Heterogeneous copper‐catalyzed oxidative coupling of oxime acetates with sodium sulfinates: An efficient and practical synthesis of β‐keto sulfones

An efficient and practical route to β‐keto sulfones has been developed through heterogeneous oxidative coupling of oxime acetates with sodium sulfinates by using an MCM‐41‐supported Schiff base‐pyridine bidentate copper (II) complex [MCM‐41‐Sb,Py‐Cu (OAc)₂] as the catalyst and oxime acetates as an internal oxidant, followed by hydrolysis. The reaction generates a variety of β‐keto sulfones in good to excellent yields. This new heterogeneous copper (II) catalyst can be easily prepared via a simple procedure from readily available and inexpensive reagents and exhibits the same catalytic activity as Cu (OAc)₂. MCM‐41‐Sb,Py‐Cu (OAc)₂ is also easy to recover and is recyclable up to eight times with almost consistent activity.     

Analysis of phenolic acids and flavonoids in leaves of Lycium barbarum from different habitats by ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry

The leaves of Lycium barbarum (LLB) have been utilized as crude drugs and functional tea for human health in China and Southeast Asia for thousands of years. To control its quality, a rapid and sensitive ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry method was established and validated for the first time for simultaneous determination of 10 phenolic acids and flavonoids (including neochlorogenic acid , protocatechuic aldehyde, p‐hydroxybenzoic acid, chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p‐coumaric acid, ferulic acid, rutin and kaempferol‐3‐O‐rutinoside) in LLB. The separation was performed on an Acquity UPLC C₁₈ chromatographic column (100 × 2.1 mm internal diameter, 1.7 μm particle size) with 0.1% formic acid in water (A)–acetonitrile (B) as the mobile phase under gradient elution. Multiple reaction monitoring mode was adopted to simultaneously monitor the target components. The developed method was fully validated in terms of linearity (r² ≥ 0.9860), precision (RSD ≤ 6.58%), repeatability (RSD ≤ 6.60%), stability (RSD ≤ 6.17%), recovery (95.56–108.06%, RSD ≤ 4.64%) and limit of detection (0.021–0.664 ng/mL) and limit of quantitation (0.069–2.210 ng/mL), and then successfully applied to evaluate the quality of 64 batches of LLB collected from 41 producing areas in four different provinces of China. The results showed that the LLB, especially collected from Inner Mongolia regions, were rich in the phenolic acids and flavonoids. Rutin, kaempferol‐3‐O‐rutinoside and chlorogenic acid are the predominant compounds contained in LLB. The above findings will provide helpful information for the effective utilization of LLB.     

Tunable Oxygen Activation for Catalytic Organic Oxidation: Schottky Junction versus Plasmonic Effects

The charge state of the Pd surface is a critical parameter in terms of the ability of Pd nanocrystals to activate O₂ to generate a species that behaves like singlet O₂ both chemically and physically. Motivated by this finding, we designed a metal–semiconductor hybrid system in which Pd nanocrystals enclosed by {100} facets are deposited on TiO₂ supports. Driven by the Schottky junction, the TiO₂ supports can provide electrons for metal catalysts under illumination by appropriate light. Further examination by ultrafast spectroscopy revealed that the plasmonics of Pd may force a large number of electrons to undergo reverse migration from Pd to the conduction band of TiO₂ under strong illumination, thus lowering the electron density of the Pd surface as a side effect. We were therefore able to rationally tailor the charge state of the metal surface and thus modulate the function of Pd nanocrystals in O₂ activation and organic oxidation reactions by simply altering the intensity of light shed on Pd–TiO₂ hybrid structures.     

New fluorescent benzocrown ether derivatives of tetrathiafulvalene: facile synthesis and recognition properties

Two new fluorescent crown ether derivatives of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) (2a and 2b) were synthesized and characterized; their electrochemical response to Na⁺ ions and fluorescence properties were investigated. The mechanism of the strong fluorescence has also been explored.     

Manipulating OH−-Mediated Anode-Cathode Cross-Communication Toward Long-Life Aqueous Zinc-Vanadium Batteries

The anode-cathode interplay is an important but rarely considered factor that initiates the degradation of aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs). Herein, to address the limited cyclability issue of V-based AZIBs, Al₂(SO₄)₃ is proposed as decent electrolyte additive to manipulate OH⁻-mediated cross-communication between Zn anode and NaV₃O₈ ⋅ 1.5H₂O (NVO) cathode. The hydrolysis of Al³⁺ creates a pH≈0.9 strong acidic environment, which unexpectedly prolongs the anode lifespan from 200 to 1000 h. Such impressive improvement is assigned to the alleviation of interfacial OH⁻ accumulation by Al³⁺ adsorption and solid electrolyte interphase formation. Accordingly, the strongly acidified electrolyte, associated with the sedated crossover of anodic OH⁻ toward NVO, remarkably mitigate its undesired dissolution and phase transition. The interrupted OH⁻-mediated communication between the two electrodes endows Zn||NVO batteries with superb cycling stability, at both low and high scan rates.     

Enantioselective Synthesis of N−N Biaryl Atropisomers through Iridium(I)-Catalyzed C−H Alkylation with Acrylates

Enantioselective synthesis of N−N biaryl atropisomers is an emerging area but remains underexplored. The development of efficient synthesis of N−N biaryl atropisomers is in great demand. Herein, the construction of N−N biaryl atropisomers through iridium-catalyzed asymmetric C−H alkylation is reported for the first time. In the presence of readily available Ir precursor and Xyl-BINAP, a variety of axially chiral molecules based on indole-pyrrole skeleton were obtained in good yields (up to 98 %) with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 99 % ee). In addition, N−N bispyrrole atropisomers could also be synthesized in excellent yields and enantioselectivity. This method features perfect atom economy, wide substrate scope, and multifunctionalized products allowing diverse transformations.     

Synthesis of Macrocyclic Arsinous Acid Estcrs

MacrocyclicarsinousacidestersareusuallypreparedbycondensationofdichloroalkylarsinesRAsCI,Iwithdidsinthepresenceoforganicalkali].ThemethoddescribedhereinvolvesthetransformationofintermediatefromItohis(dimethylamino)alkylarsineRAs(NMe,),2andthereactionof2withdidsindryTHFtoleadtotheformationoftitlecompounds.2canreactsmoothlywithdidsintheabsenceoforganicalkalitogeneratecorrespondingmacrocyclicarsinousacidesters4anddimethylaminewhichescapesfromthereactingsystemasagasinreflux.Althoughonemoreste…     

A new cytotoxic 2-（2-phenylethyl）chromone from Chinese eaglewood

A new compound 8-chloro-5,6,7-trihydroxy-2-（3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenethyl）-5,6,7,8-tetralaydro-4H-chromen-4-one （1） was isolated from the Chinese eaglewood [Aquilaria sinensis （Lour.） Gilg]. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of spectral data. Compound I showed cytotoxicity against human gastric cancer cell line （SGC-7901） in vitro by MTT method with the IC50 value of 14.6 μg/mL.     

Phenanthrene-fused boron-dipyrromethenes as bright long-wavelength fluorophores

A new class of boron-dipyrromethene (BDP or BODIPY) dyes was obtained by phenanthrene fusion to the beta-pyrrole positions, absorbing in the wavelength range of important laser sources. Despite a 'propeller-like' distorted structure in the crystalline state, the chromophore absorbs (log epsilon > or = 5) and fluoresces (Phif > or = 0.8) strongly and can be easily turned into a fluorescence light-up probe. Incorporation into latex beads produces bright and photostable single-dye and F?rster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) particles for microscopy applications.