Discovery of synthetic small molecules that enhance the number of stomata: C-H functionalization chemistry for plant biology.

The increasing climate changes and global warming are leading to colossal agricultural problems such as abatement of food production and quality. As stomatal development is considered to play a key role in crop plant productivity and water-use efficiency, studying stomatal development is useful for understanding the productivity of plant systems for both natural and agricultural systems. Herein, we report the first-in-class synthetic small molecules enhancing the number of stomata in Arabidopsis thaliana that have been discovered by screening of the chemical library and further optimized by the Pd-catalyzed C-H arylation reaction.

Nickel-Catalyzed Chemo-, Regio- and Diastereoselective Bond Formation through Proximal C-C Cleavage of Benzocyclobutenones.

The first catalytic intermolecular proximal C1-C2 cleavage of benzocyclobutenones (BCB) without prior carbonyl activation or employing noble metals has been developed. This protocol operates at room temperature and is characterized by an exquisite chemo-, regio- and diastereoselectivity profile, constituting a unique platform for preparing an array of elusive carbocyclic skeletons.

Manganese-catalyzed intermolecular C-H/C-H coupling of carbonyls and heteroarenes.

Manganese-catalyzed intermolecular C-H/C-H coupling of carbonyls and heteroarenes has been developed. The presence of NaIO4 as an oxidant is crucial for the catalytic reaction. These new, inexpensive reaction conditions allow the gram-scale synthesis of α-heteroaryl carboxylic acids.

Formal γ-alkynylation of ketones via Pd-catalyzed C-C cleavage.

A formal γ-alkynylation of ketones via Pd-catalyzed C-C bond-cleavage is presented. The method allows for the coupling of tert-cyclobutanols and bromoacetylenes, giving access to versatile alkynes that are beyond reach otherwise.

Ligand-accelerated Pd-catalyzed ketone γ-arylation via C-C cleavage with aryl chlorides.

A highly efficient Pd-catalyzed arylative ring expansion of cyclobutanols via C-C bond cleavage is presented. The method allows the coupling of aryl chlorides at low catalyst loadings with a wide range of functional groups and substitution patterns, thus constituting a straightforward alternative for preparing rather elusive γ-arylated ketones.

Mechanisms and kinetics for sorption of CO2 on bicontinuous mesoporous silica modified with n-propylamine.

We studied equilibrium adsorption and uptake kinetics and identified molecular species that formed during sorption of carbon dioxide on amine-modified silica. Bicontinuous silicas (AMS-6 and MCM-48) were postsynthetically modified with (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane or (3-aminopropyl)methyldiethoxysilane, and amine-modified AMS-6 adsorbed more CO(2) than did amine-modified MCM-48. By in situ FTIR spectroscopy, we showed that the amine groups reacted with CO(2) and formed ammonium carbamate ion pairs as well as carbamic acids under both dry and moist conditions.

Microwave-assisted palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of aryl and vinyl halides with H-phosphonate diesters.

A general and efficient method for the microwave-assisted formation of the C-P bond was developed. Using a prevalent palladium catalyst, Pd(PPh3)4, a quantitative cross-coupling of various H-phosphonate diesters with aryl and vinyl halides was achieved in less than 10 min. The reactions occurred with retention of configuration at the phosphorus center and in the vinyl moiety.