Transition Metal-Free Aromatic C−H,C−N,C−S and C−O Borylation

Aromatic organoboron compounds are highly valuable building blocks in organic chemistry. They were mainly synthesized through aromatic C−H and C−Het borylation, in which transition metal-catalysis dominate. In the past decade, with increasing attention to sustainable chemistry, numerous transition metal-free C−H and C−Het borylation transformations have been developed and emerged as efficient methods towards the synthesis of aromatic organoboron compounds. This account mainly focuses on recent advances in transition metal-free aromatic C−H, C−N, C−S, and C−O borylation transformations and provides insights to where further developments are required.     

Quasi-Solid Sulfur Conversion for Energetic All-Solid-State Na−S Battery

The high theoretical energy density (1274 Wh kg⁻¹) and high safety enable the all-solid-state Na−S batteries with great promise for stationary energy storage system. However, the uncontrollable solid–liquid-solid multiphase conversion and its associated sluggish polysulfides redox kinetics pose a great challenge in tunning the sulfur speciation pathway for practical Na−S electrochemistry. Herein, we propose a new design methodology for matrix featuring separated bi-catalytic sites that control the multi-step polysulfide transformation in tandem and direct quasi-solid reversible sulfur conversion during battery cycling. It is revealed that the N, P heteroatom hotspots are more favorable for catalyzing the long-chain polysulfides reduction, while PtNi nanocrystals manipulate the direct and full Na₂S₄ to Na₂S low-kinetic conversion during discharging. The electrodeposited Na₂S on strongly coupled PtNi and N, P-codoped carbon host is extremely electroreactive and can be readily recovered back to S₈ without passivation of active species during battery recharging, which delivers a true tandem electrocatalytic quasi-solid sulfur conversion mechanism. Accordingly, stable cycling of the all-solid-state soft-package Na−S pouch cells with an attractive specific capacity of 876 mAh g_S⁻¹ and a high energy of 608 Wh kg_cathode⁻¹ (172 Wh kg⁻¹, based on the total mass of cathode and anode) at 60 °C are demonstrated.     

Electrochemical Reactivation of Dead Li2S for Li−S Batteries in Non-Solvating Electrolytes

The use of non-solvating, or as-called sparingly-solvating, electrolytes (NSEs), is regarded as one of the most promising solutions to the obstacles to the practical applications of Li−S batteries. However, it remains a puzzle that long-life Li−S batteries have rarely, if not never, been reported with NSEs, despite their good compatibility with Li anode. Here, we find the capacity decay of Li−S batteries in NSEs is mainly due to the accumulation of the dead Li₂S at the cathode side, rather than the degradation of the anodes or electrolytes. Based on this understanding, we propose an electrochemical strategy to reactivate the accumulated Li₂S and revive the dead Li−S batteries in NSEs. With such a facile approach, Li−S batteries with significantly improved cycling stability and accelerated dynamics are achieved with diglyme-, acetonitrile- and 1,2-dimethoxyethane-based NSEs. Our finding may rebuild the confidence in exploiting non-solvating Li−S batteries with practical competitiveness.     

Chemistry-Performance Relationships of Polymer Gel-Electrolytes for Mg−S and Li−S Batteries: Influence of Network Cation Solvation Capacity on Polymer-Polysulfide Interactions

Metal-sulfur batteries are a promising next-generation energy storage technology, offering high theoretical energy densities with low cost and good sustainability. An active area of research is the development of electrolytes that address unwanted migration of sulfur and intermediate species known as polysulfides during operation of metal-sulfur batteries, a phenomenon that leads to low energy efficiency and short life-spans. A particular class of electrolytes, gel polymer electrolytes, are especially attractive for their ability to repel polysulfides on the basis of structure, electrostatics, and other polymer properties. Herein, within the context of magnesium- and lithium-sulfur batteries, we investigate the impact of gel polymer electrolyte cation solvation capacity, a property related to network dielectric constant and chemistry, on sulfur/polysulfide-polymer interactions, an understudied property-performance relationship. Polymers with lower cation solvation capacity are found to permanently absorb less polysulfide active material, which increases sulfur utilization for Li−S batteries and significantly increases charge efficiency and life-span for Li−S and Mg−S batteries.     

