Self-Accelerating Diels–Alder Reaction for Preparing Polymers of Intrinsic Microporosity

It is a formidable challenge in polycondensation to simultaneously construct multiple covalent bonds to prepare double-stranded polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) with fused multicyclic linkages. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to develop a self-accelerating Diels–Alder reaction for successfully preparing double-stranded PIMs with fused multicyclic backbone structures. A self-accelerating Diels–Alder reaction was developed based on the [4+2] cycloaddition of sym-dibenzo-1,5-cyclooctadiene-3,7-diyne (DIBOD) and ortho-quinone compounds. In this reaction, the cycloaddition of ortho-quinone with the first alkyne of DIBOD activates the second alkyne, which reacts with ortho-quinone at a rate constant 192 times larger than that of the original alkyne. Using this self-accelerating reaction to polymerize DIBOD and spirocyclic/cyclic difunctional ortho-quinone monomers, a novel stoichiometric imbalance-promoted step-growth polymerization method was developed to prepare PIMs. The resultant PIMs possess intrinsic ultramicropores with pore sizes between 0.45 to 0.7 nm, high specific surface areas above 646 m² g⁻¹, and good H₂ separation performance.     

Activatable NIR-II Photothermal Lipid Nanoparticles for Improved Messenger RNA Delivery

Endosomal escape remains a central issue limiting the high protein expression of mRNA therapeutics. Here, we present second near-infrared (NIR-II) lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) containing pH activatable NIR-II dye conjugated lipid (Cy-lipid) for potentiating mRNA delivery efficiency via a s timulus-responsive p hotothermal-promoted e ndosomal e scape d elivery (SPEED) strategy. In acidic endosomal microenvironment, Cy-lipid is protonated and turns on NIR-II absorption for light-to-heat transduction mediated by 1064 nm laser irradiation. Then, the heat-promoted LNPs morphology change triggers rapid escape of NIR-II LNPs from the endosome, allowing about 3-fold enhancement of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) encoding mRNA translation capacity compared to the NIR-II light free group. In addition, the bioluminescence intensity induced by delivered luciferase encoding mRNA in the mouse liver region shows positive correlation with incremental radiation dose, indicating the validity of the SPEED strategy.     

Chemo-, Stereo- and Regioselective Fluoroallylation/Annulation of Hydrazones with gem-Difluorocyclopropanes via Tunable Palladium/NHC Catalysis

Defluorinative manipulation of polyfluorinated molecules has shown great promise due to its granting of synthetic versatility to inert C−F bonds. The development of chemo-, stereo- and regioselective strategies to realize highly efficient formation of either the linear/branched or E/Z products from gem-difluorocyclopropanes (gem-F₂CPs) is a challenging task. Herein, we have realized palladium/NHC-catalyzed fluoroallylation/annulation of hydrazones with gem-F₂CPs that incorporate the hydrazone N₂ moiety into the products. The thermodynamically unstable fluorinated E-allylation products with aryl ketone hydrazones were obtained for the first time, while the di-alkyl ketone hydrazones yielded the monofluorinated products with branched selectivity under similar reaction conditions. With aldehyde hydrazones, two kinds of pyrazoles were obtained via a defluorinative allylation/annulation cascade, in which different carbon atoms of gem-F₂CPs could be incorporated into the pyrazole rings regiospecifically. DFT calculations revealed that the divergent selectivity was kinetically controlled and the final C−C bond formation proceeded through a 7-membered TS.     

A Tailored Versatile and Efficient NHC-Based NNC-Pincer Manganese Catalyst for Hydrogenation of Polar Unsaturated Compounds

The reactivity of metal-hydride complexes can be harnessed by the modification of ancillary ligands. With the aim of improving the hydride-donor ability of the key Mn−H intermediate and reducing steric hindrance, we herein report the rational design of a versatile and efficient NHC-based NNC-pincer Mn catalyst for hydrogenation reactions. This newly developed catalyst exhibited higher activity than the corresponding NNP-pincer Mn catalyst owing to its reduced steric hindrance and enhanced Mn−H σ-bonding orbital energy level through a π-antibonding interaction. Using this highly active NNC-pincer Mn catalyst, a rich array of polar unsaturated compounds (>80 examples) including esters, N-heteroarenes, amides, carbonates, and urea derivatives, were successfully hydrogenated under relatively mild conditions. This work represents a rare example of a general phosphine-free Mn-catalyzed hydrogenation system.     

MALDI Imaging Assisted Discovery of a Di-O-glycosyltransferase from Platycodon grandiflorum Root

A matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) assisted genome mining strategy was developed for the discovery of glycosyltransferase (GT) from the root of Platycodon grandiflorum. A di-O-glycosyltransferase PgGT1 was discovered and characterized that is capable of catalyzing platycoside E (PE) synthesis through the attachment of two β-1,6-linked glucosyl residues sequentially to the glucosyl residue at the C3 position of platycodin D (PD). Although UDP-glucose is the preferred sugar donor for PgGT1, it could also utilize UDP-xylose and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine as weak donors. Residues S273, E274, and H350 played important roles in stabilizing the glucose donor and positioning the glucose in the optimal orientation for the glycosylation reaction. This study clarified two key steps involved in the biosynthetic pathway of PE and could greatly contribute to improving its industrial biotransformation.     

