Oxidative kinetic resolution of racemic alkyl aryl carbinols by an electronically tuned chiral nitroxyl radical

A method for oxidative kinetic resolution of racemic alcohols catalyzed by chiral nitroxyl radical (R,R)-1 has been developed. This method is especially effective for the kinetic resolution of tert-butyl aryl carbinols (s = up to 23).     

Solvent-free asymmetric conjugate addition of malonates to enones using a diaminomethylenemalononitrile organocatalyst

Diaminomethylenemalononitrile organocatalyst 1 efficiently promotes the asymmetric conjugate addition of malonates to α,β-unsaturated ketones to afford the corresponding addition products in high to excellent yields with up to 98% ee.     

Cinchona–diaminomethylenemalononitrile organocatalyst for asymmetric conjugate addition of 1,3-diketone to nitroalkene

A diaminomethylenemalononitrile organocatalyst with a cinchona motif efficiently promotes the enantioselective conjugate addition of acetylacetone to various nitroalkenes to yield the corresponding addition products in high to excellent yields with up to 89% ee.     

Synthesis of Nanoporous Carbon–Cobalt‐Oxide Hybrid Electrocatalysts by Thermal Conversion of Metal–Organic Frameworks

Nanoporous carbon–cobalt‐oxide hybrid materials are prepared by a simple, two‐step, thermal conversion of a cobalt‐based metal–organic framework (zeolitic imidazolate framework‐9, ZIF‐9). ZIF‐9 is carbonized in an inert atmosphere to form nanoporous carbon–metallic‐cobalt materials, followed by the subsequent thermal oxidation in air, yielding nanoporous carbon–cobalt‐oxide hybrids. The resulting hybrid materials are evaluated as electrocatalysts for the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen‐evolution reaction (OER) in a KOH electrolyte solution. The hybrid materials exhibit similar catalytic activity in the ORR to the benchmark, commercial, Pt/carbon black catalyst, and show better catalytic activity for the OER than the Pt‐based catalyst.     

Controlled Crystallization of Cyano‐Bridged Cu–Pt Coordination Polymers with Two‐Dimensional Morphology

Two‐dimensional (2D) coordination polymers (CPs) have a highly accessible surface area that permits guest molecules to effectively access the micropores in the CPs. Here we report a bottom‐up synthesis of 2D cyano‐bridged Cu–Pt CP nanoflakes using trisodium citrate as a chelating agent, which controls the nucleation rate and the crystal growth. The lateral sizes of the CP nanoflakes are controlled by changing the amount of trisodium citrate used. We strongly believe that our method will be useful for the preparation of other types of 2D CP nanoflakes. The 2D CPs have many active sites for catalytic and electrochemical reactions, and furthermore the assembled CPs can be used as membrane filters.     

Electron charge distribution of CaAl2−xZnx: Maximum entropy method combined with Rietveld analysis of high-resolution-synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data

Using short wavelength X-rays from synchrotron radiation (SPring-8), high-resolution powder diffraction patterns were collected. In order to study both the structural relationship and the mechanism of stability in the CaAl_2−xZn_x system, among the Laves phases (MgCu₂ and MgNi₂ type) and KHg₂-type structures, the charge density distribution of CaAl_2−xZn_x as a function of x was obtained from the diffraction data by Rietveld analysis combined with the maximum entropy method (MEM). In the MEM charge density maps overlapping electron densities were clearly observed, especially in the Kagomé nets of the Laves phases. In order to clarify the charge redistribution in the system, the deformation charge densities from the densities formed by the constituent free atoms are discussed. In the ternary MgNi₂-type phase, partial ordering of Al and Zn atoms is observed, a finding that is supported by ab-initio total energy calculations.     

Solid-state Chromism of Zwitterionic Triarylmethylium Salts

Zwitterionic triarylmethylium dyes 1 and 2 were synthesized by using a synthetic unit of a tetraarylborate. The zwitterionic structure of 1 and 2 exhibits varied molecular assembly and induces charge transfer transition. These properties gave them specific optical features such as solvatochromism and mechanochromism in the solid state, that is, the green solid of 2 changes to yellow or red solid by dissolution & evaporation or grinding, respectively. The three colors were reproduced independently in different crystal forms, which were prepared from different recrystallization conditions. The diffuse reflectance measurement and powder X-ray diffraction demonstrated the correlation between the colors and the solid-state structures. The single crystal X-ray analysis revealed face-to-face dimeric assembly in each crystal. Among the crystal structures, the intermolecular distances and packing patterns were notable differences. Based on these results, it can be suggested that unique color change of zwitterionic triarylmethylium dyes originates from the alternation of intermolecular interactions.