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A novel, multicomponent approach to 2-(imidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-3-yl)-N,N-dialkylacetamides (very important class of fused heterocyclic derivatives, known to act on central nervous system by enhancing the activity of the GABA) is reported. It is based on the carbonylation reaction of N-Boc-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)pyridin-2-amines carried out in the presence of secondary amines (2–3 equiv) under oxidative conditions, using oxygen (from air) as oxidant (4:1 CO-air, total pressure 20 atm) and PdI2/KI as the catalytic system (0.33–1 mol% of PdI2 and 0.5 equiv of KI) in MeCN as the solvent at 100 °C. The process leads to the target compounds in good to high yields (67–90%) through an ordered sequence of steps, occurring in situ under the reaction conditions: Boc-deprotection of the substrate is followed by PdI2/KI-catalyzed oxidative monoaminocarbonylation of the terminal triple bond (or vice versa) to give a 2-ynamide intermediate, which then undergoes intramolecular aza-Michael reaction and isomerization.

In the article mentioned in the title, the authors have tried to demonstrate that, in the previously reported Pd/iodide-catalyzed oxidative carbonylations of amines to give ureas, the role of iodide ligands was essentially to “etch” the stainless steel autoclaves where the process was performed, releasing in solution small amounts of iron salts. These latter iron species were, in their opinion, the real co-catalysts of the reaction, through the presumed formation of more active Pd/Fe bimetallic species. However, no solid experimental evidence corroborating this hypothesis has been given in the article, while all previous experimental evidences and literature data tend to exclude the involvement of iron co-catalysis in the Pd/iodide-promoted reactions.

A straightforward approach to new polycyclic heterocycles, 1H-benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-c][1,3]oxazin-1-ones, is presented. It is based on the ZnCl2-promoted deprotective 6-endo-dig heterocyclization of N-Boc-2-alkynylbenzimidazoles under mild conditions (CH2Cl2, 40 °C for 3 h). The zinc center plays a dual role, as it promotes Boc deprotection (with formation of the tert-butyl carbocation, which can be trapped by substrates bearing a nucleophilic group) and activates the triple bond toward intramolecular nucleophilic attack by the carbamate group. The structure of representative products has been confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis.

A series of azastilbene derivatives, characterized by the presence of the 1,2,4-oxadiazole-5-one system as a linker of the two aromatic rings of stilbenes, have been prepared as novel potential inhibitors of p38 MAPK. Biological assays indicated that some of the synthesized compounds are endowed with good inhibitory activity towards the kinase. Molecular modeling data support the biological results showing that the designed compounds possess a reasonable binding mode in the ATP binding pocket of p38α kinase with a good binding affinity.

A new process for the utilization of carbon dioxide to give high value added 1,3-oxazine-2,4-diones is presented. It is based on the catalytic carboxylative heterocyclization of readily available 3-ynamides, using 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) as organocatalyst. The reaction, which takes place under relatively mild conditions [80 °C for 15 h in a 3:1 mixture (v/v) of MeCN-HC(OMe)3, under 30 atm of CO2] proceeds through an ordered sequence of steps, involving substrate deprotonation by DBU, nucleophilic attack to CO2, 6-exo-dig cyclization, and isomerization, to give the final products in 44–85 % yields over 16 examples.

