Organorhodium‐Functionalized Periodic Mesoporous Organosilica: High Hydrophobicity Promotes Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation in Aqueous Medium

Three organosilica‐bridged periodic mesoporous organosilicas were prepared by the immobilization of a chiral N‐sulfonylated diamine‐based organorhodium complex within their silicate network. Structural analysis and characterization confirmed their well‐defined single‐site active rhodium centers, whilst electron microscopy revealed their highly ordered hexagonal mesostructures. Among these three different organosilica‐bridged periodic mesoporous organosilicas, the ethylene‐bridged periodic mesoporous organosilica catalyst exhibited excellent heterogeneous catalytic activity and high enantioselectivity in the aqueous asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones. This superior catalytic performance was attributed to its salient hydrophobicity, whilst its comparable enantioselectivity relative to the homogeneous catalyst was derived from the confined nature of the chiral organorhodium catalytic sites. Furthermore, this ethylene‐bridged periodic mesoporous organosilica could be conveniently recovered and reused at least 12 times without the loss of its catalytic activity. This feature makes this catalyst attractive for practical organic synthesis in an environmentally friendly manner. This study offers a general way of optimizing the bridged organosilica moiety in periodic mesoporous organosilicas, thereby enhancing its catalytic activity in heterogeneous catalysis.     

Recent Developments in Asymmetric Phase‐Transfer Reactions

Phase‐transfer catalysis has been recognized as a powerful method for establishing practical protocols for organic synthesis, because it offers several advantages, such as operational simplicity, mild reaction conditions, suitability for large‐scale synthesis, and the environmentally benign nature of the reaction system. Since the pioneering studies on highly enantioselective alkylations promoted by chiral phase‐transfer catalysts, this research field has served as an attractive area for the pursuit of “green” sustainable chemistry. A wide variety of asymmetric transformations catalyzed by chiral onium salts and crown ethers have been developed for the synthesis of valuable organic compounds in the past several decades, especially in recent years.     

Graphene‐Supported Ultrafine Metal Nanoparticles Encapsulated by Mesoporous Silica: Robust Catalysts for Oxidation and Reduction Reactions

Graphene nanosheet‐supported ultrafine metal nanoparticles encapsulated by thin mesoporous SiO₂ layers were prepared and used as robust catalysts with high catalytic activity and excellent high‐temperature stability. The catalysts can be recycled and reused in many gas‐ and solution‐phase reactions, and their high catalytic activity can be fully recovered by high‐temperature regeneration, should they be deactivated by feedstock poisoning. In addition to the large surface area provided by the graphene support, the enhanced catalytic performance is also attributed to the mesoporous SiO₂ layers, which not only stabilize the ultrafine metal nanoparticles, but also prevent the aggregation of the graphene nanosheets. The synthetic strategy can be extended to other metals, such as Pd and Ru, for preparing robust catalysts for various reactions.     

金属/金属氧化物纳米粒子在不对称氢化和氢转移反应中的应用研究进展

近年来,金属/金属氧化物纳米粒子催化的不对称氢化和氢转移反应已经成为催化领域的前沿和研究热点之一. 金属/金属氧化物纳米粒子的催化模式类似于“纳米反应器”,底物可以通过有机包覆层扩散至催化中心,局部的高催化剂浓度通常可以极大地提高催化反应转换数（TON）和转化频率（TOF）. 在以纳米金属为催化活性中心方面,Orito纳米铂体系获得最多的关注,科学家们从手性修饰剂的结构改造、催化剂载体的选择、不同的反应介质、纳米催化剂的形貌和催化反应机理等方面开展了较为系统的研究,并取得重要进展. 此外,纳米钯、铑、钌、铱和铁等金属纳米催化剂也在烯烃、酮和亚胺等化合物的不对称氢化和氢转移反应中表现出良好的催化性能,特别是纳米铱和铁催化剂已获得95%以上的对映选择性. 在金属/金氧化物纳米粒子为催化剂载体方面,其催化不对称氢化及氢转移反应的效率及对映选择性可与均相催化剂相媲美,同时还解决了均相催化剂难于回收再循环的缺陷. 本文简要介绍了近年来手性金属纳米催化剂在不对称氢化和氢转移反应领域的研究进展,讨论了相关反应的催化机理,并对该领域仍存在的问题和未来的发展方向进行了展望.     

