Selective C(sp3)-S Bond Cleavage of Thioethers to Build Up Unsymmetrical Disulfides.

The selective C(sp3)-S bond cleavage of thioethers was first developed to prepare unsymmetrical disulfides by using electrophilic halogenation reagents. In this strategy, NBS (N-bromosuccinimide) achieves selective furfuryl C(sp3)-S bond cleavage of furfuryl alkylthioethers at room temperature. Meanwhile, NFSI (N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide) enables selective methyl C(sp3)-S bond cleavage of aryl and alkyl methylthioethers at an elevated temperature. Notably, the substrate scope investigation indicates that the order of selectivity of the C-S bond cleavage is furfuryl C(sp3)-S > benzyl C(sp3)-S > alkyl C(sp3)-S > C(sp2)-S bond. Moreover, this practical and operationally simple strategy also provides an important complementary way to access various unsymmetrical disulfides with excellent functional group tolerances and moderate to good yields.

Ligand-Enabled δ-C(sp3 )-H Borylation of Aliphatic Amines.

Directed C-H functionalization has been realized as a complimentary technique to achieve borylation at a distal position of aliphatic amines. Here, we demonstrated the oxidative borylation at the distal δ-position of aliphatic amines using various borylating agents, a palladium catalyst, and a rightly tuned ligand in the presence of a cheap oxidant. Moreover, an organopalladium δ-C(sp3 )-H-activated intermediate has been isolated and crystallographically characterized to get mechanistic insight.

Ligand-Controlled Direct γ-C-H Arylation of Aldehydes.

The first example of PdII -catalyzed γ-C(sp3 )-H functionalization of aliphatic and benzoheteroaryl aldehydes has been developed using a transient ligand and an external ligand, concurrently. A wide array of γ-arylated aldehydes were readily accessed without preinstalling internal directing groups. The catalytic mechanism was studied by performing deuterium-labelling experiments, which indicated that the γ-C(sp3 )-H bond cleavage is the rate-limiting step during the reaction process. This reaction could be performed on a gram scale, and also demonstrated its potential application in the synthesis of new mechanofluorochromic materials with blue-shifted mechanochromic properties.

Transient-Ligand-Enabled ortho-Arylation of Five-Membered Heterocycles: Facile Access to Mechanochromic Materials.

Reported herein is the first example of a direct arylation of heteroarenes by a transient-ligand-directed strategy without the need to construct and deconstruct the directing group. A wide range of heteroarenes undergoes the coupling with diverse aryl iodides to assemble a large library of highly selective and functionalized 3-arylthiophene-2-carbaldehydes. This route provides an opportunity to rapidly access new mechanofluorochromic materials. Moreover, a novel strategy for mechanochromic luminogens with chromism trends of red- and blue-shifts has been disclosed for the first time by facile functional-group modifications to a common structural core.

Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed ortho-Heteroarylation of Phenols through Internal Oxidative C-H Activation: Rapid Screening of Single-Molecular White-Light-Emitting Materials.

Reported herein is the first example of a transition-metal-catalyzed internal oxidative C-H/C-H cross-coupling between two (hetero)arenes through a traceless oxidation directing strategy. Without the requirement of an external metal oxidant, a wide range of phenols, including phenol-containing natural products, can undergo the coupling with azoles to assemble a large library of highly functionalized 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)azoles. The route provides an opportunity to rapidly screen white-light-emitting materials. As illustrative examples, two bis(triphenylamine)-bearing 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)oxazoles, which are difficult to access otherwise, exhibit bright white-light emission, high quantum yield, and thermal stability. Also presented is the first example of the white-light emission, in a single excited-state intramolecular proton transfer system, of 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)azoles, thus highlighting the charm of C-H activation in the discovery of new organic optoelectronic materials.

Copper-catalysed oxidative C-H/N-H cross-coupling between formamides and amides through chelation-assisted N-H activation.

A copper-catalysed oxidative C-H/N-H cross-coupling between formamides and amides through chelation-assisted N-H activation has been developed for the preparation of various multi-substituted ureas.