Thermotropic ionic liquid crystals are considered very promising functional electrolytes in DSSCs, batteries, fuel cells and capacitors1,2 for their unique combination of anisotropic ion conductivity and high polarizability.3 Moreover, they are interesting in the optoelectronic field as electrooptical functional unit.3-5 Many efforts have been devoted to the design of liquid crystals salts based on the viologen unit as organic cation, due to their interesting electrochromic and electrochemical properties.6 Most of the reported structures contain flexible chains directly linked to the nitrogens of the bipyridine rings.6 Their thermotropic behavior depends on the nature of the anion and of the N-substituents. A suitable choice of the latter makes access to different molecular orbital energy levels allowing different colors of the corresponding radical cation. N-Aryl substituted viologens, are of great interest because they show green colored radical cations due to the delocalization of the radical-cation over an extended p-system.7. Herein, we present a series of new N-aryl substituted liquid-crystalline viologens based on mono(4-alkylphenyl) and bis(4-alkylphenyl) bipyridinium cations with the same counterion but different alkyl chains (n=8, 10,12, 14), reporting their thermal behavior, their mesomorphic properties as a function of the chain length and their electrochromic properties in solution and in the LC phase.7 References: [1] Pan, X.; Wang, M.; Fang, X.Q.; Zhang, C.N.; Huo, Z.P.; Dai, S.Y.; Sci. China: Chem., 2013, 56, 1463–1469. [2] Sasi, R.; Chandrasekhar, B.; Kalaiselvi, N.; Devaki, S.J.; Adv. Sustainable Syst., 2017, 1, 1600031. [3] Axenov, K.V., Laschat, S.; Materials, 2011, 4, 206. [4] Bhowmik, P.K.; Kareem, M.; Al-Karawi, M.K.M.; Killarney S.T.; Dizon, E.J.; Chang, A.; Kim, J.; Chen, S.L.; Principe, R.C.G.; Ho, A.; Han, H.; Mandal, H.D.; Cortez, R.G.; Gutierrez, B.; Mendez, K.; Sharpnack, L.; Agra-Kooijman, D. M.; Fisch, M.R.; Kumar, S.; Molecules 2020, 25(10), 2435. [5] K. Goossen, K. Lava, C. W. Bielewski, K. Binnemans, Chem. Rev., 2016, 116, 4643. [6] Monk, P.M.S., The viologens: physico-chemical properties, synthesis and application of the salt of 4,40-bipyridine, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Wiley – VCH, New York, Weinheim, 1998. [7] Veltri, L.; Cavallo, G.; Beneduci, A.; Metrangolo, P.; Corrente, G.A.; Ursini, M.; Romeo, R.; Terraneo, G.; Gabriele, B.; New J. Chem., 2019, 43, 18285-18293.

The cycloisomerization of readily available 2-alkynylbenzoic acids 1 in ionic liquids (ILs) as recyclable reaction media has been studied under the catalytic action of CuCl2. With substrates bearing an aryl group on the triple bond, a mixture of (Z)-3-alkylideneisobenzofuran-1(3H)-ones (from 5-exo-dig cyclization) and 1H-isochromen-1-ones (from 6-endo-dig cyclization) was observed in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethyl sulfate (EmimEtSO4), while the reaction turned out to be selective toward the formation of the isobenzofuranone only using N-ethyl-N-methylmorpholinium dicyanamide [Mor1,2N(CN)2] as the solvent. The 5-membered product was also obtained selectively when the substrate bearing a terminal triple bond was employed, either in EmimEtSO4 or Mor1,2N(CN)2. On the other hand, 2-alkynylbenzoic acids bearing an alkyl or an alkenyl group on the triple bond selectively led, in EmimEtSO4, to 1H-isochromen-1-ones, while the formation of a regioisomeric mixture was observed in Mor1,2N(CN)2. In any case, the so...

A novel carbonylative approach to the synthesis of functionalized 1H-benzo[d]imidazo[1,2-a]imidazoles is presented. The method consists of the oxidative aminocarbonylation of N-substituted-1-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-amines, carried out in the presence of secondary nucleophilic amines, to give the corresponding alkynylamide intermediates, followed by in situ conjugated addition and double-bond isomerization, to give 2-(1-alkyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazo[1,2-a]imidazol-2-yl)acetamides. Products were obtained in good to excellent yields (64–96%) and high turnover numbers (192–288 mol of product per mol of catalyst) under relatively mild conditions (100 °C under 20 atm of a 4:1 mixture of CO–air), using a simple catalytic system, consisting of PdI2 (0.33 mol %) in conjunction with KI (0.33 equiv).

At present the olive oil industry produces large amounts of secondary products once considered waste or by-products. In this paper, we present, for the first time, a new interesting olive by-product named “dried destoned virgin olive pomace” (DDVOP), produced by the pomace oil industry. The production of DDVOP is possible thanks to the use of a new system that differs from the traditional ones by having the dryer set at a lower temperature value, 350 °C instead of 550 °C, and by avoiding the solvent extraction phase. In order to evaluate if DDVOP may be suitable as a new innovative feeding integrator for animal feed, its chemical characteristics were investigated. Results demonstrated that DDVOP is a good source of raw protein and precious fiber, that it is consistent in total phenols (6156 mg/kg), rich in oleic (72.29%), linoleic (8.37%) acids and tocopherols (8.80 mg/kg). A feeding trial was, therefore, carried out on sheep with the scope of investigating the influence of the diet on the quality of milk obtained from sheep fed with DDVOP-enriched feed. The resulting milk was enriched in polyunsaturated (0.21%) and unsaturated (2.42%) fatty acids, and had increased levels of phenols (10.35 mg/kg) and tocopherols (1.03 mg/kg).

