Rhodium-Catalyzed Trans-Bis-Silylation Reactions of 2-Ethynyl-3-pentamethyldisilanylpyridines.

Rhodium-catalyzed reactions of 2-ethynyl-3-pentamethyldisilanylpyridine derivatives (1 and 2) are reported. The reactions of compounds 1 and 2 in the presence of catalytic amounts of rhodium complexes at 110 °C gave the corresponding pyridine-fused siloles (3) and (4) through intramolecular trans-bis-silylation cyclization. The reaction of 2-bromo-3-(1,1,2,2,2-pentamethyldisilanyl)pyridine with 3-phenyl-1-propyne in the presence of PdCl2(PPh3)2-CuI catalysts afforded 1:2 bis-silylation adduct 6. DFT calculations were also performed to understand the reaction mechanism for the production of compound 3 from compound 1.

Highly Active and Renewable Catalytic Electrodes for Two-Electron Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

This study has shown that antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) works as a robust "renewable catalyst" for the electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) from water and oxygen. Antimony doping into SnO2 gives rise to remarkable electrocatalytic activity for two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e--ORR) by water with a volcano-type relation between the activity and doping levels (xSb). Density functional theory simulations highlight the importance of an isolated Sb atom of ATO inducing the high activity and selectivity for 2e--ORR due to the effects of O2 adsorption enhancement, decrease in the activation energy, and lowering the adsorptivity of H2O2. Electrolysis by a normal three-electrode cell using ATO (xSb = 10.2 mol %) at -0.22 V (vs reversible hydrogen electrode) stably and continuously produces H2O2 with a turnover frequency of 6.6 s-1. This remarkable activity can be maintained even after removing the surface layer of ATO by argon-ion sputtering.

Surface-Induced Desolvation of Hydronium Ion Enables Anatase TiO2 as an Efficient Anode for Proton Batteries.

Hydrogen ion is an attractive charge carrier for energy storage due to its smallest radius. However, hydrogen ions usually exist in the form of hydronium ion (H3O+) because of its high dehydration energy; the choice of electrode materials is thus greatly limited to open frameworks and layered structures with large ionic channels. Here, the desolvation of H3O+ is achieved by using anatase TiO2 as anodes, enabling the H+ intercalation with a strain-free characteristic. Density functional theory calculations show that the desolvation effects are dependent on the facets of anatase TiO2. Anatase TiO2 (001) surface, a highly reactive surface, impels the desolvation of H3O+ into H+. When coupled with a MnO2 cathode, the proton battery delivers a high specific energy of 143.2 Wh/kg at an ultrahigh specific power of 47.9 kW/kg. The modulation of the interactions between ions and electrodes opens new perspectives for battery optimizations.

Elucidating the Strain-Vacancy-Activity Relationship on Structurally Deformed Co@CoO Nanosheets for Aqueous Phase Reforming of Formaldehyde.

Lattice strain modulation and vacancy engineering are both effective approaches to control the catalytic properties of heterogeneous catalysts. Here, Co@CoO heterointerface catalysts are prepared via the controlled reduction of CoO nanosheets. The experimental quantifications of lattice strain and oxygen vacancy concentration on CoO, as well as the charge transfer across the Co-CoO interface are all linearly correlated to the catalytic activity toward the aqueous phase reforming of formaldehyde to produce hydrogen. Mechanistic investigations by spectroscopic measurements and density functional theory calculations elucidate the bifunctional nature of the oxygen-vacancy-rich Co-CoO interfaces, where the Co and the CoO sites are responsible for CH bond cleavage and OH activation, respectively. Optimal catalytic activity is achieved by the sample reduced at 350 °C, Co@CoO-350 which exhibits the maximum concentration of Co-CoO interfaces, the maximum concentration of oxygen vacancies, a lattice strain of 5.2% in CoO, and the highest aqueous phase formaldehyde reforming turnover frequency of 50.4 h-1 at room temperature. This work provides not only new insights into the strain-vacancy-activity relationship at bifunctional catalytic interfaces, but also a facile synthetic approach to prepare heterostructures with highly tunable catalytic activities.

Ultrathin Silicon Oxide Film-Induced Enhancement of Charge Separation and Transport of Nanostructured Titanium(IV) Oxide Photoelectrode.

