A bioinspired approach to fabricate fluorescent nanotubes with strong water adhesion by soft template electropolymerization and post-grafting.

Hypothesis: In this original work, we aim to control both the surface wetting and fluorescence properties of extremely ordered and porous conducting polymer nanotubes prepared by soft template electropolymerization and post-grafting. For reaching this aim, various substituents of different hydrophobicity and fluorescence were post-grafted and the post-grafting yields were evaluated by surface analyses. We show that the used polymer is already fluorescent before post-grafting while the post-grafting yield and as a consequence the surface hydrophobicity highly depend on the substituent.

Activation of olefin metathesis complexes containing unsymmetrical unsaturated N-heterocyclic carbenes by copper and gold transmetalation.

The activation of ruthenium-indenylidene complexes containing two unsymmetrical unsaturated N-heterocyclic carbenes (u2-NHCs) by a transmetalation process is reported. The use of copper(i) or gold(i) chlorides promotes the rapid trapping of one NHC ligand, which releases the catalytically active Ru-species. Impressive initiation rates with full-conversions are observed within one minute.

Synthesis, characterisation and application of pyridine-modified chitosan derivatives for the first non-racemic Cu-catalysed Henry reaction.

The preparation, characterisation and application of two pyridine-modified chitosan derivatives (C1 and C2) containing Cu(OAc) adsorbed as catalysts for the conversion of benzaldehyde into 2-nitro-1-phenylethanol are described. Quantitative solid-state C multiple-contact cross-polarization, magic-angle-spinning, nuclear magnetic resonance (MC-CP MAS NMR) measurements confirmed the successful grafting of 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde and 6-methylpyridine-2-carboxaldehyde to the chitosan backbone and indicated that 47(±2)% of the NH groups were grafted for both C1 and C2. The use of C1-Cu(OAc) as a catalyst in the nitroaldol reaction led to 96(±1)% conversion and 19(±4)% enantiomeric excess (ee), while the use of C2-Cu(OAc) as a catalyst also promoted the nitroaldol reaction, affording almost quantitatively the expected 2-nitro-1-phenylethanol (98(±1)%) with 14.