Dr. Madiha Butt from Dalian University of Technology, Pakistan

Research Area: Synthetic chemistry

Research Experience: 

A practical and convenient protocol for chemoselective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and quinolines was developed using HCO2H as the hydrogen source in the presence of AuNPore as a catalyst. A variety of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and quinolines were hydrogenated smoothly to produce the corresponding allylic alcohols and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinolines (py-THQs) in high to excellent yields with excellent chemoselectivity. HCO2H is a green and bio-renewable, cost-effective, and easily available hydrogen source. The AuNPore catalyst can be easily recovered and reused several times without any loss of catalytic activity.

A novel AuNPore-catalyzed cycloisomerization of propargyl amides into solely oxazole derivatives was developed under mild reaction conditions. The present simple experimental method tolerated a wide range of substrates with a multiple functional groups. The AuNPore catalyst can be reused for 5 times without any loss of catalytic activity.