Metal-free catalytic hydrogenation of polar substrates by frustrated Lewis pairs

In 2006, our group reported the first metal-free systems that reversibly activate hydrogen. This finding was extended to the discovery of "frustrated Lewis pair" (FLP) catalysts for hydrogenation. It is this catalysis that is the focal point of this article. The development and applications of such FLP hydrogenation catalysts are reviewed, and some previously unpublished data are reported. The scope of the substrates is expanded. Optimal conditions and functional group tolerance are considered and applied to targets of potential commercial significance. Recent developments in asymmetric FLP hydrogenations are also reviewed. The future of FLP hydrogenation catalysts is considered.     

Metal-free asymmetric hydrogenation and hydrosilylation catalyzed by frustrated Lewis pairs

The activation of H₂ for the catalytic hydrogenation of unsaturated compounds is one of the most useful reactions in both academia and chemical industry, which has long been predominated by the transition-metal catalysis. However, metal-free hydrogen activation represents a formidable challenge, and has been less developed. The recent emerging chemistry of frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) with a combination of sterically encumbered Lewis acids and Lewis bases provides a promising approach for metal-free hydrogenation due to their amazing abilities for the challenging H₂ activation. In the past several years, the hydrogenation of a wide range of unsaturated compounds using FLP catalysts has been successfully developed. Despite these advances, the corresponding asymmetric hydrogenation is just in its start-up step. Similar to the mode of HH bond activation, SiH bond can also be activated by FLPs for the hydrosilylation of ketones and imines. But its asymmetric version is also not well-solved. This Letter will outline the recent important progress of metal-free catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation and hydrosilylation using FLP catalysts.     

Pyrimidine-directed metal-free C–H borylation of 2-pyrimidylanilines: a useful process for tetra-coordinated triarylborane synthesis

Convenient, easily handled, laboratory friendly, robust approaches to afford synthetically important organoboron compounds are currently of great interest to researchers. Among the various available strategies, a metal-free approach would be overwhelmingly accepted, since the target boron compounds can be prepared in a metal-free state. We herein present a detailed study of the metal-free directed ortho-C–H borylation of 2-pyrimidylaniline derivatives. The approach allowed us to synthesize various boronates, which are synthetically important compounds and various four-coordinated triarylborane derivatives, which could be useful in materials science as well as Lewis-acid catalysts. This metal-free directed C–H borylation reaction proceeds smoothly without any interference by external impurities, such as inorganic salts, reactive functionalities, heterocycles and even transition metal precursors, which further enhance its importance.

We present the metal-free ortho-C–H borylation of 2-pyrimidylanilines to afford synthetically important boronic esters and tetra-coordinated triarylboranes, which could be useful in materials science as well as Lewis-acid catalysts.     

Organocatalysis mediated by (thio)urea derivatives

Over the last decade the potential for N,N-dialkyl(thio)urea derivatives to serve as active metal-free organocatalysts for a wide range of synthetically useful reactions susceptible to the influence of general acid catalysis has begun to be realised. This article charts the development of these catalysts (with emphasis on the design principles involved), from early "proof-of-concept" materials to contemporary active chiral (bifunctional) promoters of highly selective asymmetric transformations.     

Frustrated Lewis Pairs in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Theoretical Insights

Frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) catalysts have attracted much recent interest because of their exceptional ability to activate small molecules in homogeneous catalysis. In the past ten years, this unique catalysis concept has been extended to heterogeneous catalysis, with much success. Herein, we review the recent theoretical advances in understanding FLP-based heterogeneous catalysis in several applications, including metal oxides, functionalized surfaces, and two-dimensional materials. A better understanding of the details of the catalytic mechanism can help in the experimental design of novel heterogeneous FLP catalysts.     