Low-Frequency Sub-Terahertz Absorption in HgII−XCN−FeII (X=S,Se) Coordination Polymers

Self-assembly Fe^II complexes of phenazine (Phen), quinoxaline (Qxn), and 4,4′-trimethylenedipyridine (Tmp) with tetrahedral building blocks of [Hg^II(XCN)₄]²⁻ (X=S or Se) formed six new high-dimensional frameworks with the general formula of [Fe(L)_m][Hg(XCN)₄]⋅solvents (L=Phen, m/X=2/S, 1 ; L=Qxn, m/X=2/S, 2 ; L=Qxn, m/X=1/S, 3 ; L=Qxn, m/X=1/Se, 3-Se ; L=Tmp, m/X=1/S, 4 ; and L=Tmp, m/X=1/Se, 4-Se ). 1 , 3 , and 3-Se show an intense sub-terahertz (sub-THz) absorbance of around 0.60 THz due to vibrations of the solvent molecules coordinated to the Fe^II ions and crystallization organic molecules. In addition, crystals of 1 , 4 , and 4-Se display low-frequency Raman scattering with exceptionally low values of 0.44, 0.51, and 0.53 THz, respectively. These results indicate that heavy metal Fe^II−Hg^II systems are promising platforms to construct sub-THz absorbers.     

On-Surface Synthesis of Unsaturated Hydrocarbon Chains through C−S Activation

We use an on-surface synthesis approach to drive the homocoupling reaction of a simple dithiophenyl-functionalized precursor on Cu(111). The C−S activation reaction is initiated at low annealing temperature and yields unsaturated hydrocarbon chains interconnected in a fully conjugated reticulated network. High-resolution atomic force microscopy imaging reveals the opening of the thiophenyl rings and the presence of trans- and cis-oligoacetylene chains as well as pentalene units. The chemical transformations were studied by C 1s and S 2p core level photoemission spectroscopy and supported by theoretical calculations. At higher annealing temperature, additional cyclization reactions take place, leading to the formation of small graphene flakes.     

An Efficient Direct Arylation Polycondensation via C−S Bond Cleavage

The direct arylation polycondensation (DArP) has become one of the most important methods to construct conjugated polymers (CPs). However, the homocoupling side-reactions of aryl halides and the low regioseletive reactivities of unfunctionalized aryls hinder the development of DArP. Here, an efficient Pd and Cu co-catalyzed DArP was developed via inert C−S bond cleavage of aryl thioethers, of which robustness was exemplified by over twenty conjugated polymers (CPs), including copolymers, homopolymers, and random polymers. The capture of oxidative addition intermediate together with experimental and theoretic results suggested the important role of palladium (Pd) and copper (Cu) co-catalysis with a bicyclic mechanism. The studies of NMR, molecular weights, trap densities, two-dimensional grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (2D-GIWAXS), and the charge transport mobilities revealed that the homocoupling reactions were significantly suppressed with high regioselectivity of unfunctionalized aryls, suggesting this method is an excellent choice for synthesizing high performance CPs.     

Über die Dissoziationsenergien von S−S-Bindungen und verwandte Probleme

Zusammenfassung Durch kritische Überprüfung bekannter Literaturangaben sowie theoretische überlegungen und Berechnungen wird gezeigt, daß Schwefeldampf außer den Molekülen S₈, S₆, S₂ und dem kürzlich beobachteten S₄ auch noch die ringförmigen Moleküle S₃, S₅, und S₇ enthält. Hochpolymere sind im Schwefeldampf wegen der mit fortschreitender Polymerisation verbundenen Entropieabnahme nicht vorhanden.Die Gleichgewichtskonzentration von Biradikalen im Schwefeldampf ist unbedeutend, da die Aufbrechung spannungsfreier Schwefelringe etwa 63 kcal/Mol erfordert. Die niederen Biradikale zeigen wahrscheinlich Resonanz bis zu etwa · S₆ ·; infolgedessen sollte eine gewinkelte ozonartige Struktur S=S=S mit Doppelbindungen erhöhte Stabilität gegenüber dem Biradikal · S₃ · besitzen. Das stabilste Trimere ist jedoch ein Dreierring mit Einfachbindungen.     

