One area of green chemistry that has been underexplored is the use of catalytic systems combined with green solvents. Of particular interest are the N-Heterocyclic Carbenes (NHC's) a versatile class of organocatalysts capable of a variety of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. However, little research has been done exploring the use of NHCs in unconventional solvent systems. The solvents of choice for the typical model reaction in a cross-benzoin condensation with an electrophilic carbonyl compound include dichloromethane, tetrahydrofuran or alcohols. The investigation of these reactions in newer green solvents has received no attention. In our presentation we will described our work on the reaction and stereoselectivity of the NHC crossed-benzoin reactions in green solvents.

Crossed-benzoin condensations utilizing N-heterocyclic carbenes in green solvents

251st National Meeting (2016)

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