多级孔芳香骨架材料的合成及固载硫脲催化剂的研究

合成了一种多级孔芳香骨架材料(PAF-70); 使用由氨基修饰过的单体, 应用该合成策略得到了同样具有窄分布介孔的含有氨基活性位点的PAF材料, 并通过硫脲单体与其氨基活性位点的反应, 将硫脲基团引入PAF-70材料中, 获得了含有硫脲催化位点的材料(PAF-70-thiourea). 氮气吸附-脱附测试结果显示, PAF-70存在孔径分布较窄的介孔, 介孔孔径为3.8 nm, 与模拟计算值(约3.7 nm)吻合. 热重分析结果表明, PAF-70具有很高的热稳定性. PAF-70在大多数溶剂中可以稳定存在, 具有良好的化学稳定性. 将PAF-70-thiourea作为催化剂, 应用在N-溴代琥珀酰亚胺(NBS)氧化醇类的反应中, 其表现出较高的催化活性、 较高的稳定性和广泛的底物适用性. 与含有相同硫脲催化位点的金属有机框架(MOF)材料(IRMOF-3-thiourea)作为催化剂对比, 进一步证实PAFs材料非常适合作为催化有机反应的固载平台.     

Catalytic Asymmetric Syntheses of Alkylidenecyclopropanes from Allenoates with Donor-Acceptor and Diacceptor Diazo Reagents

The first diastereo- and enantioselective cyclopropanation reactions of electron-deficient allenes with donor-acceptor and diacceptor diazo reagents are described. The desired enantioenriched alkylidenecyclopropanes (ACPs) were obtained in high yields with high diastereo- and enantioselectivities in the presence of Rh₂((S)-TCPTAD)₄ or Rh₂((R)-BTPCP)₄ catalysts (up to 95 % yield, >95 : 5 d.r. and 99 : 1 e.r.). This methodology gave a direct access to ACPs bearing multiple electron-deficient substituents and allows to further expand the availability of ACPs chemistry. Interestingly, during the examination of the scope of this reaction, the asymmetric intramolecular C−H insertion reaction into tert-butyl group was observed as a side reaction with up to 94 : 6 e.r.     

Polymeric Carbon Nitride-based Single Atom Photocatalysts for CO2 Reduction to C1 Products

Photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₁ fuels is considered to be an important way for alleviating increasingly serious energy crisis and environmental pollution. Due to the environment-friendly, simple preparation, easy formation of highly-stable metal-nitrogen(M-N_x) coordination bonds, and suitable band structure, polymeric carbon nitride-based single-atom catalysts(C₃N₄-based SACs) are expected to become a potential for CO₂ reduction under visible-light irradiation. In this review, we summarize the recent advancement on C₃N₄-based SACs for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₁ products, including the reaction mechanism for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to C₁ products, the structure and synthesis methods of C₃N₄-based SACs and their applications toward photocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction(CO₂RR) for C₁ production. The current challenges and future opportunities of C₃N₄-based SACs for photoreduction of CO₂ are also discussed.     

Dinuclear Zinc Catalyzed Enantioselective Dearomatization [3+2] Annulation of 2-Nitrobenzofurans and 2-Nitrobenzothiophenes

The application of dinuclear zinc catalysts in a dearomatization reaction has been developed. Catalytic asymmetric dearomatization [3+2] annulations of 2-nitrobenzofurans or 2-nitrobenzothiophenes with CF₃-containing N-unprotected isatin-derived azomethine ylides catalyzed by dinuclear zinc catalysts are realized with excellent diastereomer ratios (dr) of >20 : 1 and enantiomeric excess (ee) of up to 99 %. This protocol provides a practical, straightforward access to structurally diverse pyrrolidinyl spirooxindoles containing a 2,3-fused-dihydrobenzofuran (or dihydrobenzothiphene) moiety, and four contiguous stereocenters. Reactions can be performed on a gram scale. The absolute configuration of products is confirmed by X-ray single crystal structure analysis, and a possible mechanism is proposed.     

Large Enhancement of the Single-Molecular Conductance of a Molecular Wire through a Radical Substituent

The single-molecular conductance between two π-conjugated wires with and without a radical substituent has been compared. Specifically, methyl- and iminonitroxide-substituted 4-(biphenyl-4-yl)pyridine wires bound onto a porphyrin template were subjected to scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) apparent-height measurement at the interface between highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and octan-1-oic acid. Statistical analysis of the STM images revealed that the radical-substituted wire has 3.2±1.7-fold higher conductance than the methyl-substituted reference. Although density functional theory (DFT) calculation suggests that only 17 % of the SOMO is distributed on the wire moiety, the effect was significant. This study presents the potential of radical substituents to achieve high conductivity in molecular wires.     