Direct arylation of phenanthroline derivatives via oxidative C-H/C-H cross-coupling: synthesis and discovery of excellent ligands.

A concise synthetic protocol for aryl functionalized phenanthrolines has been developed. It was demonstrated that 3,8-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (7a) is competent in promoting transition-metal-free direct arylation and 2,3,8,9-tetraphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (8a) is a highly efficient ligand in the in situ Pd-catalysed Heck reaction.

Ligand-promoted palladium-catalyzed ß-methylene C-H arylation of primary aldehydes.

The transient directing group (TDG) strategy allowed long awaited access to the direct ß-C(sp3)-H functionalization of unmasked aliphatic aldehydes via palladium catalysis. However, the current techniques are restricted to terminal methyl functionalization, limiting their structural scopes and applicability. Herein, we report the development of a direct Pd-catalyzed methylene ß-C-H arylation of linear unmasked aldehydes by using 3-amino-3-methylbutanoic acid as a TDG and 2-pyridone as an external ligand. Density functional theory calculations provided insights into the reaction mechanism and shed light on the roles of the external and transient directing ligands in the catalytic transformation.

Highly selective electrochemical hydrogenation of alkynes: Rapid construction of mechanochromic materials.

Electrochemical hydrogenation has emerged as an environmentally benign and operationally simple alternative to traditional catalytic reduction of organic compounds. Here, we have disclosed for the first time the electrochemical hydrogenation of alkynes to a library of synthetically important Z-alkenes under mild conditions with great selectivity and efficiency. The deuterium and control experiments of electrochemical hydrogenation suggest that the hydrogen source comes from the solvent, supporting electrolyte, and base. The scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction experiments demonstrate that palladium nanoparticles generated in the electrochemical reaction act as a chemisorbed hydrogen carrier. Moreover, complete reduction of alkynes to saturated alkanes can be achieved through slightly modified conditions. Furthermore, a series of novel mechanofluorochromic materials have been efficiently constructed with this protocol that showed blue-shifted mechanochromism. This discovery represents the first example of cis-olefins-based organic mechanochromic materials.

Dual-emissive 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)oxazoles for high performance organic electroluminescent devices: discovery of a new equilibrium of excited state intramolecular proton transfer with a reverse intersystem crossing process.

The photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) properties of two highly efficient excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) molecules, 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)oxazoles containing one triphenylamine (TPA) (1) and two TPAs (2) respectively, are studied systematically. The enol-forms of both 1 and 2 possess highly hybridized local and charge transfer (HLCT) excited state character, while their excited-state keto-forms are not of obvious HLCT character. A 1-based device exhibits green-white electroluminescence with Commission Internationale d'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.25, 0.41) and a high external quantum efficiency (EQE) up to 5.3%, which is the highest EQE value recorded for single molecular white light-emitting materials. A 2-based device shows sky-blue emission with CIE coordinates of (0.18, 0.16) and an EQE of 8.0%, which is the highest EQE in the reported HLCT materials. The fluorescence intensities of the enol-forms of 1 and 2 in EL spectra are increased remarkably relative to their PL spectra. Experimental data and theoretical calculations reveal a new ESIPT equilibrium with a reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) process arising from the HLCT character. In EL, the RISC of the enol-form excitons from the triplet state to the singlet state triggers an increase in the number of enol-form singlet excitons, which further leads to a shift of the ESIPT equilibrium towards an enhanced enol-form emission. Thus, the difference between the ESIPT equilibria in PL and EL may be ascribed to the HLCT character of the enol-form excited state.

Stimuli-Sensitive Biodegradable and Amphiphilic Block Copolymer-Gemcitabine Conjugates Self-Assemble into a Nanoscale Vehicle for Cancer Therapy.

