Hydrothiolation of alkynes with thiol-catechol derivatives catalysed by CuNPs/TiO: exploring the reaction mechanism by DFT calculations.

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were applied to describe the hydrothiolation reaction of activated alkynes with thiols bearing a catechol group. The thiol-yne click (TYC) process was efficiently catalysed by a CuNPs/TiO nanocatalyst giving the corresponding -Markovnikov vinyl sulphides with high -stereoselectivity. Based on the experimental results and DFT studies, a plausible reaction mechanism is proposed, which implies the activation of the carbon-carbon triple bond by coordination to the copper centre, followed by a stereoselective (external) nucleophilic attack to give preferentially the -vinyl sulphide isomer.

Experimental indications of gardeners' anecdotes that snails interfere with invasive slugs.

The invasive Spanish slug () is an important pest species in agriculture and horticulture in Europe. In the last decades it has spread across the continent where it outcompetes native slug and snail species, thus posing a threat for biodiversity. A popular anecdote suggests to promote Roman snails () in gardens because they are able to control .

A new and efficient methodology for olefin epoxidation catalyzed by supported cobalt nanoparticles.

A new heterogeneous catalytic system consisting of cobalt nanoparticles (CoNPs) supported on MgO and -butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant is presented. This CoNPs@MgO/-BuOOH catalytic combination allowed the epoxidation of a variety of olefins with good to excellent yield and high selectivity. The catalyst preparation is simple and straightforward from commercially available starting materials and it could be recovered and reused maintaining its unaltered high activity.

Single and Combined Effects of Pesticide Seed Dressings and Herbicides on Earthworms, Soil Microorganisms, and Litter Decomposition.

Seed dressing, i.e., the treatment of crop seeds with insecticides and/or fungicides, aiming to protect seeds from pests and diseases, is widely used in conventional agriculture.

Adsorption of perfluorocarboxylic acids at the silica surface.

Water molecules may force the hydrophobic perfluoroalkyl chain of perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) to aggregate at hydrophobic siloxane patches ([triple bond, length as m-dash]Si-O-Si[triple bond, length as m-dash]) of the silica surface despite electrostatic repulsion between surface silanol ([triple bond, length as m-dash]SiO) and the carboxylate (-COO) headgroup of PFCA. Acidic pH and background cations promote the adsorption further by reducing the anion-anion Coulomb repulsion.