Multicomponent syntheses of 5- and 6-membered aromatic heterocycles using group 4–8 transition metal catalysts

In this Perspective, we discuss recent syntheses of 5- and 6-membered aromatic heterocycles via multicomponent reactions (MCRs) that are catalyzed by group 4–8 transition metals. These MCRs can be categorized based on the substrate components used to generate the cyclized product, as well as on common mechanistic features between the catalyst systems. These particular groupings are intended to highlight mechanistic and strategic similarities between otherwise disparate transition metals and to encourage future work exploring related systems with otherwise-overlooked elements. Importantly, in many cases these early- to mid-transition metal catalysts have been shown to be as effective for heterocycle syntheses as the later (and more commonly implemented) group 9–11 metals.

In this Perspective, we discuss recent syntheses of 5- and 6-membered aromatic heterocycles via multicomponent reactions (MCRs) catalyzed by group 4–8 transition metals, with a focus on common mechanisms and synthetic strategies across the series.     

Inhibition of mycotoxin deoxynivalenol generation by using selenized glucose

Selenized glucose can be easily prepared via the selenization reaction of glucose using in situ generated NaHSe as the selenization reagent. The technique has been industrialized to produce the chemical in kilogram scale, making it an easily available material in laboratory presently. The selenized glucose may be widely used as the starting material for the preparation of selenium-containing catalysts, as the organoselenium additive for feeds, and as the efficient selenium-enriched foliar fertilizers. In this work, we found that treating Fusarium graminearum, a fungal pathogen inciting wheat scab disease, with selenium glucose could significantly inhibit the generation of the deoxynivalenol (DON) toxin, which might be a breakthrough for reducing the detriment of the wheat scab disease.     

Selective single-atom electrocatalysts: a review with a focus on metal-doped covalent triazine frameworks

Single-atom electrocatalysts (SACs), which comprise singly isolated metal sites supported on heterogeneous substrates, have attracted considerable recent attention as next-generation electrocatalysts for various key reactions from the viewpoint of the environment and energy. Not only electrocatalytic activity but also selectivity can be precisely tuned via the construction of SACs with a defined coordination structure, such as homogeneous organometallics. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are promising supports for single-atom sites with designed coordination environments due to their unique physicochemical properties, which include porous structures, robustness, a wide range of possible designs, and abundant heteroatoms to coordinate single-metal sites. The rigid frameworks of COFs can hold unstable single-metal atoms, such as coordinatively unsaturated sites or easily aggregated Pt-group metals, which exhibit unique electrocatalytic selectivity. This minireview summarizes recent advances in the selective reactions catalysed by SACs, mainly those supported on triazine-based COFs.

Single-atom electrocatalysts (SACs) have attracted considerable attention as selective electrocatalysts. Metal-doped covalent triazine frameworks will be a novel platform for selective SACs to solve energy and environmental issues.     

Shifting the scaling relations of single-atom catalysts for facile methane activation by tuning the coordination number

We investigate oxidative methane activation on a wide range of single transition metal atom catalysts embedded on N-doped graphene derivatives using density functional theory calculations. An inverse scaling relationship between *O formation and its hydrogen affinity is observed, consistent with a previous report. However, we find that the latter scaling line can be shifted towards a more reactive region by tuning the coordination number (CN) of the active metal sites. Specifically, we find that lowering the CN plays an important role in increasing the reactivity for methane activation via a radical-like transition state by moving the scaling lines. Thus, in the new design strategy suggested here, different from the conventional efforts focusing mainly on breaking the scaling relations, one maintains the scaling relations but moves them towards more reactive regions by controlling the coordination number of the active sites. With this design principle, we suggest several single atom catalysts with lower C–H activation barriers than some of the most active methane activation catalysts in the literature such as Cu-based zeolites.

The scaling relationship of methane activation via a radical-like transition state shifts toward a more reactive region with decreasing coordination number of the active sites.     