The palladium-catalyzed carbonylation of 2-(propynylthio)benzimidazoles bearing a terminal triple bond leads to 2-methyl-1-thia-4a,9-diazafluoren-4-ones instead of the previously reported 3-methyl isomers, as unequivocally established by XRD analysis of a representative product. A correction is therefore provided here in order to rectify the previous erroneous assignment of the position of the methyl group. Moreover, the process has been generalized to substrates bearing an internal triple bond, which lead to 3-alkyl-2-methyl-1-thia-4a,9-diazafluoren-4-ones, whose structure was confirmed by XRD analysis of two representative derivatives.

A series of 2,3,4-triaryl-substituted 1,2,4-oxadiazole-5-ones have been prepared as fixed-ring analogues of tamoxifen (TAM), a drug inhibitor of Estradiol Receptor (ER) used in breast cancer therapy, by an efficient synthetic protocol based on a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrones to isocyanates. Some of the newly synthesized compounds (14d-f, 14h and 14k) show a significant cytotoxic effect in a human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) possessing IC50 values between 15.63 and 31.82 μM. In addition, compounds 14d-f, 14h and 14k are able to increase the p53 expression levels, activating also the apoptotic pathway. Molecular modeling studies of novel compounds performed on the crystal structure of ER reveal the presence of strong hydrophobic interactions with the aromatic rings of the ligands similar to TAM. These data suggest that 1,2,4-oxadiazole-5-ones can be considered analogues of TAM, and that their anticancer activity might be partially due to ER inhibition.

Novel 1,1′-bis(4-alkylphenyl)-[4,4′-bipyridine]-1,1′-diium salts, with alkyl chains of different lengths (8, 10 and 14 carbon atoms) and with different counteranions (Cl-, NTf2-, OTf-, OTs-, PF6-, BPh4-), have been prepared and fully characterized for their thermotropic behavior by polarized optical microscopy (POM), and calorimetric measurements. Almost all the synthesized compounds showed a high thermal stability, a wide temperature range of liquid-crystalline mesophase and, for some of them, the LC transition temperatures were relatively low. These compounds also exhibited electrochromic properties, which have been studied both in solution and in the LC phase, making the new materials very interesting for different opto-electronic applications.

The first example of an additive cyclocarbonylation process leading to 1-thia-4a,9-diazafluoren-4-ones is reported. This process is based on the reaction of readily available 2-(propynylthio)benzimidazoles with carbon monoxide carried out in EtOH at 100 °C under a 5/2 mixture of CO-CO2 at 70 atm in the presence of the PdI2/KI catalytic system. Experimental evidence suggests a mechanistic pathway involving N-palladation of the substrate followed by CO insertion, triple bond insertion, protonolysis, and isomerization.

The reactivity of 2-(prop-2-ynylthio)-1 H-benzo[d]imidazoles and their corresponding hydrobromide salts under PdI2/KI-catalyzed oxidative aminocarbonylation conditions has been studied. It is found that 2-prop-2-ynylsulfanyl-3 H-benzimidazolium salts, when allowed to react with amines, carbon monoxide, and oxygen, under the catalytic action of PdI2 (1 mol %) in conjunction with KI (1 equiv), under suitable conditions (80 °C and 20 atm of a 4:1 mixture of CO/air, in MeCN, and in the presence of a six-fold excess of amine, for 15 h), could be selectively converted into 2-benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl-N,N-dialkylacetamides in 60–78 % yields, through an oxidative aminocarbonylation/heterocyclization process. The structure of a representative product, 2-benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl-1-pyrrolidin-1-ylethanone, was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis.

A new and convenient approach to functionalized benzimidazopyrimidinones is reported. It is based on a two-step procedure starting from readily available 1-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-amines, consisting of a multicomponent palladium-catalyzed oxidative cyclocarbonylation–alkoxycarbonylation process, followed by base-promoted isomerization of the initially formed mixture of isomeric carbonylated products. Fair to good overall yields of the final alkyl 2-(2-oxo-1,2-dihydrobenzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidin-3-yl)acetates are obtained, using different alcohols as solvent and nucleophile in the carbonylation step (carried out in the presence of 0.33–1 mol% PdI2 in conjunction with 17–50 mol% KI, at 100 °C and under 20 atm of a 4:1 mixture of CO–air) and the corresponding sodium alkoxide as base in the subsequent isomerization step (carried out in the alcoholic solvent at room temperature). The structures of a representative substrate [N-benzyl-1-(prop-2-yn-1-yl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-amine] and a representative product [methyl 2-(1-isopentyl-2-oxo-1,2-dihydrobenzo-[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidin-3-yl)acetate] were confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis.

