MAO‐free and extremely active catalytic system for ethylene tetramerization

The original Sasol catalytic system for ethylene tetramerization is composed of a Cr source, a PNP ligand, and MAO (methylaluminoxane). The use of expensive MAO in excess has been a critical concern in commercial operation. Many efforts have been made to replace MAO with non‐coordinating anions (e.g., [B(C₆F₅)₄]^?); however, most of such attempts were unsuccessful. Herein, an extremely active catalytic system that avoids the use of MAO is presented. The successive addition of two equivalent [H(OEt₂)₂]⁺[B(C₆F₅)₄]^? and one equivalent CrCl₃(THF)₃ to (acac)AlEt₂ and subsequent treatment with a PNP ligand [CH₃(CH₂)₁₆]₂C(H)N(PPh₂)₂ ( 1 ) yielded a complex presumably formulated as [ 1 ‐CrAl (acac)Cl₃(THF)]²⁺[B(C₆F₅)₄]^?₂, which exhibited high activity when combined with iBu₃Al (1120 kg/g‐Cr/h; ~4 times that of the original Sasol system composed of Cr (acac)₃, iPrN(PPh₂)₂, and MAO). Via the introduction of bulky trialkylsilyl substituents such as –SiMe₃, –Si(nBu)₃, or –SiMe₂(CH₂)₇CH₃ at the para‐position of phenyl groups in 1 (i.e., by using [CH₃(CH₂)₁₆]₂C(H)N[P(C₆H₄‐p‐SiR₃)₂]₂ instead of 1 ), the activities were dramatically improved, i.e., tripled (2960–3340 kg/g‐Cr/h; more than 10 times that of the original Sasol system). The generation of significantly less PE (<0.2 wt%) even at a high temperature is another advantage achieved by the introduction of bulky trialkylsilyl substituents. NMR studies and DFT calculations suggest that increase of the steric bulkiness on the alkyl‐N and P‐aryl moieties restrict the free rotation around (alkyl)N–P (aryl) bonds, which may cause the generation of more robust active species in higher proportion, leading to extremely high activity along with the generation of a smaller amount of PE.     

Bottom‐Up Construction and Reversible Structural Transformation of Supramolecular Isomers based on Large Truncated Tetrahedra

A rational synthetic strategy to construct two supramolecular isomers based on polyoxovanadate organic polyhedra with tetrahedral symmetries is presented. VMOP‐α , a low‐temperature product, has an extremely large cell volume (470 842 ų), which is one of the top three for well‐defined MOPs. The corner‐to‐corner packing of tetrahedra leads to a quite low density of 0.174 g cm^?3 with 1D channels (ca. 5.4 nm). The effective pore volume is up to 93.6 % of cell volume, nearly the largest found in MOPs. For the high‐temperature outcome, VMOP‐β , the cell volume is only 15 513 ų. The packing mode of tetrahedra is corner‐to‐face, giving rise to a high‐density architecture (1.324 g cm^?3; channel 0.8 nm). Supramolecular structural transformation between VMOP‐α and VMOP‐β can be reversibly achieved by temperature‐induced solvent‐mediated transformation. These findings give a good opportunity for understanding 3D supramolecular aggregation and crystal growth based on large molecular tectonics.     

Enzymatic Extraction of Bioactive and Self‐Assembling Wool Keratin for Biomedical Applications

Keratin is widely recognized as a high‐quality renewable protein resource for biomedical applications. Despite their extensive existence, keratin resources such as feathers, wool, and hair exhibit high stability and mechanical properties because of their high disulfide bond content. Consequently, keratin extraction is challenging and its application is greatly hindered. In this work, a biological extraction strategy is proposed for the preparation of bioactive keratin and the fabrication of self‐assembled keratin hydrogels (KHs). Based on moderate and controlled hydrolysis by keratinase, keratin with a high molecular weight of approximately 45 and 28 kDa that retain its intrinsic bioactivities is obtained. The keratin products show excellent ability to promote cell growth and migration and are conferred with significant antioxidant ability because of their intrinsically high cysteine content. In addition, without the presence of any cross‐linking agent, the extracted keratin can self‐assemble into injectable hydrogels. The KHs exhibit a porous network structure and 3D culture ability, showing potential in promoting wound healing. This enzyme‐driven keratin extraction strategy opens up a new approach for the preparation of keratin that can self‐assemble into injectable hydrogels for biomedical engineering.     

