne into the rhodium–thiolate bond is the rate-determining step

Ligand-Controlled Regioselectivity in the Hydrothiolation of Alkynes by Rhodium N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalysts

Rh–N-heterocyclic carbene compounds [Rh­(μ-Cl)­(IPr)­(η²-olefin)]₂ and RhCl­(IPr)­(py)­(η²-olefin) (IPr = 1,3-bis­(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)­imidazol-2-carbene, py = pyridine, olefin = cyclooctene or ethylene) are highly active catalysts for alkyne hydrothiolation under mild conditions. A regioselectivity switch from linear to 1-substituted vinyl sulfides was observed when mononuclear RhCl­(IPr)­(py)­(η²-olefin) catalysts were used instead of dinuclear precursors. A complex interplay between electronic and steric effects exerted by IPr, pyridine, and hydride ligands accounts for the observed regioselectivity. Both IPr and pyridine ligands stabilize formation of square-pyramidal thiolate–hydride active species in which the encumbered and powerful electron-donor IPr ligand directs coordination of pyridine trans to it, consequently blocking access of the incoming alkyne in this position. Simultaneously, the higher trans director hydride ligand paves the way to a cis thiolate–alkyne disposition, favoring formation of 2,2-disubstituted metal–alkenyl species and subsequently the Markovnikov vinyl sulfides via alkenyl–hydride reductive elimination. DFT calculations support a plausible reaction pathway where migratory insertion of the alkyne into the rhodium–thiolate bond is the rate-determining step