A Showcase of Green Chemistry: Sustainable Synthetic Approach of Zirconium-Based MOF Materials

Zirconium-based metal-organic framework materials (Zr−MOFs) have more practical usage over most conventional benchmark porous materials and even many other MOFs due to the excellent structural stability, rich coordination forms, and various active sites. However, their mass-production and application are restricted by the high-cost raw materials, complex synthesis procedures, harsh reaction conditions, and unexpected environmental impact. Based on the principles of “Green Chemistry”, considerable efforts have been done for breaking through the limitations, and significant progress has been made in the sustainable synthesis of Zr−MOFs over the past decade. In this review, the advancements of green raw materials and green synthesis methods in the synthesis of Zr−MOFs are reviewed, along with the corresponding drawbacks. The challenges and prospects are discussed and outlooked, expecting to provide guidance for the acceleration of the industrialization and commercialization of Zr−MOFs.     

Bromination of 3-substituted benzo[b]thiophenes: access to Raloxifen intermediate

A practical route to prepare halogeno-derivatives is described, starting from easily available 3-cyano-benzo[b]thiophene. Main efforts have been devoted to the optimization of the experimental procedures (solvent, bromination) to promote selectivity. Synthetic studies investigate the potential access to an advanced intermediate of Raloxifen.     

A nucleophilic Fe catalyst for transesterifications under neutral conditions

Carboxylic esters belong to the most important functional groups in organic chemistry. Strong efforts have been made in developing mild catalytic procedures for their preparation. Among the various methods developed to date, transesterifications have occupied an important space. In the present paper, a new catalytic method for this process based on the use of nucleophilic Fe(-II) complexes is presented. Evidence for the formation of an intermediate acyl Fe complex will be presented as well as investigations on scope and limitations.     

Metal‐Catalyzed α‐Arylation of Carbonyl and Related Molecules: Novel Trends in C?C Bond Formation by C?H Bond Functionalization

α‐Arylated carbonyl compounds are commonly occurring motifs in biologically interesting molecules and are therefore of high interest to the pharmaceutical industry. Conventional procedures for their synthesis often result in complications in scale‐up, such as the use of stoichiometric amounts of toxic reagents and harsh reaction conditions. Over the last decade, significant efforts have been directed towards the development of metal‐catalyzed α‐arylations of carbonyl compounds as an alternative synthetic approach that operates under milder conditions. This Review summarizes the developments in this area to date, with a focus on how the substrate scope has been expanded through selection of the most appropriate synthetic method, such as the careful choice of ligands, precatalysts, bases, and reaction conditions.     

A comprehensive study for the determination of forty eight elements in the certification of a hazardous standard reference material

The centification of standard reference materials is of fundamental importance for environmental scientists to proceed with their own quality control programs or calibration procedures. As part of the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) program, we participated in the certification of a hazardous waste material. Our efforts concentrated on judiciously using thermal and epithermal neutron activation analysis in conjunction with Compton suppression techniques. We have demonstrated that besides lowering the detection limit for several elements usually not reported by conventional NAA, Compton suppression is ideally suited to substantially reduce certain spectrla interferences. A detailed comprehensive study was undertaken using this method to highlight which isotopes can be most favorably used.     

Measurements of organic lead in air-A review

Mounting concern over the presence and the role of organic lead compounds in the environment and living systems has resulted in the development of selective and sensitive measuring techniques. In the last decade considerable efforts have been devoted to the collection of data on the levels of the pollutant in environmental air. The procedures used and the chemical and instrumental problems associated with them, as well as the most important analytical results, are reviewed.     

Interface Heteroatom‐doping: Emerging Solutions to Silicon‐based Anodes

Silicon‐based composites have been recognized as a promising anode material for high‐energy lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). However, the intrinsically low conductivity and the huge volume expansion during lithiation/delithiation progresses impede its further practical applications. In the past decades, numerous efforts have been made for surface and interface modification of Si‐based anodes. Among these, doping of active materials with heteroatoms is one promising method to endow silicon many unmatched electrochemical properties. In this review, we focus on the effects of heteroatom doping on the interfacial properties of Si‐based anodes, and some typical strategies for the interface doping are highlighted. We aim to give some reference for interfacial doping of Si‐based anodes in LIBs.     

