Science-an important lever to tackle sustainability in the specialty chemical industry.

Achieving carbon neutrality in the chemical industry necessitates a green and efficient transformation. Working together, industry and academia hold the key to developing clean chemical processes, which is crucial.

One-Pot Synthesis of Polymers Containing PC Bonds in the Main Chain.

Placement of phosphorus in the polymer main chain leads to organophosphorus polymers with potentially unique chemical and physical properties. Herein, it is demonstrated that the Abramov phosphonylation reaction can be extended to the synthesis of such polymers, by reacting di- or tricarbaldehydes with phosphinic acid (PA) in the presence of N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide (BSA). This technique affords polymers with main chain PC bonds, wherein phosphorus (V), aromatic rings, and hydroxymethylene moieties are linked by bis(α-hydroxymethylene)phosphinic acid (BHMPA) units. The resulting polymers are water soluble, display resilience against acid- and base-catalyzed hydrolysis, and exhibit superior thermal stability with high char yield in air (≈83%) and nitrogen (≈76%) atmosphere.

Hypophosphites as Eco-Compatible Fuels for Membrane-Free Direct Liquid Fuel Cells.

Crossover of liquid fuel remains a severe problem for conventional direct liquid fuel cells even when polymer electrolyte membranes are applied. Herein, we report for the first time a membrane-free direct liquid fuel cell powered by alkaline hypophosphite solution. The proof-of-concept fuel cell yields a peak power density of 32 mW cm-2 under air flow at room temperature. The removal of the polymer electrolyte membrane is attributed to the high reactivity and selectivity of Pd and α-MnO2 towards the hypophosphite oxidation on the anode and oxygen reduction on the cathode, respectively. The discharge products are analyzed by 31 P NMR spectroscopy and the faradaic efficiencies have been calculated after discharging at 10 mA cm-2 for 20 hours. The non-toxicity of hypophosphite and membrane-free fuel cell structure provide huge potential for future applications.

Selective Electrogenerative Oxidation of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural to 2,5-Furandialdehyde.

2,5-furandialdehyde (DFF) was synthesized by electrogenerative oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) over a PtRu catalyst with 89 % selectivity at 50 °C after 17 h. This approach opens an avenue for a selective, energy-efficient and green oxidation of biomass-derived platform alcohols to added-value chemicals.

Mild Reduction of Phosphine Oxides with Phosphites To Access Phosphines.

A new method for the iodine-catalyzed reduction of phosphine oxides with phosphites at room temperature is reported. The mild reaction conditions, scalability, and simple purification requirements render it a method of choice for the large-scale production and facile regeneration of a variety of phosphines. Mechanistic studies, supported by DFT calculations of the oxygen transfer between the starting phosphine oxide and the phosphite reagent, are also presented. Such transmutations of phosphorus species were previously unknown.