Scientists in Japan have used a by-product of Teflon manufacture to generate carbonyl compounds with trifluoromethyl groups. Organic molecules bearing a trifluoromethyl group have received much attention because of their unique physical and chemical properties, which are important in the fields of medicinal, agrichemical and materials sciences, say the researchers.
Efficient ways of introducing CF3 groups into target molecules are being sought. The nucleophilic trifluoromethylation of carbonyl compounds using a Ruppert–Prakash reagent – (trifluoromethyl)trimethylsilane – is a well-explored strategy. But, (trifluoromethyl)trimethylsilane is expensive to prepare and is prepared from ozone-depleting bromotrifluoromethane. Fluoroform – a by-product of Teflon manufacture – has emerged as a potential environmentally benign alternative to (trifluoromethyl) trimethylsilane. It is also non-toxic, cheap and available in large quantities.
Industrial compound gets eco-friendly reaction
Nagoya University scientists have developed a chemical reaction that produces high yields of a compound used in a wide variety of industries, without needing high temperatures or toxic catalysts. The approach was described in the journal ACS Catalysis and offers a practical and sustainable ... more
Catalyzing a zero-carbon world by harvesting energy from living cells
The imminent environmental crisis calls for an urgent transition to a green economy. A team of scientists at Nagoya University, Japan, led by Professor Susumu Saito, has recently found an interesting way to make this happen -- by leveraging an important metabolic pathway in living cells. Th ... more
A new synthesis method for three-dimensional nanocarbons
A team of scientists led by Kenichiro Itami, Professor and Director of the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (WPI-ITbM), has developed a new method for the synthesis of three-dimensional nanocarbons with the potential to advance materials science. Three-dimensional nanocarbons, next ... more
High-performance epoxy resin adhesives from renewable green starting materials
A series of epoxy resins has been synthesised by a team of chemists from Germany, who used renewable starting materials for a more environmentally friendly approach than conventional methods. The resulting epoxy resins have highly desirable mechanical properties, such as high stiffness, tha ... more
Electrospun polymer fibres better than non-woven polymer fibres at mopping up oil from oil spills
Electrospun polystyrene shell/polyurethane core fibres made by scientists in China have absorption capacities 2-3 times higher than reported for non-woven polypropylene fibres (widely used to clean up oil spills). Electrospun fibres are an ideal candidate for soaking up oil, as their struct ... more
Cheap, simple and efficient molybdenum carbide electrocatalysts for hydrogen production
US scientists have made an efficient catalytic system to split water that uses molybdenum carbide nanoparticles on a carbon nanotube support. Molybdenum and carbon are both low cost and abundant elements. Water splitting using sustainable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, has be ... more
Chemical sensing with 2D materials
During the last decade, two-dimensional materials (2DMs) have attracted great attention due to their unique chemical and physical properties, which make them appealing platforms for diverse applications in opto-electronic devices, energy generation and storage, and sensing. Among their vari ... more
Atomic hydrogen interactions with gas-phase coronene cations: hydrogenation versus fragmentation
Sequential hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) cations drives a gradual transition from a planar to a puckered geometry and from an aromatic to an aliphatic electronic structure. The resulting H-induced weakening of the molecular structure together with the exothermic nat ... more
An intramolecular annulation strategy has been developed for the synthesis of tetrahydrobenzo[e]pyrano[4,3-c][1,2]thiazine derivatives by means of coupling of aldehydes with 2-(4-hydroxybut-1-yn-1-yl)-N-arylsulfonamides using a catalytic amount of silver hexafluoroantimonate in toluene at 8 ... more
