Core–Shell Nanoreactors for Efficient Aqueous Biphasic Catalysis

Water‐borne phosphine‐functionalized core‐cross‐linked micelles ( CCM ) consisting of a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic shell were obtained as stable latexes by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) in water in a one‐pot, three‐step process. Initial homogeneous aqueous‐phase copolymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA) and poly(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate (PEOMA) is followed by copolymerization of styrene (S) and 4‐diphenylphosphinostyrene (DPPS), yielding P(MAA‐co‐PEOMA)‐b‐P(S‐co‐DPPS) amphiphilic block copolymer micelles ( M ) by polymerization‐induced self‐assembly (PISA), and final micellar cross‐linking with a mixture of S and diethylene glycol dimethacrylate. The CCM were characterized by dynamic light scattering and NMR spectroscopy to evaluate size, dispersity, stability, and the swelling ability of various organic substrates. Coordination of [Rh(acac)(CO)₂] (acac=acetylacetonate) to the core‐confined phosphine groups was rapid and quantitative. The CCM and M latexes were then used, in combination with [Rh(acac)(CO)₂], to catalyze the aqueous biphasic hydroformylation of 1‐octene, in which they showed high activity, recyclability, protection of the activated Rh center by the polymer scaffold, and low Rh leaching. The CCM latex gave slightly lower catalytic activity but significantly less Rh leaching than the M latex. A control experiment conducted in the presence of the sulfoxantphos ligand pointed to the action of the CCM as catalytic nanoreactors with substrate and product transport into and out of the polymer core, rather than as a surfactant in interfacial catalysis.     

Wavepacket Splitting and Two‐Pathway Deactivation in the Photoexcited Visual Pigment Isorhodopsin

Isorhodopsin is the visual pigment analogue of rhodopsin. It shares the same opsin environment but it embeds 9‐cis retinal instead of 11‐cis. Its photoisomerization is three times slower and less effective. The mechanistic rationale behind this observation is revealed by combining high‐level quantum‐mechanical/molecular‐mechanical simulations with ultrafast optical spectroscopy with sub‐20 fs time resolution and spectral coverage extended to the near‐infrared. Whereas in rhodopsin the photoexcited wavepacket has ballistic motion through a single conical intersection seam region between the ground and excited states, in isorhodopsin it branches into two competitive deactivation pathways involving distinct conical intersection funnels. One is rapidly accessed but unreactive. The other is slower, as it features extended steric interactions with the environment, but it is productive as it follows forward bicycle pedal motion.     

Pd(I) phosphine carbonyl and hydride complexes implicated in the palladium-catalyzed oxo process

Reduction of compound "Pd(bcope)(OTf)2" [bcope = (c-C8H14-1,5)PCH2CH2P(c-C8H14-1,5); OTf = O3SCF3] with H2/CO yields a mixture of Pd(I) compounds [Pd2(bcope)2(CO)2](OTf)2 (1) and [Pd2(bcope)2(mu-CO)(mu-H)](OTf) (2), whereas reduction with H2 or Ph3SiH in the absence of CO leads to [Pd3(bcope)3(mu3-H)2](OTf)2 (3). Exposure of 3 to CO leads to 1 and 2. The structures of 1 and 3 have been determined by X-ray diffraction. Complex [Pd2(bcope)2(CO)2](2+) displays a metal-metal bonded structure with a square planar environment for the Pd atoms and terminally bonded CO ligands and is fluxional in solution. DFT calculations aid the interpretation of this fluxional behavior as resulting from an intramolecular exchange of the two inequivalent P atom positions via a symmetric bis-CO-bridged intermediate. A cyclic voltammetric investigation reveals a very complex redox behavior for the "Pd(bcope)(OTf)2"/CO system and suggests possible pathways leading to the formation of the various observed products, as well as their relationship with the active species of the PdL2(2+)/CO/H2-catalyzed oxo processes (L2 = diphosphine ligands).     

Pd-Catalyzed [3+2]-Dehydrogenative Annulation Reactions

The significance of cross dehydrogenative couplings has increased considerably in recent years. This article revisits the [3+2] C−C/N−C, C−C/O−C and C−C/C−C annulation strategy, recently reported by our group, according to a Pd(II) catalyzed dehydrogenative variant. Our original report relied on Pd(0) catalysis, using α,β-unsaturated-γ-oxy carbonyls as bis-electrophiles and resonance-stabilized acetamides or 3-oxoglutarates as C/N and O/C or C/C bis-nucleophiles, respectively. In this more modern and straightforward Pd(II)-catalyzed dehydrogenative approach, β,γ-unsaturated carbonyl derivatives replace α,β-unsaturated-γ-oxy carbonyls as bis-electrophiles. Our study includes experimental optimization and showcases the synthetic versatility in the formation of diverse heterocyclic structures, such as bicyclic lactams, furo-cycloalkanones and bicycloalkane-diones. Furthermore, a mechanism is proposed to elucidate the underlying processes involved in these reactions.     

