Regioselective Synthesis of 1,8-Naphthyridinone-Annulated Oxygen and Sulfur Heterocycles by Tri-n-butyl Tinhydride–Mediated Aryl Radical Cyclization

The tin hydride–mediated cyclizations of a number of ethers, sulfides, and sulfones under mild, neutral conditions have been investigated. While the 2-bromobenzyloxy ethers were prepared in 62–65% yields by the alkylation of 4-hydroxy-1-phenyl-1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-one with 2-bromobenzyl bromides in refluxing acetone in the presence of anhydrous potassium carbonate, the sulfides were derived from 4-mercapto-1-phenyl-1,8-naphthyridin-2(1H)-one and 2-bromobenzyl bromides in 82–84% yields by a phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) reaction. The corresponding sulfones were prepared by treatment of the sulfides with m-CPBA in refluxing dichloromethane. The ethers, sulfides, and the sulfones were treated with ⁿ Bu₃SnH-AIBN to give regioselectively 1,8-naphthyridinone-annulated oxygen and sulfur heterocycles in 70–78% yields.     

Regioselective Synthesis of Benzofuran‐Annulated Six‐Membered Sulfur Heterocycles by Aryl Radical Cyclization

The tin hydride–mediated cyclization of a number of sulfides and sulfones under mild and neutral conditions has been investigated. The sulfides were in turn derived from 3(2H) benzothiofuranone and 2‐bromobenzyl bromides by phase‐transfer‐catalyzed reaction, and the corresponding sulfones were prepared by treatment of the corresponding sulfides with m‐CPBA at room temperature. The sulfides and sulfones were then reacted with ⁿ Bu₃SnH‐AIBN to afford regioselectively benzofuran‐annulated six‐membered sulfur heterocycles.     

The Redox‐Neutral Approach to C?H Functionalization

The direct functionalization of C? H bonds is an attractive strategy in organic synthesis. Although several advances have been made in this area, the selective activation of inert sp³ C? H bonds remains a daunting challenge. Recently, a new type of sp³ C? H activation mode through internal hydride transfer has demonstrated the potential to activate remote sp³ C? H linkages in an atom‐economic manner. This Minireview attempts to classify recent advances in this area including the transition to non‐activated sp³ C? H bonds and asymmetric hydride transfers.     

Facile Insertion of Carbon Dioxide into Cu2(μ‐H) Dinuclear Units Supported by Tetraphosphine Ligands

Reactions of meso‐bis[(diphenylphosphinomethyl)phenylphosphino]methane (dpmppm) with Cu^I species in the presence of NaBH₄ afforded di‐ and tetranuclear copper hydride complexes, [Cu₂(μ‐H)(μ‐dpmppm)₂]X ( 1 ) and [Cu₄(μ‐H)₂(μ₄‐H)(μ‐dpmppm)₂]X ( 2 ) (X=BF₄, PF₆). Complex 1 undergoes facile insertion of CO₂ (1 atm) at room temperature, leading to a formate‐bridged dicopper complex [Cu₂(μ‐HCOO)(dpmppm)₂]X ( 3 ). The experimental and DFT theoretical studies clearly demonstrate that CO₂ insertion into the Cu₂(μ‐H) unit occurred with the flexible dicopper platform. Complex 2 also undergoes CO₂ insertion to give a formate‐bridged complex, [Cu₄(μ‐HCOO)₃(dpmppm)₂]X, during which the square Cu₄ framework opened up to a linear tetranuclear chain.     

