title: Cage-catalyzed Knoevenagel condensation under neutral conditions in water.
abstract: A cationic coordination cage dramatically accelerates the Knoevenagel condensation of aromatic aldehydes in water under neutral conditions. The addition of a nucleophile to the aldehyde to generate anionic intermediates seems to be facilitated by the cationic environment of the cavity. The products are ejected from the cage as a result of the host-guest size discrepancy. As a result, the condensation is promoted by a catalytic amount of the cage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Chemistry, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, and CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), 7-3-1 Hongo, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Murase
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishijima
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujita