A Tandem Catalysis for Isoindolinone Synthesis over Single-atom Pd/TiO2 Catalyst

Abstract

Developing an efficient strategy to replace the conventional synthesis method for producing isoindolinone (IIO) scaffold, a crucial structural motif for constructing pharmaceutical molecules, remains to be a great challenge. Herein, a single-atom Pd/TiO2 tandem catalysis has been developed for the IIO scaffold synthesis by using readily available phthalic anhydride (PA), ammonia, and H2. The single-atom Pd/TiO2 catalyst demonstrates superior catalytic performance, achieving a PA conversion of 99%, an IIO selectivity of 91%, and a turnover frequency (TOF) up to 4807 h-1. This exceptional performance can be attributed to the tandem catalysis between TiO2 support and single-atom Pd. The TiO2 efficiently catalyzes the conversion of PA with ammonia to form phthalimide (PAM), subsequently transformed into IIO over TiO2 through the reaction of PAM with NH3 and the spillover hydrogen species derived from single-atom Pd. Notably, NH3 functions not only as a reactant but also as a promoter to accelerate the reduction of amides combined with the Pd/TiO2 catalyst. This tandem catalysis of a single-atom Pd/TiO2 catalyst provides a promising strategy for the synthesis of the crucial IIO platform molecules.