Lewis Acid-Supported Ni(II)-Catalyzed conversion of vegetable oils for producing anti-pathogen agents and evaluated by structure-activity modeling.

Abstract

Redox-active transition metal catalysts such as Pd(II), Fe(II), and Ni(II) are well known to cooperate with Lewis acids in the functionalization of organic molecules and the synthesis of pharmaceutical candidates. This study focuses specifically on Ni(II) catalysts within an advanced synthetic framework. We demonstrate that NiCl₂·6H₂O-catalyzed isomerization, enhanced by the Lewis acidity of Zn(OTf)₂, promotes the hydrogenation of olefins as a key step. While bivalent metal catalysts like Pd(II), Fe(II), or Ni(II) alone show limited activity, the combination of Ni(II) with alkali-earth-modified Lewis acids (e.g., Al³⁺, Sc³⁺, or Zn²⁺) significantly improves catalytic efficiency. Notably, Ni(II)/alkali-earth-modified zeolites catalyze alkene dimerization even in the absence of redox metals such as Cu²⁺ or Brønsted acids. The resulting products were characterized by NMR, GC, and GC–MS, and reaction kinetics were monitored by GC and UV–vis spectroscopy. The inclusion of alkali-earth modifiers substantially enhanced Ni(II)-catalyzed isomerization and dimerization of vegetable oils. These catalytic modifications yield high-value intermediates with potential efficacy as antipathogenic agents, as evaluated by in vitro assays.