A New Protocol to Generate Catalytically Active Species of Group 4–6 Metals by Organosilicon-Based Salt-Free Reductants

Herein, we provide a new protocol to reduce various transition-metal complexes by using organosilicon compounds in a salt-free fashion with the great advantage of generating pure low-valent metal species and metallic(0) nanoparticles, in sharp contrast to reductant-derived salt contaminants obtained by reduction with metal reductants. The organosilicon derivatives 1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-2,5-cyclohexadiene ( 1 a ), 1-methyl-3,6-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-cyclohexadiene ( 1 b ), 1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-diaza-2,5-cyclohexadiene ( 2 a ), 2,5-dimethyl-1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-diaza-2,5-cyclohexadiene ( 2 b ), 2,3,5,6-tetramethyl-1,4-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-diaza-2,5-cyclohexadiene ( 2 c ), and 1,1′-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1H,1′H-4,4′-bipyridinylidene ( 3 ) all served as versatile reductants for early transition-metal complexes and produced only easy-to-remove organic compounds, such as trimethylsilylated compounds and the corresponding aromatics, for example, benzene, toluene, pyrazine, and 4,4′-bipyridyl, as the byproducts. The high solubility of the reductants in organic solvents enabled us to monitor the catalytic reactions directly and to detect any catalytically active species so that we could elucidate the reaction mechanism.     

Chain contraction and nonlinear stress damping in primitive chain network simulations

Doi and Edwards (DE) proposed that the relaxation of entangled linear polymers under large deformation occurs in two steps: the fast chain contraction (via the longitudinal Rouse mode of the chain backbone) and the slow orientational relaxation (due to reptation). The DE model assumes these relaxation processes to be independent and decoupled. However, this decoupling is invalid for a generalized convective constraint release (CCR) mechanism that releases the entanglement on every occasion of the contraction of surrounding chains. Indeed, the decoupling does not occur in the sliplink models where the entanglement is represented by the binary interaction (hooking) of chains. Thus, we conducted primitive chain network simulations based on a multichain sliplink model to investigate the chain contraction under step shear. The simulation quantitatively reproduced experimental features of the nonlinear relaxation modulus G(t,γ). Namely, G(t,γ) was cast in the time-strain separable form, G(t,γ)=h(γ)G(t) with h(γ)=damping function and G(t)=linear modulus, but this rigorous separability was valid only at times t comparable to the terminal relaxation time, although a deviation from this form was rather small (within ±10%) at t>τ(R) (longest Rouse relaxation time). A molecular origin of this delicate failure of time-strain separability at t～τ(R) was examined for the chain contour length, subchain length, and subchain stretch. These quantities were found to relax in three steps, the fast, intermediate, and terminal steps, governed by the local force balance between the subchains, the longitudinal Rouse relaxation, and the reptation, respectively. The contributions of the terminal reptative mode to the chain length relaxation as well as the subchain length/stretch relaxation, not considered in the original DE model, emerged because the sliplinks (entanglement) were removed via the generalized CCR mechanism explained above and the reformation of the sliplinks was slow at around the chain center compared to the more rapidly fluctuating chain end. The number of monomers in the subchain were kept larger at the chain center than at the chain end because of the slow entanglement reformation at the center, thereby reducing the tension of the stretched subchain at the chain center compared to the DE prediction. This reduction of the tension at the chain center prevented completion of the length equilibration of subchains at t～τ(R) (which contradicts to the DE prediction), and it forces the equilibration to complete through the reptative mode at t?τ(R). The delicate failure of time-strain separability seen for G(t,γ) at t～τ(R) reflects this retarded length equilibration.     

Direct conversion of esters, lactones, and carboxylic acids to oxazolines catalyzed by a tetranuclear zinc cluster

The tetranuclear zinc cluster Zn4(OCOCF3)6O catalyzes the direct conversion of esters, lactones, and carboxylic acids to oxazolines with remarkable chemoselectivity.     

Homological Mirror Symmetry for Toric del Pezzo Surfaces

We prove the homological mirror conjecture for toric del Pezzo surfaces. In this case, the mirror object is a regular function on an algebraic torus We show that the derived Fukaya category of this mirror coincides with the derived category of coherent sheaves on the original manifold. Supported by JSPS Fellowships for Young Scientists No.15-5561.     

Effect of adhesion force between crack planes on subharmonic and DC responses in nonlinear ultrasound

Subharmonic and DC responses in nonlinear ultrasound have been expected as a possible means of detecting closed cracks. Recently, it has been reported that subharmonics in a closed crack markedly increases above a certain input wave amplitude. Such a phenomenon is called "threshold behavior". However, the mechanism of threshold behavior has yet to be elucidated. To clarify this, we introduced adhesion force as a short-range force into the previous analytical model, which expresses the nonlinear contact vibrations of crack planes with intense ultrasound and provides a DC displacement as an approximation of the subharmonic response. Consequently, upward convex curves of displacement against input wave amplitude above the threshold were reproduced for the first time. The validity of the derived analytical solution is discussed by comparison with experimentally observed subharmonics.     

Light-driven open-close motion of chiral molecular scissors

The first example of "light-driven chiral molecular scissors" (1), which consists of 1,1',3,3'-tetraarylferrocene as a pivot part and azobenzene as a driving part, was synthesized. Absorption, circular dichroism (CD), and 1H NMR spectral studies on the photoinduced isomerization process of an enantiomer of 1 agreed well with a prediction by a DFT calculation, where a motion of the handles via light-driven contraction/expansion of the connecting azobenzene strap was transformed, through a pivotal motion of the ferrocene unit, into an open-close motion of the blade parts.     

Improved photoelectrochemical performance of electrodeposited ZnO/EosinY hybrid thin films by dye re-adsorption

Dye desorption and re-adsorption post treatments on electrochemically self-assembled nanoporous ZnO/eosinY hybrid thin films lead to a large improvement of the dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical performance, achieving an incident photon to current conversion efficiency up to 90%.     

Unique oxidative metal-metal bond formation of linearly aligned tetranuclear Rh-Mo-Mo-Rh clusters

Reaction of Mo2(pyphos)4 (1) with [RhCl(CO)2]2 followed by treatment of excess amounts of tBuNC resulted in the clean formation of [Mo2Rh2(tBuNC)4(pyphos)4](X)2 (4a; X = Cl). The X-ray diffraction study as well as spectroscopic analyses of 4c (X = BPh4) implied that there is no direct sigma-bonding interaction between each Rh(I) atom and the Mo2 core. Each Rh(I) atom in 4 can be oxidized concurrently by 2 equiv of [Cp2Fe]PF6 to afford [Mo2Rh2(Cl)2(tBuNC)4(pyphos)4](PF6)2 (5) along with the formation of two Mo-Rh(II) single bonds and the reduction of the bond orders of the Mo-Mo moiety.     

Zirconocene-Catalyzed Silylation of Alkenes with Chlorosilanes

Vinylsilanes and/or allylsilanes are formed upon silylation of terminal alkenes with R₃^′SiCl in the presence of a Grignard reagent and a catalytic amount of [Cp₂ZrCl₂] [Eq. (a)]. The reaction also proceeds under mild conditions when silylsulfides (X=SPh), silylselenides (X=SePh), and silyltellurides (X=TePh) are used in place of chlorosilanes (X=Cl). R″=alkyl, aryl, alkylsilyl; R′=Me, Et, nPr; R=CH₂R″, aryl, H.