Functions and Activities of Catalysis Research Center, Hokkaido University, for Catalysis Research Communities

Materialization of sustainable society that balances the economy and the natural environment has been high priority. For this issue, catalysis has been regarded as a key technology and there is no doubt that catalysis researches have to be greatly promoted everywhere in the world in order to sustain and to secure the nature, the life, and the society. Recent activities of Catalysis Research Center in Hokkaido University for contributing to the above issues are introduced.     

Transition Metal Catalysis in Living Cells: Progress,Challenges, and Novel Supramolecular Solutions

The importance of transition metal catalysis is exemplified by its wide range of applications, for example in the synthesis of chemicals, natural products, and pharmaceuticals. However, one relatively new application is for carrying out new-to-nature reactions inside living cells. The complex environment of a living cell is not welcoming to transition metal catalysts, as a diverse range of biological components have the potential to inhibit or deactivate the catalyst. Here we review the current progress in the field of transition metal catalysis, and evaluation of catalysis efficiency in living cells and under biological (relevant) conditions. Catalyst poisoning is a ubiquitous problem in this field, and we propose that future research into the development of physical and kinetic protection strategies may provide a route to improve the reactivity of catalysts in cells.     

Reaction Kinetics using a Chemputable Framework for Data Collection and Analysis

Automated chemistry platforms have been widely explored, but many focus on fixed tasks for chemical synthesis or analysis. However, a typical synthetic chemistry workflow utilizes both, such as kinetic measurements for reaction development and optimization. Due to their repetitive and time-consuming nature, kinetic measurements are often omitted, which limits the mechanistic investigation of reactions. Herein, we present a “Chemputer” platform with on-line analytics (UV/Vis, NMR) which automates routine kinetic measurements. The system's capabilities are showcased by exploring an inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder using initial rate measurements, a metal complexation using variable time normalization analysis (VTNA), and formation of a series of tosylamide derivatives using Hammett analysis. Over 60 individual experiments are presented which required minimal intervention, highlighting the significant time savings of automation. Owing to the modular design of the platform, which facilitates rapid integration of commercial analytical tools, our approach is widely accessible and adjustable to the reaction under investigation. The platform is operated using the chemical programming language, XDL, hence experimental procedures and results are stored in a precise, computer-readable format. We propose that widespread adoption of this reporting protocol in the chemical community could build a database of validated kinetic data beneficial for Machine Learning.     

BH-1S型燃烧热测定仪数据采集及处理程序的改进

用VB6.0重新设计了BH-1S型燃烧热测定仪的数据采集和数据处理程序。用自适应坐标绘制温差-时间曲线,便于学生依图对实验过程的控制。数据处理时,用点号设置温差-时间曲线的拐点,具有所见即所得的效果,便于学生依拟合直线与原始点吻合的程度正确地选择拐点。这些改进简化了实验操作和数据处理过程,提高了实验效率和测定结果的准确性,使该仪器更具有现代化的水平。     

Traffic Lights for Catalysis: Stimuli-Responsive Molecular and Extended Catalytic Systems

The advances made in the field of stimuli-responsive catalysis during the last five years with a focus on the novel recently-emerged directions and applications have been surveyed. Metal-free catalysts and organometallic complexes, as well as biomimetic systems and extended structures, which display switchable catalytic activity for a variety of organic transformations, are discussed. Light-activated systems comprised of photochromic molecules capable of modulating reaction rate, yield, or enantioselectivity based on geometric and electronic changes associated with photoisomerization are the focus of the detailed discussion. Alternative stimuli, including pH and temperature, which could be applied either alone or in combination with light, are also addressed. Recent advances clearly demonstrate that the capability to finely tune catalyst behavior via an external stimulus is a powerful tool that could alter the landscape of sustainable chemistry.     

Giving Gold Wings: Ultrabright and Fragmentation Free Mass Spectrometry Reporters for Barcoding,Bioconjugation Monitoring,and Data Storage

The widespread application of laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) highlights the need for a bright and multiplexable labeling platform. While ligand-capped Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) have emerged as a promising LDI-MS contrast agent, the predominant thiol ligands suffer from low ion yields and extensive fragmentation. In this work, we develop a N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand platform that enhances AuNP LDI-MS performance. NHC scaffolds are tuned to generate barcoded AuNPs which, when benchmarked against thiol-AuNPs, are bright mass tags and form unfragmented ions in high yield. To illustrate the transformative potential of NHC ligands, the mass tags were employed in three orthogonal applications: monitoring a bioconjugation reaction, performing multiplexed imaging, and storing and reading encoded information. These results demonstrate that NHC-nanoparticle systems are an ideal platform for LDI-MS and greatly broaden the scope of nanoparticle contrast agents.     

