Direct Catalytic Route to Biomass-Derived 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid and Its Use as Monomer in a Multicomponent Polymerization.

Efficient synthesis of valuable platform chemicals from renewable feedstock is a challenging, yet essential strategy for developing technologies that are both economical and sustainable. In the present study, we investigated the synthesis of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) in a two-step catalytic process starting from sucrose as largely available biomass feedstock. In the first step, 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural (HMF) was synthesized by hydrolysis and dehydration of sucrose using sulfuric acid in a continuous reactor in 34% yield. In a second step, the resulting reaction solution was directly oxidized to FDCA without further purification over a Au/ZrO2 catalyst with 84% yield (87% selectivity, batch process), corresponding to 29% overall yield with respect to sucrose. This two-step process could afford the production of pure FDCA after the respective extraction/crystallization despite the impure intermediate HMF solution. To demonstrate the direct application of the biomass-derived FDCA as monomer, the isolated product was used for Ugi-multicomponent polymerizations, establishing a new application possibility for FDCA. In the future, this efficient two-step process strategy toward FDCA should be extended to further renewable feedstock.

Future Challenges in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Understanding Catalysts under Dynamic Reaction Conditions.

In the future, (electro-)chemical catalysts will have to be more tolerant towards a varying supply of energy and raw materials. This is mainly due to the fluctuating nature of renewable energies. For example, power-to-chemical processes require a shift from steady-state operation towards operation under dynamic reaction conditions. This brings along a number of demands for the design of both catalysts and reactors, because it is well-known that the structure of catalysts is very dynamic. However, in-depth studies of catalysts and catalytic reactors under such transient conditions have only started recently. This requires studies and advances in the fields of 1) operando spectroscopy including time-resolved methods, 2) theory with predictive quality, 3) kinetic modelling, 4) design of catalysts by appropriate preparation concepts, and 5) novel/modular reactor designs. An intensive exchange between these scientific disciplines will enable a substantial gain of fundamental knowledge which is urgently required. This concept article highlights recent developments, challenges, and future directions for understanding catalysts under dynamic reaction conditions.

Solution Chemistry of N,N'-Disubstituted Amidines: Identification of Isomers and Evidence for Linear Dimer Formation.

Amidines have found widespread use, but their solution chemistry remains poorly understood. In this work, X-ray crystallographic and detailed 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic studies have been performed to elucidate the preferred isomers and their interconversion mechanisms. Amidines are shown to exist as a mixture of E-syn and Z-anti isomers in solution and to form dimeric H-bonded aggregates that are also observed in the solid state. Rapid proton exchange/tautomerization reactions occur within the dimers, allowing fast interconversion of E-syn and Z-anti isomers even at very low temperatures. Three different exchange processes were identified in solution, and on this basis the unusual concentration and temperature dependence of the NMR spectra of these amidines could be explained. This work thus resolves some of the puzzles of the complex solution chemistry of this prominent class of compounds.

Functional model for the [Fe] hydrogenase inspired by the frustrated Lewis pair concept.

[Fe] hydrogenase (Hmd) catalyzes the heterolytic splitting of H2 by using, in its active site, a unique organometallic iron-guanylylpyridinol (FeGP) cofactor and, as a hydride acceptor, the substrate methenyltetrahydromethanopterin (methenyl-H4MPT(+)). The combination FeGP/methenyl-H4MPT(+) and its reactivity bear resemblance to the concept of frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs), some of which have been shown to heterolytically activate H2. The present work exploits this interpretation of Hmd reactivity by using the combination of Lewis basic ruthenium metalates, namely K[CpRu(CO)2] (KRp) and a related polymeric Cp/Ru/CO compound (Rs), with the new imidazolinium salt 1,3-bis(2,6-difluorophenyl)-2-(4-tolyl)imidazolinium bromide ([(Tol)Im(F4)](+)Br(-)) that was designed to emulate the hydride acceptor properties of methenyl-H4MPT(+). Solid-state structures of [(Tol)Im(F4)](+)Br(-) and the corresponding imidazolidine H(Tol)Im(F4) reveal that the heterocycle undergoes similar structural changes as in the biological substrate. DFT calculations indicate that heterolytic splitting of dihydrogen by the FLP Rp(-)/[(Tol)Im(F4)](+) is exothermic, but the formation of the initial Lewis pair should be unfavorable in polar solvents. Consequently the combination Rp(-)/[(Tol)Im(F4)](+) does not react with H2 but leads instead to side products from nucleophilic substitution (k = 4 × 10(-2) L mol (-1) s(-1) at room temperature). In contrast, the heterogeneous combination Rs/[(Tol)Im(F4)](+) does split H2 heterolytically to give H(Tol)Im(F4) and HRuCp(CO)2 (HRp) or D(Tol)Im(F4) and DRp when using D2. The reaction has been followed by (1)H/(2)H and (19)F NMR spectroscopy as well as by IR spectroscopy and reaches 96% conversion after 1 d. Formation of H(Tol)Im(F4) under these conditions demonstrates that superelectrophilic activation by protonation, which has been proposed for methenyl-H4MPT(+) to increase its carbocationic character, is not necessarily required for an imidazolinium ion to serve as a hydride acceptor. This unprecedented functional model for the [Fe] hydrogenase, using a Lewis acidic imidazolinium salt as a biomimetic hydride acceptor in combination with an organometallic Lewis base, may provide new inspiration for biomimetic H2 activation.