Enantioconvergent synthesis of chiral fluorenols from racemic secondary alcohols Pd(ii)/chiral norbornene cooperative catalysis.

An efficient protocol for the asymmetric synthesis of fluorenols has been developed through an enantioconvergent process enabled by Pd(ii)/chiral norbornene cooperative catalysis. This approach allows facile access to diverse functionalized chiral fluorenols with constantly excellent enantioselectivities, applying readily available racemic secondary -bromobenzyl alcohols and aryl iodides as the starting materials.

A mini-review on building insulation materials from perspective of plastic pollution: Current issues and natural fibres as a possible solution.

As plastic pollution is eroding our ecological environment at an alarming rate around the world, tracking the origins is a necessity for putting forward effective measures to prevent it. The building industry, as an important sector consuming plastic products and producing plastic wastes, is increasing application of thermal insulations to improve energy efficiency. However, most insulation materials have negative impact on the environment.

Two-dimensional type-II g-CN/SiP-GaS heterojunctions as water splitting photocatalysts: first-principles predictions.

Hydrogen production from water splitting by sunlight is a promising approach to solve the increasing energy and environmental crises, and the two-dimensional (2D) g-CN monolayer is a red star in this realm. However, it suffers from low quantum efficiency caused by the fast combination of photogenerated electrons and holes. In this work, we investigate the electronic and photocatalytic properties of three newly proposed g-CN/SiP-GaS-α, -β and -γ heterojunctions via first principles predictions.

Structural Engineering of Two-Dimensional Covalent Organic Frameworks for Visible-Light-Driven Organic Transformations.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) emerging as a novel kind of visible light-responsive organic semiconductor have attracted extensive research attention in the field of photocatalytic organic transformations. However, the key parameters affecting their photocatalytic properties are still not clear. In this work, a series of [3 + 3] COFs with similar two-dimensional hexagonal structure but different compositions are synthesized and employed as model materials for investigating the key factors affecting the photocatalytic properties in the visible-light-driven reductive dehalogenation reaction and the aerobic cross-dehydrogenative coupling reaction.

Planar graphitic ZnS, buckling ZnS monolayers and rolled-up nanotubes as nonlinear optical materials: first-principles simulation.

Nonlinear optical (NLO) materials have an ability to generate new coherent light. At the present stage, three dimensional (3D) mid-infrared NLO materials suffer from various deficiencies such as low laser damage thresholds (LDTs) for AgGaQ (Q = S, Se); the band gaps of most intensively studied two-dimensional (2D) NLO materials are not wide enough to avoid two-photon absorption (TPA); a steady NLO property regardless of diameter and chirality is absent in one-dimensional (1D) single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs). In this research, the electronic and second harmonic generation (SHG) properties of planar graphitic ZnS (g-ZnS) monolayer, buckling reconstructed ZnS (R-ZnS) monolayer which is synthesized in a recent experiment, and rolled-up SWNTs are investigated with first-principles simulations.

Nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling of aldehydes with aryl halides via hydrazone intermediates.

Traditional cross-couplings require stoichiometric organometallic reagents. A novel nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction between aldehydes and aryl halides via hydrazone intermediates has been developed, merging the Wolff-Kishner reduction and the classical cross-coupling reactions. Aromatic aldehydes, aryl iodides and aryl bromides are especially effective in this new cross-coupling chemistry.

A novel Ag3AsO4 visible-light-responsive photocatalyst: facile synthesis and exceptional photocatalytic performance.

A novel Ag3AsO4 photocatalyst has been prepared via a facile precipitation method. It exhibited higher activity than Ag3PO4 or AgI in degradation of rhodamine B or methyl orange. The excellent activity of Ag3AsO4 is attributed to its more separated photogenerated carriers and high absorption capacity of visible light.

Chirally functionalized hollow nanospheres containing L-prolinamide: synthesis and asymmetric catalysis.

Chirally functionalized hollow nanospheres with different surface properties were successfully synthesized by co-condensation of (2S,1'R,2'R)-N-tert-butyloxycarbonylpyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid [2'-(4-trimethoxysilylbenzylamide)cyclohexyl] amide with 1,2-bis(trimethoxysilyl)ethane or tetramethoxysilane using F127 (EO(106)PO(70)EO(106)) as surfactant in water. The TEM and N(2) sorption characterizations show that the particle size of the hollow nanosphere is 15-21 nm with a core diameter of 10-16 nm. These L-prolinamide-functionalized hollow nanospheres are highly efficient solid catalysts for the direct asymmetric aldol reaction between cyclohexanone and aromatic aldehydes.

Mesoporous titanosilicates with high loading of titanium synthesized in mild acidic buffer solution.

Mesoporous titanosilicates with high titanium content were synthesized under mild acidic conditions (pH=4.4, HAc-NaAc buffer solution) by co-condensation of acetylacetone-modified titanium isopropoxide (Ti(OBu(n))(3) (acac)) and mixture of sodium silicate with tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) or tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) or tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)orthosilicate (EGMS), using block copolymer Pluronic P123 as template. The combined results of XRD, N(2) sorption and TEM show that the highly regular structure of the mesoporous titanosilicates can still be obtained when Ti/Si molar ratio in the final product is as high as 0.