Green and convenient: Olefins are oxidized to 1,2-diols in high yield with 30 % H₂O₂ in the presence of resin-supported sulfonic acid (see scheme) under metal-free conditions without any organic solvent. The catalyst can be recycled easily and is effective for at least 10 cycles. <!--EMPTY SOURCE-->

Organocatalytic controlled/living ring-opening polymerization of cyclotrisiloxanes, such as hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane, 1,3,5-trimethyl-1,3,5-triphenylcyclotrisiloxane, 1,3,5-trimethyl-1,3,5-trivinylcyclotrisiloxane, and 1,3,5-trimethyl-1,3,5-tris(3,3,3-trifluoropropyl)cyclotrisiloxane, using water as an initiator and strong organic bases, such as amidines, guanidines, phosphazene bases, and proazaphosphatrane, as catalysts produced a variety of polysiloxanes with controlled number-average molecular weights (M_n = 2.64–102.3 kg mol⁻¹), narrow polydispersity (Đ = 1.03–1.16), and well-defined symmetric structures. Controlled syntheses of statistical copolymers and triblock copolymers were achieved by copolymerizations of two cyclotrisiloxanes. Various terminal functionalities were successfully introduced by the end-capping reaction of propagating polysiloxanes using functional chlorosilanes. Kinetic investigations demonstrated that the polymerization proceeded through the initiator/chain-end activation mechanism, namely activations of water in the initiation reaction and of terminal silanols in propagating polysiloxanes in the propagation reaction. Catalytic activities of strong organic bases were revealed to depend on their Brønsted basicity and efficiency of the proton transfer in the initiation and propagation reactions. Guanidines possessing an R–NC(N)–NH–R′ unit, in particular 1,3-trimethylene-2-propylguanidine, showed excellent performance as a catalyst. In this system, even non-dehydrated solvents are usable for the polymerization.

Cyclohexanone and cyclohexanol are oxidized to adipic acid in high yield with aqueous 30% H₂O₂ in the presence of H₂WO₄ as a catalyst under organic solvent- and halide-free conditions. It is important that no solvent is used in order to achieve high reactivity in this heterogeneous reaction. The use of t-butyl alcohol or dioxane as a solvent (homogeneous conditions) significantly decreases the yield of adipic acid from cyclohexanone. This ketone-to-dicarboxylic acid conversion is applicable to five- to eight-membered cyclic ketones. No operational problems are foreseen for a large-scale version of this green process.

Magnetic nanoparticles-supported quaternary ammonium and phosphonium salts were prepared and evaluated as phase-transfer catalysts. Some of them exhibited good activities that were comparable to that of tetra-n-butylammonium iodide. The catalysts were readily separated using an external magnet and reusable without significant loss of their catalytic efficiency.

Calcium carbide was used as a sustainable dehydrating agent for the synthesis of carbamates, glycerol carbonate, and cyclic carbonates directly from CO ₂ .