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Updated: Nov 8, 2025

Imine Metathesis by Silica-Supported Catalysts Using the Methodology of Surface Organometallic Chemistry
Published on: October 18, 2019
Quantification and Prediction of Imine Formation Kinetics in Aqueous Solution by Microfluidic NMR Spectroscopy
Youzhen Zhuo1, Xiuxiu Wang1, Si Chen1
1State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (iChEM), Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology of Fujian Province, Department of Chemistry, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005, P.R. China.
Abstract:
Quantitatively predicting the reactivity of dynamic covalent reaction is essential to understand and rationally design complex structures and reaction networks. Herein, the reactivity of aldehydes and amines in various rapid imine formation in aqueous solution by microfluidic NMR spectroscopy was quantified. Investigation of reaction kinetics allowed to quantify the forward rate constants k+ by an empirical equation, of which three independent parameters were introduced as reactivity parameters of aldehydes (SE , E) and amines (N). Furthermore, these reactivity parameters were successfully used to predict the unknown forward rate constants of imine formation. Finally, two competitive reaction networks were rationally designed based on the proposed reactivity parameters. Our work has demonstrated the capability of microfluidic NMR spectroscopy in quantifying the kinetics of label-free chemical reactions, especially rapid reactions that are complete in minutes.
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