Unprecedentedly high formic acid dehydrogenation activity on an iridium complex with an N,N'-diimine ligand in water.

Hydrogen production from the dehydrogenation of formic acid (FA) is promising. Most of the current catalysts for FA dehydrogenation are effective only in the presence of bases or additives. We report here newly developed iridium complexes containing conjugated N,N'-diimine ligands for FA dehydrogenation in water without the addition of bases or additives. A turnover frequency (TOF) of 487 500 h(-1) with [Cp*Ir(L1)Cl]Cl (L1=2,2'-bi-2-imidazoline) at 90 °C and a turnover number (TON) of 2 400 000 with in situ prepared catalyst from [IrCp*Cl2 ]2 and 2,2'-bi-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine (L2) at 80 °C were obtained, the highest values reported for FA dehydrogenation to date. A mechanistic study reveals that the formation of [Ir-H] intermediate species is the rate-determining step in the catalytic cycle.

Regioselective hydroesterification of alkenes and alkenylphenols utilizing CO2 and hydrosilane.

As an important and attractive C1 building block, the diversified exploitation of CO2 in chemical transformations possesses significant research and application value. Herein, an effective palladium-catalyzed intermolecular hydroesterification of a wide range of alkenes with CO2 and PMHS is described, successfully generating diverse esters with up to 98% yield and up to 100% linear-selectivity. In addition, the palladium-catalyzed intramolecular hydroesterification of alkenylphenols with CO2 and PMHS is also developed to construct a variety of 3-substituted-benzofuran-2(3H)-ones with up to 89% yield under mild conditions. In both systems, CO2 functions as an ideal CO source with the assistance of PMHS, thus smoothly participating in a series of alkoxycarbonylation processes.

Diarylborinic Acid-Catalyzed Ring Opening of cis-4-Hydroxymethyl-1,2-Cyclopentene Oxides: Synthesis of 1,2,4-Trisubstituted Cyclopentanes.

A diarylborinic acid-catalyzed ring opening of cis-4-hydroxymethyl-1,2-cyclopentene oxides was developed with N-nucleophiles including anilines, benzotriazole, and alkylamines, as well as S-nucleophiles, affording 1,2,4-trisubstituted cyclopentane compounds containing a quaternary carbon center. The mechanism study indicated that the "half-cage" structure formed by the epoxide substrate and the catalyst prevents the nucleophiles from attacking the inner side of the "half-cage", resulting in the desired ring-opening product.

Electrocatalytic NAD+ reduction via hydrogen atom-coupled electron transfer.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide cofactor (NAD(P)H) is regarded as an important energy carrier and charge transfer mediator. Enzyme-catalyzed NADPH production in natural photosynthesis proceeds via a hydride transfer mechanism. Selective and effective regeneration of NAD(P)H from its oxidized form by artificial catalysts remains challenging due to the formation of byproducts. Herein, electrocatalytic NADH regeneration and the reaction mechanism on metal and carbon electrodes are studied. We find that the selectivity of bioactive 1,4-NADH is relatively high on Cu, Fe, and Co electrodes without forming commonly reported NAD2 byproducts. In contrast, more NAD2 side product is formed with the carbon electrode. ADP-ribose is confirmed to be a side product caused by the fragmentation reaction of NAD+. Based on H/D isotope effects and electron paramagnetic resonance analysis, it is proposed that the formation of NADH on these metal electrodes proceeds via a hydrogen atom-coupled electron transfer (HadCET) mechanism, in contrast to the direct electron-transfer and NAD˙ radical pathway on carbon electrodes, which leads to more by-product, NAD2. This work sheds light on the mechanism of electrocatalytic NADH regeneration, which is different from biocatalysis.

Water-initiated hydrocarboxylation of terminal alkynes with CO2 and hydrosilane.

This work discloses a Cu(ii)-Ni(ii) catalyzed tandem hydrocarboxylation of alkynes with polysilylformate formed from CO2 and polymethylhydrosiloxane that affords α,ß-unsaturated carboxylic acids with up to 93% yield. Mechanistic studies indicate that polysilylformate functions as a source of CO and polysilanol. Besides, a catalytic amount of water is found to be critical to the reaction, which hydrolyzes polysilylformate to formic acid that induces the formation of Ni-H active species, thereby initiating the catalytic cycle.