Development of a Continuous‐Flow System for Asymmetric Hydrogenation Using Self‐Supported Chiral Catalysts

Well‐designed, self‐assembled, metal–organic frameworks were constructed by simple mixing of multitopic MonoPhos‐based ligands ( 3 ; MonoPhos=chiral, monodentate phosphoramidites based on the 1,1′‐bi‐2‐naphthol platform) and [Rh(cod)₂]BF₄ (cod=cycloocta‐1,5‐diene). This self‐supporting strategy allowed for simple and efficient catalyst immobilization without the use of extra added support, giving well‐characterized, insoluble (in toluene) polymeric materials ( 4 ). The resulting self‐supported catalysts ( 4 ) showed outstanding catalytic performance for the asymmetric hydrogenation of a number of α‐dehydroamino acids ( 5 ) and 2‐aryl enamides ( 7 ) with enantiomeric excess (ee) ranges of 94–98 % and 90–98 %, respectively. The linker moiety in 4 influenced the reactivity significantly, albeit with slight impact on the enantioselectivity. Acquisition of reaction profiles under steady‐state conditions showed 4 h and 4 i to have the highest reactivity (turnover frequency (TOF)=95 and 97 h^?1 at 2 atm, respectively), whereas appropriate substrate/catalyst matching was needed for optimum chiral induction. The former was recycled 10 times without loss in ee (95–96 %), although a drop in TOF of approximately 20 % per cycle was observed. The estimation of effective catalytic sites in self‐supported catalyst 4 e was also carried out by isolation and hydrogenation of catalyst–substrate complex, showing about 37 % of the Rh^I centers in the self‐supported catalyst 4 e are accessible to substrate 5 c in the catalysis. A continuous flow reaction system using an activated C/ 4 h mixture as stationary‐phase catalyst for the asymmetric hydrogenation of 5 b was developed and run continuously for a total of 144 h with >99 % conversion and 96–97 % enantioselectivity. The total Rh leaching in the product solution is 1.7 % of that in original catalyst 4 h .     

Nickel‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of Hydrazones and Other Ketimines

We report the use of nickel catalysts for the catalytic transfer hydrogenation of hydrazones and other ketimines with formic acid. Strongly donating bisphosphines must be used to support the catalysts. As in enzymatic catalysis, attractive weak interactions may be important for stereochemical control by the nickel/binapine catalyst.     

Easy To Synthesize,Robust Organo‐osmium Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation Catalysts

Asymmetric transfer hydrogenation (ATH) is an important process in organic synthesis for which the Noyori‐type Ru^II catalysts [(arene)Ru(Tsdiamine)] are now well established and widely used. We now demonstrate for the first time the catalytic activity of the osmium analogues. X‐ray crystal structures of the 16‐electron Os^II catalysts are almost identical to those of Ru^II. Intriguingly the precursor complex was isolated as a dichlorido complex with a monodentate amine ligand. The Os^II catalysts are readily synthesised (within 1 h) and exhibit excellent enantioselectivity in ATH reactions of ketones.     

Simple Preparation and Application of TEMPO‐Coated Fe3O4 Superparamagnetic Nanoparticles for Selective Oxidation of Alcohols

The organic oxidant TEMPO (2,2,4,4‐tetramethylpiperdine‐1‐oxyl) was immobilized on iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) superparamagnetic nanoparticles by employing strong metal‐oxide chelating phosphonates and azide/alkyne “click” chemistry. This simple preparation yields recyclable TEMPO‐coated nanoparticles with good TEMPO loadings. They have excellent magnetic response and efficiently catalyze the oxidation of a wide range of primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes, ketones, and lactones under either aerobic acidic Mn^II/Cu^II oxidizing Minisci conditions, or basic NaOCl Anelli conditions. The nanoparticles could be recycled more than 20 times under the Minisci conditions and up to eight times under the Anelli conditions with good to excellent substrate conversions and product selectivities. Immobilization of the catalyst through a phosphonate linkage allows the particles to withstand acidic oxidizing environments with minimal catalyst leaching. Clicking TEMPO to the phosphonate prior to phosphonate immobilization, rather than after, ensures the clicked catalyst is the only species on the particle surface. This facilitates quantification of the catalyst loading. The stability of the phosphonate linker and simplicity of this catalyst immobilization method make this an attractive approach for tethering catalysts to oxide supports, creating magnetically separable catalysts that can be used under neutral or acidic conditions.     