Pyrimidine-1,3-oxazolidin-2-arylimino hybrids have been synthesized as a new class of antibacterial agents. The synthetic approach exploits a Cu(II)-catalyzed intramolecular halkoxyhalogenation of alkynyl ureas, followed by a Suzuki coupling reaction with 2,4-dimethoxypyrimidin-5-boronic acid. Biological screenings revealed that most of the compounds showed moderate to good activity against two Gram-positive (B. subtilis, S. aureus) and three Gram-negative (P. aeruginosa, S. typhi, K. pneumonia) pathogenic strains. A molecular docking study, performed in the crystal structure of 50S ribosomal unit of Haloarcula marismortui, indicated that pyrimidine-oxazolidin-2-arylimino hybrids 8c and 8h exhibited a high binding affinity (&minus, 9.65 and &minus, 10.74 kcal/mol), which was in agreement with their good antibacterial activity. The obtained results suggest that the combination of pyrimidine and oxazolidone moieties can be considered as a valid basis to develop new further modifications towards more efficacious antibacterial compounds.

An innovative hydrophilic and anti-fouling coating material for application in membrane technology for wastewater treatment has been developed by polymerization of a polymerizable bicontinuous microemulsion (PBM) and used for surface modification of a commercial flat polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. The novel nanostructured coating has been produced using acryloyloxyundecyltriethylammonium bromide (AUTEAB) as a co-polymerizable surfactant, obtained through a synthetic method characterized by a lower cost and a higher reproducibility compared to other known polymerizable surfactants. The novel composite membranes have been characterized and compared with the uncoated PES membranes. Coated membranes resulted in a smoother surface and a higher hydrophilicity with respect to the uncoated ones, and showed a particular nano-size channel-like morphology making them highly resistant to the fouling phenomenon. The covalent anchorage of the surfactant on the membrane surface ensured the embedment of the molecule in the polymeric matrix avoiding its leaching and also leading the coated membranes to have significant antimicrobial activity, which is very important for reducing the biofouling phenomenon.All these aspects make the tailored coating material an ideal and efficient coating for modifications of commercial membrane surfaces, to be used in membrane processes in wastewater treatment., European Union within the BioNexGen project EU-F17/project (CP-FP-246039-2)

The first example of an additive cyclocarbonylation process leading to 1-thia-4a,9-diazafluoren-4-ones is reported. This process is based on the reaction of readily available 2-(propynylthio)benzimidazoles with carbon monoxide carried out in EtOH at 100 °C under a 5/2 mixture of CO–CO2 at 70 atm in the presence of the PdI2/KI catalytic system. Experimental evidence suggests a mechanistic pathway involving N-palladation of the substrate followed by CO insertion, triple bond insertion, protonolysis, and isomerization.

In this account, we review our efforts in the field of carbonylation reactions promoted by palladium iodide-based catalysts, which have proven to be particularly efficient in diverse kinds of carbonylation processes (oxidative carbonylations as well as additive and substitutive carbonylations). Particularly in the case of oxidative carbonylations, more emphasis has been given to the most recent results and applications.

The pyrimidine nucleus is a versatile core in the development of antiretroviral agents. On this basis, a series of pyrimidine-2,4-diones linked to an isoxazolidine nucleus have been synthesized and tested as nucleoside analogs, endowed with potential anti-HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) activity. Compounds 6a&ndash, c, characterized by the presence of an ethereal group at C-3, show HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitor activity in the nanomolar range as well as HIV-infection inhibitor activity in the low micromolar with no toxicity. In the same context, compound 7b shows only a negligible inhibition of RT HIV.