二次生长法合成ZSM-5分子筛膜的影响因素

具有均匀孔径的分子筛膜在催化反应器、膜分离等领域显示其巨大潜力.通过适宜路线制备高质量分子筛膜成为膜研究的热点.负载晶种的二次生长法在高性能ZSM-5分子筛膜的制备中表现出巨大的优势.从膜层的连续性、渗透性、选择性这3个分子筛膜最重要的性能指标出发,重点分析了晶种尺寸、用量、分散介质、载体内部生长、反应温度、有机模板剂的去除等因素对于分子筛膜性能的影响,阐述了其作用机理以及已经应用的改良手段.综述了ZSM-5分子筛膜的研究现状和亟待解决的技术难题,并展望了ZSM-5分子筛膜的应用.     

Cyclodextrins in capillary electrophoresis enantioseparations--recent developments and applications

Capillary EKC has been established as a versatile and robust CE method for the separation of enantiomers. Within the chiral selectors added to the BGE CDs continue as the most widely used selectors due to their structural variety and commercial availability. This is reflected in the large number of practical applications of CDs to analytical enantioseparations that have been reported between January 2006 and January 2008, the period of time covered by this review. Most of these applications cover aspects of life sciences such as drug analysis, bioanalysis, environmental analysis, or food analysis. Moreover, new CD derivatives have been developed in an attempt to achieve altered enantioselectivities and to further broaden the application range. Finally, efforts will be summarized that aim at an understanding of the molecular level of the chiral recognition between CDs and the analytes.     

A convenient preparation of heteroaryl sulfonamides and sulfonyl fluorides from heteroaryl thiols

Heteroaromatic thiols may be oxidized to the sulfonyl chloride at low temperature (-25 degrees C) by using 3.3 equiv of aqueous sodium hypochlorite. The reaction is rapid, avoids the use of chlorine gas, and succeeds with substrates that have previously been found to afford little or none of the sulfonamide product with other procedures. The method allows the preparation of the sulfonyl fluorides, which are stable enough to be purified and stored, making them potentially useful monomers in parallel chemistry efforts.     

抗癌大环化合物的环合方法

大环化合物具有广泛的生物活性.一些具有抗癌活性的天然大环化合物已开发成上市药物或应用于临床研究.在抗癌大环化合物的合成中,环合步骤是整个合成过程中的关键,同时也是难点所在.目前已经发展出了一些方便实用的环合方法.文章以具有抗癌作用的大环化合物为例,简要介绍各种常用的大环环合方法及应用.     

An origami paper device for complete elimination of interferents in enzymatic electrochemical biosensors

Many efforts have been made to prevent interferences in enzymatic electrochemical biosensors by permselective membranes or mediators with low redox potential. However, it is difficult to completely eliminate interferents without compromised sensitivity by these traditional procedures. We propose here a method based on an origami paper device that separates the electrochemical reactions of interferents and substrates for complete depletion of interferents and precise analysis of substrates. Interferents such as ascorbate, urate and paracetamol were completely consumed by a simple electrolysis step, while substrates were quantitatively analyzed by coulometry. With GOx as a model enzyme, an interference-free and calibration-free coulometric glucose biosensor has been demonstrated successfully. The proposed origami paper device provides a facile and easy-controlled approach to eliminate the electroactive interferents completely for enzymatic electrochemical biosensors.     

Practical synthesis of Shi's diester fructose derivative for catalytic asymmetric epoxidation of alkenes

[reaction: see text] A practical synthesis of Shi's diester 3 for catalytic asymmetric epoxidations has been developed. The catalyst has been prepared in multigram quantities from D-fructose in four steps with a 66% overall yield. Efficiency, cost, and selectivity aspects of the reagents involved for its preparation have been taken care of during its preparation. The workup procedures have been simplified to the bare minimum, rendering a very practical preparation method. The well-known high efficiency of this catalyst 3 in the epoxidation of alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl compounds has also proved to be high in unfunctionalized alkenes.     

On‐line solid‐phase extraction for liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis of pesticides

Public concern about pesticides in food and water has increased dramatically in the last two decades. In order to guarantee consumers’ health and safety, analytical methods that could provide fast and reliable answers without compromising accuracy and precision are required. Sample treatment is probably the most tedious and time‐consuming step in many analytical procedures and, despite the significant advances in chromatographic separations and mass spectrometry techniques, sample treatment is still one of the most important parts of the analytical process for achieving good analytical results. Therefore, over the last years, considerable efforts have been made to simplify the stage and to develop fast, accurate, and robust methods that allow the determination of a wide range of pesticides without compromising the integrity of the extraction process. This review article intends to give a short overview of recently developed on‐line solid‐phase extraction, preconcentration, and clean‐up procedures for the determination of pesticides in complex matrices by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry techniques.     

