A Dual Emissive Coumarin–urea Derivative with an Electron-withdrawing Substituent in the Presence of Acetate Anion

We investigated the fluorescent properties, including the excited-state intermolecular proton transfer, of urea derivatives comprising a coumarin ring, which is a widely used fluorophore. We prepared two different coumarin–urea derivatives, 6CU and 7CU, which bear a urea-based substituent at the 6 and 7 positions of a coumarin ring, respectively. In the presence of the acetate ion, 7CU showed additional tautomer fluorescence emission with respect to 6CU, indicating that tautomer formation depends on the positions of the urea-based substituent on the coumarin ring. Thus, the resonance structures of urea derivatives might play an important role in the behavior of dual fluorescence, which is an important phenomenon applicable to photochemical anion sensing. Moreover, in order to further improve the fluorescence properties of the mentioned derivatives, a CF₃ group was introduced in a phenyl ring opposite to a coumarin ring. The fluorescence quantum yield of 7CUCF₃ thus synthesized was 65 times as large as that of 7CU, an observation that renders 7CUCF₃ a suitable anion sensor candidate. The results of this study will contribute to the development of new molecular designs for highly fluorescent sensing.     

Large-Scale Synthesis of MOF-Derived Superporous Carbon Aerogels with Extraordinary Adsorption Capacity for Organic Solvents

Carbon aerogels (CAs) with 3D interconnected networks hold promise for application in areas such as pollutant treatment, energy storage, and electrocatalysis. In spite of this, it remains challenging to synthesize high-performance CAs on a large scale in a simple and sustainable manner. We report an eco-friendly method for the scalable synthesis of ultralight and superporous CAs by using cheap and widely available agarose (AG) biomass as the carbon precursor. Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) with high porosity is introduced into the AG aerogels to increase the specific surface area and enable heteroatom doping. After pyrolysis under inert atmosphere, the ZIF-8/AG-derived nitrogen-doped CAs show a highly interconnected porous mazelike structure with a low density of 24 mg cm⁻³, a high specific surface area of 516 m² g⁻¹, and a large pore volume of 0.58 cm⁻³ g⁻¹. The resulting CAs exhibit significant potential for application in the adsorption of organic pollutants.     

Stereoselective Syntheses of all the Possible Stereoisomers of Coronafacic Acid

An efficient and stereoselective syntheses of all the possible stereoisomers of coronafacic acid (CFA) has been developed. The stereochemistries of C3a and C7a were controlled in a diastereoselective Diels-Alder type cycloaddition using a chiral auxiliary. CFA and 6-epi-CFA were synthesized by hydrogenation of a common intermediate. During the synthesis of 6-epi-CFA, we established that its cis-fused configuration is important for the introduction of C4-C5 double bond by dehydration. This report is the first practical synthesis of both 6-epi-CFA, and its enantiomer.     

Homogeneous Oligomeric Ligands Prepared via Radical Polymerization that Recognize and Neutralize a Target Peptide

Abiotic ligands that bind to specific biomolecules have attracted attention as substitutes for biomolecular ligands, such as antibodies and aptamers. Radical polymerization enables the production of robust polymeric ligands from inexpensive functional monomers. However, little has been reported about the production of monodispersed polymeric ligands. Herein, we present homogeneous ligands prepared via radical polymerization that recognize epitope sequences on a target peptide and neutralize the toxicity of the peptide. Taking advantage of controlled radical polymerization and separation, a library of multifunctional oligomers with discrete numbers of functional groups was prepared. Affinity screening revealed that the sequence specificity of the oligomer ligands strongly depended on the number of functional groups. The process reported here will become a general step for the development of abiotic ligands that recognize specific peptide sequences.     

Large‐Scale Synthesis of MOF‐Derived Superporous Carbon Aerogels with Extraordinary Adsorption Capacity for Organic Solvents

Carbon aerogels (CAs) with 3D interconnected networks hold promise for application in areas such as pollutant treatment, energy storage, and electrocatalysis. In spite of this, it remains challenging to synthesize high‐performance CAs on a large scale in a simple and sustainable manner. We report an eco‐friendly method for the scalable synthesis of ultralight and superporous CAs by using cheap and widely available agarose (AG) biomass as the carbon precursor. Zeolitic imidazolate framework‐8 (ZIF‐8) with high porosity is introduced into the AG aerogels to increase the specific surface area and enable heteroatom doping. After pyrolysis under inert atmosphere, the ZIF‐8/AG‐derived nitrogen‐doped CAs show a highly interconnected porous mazelike structure with a low density of 24 mg cm^?3, a high specific surface area of 516 m² g^?1, and a large pore volume of 0.58 cm^?3 g^?1. The resulting CAs exhibit significant potential for application in the adsorption of organic pollutants.     

Regulated Single‐Axis Rotations of a Carbonaceous Guest in a van der Waals Complex with an Entropy Cost

In a tight host–guest complex assembled solely by nondirectional van der Waals forces, unique motions of the guest, such as solid‐state inertial rotations, emerge. The regulation of dynamic motions is an important element to be explored for novel functions of such complexes, which may be seemingly difficult to achieve because of the nondirectionality of the assembling forces. A regulated, single‐axis rotation was made possible by choosing an appropriate shape of the guest in the tubular host. Specifically, an ellipsoidal guest was made to stand along a cylinder axis of the host, which consequently resulted in single‐axis rotations of the guest in the solid. The rotational frequency was considerably high for solid‐state rotations but was suppressed to 10 GHz, which was 1/20 of the isotropic rotation of a spherical guest. In‐depth kinetic analyses quantitatively revealed that the entropy cost was a determining factor that regulated the dynamics.     