The development of nanostructured semiconductor electrodes represented by a mesoporous TiO2 nanocrystalline (mp-TiO2 ) film is currently bringing great progresses in photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices for solar-to-electricity and solar-to-chemical conversion. Two serious losses can occur in PEC devices: 1) recombination between the conduction band (CB) electrons and valence band (VB) holes in the bulk and at the surface and 2) back reaction or electron trapping by oxidant in the electrolyte solution during transport to the electron-collecting electrode. Thus, the major challenge in common with the nanostructured semiconductor photoanodes is to achieve efficient charge separation and electron transport. In this study, an ultrathin SiOx layer was formed on both the external and the internal surface of mp-TiO2 using an original chemisorption-calcination technique employing 1,3,5,7-tetramethyltetrasiloxane as a starting material. The SiOx surface modification of the mp-TiO2 photoanode drastically prolongs the mean lifetime of CB-electrons in TiO2 because of enhanced charge separation and electron transport by the negative charge applied in aqueous electrolyte solution. We have demonstrated that the performance of a one-compartment H2 O2 -photofuel cell using mp-TiO2 as the photoanode is greatly boosted by the surface modification with the SiOx layer. We anticipate that this methodology is widely applicable to nanostructured metal oxide semiconductor electrodes, contributing to the improvement in the performance of PEC devices.

Highly Efficient and Selective Oxidation of Ethanol to Acetaldehyde by a Hybrid Photocatalyst Consisting of SnO2 Nanorod and Rutile TiO2 with Heteroepitaxial Junction.

Single-crystal SnO2 nanorods were grown on rutile TiO2 with a heteroepitaxial relation of SnO2 {001}/TiO2 {001} (SnO2 -NR#TiO2 ) by a hydrothermal reaction. Resulting compressive lattice strain in the SnO2 -NR near the interface induces a continuous increase in the a-axis length extending over 60 nm to relax towards the [001] direction from the root to the tip. UV-light irradiation of the robust SnO2 -NR#TiO2 stably progresses the selective oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde with an external quantum yield of 25.6 % at excitation wavelength (λex )=365 nm under ambient temperature and pressure. Spectroscopic analyses and density functional theory simulation results suggested that the extremely high photocatalytic activity stems from the smooth interfacial electron transfer from TiO2 to SnO2 -NR through the high-quality junction and subsequent efficient charge separation due to the lattice strain-induced unidirectional potential gradient of the conduction band minimum in the SnO2 -NR.

Room-Temperature Activation of the C-H Bond in Methane over Terminal ZnII-Oxyl Species in an MFI Zeolite: A Combined Spectroscopic and Computational Study of the Reactive Frontier Molecular Orbitals and Their Origins.

Oxygenase reactivity toward selective partial oxidation of CH4 to CH3OH requires an atomic oxygen-radical bound to metal (M-O•: oxyl intermediate) that is capable of abstracting an H atom from the significantly strong C-H bond in CH4. Because such a reaction is frequently observed in metal-doped zeolites, it has been recognized that the zeolite provides an environment that stabilizes the M-O• intermediate. However, no experimental data of M-O• have so far been discovered in the zeolite; thus, little is known about the correlation among the state of M-O•, its reactivity for CH4, and the nature of the zeolite environment. Here, we report a combined spectroscopic and computational study of the room-temperature activation of CH4 over ZnII-O• in the MFI zeolite. One ZnII-O• species does perform H-abstraction from CH4 at room temperature. The resultant CH3• species reacts with the other ZnII-O• site to form the ZnII-OCH3 species. The H2O-assisted extraction of surface methoxide yields 29 µmol g-1 of CH3OH with a 94% selectivity. The quantum mechanics (QM)/molecular mechanics (MM) calculation determined the central step as the oxyl-mediated hydrogen atom transfer which requires an activation energy of only 10 kJ mol-1. On the basis of the findings in gas-phase experiments regarding the CH4 activation by the free [M-O•]+ species, the remarkable H-abstraction reactivity of the ZnII-O• species in zeolites was totally rationalized. Additionally, the experimentally validated QM/MM calculation revealed that the zeolite lattice has potential as the ligand to enhance the polarization of the M-O• bond and thereby enables to create effectively the highly reactive M-O• bond required for low-temperature activation of CH4. The present study proposes that tuning of the polarization effect of the anchoring site over heterogeneous catalysts is the valuable way to create the oxyl-based functionality on the heterogeneous catalyst.

Surface Engineering of a Supported PdAg Catalyst for Hydrogenation of CO2 to Formic Acid: Elucidating the Active Pd Atoms in Alloy Nanoparticles.

