Facial selectivity in addition reactions to the highly strained enone in tricyclo[5.2.1.0]deca-2(6),8-dienone and tricyclo[5.2.1.0]dec-2(6)-enone

Tricyclo[5.2.1.0^2,6]deca-2(6),8-dien-3-one contains a highly strained central double bond due to geometrical constraints imposed by the tricyclic skeleton which does not allow optimal sp² hybridization at the C₂ and C₆ bridgehead positions. Michael addition of various nucleophiles (alkoxides, cyanide, and malonate) under protic conditions resulted in an exclusive exo-facial selectivity. This preference can be explained by steric and electronic factors. Michael additions using lithium dialkylcuprates resulted in predominant formation of endo-products, but also some exo-products were obtained. These exo-products arising from endo-approach may be the result of coordination of the cuprate with both the enone moiety and the olefinic C₈-C₉ bond. Michael additions to tricyclo[5.2.1.0^2,6]dec-2(6)-en-3-one, which lacks this C₈-C₉ double bond showed exclusive exo-facial selectivity to give exo-products. Besides these additions were all considerably slower than those to tricyclo[5.2.1.0^2,6]deca-2(6),8-dien-3-one proving significant electronic participation of the C₈-C₉ double bond in reactions with this substrate.     

Supported ruthenium catalysts in hydrodechlorination of CCl2F2 (CFC-12)

Active carbon-and MgF₂-supported ruthenium catalysts characterized by a comparable metal dispersion were investigated in CCl₂F₂ hydrodechlorination. Ruthenium, especially when supported on carbon, exhibits a considerable selectivity to CHClF₂. This propensity and a noticeable activity towards C₂-products differentiate ruthenium from palladium catalysts. Dedicated to Professor Pál Tétényi on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

CoxP/Hollow Porous C3N4 as Highly Efficient Schottky Contact Photocatalyst for H2 Evolution from Water Splitting

Photocatalytic water splitting to obtain hydrogen energy can transform low-density solar to high density, new and clean energy in a clean way, which is one of the ideal ways to solve the energy crisis and environmental pollution. In this paper, The Co_xP/hollow porous C₃N₄ composite photocatalytic material was synthesized by simple methods. The photocatalytic hydrogen production rate of Co_xP/hollow porous C₃N₄ reaches 1602 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹, which is 151 times of that of pure C₃N₄. The reasons for the high photocatalytic H₂ evolution activity of Co_xP/hollow porous C₃N₄ could be summarized as follows: (1) the hollow and porous structure of C₃N₄ shows higher light capture efficiency, larger specific surface area and more surface active sites. (2) metalloid Co_xP loaded forms the Schottky contact with C₃N₄, which improves the photogenerated charges separation efficiency of C₃N₄, prolongs the photogenerated charges lifetime and improves the photocatalytic H₂ evolution activity of C₃N₄. (3) The higher conductivity of metalloid Co_xP and the lower overpotential of hydrogen production are other reasons for the higher activity of photocatalytic hydrogen production of Co_xP/hollow porous C₃N₄. This work provides an important role for the design of efficient, stable, and efficient construction of photocatalysts for solar energy conversion.     

Biohybrid Organic Heterostructure Based on Chlorophyll-Bacteriochlorophyll Aggregates for Ecofriendly Hydrogen Production

Hydrogen energy is an abundant, clean, sustainable and environmentally friendly renewable energy source. Therefore, the production of hydrogen by photocatalytically splitting water on semiconductors has been considered in recent years as a promising and sustainable strategy for converting solar energy into chemical energy to replace conventional energy sources and to solve the growing problem of environmental pollution and the global energy crisis. However, highly efficient solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production remains a huge challenge due to the poor visible light response of available photocatalytic materials and the low efficiency of separation and transfer of photogenerated electron-hole pairs. In the present work, organic heterojunction structures based on bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) and chlorophyll (Chl) molecules were introduced and used for solar-driven photocatalytic hydrogen production from water under visible light. Also, noble metal-free photocatalyst was successfully constructed on Ti₃C₂T_x nanosheets by simple successive deposition of Chl and BChl, which was used for the photocatalytic splitting water to hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The results show that the optimal BChl@Chl@Ti₃C₂T_x composite has a high HER performance with 114 μmol/h/g_cat, which is much higher than the BChl@Ti₃C₂T_x and Chl@Ti₃C₂T_x composites.     

Quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometry of fullerenes

The fullerenes C₆₀ and C₇₀ can be ionized by desorption from a liquid matrix upon bombardment by Cs⁺ ions of 7 keV kinetic energy. The resulting radical cations, when activated in the ion trap by collisions with Xe target, in the presence of helium, undergo extensive dissociation by loss of multiple C₂ units. Large internal energies are deposited into these molecular ions and the dissociation efficiency is in excess of 60%.     

A highly regio-, diastereo- and enantioselective intramolecular cyclopropanation reaction of a racemic α-diazo ketone catalyzed by chiral ortho-metalated dirhodium(II) compounds

A series of racemic dirhodium(II) compounds with two ortho-metalated aryl phosphine ligands in a head-to-tail arrangement Rh₂(O₂CR)₂(pc)₂ (pc=ortho-metalated aryl phosphine) (1a–k) were tested in the regio- and stereoselective cyclopropanation of racemic 1-diazo-6-methyl-3-(2-propenyl)-5-hepten-2-one 2, which possesses two different reactive CC double bonds for a five-membered-ring formation. The complexes Rh₂(O₂CCH₃)₂(pc)₂ {pc=[(C₆H₄)P(C₆H₅)₂], [(p-CH₃C₆H₃)P(p-CH₃C₆H₄)₂], and [(C₆H₄)P(C₆H₅)(C₆F₅)]} (1a–d) successfully enhanced the cyclopropanation of trisubstituted versus monosubstituted CC bonds to give an 80:20 selectivity ratio. The reaction occurred with excellent diastereoselectivity; the syn-products were the only stereoisomers observed in the whole series of the catalysts. Enantioenriched products were obtained when enantiomerically pure dirhodium(II) complexes were used.     

Formal carbene insertion into CO double bond: A facile approach to the synthesis of 2H-chromenes

A formal carbene insertion into CO double bonds of 2-hydroxycinnamaldehydes catalyzed by Rh₂(esp)₂ with Na₂CO₃ as additive has been disclosed by using aryldiazoacetates as carbene precursors. 2H-chromenes with a quaternary carbon at C-2 position were readily obtained from simple starting materials in good yields with excellent diastereoselectivity under mild reaction conditions in one pot. The reaction mechanism was investigated and proposed as the formation of epoxide intermediate from Rh(II)-associated carbene and (E)-2-hydroxycinnamaldehyde and followed by a cascade epoxide ring-opening procedure in which the (E)-intermediate was converted into the (Z)-intermediate to give (Z)-products.     

The mechanism of the retro-Diels-Alder reaction in 4-vinylcyclohexene cation radical

Butadiene cation radicals are produced symmetrically from the ring and side-chain of the vinylcyclohexene cation radical near the onset of the fragmentation. The appearance energies of C₄H₆^+? and C₄H₂D₄^+? from (3,3,6,6-D₄)vinylcyclohex ene were measured as 11.07 ± 0.05 and 11.06 ± 0.06 eV, respectively. This sets the barrier to retro-Diels-Alder decomposition at 1140 kJ mol^?1 above the energy of 1 and 44 kJ mol^?1 above the thermochemical threshold corresponding to C₄H₆^+? + C₄H₆. Topological molecular orbital calculations indicate that this lowest-energy path involves a sequential rupture of the C₃C₄ and C₅C₆ bonds, with a calculated barrier of 211 kJ mol^?1. The second, two-step reaction channel proceeds by subsequent fission of the C₅C₆ and C₃C₄ bonds with a barrier of 299 kJ mol^?1. This channel is found experimentally as a break on the ionization efficiency curve at 12.1 eV. Both the supra-supra and the supra-antara pericyclic reactions go through energy maxima and are therefore forbidden. The supra-supra process is the most favorable route for decomposition from the first excited state, the activation energy being 333 kJ mol^?1. The preference for the two-step mechanism is due to hyperconjugative stabilization of intermediate molecular configurations.     

