Puberunine and puberudine, two new C18-diterpenoid alkaloids from Aconitum barbatum var. puberulum

Two C(18)-diterpenoid alkaloids, puberunine (1) and puberudine (2), together with four other new alkaloids, including the first examples having β-oriented substitution at C-3 and a rare chloro-substituent were isolated from Aconitum barbatum var. puberulum. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Puberunine and puberudine, which possess a unique rearranged E ring and an opened A ring, respectively, represent new subtypes of the C(18)-diterpenoid alkaloids. A plausible biosynthetic pathway of 1 and 2 was proposed.     

Enzyme-triggered model self-assembly in surfactant-cyclodextrin systems

We present here a host-guest approach to construct enzyme-triggered assembly systems on the basis of surfactant-cyclodextrin complexes and α-amylase. We realized enzyme-responsive model self-assembly systems including monolayers, micelles, and vesicles. The host-guest approach is expected to be extended to more complicated assembly systems with widespread applications.     

Magnetic nanosized {M(II)24}-wheel-based (M = Co, Ni) coordination polymers

Two 3D coordination polymers, [Co(24)(OH)(12)(SO(4))(12)(ip)(6)(DMSO)(18)(H(2)O)(6)]·(DMSO)(6)(EtOH)(6)(H(2)O)(36) (1·guests, ip = isophthalate) and [Ni(24)(OH)(12)(SO(4))(12)(ip)(6)(DMSO)(12)(H(2)O)(12)]·(DMSO)(6)(EtOH)(6)(H(2)O)(20) (2·guests), constructed with nanosized tetraicosanuclear Co(II) and Ni(II) wheels are solvothermally synthesized. Both complexes show intra- and interwheel dominant antiferromagnetic interactions.     

Axially coordinated chiral salen Mn(iii) anchored onto azole onium modified ZnPS-PVPA as effective catalysts for asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins

A series of chiral salen Mn(iii) immobilized onto azole onium modified zinc poly(styrene-phenylvinyl phosphonate)-phosphate (ZnPS-PVPA) were prepared. The catalysts were characterized by FT-IR, diffusion reflection UV-vis, AAS, N(2) volumetric adsorption, SEM, TEM, XPS, XRD, TG and elemental analysis. The results showed that the chiral salen Mn(iii) complex was successfully immobilized onto ZnPS-PVPA. These prepared catalysts were evaluated in the asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized olefins with m-CPBA and NaIO(4) as oxidants and demonstrated higher catalytic activities than those of the corresponding homogeneous chiral salen Mn(iii) catalyst under the same conditions. Moreover, these heterogeneous catalysts were stable and could be recycled nine times without significant loss of activity. Furthermore, this novel type of catalyst could also be validly used in large-scale reactions with superior catalytic disposition being maintained at the same level, which indicated the potential for applications in industry.     

Molecular Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalyzed by meso-Substituted Cobalt Corroles Coated on Edge-Plane Pyrolytic Graphite Electrodes in Acidic Media

Five meso-substituted cobalt(III) corroles were examined as to their catalytic activity for the electoreduction of O(2) when coated on an edge-plane pyrolytic graphite electrode in 1.0 M HClO(4). The investigated compounds are represented as (TpRPCor)Co(PPh(3)), where TpRPCor is the trianion of a para-substituted triphenylcorrole and R = OMe, Me, H, F, or Cl. Three electrochemical techniques, cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry with a rotating disk electrode (RDE), and voltammetry at a rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE), were utilized to evaluate the catalytic activity of the corroles in the reduction of O(2). Cobalt corroles containing electron-withdrawing substituents were shown to be better catalysts than those having electron-donating groups on the three meso-phenyl rings of the triarylcorroles.     

In situ synthesis of nickel tiara-like clusters with two different thiolate bridges

Four nickel clusters, cyclo-[{Ni(μ-S(i)Pr)(μ-SMe)}(6)] (1), cyclo-[{Ni(μ-StBu)(μ-SMe)}(6)] (2), cyclo-[{Ni(μ-S(i)Pr)(μ-SEt)}(6)] (3) and cyclo-[{Ni(μ-StBu)(μ-SEt)}(10)] (4), based on thiolate ligands have been successfully synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR spectra, UV-vis-NIR spectra, powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Intriguingly, the SMe and SEt ligands are generated from solvothermal in situ ligand synthesis through the cleavage of the S-S bond respectively. The four nickel thiolate clusters exhibit tiara-like frameworks consisting of two different types of thiolate ligands.     

Palladium-catalyzed oxidative carbonylation of benzylic C-H bonds via nondirected C(sp3)-H activation

A new strategy for generating benzylpalladium reactive species from toluenes via nondirected C(sp(3))-H activation has been developed. This led to construction of an efficient Pd-catalyzed reaction protocol for the oxidative carboxylation of benzylic C-H bonds to form substituted 2-phenylacetic acid esters and derivatives from inexpensive, commercially available starting materials.     

Synthesis of novel thieno[3,2-b]thienobis(silolothiophene) based low bandgap polymers for organic photovoltaics

Thieno[3,2-b]thienobis(silolothiophene), a new electron rich hexacyclic monomer has been synthesized and incorporated into three novel donor-acceptor low-bandgap polymers. By carefully choosing the acceptor co-monomer, the energy levels of the polymers could be modulated and high power conversion efficiencies of 5.52% were reached in OPV devices.     

A self-catenated network containing unprecedented 0D + 2D → 2D polycatenation array

Herein, we report a new acylamide ligand and its application in the construction of a metal-organic framework. The resultant acylamide metal-organic framework, namely [Zn(2)(L)(OH)(btc)](n) (1, L = N(1),N(4)-bis(pyridin-3-ylmethyl) naphthalene-1,4-dicarboxamide, H(3)btc = benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid), was obtained by hydrothermal synthesis. The outstanding structural feature of it is the 0D + 2D → 2D polycatenation array containing a self-catenated feature which has never previously been observed. To the best of our knowledge, the coexistence of self-catenation and polycatenation phenomena is highly exceptional.     

Anomalous structural phase transition properties in ReSe2 and Au-doped ReSe2

The high pressure induced phase transition in rhenium diselenides (ReSe(2)) and gold-doped rhenium diselenides (Au-ReSe(2)) at ambient temperature have been investigated using angular-dispersive x-ray diffraction (ADXRD) under high pressure up to around 10.50 and 9.98 GPa, respectively. In situ ADXRD measurements found that the phase transition pressures of ReSe(2) and Au-ReSe(2) began at 9.98 and 8.52 GPa, respectively. Compressibilities analysis shows the relationship of along c-axis > along a-axis > along b-axis. The linear compressibility of the pressure dependence of α, β, and γ of ReSe(2) shows that a phase transition can be related to a counterclockwise rotational trend of the selenium atoms around the chain of Re(4) atoms during the decrease of the c-axis distance by a combination of stresses due to the bending effect of α and stretching effect of β. The cause of the reduction of the phase transition pressure of Au-ReSe(2) is attributed mainly to a structural distortion as evidenced by the observation of a weak clockwise rotational trend of Se atoms around the chain of Re(4) atoms in the pressure range 3.99-4.99 GPa which subsequently reversed to counterclockwise rotation under higher pressure.