Hydrogen storage over alkali metal hydride and alkali metal hydroxide composites

Alkali metal hydroxide and hydride composite systems contain both protic(H bonded with O) and hydridic hydrogen. The interaction of these two types of hydrides produces hydrogen. The enthalpy of dehydrogenation increased with the increase of atomic number of alkali metals,i.e.,-23 kJ/molH2 for LiOH-LiH, 55.34 kJ/molH2 for NaOH-NaH and 222 kJ/molH2 for KOH-KH. These thermodynamic calculation results were consistent with our experimental results. H2 was released from LiOH-LiH system during ball milling. The dehydrogenation temperature of NaOH-NaH system was about 150℃; whereas KOH and KH did not interact with each other during the heating process. Instead, KH decomposed by itself. In these three systems, NaOH-NaH was the only reversible hydrogen storage system, the enthalpy of dehydrogenation was about 55.65 kJ/molH2, and the corresponding entropy was ca. 101.23 J/(molH2 K), so the temperature for releasing 1.0 bar H2 was as high as 518℃, showing unfavorable thermodynamic properties. The activation energy for hydrogen desorption of NaOH-NaH was found to be57.87 kJ/mol, showing good kinetic properties.     

碳纳米管负载钯基催化剂催化氧化2,5-呋喃二甲醇合成2,5-呋喃二甲酸

为积极应对化石能源枯竭和生态环境日益严峻等问题,可再生生物质资源的深度开发并进一步替代传统能源或石化原料被广泛认可.利用高效催化技术将生物质资源转化为高附加值的平台化合物,有望衍生出大量具备新颖结构与功能的绿色化学品.2,5-呋喃二甲酸(FDCA)作为重要的生物质基平台化合物之一,具有巨大的市场应用价值,其中因其与化石基对苯二甲酸(PTA)有着极其相似的化学结构,以FDCA替代PTA作为合成单体制备大宗聚合物备受关注.以5-羟甲基糠醛(HMF)为原料,采用多相催化体系(主要是贵金属催化剂)选择氧化制备FDCA是目前广泛采用的方法.但“HMF路线”面临一些基础性的难题,如HMF熔点较低,需低温存储,增加了实际应用中的运输成本;HMF在碱性溶液中易降解,导致反应过程中碳平衡损失;HMF结构中含有的不对称的羟基和醛基官能团在氧化反应中会发生竞争反应,致使反应副产物较多;此外,碱性反应介质中通常会得到醛基优先氧化的中间体5-羟甲基-2-呋喃甲酸(HMFCA),但由于HMFCA结构中羧基官能团的存在使得羟基进一步氧化较为困难,通常需要增加碱浓度、提升温度或压力,使反应条件变得苛刻.因此,寻求新的原料替代HMF,实现温和条件下高效合成FDCA具有重要意义.本文采用改性后的碳纳米管负载Pd催化剂(Pd/o-CNT),从具有独特对称结构的2,5-二羟甲基呋喃(BHMF)出发,提出一种新颖、高效催化合成FDCA的“BHMF路线”.反应在60°C常压下进行,BHMF在20 min内即可完全转化,60 min后FDCA的产率最高可达93.0%,优于相同条件下HMF为原料时的性能(FDCA产率仅为35.7%).相比于未作处理的碳纳米管负载钯催化剂(Pd/CNT),Pd/o-CNT催化剂具有更高含量的氢化钯(PdH_x)物种,显著促进了FDCA产率的提升.Pd/o-CNT在循环使用10次后,BHMF仍能完全转化,FDCA产率维持在75%.稳定性下降可能与活性物种流失、团聚及价态变化有关.基于对照试验,本文提出了可能的反应路径,即BHMF主要是通过2,5-二甲酰基呋喃和5-甲酰基-2-呋喃甲酸作为过程中间体,有效转化为FDCA,从而规避并减少生成HMF和活性较低的HMFCA.本文通过以新原料BHMF作底物,实现了高效制备生物基平台化合物FDCA,为生物质的产业化应用提供了新的研究思路.     

