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Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Palladium N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes: Synthesis from Benzimidazolium Salts and Catalytic Activity in Carbon-carbon Bond-forming Reactions
Published on: July 30, 2017
Chalcogen Bonding Catalysis of a Nitro-Michael Reaction
Patrick Wonner1, Alexander Dreger1, Lukas Vogel1
1Fakultät für Chemie und Biochemie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
Abstract:
Chalcogen bonding is the non-covalent interaction between Lewis acidic chalcogen substituents and Lewis bases. Herein, we present the first application of dicationic tellurium-based chalcogen bond donors in the nitro-Michael reaction between trans-β-nitrostyrene and indoles. This also constitutes the first activation of nitro derivatives by chalcogen bonding (and halogen bonding). The catalysts showed rate accelerations of more than a factor of 300 compared to strongly Lewis acidic hydrogen bond donors. Several comparison experiments, titrations, and DFT calculations support a chalcogen-bonding-based mode of activation of β-nitrostyrene.
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