Enhanced formation of >C1 Products in Electroreduction of CO2 by Adding a CO2 Adsorption Component to a Gas-Diffusion Layer-Type Catalytic Electrode.

The addition of a CO2 -adsorption component (substituted imidazolate-based SIM-1 crystals) to a gas-diffusion layer-type catalytic electrode enhances the activity and especially the selectivity towards >C1 carbon chain products (ethanol, acetone, and isopropanol) of a Pt-based electrocatalyst that is not able to form products of CO2 reduction involving C-C bond formation under conventional (liquid-phase) conditions. This indicates that the increase of the effective CO2 concentration at the electrode active surface is the factor controlling the formation of >C1 products rather than only the intrinsic properties of the electrocatalyst.

Insights into the gold-catalyzed propargyl ester rearrangement/tandem cyclization sequence: radical versus gold catalysis-Myers-Saito- versus Schmittel-type cyclization.

A detailed study of the gold-catalyzed tandem 1,3-carboxy migration/allene-enyne cycloisomerization was undertaken. It was found that after the initial allene formation the selectivity of the reaction is strongly influenced by the polarization of the remaining alkyne. Depending on the substitution pattern of the starting diynes, either a Schmittel- or a Myers-Saito-type cyclization was triggered. The 6-endo-dig Myers-Saito-type cyclization gave access to benzo[b]fluorenes, while the Schmittel pathway (5-exo-dig) delivered benzofulvenes as final products. In special cases a yet unknown pathway was opened by the ambiphilic nature of the allene moiety. In these cases completely different products were obtained by the nucleophilic attack of the alkyne moiety onto the allene that can also act as an electrophile. Mechanistic studies revealed that diradical pathways can be ruled out for this type of tandem cyclization reactions and it is shown that both steps of the reaction cascade are catalyzed by the gold complex.

Synthesis of (E)-nitroolefins via decarboxylative nitration using t-butylnitrite (t-BuONO) and TEMPO.

Nitroolefins are usually synthesized using the Henry reaction. Here we report an alternative metal-free decarboxylative nitration protocol for the preparation of the nitroolefins from α,ß-unsaturated carboxylic acids using t-butylnitrite (t-BuONO) and TEMPO. α,ß-Unsaturated carboxylic acids bearing ß-aromatic and ß-heteroaromatic substituents gave (E)-nitroolefins exclusively under mild conditions. A radical based pathway has been proposed for this decarboxylative nitration reaction.