有机张力半导体及其光电特性

分子张力作为空间设计的重要组成部分正成为调控有机半导体的重要手段。由于分子内产生的拉伸张力、扭曲/弯曲张力以及空间张力而导致p轨道排布重组和构型构象结构发生变化,最近各种几何与拓扑结构的高张力有机半导体材料相继被报道,这使得高张力有机半导体材料成为有机电子领域研究的焦点。为了进一步梳理分子张力在有机半导体材料中扮演的角色与价值,该综述从分子张力的类型、实验与理论量化以及可视化出发,总结了高张力共轭芳烃的分子设计策略、与其光电性能分子张力之间的关系,以及这类新兴材料在光电领域的应用。最后,对高张力共轭芳烃的研究前景进行了展望,阐述了该类材料所面临的机遇与挑战。     

Ultrahigh Loading Copper Single Atom Catalyst for Palladium-free Wacker Oxidation

Wacker oxidation is an industry-adopted process to transform olefins into value-added epoxides and carbonyls. However, traditional Wacker oxidation involves the use of homogeneous palladium and copper catalysts for the olefin addition and reductive elimination. Here, we demonstrated an ultrahigh loading Cu single atom catalyst(14% Cu, mass fraction) for the palladium-free Wacker oxidation of 4-vinylanisole into the corresponding ketone with N-methylhydroxylamine hydrochloride as an additive under mild conditions. Mechanistic studies by ¹⁸O and deuterium isotope labelling revealed a hydrogen shift mechanism in this palladium-free process using N-methylhydroxylamine hydrochloride as the oxygen source. The reaction scope can be further extended to Kucherov oxidation. Our study paves the way to replace noble metal catalysts in the traditional homogeneous processes with single atom catalysts.     

Revealing the Effect of Surface Composition on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Supported Pt-Fe Alloy Electrocatalysts for Methanol Oxidation Performance

The designs of efficient and inexpensive Pt-based catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) are essential to boost the commercialization of direct methanol fuel cells. Here, the highly catalytic performance PtFe alloys supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) decorating nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) have been successfully prepared via co-engineering of the surface composition and electronic structure. The Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst with moderate Fe³⁺ feeding content (0.86 mA/mg_Pt) exhibits 2.26-fold enhancement in MOR mass activity compared to pristine Pt/C catalyst (0.38 mA/mg_Pt). Furthermore, the CO oxidation initial potential of Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst is lower relative to Pt/C catalyst (0.71 V and 0.80 V). Benefited from the optimal surface compositions, the anti-corrosion ability of MWCNT, strong electron interaction between PtFe alloys and MWCNTs and the N-doped carbon (NC) layer, the Pt₁Fe₃@NC/MWCNTs catalyst presents an improved MOR performance and anti-CO poisoning ability. This study would open up new perspective for designing efficient electrocatalysts for the DMFCs field.     

Electro-assisted Molecular Assembly Giving Atomic-Scale Catalytic Active-Site Detection

The artificially accurate design of nonmetal electrocatalysts’ active site has been a huge challenge because no pure active species with the specific structure could be strictly controlled by traditional synthetic methods. Species with a multiconfiguration in the catalyst hinder identification of the active site and the subsequent comprehension of the reaction mechanism. We have developed a novel electro-assisted molecular assembly strategy to obtain a pure pentagon ring on perfect graphene avoiding other reconstructed structures. More importantly, the active atom was confirmed by the subtle passivation process as the topmost carbon atom. Recognition of the carbon-defect electrocatalysis reaction mechanism was first downsized to the single-atom scale from the experimental perspective. It is expected that this innovative electro-assisted molecular assembly strategy could be extensively applied in the active structure-controlled synthesis of nonmetal electrocatalysts and verification of the exact active atom.     

Conformational change-modulated spin transport at single-molecule level in carbon systems

Controlling the spin transport at the single-molecule level, especially without the use of ferromagnetic contacts, becomes a focus of research in spintronics. Inspired by the progress on atomic-level molecular synthesis, through first-principles calculations, we investigate the spin-dependent electronic transport of graphene nanoflakes with side-bonded functional groups, contacted by atomic carbon chain electrodes. It is found that, by rotating the functional group, the spin polarization of the transmission at the Fermi level could be switched between completely polarized and unpolarized states. Moreover, the transition between spin-up and spin-down polarized states can also be achieved, operating as a dual-spin filter. Further analysis shows that, it is the spin-dependent shift of density of states, caused by the rotation, that triggers the shift of transmission peaks, and then results in the variation of spin polarization. Such a feature is found to be robust to the length of the nanoflake and the electrode material, showing great application potential. Those findings may throw light on the development of spintronic devices.