An asymmetric N-rim partially substituted calix[4]pyrrole: Its affinity for Ag(I) and its destruction by Hg(II)

A new partially substituted calix[4] pyrrole derivative obtained by the introduction of three thioamide functionalities in the N-rim has been synthesised and fully characterised by ¹H, ¹³C, HSQC, ROESY NMR and mass spectroscopy. Computer modelling suggested an alternate conformation which was confirmed through ROESY ¹H NMR. The receptor interacts only with the silver cation as shown by ¹H NMR. The strength of interaction is quantitatively assessed by titration calorimetry. N-rim modification eliminates the possibility of interaction with anions. Unlike calix[4] pyrrole derivatives obtained by the introduction of functionalities through the meso-position, addition of Hg(NO₃)₂ leads to the degeneration of the receptor as demonstrated by ¹H NMR, FTIR and XPS analyses. This is for the first time reported. Molecular simulation studies show significant strain in the mercury bound ligand in bonds, angles, torsions leading to the destruction of the receptor. Given the negative environmental impact produced by the availability of silver ions in aquatic organisms, the fundamental studies indicate that this receptor offers potential applications for monitoring silver (ion selective electrode) or indeed as a decontaminating material for removing silver ions from water.     

工业催化:选择性提升策略

工业催化直接或间接贡献了世界GDP的20%-30%,推动了产业变革和社会进步.对于工业催化,开发高活性、高选择性和高稳定性的多相催化剂至关重要,而选择性是最主要的挑战.因为实现催化选择性的精确控制是绿色化学的重要概念之一,更是工业催化可持续发展的重要驱动力;而且,选择性不仅决定了催化过程的原子经济性,也影响到后续分离过程的能耗.针对多数工业催化反应存在'活性越高、选择性越低'的相互制约与矛盾问题,本文以若干能源化工催化反应为例,试图总结催化选择性提升的一般策略,以期为有关工业应用的催化新过程提供科学参考.多相催化一般经历与反应物有关的步骤(反应物的外扩散、内扩散和化学吸附)、与反应有关的步骤(活化和表面反应)、以及与产物相关的步骤(产物脱附、内扩散和外扩散).本文依此归纳并举例说明提高选择性的一般策略.在汽油催化吸附脱硫中,主要利用了催化剂中零价镍-氧化锌耦合活性中心的选择吸附策略,使零价镍优先吸附含硫化合物,从而实现选择性脱硫而不饱和烯烃.在甲苯和甲醇侧链烷基化反应中,主要利用了特定空间分布的酸碱吸附位,实现吸附甲苯和稳定甲醛中间体的协同匹配.在乙苯脱乙基型二甲苯异构化反应中,主要利用了双床层对催化剂功能的分离策略,在不同的择形催化剂床层中分别进行乙苯脱乙基反应和二甲苯异构化反应,从而提高对二甲苯的产量.在苯选择加氢制环己烯反应中,主要利用强化产品脱附的策略,促进环己烯产品从亲水改性的催化剂表面脱附,实现环己烯选择性的提升.这些炼油与化工研究案例中同时存在多个连串-平行反应,主要是利用吸附中心、反应中心在时间或空间上的耦合、解耦或限域策略,调控不同途径的扩散能垒、反应能垒,实现了催化剂选择性的提升.多相催化多是复杂过程,基于提高选择性的初步认识,还要结合具体复杂催化过程,系统研究单策略以及多策略组合作用下的选择催化过程,实现在合理时间尺度、空间尺度上设计高选择性的催化剂,而这本质上是一种介尺度催化.     

Electrocatalysis in confined space

The complex interplay of restricted mass transport leading to local accumulation or depletion of educts, intermediates, products, counterions and co-ions influences the reactions at the active sites of electrocatalysts when electrodes are rough, three-dimensionally mesoporous or nanoporous. This influence is important with regard to activity, and even more to selectivity, of electrocatalytic reactions. The underlying principles are discussed based on the growing awareness of these considerations over recent years.     

Selectivity in micellar catalysed reactions: The role of interfacial dipole,compartmentalisation, and specific interactions with the surfactants

Micellar catalysis is playing a major role in green chemistry with ever increasing applications in the efficient and sustainable preparation of natural compounds, drugs, and more recently organic semiconductors for printed electronics. Most of the contributions in the field focus on the developments of surfactants and suitable formulative conditions capable of reproducing – and often improving – the yield of reactions commonly performed in organic solvents. The real ambition of the micellar catalysis approach goes beyond the improvement in the sustainability of existing methods and aims at mimicking not only the efficiency but also the selectivity of enzymatic catalysis. This review summarizes relevant examples of micellar catalysis enabled, efficient, and selective transformations, and discusses the different kind of processes impacting on the product distribution depending on the details of the formulative state achieved.     

Highly Selective Transmembrane Transport of Exogenous Lithium Ions through Rationally Designed Supramolecular Channels

Lithium ions have been applied in the clinic in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. In this work, we report artificial supramolecular lithium channels composed of pore-containing small aromatic molecules. By adjusting the lumen size and coordination numbers, we found that one of the supramolecular channels developed shows unprecedented transmembrane transport of exogenous lithium ions with a Li⁺/Na⁺ selectivity ratio of 23.0, which is in the same level of that of natural Na⁺ channels. Furthermore, four coordination sites inside channels are found to be the basic requirement for ion transport function. Importantly, this artificial lithium channel displays very low transport of physiological Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺ ions. This highly selective Li⁺ channel may become an important tool for studying the physiological role of intracellular lithium ions, especially in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.     