Highly efficient C(CO)–C(alkyl) bond cleavage in ketones to access esters over ultrathin N-doped carbon nanosheets

Selective oxidative cleavage of the C(CO)–C bond in ketones to access esters is a highly attractive strategy for upgrading ketones. However, it remains a great challenge to realize this important transformation over heterogeneous metal-free catalysts. Herein, we designed a series of porous and ultrathin N-doped carbon nanosheets (denoted as CN-X, where X represents the pyrolysis temperature) as heterogeneous metal-free catalysts. It was observed that the fabricated CN-800 could efficiently catalyze the oxidative cleavage of the C(CO)–C bond in various ketones to generate the corresponding methyl esters at 130 °C without using any additional base. Detailed investigations revealed that the higher content and electron density of the graphitic-N species contributed to the excellent performance of CN-800. Besides, the high surface area, affording active sites that are more easily accessed, could also enhance the catalytic activity. Notably, the catalysts have great potential for practical applications because of some obvious advantages, such as low cost, neutral reaction conditions, heterogeneous nature, high efficiency, and broad ketone scope. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work on efficient synthesis of methyl esters via oxidative esterification of ketones over heterogeneous metal-free catalysts.

Ultrathin and metal-free N-doped carbon nanosheets showed high activity and selectivity for oxidative esterification of ketones via C(CO)–C bond cleavage to access methyl esters.     

Bioorthogonal metal-free click-ligation of cRGD-pentapeptide to alginate

"Click" reactions have become very common and powerful ligation techniques, of which 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions have most frequently been employed. Since metal-mediated cycloadditions are incompatible in biomedical applications due to toxicity issues associated with transition metals like copper, metal-free variants provide important alternatives. The metal-free conjugation process is studied in detail with special emphasis put on the reaction progress. This report unfolds the first aqueous metal-free "click" conjugation of a cyclic RGD-pentapeptide with the biomacromolecule alginate, creating a "smart" bioactive polymer with potential applications in biomedicine.     

基于石墨烯基材料的非金属液相催化反应

非金属碳基催化剂因其具有合成简单、结构稳定、比表面积大、可调控性强等特点受到了研究者的关注,已成为最活跃的研究领域之一。以二维、单原子层、六方结构的碳为基础的石墨烯和其高度氧化形态——氧化石墨烯是一类新兴的碳基材料。这类材料在催化领域的应用在近五年内才刚刚兴起。此类材料可用于烃类转化、有机化学合成、能源转化等多种催化反应,本文主要综述了采用化学氧化还原法制备的石墨烯和氧化石墨材料为催化剂的各类催化反应的最新研究进展。     

Polyelectrolyte functionalized carbon nanotubes as efficient metal-free electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction

Having a strong electron-withdrawing ability, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) was used to create net positive charge for carbon atoms in the nanotube carbon plane via intermolecular charge transfer. The resultant PDDA functionalized/adsorbed carbon nanotubes (CNTs), either in an aligned or nonaligned form, were demonstrated to act as metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in fuel cells with similar performance as Pt catalysts. The adsorption-induced intermolecular charge-transfer should provide a general approach to various carbon-based efficient metal-free ORR catalysts for oxygen reduction in fuel cells, and even new catalytic materials for applications beyond fuel cells.     

Carbon-Based Electrocatalysts for Acidic Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is vital for clean and renewable energy technologies, which require no fossil fuel but catalysts. Platinum (Pt) is the best-known catalyst for ORR. However, its high cost and scarcity have severely hindered renewable energy devices (e.g., fuel cells) for large-scale applications. Recent breakthroughs in carbon-based metal-free electrochemical catalysts (C-MFECs) show great potential for earth-abundant carbon materials as low-cost metal-free electrocatalysts towards ORR in acidic media. This article provides a focused, but critical review on C-MFECs for ORR in acidic media with an emphasis on advances in the structure design and synthesis, fundamental understanding of the structure-property relationship and electrocatalytic mechanisms, and their applications in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. Current challenges and future perspectives in this emerging field are also discussed.     

失配的Lewis对:非金属催化氢化的新策略

“失配的Lewis对”(Frustrated Lewis Pairs,FLPs)作为有机化学领域的新概念,在非金属活化H2,CO2和NH3等小分子方面的研究和应用格外引人注目.以“失配的Lewis对”为催化剂,直接以氢气作为氢源,非金属催化氢化还原醛、烯胺、亚胺、腈和二氧化碳等获得了很好的结果.手性“失配的Lewis对”(Chiral Frustrated Lewis Pairs,Chiral FLPs)在不对称催化氢化还原亚胺的反应中也呈现出较高的光学选择性,产物胺的对映体过量最高达83％ ee.综述了近几年“失配的Lewis对”在非金属催化氢化研究领域的进展情况.     

