Switchable perfomance of an l-proline-derived basic catalyst controlled by supramolecular gelation

F Rodríguez-Llansola, B Escuder…

Index: Rodriguez-Llansola, Francisco; Escuder, Beatriu; Miravet, Juan F. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2009 , vol. 131, # 32 p. 11478 - 11484

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Citation Number: 89

Abstract

An l-proline-derived low molecular weight gelator forms gels in nitromethane and nitroethane and acts as a basic catalyst for the Henry nitroaldol reaction of these solvents with 4-nitrobenzaldehyde and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde. The reported catalyst is efficient only upon aggregation into self-assembled fibrillar networks. The formation of the gels is associated to a basicity boost of the l-proline residues. Gel dissociation blocks the catalytic ...