Well‐Defined Palladium Nanoparticles Supported on Siliceous Mesocellular Foam as Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Oxidation of Water

Herein, we describe the use of Pd nanoparticles immobilized on an amino‐functionalized siliceous mesocellular foam for the catalytic oxidation of H₂O. The Pd nanocatalyst proved to be capable of mediating the four‐electron oxidation of H₂O to O₂, both chemically and photochemically. The Pd nanocatalyst is easy to prepare and shows high chemical stability, low leaching, and recyclability. Together with its promising catalytic activity, these features make the Pd nanocatalyst of potential interest for future sustainable solar‐fuel production.     

CeO2‐Based Pd(Pt) Nanoparticles Grafted onto Fe3O4/Graphene: A General Self‐Assembly Approach To Fabricate Highly Efficient Catalysts with Magnetic Recyclable Capability

New Pd(Pt) catalysts have been fabricated by assembling multicomponents of Fe₃O₄ and CeO₂/Pd(Pt) on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets in layers. The as‐obtained Pd(Pt) catalysts exhibit extremely high catalytic activity in the selective hydrogenation reaction of nitrobenzene. Owing to the presence of Fe₃O₄, the catalysts can be easily recycled from the catalytic system through magnetic separation. Their high activity, stability, and magnetic recyclability make the as‐obtained hybrids very promising as catalysts in catalytic applications. Compared to other traditional multishell magnetic catalysts that were prepared by means of layer‐by‐layer technology, our process is much more facile and more easily controlled.     

Asymmetric Reduction of 2‐Chloro‐3‐oxo Esters by Transfer Hydrogenation

Asymmetric reduction of 2‐chloro‐3‐oxo esters was achieved by catalytic transfer hydrogenation using [RuCl₂(p‐cymene)](S,S)‐TsDPEN as the chiral catalyst and HCOOH‐Et₃N as the hydrogen source. Moderate to good yields (up to 85%) and good enantioselectivities (up to 98% ee) were obtained.     

Selective Transformation of Syngas into Gasoline‐Range Hydrocarbons over Mesoporous H‐ZSM‐5‐Supported Cobalt Nanoparticles

Bifunctional Fischer–Tropsch (FT) catalysts that couple uniform‐sized Co nanoparticles for CO hydrogenation and mesoporous zeolites for hydrocracking/isomerization reactions were found to be promising for the direct production of gasoline‐range (C_5–11) hydrocarbons from syngas. The Brønsted acidity results in hydrocracking/isomerization of the heavier hydrocarbons formed on Co nanoparticles, while the mesoporosity contributes to suppressing the formation of lighter (C_1–4) hydrocarbons. The selectivity for C_5–11 hydrocarbons could reach about 70 % with a ratio of isoparaffins to n‐paraffins of approximately 2.3 over this catalyst, and the former is markedly higher than the maximum value (ca. 45 %) expected from the Anderson–Schulz–Flory distribution. By using n‐hexadecane as a model compound, it was clarified that both the acidity and mesoporosity play key roles in controlling the hydrocracking reactions and thus contribute to the improved product selectivity in FT synthesis.     

Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of gem-Difluorocyclopropenyl Esters: Access to Enantioenriched gem-Difluorocyclopropanes

Catalytic enantioselective access to disubstituted functionalized gem-difluorocyclopropanes, which are emerging fluorinated motifs of interest in medicinal chemistry, was achieved through asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of gem-difluorocyclopropenyl esters, catalyzed by a Noyori–Ikariya (p-cymene)-ruthenium(II) complex, with (N-tosyl-1,2-diphenylethylenediamine) as the chiral ligand and isopropanol as the hydrogen donor. The resulting cis-gem-difluorocyclopropyl esters were obtained with moderate to high enantioselectivity (ee=66–99 %), and post-functionalization reactions enable access to valuable building blocks incorporating a cis- or trans-gem-difluorocyclopropyl motif.     

Ruthenium‐Catalyzed Tandem‐Isomerization/Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of Allylic Alcohols

A one‐pot procedure for the direct conversion of racemic allylic alcohols to enantiomerically enriched saturated alcohols is presented. The tandem‐isomerization/asymmetric transfer hydrogenation process is efficiently catalyzed by [{Ru(p‐cymene)Cl₂}₂] in combination with the α‐amino acid hydroxyamide ligand 1 , and performed under mild conditions in a mixture of ethanol and THF. The saturated alcohol products are isolated in good to excellent chemical yields and in enantiomeric excess up to 93 %.