Noble metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Developing noble metal-free catalysts with low cost, high performance and stability for oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) in fuel cells is of great interest to promote sustainable energy devices. In this review, we summarized noble metal-free catalysts for ORR,including non-noble metal-based and heteroatom-doped carbon nanomaterials. Mesoporous structure, homogeneous distribution of nanocrystals and synergistic effect of carbon base and nanocrystals/doped heteroatoms have great effect on the ORR property.The noble metal-free nanomaterials showed comparable catalytic property, better stability and methanol tolerance than commercial platinum(Pt)-based catalysts, showing great potential as substitutes for noble metal-based catalysts. In addition, the challenges and chances of developing noble metal-free ORR catalysts are also discussed.     

Highly efficient metal-free growth of nitrogen-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes on plasma-etched substrates for oxygen reduction

We have for the first time developed a simple plasma-etching technology to effectively generate metal-free particle catalysts for efficient metal-free growth of undoped and/or nitrogen-doped single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Compared with undoped CNTs, the newly produced metal-free nitrogen-containing CNTs were demonstrated to show relatively good electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in an acidic medium. Owing to the highly generic nature of the plasma etching technique, the methodology developed in this study can be applied to many other substrates for efficient growth of metal-free CNTs for various applications, ranging from energy related to electronic and to biomedical systems.     

Catalytic hydrogenation with frustrated Lewis pairs: selectivity achieved by size-exclusion design of Lewis acids

Catalytic hydrogenation that utilizes frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) catalysts is a subject of growing interest because such catalysts offer a unique opportunity for the development of transition-metal-free hydrogenations. The aim of our recent efforts is to further increase the functional-group tolerance and chemoselectivity of FLP catalysts by means of size-exclusion catalyst design. Given that hydrogen molecule is the smallest molecule, our modified Lewis acids feature a highly shielded boron center that still allows the cleavage of the hydrogen but avoids undesirable FLP reactivity by simple physical constraint. As a result, greater latitude in substrate scope can be achieved, as exemplified by the chemoselective reduction of α,β-unsaturated imines, ketones, and quinolines. In addition to synthetic aspects, detailed NMR spectroscopic, DFT, and (2)H isotopic labeling studies were performed to gain further mechanistic insight into FLP hydrogenation.     

Chiral Lewis base promoted trichlorosilane reduction of ketimines. An enantioselective organocatalytic synthesis of chiral amines

The reduction of the carbon-nitrogen double bond is an important transformation. Here we report our studies on a family of chiral organic catalysts able to promote the stereoselective reduction of ketimines with trichlorosilane. The very cheap, metal-free catalysts were easily prepared in one step from commercially available products, namely a chiral aminoalcohol and picolinic acid derivatives. The catalyst structure was extensively modified in a study that allowed to identify an extremely active species, able to promote the reduction on a large variety of substrates with high efficiency (up to 95% ee). A three component methodology has been also developed, where the enantiomerically enriched amine was isolated after performing the reaction by mixing a ketone and an amine in the presence of trichlorosilane and the catalyst. Its synthetic potentiality was demonstrated by employing the present metal-free catalytic procedure in the preparation of (S)-metolachlor, a potent and widely used herbicide.     

Asymmetric cooperative catalysis in the conjugate addition of pyrazolones to nitroolefins and subsequent dearomative chlorination

Over the past decade many bifunctional amine-thioureas have been developed as active metal-free organocatalysts.Cooperative catalysis of these amino-thioureas allows high reaction rates and excellent transfer of stereochemical information.Despite these impressive advances,the design of new high-performance catalysts for applications in asymmetric catalytic reactions is of ongoing interest in organic chemistry.Herein we describe a cooperative catalyst system consisting of a chiral aminethiourea and an achiral organic acid that promotes the conjugate addition of 4-nonsubstituted pyrazolones to nitroolefins and subsequent dearomative chlorination.The corresponding adducts and the subsequent products were obtained in high to excellent yields(up to 99%)and high stereoselectivities(up to 99/1 dr,98%ee)under mild reaction conditions.These transformations provide an easy access to enantio-enriched pyrazole derivatives,which could possess potential pharmaceutical activity.     