Single-Site Carbon-Supported Metal-Oxo Complexes in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Structure,Reactivity, and Mechanism

When early transition metal complexes are molecularly grafted onto catalyst supports, well-defined, surface-bound species are created, which are highly active and selective single-site heterogeneous catalysts (SSHCs) for diverse chemical transformations. In this minireview, we analyze and summarize a less conventional type of SSHC in which molybdenum dioxo species are grafted onto unusual carbon-unsaturated scaffolds, such as activated carbon, reduced graphene oxide, and carbon nanohorns. The choice of earth-abundant, low-toxicity, versatile metal constituents, and various carbon supports illustrates “catalyst by design” principles and yields insights into new catalytic systems of both academic and technological interest. Here, we summarize experimental and computational investigations of the bonding, electronic structure, reaction scope, and mechanistic pathways of these unusual catalysts.     

脱铝MCM-49分子筛的结构、酸性及苯与丙烯液相烷基化催化性能研究

采用硝酸回流和水蒸气两种处理方法对用动态水热法合成的纳米MCM-49分子筛进行脱铝改性. 用XRD、氮气吸附-脱附、NH3-TPD、FTIR和NMR等技术进行了表征, 并考察了脱铝前后MCM-49分子筛在苯与丙烯液相烷基化反应中的催化性能. 27Al核磁共振谱表明, 硝酸回流和水蒸气处理能有效地脱除MCM-49分子筛的部分骨架铝和非骨架铝. NH3-TPD和FTIR表征结果表明, 脱铝降低了MCM-49分子筛的Brönsted酸和Lewis酸的酸量. 硝酸脱铝未改变分子筛的酸强度分布, 而在600 ℃水蒸气脱铝则造成酸强度的降低. 实验条件下, MCM-49分子筛的丙烯转化率为99.5%, 异丙苯的选择性为73.6%. 脱铝改性降低了烷基化反应活性和异丙苯的选择性, 提高了收率. 与脱铝前MCM-49分子筛相比, 常温下经硝酸处理5 h的脱铝MCM-49分子筛在保持催化活性相当的情况下, 异丙苯收率提高了5.3%.     

Trimethylphosphane Complexes of Nickel,Cobalt, and Iron—Model Compounds for Homogeneous Catalysis

One of the greatest achievements of organometallic chemistry in the last ten years has been the experimental proof that transition metal-to-carbon bonds are thermodynamically about as stable as those between main group elements and carbon. The present contribution demonstrates how simply constituted alkylnickel, -cobalt, and -iron complexes are obtained by means of a kinetic stabilization using suitable neutral ligands and what information these model compounds can provide with respect to the course of processes in homogeneous catalyses.     

γ-Alumina-supported boron trifluoride: Catalysis, radiotracer studies and computations

The irreversible adsorption of boron trifluoride on calcined γ-alumina and amorphous chromia, in both cases at room temperature, has been studied using [¹⁸F]-labelled BF₃. Although the resulting γ-alumina surface has some catalytic activity for the room temperature fluorination by anhydrous HF of CH₃CCl₃ under static conditions, its activity is far lower than that of γ-alumina, which has been fluorinated with SF₄, nominally at room temperature. A possible explanation for the observed behaviour is given.     

Cleavable Binary Dyads: Simplifying Data Extraction and Increasing Storage Density in Digital Polymers

Digital polymers are uniform macromolecules that store monomer‐based binary sequences. Molecularly stored information is usually extracted from the polymer by a tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) measurement, in which the coded chains are fragmented to reveal each bit (i.e. basic coded monomer unit) of the sequence. Here, we show that data‐extraction can be greatly simplified by favoring the formation of MS/MS fragments containing two bits instead of one. In order to do so, digital poly(alkoxyamine phosphodiester)s, containing binary dyads in each repeat unit, were prepared by an orthogonal solid‐phase approach involving successive phosphoramidite and radical‐radical coupling steps. Three different sets of monomers were considered to build these polymers. In all cases, four coded building blocks—two hydroxy‐nitroxides and two phosphoramidite monomers—were required to build the dyads. Among the three studied monomer sets, one combination allowed synthesis of uniform sequence‐coded polymers. The resulting polymers led to clear dyad‐containing fragments in MS/MS and could therefore be efficiently decoded. Additionally, an algorithm was created to detect specific dyad fragments, thus enabling automated sequencing.     

Catalysis by Amberlite IR-120 resin: a rapid and green method for the synthesis of phenols from arylboronic acids under metal, ligand, and base-free conditions

A clean process has been developed for the ipso-hydroxylation of aryl and heteroaryl boronic acids to the corresponding phenols using commercially available and recyclable Amberlite IR-120 resin and aqueous hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent. The ion-exchange sulfonic acid resin catalyst could be readily recycled by filtration and directly reused at least four times without any significant loss of activity.     

Green,General and Low-cost Synthesis of Porous Organic Polymers in Sub-kilogram Scale for Catalysis and CO2 Capture

Porous organic polymers (POPs) with high porosity and tunable functionalities have been widely studied for use in gas separation, catalysis, energy conversion and energy storage. However, the high cost of organic monomers, and the use of toxic solvents and high temperatures during synthesis pose obstacles for large-scale production. Herein, we report the synthesis of imine and aminal-linked POPs using inexpensive diamine and dialdehyde monomers in green solvents. Theoretical calculations and control experiments show that using meta-diamines is crucial for forming aminal linkages and branching porous networks from [2+2] polycondensation reactions. The method demonstrates good generality in that 6 POPs were successfully synthesized from different monomers. Additionally, we scaled up the synthesis in ethanol at room temperature, resulting in the production of POPs in sub-kilogram quantities at a relatively low cost. Proof-of-concept studies demonstrate that the POPs can be used as high-performance sorbents for CO₂ separation and as porous substrates for efficient heterogeneous catalysis. This method provides an environmentally friendly and cost-effective approach for large-scale synthesis of various POPs.     