Synthesis of Supported Bimetal Catalysts using Galvanic Deposition Method

Supported bimetallic catalysts have been studied because of their enhanced catalytic properties due to metal‐metal interactions compared with monometallic catalysts. We focused on galvanic deposition (GD) as a bimetallization method, which achieves well‐defined metal‐metal interfaces by exchanging heterogeneous metals with different ionisation tendencies. We have developed Ni@Ag/SiO₂ catalysts for CO oxidation, Co@Ru/Al₂O₃ catalysts for automotive three‐way reactions and Pd−Co/Al₂O₃ catalysts for methane combustion by using the GD method. In all cases, the catalysts prepared by the GD method showed higher catalytic activity than the corresponding monometallic and bimetallic catalysts prepared by the conventional co‐impregnation method. The GD method provides contact between noble and base metals to improve the electronic state, surface structure and reducibility of noble metals.     

n-hydrocarbons conversions over metal-modified solid acid catalysts

The quality of a straight-run fuel oil can be improved if saturated n-hydrocarbons of low octane number are converted to their branched counterparts. Poor reactivity of traditional catalysts in isomerization reactions imposed the need for the development of new catalysts among which noble metal promoted acid catalysts, liquid and/or solid acid catalysts take a prominent place. Sulfated zirconia and metal promoted sulfated zirconia exhibit high activity for the isomerization of light alkanes at low temperatures. The present paper highlights the original results which indicate that the modification of sulfated zirconia by incorporation of metals (platinum and rhenium) significantly affects catalytic performances in n-hydrocarbon conversion reactions. Favourable activity/selectivity of the promoted sulfated zirconia depends on the crystal phase composition, critical crystallites sizes, platinum dispersion, total acidity and type of acidity. Attention is also paid to the recently developed solid acid catalysts used in other conversion reactions of hydrocarbons.     

N-9 Alkylation of purines via light-promoted and metal-free radical relay

A light-promoted approach to the synthesis of N-9 alkylated purine nucleoside derivatives has been developed.     

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.     

Generation of organo-alkaline earth metal complexes from non-polar unsaturated molecules and their synthetic applications

Organomagnesium compounds, represented by the Grignard reagents, are one of the most classical yet versatile carbanion species which have widely been utilized in synthetic chemistry. These reagents are typically prepared via oxidative addition of organic halides to magnesium metals, via halogen–magnesium exchange between halo(hetero)arenes and organomagnesium reagents or via deprotonative magnesiation of prefunctionalized (hetero)arenes. On the other hand, recent studies have demonstrated that the organo-alkaline earth metal complexes including those based on heavier alkaline earth metals such as calcium, strontium and barium could be generated from readily available non-polar unsaturated molecules such as alkenes, alkynes, 1,3-enynes and arenes through unique metallation processes. Nonetheless, the resulting organo-alkaline earth metal complexes could be further functionalized with a variety of electrophiles in various reaction modes. In particular, organocalcium, strontium and barium species have shown unprecedented reactivity in the downstream functionalization, which could not be observed in the reactivity of organomagnesium complexes. This perspective will focus on the newly emerging protocols for the generation of organo-alkaline earth metal complexes from non-polar unsaturated molecules and their applications in chemical synthesis and catalysis.

In this perspective, we highlight the recent development of metallation protocols of non-polar unsaturated molecules for the generation of organo-alkaline earth metal compounds and their applications in chemical synthesis and catalysis.     

Single-atom catalysis for organic reactions

Metal-based catalysis, including homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, plays a significant role in the modern chemical industry. Heterogeneous catalysis is widely used due to the high efficiency, easy catalyst separation and recycling. However, the metal-utilization efficiency for conventional heterogeneous catalysts needs further improvement compared to homogeneous catalyst. To tackle this, the pursing of heterogenizing homogeneous catalysts has always been attractive but challenging. As a recently emerging class of catalytic material, single-atom catalysts (SACs) are expected to bridge homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic process in organic reactions and have arguably become the most active new frontier in catalysis field. In this review, a brief introduction and development history of single-atom catalysis and SACs involved organic reactions are documented. In addition, recent advances in SACs and their practical applications in organic reactions such as oxidation, reduction, addition, coupling reaction, and other organic reactions are thoroughly reviewed. To understand structure-property relationships of single-atom catalysis in organic reactions, active sites or coordination structure, metal atom-utilization efficiency (e.g., turnover frequency, TOF calculated based on active metal) and catalytic performance (e.g., conversion and selectivity) of SACs are comprehensively summarized. Furthermore, the application limitations, development trends, future challenges and perspective of SAC for organic reaction are discussed.     