Tuning the CO2 Hydrogenation Selectivity of Rhodium Single-Atom Catalysts on Zirconium Dioxide with Alkali Ions

Tuning the coordination environments of metal single atoms (M₁) in single-atom catalysts has shown large impacts on catalytic activity and stability but often barely on selectivity in thermocatalysis. Here, we report that simultaneously regulating both Rh₁ atoms and ZrO₂ support with alkali ions (e.g., Na) enables efficient switching of the reaction products from nearly 100 % CH₄ to above 99 % CO in CO₂ hydrogenation in a wide temperature range (240–440 °C) along with a record high activity of 9.4 mol_CO g_Rh⁻¹ h⁻¹ at 300 °C and long-term stability. In situ spectroscopic characterization and theoretical calculations unveil that alkali ions on ZrO₂ change the surface intermediate from formate to carboxy species during CO₂ activation, thus leading to exclusive CO formation. Meanwhile, alkali ions also reinforce the electronic Rh₁-support interactions, endowing the Rh₁ atoms more electron deficient, which improves the stability against sintering and inhibits deep hydrogenation of CO to CH₄.     

Highly Selective Photoelectroreduction of Carbon Dioxide to Ethanol over Graphene/Silicon Carbide Composites

Using sunlight to produce valuable chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide (CO₂), i.e., artificial photosynthesis (AP) is a promising strategy to achieve solar energy storage and a negative carbon cycle. However, selective synthesis of C₂ compounds with a high CO₂ conversion rate remains challenging for current AP technologies. We performed CO₂ photoelectroreduction over a graphene/silicon carbide (SiC) catalyst under simulated solar irradiation with ethanol (C₂H₅OH) selectivity of>99 % and a CO₂ conversion rate of up to 17.1 mmol g_cat⁻¹ h⁻¹ with sustained performance. Experimental and theoretical investigations indicated an optimal interfacial layer to facilitate the transfer of photogenerated electrons from the SiC substrate to the few-layer graphene overlayer, which also favored an efficient CO₂ to C₂H₅OH conversion pathway.     

Iron Nanoparticles Protected by Chainmail-structured Graphene for Durable Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Nitrogen

The electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO₃RR) is an appealing technology for regulating the nitrogen cycle. Metallic iron is one of the well-known electrocatalysts for NO₃RR, but it suffers from poor durability due to leaching and oxidation of iron during the electrocatalytic process. In this work, a graphene-nanochainmail-protected iron nanoparticle (Fe@Gnc) electrocatalyst is reported. It displays superior nitrate removal efficiency and high nitrogen selectivity. Notably, the catalyst delivers exceptional stability and durability, with the nitrate removal rate and nitrogen selectivity remained ≈96 % of that of the first time after up to 40 cycles (24 h for one cycle). As expected, the conductive graphene nanochainmail provides robust protection for the internal iron active sites, allowing Fe@Gnc to maintain its long-lasting electrochemical nitrate catalytic activity. This research proposes a workable solution for the scientific challenge of poor lasting ability of iron-based electrocatalysts in large-scale industrialization.     

Tuning C1/C2 Selectivity of CO2 Electrochemical Reduction over in-Situ Evolved CuO/SnO2 Heterostructure

Heterostructured oxides with versatile active sites, as a class of efficient catalysts for CO₂ electrochemical reduction (CO₂ER), are prone to undergo structure reconstruction under working conditions, thus bringing challenges to understanding the reaction mechanism and rationally designing catalysts. Herein, we for the first time elucidate the structural reconstruction of CuO/SnO₂ under electrochemical potentials and reveal the intrinsic relationship between CO₂ER product selectivity and the in situ evolved heterostructures. At −0.85 V_RHE, the CuO/SnO₂ evolves to Cu₂O/SnO₂ with high selectivity to HCOOH (Faradaic efficiency of 54.81 %). Mostly interestingly, it is reconstructed to Cu/SnO_2-x at −1.05 V_RHE with significantly improved Faradaic efficiency to ethanol of 39.8 %. In situ Raman spectra and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the synergetic absorption of *COOH and *CHOCO intermediates at the interface of Cu/SnO_2-x favors the formation of *CO and decreases the energy barrier of C−C coupling, leading to high selectivity to ethanol.     

Insight into Iron Leaching from an Ascorbate-Oxidase-like Fe−N−C Nanozyme and Oxygen Reduction Selectivity**

Ascorbate (H₂A) is a well-known antioxidant to protect cellular components from free radical damage and has also emerged as a pro-oxidant in cancer therapies. However, such “contradictory” mechanisms underlying H₂A oxidation are not well understood. Herein, we report Fe leaching during catalytic H₂A oxidation using an Fe−N−C nanozyme as a ferritin mimic and its influence on the selectivity of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Owing to the heterogeneity, the Fe-N_x sites in Fe−N−C primarily catalyzed H₂A oxidation and 4 e⁻ ORR via an iron-oxo intermediate. Nonetheless, trace O₂⋅⁻ produced by marginal N−C sites through 2 e⁻ ORR accumulated and attacked Fe-N_x sites, leading to the linear leakage of unstable Fe ions up to 420 ppb when the H₂A concentration increased to 2 mM. As a result, a substantial fraction (ca. 40 %) of the N−C sites on Fe−N−C were activated, and a new 2+2 e⁻ ORR path was finally enabled, along with Fenton-type H₂A oxidation. Consequently, after Fe ions diffused into the bulk solution, the ORR at the N−C sites stopped at H₂O₂ production, which was the origin of the pro-oxidant effect of H₂A.