T-shaped Ni0 Systems Featuring Cationic Tetrylenes: Direct Observation of L/Z-type Ligand Duality,and Alkene Hydrogenation Catalysis

We report a facile synthetic method for accessing rare T-shaped Ni⁰ species, stabilised by low-coordinate cationic germylene and stannylene ligands which behave as Z-type ligands toward Ni⁰. An in-depth computational analysis indicates significant Ni^d→E^p donation (E=Ge, Sn), with essentially no E→Ni donation. The tetrylene ligand's Lewis acidity can be modulated in situ through the addition of a donor ligand, which selectively binds at the Lewis acidic tetrylene site. This switches this binding centre from a Z-type to a classical L-type ligand, with a concomitant geometry switch at Ni⁰ from T-shaped to trigonal planar. Exploring the effects of this geometry switch in catalysis, isolated T-shaped complexes 3 a – c and 4 a – c are capable of the hydrogenation of alkenes under mild conditions, whilst the closely related trigonal planar and tetrahedral Ni⁰ complexes 5 , D , and E , which feature L-type chloro- or cationic-tetrylene ligands, are inactive under these conditions. Further, addition of small amounts of N-bases to the catalytic systems involving T-shaped complexes significantly reduces turnover rates, giving evidence for the in situ modulation of ligand electronics for catalytic switching.     

可逆,准可逆和不可逆表面反应循环伏安法的数字模拟

用数字模拟的方法研究了可逆、准可逆和不可逆表面反应的循环伏安法响应,与理论推导结果相一致,但数字模拟提供了更灵活、方便、通用性更强的研究表面反应机理的手段,本文建立了有关的数字模型,给出了不同动力学参数条件下的电流-电位关系曲线,讨论了动力学参数对电流函数的影响以及用于测定这些参数的方法。     

Exploring the Potential of Fulvalene Dimetals as Platforms for Molecular Solar Thermal Energy Storage: Computations,Syntheses, Structures,Kinetics, and Catalysis

A study of the scope and limitations of varying the ligand framework around the dinuclear core of FvRu₂ in its function as a molecular solar thermal energy storage framework is presented. It includes DFT calculations probing the effect of substituents, other metals, and CO exchange for other ligands on ΔH_storage. Experimentally, the system is shown to be robust in as much as it tolerates a number of variations, except for the identity of the metal and certain substitution patterns. Failures include 1,1′,3,3′‐tetra‐tert‐butyl ( 4 ), 1,2,2′,3′‐tetraphenyl ( 9 ), diiron ( 28 ), diosmium ( 24 ), mixed iron‐ruthenium ( 27 ), dimolybdenum ( 29 ), and ditungsten ( 30 ) derivatives. An extensive screen of potential catalysts for the thermal reversal identified AgNO₃–SiO₂ as a good candidate, although catalyst decomposition remains a challenge.     

共价有机框架材料的发展与应用:气体存储、催化与化学传感

共价有机框架材料（Covalent Organic Frameworks,COFs）是由有机结构单元通过共价键连接的具有周期性结构的多孔化合物。作为一类新型的结晶性有机多孔材料,由于其密度低、比表面积大、孔隙率高、结晶度好、稳定性高及结构单元可设计等特点受到科学界的广泛关注,在气体吸附与分离、光电、催化、药物传递、储能及化学传感与色谱分离等领域表现出良好的应用前景。本文对COFs材料的发展与应用研究进展进行了简要的综述,对COFs应用中尚待解决的问题进行了总结并对未来的发展方向进行了展望。     

Understanding the Peculiarities of Azide and Thiocyanate Binding in Proteins: Use of the Small Molecule Structural Data

Abstract

The complexation and supramolecular recognition of two polyfunctional anions, thiocyanate and azide, have been analysed using the X-ray structural data retrieved from the Brookhaven Protein Database (for macromolecules) and the Cambridge Structural Database (for small molecule structures). The following structural aspects have been considered: - hydrogen-bond acceptor function of the anions; - analysis of the coordination features of anions with the metals; - influence of metal complexation on the H-donor accepting properties of the anions. Lastly, a comparison of the modes of binding of the two anionic substrates was carried out. Their extraordinary activity as hydrogen-bond acceptors allows these anions to serve as a strong bridge between different molecular fragments. The coordination of thiocyanate or azide anion by the metal atoms in coordination compounds gives rise to a redistribution of anionic charge in both entities which in turn, controls the hydrogen-bonding acceptor properties of the terminal atom of the anion. The results presented in this paper provide structural information of the role of anion binding in proteins and to our knowledge, afford the first study of the binding behaviour of thiocyanate and azide in systematic manner.