SBA-15 type mesoporous silica has been modified to produce a covalent bond with β-cyclodextrin by two different synthetic approaches to obtain an hybrid system able to work as a drug delivery system for progesterone. In the first approach, SBA-15 silica was first let to react with 3-glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane to produce an epoxide ring functional group on mesoporous silica. The latter was then reacted under basic conditions with mono-6-deoxy-6-mercapto-β-cyclodextrin (β-CDCH2SH), prepared in its turn in two steps from β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) through monotosylation to give β-CDCH2OTs followed by thiolation with thiourea. In the second approach, a silica suitably functionalized with a terminal thiol group (obtained by the reaction of SBA-15 silica with 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane) was reacted with β-CDCH2OTs. The obtained materials were characterized by X-Ray powder diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, 13C Cross Polarization Magic Angle Spin Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (13C CP/MAS NMR). Progesterone was loaded on the materials producing complete filling of mesopores and cyclodextrin cavities. Its release was studied at different pH values. Only one of the two progesterone-loaded delivery device is able to retain the drug in the system during the first period at acid pH (2 h) and release it after pH increase.

A new extended viologen, 4,4′-(2,2′-bithiophene-5,5′-diyl)bis(1-decylpyridinium) triflimide (DTEV2+), has been synthesized and characterized at theoretical and experimental level. Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical characterization show that this compound undergoes a two-electron reduction mechanism. Density functional computations give insights on the conformational properties of the different reduction species and allow the assignment of the absorption spectra. The agreement between calculated and experimental spectra is quite satisfactory.

The reactivity of 2-(prop-2-ynylthio)-1 H-benzo[d]imidazoles and their corresponding hydrobromide salts under PdI2/KI-catalyzed oxidative aminocarbonylation conditions has been studied. It is found that 2-prop-2-ynylsulfanyl-3 H-benzimidazolium salts, when allowed to react with amines, carbon monoxide, and oxygen, under the catalytic action of PdI2 (1 mol %) in conjunction with KI (1 equiv), under suitable conditions (80 °C and 20 atm of a 4:1 mixture of CO/air, in MeCN, and in the presence of a six-fold excess of amine, for 15 h), could be selectively converted into 2-benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl-N,N-dialkylacetamides in 60–78 % yields, through an oxidative aminocarbonylation/heterocyclization process. The structure of a representative product, 2-benzo[4,5]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazol-3-yl-1-pyrrolidin-1-ylethanone, was confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis.

Review: [some of the most important and innovative approaches to indanes and indenes published in the course of the last ten years; 145 refs.

π-Conjugated ionic liquid crystals are a very interesting class of salts where the coupling of ionic and electronic functions with the anisotropy typical of liquid crystals may give rise to materials with advanced bulk properties. Defect-free active thin films obtainable by simple mesophase self-assembly of these materials may be exploited in a number of different electro-optical devices. Here we show that the rich mesomorphism of the thienoviologen salts 4,4′-(2,2′-bithiophene-5,5′-diyl)bis(1-alkylpyridinium), which includes smectic, columnar, and nematic phases, significantly depends on the counterion type and the length of the promesogenic alkyl chains, highlighting the delicate balance among ion/ion, π–π stacking, and hydrophobic interactions. These salts show notable fluorescence properties in the bulk, strongly dependent on the self-assembling.

A variety of 3-yne-1,2-diol derivatives 1, bearing a primary or secondary alcoholic group at C-1, have been efficiently converted into high value added furan-3-carboxylic esters 2 in one step by PdI(2)/KI-catalyzed direct oxidative carbonylation, carried out in alcoholic media under relatively mild conditions (100 °C under 40 atm of a 4/1 mixture of CO and air). Carbonylated furans 2 were obtained in fair to excellent isolated yields (56-93%) through a sequential 5-endo-dig heterocyclization-alkoxycarbonylation-dehydration process, using only oxygen as the external oxidant. Under similar conditions, 2-methyl-3-yne-1,2-diols 3, bearing a tertiary alcoholic group, afforded 4-methylene-4,5-dihydrofuran-3-carboxylates 4 in satisfactory yields (58-70%).