The hydrogenation of carbon dioxide (CO2) to formic acid (FA; HCOOH), a renewable hydrogen storage material, is a promising means of realizing an economical CO2-mediated hydrogen energy cycle. The development of reliable heterogeneous catalysts is an urgent yet challenging task associated with such systems, although precise catalytic site design protocols are still lacking. In the present study, we demonstrate that PdAg alloy nanoparticles (NPs) supported on TiO2 promote the efficient selective hydrogenation of CO2 to give FA even under mild reaction conditions (2.0 MPa, 100 °C). Specimens made using surface engineering with atomic precision reveal a strong correlation between increased catalytic activity and decreased electron density of active Pd atoms resulting from a synergistic effect of alloying with Ag atoms. The isolated and electronically promoted surface-exposed Pd atoms in Pd@Ag alloy NPs exhibit a maximum turnover number of 14 839 based on the quantity of surface Pd atoms, which represents a more than 10-fold increase compared to the activity of monometallic Pd/TiO2. Kinetic and density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the attack on the C atom in HCO3- by a dissociated H atom over an active Pd site is the rate-determining step during this reaction, and this step is boosted by PdAg alloy NPs having a low Pd/Ag ratio.

Why do zeolites induce an unprecedented electronic state on exchanged metal ions?

Understanding the exact position and the detailed role of the Al array in zeolites is essential for elucidating the origin of unique properties that can be derived from the metal-ion exchanged in zeolite samples and for designing zeolite materials with high efficiency in catalytic and adsorption processes. In this work, we investigate, for the first time, the important role of the Al array in the reactivity observed on the metal-ion exchanged in zeolites on the basis of the calculation method by utilizing the spontaneous heterolytic cleavage of H2 observed experimentally on the Zn2+-ion exchanged in MFI-type zeolites (Zn2+-MFI) as the model reaction. In the case of calculation, two main types of models for considering the Al positions in MFI-type zeolites were adopted: in the first type, the Al atoms with appropriate distances are aligned in the circumferential direction of the straight channel (abbreviated as a circumferentially arrayed Al-Al site); in the second type, the nearest neighbouring Al atoms with appropriate distances are directed toward the straight channel axis (abbreviated as a channel directionally arrayed Al-Al site). Results indicated that the Al-array direction governs the reactivity of Zn2+-MFI. The former type of array well explains the experimental fact that spontaneous and irreversible heterolysis of H2 takes place on Zn2+-MFI, even at room temperature, whereas the latter type of array is less reactive; high activation energy is required for the heterolytic cleavage of H2 (ca. >70 kJ mol-1). A detailed analysis of the geometric and electronic structures of a series of Zn2+-MFI models with various Al-array directions clarified the following facts: the circumferentially arrayed Al-Al site induces an inevitable environment around the Zn2+ site, with the simultaneous existence of both a Lewis acid point (coordinatively unsaturated and distorted Zn2+) and a Lewis base point (the lattice oxygen atom juxtaposed with exchanged Zn2+, which participates in the activation of H2: OjL). It is the circumferentially arrayed Al-Al atoms that confer acidic and basic nature on the metal ion and the lattice oxygen atom (OjL), and ultimately trigger the heterolytic dissociation of H2, even at 300 K.

Gold(Core)-Lead(Shell) Nanoparticle-Loaded Titanium(IV) Oxide Prepared by Underpotential Photodeposition: Plasmonic Water Oxidation.

Underpotential photodeposition of Pb yields an ultrathin shell layer on the Au(111) surface of Au nanoparticle(NP)-loaded TiO2 (Au/TiO2 ) with heteroepitaxial nanojunctions. The localized surface plasmon resonance of Au/TiO2 undergoes no damping with the Pb-shell formation, and the Pb shell offers resistance to aerobic oxidation. Mesoporous films comprising the Au(core)-Pb(shell) NP-loaded TiO2 and unmodified Au/TiO2 were formed on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrode. Using them as the photoanode, photoelectrochemical cells were fabricated, and the photocurrent was measured under illumination of simulated sunlight. The photocurrent for water splitting is dramatically enhanced by the Pb-shell formation. The photoelectrochemical measurements of the hot-electron lifetime and density functional theory calculations for model clusters indicate that the Pb-shell effect originates from the charge separation enhancement.

Identification of a Stable ZnII -Oxyl Species Produced in an MFI Zeolite and Its Reversible Reactivity with O2 at Room Temperature.

Although a terminal oxyl species bound to certain metal ions is believed to be the intermediate for various oxidation reactions, such as O-O bond generation in photosystem II (PSII), such systems have not been characterized. Herein, we report a stable ZnII -oxyl species induced by an MFI-type zeolite lattice and its reversible reactivity with O2 at room temperature. Its intriguing characteristics were confirmed by in situ spectroscopic studies in combination with quantum-chemical calculations, namely analyses of the vibronic Franck-Condon progressions and the ESR signal features of both ZnII -oxyl and ZnII -ozonide species formed during this reversible process. Molecular orbital analyses revealed that the reversible reaction between a ZnII -oxyl species and an O2 molecule proceeds via a radical O-O coupling-decoupling mechanism; the unpaired electron of the oxyl species plays a pivotal role in the O-O bond generation process.