纳米碳材料非金属催化的研究进展

纳米碳材料直接作为催化剂的非金属碳催化是目前材料科学与催化领域的前沿方向之一.相对于传统金属催化剂,纳米碳材料催化剂具有高效环保、低能耗、耐腐蚀等优点.在烃类转化、化学品合成、能源催化等领域表现出优异的催化性能和发展潜力.综述了近年来纳米碳非金属催化研究的最新进展,主要包括新型纳米碳材料的表面性质、催化特性、反应机理和宏观制备等关键问题,并对纳米碳催化存在的挑战和前景进行了展望.     

Metal-free sequential [3 + 2]-dipolar cycloadditions using cyclooctynes and 1,3-dipoles of different reactivity

Although metal-free cycloadditions of cyclooctynes and azides to give stable 1,2,3-triazoles have found wide utility in chemical biology and material sciences, there is an urgent need for faster and more versatile bioorthogonal reactions. We have found that nitrile oxides and diazocarbonyl derivatives undergo facile 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions with cyclooctynes. Cycloadditions with diazocarbonyl derivatives exhibited similar kinetics as compared to azides, whereas the reaction rates of cycloadditions with nitrile oxides were much faster. Nitrile oxides could conveniently be prepared by direct oxidation of the corresponding oximes with BAIB, and these conditions made it possible to perform oxime formation, oxidation, and cycloaddition as a one-pot procedure. The methodology was employed to functionalize the anomeric center of carbohydrates with various tags. Furthermore, oximes and azides provide an orthogonal pair of functional groups for sequential metal-free click reactions, and this feature makes it possible to multifunctionalize biomolecules and materials by a simple synthetic procedure that does not require toxic metal catalysts.     

Proton to hydride umpolung at a phosphonium center via electron relay: a new strategy for main-group based water reduction

Generation of dihydrogen from water splitting, also known as water reduction, is a key process to access a sustainable hydrogen economy for energy production and usage. The key step is the selective reduction of a protic hydrogen to an accessible and reactive hydride, which has proven difficult at a p-block element. Although frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) chemistry is well known for water activation by heterolytic H–OH bond cleavage, to the best of our knowledge, there has been only one case showing water reduction by metal-free FLP systems to date, in which silylene (Si^II) was used as the Lewis base. This work reports the molecular design and synthesis of an ortho-phenylene linked bisborane-functionalized phosphine, which reacts with water stoichiometrically to generate H₂ and phosphine oxide quantitatively under ambient conditions. Computational investigations revealed an unprecedented multi-centered electron relay mechanism offered by the molecular framework, shuttling a pair of electrons from hydroxide (OH⁻) in water to the separated proton through a borane-phosphonium-borane path. This simple molecular design and its water reduction mechanism opens new avenues for this main-group chemistry in their growing roles in chemical transformations.

A (bisborane)triarylphosphine was developed to spontaneously generate H₂ from water under ambient conditions, revealing an unprecedented multi-centered electron relay mechanism for a metal-free umpolung of proton to hydride.     

Preparation of Porous Polymers Based on the Building Blocks of Cyclophosphazene and Cage-like Silsesquioxane and Their Use as Basic Catalysts for Knoevenagel Reactions

Phosphazene-containing porous materials are of a great interest due to their unique properties, caused by the synergetic presence of nitrogen and phosphorus atoms, and have found applications as adsorbents, basic catalysts, etc. On the other hand, cage-like silsesquioxanes are ideal building blocks for the preparation of covalently-linked porous materials. Here two new phosphazene-functionalized organosilsesquioxane cage-based porous polymers were synthesized successively by a Friedel-Crafts reaction of hexapyrrolylcyclotriphosphazene with octavinylsilsesquioxane in the presence of AlCl₃ and CF₃SO₃H as catalysts. The nature of acid catalysts barely influenced the character of pores due to the interaction of catalysts with basic nitrogen atoms of phosphazene units. The obtained polymers exhibited high efficiency as metal-free catalysts for the Knoevenagel reaction. This work opens new perspectives in the use of porous polymers based on cage-like organosiloxane compounds as basic catalysts for various reactions.