Iris Martín-García

Reusable CuNPs/TiO ₂ -P25 enables near-quantitative, selective photocatalytic aerobic dehydrogenation of tetrahydroisoquinoline and related amines to imines, limiting over-oxidation, outperforming bare TiO ₂ and delivering favourable green metrics.

Lately, the cross‐dehydrogenative coupling of tetrahydroisoquinolines and nitroalkanes has become a widely studied reaction in organic chemistry; the corresponding β‐nitroamines are generally formed irrespective of the catalysis and activation mode utilized. A quite distinct behavior was observed when the reaction was catalyzed by copper nanoparticles supported on titania, leading to the formation of 5,6‐dihydroindolo[2,1‐a]isoquinolines with high selectivity and good yields. A meticulous reaction mechanism is proposed, based on experimentation, and discussed along with a key chemical modification of these compounds. Apparently, the catalyst effectiveness resides in its nanostructured character, outperforming the activity of the commercial copper catalysts.

Copper nanoparticles on different supports are effective reusable catalysts for the palladium- and ligand-free coupling of aryl halides with alkynes, thiols and azoles.

Palladium nanoparticles on DNA have been shown to be an effective and reusable heterogeneous catalyst for the copper- and ligand-free Sonogashira coupling reaction of aryl iodides under mild conditions in air.

The hydrophosphination of carbon–carbon multiple bonds has been generally performed under acid, base or metal catalysis in different solvents. Herein, alkyl and alkenyl tertiary phosphines are obtained by the addition of diphenylphosphine to alkenes and alkynes, respectively, in the absence of a solvent and a catalyst. In the presence of elemental sulfur, the corresponding alkyl and alkenyl tertiary phosphine sulfides are synthesized in a three-component process. These simple methods, which meet most of the principles of Green Chemistry, are highly regioselective towards the anti-Markovnikov products and diastereoselective towards the Z alkenyl phosphines. The mechanistic aspects of the reactions are also tackled and the efficiency of the latter is compared with that of the catalytic methods.

Oxidized copper nanoparticles on sodium Y zeolite are used as a novel heterogeneous catalyst for the cross‐dehydrogenative coupling of tertiary amines and terminal alkynes.