Cu(II)-Azabis(oxazoline) Complexes Immobilized on Magnetic Co/C Nanoparticles: Kinetic Resolution of 1,2-Diphenylethane-1,2-diol under Batch and Continuous-Flow Conditions

Carbon coated cobalt nanoparticles were tagged with azabis(oxazoline)-copper(II) complexes utilizing a copper(I)-catalyzed azide/alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction, and the efficacy of the resulting nanomagnetic catalyst was tested in the kinetic resolution of racemic 1,2-diphenylethane-1,2-diol via asymmetric monobenzoylation. The novel semiheterogeneous catalyst was examined under batch conditions and in a continuous flow-type reactor. The extremely high ferromagnetism of the cobalt cores not only facilitates the recycling of the nanobeads via magnetic decantation in the batch reactions but also enables it novel continuous flow-reactor design: This further allowed efficient agitation and containment of the particles to occur without the need for sophisticated separation strategies Such its nanofiltration.