Metal-Free Chemoselective Reduction of Nitroarenes Catalyzed by Covalent Triazine Frameworks: The Role of Embedded Heteroatoms.

Chemoselective reduction of nitroarenes to arylamines is a core technology for the synthesis of numerous chemicals. The technology, however, relies on applying precious noble metal catalysts. We present our findings on the development of robust nanoporous covalent triazine frameworks (CTFs) as metal-free catalysts for the green chemoselective reduction of nitroarenes.

Immobilization of an Iridium Pincer Complex in a Microporous Polymer for Application in Room-Temperature Gas Phase Catalysis.

An iridium dihydride pincer complex [IrH (POCOP)] is immobilized in a hydroxy-functionalized microporous polymer network using the concepts of surface organometallic chemistry. The introduction of this novel, truly innocent support with remote OH-groups enables the formation of isolated active metal sites embedded in a chemically robust and highly inert environment. The catalyst maintained high porosity and without prior activation exhibited efficacy in the gas phase hydrogenation of ethene and propene at room temperature and low pressure.

Plasma-Assisted Immobilization of a Phosphonium Salt and Its Use as a Catalyst in the Valorization of CO.

The first plasma-assisted immobilization of an organocatalyst, namely a bifunctional phosphonium salt in an amorphous hydrogenated carbon coating, is reported. This method makes the requirement for prefunctionalized supports redundant. The immobilized catalyst was characterized by solid-state C and P NMR spectroscopy, SEM, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.

Melanoidin formed from fructosylalanine contains more alanine than melanoidin formed from d-glucose with L-alanine.

In this study the elemental compositions of melanoidin formed at 160 °C from d-glucose (Glc) and l-alanine (Ala) as well as from fructosylalanine - the corresponding Amadori rearrangement product - were compared. Specific chemical bonds were probed by FTIR spectroscopy. This approach tackles the different chemical pathways for melanoidin formation via the Amadori rearrangement in contrast to the reaction from Glc/Ala.

On the structural stability of crystalline ceria phases in undoped and acceptor-doped ceria materials under reduction conditions.

The reduction of pure and Sm-doped ceria in hydrogen has been studied by synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction to eventually prove or disprove the presence of crystalline cerium hydride (CeH ) phases and the succession of potential structural phase (trans)formations of reduced cerium oxide phases during heating-cooling cycles up to 1273 K. Despite a recent report on the existence of bulk and surface CeH phases during reductive treatment of pure CeO in H, structural analysis by Rietveld refinement as well as additional H-NMR spectroscopy did not reveal the presence of any crystalline CeH phase. Rather, a sequence of phase transformations during the re-cooling process in H has been observed.

Bis-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) stabilized η6-arene iron(0) complexes: synthesis, structure, reactivity, and catalytic activity.

Reaction of FeCl2 with the chelating bis-N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) bis-(N-Dipp-imidazole-2-ylidene)methylene (abbreviated {((Dipp)C:)2CH2}) (Dipp = 2,6-di-isopropylphenyl) affords the complex [FeCl2{((Dipp)C:)2CH2}] (1) in high yield. Reduction of complex 1 with excess KC8 with a 10-fold molar excess of PMe3 affords the Fe(II) complex [FeH{((Dipp)C:)2CH2}(PMe3)(η(2)-PMe2CH2)] (2) as a mixture of three stereoisomers. Complex 2, the first example of any iron(II) complex bearing mutually an NHC and PMe3 ligand, is likely obtained from the in situ, reductively generated 16 VE Fe(0) complex, [Fe{((Dipp)C:)2CH2}(PMe3)2] (2'), following intramolecular C-H activation of one of the phosphorus-bound CH3 groups.

From elusive thio- and selenosilanoic acids to copper(I) complexes with intermolecular Si=E → Cu-O-Si coordination modes (E = S, Se).

The facile synthesis of the first stable selenosilanoic acid-base adduct LSi(=Se)OH(dmap) 3 (L = CH[C(Me)NAr]2, Ar = 2,6-iPr2C6H3, dmap = 4-dimethylaminopyridine), the heavier analogue of the thiosilanoic acid adduct LSi(=S)OH(dmap) 1, is reported. Both adducts 1 and 3 react readily with MesCu (Mes = 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl) to form the novel dimeric Cu(I) complexes [LSi(=E)OCu]2 (4: E = S; 5: E = Se) with unprecedented intermolecular Si=E → Cu-O-Si coordination modes. The latter are efficient pre-catalysts for the Cu(I)-mediated aziridination of styrene with PhI=N(Ts) (Ts = tosyl).