Catalyst-controlled diastereoselective ring-opening formal [3+2]-cycloadditions of arylvinyl oxirane 2,2-diesters with cyclic N-sulfonyl imines

A diastereoselectivity-controllable formal [3+2]-cycloaddition of arylvinyl oxirane 2,2-diesters with cyclic N-sulfonyl imines is developed, affording the corresponding tricyclic oxazolidine derivatives in moderate to excellent yields with excellent diastereoselectivities in the presence of palladium(0) or scandium(III) triflate. This protocol allows selective synthesis of diastereomers of tricyclic oxazolidine derivatives under switchable and mild conditions. Further transformations of the obtained products were conducted by removing ester groups and arylvinyl moieties.     

3-O-Sulfation of Heparan Sulfate Enhances Tau Interaction and Cellular Uptake

Prion-like transcellular spreading of tau in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is mediated by tau binding to cell surface heparan sulfate (HS). However, the structural determinants for tau–HS interaction are not well understood. Microarray and SPR assays of structurally defined HS oligosaccharides show that a rare 3-O-sulfation (3-O-S) of HS significantly enhances tau binding. In Hs3st1^−/− (HS 3-O-sulfotransferase-1 knockout) cells, reduced 3-O-S levels of HS diminished both cell surface binding and internalization of tau. In a cell culture, the addition of a 3-O-S HS 12-mer reduced both tau cell surface binding and cellular uptake. NMR titrations mapped 3-O-S binding sites to the microtubule binding repeat 2 (R2) and proline-rich region 2 (PRR2) of tau. Tau is only the seventh protein currently known to recognize HS 3-O-sulfation. Our work demonstrates that this rare 3-O-sulfation enhances tau–HS binding and likely the transcellular spread of tau, providing a novel target for disease-modifying treatment of AD and other tauopathies.     

Recent Advances for Selective Catalysis in Benzene Methylation: Reactions,Shape-Selectivity and Perspectives

Catalysis Surveys from Asia - Benzene methylation over zeolite offers an alternative route to produce high-value toluene or para-xylene directly from benzene and C1 chemical sources, especially for...     

Site Occupancies,Electron–Vibration Interaction and Energy Transfer of CaMgSi2O6: Eu2+, Mn2+ Phosphors for Potential Temperature-Sensing and Anti-counterfeiting Applications

Eu²⁺-, Mn²⁺- and Eu²⁺−Mn²⁺-doped CaMgSi₂O₆ phosphors have been prepared by a high-temperature solid-state reaction. Systematic investigation of the concentration- and temperature-dependent luminescence of Mn²⁺ showed that Mn²⁺ ions occupy two distinct sites in CaMgSi₂O₆. Electron–vibration interaction (EVI) analyses of Mn²⁺ ions revealed Huang–Rhys factors of 4.73 and 2.82 as well as effective phonon energies of 313 and 383 cm⁻¹ for the two sites. Eu²⁺−Mn²⁺ energy transfer is also discussed, and its efficiency is estimated by lifetime and luminescence spectra. The different thermal quenching behaviours of Eu²⁺ and Mn²⁺, the distinct emission colours of Eu²⁺ (blue, band peak at ∼451 nm) and Mn²⁺ (yellow–red range, band peaks at ∼583 and 693 nm) endow the co-doped samples with potential applications in luminescence thermometry and temperature-/excitation wavelength-responsive dual anti-counterfeiting.     

Extraction of uranium in caustic sludge from the production of nuclear fuel components by countercurrent dissolution and acid curing

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - The uraniferous caustic sludge (UCS) produced in the production of uranium fuel components was hardly to leach directly, due to its very low-grade...     

Scalable Synthesis of Piperazines Enabled by Visible‐Light Irradiation and Aluminum Organometallics

The development of more active C? H oxidation catalysts has inspired a rapid, scalable, and stereoselective assembly of multifunctional piperazines through a [3+3] coupling of azomethine ylides. A combination of visible‐light irradiation and aluminum organometallics is essential to promote this transformation, which introduces visible‐light photochemistry of main‐group organometallics and sets the basis for new and promising catalysts.