Title:Design of Dendritic Foldamers as Catalysts for Organic Synthesis
Volume: 11
Issue: 3
Author(s): Sherlymole P. Baby, Smitha George and Sreekumar Krishnapillai*
Affiliation:
- Department of Applied Chemistry, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin, Kerala, 682022, India
Keywords:
Dendrimer, hyperbranched polymer, dendritic foldamer, nanosized cavities, reverse micelle, Organocatalysis, Knoevenagel condensation, Mannich reaction.
Abstract:
Background: Multistranded foldamers mimic biopolymer architecture, through the assembly
and folding of intrinsically flexible polymeric chains attached to polyol core have been
synthesised here. The synthesised dendritic motifs possess helical cavities with properly arranged
active sites. As these cavities are large enough to accommodate guest molecules, their application
as synthetic foldamer catalyst were investigated in Knoevenagel and Mannich reactions.
Methods: It is presumed to be the potentiality of dendritic foldamers to form reverse micelle in the
interior of helical motif containing many reactive sites.
Results: Inside the dendritic foldamer, the substrates are adequately concentrated, work together in
cooperation for ligand-binding, and stabilize the transition state as in enzymes that helps to accelerate
the reaction rate many times greater than in bulk solution.
Conclusion: An unrivalled reaction rate and high yield of products were obtained within a short
time in both Knoevenagel and Mannich reactions by using dendritic foldamers as catalysts.