A Spiro Phosphamide Catalyzed Enantioselective Proton Transfer of Ylides in a Free Carbene Insertion into N−H Bonds

Free carbene readily causes multiple side reactions due to its high energy, thus its asymmetric transformation is very difficult. We present here our findings of high-pK_a Brønsted acid catalysts that enable free carbene insertion into N−H bonds of amines to prepare chiral α-amino acid derivatives with high enantioselectivity. Under irradiation with visible light, diazo compounds produce high-energy free carbenes that are captured by amines to form free ylide intermediates, and then the newly designed high-pK_a Brønsted acids, chiral spiro phosphamides, promote the proton transfer of ylides to afford the products. Computational and kinetic studies uncover the principle for the rational design of proton-transfer catalysts and explain how the catalysts accelerate this transformation and provide stereocontrol.     

Supercooled Liquids with Dynamic Room Temperature Phosphorescence Using Terminal Hydroxyl Engineering

Dynamic room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have potential applications in optoelectronics, which inevitably suffer from poor processability, flexibility or stretchability. Herein, we report a concise strategy to develop supercooled liquids (SCLs) with dynamic RTP behavior using terminal hydroxyl engineering. The terminal hydroxyls effectively hinder the nucleation process of molecules for the formation of stable SCLs after thermal annealing. Impressively, the SCLs show reversible RTP emission via alternant stimulation by UV light and heat. Photoactivated SCLs have phosphorescent efficiency of 8.50 % and a lifetime of 31.54 ms under ambient conditions. Regarding the dynamic RTP behavior and stretchability of SCLs, we demonstrate the applications in erasable data encryption and patterns on flexible substrates. This finding provides a design principle for obtaining SCLs with RTP and expands the potential applications of RTP materials in flexible optoelectronics.     

Comprehensive H2O Molecules Regulation via Deep Eutectic Solvents for Ultra-Stable Zinc Metal Anode

The corrosion, parasitic reactions, and aggravated dendrite growth severely restrict development of aqueous Zn metal batteries. Here, we report a novel strategy to break the hydrogen bond network between water molecules and construct the Zn(TFSI)₂-sulfolane-H₂O deep eutectic solvents. This strategy cuts off the transfer of protons/hydroxides and inhibits the activity of H₂O, as reflected in a much lower freezing point (<−80 °C), a significantly larger electrochemical stable window (>3 V), and suppressed evaporative water from electrolytes. Stable Zn plating/stripping for over 9600 h was obtained. Based on experimental characterizations and theoretical simulations, it has been proved that sulfolane can effectively regulate solvation shell and simultaneously build the multifunctional Zn-electrolyte interface. Moreover, the multi-layer homemade modular cell and 1.32 Ah pouch cell further confirm its prospect for practical application.     

Pd-Catalyzed Asymmetric 5-exo-trig Cyclization/Cyclopropanation/Carbonylation of 1,6-Enynes for the Construction of Chiral 3-Azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes

We herein disclose a mild and efficient access to chiral 3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes via a Pd-catalyzed asymmetric 5-exo-trig cyclization/cyclopropanation/carbonylation of 1,6-enynes. Various nucleophiles, such as alcohols, phenols, amines and water, are well compatible with the reaction system. This reaction forms three C−C bonds, two rings, two adjacent quaternary carbon stereocenters as well as one C−O/C−N bond with excellent regio- and enantioselectivities. The products could be further functionalized to generate a library of 3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexane frameworks.     

Boosting the Proton-coupled Electron Transfer via Fe−P Atomic Pair for Enhanced Electrochemical CO2 Reduction

Single-atom catalysts exhibit superior CO₂-to-CO catalytic activity, but poor kinetics of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) steps still limit the overall performance toward the industrial scale. Here, we constructed a Fe−P atom paired catalyst onto nitrogen doped graphitic layer (Fe₁/PNG) to accelerate PCET step. Fe₁/PNG delivers an industrial CO current of 1 A with FE_CO over 90 % at 2.5 V in a membrane-electrode assembly, overperforming the CO current of Fe₁/NG by more than 300 %. We also decrypted the synergistic effects of the P atom in the Fe−P atom pair using operando techniques and density functional theory, revealing that the P atom provides additional adsorption sites for accelerating water dissociation, boosting the hydrogenation of CO₂, and enhancing the activity of CO₂ reduction. This atom-pair catalytic strategy can modulate multiple reactants and intermediates to break through the inherent limitations of single-atom catalysts.