Copper-catalyzed synthesis of 3-allyl-2-aminoindoles from 3-diazoindolin-2-imines and allyltrimethylsilane

A novel and facile approach to 3-allyl-2-aminoindoles via the copper-catalyzed reaction of 3-diazoindolin-2-imines with allyltrimethylsilane is described. The domino reaction proceeds efficiently in one-pot and shows broad substrate scope with respect to the diazo substrates. Furthermore, the synthesized 3-allyl-2-aminoindoles can be conveniently transformed into 3-allyl-3-hydroxylindolin-2-imines and 3-allyl-3-fluoroindolin-2-imines.     

Significant effect of lanthanide doping on the texture and properties of nanocrystalline mesoporous TiO2

A systematic study of microstructure and photocatalytic properties of lanthanide doping of nanocrystalline mesoporous titanium dioxide is performed. The anatase-to-rutile (A-R) phase transformation of nanosized TiO₂ was significantly inhibited by lanthanide doping and the inhibitory effect was enhanced with the increase of the rare earth radius, i.e., La³⁺>Gd³⁺>Yb³⁺ for different lanthanide dopants. At high calcination temperatures, different texture lanthanide titanium oxides of Ln₄Ti₉O₂₄ (La³⁺, Pr³⁺, Nd³⁺), Ln₂Ti₂O₇ (Eu³⁺, Gd³⁺, Tb³⁺, Dy³⁺, Er³⁺), and Yb₂TiO₅ were developed, respectively, revealing that the structures of lanthanide titanium oxide developed in Ln/TiO₂ depend on the lanthanide radius. Larger radius lanthanides prefer to form higher coordination number lanthanide titanium oxide. In addition, the thermal stability of mesoporous structures of TiO₂ was remarkable improved by lanthanide doping. The photocatalytic properties were studied by employing the photodegradation of Rhodamine B (RB) as a probe reaction. The results indicate that the lanthanide doping could bring about significant improvement to the photoreactivity of TiO₂, and the improvement was sensitive to the atomic electronic configuration.     

A nature inspired molecular Ni-catalyst for efficient photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CO under visible light

Science China Chemistry - Development of efficient molecular catalysts for photocatalytic CO2 reduction is desirable but challenging. At present, the majority of reported molecular catalysts...     

Naphthalene-based fluorophores: Synthesis characterization, and photophysical properties

U-type, 1,8-diarylnaphthalenes and 1,8-diarylethynylnaphthalenes were synthesized and their structures were characterized by spectroscopic methods. Emission performance of these compounds with donor and acceptor was largely depended upon the solvent polarity and environmental acidity, which implied that they might be used as solvent polarity sensors or pH sensors as well. Moreover, some 1,8-diarylnaphthalenes exhibited aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) based on their photophysical investigation and might be used as light emitting materials for optoelectronic applications.     

二维共价有机框架材料的可控合成及其光催化应用研究进展

通过模拟自然界光合作用, 将太阳能转化为方便存储的化学能是缓解未来能源短缺和环境污染问题的理想途径之一. 二维共价有机框架材料(2D COFs)是近年来发展起来的一类新型有机半导体材料, 具有结晶度高、结构精确以及化学组分灵活可调等优势, 在光催化领域展现出巨大应用潜力, 受到了研究者们的广泛关注. 对2D COFs的可控制备以及电子结构调控方法进行了系统总结, 并重点介绍了它们在光催化水分解、CO₂还原以及H₂O₂合成领域的最近研究进展, 讨论了材料结构和催化性能之间的关系, 最后对2D COFs在光催化应用领域存在的机遇和挑战进行了展望.     

Size dependent 2p3/2 binding-energy shift of Ni nanoclusters on SiO2 support: Skin-depth local strain and quantum trapping

An in situ X-ray photoelectron emission investigation revealed that the size trend of the 2p_3/2 binding-energy shift (BES) of Ni nanoclusters grown on SiO₂ substrate follows the prediction of the bond order-length-strength (BOLS) correlation theory [30]. Theoretical reproduction of the measurements turns out that the 2p_3/2 binding energy of an isolated Ni atom is 850.51 eV and its intrinsic bulk shift is 2.70 eV. Findings confirmed that the skin-depth local strain and potential well quantum trapping induced by the shorter and stronger bonds between under-coordinated surface atoms provide perturbation to the Hamiltonian and hence dominate the size dependent BES.     

Palladium-catalyzed homocoupling and cross-coupling reactions of aryl halides in poly(ethylene glycol)

The direct coupling of aryl halides to prepare symmetrical and unsymmetrical biaryls were performed successfully in poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) using Pd(OAc)2 as the catalyst in the absence of other additives or reductants. The selectivity toward biaryl depended on the amount of PEG used. Excessive PEGs induce the increase of hydrodehalogenation product, and the best selectivity to biaryl is obtained when the concentration of the hydroxyl group in PEG achieves 100 mol % relative to aryl halides. The catalyst system could be recycled and reused up to five times with no loss of catalytic activity.     

Zipf’s law, 1/f noise, and fractal hierarchy

Fractals, 1/f noise, and Zipf’s laws are frequently observed within the natural living world as well as in social institutions, representing three signatures of complex systems. All these observations are associated with scaling laws and therefore have created much research interest in many diverse scientific circles. However, the inherent relationships between these scaling phenomena are not yet clear. In this paper, theoretical demonstration and mathematical experiments based on urban studies are employed to reveal the analogy between fractal patterns, 1/f spectra, and the Zipf distribution. First, the multifractal process empirically suggests the Zipf distribution. Second, a 1/f spectrum is mathematically identical to Zipf’s law. Third, both 1/f spectra and Zipf’s law can be converted into a self-similar hierarchy. Fourth, fractals, 1/f spectra, Zipf’s law can be rescaled with similar exponential laws and power laws. The self-similar hierarchy is a more general scaling method which can be used to unify different scaling phenomena and rules in both physical and social systems such as cities, rivers, earthquakes, fractals, 1/f noise, and rank-size distributions. The mathematical laws of this hierarchical structure can provide us with a holistic perspective of looking at complexity and complex systems.