A palladium-catalyzed domino Mizoroki–Heck/intermolecular unactivated C(sp³)–H alkylation reaction has been developed. This simple palladium nanoparticle catalytic system shows good activity and affords the dimeric dihydrobenzofuran derivatives in moderate to good yields. Furthermore, this reaction provides a new method for the elaboration of domino reactions involving a C(sp³)–C(sp³) bond-forming process.

A new ruthenium catalyst supported on glucose-derived carbon spheres was prepared by using the impregnation method and then characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, SEM, FTIR, and solid-state ¹³C MAS NMR techniques. With water as the environmentally friendly solvent, the conversion of quinoline and the selectivity toward decahydroquinoline could reach 98.2 and 95.2 %, respectively, under mild conditions (reaction temperature=393 K and H₂ pressure=2.0 MPa). The catalyst could be recycled thrice without decrease in activity and selectivity. The excellent catalytic performance of this catalyst may be attributed to the hydrogen bond between the hydroxyl group of the support surface and the nitrogen atom in quinoline as well as to the π–π interaction between the organic support and quinoline.

The polymer–inorganic hybrid core–shell nanospheres with N-(para-toluenesulfonyl)-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine in the core and the poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) polymer in the shell were prepared by using a sol–gel process. The surface properties of solid catalysts were modified by controlling PMA and the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactant in the shell. The water contact angle results suggest that the presence of PMA and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide in the shell increases the surface hydrophobicity. In the Rh-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones in aqueous HCOONa, the solid catalyst with higher surface hydrophobicity demonstrates higher activity, which suggests that suitable surface properties increase the reaction rate by increasing the diffusion rates of hydrophobic substrates. Furthermore, this heterogeneous catalyst can be reused conveniently without loss of ee values.

An easily prepared tetraphosphine N,N,N′,N′-tetra(diphenylphosphinomethyl)-1,2-ethylenediamine (L1) associated with [Pd(η³-C₃H₅)Cl]₂ affords an efficient catalyst for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of 3-pyridineboronic acid with heteroaryl bromides. Reaction could be performed with as little as 0.02 mol% catalyst and a high turnover number of 2500 is obtained. A wide range of substrates is investigated with satisfactory yields, and good compatibility with aminogroup-substituted pyridines and unprotected indole is exhibited. This protocol can also be applied successfully to the reaction of heteroaryl bromides with 3-thiopheneboronic acid. This Pd-tetraphosphine catalyst efficiently restrains the poisoning effect from heteroaryls, and shows good stability and longevity. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A simple and highly efficient method for the cross-coupling of aromatics by C–H activation is described. Acetamide was found to be an effective cocatalyst for this generally applicable ruthenium(II)-catalyzed direct arylation reaction. A wide range of deactivated aryl chlorides could be efficiently coupled under the mild temperature of 101 °C. The new process is highly atom-economical and sustainable.

An easily prepared tetraphosphine N,N,N′,N′-tetra(diphenylphosphinomethyl)-1,2-ethylenediamine (1) combined with PdCl₂ affords an efficient catalytic system for Suzuki cross-coupling of aryl and heteroaryl bromides. A high turnover number of 750 000 is obtained with the catalyst loading as low as 1 ppm. This catalyst system exhibits good stability and longevity. In this study, a broad scope of substrates is investigated and satisfactory yields are obtained. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Three Ru–η⁶-benzene–phosphine complexes bearing tri-(p-methoxyphenyl)phosphine, triphenylphosphine and tri-(p-trifluoromethylphenyl)phosphine were synthesized and characterized by ³¹P{¹H} NMR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C{¹H} NMR and elemental analyses. Complex 1 was further identified by X-ray crystallography. These complexes exhibit good to excellent activities for the transfer hydrogenation of ketones in refluxing 2-propanol, and the highest turnover frequency (TOF) is up to 5940 h⁻¹. The effect of electronic factors of these complexes on the transfer hydrogenation of ketones reveals that the catalytic activity is promoted by electron-donating phosphine and the catalyst stability is improved by electron-withdrawing phosphine. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hydrous zirconia supported ruthenium catalyst Ru/ZrO₂·xH₂O, prepared by co-precipitating ruthenium trichloride and zirconium oxychloride with ammonia, was able to catalyze efficiently methyl propionate to propanol under the mild conditions. In aqueous system, the propanol yield of >99% was achieved under the conditions of reaction temperature of 150°C and hydrogen pressure of 5.0 MPa, while in non-aqueous system the maximum propanol yield was only 47.0%. FTIR spectra and hydrogenation results indicated that the high catalytic performance of Ru/ZrO₂·xH₂O in aqueous phase results from the cooperation effect between water as a solvent and hydroxyl groups on the surface of carrier.