Application of a Microwave Helium Plasma Torch Operating at Atmospheric Pressure to Destroy Trichloroethylene

We examined the influence of the gas flow-rate, microwave power and trichloroethylene concentration on the destruction of trichloroethylene with a system based on a microwave helium plasma operating at atmospheric pressure. Based on the experimental results obtained, the proposed system allows input concentrations of C₂HCl₃ in the ppmv range to be reduced to output concentrations in the ppbv range (i.e. virtually quantitative destruction) by using a microwave plasma power below 1000 W. High helium flow-rates and C₂HCl₃ concentrations allow energy efficiency values above 600 g/kW h to be obtained. Analyses of the output gases by gas chromatography and species present in the plasma by optical emission spectroscopy confirmed the negligible presence of halogen compounds resulting from the destruction of C₂HCl₃, and that of CCl₄ and C₂Cl₄ as the sole chlorine species exceeding levels of 30 ppbv. Gaseous by-products consisted mainly of CO₂, NO and N₂O in addition to Cl₂ traces.     

Binding energies and bonding nature of MX(CO)(PH3)2(C60) (M = Rh or Ir; X = H or Cl): Theoretical study

IrH(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀), IrCl(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀), and RhH(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) were theoretically investigated with DFT and MP2 to MP4(SDQ) methods.  Because the DFT method considerably underestimates the binding energy compared to the MP2 method, their binding energies were evaluated by the ONIOM(MP4(SDQ):UFF) method.  The binding energy decreases in the order IrH(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) (59.4) > RhH(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) (48.2) > Pt(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) (47.2) > IrCl(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) (43.0), where in parentheses are the binding energy (in kcal/mol) calculated with the ONIOM(MP4(SDQ):UFF) method and that of Pt(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) was calculated with the same method and the same basis sets in our previous work.  This decreasing order is interpreted in terms of the d_π orbital energy, the d orbital expansion, the presence of the empty d_σ orbital, and the distortion energy of the metal fragment induced by the complexation; for instance, the d_π orbital is at higher energy and more expands in IrH(CO)(PH₃)₂ than in the Rh analogue, which leads to the larger binding energy of IrH(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) than that of the Rh analogue. IrCl(CO)(PH₃)₂ is less favorable than IrH(CO)(PH₃)₂ because of the lower energy of d_π orbital.  Although the π-back donation is stronger in IrCl(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) than in RhH(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀), the binding energy of IrCl(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) is smaller than that of RhH(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) due to the larger distortion energy of the IrCl-(CO)(PH₃)₂ moiety.  Although the d_π orbital of Pt(PH₃)₂ is at higher energy than that of IrH-(CO)(PH₃)₂, the binding energy of IrH(CO)(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) is larger than that of Pt(PH₃)₂(C₆₀) because the distortion energy is large and the d_σ orbital is doubly occupied in Pt(PH₃)₂(C₆₀).  It is also noted that these binding energies are much larger than those of the ethylene analogues like those of the Pt(0) complexes, which is reasonably interpreted in terms that the LUMO of C₆₀ is at much lower energy than those of ethylene.     

Coupling of methane under pulse corona plasma (I)

At normal temperature and pressure, pulse corona plasma was used as a new method for the dehydrogenative coupling of methane in the absence of oxygen. The effects of voltage polarity and input energy on the dehydrogenative coupling of methane were investigated. The parameter “energy efficiency” was introduced to examine the coupling of the input energy and the dehydrogenative coupling of methane. The experimental results show that positive corona gives higher energy efficiency than negative corona. When the positive corona was chosen, C₂ yield per pass was 31.6% and acetylene yield per pass was 30.1% with 44.6% methane conversion at an input energy density of 1788kJ/mol and a pulse repetition frequency of 66Hz. The function of input energy density towards methane conversion may be expressed as a formula of-In(1-X) =k (PIF). In the range of input energy employed, C₂ yield is proportional to input energy density, but energy efficiency drops off with increasing input energy density.     

Selective CO2 Electroreduction to Ethylene and Multicarbon Alcohols via Electrolyte‐Driven Nanostructuring

Production of multicarbon products (C₂₊) from CO₂ electroreduction reaction (CO₂RR) is highly desirable for storing renewable energy and reducing carbon emission. The electrochemical synthesis of CO₂RR catalysts that are highly selective for C₂₊ products via electrolyte‐driven nanostructuring is presented. Nanostructured Cu catalysts synthesized in the presence of specific anions selectively convert CO₂ into ethylene and multicarbon alcohols in aqueous 0.1 m KHCO₃ solution, with the iodine‐modified catalyst displaying the highest Faradaic efficiency of 80 % and a partial geometric current density of ca. 31.2 mA cm^?2 for C₂₊ products at ?0.9 V vs. RHE. Operando X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and quasi in situ X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements revealed that the high C₂₊ selectivity of these nanostructured Cu catalysts can be attributed to the highly roughened surface morphology induced by the synthesis, presence of subsurface oxygen and Cu⁺ species, and the adsorbed halides.     

