Site Isolation in Metal-Organic Layers Enhances Photoredox Gold Catalysis.

Herein, we report the synthesis of a metal-organic layer, Hf-Ru-Au, containing Ru(bipyridine)32+-type photosensitizers and (phosphine)-AuCl catalysts for photoredox Au-catalyzed cross-coupling of allenoates, alkenes, or alkynes with aryldiazonium salts to afford furanone, tetrahydrofuran, or aryl alkyne derivatives, respectively. Site isolation of (phosphine)-AuCl complexes in Hf-Ru-Au prevents Au catalyst deactivation via ligand redistribution, Au(I) disproportionation, and aryl-phosphine reductive elimination, while the proximity between the Ru photosensitizers and Au catalysts enhances catalytic efficiency, with 14-200 times higher activity over those of the homogeneous controls in the cross-coupling reactions.

Rational Construction of an Artificial Binuclear Copper Monooxygenase in a Metal-Organic Framework.

Artificial enzymatic systems are extensively studied to mimic the structures and functions of their natural counterparts. However, there remains a significant gap between structural modeling and catalytic activity in these artificial systems. Herein we report a novel strategy for the construction of an artificial binuclear copper monooxygenase starting from a Ti metal-organic framework (MOF). The deprotonation of the hydroxide groups on the secondary building units (SBUs) of MIL-125(Ti) (MIL = Matériaux de l'Institut Lavoisier) allows for the metalation of the SBUs with closely spaced CuI pairs, which are oxidized by molecular O2 to afford the CuII2(µ2-OH)2 cofactor in the MOF-based artificial binuclear monooxygenase Ti8-Cu2. An artificial mononuclear Cu monooxygenase Ti8-Cu1 was also prepared for comparison. The MOF-based monooxygenases were characterized by a combination of thermogravimetric analysis, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy. In the presence of coreductants, Ti8-Cu2 exhibited outstanding catalytic activity toward a wide range of monooxygenation processes, including epoxidation, hydroxylation, Baeyer-Villiger oxidation, and sulfoxidation, with turnover numbers of up to 3450. Ti8-Cu2 showed a turnover frequency at least 17 times higher than that of Ti8-Cu1. Density functional theory calculations revealed O2 activation as the rate-limiting step in the monooxygenation processes. Computational studies further showed that the Cu2 sites in Ti8-Cu2 cooperatively stabilized the Cu-O2 adduct for O-O bond cleavage with 6.6 kcal/mol smaller free energy increase than that of the mononuclear Cu sites in Ti8-Cu1, accounting for the significantly higher catalytic activity of Ti8-Cu2 over Ti8-Cu1.

Cerium-Based Metal-Organic Layers Catalyze Hydrogen Evolution Reaction through Dual Photoexcitation.

Cerium-based materials such as ceria are increasingly used in catalytic reactions. We report here the synthesis of the first Ce-based metal-organic layer (MOL), Ce6-BTB, comprising Ce6 secondary building units (SBUs) and 1,3,5-benzenetribenzoate (BTB) linkers, and its functionalization for photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Ce6-BTB was postsynthetically modified with photosensitizing [(MBA)Ir(ppy)2]Cl or [(MBA)Ru(bpy)2]Cl2 (MBA = 2-(5'-methyl-[2,2'-bipyridin]-5-yl)acetate, ppy = 2-phenylpyridine, bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) to afford Ce6-BTB-Ir or Ce6-BTB-Ru MOLs, respectively. The proximity of photosensitizing ligands and Ce6 SBUs in the MOLs facilitates electron transfer to drive photocatalytic HER under visible light with turnover numbers of 1357 and 484 for Ce6-BTB-Ir and Ce6-BTB-Ru, respectively. Photophysical and electrochemical studies revealed a novel dual photoexcitation pathway whereby the excited photosensitizers in the MOL are reductively quenched and then transfer electrons to Ce6 SBUs to generate CeIII centers, which are further photoexcited to CeIII* species for HER.

Metal-Organic Framework with Dual Active Sites in Engineered Mesopores for Bioinspired Synergistic Catalysis.

Here we report the design of an enzyme-inspired metal-organic framework (MOF), 1-OTf-Ir, by installing strong Lewis acid and photoredox sites in engineered mesopores. Al-MOF (1), with mixed 2,2'-bipyridyl-5,5-dicarboxylate (dcbpy) and 1,4-benzenediacrylate (pdac) ligands, was oxidized with ozone and then triflated to generate strongly Lewis acidic Al-OTf sites in the mesopores, followed by the installation of [Ir(ppy)2(dcbpy)]+ (ppy = 2-phenylpyridine) sites to afford 1-OTf-Ir with both Lewis acid and photoredox sites. 1-OTf-Ir effectively catalyzed reductive cross-coupling of N-hydroxyphthalimide esters or aryl bromomethyl ketones with vinyl- or alkynyl-azaarenes to afford new azaarene derivatives. 1-OTf-Ir enabled catalytic synthesis of anticholinergic drugs Pheniramine and Chlorpheniramine.

Multistep Engineering of Synergistic Catalysts in a Metal-Organic Framework for Tandem C-O Bond Cleavage.

