Zircon PrVO4: an efficient heterogeneous catalyst for tandem oxidative synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted quinoline derivatives.

The current study addresses the usage of inherent redox couplets in PrVO4 crystallizing in a zircon-type structure for tandem oxidative transformation. Monophasic PrVO4, synthesized using a solution combustion synthesis method, showed a tetragonal zircon-type structure in its PXRD pattern (S.G. I41/amd). The tetragonal symmetry of the zircon PrVO4 was also confirmed from electron microscopic and vibrational spectroscopic measurements. From XPS analysis, the existence of redox couplets Pr3+/Pr4+ and V4+/V5+ in PrVO4 was established. The catalytic utility of zircon PrVO4 for one-pot synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted quinolines through the oxidative tandem reaction of 2-aminobenzylalcohols with 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds has been demonstrated. This highly efficient method proceeds under molecular oxygen, tolerates different functional groups, and produces various substituted quinoline derivatives in good to excellent yields. The important features of the process are the easy workup, simple catalyst recovery, and reusability.

Growth, crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface, optical, piezoelectric, dielectric and mechanical properties of bis(L-asparaginium hydrogensquarate) single crystal.

Molecular organic single crystals of bis(L-asparaginium hydrogensquarate) monohydrate [BASQ; (C8H10N2O7)2·H2O] have been grown by solution technique. Crystallographic information was investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) analysis. Hirshfeld surface and fingerprint plot studies were performed to understand the intermolecular interactions of the BASQ crystal in graphical representation. Functional group identification was studied with FT-IR (Fourier transform-IR) spectroscopy. The positions of proton and carbon atoms in the BASQ compound were analyzed using NMR spectroscopy. High transparency and a wide band gap of 3.49 eV were observed in the linear optical study by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy. Intense and broad photoluminescence emissions at room temperature were observed in blue and blue-green regions. The frontier molecular orbitals of the BASQ molecule were obtained by the DFT/B3LYP method employing 6-311G** as the basis set. The dielectric study was carried out with temperature at various frequency ranges. The piezoelectric charge coefficient (d33) value of BASQ crystal was found to be 2 pC/N, which leads to its application in energy harvesting, mechanical sensors and actuators applications. In the non-linear optical study, the BASQ crystal showed promising SHG conversion efficiency. Mechanical properties of the BASQ crystal were studied experimentally by Vicker's microhardness technique, which revealed that the grown crystal belonged to the softer category. BASQ crystal void estimation reveals the mechanical strength and porosity of the material.

Iron-catalyzed cascade reaction of 2-aminobenzyl alcohols with benzylamines: synthesis of quinazolines by trapping of ammonia.

A novel approach to construct 2-aryl/heteroaryl quinazolines was developed through an iron-catalyzed cascade reaction of 2-aminobenzyl alcohols with benzylamines under aerobic oxidative conditions. The reaction proceeds via the formation of N-benzylidenebenzylamines followed by oxidative trapping of ammonia/intramolecular cyclization in a one-pot manner. This method exhibits a broad substrate scope and a high tolerance level for sensitive functional groups, and is amenable to gram scale synthesis.

Copper-catalyzed aerobic oxidative coupling of o-phenylenediamines with 2-aryl/heteroarylethylamines: direct access to construct quinoxalines.

A copper-catalyzed oxidative coupling reaction of o-phenylenediamines with 2-aryl/heteroarylethylamines using molecular oxygen as an oxidant has been developed. This approach provides a practical and direct access to construct quinoxalines in excellent yields at room temperature. The reaction has a broad substrate scope and exhibits excellent functional-group tolerance. This method could be easily scaled up and applied to the synthesis of biologically active molecules bearing a quinoxaline structural scaffold.

Anion (fluoride)-doped ceria nanocrystals: synthesis, characterization, and its catalytic application to oxidative coupling of benzylamines.

Fluoride doping in the CeO2 lattice has been achieved by a simple, reliable, reproducible, and safe solution-based method. F-containing CeO2 has retained the fluorite structure, and its effect has been confirmed from various analytical techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform IR, Raman, UV-visible diffuse reflectance, photoluminescence (PL), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy-EDX analysis. The concentration of fluoride in the CeO2 lattice has been determined from chemical analysis and core-level XPS analysis. The concentration of Ce(3+) in the F-doped and undoped CeO2 samples have been determined both from XPS analysis as well as from variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements. The characteristic Ce(3+) emission in the PL spectrum indicated the increase of Ce(3+) ion concentration in the F-doped sample, conforming to the results from XPS and magnetic measurements. F-doped CeO2 nanocrystals showed moderate monodispersity as determined from particle-size measurements using dynamic light scattering experiments and high surface area of 106.1 m(2)/g. Optical band gap of CeO2 has narrowed upon doping with fluoride ions from 3.05 to 2.95 eV. The formation of extrinsic oxygen vacancy complexes upon F-doping has been observed in the Raman spectrum (at 1097 cm(-1)) in addition to fingerprint bands of CeO2. The UV-shielding property and photocatalytic inactivity toward aqueous dye degradation process of F-doped CeO2 has suggested its potential use in cosmetic applications. Both F-doped CeO2 and CeO2 have been used as catalysts for oxidative coupling of benzylamines to imines in the presence of molecular oxygen under solvent-free conditions. F-doped CeO2 exhibited better catalytic efficiency than CeO2. The oxidation procedure using these catalysts is simple, environmentally benign, and solvent-free, and the catalysts are reusable.

Recent developments in samarium diiodide promoted organic reactions.

In the early eighties, we introduced samarium diiodide for the transformation of various functional groups. Since then, this reducing agent has been extensively used for the reductive cleavage of single bonds, C-C bond formations, C-N bond formations, and ß-elimination reactions. In this Personal Account, we highlight our initial results, as well as some of the contributions from various research groups. Because of space limitations, we arbitrarily select some useful results that have recently been described in literature.

Equilibrium of homochiral oligomerization of a mixture of enantiomers. Its relevance to nonlinear effects in asymmetric catalysis.

The origin of nonlinear effects (no proportionality between enantiomeric excess (ee) of chiral auxiliary and ee of product) is first summarized in general terms, underlining the importance of the presence of molecular species bearing several moieties deriving from the chiral auxiliary. The presence of a heterochiral species, produced from enantioimpure chiral auxiliaries, usually explains well the deviation to linearity, especially asymmetric amplification. In this article it is shown that the absence of a heterochiral species is not incompatible with an asymmetric amplification. The demonstration has been done on a simple model, the equilibrium of homochiral dimerization. The monomers R and S being in equilibrium with the dimers R(2) and S(2), it was possible to calculate ee(monomer) and ee(dimer) as a function of the initial concentration and the initial ee of the monomer. The asymmetric amplification can be quite substantial for the dimer, while asymmetric depletion characterizes the residual monomers. Similar conclusions apply to homochiral tri- and tetramerizations. The extension to irreversible reactions was briefly analyzed as well as the use of these results.

Juspurpurin, an unusual secolignan glycoside from Justicia purpurea.

An unusual secolignan glycoside, juspurpurin (1), and a new arylnaphthalene glycoside, justalakonin (2), together with eight known lignans were isolated from the whole plants of Justicia purpurea. Compound 1 is the first glycoside of a rare group of secolignans. The structures of the new compounds 1 and 2 were established using 1D and 2D NMR ((1)H-(1)H COSY, HMQC, and HMBC) spectral data and by chemical transformations.