Synthesis and properties of photoluminescent phosphorus-doped triptycenes.

A new class of phosphorus-doped triptycenes was designed and synthesized via a Diels-Alder reaction between alkynylphosphonates and anthracene, followed by oxidative cyclization. The packing interaction and molecular alignment in the single crystals revealed that the weak C-H⋯π (2.825 Å) interaction guides the self-assembly of phosphindole oxide iptycenes. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of these photoluminescent phosphorus-doped iptycenes were characterized to gain a deeper understanding of their fluorescence tunability. The presence of functional groups on the phenyl ring of the P-doped fin and the chemical environment of the P atom both had an effect on the fluorescence emission.

Solid-state molecular oxygen activation using ball milling and a piezoelectric material for aerobic oxidation of thiols.

The agitation of BaTiO3 via ball milling converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, leading to the reduction of molecular oxygen via a single electron transfer pathway analogous to the photocatalytic reaction. This mechanoredox strategy for the oxidative coupling of thiols could eliminate waste and develop a recyclable methodology to accomplish organic transformations in a greener fashion, exhibiting promising potential for large-scale chemical manufacturing.

Scalable Synthetic Strategy for Unsymmetrical Trisubstituted s-Triazines.

A scalable synthetic strategy to produce a large variety of unsymmetrical trisubstituted 1,3,5-triazines was developed. This protocol applied in situ formed acyl isocyanate from amide to react with amidine, introducing two substituents to the 1,3,5-triazinone ring with a low production cost and a simple workup procedure. The scalability of this method was demonstrated by translating a small-scale procedure to a multi-kilogram-scale synthesis. Chlorination and a further coupling reaction with various nucleophiles could provide unsymmetrical trisubstituted 1,3,5-triazines bearing diverse functional groups.

Surfactant-Type Catalyst for Aerobic Oxidative Coupling of Hydrazine with Thiol in Water.

A series of PEG-functionalized nitrogen ligands were developed to conduct an aerobic oxidative cross-coupling reaction between alkyl- or aryl-hydrazines with thiols in water. This surfactant-type catalyst enables high efficiencies and selectivities, while tolerating a large variety of functional groups. The mother liquor is still catalytically active after five runs.

Scalable electrochemical oxidant-and metal-free dehydrogenative coupling of S-H/N-H.

A practical and scalable electrochemical oxidation of S-H and N-H was developed. This oxidant- and catalyst-free electrochemical process enables S-N bond formation with inexpensive nickel electrodes in an undivided cell. This procedure exhibits broad substrate scopes and good functional-group compatibility. A 50 g scale oxidative coupling augurs well for industrial applications.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Aerobic Cross-Dehydrogenative Coupling of C-H and Thiols in Water for C-S Formation.

Organosulfides have great significance and value in synthetic and biological chemistry. To establish a versatile and green methodology for C-S bond generation, we successfully developed a new aerobic cross-dehydrogenative coupling of C-H and S-H to synthesize aryl sulfides in water, utilizing CoPcS as the catalyst and O2 as the oxidant. This protocol shows great tolerance of a wide range of substrates. A large variety of organosulfur compounds were produced in modest to excellent yields.

Pd-Catalyzed double N-arylation of primary amines to synthesize phenoxazines and phenothiazines.

An efficient and versatile Pd-catalyzed tandem C-N bond formation between aryl halides and primary amines is developed. The transformation allows a one-pot synthesis of phenoxazine and phenothiazine derivatives with a broad range of substitution patterns from readily available precursors.

Pentaleno[1,2-a:4,5']diacenaphthylenes: Uniquely Stabilized Pentalene Derivatives.

We demonstrate the preparation of diacenaphthopentalene derivatives via a palladium-catalyzed dimerization of 1-iodo-2-arylethynyl-acenaphthylenes. The resulting 7,14-diarylpentaleno[1,2-a:4,5a']diacenaphthylenes, which contain four linearly fused five-membered rings, are benchtop stable and behave as hole-transporting or ambipolar semiconductors in organic field effect transistors. The X-ray crystal structure shows the important role of the fused naphthalene unit that enforces a formal pentalene subunit at the central five-membered rings and [5]-radialene-like structures at the proximal five-membered rings. Nucleus-independent chemical shift (NICS) calculations show the internal pentalene rings are intermediate in antiaromaticity character between known pentalene and dibenzopentalenes derivatives. The diacenaphthopentalene derivatives give high optical gap materials owing to a forbidden HOMO to LUMO transition, yet have narrow electrochemical gaps and are reduced at small negative potentials giving LUMO energy levels of -3.57 to -3.74 eV.

Irreversible catalyst activation enables hyperpolarization and water solubility for NMR signal amplification by reversible exchange.

Activation of a catalyst [IrCl(COD)(IMes)] (IMes = 1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene; COD = cyclooctadiene)] for signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) was monitored by in situ hyperpolarized proton NMR at 9.4 T. During the catalyst-activation process, the COD moiety undergoes hydrogenation that leads to its complete removal from the Ir complex. A transient hydride intermediate of the catalyst is observed via its hyperpolarized signatures, which could not be detected using conventional nonhyperpolarized solution NMR. SABRE enhancement of the pyridine substrate can be fully rendered only after removal of the COD moiety; failure to properly activate the catalyst in the presence of sufficient substrate can lead to irreversible deactivation consistent with oligomerization of the catalyst molecules. Following catalyst activation, results from selective RF-saturation studies support the hypothesis that substrate polarization at high field arises from nuclear cross-relaxation with hyperpolarized (1)H spins of the hydride/orthohydrogen spin bath. Importantly, the chemical changes that accompanied the catalyst's full activation were also found to endow the catalyst with water solubility, here used to demonstrate SABRE hyperpolarization of nicotinamide in water without the need for any organic cosolvent--paving the way to various biomedical applications of SABRE hyperpolarization methods.