The availability and the stability of current anticancer agents, particularly water-insoluble drugs, are still far from satisfactory. A widely used anticancer drug, gemcitabine (GEM), is so poorly stable in circulation that some polymeric drug-delivery systems have been under development for some time to improve its therapeutic index. Herein, we designed, prepared, and characterized a biodegradable amphiphilic block N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer-GEM conjugate-based nanoscale and stimuli-sensitive drug-delivery vehicle. An enzyme-sensitive oligopeptide sequence glycylphenylalanylleucylglycine (GFLG) was introduced to the main chain with hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks via the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Likewise, GEM was conjugated to the copolymer via the enzyme-sensitive peptide GFLG, producing a high molecular weight (MW) product (90 kDa) that can be degraded into smaller MW segments (<50 kDa), and ensuring potential rapid site-specific release and stability in vivo. The amphiphilic copolymer-GEM conjugate can self-assemble into compact nanoparticles. NIR fluorescent images demonstrated that the conjugate-based nanoparticles could accumulate and be retained within tumors, resulting in significant increased antitumor efficacy compared to free GEM. The conjugate was not toxic to organs of the mice as measured by body weight reductions and histological analysis. In summary, this biodegradable amphiphilic block HPMA copolymer-gemcitabine conjugate has the potential to be a stimuli-sensitive and nanoscale drug-delivery vehicle.

Chelation-assisted Pd-catalysed ortho-selective oxidative C-H/C-H cross-coupling of aromatic carboxylic acids with arenes and intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation: one-pot formation of fluorenones.

Pd-Catalysed ortho-selective oxidative C-H/C-H cross-coupling of aromatic carboxylic acids with arenes and subsequent intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation has been accomplished for the first time through a chelation-assisted C-H activation strategy. Starting from the readily available substrates, a variety of fluorenone derivatives are obtained in one pot. The direct use of naturally occurring carboxylic acid functionalities as directing groups avoids unnecessary steps for installation and removal of an extra directing group.

Cu-catalysed oxidative C-H/C-H coupling polymerisation of benzodiimidazoles: an efficient approach to regioregular polybenzodiimidazoles for blue-emitting materials.

The Cu-catalysed oxidative C-H/C-H coupling reaction of azoles has been used for the first time to develop polymerisation, which provides an efficient method for the preparation of polybenzodiimidazoles. These polymers exhibit high molecular weights, regioregularity, blue-emitting performance and thermal stability.

[Screening and identification of microorganisms for decolorization of molasses spent wash].

Microorganisms were screened from the natural environment for decolorization of molasses spent wash, and the isolated strains were then employed in the treatment of actual wastewater. The primary screening was carried out on agar plates supplemented with synthesized melanoidin as the target substrate, since melanoidin is one of the most refractory pigments in wastewater. Promising microorganisms were further selected through secondary screening by decolorization of untreated actual wastewater in shaking flask cultures. Gel filtration chromatography was used to determine the molecular weight distribution of pigments in molasses spent wash before and after decolorization. A strain named A5P1 was isolated from the soil samples collected, showing a good ability of decolorizing molasses spent wash, and was later identified as Aspergillus flavus by morphology and ITS sequence analysis. Experimental study of factors affecting the decolorization performance of strain A5P1 gave the optimal conditions as follows: 4.3 x 10(4) mL(-1) of inoculum size, medium with initial pH of 4.5 and cultivation at 39 degrees C. It could decolorize 53.0% of the pigments in the untreated molasses spent wash and decreased 80% of chemical oxygen demand after four-day incubation. The result of gel filtration chromatography demonstrated that both the large and small molecular weight fractions of pigments in the molasses spent wash could be removed by strain A5P1. Based on the measurement of enzyme activities, at least three different kinds of enzymes, i. e. the enzyme with H2O2-producing activity, laccase and manganese peroxidase were involved in the decolorization process. Therefore, the decolorization mechanism of strain A5P1 was preliminarily considered to be mainly biodegradation, with bioadsorption as a minor reaction.

Cyclen-functionalized perylenebisimides as sensitive and selective fluorescent sensors for Pb2+ in aqueous solution.

Cyclen-functionalized perylenediimides PBI-1 and PBI-2 were first synthesized as highly sensitive and selective fluorescent chemosensors for Pb(2+) in aqueous solution. PBI-2 shows a better selectivity for Pb(2+) in the presence of other metal ions and, importantly, it can successfully enter the cell and be applied in imaging of living cells.