Selective Conversion of Various Monosaccharaides into Sugar Acids by Additive‐Free Dehydrogenation in Water

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Selective conversion of various monosaccharaides into sugar acids by additive‐free dehydrogenation in water, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.202000544. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.Abundant sugars of five and six carbon atoms are promising candidates for the production of valuable platform chemicals. Here, we describe the catalytic dehydrogenation of several pentoses and hexoses into their corresponding sugar acids with the concomitant formation of molecular hydrogen. This biomass transformation is promoted by highly active and selective catalysts based on iridium‐(III) complexes containing a triazolylidene as mesoionic carbene ligand (MIC). Monosaccharides are converted into sugar acids in an easy and sustainable manner using only catalyst and water, and in contrast to previously reported procedures, in the absence of any additive. The reaction is therefore very clean, and moreover highly selective, which avoids the tedious purification and product separation. Mechanistic investigations using 1 H NMR and UV‐vis spectroscopies and ESI mass spectrometry (ESI‐MS) indicates the formation of an unprecedented diiridium‐hydride as dormant species that correspond to the catalyst resting state

Gold nanoparticle-catalysed functionalization of non-activated C-H bonds by carbene transfer reactions

Resumen del trabajo presentado a la XXXVIII Reunión Bienal de la Real Sociedad Española de Química, celebrada en el Palacio de Congresos de Granada, del 27 de junio al 30 de junio de 2022.Peer reviewe