1,2-Diacetates by epoxide ring opening promoted by erbium(III) triflate

Epoxide-opening cascades promoted by water.

Selectivity rules in organic chemistry have been inferred largely from nonaqueous environments. In contrast, enzymes operate in water, and the chemical effect of the medium change remains only partially understood. Structural characterization of the "ladder" polyether marine natural products raised a puzzle that persisted for 20 years: Although the stereochemistry of adjacent tetrahydropyran (T...

reactivity and selectivity in epoxide - opening reactions promoted by water

Catalysts for CO2/epoxide ring-opening copolymerization

This article summarizes and reviews recent progress in the development of catalysts for the ring-opening copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxides. The copolymerization is an interesting method to add value to carbon dioxide, including from waste sources, and to reduce pollution associated with commodity polymer manufacture. The selection of the catalyst is of critical importance to contr...

Alcohol-promoted ring-opening alkyne metathesis polymerization.

Alcohol is the answer! An inactive, air-stable, dimeric molybdenum alkylidyne complex is activated toward ring-opening alkyne metathesis polymerization (ROAMP) by the addition of methanol. The ROAMP is compatible with water and phenol-containing substrates and with the in situ photochemical generation of alkyne monomers from cyclopropenones.

Photoswitchable NHC-promoted ring-opening polymerizations.

The UV-induced photocyclization of a dithienylethene-annulated N-heterocyclic carbene precatalyst enabled photoswitchable ring-opening polymerizations of ε-caprolactone and δ-valerolactone. The polymerizations proceeded efficiently in ambient light, however UV irradiation attenuated the reaction rate (k(amb)/k(UV) = 59). Subsequent visible light exposure reversed the photocyclization and restor...