Regenerative Electroless Etching of Silicon

Regenerative electroless etching (ReEtching), described herein for the first time, is a method of producing nanostructured semiconductors in which an oxidant (Ox₁) is used as a catalytic agent to facilitate the reaction between a semiconductor and a second oxidant (Ox₂) that would be unreactive in the primary reaction. Ox₂ is used to regenerate Ox₁, which is capable of initiating etching by injecting holes into the semiconductor valence band. Therefore, the extent of reaction is controlled by the amount of Ox₂ added, and the rate of reaction is controlled by the injection rate of Ox₂. This general strategy is demonstrated specifically for the production of highly luminescent, nanocrystalline porous Si from the reaction of V₂O₅ in HF(aq) as Ox₁ and H₂O₂(aq) as Ox₂ with Si powder and wafers.     

Tailor‐made Molecular Cobalt Catalyst System for the Selective Transformation of Carbon Dioxide to Dialkoxymethane Ethers

Herein a non‐precious transition‐metal catalyst system for the selective synthesis of dialkoxymethane ethers from carbon dioxide and molecular hydrogen is presented. The development of a tailored catalyst system based on cobalt salts in combination with selected Triphos ligands and acidic co‐catalysts enabled a synthetic pathway, avoiding the oxidation of methanol to attain the formaldehyde level of the central CH₂ unit. This unprecedented productivity based on the molecular cobalt catalyst is the first example of a non‐precious transition‐metal system for this transformation utilizing renewable carbon dioxide sources.     

Chemical Vapor Deposition of Phase‐Pure Uranium Dioxide Thin Films from Uranium(IV) Amidate Precursors

Homoleptic uranium(IV) amidate complexes have been synthesized and applied as single‐source molecular precursors for the chemical vapor deposition of UO₂ thin films. These precursors decompose by alkene elimination to give highly crystalline phase‐pure UO₂ films with an unusual branched heterostructure.     

Synthesis of Lithium Boracarbonate Ion Pairs by Copper‐Catalyzed Multi‐Component Coupling of Carbon Dioxide,Diboron, and Aldehydes

The catalytic selective multi‐component coupling of CO₂, bis(pinacolato)diboron, LiOtBu, and a wide range of aldehydes has been achieved for the first time by using an NHC‐copper catalyst. This transformation has efficiently afforded a series of novel lithium cyclic boracarbonate ion pair compounds in high yields from readily available starting materials. This protocol has not only provided a new catalytic process for the utilization of CO₂, but it has also constituted a novel route for the efficient synthesis of a new class of lithium borate compounds that might be of interest as potential electrolyte candidates for lithium ion batteries.     

A Carbon Dioxide Bubble‐Induced Vortex Triggers Co‐Assembly of Nanotubes with Controlled Chirality

It is challenging to prepare co‐organized nanotube systems with controlled nanoscale chirality in an aqueous liquid flow field. Such systems are responsive to a bubbled external gas. A liquid vortex induced by bubbling carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas was used to stimulate the formation of nanotubes with controlled chirality; two kinds of achiral cationic building blocks were co‐assembled in aqueous solution. CO₂‐triggered nanotube formation occurs by formation of metastable intermediate structures (short helical ribbons and short tubules) and by transition from short tubules to long tubules in response to chirality matching self‐assembly. Interestingly, the chirality sign of these assemblies can be selected for by the circulation direction of the CO₂ bubble‐induced vortex during the co‐assembly process.     

Low‐Temperature Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide to Methanol with a Homogeneous Cobalt Catalyst

Herein we describe the first homogeneous non‐noble metal catalyst for the hydrogenation of CO₂ to methanol. The catalyst is formed in situ from [Co(acac)₃], Triphos, and HNTf₂ and enables the reaction to be performed at 100 °C without a decrease in activity. Kinetic studies suggest an inner‐sphere mechanism, and in situ NMR and MS experiments reveal the formation of the active catalyst through slow removal of the acetylacetonate ligands.