Assembly of Enantioenriched cis‐3a,8a‐Hexahydropyrrolo[2,3‐b]indole Scaffolds by Silver(I)‐Catalyzed Asymmetric Domino Reaction of Isocyanoacetates in the Presence of Cinchona‐Derived Chiral Phosphorus Ligands

By using Cinchona‐derived chiral phosphines as catalytic ligands, enantioenriched cis‐3a,8a‐hexahydropyrrolo[2,3‐b]indoles (ent‐HPIs), which are core scaffolds in a large array of biologically active natural products, can be convergently assembled under mild conditions through the silver(I)‐catalyzed asymmetric domino reaction of readily available isocyanoacetates and 2‐(2‐aminophenyl)acrylates. Various functionalities can be tolerated in the reaction, affording enantioenriched HPIs in high overall yields and good enantioselectivities (up to 92% ees).

     

Copper(II)/Silver(I)‐Catalyzed Sequential Alkynylation and Annulation of Aliphatic Amides with Alkynyl Carboxylic Acids: Efficient Synthesis of Pyrrolidones

A highly efficient protocol for the synthesis of pyrrolidones by the copper‐catalyzed alkynylation/annulation of aliphatic amides with alkynyl carboxylic acids is discussed in this paper. A broad range of easily accessible alkynyl carboxylic acids were introduced at the β‐methyl group of aliphatic amides with the assistance of an 8‐aminoquinolyl auxiliary group via decarboxylation to achieve the subsequent cyclic C N bond formation within one hour. High selectivity of β‐methyl groups over methylene groups was observed, and the extension of this catalytic system to the activation of methylene C H bonds failed. The substrates with two different groups at the α‐position of the aliphatic amides lead to the formation of diastereoisomers which is determined by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The initially produced products with Z‐configurations can be easily transformed to the corresponding products with E‐configurations by the treatment with dilute p‐toluenesulfonic acid after the reaction. This catalytic tandem decarboxylative cyclization provides a new opportunity for the direct functionalization of sp³ C H bonds.

     

Synthesis of [60]Fullerene‐Fused Tetralones via Palladium‐ Catalyzed Ketone‐Directed sp2 C?H Activation and sp3 C?H Functionalization

The palladium‐catalyzed ketone‐directed dual sp² C H activation and sp³ C H functionalization has been applied for fullerene functionalization for the first time. The sec‐alkyl aryl ketones have been exploited to react with [60]fullerene (C₆₀) to provide the novel and scarce C₆₀‐fused tetralones. The combined use of a highly active cationic palladium(II) catalyst and trifluoromethanesulfonic acid is crucial for the improvement of the reaction yield. A plausible reaction mechanism leading to the observed products has been proposed, and the electrochemistry of the fullerene products has also been investigated.

     

Metal‐Free Autoxidative Nitrooxylation of Alkenyl Oximes with Molecular Oxygen

A metal‐free aerobic autoxidative nitrooxylation of alkenyl oximes mediated by tert‐butyl nitrite is described. Molecular oxygen is used as the oxidizing reagent, avoiding use of organic trapping reagents such as 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine 1‐oxyl (TEMPO). The desired products were obtained in generally high yields.

     

Visible Light‐Initiated C(sp3)?Br/C(sp3)?H Functionalization of α‐Carbonyl Alkyl Bromides through Hydride Radical Shift

A new visible light‐initiated 1,5‐hydride radical shift strategy has been developed to enable the one‐step functionalization of both a C(sp³) Br bond and a C(sp³) H bond adjacent to the same carbon atom. This visible light photoredox catalysis offers a mild and straightforward access to diverse five‐membered carbocyclic ring‐fused polycyclic hydrocarbons with high turnover numbers (TONs; up to 4.93×10³) and broad substrate scope.

     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Oxidative Carbonylation of Aromatic C−H Bonds with Alcohols using Molybdenum Hexacarbonyl as the Carbon Monoxide Source

With molybdenum hexacarbonyl as the carbon monoxide source, a general palladium‐catalyzed carbonylative transformation of the C−H bond on aromatic rings to produce esters has been developed. Good yields of the corresponding products have been obtained with wide functional group tolerance and excellent regioselectivity. A variety of aliphatic alcohols are suitable reactants here.

     

Synthesis and optimization of high-performance amine-based polymer for CO2 separation

Membrane technology features inspiring excellence from numerous separation technologies for CO₂ capture from post-combustion gas. Polyvinylamine (PVAm)-based facilitated transport membranes show significantly high separation performance, which has been proven promising for industrial scale-up. However, commercialized PVAm with low molecular weight and excessive crystallinity is not available to prepare high-performance membranes. Herein, the synthesis process of PVAm was optimized by regulating polymerization and acidic hydrolytic conditions. The membranes based on PVAm with a molecular weight of 154 kDa and crystallinity of 11.37% display high CO₂ permeance of 726 GPU and CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 55 at a feed gas pressure of 0.50 MPa. Furthermore, we established a PVAm synthesis reactor with an annual PVAm solution (1%(mass)) capacity of over 7000 kg and realized the scaled-up manufacture of both PVAm and composite membranes.     

Ru/SiO2 Catalyst for Highly Selective Hydrogenation of Dimethyl Malate to 1,2,4-Butanetriol at Low Temperatures in Aqueous Solvent

Catalysis Letters - Catalytic selective hydrogenation of esterified malic acid to produce 1,2,4-butanetriol (1,2,4-BT) using H2 as the reducing reagent suffers from the low 1,2,4-BT selectivity....