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Catalysis in Organic Chemistry: A Themed Issue Dedicated to Professor Johannes G. de Vries

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Organic Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2026 | Viewed by 2045

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sergey Tin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT), Albert-Einstein-Straße 29A, 18059 Rostock, Germany
Interests: homogeneous catalysis; renewables; asymmetric catalysis; organocatalysis; recycling of polymers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Professor Johannes G. de Vries is an internationally renowned expert in the areas of homogeneous catalysis and transformations of renewable resources. He received his PhD in bioorganic chemistry from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, in 1979. He then conducted postdoctoral research at Brandeis University in the United States. After that period, he returned to Europe in and started to work Sandoz Forschungsinstitut in Vienna, Austria as a lab leader in medicinal chemistry. In 1985 he moved to London, UK to work at Sandoz Institute for Medical Research as a senior scientist in medicinal chemistry. From 1988 to 2013 he worked in DSM in Geleen, the Netherlands, where he was the Principal scientist in homogeneous catalysis. Also, from 1999 to 2018 he had a part-time job as a professor in homogeneous catalysis at the University of Groningen.

From 2014 to 2021, Professor de Vries served as the head of the Renewable Resources Catalysis Department at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) in Rostock, Germany, where his research focused on the catalytic conversion of renewables into valuable chemicals.

His research interests include but are not limited to (asymmetric) hydrogenationcatalytic transfer hydrogenation; carbon–carbon bond-forming reactions (e.g., Heck and Suzuki reactions); amination; carbonylation and isomerization reactions; enzyme–transition metal synergistic catalysis; high-throughput experimentation; and catalytic transformations of renewable resources and platform chemicals.

Professor de Vries has received numerous awards for his outstanding contributions, including the Paul N. Rylander Award from the American Chemical Society's Organic Reaction Catalysis Society in 2013, in recognition of his achievements in the field of organic reaction catalysis.

In view of the retirement of Prof. Dr. Johannes de Vries to mark his outstanding contributions to the field of chemistry, especially in the areas of industrial catalysis, homogeneous catalysis and transformation of renewable resources, this Special Issue is organized. We would be pleased if you have relevant research articles/reviews in the fields of homogeneous (asymmetric) catalysis and/or transformations of renewable resources.

Dr. Sergey Tin
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • homogeneous catalysis
  • enantioselective catalysis
  • transformation of renewable resources
  • industrial catalysis