A novel and convenient approach to functionalized pyrroles is presented, based on Pd-catalyzed oxidative heterocyclization-alkoxycarbonylation of readily available N-Boc-1-amino-3-yn-2-ols. Reactions were carried out in alcoholic solvents at 80-100 °C and under 20 atm (at 25 °C) of a 4:1 mixture of CO-air, in the presence of the PdI(2)-KI catalytic system (2-5 mol % of PdI(2), KI/PdI(2) molar ratio = 10). In the case of N-Boc-1-amino-3-yn-2-ols 3, bearing alkyl or aryl substituents, the carbonylation reaction led to a mixture of Boc-protected and N-unsubstituted pyrrole-3-carboxylic esters 4 and 5, respectively. This mixture could be conveniently and quantitatively converted into deprotected pyrrole-3-carboxylic esters 5 by a simple basic treatment. In the case of diastereomeric (3RS,4RS)- and (3RS,4SR)-N-Boc-3-amino-2-methyldec-5-yn-4-ol (syn-3f and anti-3f, respectively, whose relative configuration was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis), no particular difference was observed in the reactivity of the two diastereomers between them and with respect to the diastereomeric mixture (3S,4S) + (3S,4R). Interestingly, N-Boc-2-alkynyl-1-amino-3-yn-2-ols 6, bearing an additional alkynyl substituent α to the hydroxyl group, spontaneously underwent N-deprotection under the reaction conditions and regioselective water addition to the alkynyl group at C-3 of the corresponding pyrrole-3-carboxylic ester derivative, thus directly affording highly functionalized pyrrole derivatives 7 in one step. In a similar manner, a novel functionalized dihydropyrrolizine derivative 9 was directly synthesized starting from (S)-7-(pyrrolidin-2-yl)trideca-5,8-diyn-7-ol 8.

A general synthesis of indole-3-carboxylic esters by direct Pd-catalyzed oxidative carbonylation of readily available 2-alkynylaniline derivatives is reported. In particular, 2-alkynylanilines bearing an internal triple bond and a secondary amino group (1) were directly converted into indole-3-carboxylic esters 2 in fair to good yields (50–84 %) when let to react with CO, O2, and an alcohol in the presence of the PdI2/KI catalytic system, under relatively mild conditions [100 °C and 20 atm (at 25 °C) of a 4:1 mixture CO/air]. On the other hand, under similar conditions, but in the presence of HC(OMe)3, 2-alkynylanilines bearing an internal triple bond and a primary amino group (7) afforded 1-(dimethoxymethyl)indole-3-carboxylic esters 9 through the intermediate formation of N-(dimethoxymethyl)-2-alkynylaniline derivatives II. Compounds 9 could be conveniently converted into N-unsubstituted indole-3-carboxylic esters 10 by a simple acidic treatment carried out in MeOH/H2O at 80 °C.

We present a general, practical, and efficient approach to 5- and 6-membered organic carbonates by palladium-catalyzed direct oxidative carbonylation of 1,2- and 1,3-diols, respectively. Reactions were carried out at 100 °C in N,N-dimethylacetamide as the solvent under 20 atm (at 25 °C; 1 atm=101.3 kPa) of a 4:1 v/v CO/air mixture in the presence of 0.5-2 mol % of PdI(2) and KI (KI/PdI(2) molar ratio=10). Excess dehydrating agent, such as trimethyl orthoacetate, was necessary in several cases to obtain appreciable results. The method could also be applied to the synthesis of a high-value-added glycerol carbonate from glycerol, a readily available raw material. When applied to α-D-glucose, a double carbonylation process took place, with direct formation of α-D-glucofuranose 1,2:5,6-dicarbonate.

The reactions of propargyl alcohols with carbon dioxide in supercritical carbon dioxide or in acetonitrile with gaseous carbon dioxide in the presence of organic bases as catalysts have been examined. Bicyclic guanidines are effective catalysts for the formation of α-methylene cyclic carbonates under mild reaction conditions. Oxoalkyl carbonates, oxoalkyl carbamates or α-methyleneoxazolidinones are obtained in high yields and good selectivities in one-step starting from propargyl alcohols and an external nucleophile (alcohols or amines) using bicyclic guanidines as catalysts in supercritical carbon dioxide. Propargylic diols under the same reaction conditions underwent a rearrangement process instead of carbon dioxide insertion whereas in the presence of an external nucleophile the formation of oxocarbonates, oxocarbamates or cyclic carbamates was achieved in satisfactory yields.

A novel multicomponent cascade process is reported, based on the sequential combination between an initial nucleophilic attack step to an imine moiety and a palladium-catalyzed oxidative hetero-cyclization-alkoxycarbonylation process. By this new process, five simple molecules [2-alkynylaniline imines, alcohol (ROH), carbon monoxide (CO), alcohol (ROH), and oxygen (O 2 )] are sequentially activated, selectively leading to high value-added functionalized indole derivatives in a single operation.