Mechanical properties of bulk single crystalline nanoporous gold investigated by millimetre-scale tension and compression testing

In this work, the mechanical behaviour of millimetre-scale, bulk single crystalline, nanoporous gold at room temperature is reported for the first time. Tension and compression tests were performed with a custom-designed test system that accommodates small-scale samples. The absence of grain boundaries in the specimens allowed measurement of the inherent strength of millimetre-scale nanoporous gold in tension. The elastic modulus and strength values in tension and compression were found to be significantly lower than values measured with nanoindentation-based techniques and previously reported in the literature, but close to those reported for millimetre-scale polycrystalline samples tested using traditional compression techniques. Fracture toughness was found to be very low, in agreement with the macroscopic brittleness of nanoporous gold, but this is due to the localization of deformation to a narrow zone of ligaments, which individually exhibit significant plasticity and necking.     

Short and efficient route toward α-substituted N-arylazetidines from acetanilides via Mitsunobu reaction

N-Arylazetidines are efficiently obtained in a three-step procedure, providing a wide diversity of derivatives on multigram scale with overall yields of 21–55%. Cheap or easily available acetanilides are used in an adapted aldolization with aldehydes, furnishing β-hydroxyamides with an 81% average yield over 21 examples. Special Mitsunobu conditions have been developed to ensure the cyclization of these hydroxyamides, giving β-lactams with an 73% average yield over 16 examples. A reduction then provided the N-arylazetidines in high yields.     

Straightforward Synthesis of 5‐Bromopenta‐2,4‐diynenitrile and Its Reactivity Towards Terminal Alkynes: A Direct Access to Diene and Benzofulvene Scaffolds

The high‐yielding synthesis of 5‐bromopenta‐2,4‐diynenitrile (BrC₅N) was achieved for the first time. Its reactivity with triisopropylsilylacetylene and triisopropylsilylbutadiyne in the presence of copper and palladium as co‐catalysts and diisopropylamine was evaluated. It revealed an unprecedented cascade reaction leading to a diene in one case and to a benzofulvene in the other case, with a unique structure. Both of them were characterized by X‐ray crystallography, among other techniques. The mechanism of the reaction leading to the diene was investigated experimentally. Theoretical calculations at the DFT level suggest that the mechanism leading to the benzofulvene relies on a hexa‐dehydro Diels–Alder (HDDA)‐type of mechanism. This work constitutes an example of an unanticipated reactivity leading to an important increase of chemical complexity.