1. Green Hydrothermal Synthesis of Fluorescent 2,3-Diarylquinoxalines and Large-Scale Computational Comparison to Existing Alternatives
- Author
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Stefan Kubicek, Miriam M. Unterlass, Anna Koren, Jörg Menche, Fabián Amaya-García, and Michael Caldera
- Subjects
Computer science ,General Chemical Engineering ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,01 natural sciences ,Environmental Chemistry ,Hydrothermal synthesis ,General Materials Science ,Computational analysis ,Process engineering ,Full Paper ,business.industry ,green chemistry ,Scale (chemistry) ,Full Papers ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Full paper ,0104 chemical sciences ,hydrothermal synthesis ,General Energy ,computational analysis ,ddc:540 ,quinoxalines ,fluorescence ,0210 nano-technology ,business - Abstract
Here, the hydrothermal synthesis (HTS) of 2,3‐diarylquinoxalines from 1,2‐diketones and o‐phenylendiamines (o‐PDAs) was achieved. The synthesis is simple, fast, and generates high yields, without requiring any organic solvents, strong acids or toxic catalysts. Reaction times down to 90 % in all cases). Moreover, it was shown that HTS has high compatibility: (i) hydrochlorides, a standard commercial form of amines, could be used directly as combined amine source and acidic catalyst, and (ii) Boc‐diprotected o‐PDA could be directly employed as substrate that underwent HT deprotection. A systematic large‐scale computational comparison of all reported syntheses of the presented quinoxalines from the same starting compounds showed that this method is more environmentally friendly and less toxic than all existing methods and revealed generic synthetic routes for improving reaction yields. Finally, the application of the synthesized compounds as fluorescent dyes for cell staining was explored., In hot water: 2,3‐Diarylquinoxalines and biquinoxalines are synthesized in a rapid, efficient and green fashion in nothing but high‐temperature water. Through a large‐scale computational analysis, the herein reported reaction conditions are compared with all reported syntheses of the presented compounds.
- Published
- 2021