Cu2O-Ag Tandem Catalysts for Selective Electrochemical Reduction of CO2 to C2 Products

The electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) to C₂ chemicals has received great attention. Here, we report the cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) nanocubes cooperated with silver (Ag) nanoparticles via the replacement reaction for a synergetic CO₂RR. The Cu₂O-Ag tandem catalyst exhibits an impressive Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 72.85% for C₂ products with a partial current density of 243.32 mA·cm⁻². The electrochemical experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the introduction of Ag improves the intermediate CO concentration on the catalyst surface and meanwhile reduces the C-C coupling reaction barrier energy, which is favorable for the synthesis of C₂ products.     

Modulating Inorganic Dimensionality of Ultrastable Lead Halide Coordination Polymers for Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction to Ethanol

Lead halide hybrids have shown great potentials in CO₂ photoreduction, but challenging to afford C₂₊ reduced products, especially using H₂O as the reductant. This is largely due to the trade-off problem between instability of the benchmark 3D structures and low carrier mobility of quasi-2D analogues. Herein, the lead halide dimensionality of robust coordination polymers (CP) was modulated by organic ligands differing in a single-atom change (NH vs. CH₂), in which the NH groups coordinate with interlamellar [PbI₂] clusters to achieve the important 2D→3D transition. This first CP based on 3D cationic lead iodide sublattice possesses both high aqueous stability and a low exciton binding energy of 25 meV that is on the level of ambient thermal energy, achieving artificial photosynthesis of C₂H₅OH. Photophysical studies combined with theoretical calculations suggest the bridging [PbI₂] clusters in the 3D structure not only results in enhanced carrier transport, but also promotes the intrinsic charge polarization to facilitate the C−C coupling. With trace loading of Rh cocatalyst, the apparent quantum efficiency of the 3D CP reaches 1.4 % at 400 nm with a high C₂H₅OH selectivity of 89.4 % (product basis), which presents one of the best photocatalysts for C₂ products to date.     

Decomposition of Gaseous Sulfide Compounds in Air by Pulsed Corona Discharge

The effectiveness of applying a pulsed corona discharge to the destruction of olfactory pollution in air was investigated. This paper presents a comparative study of the decomposition of three representative sulfide compounds in diluted concentrations: hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and ethanethiol (C₂H₅SH), which could be completely removed when a sufficient but reasonable energy density was deposited in the gas. DMS showed the lowest energy cost (around 30 eV/molecules); C₂H₅SH and H₂S had an EC of respectively 45 eV and 115 eV. The efficiency of the non-thermal plasma process increased with decreasing the initial concentration of sulfide compounds, while the energy yield remained almost unchanged. SO₂ was the only identified byproduct of H₂S decomposition, but the sulfur balance suggests the formation of undetected SO₃. The byproducts analyzed during the degradation of DMS and C₂H₅SH enabled to propose a reaction mechanism, starting with radical attack and breaking of C–S bonds.     

Dissociative photoionization of isoprene: experiments and calculations

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) dissociative photoionization of isoprene in the energy region 8.5–18 eV was investigated with photoionization mass spectroscopy (PIMS) using synchrotron radiation (SR). The ionization energy (IE) of isoprene as well as the appearance energies (AEs) of its fragment ions C₅H₇⁺, C₅H₅⁺, C₄H₅⁺, C₃H₆⁺, C₃H₅⁺, C₃H₄⁺, C₃H₃⁺ and C₂H₃⁺ were determined with photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves. The dissociation energies of some possible dissociation channels to produce those fragment ions were also determined experimentally. The total energies of C₅H₈ and its main fragments were calculated using the Gaussian 03 program and the Gaussian‐2 method. The IE of C₅H₈, the AEs for its fragment ions, and the dissociation energies to produce them were predicted using the high‐accuracy energy model. According to our results, the experimental dissociation energies were in reasonable agreement with the calculated values of the proposed photodissociation channels of C₅H₈. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interfacial Water Tuning by Intermolecular Spacing for Stable CO2 Electroreduction to C2+ Products

