Compartmentalization of incompatible catalysts by micelles from bottlebrush copolymers for one-pot cascade catalysis

Bio-inspired cascade reactions in a one-pot pattern, possessing remarkable advantages, are highly desired in organic syntheses. One of the major challenges is the mutual destruction of the incompatible catalysts in cascade reaction systems. In this contribution, we reported the fabrication of micelles as catalytic nanoreactors for bio-inspired site isolation of incompatible acid and base. The micelles were prepared from functionalized bottlebrush block copolymers, and the acid and base were in the hydrophobic core surrounded by tremendous polyethylene glycol as a hydrophilic shell separately, avoiding the interaction. Further, one-pot deacetalization−Knoevenagel cascade reaction was investigated and high catalytic performance was achieved under mild reaction conditions by combining the acid- and base-functionalized micelles. This study provided a facile and efficient strategy for cascade catalysis involving mutually incompatible catalysts.