The S−S Bridge: A Mixed Experimental-Computational Estimation of the Equilibrium Structure of Diphenyl Disulfide

The disulfide bridge (−S−S−) is an important structural motif in organic and protein chemistry, but only a few accurate equilibrium structures are documented. We report the results of supersonic-jet microwave spectroscopy experiments on the rotational spectra of diphenyl disulfide, C₆H₅−S−S−C₆H₅ (including all ¹³C and ³⁴S monosubstituted isotopologues), and the determination of the equilibrium structure by the mixed estimation (ME) method. A single conformation of C₂ symmetry was observed in the gas phase. This disulfide is a challenging target since its structure is determined by 34 independent parameters. Additionally, ab initio calculations revealed the presence of three low-frequency vibrations (<50 cm⁻¹) associated to phenyl torsions which would prevent the calculation of an accurate force field. For this reason, instead of the semiexperimental method, we used the mass-dependent (r_m) method to fit the structural parameters concurrently to moments of inertia and predicate parameters, affected with appropriate uncertainties. The predicates were obtained by high-level quantum-chemical computations. A careful analysis of the results of different fits and a comparison with the ab initio optimizations confirms the validity of the used methods, providing detailed structural information on the title compound and the disulfide bridge.     

Untersuchungen in den Systemen: V−B,Nb−B,V−B−Si und Ta−B−Si

Zusammenfassung Mit Hilfe röntgenographischer Messungen werden die Boride von Vanadin und Niob untersucht, wobei eine neue Phase der ungefähren Zusammensetzung V₂B identifiziert wird, welche mit der entsprechenden Nb-Borid-Phase isotyp ist. Dieselbe Kristallart tritt auch im System: Ta–B auf. Die in der Literatur angegebene -Phase im Zweistoff: Nb–B erweist sich als NbO.Im System: V–B–Si wird wie im analogen Mo-System die Existenz einer ternärenT 2-Phase Me₅(Si_1/3, B_2/3)₃ nach-gewiesen¹; ihre Gitterkonstanten werden ermittelt.Im Schnitt Ta₂Si–Ta₂B besteht ein geringes Lösungs-vermögen der beiden Phasen ineinander. Durch Zusatz von 20 Mol-% Ta₂Si zu Ta₂B erhält man die oben erwähnte neue Kristallart.Bei den Borid-Siliziden der Metalle aus der 4a-, 5a- und 6a-Gruppe werden die Stabilitätsbereiche derT 1-,T 2- undD 8₈-Phasen miteinander verglichen.     

Decay of (Fe1−xNix)0.96S DSC investigation

The decay of a monosulphide solid solution (mss) with the composition (Fe_1?1Ni_x)_0.96S was investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry in the temperature range, from 20 to 305?C. Thermal effects of various natures were detected:

1. Ordering-disordering in the Fe-Ni sublattice near 100?C.
2. Pentlandite exsolution (exothermal peak); the peak temperature varies from 180 to 240?C and depends on the initial composition; the higher the Ni content, the lower the exsolution temperature.
3. Magnetic-paramagnetic transition. The transition temperature decreases down to 220?C as the Fe∶Ni ratio is decreased from 10∶0 to 4∶6.

Ni atoms are the defects in the magnetic ordering of themss generated by the Fe atoms in the metal sublattice. Thus, the driving force for pentlandite exsolution is the removal of Ni atoms from the magneticmss into the nonmagnetic pentlandite. This is the reason why the Fe∶Ni ratio in the generated pentlandite is much higher than that in the initialmss.     

S−H…O and O−H…O Hydrogen Bonds-Comparison of Dimers of Thiocarboxylic and Carboxylic Acids

ωB97-XD/aug-cc-pVTZ calculations were performed on dimers of selected thiocarboxylic acids and on analogous carboxylic acids. The sample of calculated thiocarboxylic acids is an extension of the Cambridge Structural Database search that contains only a few such structures. The Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) method, Symmetry-Adapted Perturbation Theory (SAPT) approach, Non-Covalent Interaction (NCI) method and Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules (QTAIM) were applied additionally to analyse interactions in dimers of thiocarboxylic and carboxylic acids. The insights into crystal structures as well as into results of calculations show that the formation of S−H…O hydrogen bonds between molecules of thiocarboxylic acids is steered by the same mechanisms as the formation of much stronger O−H…O hydrogen bonds in carboxylic acids. The intramolecular O−H…O and C−H…S hydrogen bonds occurring in few considered structures are also analysed.     

Kinetics of H2S destruction in the radiolysis of CH4−H2S gas mixtures

The kinetics of H₂S destruction in the radiolysis of CH₄–H₂S and CH₄–H₂S–O₂ mixtures has been studied. It has been shown that G(–H₂S) depends on amounts of hydrogen sulfide and the presence of oxygen in the starting mixture and is within the range of 5–13 mol/100 eV. G(H₂) decreases with the increases of O₂ content and amounts to the constant value of 2.     

