Epoxides hydration on CoIII(salen)-OTs encapsulated in silica nanocages modified with prehydrolyzed TMOS

Theoretical Studies on Bimetallic Salen Complexes Catalyzed Epoxide Hydration: Effects of Metal Centers, Substrates, and Ligands

To provide guiding information for developing efficient and stable catalysts for epoxide hydration, we investigated the mechanism of propylene oxide (PO) to 1,2-propylene glycol (PG) using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The mechanism was identified to follow the cooperative bimetallic mechanism in which a metal-salen complex activated H₂O attacks the middle carbon atom of a metal-salen complex activated PO from the oxygen side of three-membered ring. Analyses reveal that the distortion energy correlates linearly with the barrier, and the hydrogen bonding between H₂O and PO increases from reaction precursors to transition states. A nice linear relationship exists between the ratio of square root of ionic potential to the square of the distance from the metal ion spherical surface to the oxygen atom center of PO. It is demonstrated that the substrates with larger polarizability tend to have lower hydration barriers and the influence of ligands is less than that of metal centers and substrates. Modifying metal ions is the first choice for developing metal-salen catalysts, and metal ions with more formal charges and larger radius are expected to exhibit high activity. These findings shed lights on the mechanism and provide guiding information for developing efficient metal-salen catalysts for epoxide hydration.

Exploring the mechanism and counterion activity regulation in the CoIII(salen)-catalyzed hydration of propylene oxide

CoIII(salen)-X (X = Cl-, OAc-, and OTs-) mediated hydration of propylene oxide (PO) to propylene glycol has been investigated in detail using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Two kinds of reaction mechanisms, the concerted and stepwise pathways, were scrutinized. For the eight concerted routes, the cooperative bimetallic route in which the middle carbon atom is attacked by the nucleophilic oxygen atom (route VI-m) was calculated to be the most favorable, and among the three catalysts examined H2O-CoIII-OTs was found to be the most active, due to the strong hydrogen bonding between the nucleophilic H2O and the ring oxygen atom in the epoxides as well as the extra π-π stacking interaction. For the stepwise mechanism which consists of the formation of H2O-CoIII-OH, the ring-opening of PO and propylene glycol formation, our studies reveal that different H2O-CoIII-Xs behave kinetically very similarly in the course of propylene glycol formation, but show a notable difference in the rate of H2O-CoIII-OH formation with Cl- > OAc- > OTs-. The rate ordering with which we rationalize the experimental phenomena well is disclosed to be consistent with the nucleophilicity of the counterions by molecular electrostatic potential, condensed Fukui function and condensed local softness. We show that the nucleophilicity of the counterion determines the favorable mechanism that PO hydration follows.

Superwettability-Based Interfacial Chemical Reactions

Superwetting interfaces arising from the cooperation of surface energy and multiscale micro/nanostructures are extensively studied in biological systems. Fundamental understandings gained from biological interfaces boost the control of wettability under different dimensionalities, such as 2D surfaces, 1D fibers and channels, and 3D architectures, thus permitting manipulation of the transport physics of liquids, gases, and ions, which profoundly impacts chemical reactions and material fabrication. In this context, the progress of new chemistry based on superwetting interfaces is highlighted, beginning with mass transport dynamics, including liquid, gas, and ion transport. In the following sections, the impacts of the superwettability-mediated transport dynamics on chemical reactions and material fabrication is discussed. Superwettability science has greatly enhanced the efficiency of chemical reactions, including photocatalytic, bioelectronic, electrochemical, and organic catalytic reactions, by realizing efficient mass transport. For material fabrication, superwetting interfaces are pivotal in the manipulation of the transport and microfluidic dynamics of liquids on solid surfaces, leading to the spatially regulated growth of low-dimensional single-crystalline arrays and high-quality polymer films. Finally, a perspective on future directions is presented.

Cu nanoparticles immobilized on montmorillonite by biquaternary ammonium salts: a highly active and stable heterogeneous catalyst for cascade sequence to indole-2-carboxylic esters

Cu-Q-MMT catalyst was prepared by immobilizing Cu nanoparticals on the biquaternary ammonium salts modified montmorillonite and exhibited high activity for cascade sequence to indole-2-carboxylic esters.

A bifunctional cationic porous organic polymer based on a Salen-(Al) metalloligand for the cycloaddition of carbon dioxide to produce cyclic carbonates

A Salen-(Al)-based bifunctional cationic porous organic polymer (Al-CPOP) exhibited high activity and good recyclability for chemical fixation of CO₂.