Reactions of thioalkynes with diarylketenes via [3+2]-annulation versus benzannulation using Au and P(C6F5)3 catalysts.

Two catalytic annulations of non-symmetric diarylketenes with thioalkynes are described using gold and phosphine catalysts respectively. We employed α-aryldiazo ketones to generate gold-π-ketenes, ultimately yielding azulen-1-one derivatives. With the same reactants, we utilized P(C6F5)3 to increase the yields of 1-naphthols, notably with a complete regioselectivity.

Gold-Catalyzed Rearrangement of α-Carbonyl Cyclopropanes to Form 3-(Cyclopenta-1,3-dien-1-ylmethyl)oxindoles via a Postulated 1,5-Enolate Shift.

Gold-catalyzed stereoselective synthesis of spirocyclopropyl oxindoles from diazooxindoles and 1,2,4-substituted dienes is described. The aim of this work is to report a novel rearrangement of these spirocyclopropyl oxindoles with a gold catalyst to yield 3-(cyclopenta-1,3-dien-1-ylmethyl)oxindoles. Our experimental data exclude a reversible process in the gold-catalyzed cyclopropanation. With DFT calculations, we postulate a rearrangement mechanism involving the formation of complex pairs of gold enolates and 1-methylen-2,3,4-cyclopentadienyl cations, leading to a 1,5-enolate shift.

Diindeno[2,1-b:2',1'-h]biphenylenes: Syntheses, Structural Analyses, and Properties.

A series of diindeno[2,1-b:2',1'-h]biphenylenes with open-shell singlet ground states and interesting properties were prepared. The studied compounds consist of p-quinodimethane moieties, which suffer from geometric perturbation with bond angles of around 90°. The substituent effects on structural parameters, local aromaticity, and properties were systematically explored.

Gold Catalysts Can Generate Nitrone Intermediates from a Nitrosoarene/Alkene Mixture, Enabling Two Distinct Catalytic Reactions: A Nitroso-Activated Cycloheptatriene/Benzylidene Rearrangement.

Gold-catalyzed reactions of cycloheptatrienes with nitrosoarenes yield nitrone derivatives efficiently. This reaction sequence enables us to develop gold-catalyzed aerobic oxidations of cycloheptatrienes to afford benzaldehyde derivatives using CuCl and nitrosoarenes as co-catalysts (10-30 mol %). Our density functional theory calculations support a novel nitroso-activated rearrangement, tropylium → benzylidene. With the same nitrosoarenes, we developed their gold-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 1]-annulations between nitrosobenzene and two enol ethers to yield 5-alkoxyisoxazolidines using 1,4-cyclohexadienes as hydrogen donors.

Enhancement of NH3 Production in Electrochemical N2 Reduction by the Cu-Rich Inner Surfaces of Beveled CuAu Nanoboxes.

The global ammonia yield is critical to the fertilizer industry as the global food demand is highly dependent on it, whereas, NH3 is also a key chemical for pharmaceutical, textile, plastic, explosive, and dye-making industries. At present, the demand for NH3 is fulfilled by the Haber-Bosch method, which consumes 1-3% of global energy and causes 0.5-1% CO2 emission every year. To reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency, the electrochemical nitrogen gas reduction reaction (N2RR) has received much attention and support after the funding announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy. In this work, we have created hollow CuAu nanoboxes with Cu-rich inner walls to improve the NH3 Faradaic efficiency in N2RR. These beveled nanoboxes are produced in different degrees of corner and edge etching, which produces both polyhedral and concave structures. In N2RR, the binary CuAu nanoboxes enhanced NH3 production compared to individual Au and Cu nanocubes. The results of DFT calculations suggest the Cu-rich inner walls in the hollow beveled CuAu nanoboxes play a major role in their performance by reducing the free energy ΔG*NNH for the potential-determining step to form *NNH (* + N2(g) + H+ + e- → *NNH). Meanwhile, the results in 10-cycle and solar-illuminated N2RR indicate the beveled CuAu nanoboxes are not only robust electrocatalysts but show promise in photocatalysis as well.