Interaction of Hydrogen with Ceria: Hydroxylation,Reduction, and Hydride Formation on the Surface and in the Bulk

The study reports the first attempt to address the interplay between surface and bulk in hydride formation in ceria (CeO₂) by combining experiment, using surface sensitive and bulk sensitive spectroscopic techniques on the two sample systems, i.e., CeO₂(111) thin films and CeO₂ powders, and theoretical calculations of CeO₂(111) surfaces with oxygen vacancies (O_v) at the surface and in the bulk. We show that, on a stoichiometric CeO₂(111) surface, H₂ dissociates and forms surface hydroxyls (OH). On the pre-reduced CeO_2−x samples, both films and powders, hydroxyls and hydrides (Ce−H) are formed on the surface as well as in the bulk, accompanied by the Ce³⁺ ↔ Ce⁴⁺ redox reaction. As the O_v concentration increases, hydroxyl is destabilized and hydride becomes more stable. Surface hydroxyl is more stable than bulk hydroxyl, whereas bulk hydride is more stable than surface hydride. The surface hydride formation is the kinetically favorable process at relatively low temperatures, and the resulting surface hydride may diffuse into the bulk region and be stabilized therein. At higher temperatures, surface hydroxyls can react to produce water and create additional oxygen vacancies, increasing its concentration, which controls the H₂/CeO₂ interaction. The results demonstrate a large diversity of reaction pathways, which have to be taken into account for better understanding of reactivity of ceria-based catalysts in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere.     

Insights into LiAlH4 Catalyzed Imine Hydrogenation

Commercial LiAlH₄ can be used in catalytic quantities in the hydrogenation of imines to amines with H₂. Combined experimental and theoretical investigations give deeper insight in the mechanism and identifies the most likely catalytic cycle. Activity is lost when Li in LiAlH₄ is exchanged for Na or K. Exchanging Al for B or Ga also led to dramatically reduced activities. This indicates a heterobimetallic mechanism in which cooperation between Li and Al is crucial. Potential intermediates on the catalytic pathway have been isolated from reactions of MAlH₄ (M=Li, Na, K) and different imines. Depending on the imine, double, triple or quadruple imine insertion has been observed. Prolonged reaction of LiAlH₄ with PhC(H)=NtBu led to a side-reaction and gave the double insertion product LiAlH₂[N]₂ ([N]=N(tBu)CH₂Ph) which at higher temperature reacts further by ortho-metallation of the Ph ring. A DFT study led to a number of conclusions. The most likely catalyst for hydrogenation of PhC(H)=NtBu with LiAlH₄ is LiAlH₂[N]₂. Insertion of a third imine via a heterobimetallic transition state has a barrier of +23.2 kcal mol⁻¹ (ΔH). The rate-determining step is hydrogenolysis of LiAlH[N]₃ with H₂ with a barrier of +29.2 kcal mol⁻¹. In agreement with experiment, replacing Li for Na (or K) and Al for B (or Ga) led to higher calculated barriers. Also, the AlH₄⁻ anion showed very high barriers. Calculations support the experimentally observed effects of the imine substituents at C and N: the lowest barriers are calculated for imines with aryl-substituents at C and alkyl-substituents at N.     

The Potent Oxidant Anticancer Activity of Organoiridium Catalysts

Platinum complexes are the most widely used anticancer drugs; however, new generations of agents are needed. The organoiridium(III) complex [(η⁵‐Cp^xbiph)Ir(phpy)(Cl)] ( 1‐Cl ), which contains π‐bonded biphenyltetramethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp^xbiph) and C^N‐chelated phenylpyridine (phpy) ligands, undergoes rapid hydrolysis of the chlorido ligand. In contrast, the pyridine complex [(η⁵‐Cp^xbiph)Ir(phpy)(py)]⁺ ( 1‐py ) aquates slowly, and is more potent (in nanomolar amounts) than both 1‐Cl and cisplatin towards a wide range of cancer cells. The pyridine ligand protects 1‐py from rapid reaction with intracellular glutathione. The high potency of 1‐py correlates with its ability to increase substantially the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cancer cells. The unprecedented ability of these iridium complexes to generate H₂O₂ by catalytic hydride transfer from the coenzyme NADH to oxygen is demonstrated. Such organoiridium complexes are promising as a new generation of anticancer drugs for effective oxidant therapy.