Small with control : For miniaturization of protein aggregation experiments the interfacial chemistry must be controlled to avoid protein aggregation caused by interfacial adsorption. Plug‐based microfluidics with defined surface chemistry (see schematic picture) can then be used to perform hundreds of aggregation experiments with volume‐limited samples, such as cerebrospinal fluid from mice.
Cage chirality : Cyclic addition reactions of chirally modified stannyl‐1,2,4‐triphospholes with tBuC?P leads to stannylated P5‐deltacyclenes in high yields as separable 1:1 mixtures of diastereomers. Destannylation of a separated diastereomer gives a single enantiomer of an optically pure P? C cage compound. The novel cage‐chiral P5C4 unit (shown here) dominates the chiroptical properties, not only of the isolated enantiomer, but of the diastereomeric compounds as well.
Linked‐in : The rigid Schiff‐base ligand cis,trans‐1,3,5‐tris(pyridine‐2‐carboxaldimino) cyclohexane (ttop) is synthesized, and its complexation to copper(II) salts at a range of stoichiometries is investigated crystallographically by using electrospray mass spectrometry. Further, in‐situ mass spectrometry measurements allow the stepwise construction of the complexes to be observed.
Building bridges : The title compound forms an unprecedented polymeric structure with bridging B–H–B three‐center two‐electron bonds in the solid state. This organoborane serves as an efficient precursor for the preparation of boron‐doped π‐conjugated polymers by hydroboration polymerization with a functionalized 1,4‐diethynylbenzene (see picture). These polymers form thin films that show intense green luminescence.
Photoproduct signature: Irradiation of solid hydrogen near 3 K containing NO with vacuum‐UV light from synchrotron radiation yields new infrared absorption lines at 1241.7, 1063.6 and 726.2 cm?1 (see figure). These new lines are assigned to vibrational modes of t‐HNOH. This photoproduct is formed from electronically excited NO reacting with neighboring hydrogen in the solid sample.
Fluidizing ionic liquids: By applying the inductive effect, a synthesis strategy to introduce strong, directional and localized H‐bonds into imidazolium‐based ionic liquids is proposed. In opposite to H‐bonded molecular liquids these strong H‐bonds could reduce the melting points and decrease the viscosities of the ILs (see figure).
Please recycle! An amphiphilic polystyrene‐poly(ethylene glycol) resin‐dispersion of nanoparticles of platinum (ARP‐Pt) is developed, with the nanoparticles exhibiting a narrow size distribution throughout the resin. ARP‐Pt offers a sustainable chemistry alternative as a useful and readily recyclable catalyst for the aerobic oxidation of a wide variety of alcohols.
Economic and practical advantages are offered by the iron(III)‐catalyzed and air‐mediated tandem coupling/hydroarylation/dehydrogenation of simple readily available aldehydes, alkynes, and amines for the synthesis of 2, 4‐disubstituted quinolines (see scheme).
High pressure under the spotlight : A new milliliter‐scale reactor is developed for using supercritical CO2 to perform continuous photo‐oxidation reactions. Changing from a traditional microliter‐scale batch reaction to 8 hours of reaction using the new reactor gives a 3000‐fold scale‐up of the oxidation of α‐terpinene (see picture).
Easy and direct : Regioselective Mizoroki–Heck‐coupling reactions using heteroaromatic tosylates as electrophiles were achieved, thus providing direct and easy access to highly functionalized α‐heteroarylvinyl amides and ethers.
Functionalized nanodiamonds : Various functional groups have been incorporated into the structures of the naturally occurring diamondoids [1(2)3]tetramantane and [12312]hexamantane (cyclohexamantane), which represent hydrogen‐terminated prism‐shaped nanodiamonds (see picture). The attachment points define the use of these diamond‐like molecules as geometric building blocks for a variety of applications.
A complex mixture of products in an enzymatic reaction: Aplysia californica releases amino acid oxidase and its substrate lysine in defensive secretions to produce a mixture of multiple compounds (see figure).
Delving into digallides : The characteristics of the chemical bonding of the digallides of the alkaline‐earth metals (see figure) have been studied by application of experimental methods, such as single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction and solid‐state NMR spectroscopy, in combination with quantum mechanical calculations.
Phased out: A combination of electrochemical and optical techniques is used to study the interaction of hydrogen with palladium nanoclusters. Hydrogen pressure‐composition isotherms reveal the reduced presence of the β phase in palladium nanoclusters. Hydrogen extraction transients relate the reduced miscibility gap to a core‐shell phase transformation in the palladium nanoclusters (see picture).
Exciton migration! Spectroscopic analyses and extensive molecular dynamics studies revealed a well‐defined 41 helix in which the perylene molecules (see figure) form four “helter‐skelter‐like” overlapping pathways along which excitons and electrons can rapidly migrate.
By a flexible three‐component synthesis, alkoxy‐substituted enamides are easily available from lithiated alkoxyallenes, nitriles and carboxylic acids (see scheme). The treatment of these versatile intermediates with trifluoroacetic acid provided 5‐acetyloxazoles in moderate to good yields. Different substituents are possible at C‐2 and C‐5 and the 5‐acetyl group is a suitable handle for further synthetic transformations.
Division of labour : The rapid enzyme inactivation in the electroenzymatic synthesis of chiral alcohols has been the main obstacle for synthetic applications during the last two decades. The reasons for this inactivation have now been elucidated. The development of a water‐soluble polymeric mediator and the spatial separation of enzyme and mediator led to the first stable process and significantly improved catalyst utilisations (see picture).