Cleavage of strong C-O bonds without breaking C-C/C-H bonds is a key step for catalytic conversion of renewable biomass to hydrocarbon feedstocks. Herein we report multistep sequential engineering of orthogonal Lewis acid and palladium nanoparticle (NP) catalysts in a metal-organic framework (MOF) built from (Al-OH)n secondary building units and a mixture of 2,2'-bipyridine-5,5'-dicarboxylate (dcbpy) and 1,4-benzenediacrylate (pdac) ligands (1) for tandem C-O bond cleavage. Ozonolysis of 1 selectively removed pdac ligands to generate Al2(OH)(OH2) sites, which were subsequently triflated with trimethylsilyl triflate to afford strongly Lewis acidic sites for dehydroalkoxylation. Coordination of Pd(MeCN)2Cl2 to dcbpy ligands followed by in situ reduction produced orthogonal Pd NP sites in 1-OTf-PdNP as the hydrogenation catalyst. The selective and precise transformation of 1 into 1-OTf-PdNP was characterized step by step using powder X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The hierarchical incorporation of orthogonal Lewis acid and Pd NP active sites endowed 1-OTf-PdNP with outstanding catalytic performance in apparent hydrogenolysis of etheric, alcoholic, and esteric C-O bonds to generate saturated alkanes via a tandem dehydroalkoxylation-hydrogenation process under relatively mild conditions. The reactivity of C-O bonds followed the trend of tertiary carbon > secondary carbon > primary carbon. Control experiments demonstrated the heterogeneous nature and recyclability of 1-OTf-PdNP and its superior catalytic activity over the homogeneous counterparts. Sequential engineering of multiple catalytic sites in MOFs thus presents a unique opportunity to address outstanding challenges in sustainable catalysis.

Titanium Hydroxide Secondary Building Units in Metal-Organic Frameworks Catalyze Hydrogen Evolution under Visible Light.

Herein we report the design of two new titanium metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), Ti3-BPDC-Ir and Ti3-BPDC-Ru, by doping [Ir(ppy)2(dcbpy)]Cl or [Ru(bpy)2(dcbpy)]Cl2 (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine, ppy = 2-phenylpyridine, dcbpy = 2,2'-bipyridine-5,5'-dicarboxylate) into the Ti3-BPDC framework (BPDC = biphenyl-4,4'-dicarboxylate). Hierarchical assembly of photosensitizing ligands and Ti3(OH)2 secondary building units (SBUs) facilitates multielectron transfer to drive photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (HER) under visible light with turnover numbers of 6632 and 786 for Ti3-BPDC-Ir and Ti3-BPDC-Ru, respectively. Photophysical and electrochemical studies establish the photocatalytic HER via reductive quenching of the excited photosensitizers followed by electron transfer from the reduced photosensitizers to Ti3(OH)2 SBUs and explain the catalytic difference between the two MOFs. Density functional theory calculations reveal key steps of HER via protonation of TiIII-OH to generate the TiIII species with a vacant coordination site followed by proton-coupled electron transfer to afford the key TiIV-H intermediate.

Metal-Organic Framework Stabilizes a Low-Coordinate Iridium Complex for Catalytic Methane Borylation.

Catalytic borylation has recently been suggested as a potential strategy to convert abundant methane to fine chemicals. However, synthetic utility of methane borylation necessitates significant improvement of catalytic activities over original phenanthroline- and diphosphine-Ir complexes. Herein, we report the use of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to stabilize low-coordinate Ir complexes for highly active methane borylation to afford the monoborylated product. The mono(phosphine)-Ir based MOF, Zr-P1-Ir, significantly outperformed other Ir catalysts in methane borylation to afford CH3Bpin with a turnover number of 127 at 110 °C. Density functional theory calculations indicated a significant reduction of activation barrier for the rate limiting oxidative addition of methane to the four-coordinate (P1)IrIII(Bpin)3 catalyst to form the six-coordinate (P1)IrV(Bpin)3(CH3)(H) intermediate, thus avoiding the formation of sterically encumbered seven-coordinate IrV intermediates as found in other Ir catalysts based on chelating phenanthroline, bipyridine, and diphosphine ligands. MOF thus stabilizes the homogeneously inaccessible, low-coordinate (P1)Ir(boryl)3 catalyst to provide a unique strategy to significantly lower the activation barrier for methane borylation. This MOF-based catalyst design holds promise in addressing challenging catalytic reactions involving highly inert substrates.

Cobalt-bridged secondary building units in a titanium metal-organic framework catalyze cascade reduction of N-heteroarenes.

We report here a novel Ti3-BPDC metal-organic framework (MOF) constructed from biphenyl-4,4'-dicarboxylate (BPDC) linkers and Ti3(OH)2 secondary building units (SBUs) with permanent porosity and large 1D channels. Ti-OH groups from neighboring SBUs point toward each other with an O-O distance of 2 Å, and upon deprotonation, act as the first bidentate SBU-based ligands to support CoII-hydride species for effective cascade reduction of N-heteroarenes (such as pyridines and quinolines) via sequential dearomative hydroboration and hydrogenation, affording piperidine and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoline derivatives with excellent activity (turnover number ∼ 1980) and chemoselectivity.

A Mott insulator continuously connected to iron pnictide superconductors.

Iron-based superconductivity develops near an antiferromagnetic order and out of a bad-metal normal state, which has been interpreted as originating from a proximate Mott transition. Whether an actual Mott insulator can be realized in the phase diagram of the iron pnictides remains an open question. Here we use transport, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering and neutron scattering to demonstrate that NaFe1-xCuxAs near x≈0.5 exhibits real space Fe and Cu ordering, and are antiferromagnetic insulators with the insulating behaviour persisting above the Néel temperature, indicative of a Mott insulator. On decreasing x from 0.5, the antiferromagnetic-ordered moment continuously decreases, yielding to superconductivity ∼x=0.05. Our discovery of a Mott-insulating state in NaFe1-xCuxAs thus makes it the only known Fe-based material, in which superconductivity can be smoothly connected to the Mott-insulating state, highlighting the important role of electron correlations in the high-Tc superconductivity.