Electroreduction of CO₂ to multi-carbon (C₂₊) products is a promising approach for utilization of renewable energy, in which the interfacial water quantity is critical for both the C₂₊ product selectivity and the stability of Cu-based electrocatalytic sites. Functionalization of long-chain alkyl molecules on a catalyst surface can help to increase its stability, while it also tends to block the transport of water, thus inhibiting the C₂₊ product formation. Herein, we demonstrate the fine tuning of interfacial water by surface assembly of toluene on Cu nanosheets, allowing for sustained and enriched CO₂ supply but retarded water transfer to catalytic surface. Compared to bare Cu with fast cathodic corrosion and long-chain alkyl-modified Cu with main CO product, the toluene assembly on Cu nanosheet surface enabled a high Faradaic efficiency of 78 % for C₂₊ and a partial current density of 1.81 A cm⁻². The toluene-modified Cu catalyst further exhibited highly stable CO₂-to-C₂H₄ conversion of 400 h in a membrane-electrode-assembly electrolyzer, suggesting the attractive feature for both efficient C₂₊ selectivity and excellent stability.     

Preparation of porous g‐C3N4/Ag/Cu2O: a new composite with enhanced visible‐light photocatalytic activity

From previous reports, graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C₃N₄) can be used as a photocatalyst, although the low efficiency of solar energy utilization, small specific surface area and high recombination rate of photogenerated electron–hole pairs limit its practical application. For the purpose of increasing photocatalytic activity, especially under irradiation of visible light, we successfully synthesized a new composite, namely porous g‐C₃N₄/Ag/Cu₂O, through chemical adsorption of Ag‐doped Cu₂O on porous g‐C₃N₄, which has not been investigated carefully worldwide. The composition, morphology and optical properties of the composite were investigated through methods including X‐ray diffraction, energy‐dispersive X‐ray, Fourier transform infrared, UV–visible and photoluminescence spectroscopies and transmission electron microscopy. Using rhodamine B as organic pollutant to be degraded under the irradiation of visible light, different mass ratios of Ag/Cu₂O doped on porous g‐C₃N₄ led to enhanced photocatalytic performance of the composite compared to pure porous g‐C₃N₄. When the mass ratio of Ag/Cu₂O is 15%, porous g‐C₃N₄/Ag/Cu₂O exhibits a degradation rate 2.015 times higher than that of pure porous g‐C₃N₄. The reasons for this phenomenon may be attributed to the increased utilization efficiency of visible light, high‐speed separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs, accelerated interfacial transfer process of electrons and increased surface area of the composite. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quenching of electronically excited Ln3+* ions by C60 fullerene

Quenching of electronically excited states of Ln^3+* ions generated upon photoexcitation of toluene solutions of Ln(acac)₃·H₂O (Ln = Tb, Eu) complexes by C₆₀ fullerene at 293 K was detected and investigated. The dependences of quenching efficiency on C₆₀ concentration obtained from data on the decrease in the photoluminescence intensity and Ln^3+* lifetimes obey the Stern-Volmer law. Quenching is due to inductive-resonant energy transfer from Ln^3+* to C₆₀ fullerene. The bimolecular rate constants for quenching, the overlap integrals of the Ln^3+* photoluminescence spectra with the C₆₀ absorption spectra, and the critical energy transfer distances were determined. No sensitized luminescence of C₆₀ in the system studied was detected. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 921–925, June, 2006.     

Binding energy of gas molecule with two pyrazine molecules as organic linker in metal�Corganic framework: its theoretical evaluation and understanding of determining factors

We explored the interactions of gas molecules such as H₂, CH₄, C₂H₄, C₂H₆, CO₂, and CS₂ sandwiched by two pyrazine (Pz) molecules, which were employed as a model of organic linker in the Hofmann-type metal?Corganic framework (MOF). The MP2.5/aug-cc-pVTZ method was employed here, because this method presents almost the same binding energy as that calculated by the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ with MP2.5-evaluated basis set extension effects to aug-cc-pVTZ basis set. The binding energy of the gas molecule increases in the order H₂?<?CH₄?<?CO₂?<?C₂H₄????C₂H₆?<?CS₂. The energy decomposition analysis of the interaction energy indicates that the electrostatic term presents the largest contribution to the interaction energy at the Hartree?CFock level. However, the dispersion interaction provides dominant contribution to the total binding energy at correlated level. We newly found a linear correlation between the z-component of polarizability of gas molecules and dispersion energy, where the z-axis was taken to be perpendicular to two Pz rings. These results are useful for understanding and predicting the binding energy of the gas molecule with the organic linkers of MOF.