Untersuchungen in den Dreistoffen: Cr−W−Si und Mo−W−Si

Zusammenfassung Der Schnitt: Me₃Si (Me=Cr, W bzw. Mo, W) wird an Hand heißgepreßter und in Argon homogenisierter Legierungen untersucht; es läßt sich weder das metastabile W₃Si, noch eine W-reiche Mischphase von diesem Typ beobachten. Cr₃Si nimmt bei 1500°C etwa 20 Mol%, W₃Si auf, während Mo₃Si selbst bei 1900°C praktisch kein W₃Si löst (ev. wenige Mol%). Dagegen bestehen lückenlose Mischreihen zwischen den Me₅Si₃-Phasen mit W₅Si₃-Typ. Die grundsätzliche Aufteilung der Phasenfelder ist damit möglich.Mit 2 Abbildungen     

Thioethers as Dichotomous Electrophiles for Site-Selective Silylation via C−S Bond Cleavage

The development of aryl alkyl sulfides as dichotomous electrophiles for site-selective silylation via C−S bond cleavage has been achieved. Iron-catalyzed selective cleavage of C(aryl)−S bonds can occur in the presence of β-diketimine ligands, and the cleavage of C(alkyl)−S bonds can be achieved by t-BuONa without the use of transition metals, resulting in the corresponding silylated products in moderate to excellent yields. Mechanistic studies suggest that Fe−Si species may undergo metathesis reactions during the cleavage of C(aryl)−S bonds, while silyl radicals are involved during the cleavage of C(alkyl)−S bonds.     

Micro- and nanostructure of (Sn1−xGex)S mixed crystals

Mixed crystals (Sn_1−xGe_x)S had been prepared by a reaction of solvochemically activated tin and activated germanium with elemental sulfur. The homogeneity of the samples and the sizes of the crystals depend on the annealing temperature. Nanocrystals and larger crystals exhibit characteristic planar defects. The defects real structure was reconstructed from HRTEM observations. Image simulations indicate that two models of the real structure are consistent with the experimental data. Both models are characterized by a combination of structural features of the high and low temperature phases of SnS.     

Magnetische Messungen an den Teilsystemen TiC−ZrC,TiC−HfC,ZrC−HfC,TiC−VC,TiC−NbC,TiC−TaC und NbC−TaC

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 3 Abbildungen     

Adsorption of S2− and HS− ions on the (111) face of coinage metals: A quantum-chemical study

The interactions of S^2? and HS^? ions with gold, silver, and copper were studied by density functional theory using the cluster model of the metal surface. The geometrical and energy characteristics of the interactions of these ions with the surface metal atoms were evaluated. The S^2? ions form stronger chemical bonds with the surface metal atoms than HS^? ions. A significant charge transfer from anion to metal occurs during the adsorption. The adsorbability increased in the series Ag < Cu < Au for both anions. The HS^? ion showed greater ability to be transferred to the surface during the electrochemical adsorption due to the strong hydration of the S^2? ion. In alkaline media, however, the dissociation of the adsorbed HS^? leads to its conversion to S^2?.     

Magnetische Kernresonanzuntersuchungen an Ti−C−H-Legierungen

Ohne ZusammenfassungMit 4 Abbildungen     

Chromatography of Anions on Alumina Thin Layers: Effect of Transition Metals on CI−-Br−-I− and No− 2-NO− 3 Separations

Abstract

Chromatographic behaviour of eighteen anions on thin layers of alumina and alumina mixed with silica gel (1:1, 1:2 and 2:1) has been studied using mixed acidic organic solvent systems containing formic acid. Though the addition of silica gel to alumina enhances the mobility and clarity of detection of anions, but it causes the increased tailing for Fe(CN)^3- ₆, Cr0₄ ^2- and Cr₂O₄ ^2-. Formic acid is responsible for the differential migration of anions. All the anions remained at the starting line (R_F = 0) in pure organic solvents. Formic acid-Ketone systems gave better results compared to formic acid-alcohol systems. Development time increases with the increase of viscosity/mol. wt. of organic solvents. The mutual separation of C1, Br^?, Br^?, I^? and NO^? ₂ and NO^? ₃ were achieved on pure alumina using formic acid-acetone solvent systems. The effect of transition metals (Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn) on C1^?-Br^?-I^? and NO^? ₂-NO^? ₃ separations has been studied.