A paper published by Prof. Miquel A. Pericàs group in Tetrahedron has been highlighted in Synfacts, Vol 10, Issue 11 (1229). Synfacts selects the most significant results on synthetic organic chemistry that appear in the literature considered as the future trends in synthetic chemistry.

The paper deals with the use of hybrid magnetic materials (prepared from κ-carrageenan and Fe3O4 nanoparticles) as catalysts for the Michael addition of aldehydes to nitroalkenes. Remarkably, the material prepared from unmodified κ-carrageenan showed catalytic activity in the reaction of choice, while the individual components were inactive. This points out to a synergistic effect between the MNPs and κ-carrageenan. The second catalyst, bearing a diphenylprolinol silyl ether moiety, was also shown to promote the reaction, giving rise to the corresponding adducts in excellent ees. After the reaction is complete, the catalysts can be conveniently retrieved by simple magnetic decantation.

 

Hybrid magnetic materials (Fe3O4-κ-carrageenan) as catalysts for the Michael addition of aldehydes to nitroalkenes
C. A. Mak, S. Ranjbar, P. Riente, C. Rodríguez-Escrich, M. A. Pericàs
Tetrahedron 2014, 70, 6169-6173