Sub-Bandgap Excitation-Induced Electron Injection from CdSe Quantum Dots to TiO2 in a Directly Coupled System.

We show that the sub-bandgap excitation of a directly coupled CdSe quantum dot (QD)-TiO2 system induces electron injection from CdSe levels to the conduction band of TiO2 , leading to spectral extension of the light response. We anticipate that this study presents a useful guideline for improving the conversion efficiency of QD-sensitized solar cells.

Mechanism of the Multiple-Electron Oxygen Reduction Reaction in the Presence of the Binuclear Cu(acac)2 Complex.

The potential of the electron for the serial oxygen reduction reaction is calculated by DFT in an aqueous solution in the presence and absence of Cu(acac)2 complex. The study provides interesting information about the rational design of complex-semiconductor hybrid photocatalysts and cathodes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.

Slow reactant-water exchange and high catalytic performance of water-tolerant Lewis acids.

(31)P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic measurement with trimethylphosphine oxide (TMPO) was applied to evaluate the Lewis acid catalysis of various metal triflates in water. The original (31)P NMR chemical shift and line width of TMPO is changed by the direct interaction of TMPO molecules with the Lewis acid sites of metal triflates. [Sc(OTf)3] and [In(OTf)3] had larger changes in (31)P chemical shift and line width by formation of the Lewis acid-TMPO complex than other metal triflates. It originates from the strong interaction between the Lewis acid and TMPO, which results in higher stability of [Sc(OTf)3TMPO] and [In(OTf)3TMPO] complexes than other metal triflate-TMPO complexes. The catalytic activities of [Sc(OTf)3] and [In(OTf)3] for Lewis acid-catalyzed reactions with carbonyl compounds in water were far superior to the other metal triflates, which indicates that the high stability of metal triflate-carbonyl compound complexes cause high catalytic performance for these reactions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation suggests that low LUMO levels of [Sc(OTf)3] and [In(OTf)3] would be responsible for the formation of stable coordination intermediate with nucleophilic reactant in water.

Multi-electron oxygen reduction by a hybrid visible-light-photocatalyst consisting of metal-oxide semiconductor and self-assembled biomimetic complex.

Adsorption experiments and density functional theory (DFT) simulations indicated that Cu(acac)2 is chemisorbed on the monoclinic sheelite (ms)-BiVO4 surface to form an O2-bridged binuclear complex (OBBC/BiVO4) like hemocyanin. Multi-electron reduction of O2 is induced by the visible-light irradiation of the OBBC/BiVO4 in the same manner as a blue Cu enzyme. The drastic enhancement of the O2 reduction renders ms-BiVO4 to work as a good visible-light photocatalyst without any sacrificial reagents. As a model reaction, we show that this biomimetic hybrid photocatalyst exhibits a high level of activity for the aerobic oxidation of amines to aldehydes in aqueous solution and imines in THF solution at 25 °C giving selectivities above 99% under visible-light irradiation.

A Membrane-Free Rechargeable Seawater Battery Unlocked by Lattice Engineering.

Seawater batteries that directly utilize natural seawater as electrolytes are ideal sustainable aqueous devices with high safety, exceedingly low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the present seawater batteries are either primary batteries or rechargeable half-seawater/half-nonaqueous batteries because of the lack of suitable anode working in seawater. Here, a unique lattice engineering to unlock the electrochemically inert anatase TiO2 anode to be highly active for the reversible uptake of multiple cations (Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+) in aqueous electrolytes is demonstrated. Density functional theory calculations further reveal the origin of the unprecedented charge storage behaviors, which can be attributed to the significant reduction of the cations diffusion barrier within the lattice, i.e., from 1.5 to 0.4 eV. As a result, the capacities of anatase TiO2 with 2.4% lattice expansion are ≈100 times higher than the routine one in natural seawater, and ≈200 times higher in aqueous Na+ electrolyte. The finding will significantly advance aqueous seawater energy storage devices closer to practical applications.

Success in making Zn+ from atomic Zn(0) encapsulated in an MFI-type zeolite with UV light irradiation.