Molecular optimization of multiply-functionalized mesoporous films with ion conduction properties.

Sequential processing of multiply functionalized mesoporous films is shown to yield materials that are compositionally and structurally heterogeneous on mesoscopic and molecular length scales, both of which must be controlled to optimize macroscopic ion-conduction properties. Cubic mesoporous silica films prepared from strongly acidic solutions were subsequently functionalized under highly alkaline conditions to incorporate hydrophilic aluminosilica surface moieties, followed by nonaqueous conditions to introduce perfluorosulfonic-acid surface groups. Such sequential combination of individually incompatible steps yielded stable mesoporous films with high surface hydrophilicities and strong acid functionalities that exhibited high proton conductivities (ca.

Formation of a donor-stabilized tetrasilacyclobutadiene dication by a Lewis acid assisted reaction of an N-heterocyclic chloro silylene.

The first donor-stabilized tetrasilacyclobutadiene dication species has been synthesized and fully characterized. Its unexpected formation occurs by the Lewis acid assisted reaction of the N-heterocyclic chloro silylene [L(Si:)Cl] (L = PhC(NtBu)(2); amidinate) with Cp*ZrCl(3) (Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) in the molar ratio of 3:2. Remarkably, the four-membered Si(4) core consists of two N-donor stabilized silylium subunits and two silylene-like moieties.

Si=X multiple bonding with four-coordinate silicon? Insights into the nature of the Si=O and Si=S double bonds in stable silanoic esters and related thioesters: a combined NMR spectroscopic and computational study.

The electronic structures and nature of silicon-chalcogen double bonds Si=X (X = O, S) with four-coordinate silicon in the unique silanoic silylester 2 and silanoic thioester 3 have been investigated for the first time, by (29)Si solid state NMR measurements and detailed DFT and ab initio calculations. (29)Si solid state NMR spectroscopy of the precursor silylene 1 was also carried out. The experimental and computational study of 2 and 3, which was also supported by a detailed computational study of smaller model systems with Si=O and Si=S bonds, provides a deeper understanding of the isotropic and tensor components of their NMR chemical shifts.

Sensitivity considerations in polarization transfer and filtering using dipole-dipole couplings: implications for biomineral systems.

The robustness and sensitivities of different polarization-transfer methods that exploit heteronuclear dipole-dipole couplings are compared for a series of heterogeneous solid systems, including polycrystalline tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)silane (TKS), adamantane, a physical mixture of doubly (13)C,(15)N-enriched and singly (13)C-enriched polycrystalline glycine, and a powder sample of siliceous marine diatoms, Thalossiosira pseudonana. The methods were analyzed according to their respective frequency-matching spectra or resultant signal intensities. For a series of (13)C{(1)H} cross-polarization experiments, adiabatic passage Hartmann-Hahn cross-polarization (APHH-CP) was shown to have several advantages over other methods, including Hartmann-Hahn cross-polarization (HHCP), variable-amplitude cross-polarization (VACP), and ramped-amplitude cross-polarization (RACP).

Cation environments and spatial distribution in Na2O-B2O3 glasses: new results from solid state NMR.

The spatial distribution of the sodium ions in sodium borate glasses with composition (Na2O)x(B2O3)1+x (0 < or = x < or = 0.30) has been studied by complementary high resolution and dipolar solid state NMR experiments. 23Na-23Na homonuclear dipole-dipole couplings measured via 23Na spin echo decay spectroscopy indicate the absence of cation clustering at all compositions.

Dipolar solid state NMR approaches towards medium-range structure in oxide glasses.

Modern solid state nuclear magnetic resonance presents new powerful opportunities for the elucidation of medium range order in glasses in the sub-nanometer region. In contrast to standard chemical shift spectroscopy, the strategy presented here is based on the precise measurement and quantitative analysis of internuclear magnetic dipole-dipole interactions, which can be related to distance information in a straightforward manner. The review discusses the most commonly employed experimental techniques, producing dipolar coupling information in both homo- and heteronuclear spin systems.