Access to highly substituted oxazoles by the reaction of α-azidochalcone with potassium thiocyanate.

The reactivity of α-azidochalcones has been explored for the preparation of highly substituted oxazoles via a 2-azirine intermediate. The azidochalcones, when treated with potassium thiocyanate in the presence of potassium persulfate, lead to 2,4,5-trisubstituted oxazoles in good yields. Incidentally, 2-aminothiazoles are the products when ferric nitrate is employed instead of persulfate in the above reaction.

Stimulus-Responsive Biopolymeric Surface: Molecular Switches for Oil/Water Separation.

In this work, we fabricated a stimulus-responsive biopolymeric material and demonstrated the reversible character of a hydrophilic/hydrophobic interface upon exposure to UV light. Importantly, this stimulus-responsive material exhibited excellent features in an oil/water separation system. Cellulose was functionalized on both sides of the surface with a dopamine polymer and further modified with an azobenzene-fluorosilane material.