Amine-Directed Palladium-Catalyzed C-H Halogenation of Phenylalanine Derivatives.

Invited for the cover of this issue are Jean-François Brière, Cédric Schneider, Guillaume Journot and co-workers from the COBRA laboratory and Oril Industrie (Normandy, France). The image shows the progression from questioning how to easily and regioselectively introduce halogen atoms to amino acids to the discovery of a catalytic functional-group-directed C-H halogenation of phenylalanine derivatives. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.202102411.

Amine-Directed Palladium-Catalyzed C-H Halogenation of Phenylalanine Derivatives.

An efficient primary-amine-directed, palladium-catalyzed C-H halogenation (X=I, Br, Cl) of phenylalanine derivatives is reported on a range of quaternary amino acid (AA) derivatives thanks to suitable conditions employing trifluoroacetic acid as additive. The extension of this original native functionality-directed ortho-selective halogenation was even demonstrated with the more challenging native phenylalanine as tertiary AA.

Cyclopentadienone Iron Tricarbonyl Complexes-Catalyzed Hydrogen Transfer in Water.

The development of efficient and low-cost catalytic systems is important for the replacement of robust noble metal complexes. The synthesis and application of a stable, phosphine-free, water-soluble cyclopentadienone iron tricarbonyl complex in the reduction of polarized double bonds in pure water is reported. In the presence of cationic bifunctional iron complexes, a variety of alcohols and amines were prepared in good yields under mild reaction conditions.

A MOF-assisted phosphine free bifunctional iron complex for the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide, sodium bicarbonate and carbonate to formate.

The hydrogenation of carbon dioxide into formic acid (FA) with Earth-abundant metals is a vibrant research area because FA is an attractive molecule for hydrogen storage. We report a cyclopentadienyl iron tricarbonyl complex that provides up to 3000 turnover number for carbon dioxide hydrogenation when combined with a catalytic amount of the chromium dicarboxylate MOF MIL-53(Cr). To date, this is the highest turnover number reported in the presence of a phosphine-free iron complex.