Facile synthesis of an ambient stable pyreno[4,5-b]pyrrole monoanion and pyreno[4,5-b:9,10-b′]dipyrrole dianion: from serendipity to design

The stability of singly or multiply negatively charged π-conjugated organic compounds is greatly influenced by their electronic delocalization. Herein, we report a strategic methodology for isolation of a mysterious compound. The isolated compounds, a pyreno[4,5-b]pyrrole monoanion and pyreno[4,5-b:9,10-b′]dipyrrole dianion, were highly stable under ambient conditions due to high delocalization of the negative charge over multiple electron deficient C N groups and pyrene π-scaffolds and allowed purification by column chromatography. To our knowledge, this is the first report on TCNE type reductive condensation of malononitrile involving pyrene di- and tetraone and formation of pyrenopyrrole. All compounds were characterized by spectroscopic methods and X-ray crystallography. A UV-vis spectroscopic study shows an intense low energy absorption band with a large absorption coefficient (ε).

An ambient stable pyreno[4,5-b]pyrrole monoanion and pyreno[4,5-b:9,10-b′]dipyrrole dianion have been isolated and characterized, showing a low energy intense absorption band with the absorption coefficient reaching 7.1 × 10⁴ dm³ mol⁻¹ cm⁻¹.     

类水滑石Mg3Al1-xFex负载Ir催化剂在肉桂醛加氢反应中的应用:Fe的促进作用

水滑石类化合物 (LDH) 的层板金属阳离子组成具有可调变性,通过将具有变价特性的过渡金属定量引入 LDH 层板,经热处理后可以得到具有高比表面积和层板金属原子级分散的混合金属氧化物,后者可广泛用作催化剂载体.如三元Mg-Al-Fe 类水滑石材料在光催化、H2S 选择性氧化和乙苯脱氢等反应中表现出较好的活性.Ir 催化剂在α,β-不饱和醛加氢反应中具有较好的活性,Fe 修饰 Ir 催化剂可提高不饱和醇选择性,但有关 Fe 的作用以及 Fe 与活性组分 Ir 间的相互作用本质还不是很清楚.本文以类水滑石材料 Mg3Al1–xFex为载体,采用等体积浸渍法制备了 Ir 催化剂,并用于肉桂醛加氢反应,通过考察 Fe的加入对 Ir 电子和几何结构的影响揭示了 Fe 的加入对活性和选择性的影响规律.结果表明,当 x 从 0 (Ir/Mg3Al) 增加到 1 (Ir/Mg3Fe) 时,肉桂醛加氢的反应速率在 x = 0.25 时达到最大值,肉桂醇选择性从 44.9% 增加到 80.3%,且不随肉桂醛转化率的增加而改变.透射电镜结果表明,Ir 纳米粒子的粒径随着 x 的增加未发生明显变化,均为 1.7±0.2 nm.H2程序升温还原结果发现 Ir 可以促进 Fe3+的还原且两者之间存在相互作用.X射线光电子能谱结果表明,Fe 的掺杂没有改变催化剂表面Ir0和 Ir4+含量的比值,但当 Fe 含量增加时,Fe2+2p3/2向高结合能方向偏移,且 Ir04f7/2向低结合能方向偏移,说明电子从 Fe2+转移到 Ir,形成了富电子的 Ir 物种和缺电子的 Fe 物种.富电子的 Ir 物种有利于肉桂醛分子中的 C=O 键在其表面吸附,并且和 Ir 相邻的 Fen+物种可以作为亲电位点吸附肉桂醛分子中氧,从而极化和活化 C=O 键,因而催化剂活性和选择性增大.采用吸附 CO 红外光谱表征了催化剂表面的几何结构,2058–2069 cm-1处出现了 CO 吸附峰,归属于 Ir0表面 CO 的线性吸附,高波数 2069 cm-1的吸附峰归属于 CO 在高配位 Ir 位点 (平台) 的吸附,低波数 2058 cm-1的吸附峰归属于 CO 在低配位Ir 位点 (台阶、角、楞) 的吸附.随着 Fe 含量的增加,CO 吸附峰蓝移 11 cm-1,表明 Fe 的加入改变了催化剂表面 Ir 的几何结构,低配位 Ir 位点减少,高配位 Ir 位点增多.高配位 Ir 位点 (平台) 有利于肉桂醛分子中 C=O 键的吸附,从而提高了肉桂醇的选择性.总之,Fe 的加入虽然没有明显改变 Ir 纳米粒子的粒径,但却改变了其电子和几何结构,从而提高了催化剂活性和选择性.     

Highly Chemoselective Aerobic Oxidation of Amino Alcohols into Amino Carbonyl Compounds

The direct oxidation of unprotected amino alcohols to their corresponding amino carbonyl compounds has often posed serious challenges in organic synthesis and has constrained chemists to adopting an indirect route, such as a protection/deprotection strategy, to attain their goal. Described herein is a highly chemoselective aerobic oxidation of unprotected amino alcohols to their amino carbonyl compounds in which 2‐azaadamantane N‐oxyl (AZADO)/copper catalysis is used. The catalytic system developed leads to the alcohol‐selective oxidation of various unprotected amino alcohols, carrying a primary, secondary, or tertiary amino group, in good to high yield at ambient temperature with exposure to air, thus offering flexibility in the synthesis of nitrogen‐containing compounds.