Direct synthesis of p-methyl benzaldehyde from acetaldehyde via an organic amine-catalyzed dehydrogenation mechanism.

p-Methyl benzaldehyde (p-MBA) is a class of key chemical intermediates of pharmaceuticals. Conventional industrial processes for p-MBA production involve the consecutive photochlorination, amination, and acid hydrolysis of petroleum-derived p-xylene, while producing vast pollutants and waste water. Herein, we report a direct, green route for selective synthesis of p-MBA from acetaldehyde using a diphenyl prolinol trimethylsilyl ether catalyst. The optimized p-MBA selectivity is up to 90% at an acetaldehyde conversion as high as 99.8%. Intermediate structure and 18O-isotope data revealed that the conversion of acetaldehyde to p-methylcyclohexadienal intermediates proceeds in an enamine-iminium intermediate mechanism. Then, controlled experiments and D-isotope results indicated that the dehydrogenation of p-methylcyclohexadienal to p-MBA and H2 is catalyzed by the same amines through an iminium intermediate. This is an example that metal-free amines catalyze the dehydrogenation (releasing H2), rather than using metals or stoichiometric oxidants.

Highly enantioselective iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation of 2-benzylquinolines and 2-functionalized and 2,3-disubstituted quinolines.

The enantioselective hydrogenation of 2-benzylquinolines and 2-functionalized and 2,3-disubstituted quinolines was developed by using the [Ir(COD)Cl](2)/bisphosphine/I(2) system with up to 96% ee. Moreover, mechanistic studies revealed the hydrogenation mechanism of quinoline involves a 1,4-hydride addition, isomerization, and 1,2-hydride addition, and the catalytic active species may be a Ir(III) complex with chloride and iodide.

Tandem one-pot CO2 reduction by PMHS and silyloxycarbonylation of aryl/vinyl halides to access carboxylic acids.

The present study discloses the synthesis of aryl/vinyl carboxylic acids from Csp2-bound halides (Cl, Br, I) in a carbonylative path by using silyl formate (from CO2 and hydrosilane) as an instant CO-surrogate. Hydrosilane provides hydride for reduction and its oxidation product silanol serves as a coupling partner. Mono-, di-, and tri-carboxylic acids were obtained from the corresponding aryl/vinyl halides.

A highly enantioselective thiolation of sulfonyl indoles to access 3-sec-sulfur-substituted indoles in water.

A highly enantioselective approach for the synthesis of 3-alkyl- indole or indoline derivatives with a functional thiol group is presented. The chemistry is based on the asymmetric 1,4-addition of thiol to vinylogous imine intermediates, which are generated in situ from sulfonylindoles. The broad substrate transformation proceeds with high yields (up to 96%) and enantioselectivity (up to 98% ee) in a water-compatible system.

Enantioselective sulfoxidation reaction catalyzed by a G-quadruplex DNA metalloenzyme.

Enantioselective sulfoxidation reaction is achieved for the first time by a DNA metalloenzyme assembled with the human telomeric G-quadruplex DNA and Cu(ii)-4,4'-bimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine complex, and the mixed G-quadruplex architectures are responsible for the catalytic enantioselectivity and activity.

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of functionalized ketones.

[reaction: see text]. A novel catalytic system for asymmetric hydrogenation of functionalized ketones has been developed using a Pd/bisphosphine complex as the catalyst in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol. The reaction exhibits high enantioselectivity, and up to 92.2% ee was obtained.

A remarkable difference in CO2 hydrogenation to methanol on Pd nanoparticles supported inside and outside of carbon nanotubes.

An obvious difference was found in CO2 hydrogenation to methanol on Pd nanoparticles (NPs) supported inside and outside of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The turnover frequency of methanol synthesis on the Pd NPs supported inside of CNTs was 3.7 times those supported outside of CNTs. It was found that the amount of Pd(δ+) species inside of CNTs was much higher than that outside of CNTs. We proposed that one of the major reasons for the difference in CO2 hydrogenation to methanol might be relative to the concentration of the Pd(δ+) species.

Highly enantioselective Pd-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of activated imines.

Pd/bisphosphines complexes are highly effective catalysts for asymmetric hydrogenation of activated imines in trifluoroethanol. The asymmetric hydrogenation of N-diphenylphosphinyl ketimines 3 with Pd(CF3CO2)/(S)-SegPhos indicated 87-99% ee, and N-tosylimines 5 could gave 88-97% ee with Pd(CF3CO2)/(S)-SynPhos as a catalyst. Cyclic N-sulfonylimines 7 and 11 were hydrogenated to afford the useful chiral sultam derivatives in 79-93% ee, which are important organic synthetic intermediates and structural units of agricultural and pharmaceutical agents.

Highly enantioselective iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation of heteroaromatic compounds, quinolines.

The highly enantioselective hydrogenation of quinoline derivatives is developed using [Ir(COD)Cl]2/(R)-MeO-Biphep/I2 system, and this methodology has been applied to the asymmetric synthesis of three naturally occurring alkaloids angustureine, galipinine, and cuspareine. This method provided an efficient access to a variety of optically active tetrahydroquinolines with up to 96% ee.