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Both polyoxometalates (POMs) and organic small molecular catalysts show excellent performance in chemical synthesis. The incorporation of nanoscale POMs and organocatalysts allows the full expression of their respective merits and enables elusive reactions to be achieved in one catalytic system. However, the covalent combination of such two components has been rarely explored. Here, we have successfully designed and synthesized a bifunctional nanomolecular catalyst L -Pro-Mn-Anderson by grafting L -proline onto an Mn-Anderson POM for the first time, and catalytic experiments show that L -Pro-Mn-Anderson can realize the one-pot alcohol oxidation/three-component reaction to synthesize two types of heterocyclic compounds (5-aryl-pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline-dione derivatives and pyrazolo[3,4-b] pyridine derivatives) in high yields up to 97%. The detailed characterization of the catalyst and the catalytic mechanism has shown that L -Pro-Mn-Anderson exhibits synergistic effects that combine both organic and inorganic catalytic functions, and the covalent linkage improves the overall redox activity of the molecular catalyst. This study opens up a new way for the design and application of covalently combined organic–inorganic molecular catalysts toward de novo organic synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The direct catalytic oxidation of alcohols to carboxylic acids is very appealing, however, economic and environmentally friendly catalytic systems should be further explored from the aspect of less waste production and a convenient procedure. Herein, we display a structurally defined inorganic ligand-supported iron compound, (TBA)3[FeMo6O18(OH)6] (simplified as FeMo6), which could be used as a heterogeneous molecular catalyst in water for this conversion, with oxygen as the terminal oxidant and KCl as an additive. The oxidation of various alcohols (aromatic and aliphatic) could be achieved in almost all cases under mild conditions and provided the corresponding carboxylic acids in high yields, including some active molecular entities and natural molecules with carboxyl structures. Detailed studies showed that chloride ions could combine with the molecular catalyst FeMo6 to form a supramolecular aggregate FeMo6·Cl, which could effectively catalyze the reaction, relying on the synergistic effect of chloride ions and FeMo6. Control experiments, 1H NMR studies and density functional theory (DFT) calculations showed that the oxidation reaction might involve a free radical pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly efficient method to oxidize methylarenes to their corresponding acids with a reusable Cr catalyst was developed. The reaction can be carried out in water with 1 atm oxygen and K2S2O8 as cooxidants, proceeds under green and mild conditions, and is suitable for the oxidation of both electron-deficient and electron-rich methylarenes, including heteroaryl methylarenes, even at the gram level. The excellent result, together with its simplicity of operation and the ability to continuously reuse the catalyst, makes this new methodology environmentally benign and cost-effective. The generality of this methodology gives it the potential for use on an industrial scale. Differing from the accepted oxidation mechanism of toluene, GC-MS studies and DFT calculations have revealed that the key benzyl alcohol intermediate is formed under the synergetic effect of the chromium and molybdenum in the Cr catalyst, which can be further oxidized to afford benzaldehyde and finally benzoic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct catalytic oxidation of alcohols to carboxylic acids is very attractive, but economical catalysis systems have not yet been well established. Here, we show that a pure inorganic ligand-supported chromium compound, (NH4)3[CrMo6O18(OH)6] (simplified as CrMo6), could be used to effectively promote this type of reaction in the presence of CO2. In almost all cases, oxidation of various alcohols (aromatic and aliphatic) could be achieved under mild conditions, and the corresponding carboxylic acids can be achieved in high yield. The chromium catalyst 1 can be reused several times with little loss of activity. Mechanism study and control reactions demonstrate that the acidification proceeds via the key oxidative immediate of aldehydes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxidation of alcohols to aldehydes or ketones is a highly relevant conversion for the pharmaceutical and fine-chemical industries, and for biomass conversion, and is commonly performed using stoichiometric amounts of highly hazardous oxidants. The aerobic oxidation of alcohols with transition metal complex catalysts previously required complicated organic ligands and/or nitroxyl radicals as co-catalysts. Herein, we report an efficient and eco-friendly method to promote the aerobic oxidation of alcohols using an inorganic-ligand supported copper catalyst 1, (NH4)4[CuMo6O18(OH)6], with O2 (1 atm) as the sole oxidant. Catalyst 1 is synthesized directly from cheap and commonly available (NH4)6Mo7O24·4H2O and CuSO4, which consists of a pure inorganic framework built from a central CuII core supported by six MoVIO6 inorganic scaffolds. The copper catalyst 1 exhibits excellent selectivity and activity towards a wide range of substrates in the catalytic oxidation of alcohols, and can avoid the use of toxic oxidants, nitroxyl radicals, and potentially air/moisture sensitive and complicated organic ligands that are not commercially available. Owing to its robust inorganic framework, catalyst 1 shows good stability and reusability, and the catalytic oxidation of alcohols with catalyst 1 could be readily scaled up to gram scale with little loss of catalytic activity, demonstrating great potential of the inorganic-ligand supported Cu catalysts in catalytic chemical transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we divulge an efficient protocol for aerobic oxidation of alcohols with an inorganic-ligand supported iodine catalyst, (NH4)5[IMo6O24]. The catalyst system is compatible with a wide range of groups and exhibits high selectivity, and shows excellent stability and reusability, thus serving as a potentially greener alternative to the classical transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]