TY  - JOUR
AU  - Sonsona, I.G.
AU  - Marqués-López, E.
AU  - Häring, M.
AU  - Díaz, D.D.
AU  - Herrera, R.P.
T1  - Urea activation by an external brønsted acid: Breaking self-association and tuning catalytic performance
LA  - eng
PY  - 2018
T2  - Catalysts
SN  - 2073-4344
VL  - 8
IS  - 8
PB  - MDPI AG
PP  - Basel
AB  - In this work, we hypothesize that Brønsted acids can activate urea-based catalysts by diminishing its self-assembly tendency. As a proof of concept, we used the asymmetric Friedel–Crafts alkylation of indoles with nitroalkenes as a benchmark reaction. The resulting 3-substituted indole derivatives were obtained with better results due to cooperative effects of the chiral urea and a Brønsted acid additive. Such synergy has been rationalized in terms of disassembly of the supramolecular catalyst aggregates, affording a more acidic and rigid catalytic complex.
DO  - 10.3390/catal8080305
UR  - https://portalciencia.ull.es/documentos/5fa08028299952440aae78cf
DP  - Dialnet - Portal de la Investigación
ER  -