Polymers from Plant Oils Linked by Siloxane Bonds for Programmed Depolymerization.

The increased production of plastics is leading to the accumulation of plastic waste and depletion of limited fossil fuel resources. In this context, we report a strategy to create polymers that can undergo controlled depolymerization by linking renewable feedstocks with siloxane bonds. α,ω-Diesters and α,ω-diols containing siloxane bonds were synthesized from an alkenoic ester derived from castor oil and then polymerized with varied monomers, including related biobased monomers. In addition, cyclic monomers derived from this alkenoic ester and hydrosiloxanes were prepared and cyclized to form a 26-membered macrolactone containing a siloxane unit. Sequential ring-opening polymerization of this macrolactone and lactide afforded an ABA triblock copolymer. This set of polymers containing siloxanes underwent programmed depolymerization into monomers in protic solvents or with hexamethyldisiloxane and an acid catalyst. Monomers afforded by the depolymerization of polyesters containing siloxane linkages were repolymerized to demonstrate circularity in select polymers. Evaluation of the environmental stability of these polymers toward enzymatic degradation showed that they undergo enzymatic hydrolysis by a fungal cutinase from Fusarium solani. Evaluation of soil microbial metabolism of monomers selectively labeled with 13C revealed differential metabolism of the main chain and side chain organic groups by soil microbes.

Mechanistic Investigations of the Hydrogenolysis of Diaryl Ethers Catalyzed by Nickel Complexes of N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligands.

Recent interest in the valorization of lignin has led to reactions involving the cleavage of strong aromatic C-O bonds. However, few experimental mechanistic studies of these reactions have been published. We report detailed mechanistic analysis of the hydrogenolysis of diaryl ethers catalyzed by the combination of Ni(COD)2 (COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) and an N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC). Experiments on the catalytic reaction indicated that NaOt-Bu was necessary for catalysis, but kinetic analysis showed that the base is not involved in the rate-limiting C-O bond cleavage. The resting state of the catalyst is an NHC-Ni(η6-arene) complex. Substitution of the coordinated solvent with diaryl ether allowed isolation of a diaryl ether-bound Ni complex. Rate-limiting C-O bond cleavage occurs to generate a three-coordinate product of oxidative addition, a metallacyclic version of which has been prepared independently. Stoichiometric studies show that arene and phenol products are released following reaction with H2. NaOt-Bu was found to deprotonate the phenol product and to prevent formation of inactive NiI dimers.

Catalytic deconstruction of waste polyethylene with ethylene to form propylene.

The conversion of polyolefins to monomers would create a valuable carbon feedstock from the largest fraction of waste plastic. However, breakdown of the main chains in these polymers requires the cleavage of carbon-carbon bonds that tend to resist selective chemical transformations. Here, we report the production of propylene by partial dehydrogenation of polyethylene and tandem isomerizing ethenolysis of the desaturated chain. Dehydrogenation of high-density polyethylene with either an iridium-pincer complex or platinum/zinc supported on silica as catalysts yielded dehydrogenated material containing up to 3.2% internal olefins; the combination of a second-generation Hoveyda-Grubbs metathesis catalyst and [PdP(tBu)3(µ-Br)]2 as an isomerization catalyst selectively degraded this unsaturated polymer to propylene in yields exceeding 80%. These results show promise for the application of mild catalysis to deconstruct otherwise stable polyolefins.

Site-selective oxidation, amination and epimerization reactions of complex polyols enabled by transfer hydrogenation.

Polyoxygenated hydrocarbons that bear one or more hydroxyl groups comprise a large set of natural and synthetic compounds, often with potent biological activity. In synthetic chemistry, alcohols are important precursors to carbonyl groups, which then can be converted into a wide range of oxygen- or nitrogen-based functionality. Therefore, the selective conversion of a single hydroxyl group in natural products into a ketone would enable the selective introduction of unnatural functionality. However, the methods known to convert a simple alcohol, or even an alcohol in a molecule that contains multiple protected functional groups, are not suitable for selective reactions of complex polyol structures. We present a new ruthenium catalyst with a unique efficacy for the selective oxidation of a single hydroxyl group among many in unprotected polyol natural products. This oxidation enables the introduction of nitrogen-based functional groups into such structures that lack nitrogen atoms and enables a selective alcohol epimerization by stepwise or reversible oxidation and reduction.

Copper-Mediated C-N Coupling of Arylsilanes with Nitrogen Nucleophiles.

A method for the oxidative coupling of arylsilanes with nitrogen nucleophiles is reported. This method occurs with a broad range of heptamethyltrisiloxylarenes and nitrogen nucleophiles, proceeds with the arylsilane as limiting reagent, and does not require a fluoride activator with electron-poor arylsilanes. The combination of this method with C-H silylation generates arylamines from unactivated arenes with site selectivity controlled by steric effects. This combination of steps gives direct access to many compounds that cannot be accessed via alternative C-H functionalization methods, including direct C-H amination or the combination of C-H borylation and amination.

Selective, nickel-catalyzed hydrogenolysis of aryl ethers.

Selective hydrogenolysis of the aromatic carbon-oxygen (C-O) bonds in aryl ethers is an unsolved synthetic problem important for the generation of fuels and chemical feedstocks from biomass and for the liquefaction of coal. Currently, the hydrogenolysis of aromatic C-O bonds requires heterogeneous catalysts that operate at high temperature and pressure and lead to a mixture of products from competing hydrogenolysis of aliphatic C-O bonds and hydrogenation of the arene. Here, we report hydrogenolyses of aromatic C-O bonds in alkyl aryl and diaryl ethers that form exclusively arenes and alcohols. This process is catalyzed by a soluble nickel carbene complex under just 1 bar of hydrogen at temperatures of 80 to 120°C; the relative reactivity of ether substrates scale as Ar-OAr>>Ar-OMe>ArCH(2)-OMe (Ar, Aryl; Me, Methyl). Hydrogenolysis of lignin model compounds highlights the potential of this approach for the conversion of refractory aryl ether biopolymers to hydrocarbons.

Organometallic chemistry of amidate complexes. accelerating effect of bidentate ligands on the reductive elimination of N-aryl amidates from palladium(II).

We report a series of arylpalladium complexes of acetamidate, sulfonamidate, and deprotonated oxazolidinone ligands that undergo reductive elimination with rates and yields that depend on the binding mode of the ancillary and amidate ligands. Complexes of the acetamidate ligands containing the bidentate phosphines DPPF and Xantphos as ancillary ligands undergo reductive elimination. The rate and yield were higher from the complex ligated by Xantphos, which contains a larger bite angle. In contrast, the analogous amidate complex containing a single sterically hindered monodentate ligand and a kappa2-bound amidate ligand does not undergo reductive elimination. This trend of faster reductive elimination from complexes containing bidentate ancillary ligands than from a complex with a single monodentate ancillary ligand is unusual and is consistent with an effect of the denticity of the ancillary ligand on the binding mode of the amidate. Complexes of sulfonamidate ligands underwent reductive elimination faster than complexes of acetamidates, and reductive elimination occurred from complexes containing both bidentate and monodentate ancillary ligands. Like reductive elimination from the acetamidate complexes, reductive eliminations from the sulfonamidate complexes were faster when the complexes possessed bidentate Xantphos and kappa1-sulfonamidate ligands.