Catalyst characterisation
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1 wt% Au/TiO2 obtained from Strem (AUROliteTM Au/TiO2),
was ground using a mortar and pestle and sieved. Particle sizes
of 125–250 microns were employed. Average gold crystallite size
is ca. 2–3 nm. BET surface area = 40 m2 g-1, mean pore size =
0.26 cm3 g-1, mean pore diameter = 26 nm.
Catalytic reactions
Reactions were performed using a ThalesNano X-CubeTM
flow reactor.31 A solution of the alcohol (0.29/0.5 M) and
amine (0.16/0.5 M) in toluene (10 mL) containing dodecane
(0.18 M) as an internal standard, was (re)circulated through a
heated cartridge containing 1 wt% Au/TiO2 (0.6–1.8 g) at 180–
200 ◦C, under an applied pressure of between 5–100 bar. The
progress of the reaction was monitored by GC analysis. Upon
completion, the solution was evaporated to afford the corre-
sponding substituted amine with >90% recovery. The purity and
identity of the product were verified by 1H NMR spectroscopy
(ESI†).
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(827.4 mg, 5 mmol) in toluene (10 mL) was circulated for 24 h
through 1.8 ◦mol% of Au/TiO2 mounted in 2 heated cartridges,
held at 200 C and 50 bar pressure. The reaction mixture was
evaporated to dryness, and the residue was recrystallised from
hot EtOH–H2O, to give the desired product as a buff-coloured
solid (1.15 g, 77%). 1H NMR data (ESI†) is in accordance with
reported values.32
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Acknowledgements
25 M. J. Millan, Pharmacol. Ther., 2010, 128, 229–273.
The work is funded by an EPSRC grant for Flow Chemistry
(EP/G027544/1), with additional support by Pfizer Inc. We
thank the Pharmacat Consortium for useful discussions.
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30 Au/TiO2 attained from other sources such as World Gold Council
and donated by Johnson Matthey plc, were also found to be effective
under these conditions.
31 ThalesNano Nanotechnology Inc., Graphisoft Park, H-1031
products/x-cube).
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232 | Green Chem., 2012, 14, 226–232
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