For the first time, the paramagnetic Zn(+) species was prepared successfully by the excitation with ultraviolet light in the region ascribed to the absorption band resulting from the 4s-4p transition of an atomic Zn(0) species encapsulated in an MFI-type zeolite. The formed species gives a specific electron spin resonance band at g = 1.998 and also peculiar absorption bands around 38,000 and 32,500 cm(-1) which originate from 4s-4p transitions due to the Zn(+) species with paramagnetic nature that is formed in MFI. The transformation process (Zn(0) → Zn(+)) was explained by considering the mechanism via the excited triplet state ((3)P) caused by the intersystem crossing from the excited singlet state ((1)P) produced through the excitation of the 4s-4p transition of an atomic Zn(0) species grafted in MFI by UV light. The transformation process was well reproduced with the aid of a density functional theory calculation. The thus-formed Zn(+) species which has the doublet spin state exhibits characteristic reaction nature at room temperature for an O2 molecule having a triplet spin state in the ground state, forming an η(1) type of Zn(2+)-O2(-) species. These features clearly indicate the peculiar reactivity of Zn(+) in MFI, whereas Zn(0)-(H(+))2MFI hardly reacts with O2 at room temperature. The bonding nature of [Zn(2+)-O2(-)] species was also evidenced by ESR measurements and was also discussed on the basis of the results obtained through DFT calculations.

Radical-involved photosynthesis of AuCN oligomers from Au nanoparticles and acetonitrile.

We show here the first radical route for the direct photosynthesis of AuCN oligomers with different sizes and shapes, as evidenced by TEM observations, from an Au nanoparticle/benzaldehyde/CH(3)CN ternary system in air under UV-light irradiation. This photochemical route is green, mild, and universal, which makes itself distinguishable from the common cyanidation process. Several elementary reaction steps, including the strong C-C bond dissociation of CH(3)CN and subsequent •CN radical addition to Au, have been suggested to be critical in the formation of AuCN oligomers based on the identification of •CN radical by in situ EPR and the radical trapping technique, and other reaction products by GC-MS and (1)H NMR, and DFT calculations. The resulting solid-state AuCN oligomers exhibit unique spectroscopic characters that may be a result of the shorter Au-Au distances (namely, aurophilicity) and/or special polymer-like structures as compared with gold cyanide derivatives in the aqueous phase. The nanosized AuCN oligomers supported on mesoporous silica showed relatively good catalytic activity on the homogeneous annulation of salicylaldehyde with phenylacetylene to afford isoflavanones employing PBu(3) as the cocatalyst under moderate conditions, which also serves as evidence for the successful production of AuCN oligomers.

Prediction of the main route in the TiO2-photocatalyzed degradation of organic compounds in water by density functional calculations.

TiO(2) photocatalysis: It is shown theoretically that during photocatalysis by TiO(2) most organic molecules can be directly oxidized by trapped holes, while the oxidation of some organic molecules with low HOMO energies progresses mainly through indirect oxidation by ·OH radicals.

A titanium-based oxysulfide photocatalyst: La5Ti2MS5O7 (M = Ag, Cu) for water reduction and oxidation.

La(5)Ti(2)MS(5)O(7), which absorb visible light of up to 570 nm (M = Ag) and up to 650 nm (M = Cu), respectively, have photocatalytic activities for both water reduction and oxidation. In this study, structural and optical properties, electronic state distributions, and photocatalytic activity for water reduction and oxidation on La(5)Ti(2)MS(5)O(7) (M = Ag, Cu) were investigated. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the electronic band structures and charge densities indicated that hybrid orbitals of Cu 3d and S 3p formed the valence band edge of La(5)Ti(2)CuS(5)O(7) while S 3p orbitals alone for La(5)Ti(2)AgS(5)O(7). On the other hand, Ti 3d orbitals were the major components of the conduction band edges of both La(5)Ti(2)CuS(5)O(7) and La(5)Ti(2)AgS(5)O(7). Importantly, it was found that the paths of photoexcited electrons and holes in La(5)Ti(2)MS(5)O(7) bulk were disassociated, which could be favorable for efficient charge separation. In fact, the activity for H(2) evolution after loading of Pt was significantly high among existing Ti-based oxysulfide photocatalysts. The apparent quantum efficiency of Pt-loaded La(5)Ti(2)AgS(5)O(7) for H(2) evolution under visible light irradiation (at λ = 420 ± 10 nm) reached 1.2%. Moreover, La(5)Ti(2)MS(5)O(7) loaded with IrO(2) were active for photocatalytic O(2) evolution although the valence band maximum was composed of S 3p orbitals. These results suggest that La(5)Ti(2)MS(5)O(7) modified with appropriate cocatalysts are promising photocatalysts for water splitting under visible light irradiation.