Gold-Catalyzed Oxidations of 1,3-Diynamides with C(1) versus C(3) Regioselectivity: Catalyst-Dependent Oxidative Cyclizations in the C(3) Oxidation.

This work reports two distinct paths in catalytic oxidations of 1,3-diynamides with 8-methylquinoline oxide. A typical C(1) regioselectivity was observed for aryl-substituted 1,3-diyn-1-amides, whereas an unexpected C(3) regioselectivty occurred for 5-hydroxy1,3-diyn-1-amides. We focused on the C(3) oxidations of 5-hydroxy1,3-diyn-1-amides because we observed two oxidative cyclizations of the same substrates to yield 2-aminomethylenefuran-3(2H)-ones and 2-amino-4H-pyran-4-ones using AuCl3 and a cationic gold catalyst, respectively. Density functional theory calculations were performed to rationalize the C(3) regioselectivity on 5-hydroxy1,3-diyn-1-amides.

Gold-Catalyzed Iminations of Terminal Propargyl Alcohols with Anthranils with Atypical Chemoselectivity for C(1)-Additions and 1,2-Carbon Migration.

This work reports gold-catalyzed iminations of terminal propargyl alcohols with anthranils or isoxazoles to yield E-configured α-amino-2-en-1-ones and -1-als with complete chemoselectivity. These catalytic iminations occur exclusively with C(1)-nucleophilic additions on terminal alkynes, in contrast to a typical C(2)-route. For 3,3-dialkylprop-1-yn-3-ols, a methyl substituent is superior to long alkyl chains as the 1,2-migration groups toward α-imino gold carbenes. For secondary prop-1-yn-3-ols, phenyl, vinyl, and cyclopropyl substituents are better than hydrogen as the migrating groups, obviating typical gold carbene reactions. DFT calculations have been performed to rationalize the observed C(1)-regioselectivity and the preferable cyclopropyl migration based on gold carbene pathways.

Mechanism and kinetics for both thermal and electrochemical reduction of N2 catalysed by Ru(0001) based on quantum mechanics.

The conversion of N2(g) to NH3(g) is an important industrial process that plays a vital role in sustaining the current human population. This chemical transformation relies heavily on the Haber-Bosch process (N2 thermal reduction, N2TR), which requires enormous quantities of energy (2% of the world supply) and extreme conditions (200 atm and 500 °C). Alternatively, N2(g) can be reduced to NH3(g) through electrochemical means (N2ER), which may be a less energy intensive and lower-capital approach since the H atoms come from H2O not H2. However, N2ER efficiency is far from satisfactory. In order to provide the basis for developing a new generation of energy efficient processes, we report the detailed atomistic mechanism and kinetics for N2ER on Ru(0001) along with a comparison to N2TR. We obtained these results using a new electrochemical model for quantum mechanics (QM) calculations to obtain free energy surfaces for all plausible reaction pathways for N2ER under a constant electrode potential of 0.0 VSHE. For both processes, the elementary steps involve several steps of breaking of the NN bonds, hydrogenation of surface N2HX or NHX, and NH3 release. We find similar energetics for the NN cleavage steps for both systems. However, the hydrogenation steps are very different, leading to much lower free energy barriers for N2ER compared to N2TR. Thus, N2ER favors an associative route where successive hydrogen atoms are added to N2 prior to breaking the NN bonds rather than the dissociative route preferred by N2TR, where the NN bonds are broken first followed by the addition of Hs. Our QM results provide the detailed free energy surfaces for N2ER and N2TR, suggesting a strategy for improving the efficiency of N2ER.

Copper-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Difluoromethylation.

We report herein a highly efficient Cu-catalyzed protocol for the conversion of aliphatic carboxylic acids to the corresponding difluoromethylated analogues. This robust, operationally simple and scalable protocol tolerates a variety of functional groups and can convert a diverse array of acid-containing complex molecules to the alkyl-CF2H products. Mechanistic studies support the involvement of alkyl radicals.