Miniaturization in sample treatment for environmental analysis

The increasing demand for faster, more cost-effective and environmentally friendly analytical methods is a major incentive to improve the classical procedures used for sample treatment in environmental analysis. In most classical procedures, the use of rapid and powerful instrumental techniques for the final separation and detection of the analytes contrasts with the time-consuming and usually manual methods used for sample preparation, which slows down the total analytical process. The efforts made in this field in the past ten years have led to the adaptation of existing methods and the development of new techniques to save time and chemicals, and improve overall performance. One route has been to develop at-line or on-line and, frequently, automated systems. In these approaches, miniaturization has been a key factor in designing integrated analytical systems to provide higher sample throughput and/or unattended operation. Selected examples of novel developments in the field of miniaturized sample preparation for environmental analysis are used to evaluate the merits of the various techniques on the basis of published data on real-life analyses of trace-level organic pollutants. Perspectives and trends are briefly discussed.     

Review of the methods of the US Environmental Protection Agency for bromate determination and validation of Method 317.0 for disinfection by-product anions and low-level bromate

In recent years several methods have been published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which specify bromate as a target analyte. The first of these was EPA Method 300.0. As technological improvements in ion chromatographic hardware have evolved and new detection techniques have been designed, method detection limits for bromate have been reduced and additional procedures have been written, including EPA Method 300.1, 321.8 and, most recently, EPA Method 317.0. An overview of the evolution of these bromate methods since 1989 is presented. The focus is specific to each of these respective procedures, highlighting method strengths, weaknesses, and addressing how these methods fit into EPA’s regulatory agenda. In addition, performance data are presented detailing the joint EPA/American Society for Testing and Materials multilaboratory validation of EPA Method 317.0 for disinfection by-product anions and low-level bromate.     

The Contribution of Catalysis for the Realization of GSC in the Twenty-First Century

The drastic climate change on global scale is becoming very serious. To curb the anthropogenic CO₂ emissions will be one of the most important issues for the human society in the twenty-first century. The chemical industry can contribute to this issue from the viewpoint of green sustainable chemistry. We have been establishing various innovative catalyst technologies and can still continue further efforts. Considering the existence of huge infrastructure of the conventional processes based on fossil resources, it would be very difficult to turn into new technologies based on sustainable resources quickly and straightforwardly. Thus it may be good to apply more practical strategies along the realistic time line. Here we propose a strategy comprised of establishing more energy-effective chemical processes based on fossil resources in short term, utilizing biomasses as chemical feedstocks in large scale in middle term, and pursuit of the artificial photosynthesis as a final goal in long term. In this article, several topics in each category are introduced.     

Spectrophotometric determination of arsenic by molybdenum blue method in zinc-lead concentrates and related smelter products after chloroform extraction of iodide complex

The most popular and widely applied method for determination of arsenic in ore concentrates is by spectrophotometry of arsenomolybdic acid reduced to molybdenum blue. While applying this method, several authors have developed procedures which varied in the decomposition, separation of arsenic and in the final colour development. Data regarding interference from germanium is inadequate. The present paper describes a procedure, which combines the best features of the previous procedures and is simple, less time consuming and interference-free compared to earlier procedures. This method has been applied to zinc-lead concentrates and related smelter products.     

Direct Asymmetric Aldol Type Reaction with Ethyl Diazoacetate: Stereoselective Synthesis of α, β-Dihydroxy Esters

Enantioselective aldol condensation under catalytic condition remains a challenging task in modern organic synthesis, and numerous efforts have been directed to this area. In particular, the direct catalytic asymmetric aldol reaction is very attractive considering the requirement of atom efficiency. This has been studied only recently, and several very practical processes have been developed. We have recently initiated a study on the direct asymmetric aldol type reaction with ethyl diazoacetate as nucleophile. Moderate enantioselectivities (65% ～91% ee ) were achieved in the condensation of aldehydes with ethyl diazoacetate catalyzed by the chiral complex of BINOL derivatives-Zr (OBu- t )4. [1]     

Click Chemistry in Functional Aliphatic Polycarbonates

Click chemistry, one of the most important methods in conjugation, plays an extremely significant role in the synthesis of functional aliphatic polycarbonates, which are a group of biodegradable polymers containing carbonate bonds in their main chains. To date, more than 75 articles have been reported on the topic of click chemistry in functional aliphatic polycarbonates. However, these efforts have not yet been highlighted. Six categories of click reactions (alkyne‐azide reaction, thiol‐ene reaction, Michael addition, epoxy‐amine/thiol reaction, Diels‐Alder reaction, and imine formation) that have been afforded for further post‐polymerization modification of polycarbonates are reviewed. Through this review, a comprehensive understanding of functional aliphatic polycarbonates aims to afford insight on the design of polycarbonates for further post‐polymerization modification via click chemistry and the expectation of the practical application.