Unravelling Enzymatic Features in a Supramolecular Iridium Catalyst by Computational Calculations

Non-biological catalysts following the governing principles of enzymes are attractive systems to disclose unprecedented reactivities. Most of those existing catalysts feature an adaptable molecular recognition site for substrate binding that are prone to undergo conformational selection pathways. Herein, we present a non-biological catalyst that is able to bind substrates via the induced fit model according to in-depth computational calculations. The system, which is constituted by an inflexible substrate-recognition site derived from a zinc-porphyrin in the second coordination sphere, features destabilization of ground states as well as stabilization of transition states for the relevant iridium-catalyzed C−H bond borylation of pyridine. In addition, this catalyst appears to be most suited to tightly bind the transition state rather than the substrate. Besides these features, which are reminiscent of the action modes of enzymes, new elementary catalytic steps (i. e. C−B bond formation and catalyst regeneration) have been disclosed owing to the unique distortions encountered in the different intermediates and transition states.     

Ru(II)-Catalyzed Hydroarylation of in situ Generated 3,3,3-Trifluoro-1-propyne by C−H Bond Activation: A Facile and Practical Access to β-Trifluoromethylstyrenes

In this study, a practical and straightforward synthesis of β-(E)-trifluoromethylstyrenes by ruthenium-catalyzed C−H bond activation was developed. The readily available and inexpensive 2-bromo-3,3,3-trifluoropropene (BTP), a non-ozone depleting reagent, was used as a reservoir of 3,3,3-trifluoropropyne. With this approach, the monofunctionalization of a panel of heteroarenes was possible in a safe and scalable manner (23 examples, up to 87 % yield). Mechanistic investigations and density functional theory (DFT) calculations were also conducted to get a better understanding of the mechanism of this transformation. These studies suggested that 1) a cyclometallated ruthenium complex enabled the transformation, 2) this complex exhibited high efficiency in this transformation compared to the commercially available [RuCl₂(p-cymene)]₂ and 3) the mechanism proceeded through a bis-cyclometallated ruthenium intermediate for the carboruthenation step.     

Computational Insights into the Catalytic Mechanism of Is-PETase: An Enzyme Capable of Degrading Poly(ethylene) Terephthalate

Is-PETase has become an enzyme of significant interest due to its ability to catalyse the degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) at mesophilic temperatures. We performed hybrid quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics (QM/MM) at the DSD-PBEP86-D3/ma-def2-TZVP/CHARMM27//rev-PBE-D3/dev2-SVP/CHARMM level to calculate the energy profile for the degradation of a suitable PET model by this enzyme. Very low overall barriers are computed for serine protease-type hydrolysis steps (as low as 34.1 kJ mol⁻¹). Spontaneous deprotonation of the final product, terephthalic acid, with a high computed driving force indicates that product release could be rate limiting.     

有机催化不对称Michael/环化串联反应的研究进展北大核心CSCD

串联反应能够减少反应步骤、简化操作、降低成本、实现高效率转化,符合原子经济性和绿色化学理念.特别是有机催化的不对称串联环化反应以一锅法连续催化多个化学反应,为高效合成多手性中心环状结构提供了新方法.不对称Michael/环化串联反应是构建光学活性状化合物的常用方法之一,近些年,各种有机小分子催化剂应用于不对称Michael/环化串联反应的报道不断增加,并且取得了重大进展.我们根据不同的催化剂类型综述了近5年来关于不对称Michael/环化串联反应的研究进展,并对有机催化不对称Michael/环化串联反应的发展趋势进行了展望.     

One-pot synthesis of dihydropyrimidines via eco-friendly phosphorus derivatives catalysis

A straightforward, cost effective and eco-friendly protocol for the Biginelli reaction relying on the use of readily available hypophosphorous acid is presented. The methodology developed displays improvements compared to existing methods, is high-yielding, robust and was applied to a panel of dihydropyrimidines and thio-derivatives with various substituents. Related urea derivatives such as guanidines, benzimidazoles and benzothiazoles also reacted efficiently to afford more complex scaffolds. Thus, this rapid and convenient catalysis allows access to a wide diversity of structures including original biologically relevant heterocycles.     

