Regioselective Hydration of Alkynes by Iron(III) Lewis/Brønsted Catalysis

The triflimide iron(III) salt [Fe(NTf₂)₃] promotes the direct hydration of terminal and internal alkynes with very good Markovnikov regioselectivities and high yields. The enhanced carbophilic Lewis acidity of the Fe^III cation mediated by the weakly‐coordinating triflimide anion is crucial for the catalytic activity. The iron(III) metal salt can be recycled in the form of the OPPh₃/[Fe(NTf₂)₃] system with similar activity and selectivity. However, spectroscopic and kinetic studies show that [Fe(NTf₂)₃] hydrolyzes under the reaction conditions and that catalytically less active Brønsted species are formed, which points to a Lewis/Brønsted co‐catalysis. This triflimide‐based catalytic system is regioselective for the hydration of internal aryl‐alkynes and opens the door to a new synthetic route to alkyl ketophenones. As a proof of concept, the synthesis of two antipsychotics Haloperidol and Melperone, with general butyrophenone‐like structure, is shown.     

Angular Benzoperylenetetracarboxylic Bisimides

Benzoperylene derivatives with two angularly attached dicarboxylic imide rings, which were prepared by the Diels–Alder‐Reaction, exhibit strong fluorescence and their free peri positions allow either control of the UV/Vis spectra through their substituents or form anchor positions for the attachment of functional units. The angular chromophore 3 may be used both for fluorescent labeling such as for primary amines or enzymes or as building blocks for more complex assemblies where they may act as energy donors for FRET or electron acceptors in PET such as for photovoltaic solar cells.     

Creation of Chiral Thixotropic Gels through a Crown–Ammonium Interaction and their Application to a Memory‐Erasing Recycle System

A unique class of oligothiophene‐based organogelator bearing two crown ethers at both ends was synthesized. This compound could gelatinize several organic solvents, forming one‐dimensional fibrous aggregates. From the observation of circular dichroism, it was confirmed that the helical handedness of the fibrous assembly is controllable by the chirality of 1,2bisammonium guests, thus suggesting that one guest molecule bridges two gelator molecules through the crown–ammonium interaction. Interestingly, we have found that such chirality is created by thermal gelation, whereas it disappears by thixotropic gelation. The new finding implies that the present organogel system is applicable as a reversible switching memory device, featuring memory creation by a heat mode and memory erasing by a mechanical mode.