title: Organic-inorganic supramolecular solid catalyst boosts organic reactions in water.
abstract: Coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks are appealing as synthetic hosts for mediating chemical reactions. Here we report the preparation of a mesoscopic metal-organic structure based on single-layer assembly of aluminium chains and organic alkylaryl spacers. The material markedly accelerates condensation reactions in water in the absence of acid or base catalyst, as well as organocatalytic Michael-type reactions that also show superior enantioselectivity when comparing with the host-free transformation. The mesoscopic phase of the solid allows for easy diffusion of products and the catalytic solid is recycled and reused. Saturation transfer difference and two-dimensional (1)H nuclear Overhauser effect NOESY NMR spectroscopy show that non-covalent interactions are operative in these host-guest systems that account for substrate activation. The mesoscopic character of the host, its hydrophobicity and chemical stability in water, launch this material as a highly attractive supramolecular catalyst to facilitate (asymmetric) transformations under more environmentally friendly conditions.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Tecnología Química, UPV-CSIC, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, E-46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: García-García
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Tecnología Química, UPV-CSIC, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, E-46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: José María
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Tecnología Química, UPV-CSIC, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, E-46022 Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Urbano
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Díaz
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Química Física Rocasolano, CSIC, Serrano 119, 28006 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bruix
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Tecnología Química, UPV-CSIC, Universidad Politécnica de Valencia, Avenida de los Naranjos s/n, E-46022 Valencia, Spain.|King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, PO Box 989, 31261 Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Avelino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Corma