Complexes of first row transition metals withMeso-1,2-bis(propylsulphinyl)ethane

Summary Fourteen new complexes were prepared involving metals from vanadium to zinc and the ligandmeso-1,2-bis(propylsulphinyl) ethane. Whereas the mode of coordination of the sulphoxide to the metal is always the same (via the oxygen atoms), an unusual coordination scheme prevails in two of the complexes containing the nitrate group, which acts both as a counter ion and as a coordinated ligand.     

The Kirkendall Effect for Engineering Oxygen Vacancy of Hollow Co3O4 Nanoparticles toward High‐Performance Portable Zinc–Air Batteries

Structure and defect control are widely accepted effective strategies to manipulate the activity and stability of catalysts. On a freestanding hierarchically porous carbon microstructure, the tuning of oxygen vacancy in the embedded hollow cobaltosic oxide (Co₃O₄) nanoparticles is demonstrated through the regulation of nanoscale Kirkendall effect. Starting with the embedded cobalt nanoparticles, the concentration of oxygen‐vacancy defect can vary with the degree of Kirkendall oxidation, thus regulating the number of active sites and the catalytic performances. The optimized freestanding catalyst shows among the smallest reversible oxygen overpotential of 0.74 V for catalyzing oxygen reduction/evolution reactions in 0.1 m KOH. Moreover, the catalyst shows promise for substitution of noble metals to boost cathodic oxygen reactions in portable zinc–air batteries. This work provides a strategy to explore catalysts with controllable vacancy defects and desired nano‐/microstructures.     

Carbohydrate based chiral iodoarene catalysts for enantioselective dearomative spirocyclization

Organocatalysis using chiral iodoarenes enables many different enantioselective chemical reactions with cheap, easily accessible and robust catalysts. Carbohydrates have often been used as starting materials for the synthesis of chiral ligands for transition metal catalysts. Here, we now present the synthesis of the first carbohydrate based iodoarene catalysts which can be synthesized in one step starting from known compounds. These catalysts were used for oxidative spriolactonization of 3-(1-hydroxynaphthalen-2-yl)propanoic acid to afford the corresponding spirolactone in yields up to 77% and enantiomeric ratios er up to 80:20.     

Preparation,characterization, and application of fine metal particles and metal colloids using hydrotriorganoborates

The reduction of transition metal salts and oxides using hydrotriorganoborates in organic media allows the production of X-ray amorphous nanopowders of metals and alloys under mild conditions. For example, the reduction of needle-shaped iron oxides at 80°C in organic solvents leads to acicular iron-magnet pigments suitable for recording magnetic signals. The reduction of TiCl₄ with K[BEt₃H] gives an ether-soluble [Ti(0)·0.5THF]_x which serves as a catalyst for the hydrogenation of titanium or zirconium sponges and related systems and as a powerful activator for heterogeneous hydrogenation catalysts. The use of tetraalkylammonium hydrotriorganoborates as reducing agents leads to colloidal transition metals in organic phases. These colloids may also be obtained using conventional reducing agents after first reacting the metal salts with the stabilizing tetraalkylammonium halide. Colloidal metals prepared in this way serve as sources for heterogeneous metal catalysts.     

New aspects in heteroatom chemistry: ambident anionic phosphinomethanides as building blocks in novel organometallic compounds

Phosphinomethanides bind to electrophilesvia either phosphorus or carbon. The resulting compounds usually are unstable and/or can rearrange from carbon to phosphorus coordination orvice versa. Selective oxidative coupling reactions of the phosphinomethanide ligands are found with metal centers in high oxidation states, but these ligands are stable to reduction. Thus, low-valency species can be stabilized. In addition, diphosphinomethanides are useful ligands to promote high coordination numbers with main-group elements (mulehypervalent compoundsmule), transition or lanthanoid metals.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2025–2043, December, 1993.This work could not have been achieved without the aid of highly committed coworkers and students, whose names appear in the list of references and to whom I address my thanks. I am also indebted to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Fonds der Commission Industrie for financial support.     

Synthesis of bis-8-hydroxyquinolines via an imination or a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling approach

Bis-8-hydroxyquinolines represent an important yet underexplored class of potential ligands for the preparation of various coordination polymers, which can be used in a plethora of applications. In this work, the synthesis of two types of bis-8-hydroxyquinolines, prepared via either an imination or a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling approach, as well as their analysis is discussed. Imination was pursued through the condensation of quinolinecarbaldehydes with diamines or aminoquinolines with dialdehydes, and the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions were evaluated using a bromoquinoline substrate and diboronic acids.     