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 2821 KB  
Article
Cooperative Dinuclear Activation of a Formate Intermediate in the Hydrogenation of CO2 to Methanol
by Giorgia Gherardini, Simon Mathew, Bas de Bruin and Joost N. H. Reek
Molecules 2026, 31(12), 2047; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31122047 - 11 Jun 2026
Viewed by 110
Abstract
CO2 hydrogenation to methanol is achieved by homogeneous catalysts through a formic acid derivative. Previous studies have focused on using large amounts of additives to activate this intermediate, such as strong acids, amines and alcohols. Hydrogenation of CO2 under basic conditions [...] Read more.
CO2 hydrogenation to methanol is achieved by homogeneous catalysts through a formic acid derivative. Previous studies have focused on using large amounts of additives to activate this intermediate, such as strong acids, amines and alcohols. Hydrogenation of CO2 under basic conditions has been reported to only produce highly stable formate salts. We present in this contribution a novel method for formate activation that allows for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol under basic conditions, by bimetallic activation of the formate salt by a cobalt and a nickel complex. From various catalytic and stoichiometric experiments, we propose that the nickel catalyst binds the in situ-generated formate to activate it for intramolecular cobalt hydride transfer, leading to an intermediate that can be further hydrogenated to methanol. This strategy could open new avenues in CO2 hydrogenation under basic conditions, with implications for both homogeneously and heterogeneously catalyzed processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Organic Chemistry: A Themed Issue Dedicated to Professor Johannes G. de Vries)
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21 pages, 6612 KB  
Article
Effect of Chitosan Modification and Support Type on the Catalytic Properties of Supported Palladium Catalysts in Hydrogenation of 2-Propen-1-ol
by Akzhol Naizabayev, Eldar Talgatov, Assemgul Auyezkhanova, Arlan Abilmagzhanov, Sandugash Akhmetova, Alima Kenzheyeva and Raiymbek Yersaiyn
Molecules 2026, 31(12), 2028; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31122028 - 10 Jun 2026
Viewed by 154
Abstract
Palladium catalysts modified with chitosan (CS) and supported on MgO, SiO2, TiO2, and Al2O3 were prepared by a precipitation method and evaluated in the low-temperature hydrogenation of 2-propen-1-ol. Chitosan was first deposited onto the oxide supports [...] Read more.
Palladium catalysts modified with chitosan (CS) and supported on MgO, SiO2, TiO2, and Al2O3 were prepared by a precipitation method and evaluated in the low-temperature hydrogenation of 2-propen-1-ol. Chitosan was first deposited onto the oxide supports by adjusting the suspension pH to 7.5, followed by immobilization of palladium via reductive deposition using NaBH4. For comparison, analogous non-modified catalysts were synthesized. Physicochemical characterization (TGA, XPS, HAADF-STEM, SEM, viscosimetry, and elemental analysis) confirmed successful incorporation of Pd (1 wt.%) and CS (10 wt.%). HAADF-STEM revealed that Pd particle size and aggregation strongly depended on the support nature, with the most uniform distribution observed for Al2O3-supported catalysts. Chitosan modification reduced Pd nanoparticle size from 4–11 to 3–4 nm and improved dispersion. XPS showed a pronounced increase in the fraction of oxidized Pd species for the Al2O3- and TiO2-supported catalysts, whereas only minor changes were observed for the SiO2-based system. For unmodified catalysts, the nature of the oxide support strongly influenced their performance, resulting in a wide variation in catalytic activity (TOF = 1650–13,100 h−1) and selectivity toward propanol (65–75%). Chitosan modification resulted in a support-dependent convergence of catalytic activity (TOF = 3130–8840 h−1) and selectivity (76–81%). Stability tests were performed for Pd–CS(10%)/MgO and Pd–CS(10%)/Al2O3, which showed stable performance over 20 cycles without significant loss in catalytic activity. Overall, chitosan modification significantly influences Pd dispersion, oxidation state, and catalytic performance, with effects strongly dependent on the oxide support. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Organic Chemistry: A Themed Issue Dedicated to Professor Johannes G. de Vries)
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21 pages, 1267 KB  
Article
Facile Assembly of Structurally Diverse 2H-Pyrans Enabled by Chloropalladation-Initiated Carboetherification of Alkenes
by Fanghua Mao, Bowen Wang, Zhengwang Chen, Yin-Long Lai, Huanfeng Jiang and Jianxiao Li
Molecules 2026, 31(11), 1778; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31111778 - 22 May 2026
Viewed by 318
Abstract
3,6-Dihydro-2H-pyran heterocyclic framework is one of the currently developed heterocyclic building blocks in both pharmaceutical chemistry and organic synthesis, but with significant challenges. To overcome these challenges, herein, we report a robust synthetic methodology of palladium-catalyzed carboetherification of alkenes with alkynols [...] Read more.
