The invention describes phospho-amino pincer-type ligands, metal complexes thereof, and catalytic methods comprising such metal complexes for conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol, conversion of aldehydes into alcohols, conversion of aldehydes in the presence of a trifluoromethylation agent into trifluorinated secondary alcohols, cycloaddition of carbon dioxide to an epoxide to provide cyclic carbonates or preparation of an amide from the combination of an alcohol and an amine.

The present invention relates to novel Ruthenium complexes of formulae A1-A4 and their use, inter alia, for (1) dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols to esters; (2) hydrogenation of esters to alcohols (including hydrogenation of cyclic esters (lactones) or cyclic di-esters (di-lactones), or polyesters); (3) preparing amides from alcohols and amines(including the preparation of polyamides (e.g., polypeptides) by reacting dialcohols and diamines and/or polymerization of amino alcohols and/or forming cyclic dipeptides from p-aminoalcohols; (4) hydrogenation of amides (including cyclic dipeptides, polypeptides and polyamides) to alcohols and amines; (5) hydrogenation of organic carbonates (including polycarbonates) to alcohols or hydrogenation of carbamates (including polycarbamates) or urea derivatives to alcohols and amines; (6) dehydrogenation of secondary alcohols to ketones; (7) amidation of esters (i.e., synthesis of amides from esters and amines); (8) acylation of alcohols using esters; (9) coupling of alcohols with water and a base to form carboxylic acids; and (10) preparation of amino acids or their salts by coupling of amino alcohols with water and a base. The present, invention further relates to the use of certain known Ruthenium complexes for the preparation of amino acids or their salts from amino alcohols.

Proposed is a catalyst system specifically for the rearrangement of epoxides into allyl alcohols comprising or consisting of (a) a salt of formula (I) XY (I) in which X represents Zn.sup.2+ and/or Co.sup.2+ and Y represents an anion selected from the group formed from laurate, palmitate, stearate, picolinate, glycinate, gluconate, naphthenate, 2-hexyldecanoate, 2-octyldodecanoate, cyclohexane butyrate and mixtures thereof, and (b) at least one aminophenol.

A method of forming TiO.sub.2ZnO nanoparticles coated by a copper (II) complex includes forming a mononuclear copper complex by treating a ligand with Cu.sup.2+ ions; and immobilizing the mononuclear copper complex on TiO.sub.2ZnO nanoparticles to obtain the TiO.sub.2ZnO nanoparticle coated by the copper (II) complex. The TiO.sub.2ZnO nanoparticles coated by a copper (II) complex thus produced have improved catalytic effectiveness and increased efficiency by reducing catalytic reaction time and temperature, particularly in methods of catalyzing oxidation of an alcohol or of catalyzing decarboxylative bromination of an acid.

A method of forming TiO.sub.2ZnO nanoparticles coated by a copper (II) complex includes forming a mononuclear copper complex by treating a ligand with Cu.sup.2+ ions; and immobilizing the mononuclear copper complex on TiO.sub.2ZnO nanoparticles to obtain the TiO.sub.2ZnO nanoparticle coated by the copper (II) complex. The TiO.sub.2ZnO nanoparticles coated by a copper (II) complex thus produced have improved catalytic effectiveness and increased efficiency by reducing catalytic reaction time and temperature, particularly in methods of catalyzing oxidation of an alcohol or of catalyzing decarboxylative bromination of an acid.

The present invention relates to a novel phenonthroline based pincer complexes and process for preparation thereof. The present invention also provides a one pot process for the conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol in the presence of a molecularly defined pincer-type single-site Ru-catalyst and secondary amine. Further the present invention provides the use of phenonthroline based pincer complexes for the esterification of alcohols and hydrogenation of esters under mild conditions.

The invention describes phospho-amino pincer-type ligands, metal complexes thereof, and catalytic methods comprising such metal complexes for conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol, conversion of aldehydes into alcohols, conversion of aldehydes in the presence of a trifluoromethylation agent into trifluorinated secondary alcohols, cycloaddition of carbon dioxide to an epoxide to provide cyclic carbonates or preparation of an amide from the combination of an alcohol and an amine.

The present invention relates to a novel phenonthroline based pincer complexes and process for preparation thereof. The present invention also provides a one pot process for the conversion of carbon dioxide to methanol in the presence of a molecularly defined pincer-type single-site Ru-catalyst and secondary amine. Further the present invention provides the use of phenonthroline based pincer complexes for the esterification of alcohols and hydrogenation of esters under mild conditions.

Disclosed are methods and systems of producing acetic acid and hydrogen from a two carbon (C.sub.2) alcohol source, the method comprising (a) obtaining a homogeneous aqueous solution comprising a C.sub.2 alcohol source and an organoruthenium (II) halide catalyst; and (b) subjecting the homogeneous aqueous solution to conditions suitable to produce a product stream comprising acetic acid and hydrogen.

A process for preparing a variety of secondary and tertiary alkyl formate esters via the coupling of methanol and secondary (or tertiary) alcohols. Iron-based catalysts, supported by pincer ligands, are employed to produce these formate esters in high yields and unprecedentedly high selectivities (>99%). Remarkably, the coupling strategy is also applicable to bulkier tertiary alcohols, which afford corresponding tertiary formate esters in moderately high yields and high selectivities.