Cobalt-mediated radical polymerization of acrylonitrile: kinetics investigations and DFT calculations

The successful controlled homopolymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) by cobalt-mediated radical polymerization (CMRP) is reported for the first time. As a rule, initiation of the polymerization was carried out starting from a conventional azo-initiator (V-70) in the presence of bis(acetylacetonato)cobalt(II) ([Co(acac)(2)]) but also by using organocobalt(III) adducts. Molar concentration ratios of the reactants, the temperature, and the solvent were tuned, and the effect of these parameters on the course of the polymerization is discussed in detail. The best level of control was observed when the AN polymerization was initiated by an organocobalt(III) adduct at 0 degrees C in dimethyl sulfoxide. Under these conditions, poly(acrylonitrile) with a predictable molar mass and molar mass distribution as low as 1.1 was prepared. A combination of kinetic data, X-ray analyses, and DFT calculations were used to rationalize the results and to draw conclusions on the key role played by the solvent molecules in the process. These important mechanistic insights also permit an explanation of the unexpected "solvent effect" that allows the preparation of well-defined poly(vinyl acetate)-b-poly(acrylonitrile) by CMRP.     

Quantitative energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis of electron beam-sensitive alloyed nanoparticles.

An energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDXS) method is developed to evaluate the composition of alloyed nanoparticles (NPs) where one of the alloying elements is removed under the electron beam during microanalysis with a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The method is demonstrated for alloyed Au-Ag NPs of a diameter ranging from 6 to 20 nm produced by laser evaporation of a water-suspended Ag-Au powder mixture of varying composition. Series of EDXS spectra are recorded for 30 NPs from samples with five different Ag:Au ratios revealing Ag depletion from NPs during electron irradiation. By studying the evolution of NPs composition as a function of dose, the initial Ag content for each NP is extrapolated. The rate of Ag depletion is discussed in terms of sputtering and knock-on damage. On average, approximately one Ag atom is lost from the NP for each Ag L X-ray detected. To assess the limitations of microanalysis in these sensitive nanoscale structures, the concept of detectability limit is adapted to our method. This benchmark is then evaluated for Ag in Au-Ag NPs of various sizes and acquisition times. This study should be regarded as a guide for the design of analytical TEM measurements of beam-sensitive NPs.     

Polymorph of {2‐[(2‐hydroxyethyl)iminiomethyl]phenolato‐κO}dioxido{2‐[(2‐oxidoethyl)iminomethyl]phenolato‐κ3O,N,O′}molybdenum(VI)

A second polymorphic form (form I) of the previously reported compound {2‐[(2‐hydroxyethyl)iminiomethyl]phenolato‐κO}dioxido{2‐[(2‐oxidoethyl)iminomethyl]phenolato‐κ³O,N,O′}molybdenum(VI) (form II), [Mo(C₉H₉NO₂)O₂(C₉H₁₁NO₂)], is presented. The title structure differs from the previously reported polymorph [Głowiak, Jerzykiewicz, Sobczak & Ziółkowski (2003). Inorg. Chim. Acta, 356 , 387–392] by the fact that the asymmetric unit contains three molecules linked by O—H...O hydrogen bonds. These trimeric units are further linked through O—H...O hydrogen bonds to form a chain parallel to the [11] direction. As in the previous polymorph, each molecule is built up from an MoO₂²⁺ cation surrounded by an O,N,O′‐tridentate ligand (O⁻C₆H₄CH=NCH₂CH₂O⁻) and weakly coordinated by a second zwitterionic ligand (O⁻C₆H₄CH=N⁺HC₂H₄OH). All complexes are chiral with the absolute configuration at Mo being C or A. The main difference between the two polymorphs results from the alternation of the chirality at Mo within the chain.     

Dual acquisition magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR-spectroscopy: simultaneous acquisition of multidimensional spectra of biomacromolecules

Fast data collection: a general method for dual data acquisition of multidimensional magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR experiments is presented. The method uses a simultaneous Hartmann-Hahn cross-polarization from (1)H to (13)C and (15)N nuclei and exploits the long-living (15)N polarization for parallel acquisition of two multidimensional experiments.