3,6-Dihydro-2H-pyran heterocyclic framework is one of the currently developed heterocyclic building blocks in both pharmaceutical chemistry and organic synthesis, but with significant challenges. To overcome these challenges, herein, we report a robust synthetic methodology of palladium-catalyzed carboetherification of alkenes with alkynols for accessing polyfunctionalized 3,6-dihydro-2H-pyrans under aerobic oxidative conditions. In particular, this synthetic approach features excellent functional group compatibility, mild reaction conditions, and good step- and atom-economy. Additionally, an array of functional groups such as halogen group, ester, nitrile, aldehyde, phenoxy, and aromatic heterocycles were nicely tolerated, affording the synthetically challenging 2H-pyran derivatives in moderate-to-good yields. Notably, the practicability of this protocol is further verified by gram-scale synthesis and the late-stage diversification of pharmaceuticals and biologically active molecules. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Organic Chemistry: A Themed Issue Dedicated to Professor Johannes G. de Vries)
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13 pages, 1769 KB  
Article
4-Sulfanyl-1,2,3-triazole as a Powerful Ligand in CuAAC to Synthesize 1,4-Substituted 1,2,3-Triazoles Under Solvent-Free and Low Catalyst Loading
by Jie Shen, Jinwei Li, Shitang Xu, Ting Wang, Zhiling Zou, Hui Li, Lifen Peng, Zilong Tang and Xinhua Xu
Molecules 2026, 31(10), 1723; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31101723 - 19 May 2026
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Abstract
4-Sulfanyl-1,2,3-triazole (L1) accelerated the solvent-free CuAAC efficiently with low catalyst loading (0.1 mol% for common azides and 1 mol% for sulfonyl azides). L1 exhibited higher catalytic activity compared to 1,4-substituted 1,2,3-triazole without sulfanyl group (5a) and sulfide, demonstrating that [...] Read more.
4-Sulfanyl-1,2,3-triazole (L1) accelerated the solvent-free CuAAC efficiently with low catalyst loading (0.1 mol% for common azides and 1 mol% for sulfonyl azides). L1 exhibited higher catalytic activity compared to 1,4-substituted 1,2,3-triazole without sulfanyl group (5a) and sulfide, demonstrating that coordination of both sulfanyl and 1,2,3-triazole moieties with copper was critical to enhance the activity of L1. The Cu(OAc)2/L1 catalytic system displayed high selectivity in synthesis of alkynyl- or azido-involved 1,2,3-triazoles. The di-copper system Cu(OAc)2/CuBr/L1 promoted the reaction of electron-deficient and less reactive sulfonyl azides well, generating N-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles in good yields, and L1 showed better performance than 1,3-di-o-tolylthiourea (L′). Other features of this protocol included recyclable ligand, 1:1 substance ratio, high yields, wide substance scope, and easily scaled up and facile purification of most products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Organic Chemistry: A Themed Issue Dedicated to Professor Johannes G. de Vries)
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17 pages, 3551 KB  
Article
Phenazine-Based Homogeneous Photocatalysts for Visible-Light-Driven Hydrogenation of Nitroarenes Under Mild Conditions
by Van Dao, Thanh Huyen Vuong, Nguyen Kim Nga and Esteban Mejía
Molecules 2026, 31(7), 1063; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31071063 - 24 Mar 2026
Viewed by 576
Abstract
Phenazine derivatives are promising metal-free chromophores with strong redox and photophysical properties, yet their use in photocatalytic hydrogenation remains limited. Here, we report a homogeneous phenazine-based system for the visible-light-driven hydrogenation of nitroarenes under mild conditions. Using nitrobenzene as a model substrate and [...] Read more.
Phenazine derivatives are promising metal-free chromophores with strong redox and photophysical properties, yet their use in photocatalytic hydrogenation remains limited. Here, we report a homogeneous phenazine-based system for the visible-light-driven hydrogenation of nitroarenes under mild conditions. Using nitrobenzene as a model substrate and triethanolamine as a sacrificial hydrogen source, the photocatalyst achieved aniline yields of up to 81% after 12 h of irradiation at 390 nm. Systematic variation in reaction parameters revealed that catalyst structure, solvent, and light wavelength strongly influence performance. Kinetic analysis indicated that prolonged irradiation reduces overall yield due to the reconversion of reactive intermediates. The system exhibited higher efficiency toward nitroarenes bearing electron-withdrawing groups, while aliphatic nitro compounds underwent only partial reduction. Mechanistic studies using UV–Vis, fluorescence, and EPR spectroscopy confirmed the formation of persistent radical species and supported a stepwise electron and proton transfer mechanism. This work showcases the potential of phenazine-based photocatalysts as metal-free platforms for nitroarene reduction under visible light. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Catalysis in Organic Chemistry: A Themed Issue Dedicated to Professor Johannes G. de Vries)
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