CO Oxidation Catalytic Effects of Intrinsic Surface Defects in Rhombohedral LaMnO3

There is an ongoing effort to replace rare and expensive noble-element catalysts with more abundant and less expensive transition metal oxides. With this goal in mind, the intrinsic defects of a rhombohedral perovskite-like structure of LaMnO₃ and their implications on CO catalytic properties were studied. Surface thermodynamic stability as a function of pressure (P) and temperature (T) were calculated to find the most stable surface under reaction conditions (P=0.2 atm, T=323 K to 673 K). Crystallographic planes (100), (111), (110), and (211) were evaluated and it was found that (110) with MnO₂ termination was the most stable under reaction conditions. Adsorption energies of O₂ and CO on (110) as well as the effect of intrinsic defects such as Mn and O vacancies were also calculated. It was found that O vacancies favor the interaction of CO on the surface, whereas Mn vacancies can favor the formation of carbonate species.     

狄尔斯-阿尔德反应催化剂

狄尔斯-阿尔德(Diels-Alder)可以构建结构丰富的有机化合物,被认为是现代有机化学中的基石反应之一。自1928年被发现以来,Diels-Alder (D-A)反应得到了深入发展,这主要是由于该反应能够产生六元环结构,可以一步反应得到具有四个立体中心的产物,从而大大增加分子的复杂性。这种特殊的转化已广泛应用于复杂天然产物的合成、药物化学以及材料科学等领域。近十年,大量天然生物酶(如SpnF、MaDA等)被发现可用于体外单独催化D-A反应,同时,大量的非酶催化剂(如路易斯酸、过渡金属与配体复合物等)也被应用于催化D-A反应。本文主要从D-A反应催化剂的类型分类,对近年来天然酶、酸、过渡金属、电催化等参与的D-A反应进行简要概述,同时对催化剂所存在的问题和局限性进行总结,并对今后发展做了展望。     

Highly Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction Fe-N-C Cathode in Long-durable Direct Glycol Fuel Cells

The oxygen reduction reaction in direct glycol fuel cells heavily relies on noble metal-based electrocatalysts. In this work, novel Pt group metal-free catalysts based on porous Fe-N-C materials are successfully synthesized as catalysts with high activity and durability for the cathode oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Through the encapsulation of NH₄SCN salt, the surface elements and pore structure of the catalyst are effectively changed, and the active sites of Fe effectively are increased. The half-wave potential of the best Fe-N-C catalyst was –0.02 V vs. Hg/HgO in an alkaline environment. The porous Fe-N-C catalyst possesses a large specific surface area(1158 m²/g) and shows good activity and tolerance to glycol. The direct glycol fuel cell with the Fe-N-C cathode achieved a maximum power density of 62.2 mW/cm² with 4 mol/L KOH and 4 mol/L glycol solution at 25 °C and maintained discharge for more than 250 h at a 50 A/cm² current density.     

Key factors for designing single-atom metal-nitrogen-carbon catalysts for electrochemical CO2 reduction

The electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR) is a sustainable approach to mitigate the increased CO₂ emissions and simultaneously produce value-added chemicals and fuels. Metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) based single-atom catalysts (SACs) have emerged as promising electrocatalysts for CO₂RR with high activity, selectivity, and stability. To design efficient SACs for CO₂RR, the key influence factors need to be understood. Here, we summarize recent achievements on M-N-C SACs for CO₂RR and highlight the significance of the key constituting factors, metal sites, the coordination environment, and the substrates, for achieving high CO₂RR performance. The perspective views and guidelines are provided for the future direction of developing M-N-C SACs as CO₂RR catalysts.     

Gold-Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of Polyfluoroalkylated Oxazoles from N-Propargylamides Under Visible-Light Irradiation

A gold-catalyzed synthesis of polyfluoroalkylated oxazoles from N-propargylamides under visible-light irradiation has been developed. These reactions display excellent compatibility of radicals and gold catalysts under visible-light irradiation. Mechanistic experiments indicate that polyfluoroalkyl iodides play a dual role in enhanced compatibility of radicals and gold catalysts through assisted protodeauration of vinyl gold and reactivated the gold catalyst. In addition, PPh₃AuNTf₂ not only activates N-propargylamide to generate vinyl gold intermediate, but also greatly promotes homolysis of polyfluoroalkyl iodides under blue light irradiation.