A Biodegradable, Polymer-Supported Oxygen Atom Transfer Reagent.

Biodegradable polymers are desirable to mitigate the environmental impact of plastic waste in the environment. Over the past several decades, the development of organocatalytic ring-opening polymerization (OROP) has made the synthesis of many new types of biodegradable polymers possible. In this research article, the first example of an oxygen atom transfer reagent pendant on a biodegradable polymer backbone is reported.

Nitrile Oxidation at a Ruthenium Complex leading to Intermolecular Imido Group Transfer.

The oxidation of an acetonitrile ligand coordinated to ruthenium is explored in deuterated dimethylsulfoxide by H NMR spectroscopy. When oxidized with an iodosoarene oxygen atom transfer (OAT) reagent, kinetic studies demonstrate that the nitrile ligand does not dissociate before reacting. Instead, OAT to the central nitrile carbon is implicated (nitrile oxidation), and is further supported by the product of the reaction, -acyl-dimethylsulfoximine.