Synergistic cascade catalysis by metal nanoparticles and Lewis acids in hydrogen autotransfer

Of the many types of catalysis involving two or more catalysts, synergistic catalysis is of great interest because novel reactions or reaction pathways may be discovered when there is synergy between the catalysts. Herein, we describe a synergistic cascade catalysis, in which immobilized Au/Pd bimetallic nanoparticles and Lewis acids work in tandem to achieve the N-alkylation of primary amides to secondary amides with alcohols via hydrogen autotransfer. When Au/Pd nanoparticles were used with metal triflates, a significant rate acceleration was observed, and the desired secondary amides were obtained in excellent yields. The metal triflate is thought to not only facilitate the addition of primary amides to aldehydes generated in situ, but also enhance the returning of hydrogen from nanoparticles to hydrogen-accepting intermediates. This resulted in a more rapid turnover of the nanoparticle catalyst, and ultimately translated into an increase in the overall rate of the reaction. The two catalysts in this co-catalytic system work in a synergistic and cascade fashion, resulting in an efficient hydrogen autotransfer process.     

Ag/MgO串联协同催化降解偶氮染料

以纳米氧化镁为载体,采用浸渍法制备一系列过渡金属负载型催化剂.测试其对染料的降解性能后筛选出了效果最优的催化剂Ag/MgO,并采用X射线衍射(XRD)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、扩展X射线吸收精细结构谱(EXAFS)以及X射线吸收近边结构(XANES)等表征方法对该催化材料的结构特征、微观形...     

Expeditious synthesis of aromatic-free piperidinium-functionalized polyethylene as alkaline anion exchange membranes

Alkaline anion exchange membranes (AAEMs) with high hydroxide conductivity and good alkaline stability are essential for the development of anion exchange membrane fuel cells to generate clean energy by converting renewable fuels to electricity. Polyethylene-based AAEMs with excellent properties can be prepared via sequential ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and hydrogenation of cyclooctene derivatives. However, one of the major limitations of this approach is the complicated multi-step synthesis of functionalized cyclooctene monomers. Herein, we report that piperidinium-functionalized cyclooctene monomers can be easily prepared via the photocatalytic hydroamination of cyclooctadiene with piperidine in a one-pot, two-step process to produce high-performance AAEMs. Possible alkaline-degradation pathways of the resultant polymers were analyzed using spectroscopic analysis and dispersion-inclusive hybrid density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Quite interestingly, our theoretical calculations indicate that local backbone morphology—which can potentially change the Hofmann elimination reaction rate constant by more than four orders of magnitude—is another important consideration in the rational design of stable high-performance AAEMs.

Piperidinium-functionalized polyethylene-based alkaline anion exchange membranes that show high hydroxide conductivities and good alkaline stabilities are easily prepared using photocatalytic hydroamination reactions.     

La<Subscript>0.1</Subscript>Ca<Subscript>0.9</Subscript>MnO<Subscript>3</Subscript>/Co<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORER) in alkaline electrolyte

Non-precious metal bifunctional catalysts are of great interest for metal–air batteries, electrolysis, and regenerative fuel cell systems due to their performance and cost benefits compared to the Pt group metals (PGM). In this work, metal oxides of La_0.1Ca_0.9MnO₃ and nano Co₃O₄₇ catalyst as bifunctional catalysts were used in oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORER). The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and N₂ adsorption isotherms. The electrocatalytic activity of the perovskite-type La_0.1Ca_0.9MnO₃ and Co₃O₄ catalysts both as single and mixtures of both were assessed in alkaline solutions at room temperature. Electrocatalyst activity, stability, and electrode kinetics were studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and rotating disk electrode (RDE). This study shows that the bifunctional performance of the mixed La_0.1Ca_0.9MnO₃ and nano Co₃O₄ was superior in comparison to either La_0.1Ca_0.9MnO₃ or nano Co₃O₄ alone for ORER_. The improved activity is due to the synergistic effect between the La_0.1Ca_0.9MnO₃ and nano Co₃O₄ structural and surface properties. This work illustrates that hybridization between these two metal oxides results in the excellent bifunctional oxygen redox activity, stability, and cyclability, leading to a cost-effective application in energy conversion and storage, albeit to the cost of higher catalyst loadings.