The Divergent Synthesis of Nitrogen Heterocycles by Rhodium(II)‐Catalyzed Cycloadditions of 1‐Sulfonyl 1,2,3‐Triazoles with 1,3‐Dienes

The first rhodium(II)‐catalyzed aza‐[4+3] cycloadditions of 1‐sulfonyl 1,2,3‐triazoles with 1,3‐dienes have been developed, and enable the efficient synthesis of highly functionalized 2,5‐dihydroazepines from readily available precursors. In some cases, the reaction pathway could divert to formal aza‐[3+2] cycloadditions, thus leading to 2,3‐dihydropyrroles. In this context, the titled reaction represents a capable tool for the divergent synthesis of two types of synthetically valuable aza‐heterocycles from common rhodium(II) iminocarbene intermediates.     

Copper‐Catalyzed Aerobic Oxidative CC Bond Cleavage for CN Bond Formation: From Ketones to Amides

A novel copper‐catalyzed aerobic oxidative C(CO)? C(alkyl) bond cleavage reaction of aryl alkyl ketones for C? N bond formation is described. A series of acetophenone derivatives as well as more challenging aryl ketones with long‐chain alkyl substituents could be selectively cleaved and converted into the corresponding amides, which are frequently found in biologically active compounds and pharmaceuticals.     

Manganese‐Catalyzed Dehydrogenative [4+2] Annulation of NH Imines and Alkynes by CH/NH Activation

Described herein is a manganese‐catalyzed dehydrogenative [4+2] annulation of N? H imines and alkynes, a reaction providing highly atom‐economical access to diverse isoquinolines. This transformation represents the first example of manganese‐catalyzed C? H activation of imines; the stoichiometric variant of the cyclomanganation was reported in 1971. The redox neutral reaction produces H₂ as the major byproduct and eliminates the need for any oxidants, external ligands, or additives, thus standing out from known isoquinoline synthesis by transition‐metal‐catalyzed C? H activation. Mechanistic studies revealed the five‐membered manganacycle and manganese hydride species as key reaction intermediates in the catalytic cycle.     

An Unusual Dehydratase Acting on Glycerate and a Ketoreducatse Stereoselectively Reducing α‐Ketone in Polyketide Starter Unit Biosynthesis

Polyketide synthases (PKSs) usually employ a ketoreductase (KR) to catalyze the reduction of a β‐keto group, followed by a dehydratase (DH) that drives the dehydration to form a double bond between the α‐ and β‐carbon atoms. Herein, a DH*‐KR* involved in FR901464 biosynthesis was characterized: DH* acts on glyceryl‐S‐acyl carrier protein (ACP) to yield ACP‐linked pyruvate; subsequently KR* reduces α‐ketone that yields L ‐lactyl‐S‐ACP as starter unit for polyketide biosynthesis. Genetic and biochemical evidence was found to support a similar pathway that is involved in the biosynthesis of lankacidins. These results not only identified new PKS domains acting on different substrates, but also provided additional options for engineering the PKS starter pathway or biocatalysis.     

Auto‐Oxidative Coupling of Glycine Derivatives

The unprecedented title reaction between glycine derivatives and indoles, as well as the auto‐oxidative Povarov/aromatization tandem reaction of glycine derivatives with olefins are described. The reactions were performed in the absence of redox‐active catalysts and chemical oxidants under mild reaction conditions. Only simple organic solvents and air (or O₂) were required.     

