Hexametaphosphate‐Capped Silica Mesoporous Nanoparticles Containing CuII Complexes for the Selective and Sensitive Optical Detection of Hydrogen Sulfide in Water

Cu^II‐macrocycle functionalized hexametaphosphate‐capped silica mesoporous nanoparticles have been prepared and used for the selective and sensitive detection of hydrogen sulfide in aqueous environments. The possibility of using different metal complexes combined with different capping anions and choice of different dyes or other sensing molecules as indicators makes this new protocol highly appealing for the preparation of new sensing systems for sulfide detection in different environments.     

Enantiodivergent [4+2] Cycloaddition of Dienolates by Polyfunctional Lewis Acid/Zwitterion Catalysis

Diels–Alder reactions have become established as one of the most effective ways to prepare stereochemically complex six-membered rings. Different catalysis concepts have been reported, including dienophile activation by Lewis acids or H-bond donors and diene activation by bases. Herein we report a new concept, in which an acidic prodiene is acidified by a Lewis acid to facilitate deprotonation by an imidazolium–aryloxide entity within a polyfunctional catalyst. A metal dienolate is thus formed, while an imidazolium–ArOH moiety probably forms hydrogen bonds with the dienophile. The catalyst type, readily prepared in few steps in high overall yield, was applied to 3-hydroxy-2-pyrone and 3-hydroxy-2-pyridone as well as cyclopentenone prodienes. Maleimide, maleic anhydride, and nitroolefin dienophiles were employed. Kinetic, spectroscopic, and control experiments support a cooperative mode of action. High enantioselectivity was observed even with unprecedented TONs of up to 3680.     

Borane-Catalyzed Chemoselective and Enantioselective Reduction of 2-Vinyl-Substituted Pyridines

Herein, we report that highly chemoselective and enantioselective reduction of 2-vinyl-substituted pyridines has been achieved for the first time. The reaction, which uses chiral spiro-bicyclic bisboranes as catalysts and HBpin and an acidic amide as reducing reagents, proceeds through a cascade process involving 1,4-hydroboration followed by transfer hydrogenation of a dihydropyridine intermediate. The retained double bond in the reduction products permits their conversion to natural products and other useful heterocyclic compounds by simple transformations.     

A Promiscuous De Novo Retro‐Aldolase Catalyzes Asymmetric Michael Additions via Schiff Base Intermediates

Recent advances in computational design have enabled the development of primitive enzymes for a range of mechanistically distinct reactions. Here we show that the rudimentary active sites of these catalysts can give rise to useful chemical promiscuity. Specifically, RA95.5‐8, designed and evolved as a retro‐aldolase, also promotes asymmetric Michael additions of carbanions to unsaturated ketones with high rates and selectivities. The reactions proceed by amine catalysis, as indicated by mutagenesis and X‐ray data. The inherent flexibility and tunability of this catalyst should make it a versatile platform for further optimization and/or mechanistic diversification by directed evolution.     

Total Syntheses of (−)‐Minovincine and (−)‐Aspidofractinine through a Sequence of Cascade Reactions

We report 8‐step syntheses of (?)‐minovincine and (?)‐aspidofractinine using easily available and inexpensive reagents and catalyst. A key element of the strategy was the utilization of a sequence of cascade reactions to rapidly construct the penta‐ and hexacyclic frameworks. These cascade transformations included organocatalytic Michael‐aldol condensation, a multistep anionic Michael‐S_N2 cascade reaction, and Mannich reaction interrupted Fischer indolization. To streamline the synthetic routes, we also investigated the deliberate use of steric effect to secure various chemo‐ and regioselective transformations.     

Asymmetric Reactions involving Lewis Base Catalyst Tethered Dearomatized Intermediates

Numerous protocols have been developed for the functionalization of aromatic substances. Among them, the strategy by which aromatic substrates are activated in situ to generate dearomatized intermediates is highly efficient but challenging, especially in the field of asymmetric catalysis. In this Concept article, the application of some well-established chiral Lewis base catalysis, including primary/secondary amines and N-heterocyclic carbenes, that can covalently form catalyst-tethered dearomatized ortho/para-quinodimethane species with diverse heteroaryl and aryl carbonyl substrates is summarized in a number of asymmetric cycloaddition and addition reactions with diverse reagents generally having electrophilic properties. As a result, a variety of enantioenriched aromatic products with higher molecular complexity are constructed effectively through a rearomatization process.     

Nucleophilic and Electrophilic Activation of Non‐Heteroaromatic Amides in Atom‐Economical Asymmetric Catalysis

Recent advances in catalytic asymmetric carbon–carbon bond‐forming reactions of non‐heteroaromatic amide substrates are highlighted. Among carbonyl compounds, amides have received limited attention in catalytic asymmetric transformations mainly owing to their lower reactivity. Amides are reluctant to form enolates for nucleophilic addition, and α,β‐unsaturated amides exhibit diminished electrophilicity at the β‐carbon. Recent advances in asymmetric catalysis rendered these amides amenable to enantioselective reactions with perfect atom economy, producing synthetically useful chiral building blocks. This Minireview summarizes recent developments in the field.     

Electric field induced non-linear multisubband electron mobility in V-shaped asymmetric double quantum well structure

ABSTRACT

We study the effect of the external electric field F_ext on the low-temperature electron mobility μ in an asymmetrically doped Al_xGa_1-xAs based V-shaped double quantum well (VDQW) structure. We show that nonlinearity of µ occurs under double subband occupancy on account of intersubband effects. The field F_ext alters the VDQW potential leading to transfer of subband wave functions between the wells, which affects the scattering potentials and hence μ. In the VDQW structure, due to the alloy channel layer, the alloy disorder (Al-) scattering happens to be significant along with the ionised impurity (Imp-) scattering. The non-linear behaviour of μ is because of μ^Imp, while the overall magnitude of μ is mostly due to μ^Al. The increase of difference in the doping concentrations of the outer barriers increases the nonlinearity of μ. The oscillatory character of μ is amended by varying the width of the well and barrier and also the height of the VDQW. Our results can be used to study VDQW based nanoscale field effect transistor structures.