氮掺杂石墨烯的生长机理及其在乙苯选择性氧化中的应用

以热解氧化石墨烯材料为碳基底,分别使用有机氮源和无机氮源对其进行氮掺杂处理,制备了一系列氮掺杂石墨烯材料.采用透射电子显微镜、扫描电子显微镜、拉曼光谱和X射线光电子能谱等表征方法考察了氮掺杂石墨烯的生长机理.结果表明,随着制备过程中退火温度的改变,氮掺杂石墨烯中不同氮物种的含量有显著差别.这种差异是由不同氮物种化学环境的差异所导致的.所制备的含氮石墨烯材料对乙苯选择性氧化制苯乙酮反应均表现出优良的催化活性.其中,石墨氮的含量对于提高苯乙酮收率起到至关重要的作用.此外,通过氧化剂控制活化的方法可以消除过多的结构缺陷和过量氮掺杂对催化反应的不利影响,有效提升氮掺杂石墨烯的催化活性.     

分子氧为氧化剂磷钒酸盐为催化剂超深度氧化脱除柴油中的二苯并噻吩

一种“双帽Keggin型”磷钒酸盐在温和的反应条件下以分子氧为氧化剂氧化二苯并噻吩至二苯并噻吩砜的反应中表现出很高的催化活性. 用溶剂萃取或者选择吸附等方法可轻易地将反应产生的二苯并噻吩砜从油品中除去. 这提供了一种新型的分子氧为氧化剂的超深度氧化脱硫方法.     

Vulcanization kinetics of graphene/styrene butadiene rubber nanocomposites

This paper presents the influence of graphene on the vulcanization kinetics of styrene butadiene rubber （SBR） with dicumyl peroxide. A curemeter and a differential scanning calorimeter were used to investigate the cure kinetics, from which the kinetic parameters and apparent activation energy were obtained. It turns out that with increasing graphene loading, the induction period of the vulcanization process of SBR is remarkably reduced at low graphene loading and then levels off; on the other hand, the optimum cure time shows a monotonous decrease. As a result, the vulcanization rate is suppressed at first and then accelerated, and the corresponding activation energy increases slightly at first and then decreases. Upon adding graphene, the crosslinking density of the nanocomposites increases, because graphene takes part in the vulcanization process.     

Efficient side-chain modification of dextran via base-catalyzed epoxide ring-opening and thiol-ene click chemistry in aqueous media

In this study, a novel approach by combining base-catalyzed epoxide ring-opening and thiol-ene click chemistry is presented for the side-chain modification of dextran. The vinyl-modified dextran is prepared by a basic epoxide ring opening reaction of allyl glycidyl ether in 0.1 mol/L NaOH, followed by thiol-addition click reaction of three model sulfhydryl compounds using water-soluble Irgacure 2959 as the photoinitiator, leading to side-chain functionalized dextran modified with carboxyl, bidentate dicarboxyl or amino groups. This is the first example of combining epoxide ring-opening and thiol- ene click chemistry for side-chain modification of dextran in aqueous media. Importantly, it may also be extended as a convenient and efficient method for the side-chain modification of other polysaccharides.     

Synthesis of Star-like Polybutadienes by a Combination of Living Anionic Polymerization and “Click” Coupling Method

Three-arm and four-arm star-like polybutadienes(PBds) were synthesized via the combination of living anionic polymerization and the click coupling method. Kinetic study showed that the click reaction between the azido group terminated PBd-t-N3 and the alkyne-containing multifunctional linking reagent was fast and highly efficient. All coupling reactions were fully accomplished within 40 min at 50 °C in toluene in the presence of the reducing agent Cu(0), proven by 1H-NMR, FTIR and GPC measurements. For the coupling reactions between the PBd-t-N3 polymer and dialkyne-containing compound, the final conversion of the coupled PBd-PBd polymer was ca. 97.0%. When a PBd-t-N3 polymer was reacted with trialkyne-containing or tetraalkyne-containing compound, the conversion of three-arm or four-arm PBd was around 95.5% or 87.0%, respectively. Several factors influencing the coupling efficiency were studied, including the molecular weight of the initial PBd-t-N3, arm numbers and the molar ratio of the azido group to the alkynyl group. The results indicated that the conversion of the target products would be promoted when the molecular weight of the PBd-t-N3 was low and the molar ratio of the azido to alkynyl groups was close to 1.