Photocatalytic Oxidative Coupling of Arylamines for the Synthesis of Azoaromatics and the Role of O2 in the Mechanism

Cu@CuOx/WO3 with photo-regulated singlet oxygen and oxygen adatoms generation for selective photocatalytic aromatic amines to imines

Photocatalysts can absorb light and activate molecular O2 under mild conditions, but the generation of unsuitable reactive oxygen species often limits their use in synthesizing fine chemicals. To address this issue, we disperse 1 wt% copper on tungsten trioxide (WO3) support to create an efficient catalyst for selective oxidative coupling of aromatic amines to imines under sunlight irradiation at room temperature. Copper consists of a metallic copper core and an oxide shell. Experimental and density functional theory calculations have confirmed that Cu2O is the primary activation site. Under λ < 475 nm, the light excites electrons of the valence bands in Cu2O and WO3, which activate O2 to superoxide radical •O2-. Then rapidly transforms into oxygen adatoms (•O) and oxygen anion radicals (•O-) species on the surface of Cu2O. Simultaneously, it is captured by holes in the WO3 valence band to generate singlet oxygen (1O2). •O bind to 1O2 promoting the coupling reaction of amines. When λ > 475 nm, intense light absorption due to the localized surface plasmon resonance excites numerous electrons in Cu to promote the oxidative coupling with the adsorbed O2. This study presents a promising approach towards the design of high-performance photocatalysts for solar energy conversion and environmentally-friendly oxidative organic synthesis.

Accelerated Dynamic Reconstruction in Metal-Organic Frameworks with Ligand Defects for Selective Electrooxidation of Amines to Azos Coupling with Hydrogen Production

Electrosynthesis coupled hydrogen production (ESHP) mostly involves catalyst reconstruction in aqueous phase, but accurately identifying and controlling the process is still a challenge. Herein, we modulated the electronic structure and exposed unsaturated sites of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) via ligand defect to promote the reconstruction of catalyst for azo electrosynthesis (ESA) coupled with hydrogen production overall reaction. The monolayer Ni-MOFs achieved 89.8 % Faraday efficiency and 90.8 % selectivity for the electrooxidation of 1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-amine (Pyr-NH2) to azo, and an 18.5-fold increase in H2 production compared to overall water splitting. Operando X-ray absorption fine spectroscopy (XAFS) and various in situ spectroscopy confirm that the ligand defect promotes the potential dependent dynamic reconstruction of Ni(OH)2 and NiOOH, and the reabsorption of ligand significantly lowers the energy barrier of rate-determining step (*Pyr-NH to *Pyr-N). This work provides theoretical guidance for modulation of electrocatalyst reconstruction to achieve highly selective ESHP.

N-H Bond Activation Catalyzed by an Anderson-Type Polyoxometalate-Based Compound: Key Role of Transition-Metal Heteroatom

Polyoxometalates (POMs) have a broad array of applied platforms with well-characterized catalysis to achieve N-H bond activation. Herein, the mechanism of the Anderson-type POM-based catalyst [FeIIIMoVI6O18{(OCH2)3CNH2}2]3- ([TrisFeIIIMoVI6O18]3-, Tris = {(OCH2)3CNH2}2) for the N-H bond activation of hydrazine (PhHNNHPh) was investigated by density functional theory calculations. The results reveal that [TrisFeIIIMoVI6O18]3- as the active species is responsible for the continuous abstraction of two electrons and two protons of PhHNNHPh via a proton-coupled electron transfer pathway, resulting in the activation of two N-H bonds in PhHNNHPh and thus the product PhNNPh. H2O2 acts as an oxidant to regulate catalyst regeneration. Based on the proposed catalytic mechanism, the key role of the heteroatom FeIII in [TrisFeIIIMoVI6O18]3- was disclosed. The d-orbital of FeIII in [TrisFeIIIMoVI6O18]3- acts as an electron receptor to promote the electron transfer (ET) in the rate-determining step (RDS) of the catalytic cycle. The substitution of the heteroatom FeIII of [TrisFeIIIMoVI6O18]3- with CoIII, RuIII, or MnIII is expected to improve the catalytic activity for several reasons: (i) the unoccupied molecular orbitals of POM-based compounds containing CoIII or RuIII are low, which is beneficial for the ET of RDS; (ii) For N-H bond activation catalyzed by the MnIII-containing POM-based compound, the transition state of RDS is stable because the d-orbital of its active site is half-filled, which results in a low free-energy barrier.

Connecting Ruthenium Photocatalysis to 1,2-Dioxetane-Mediated Chemiluminescence: a Versatile Combination for Optical Detection and Read-Out

Optical storage and photon quantification systems based on sensitive photoreactions have numerous applications. Herein, we report a highly efficient photocatalytic reaction, in which ruthenium photoredox catalysis is combined with a 1,2-dioxetane from which chemiluminescence can be triggered. In this system, blue light irradiation as optical input enables a defined inverse correlation with base-triggered, blue light emission as optical output. Comparison of readout by 1 H NMR and chemiluminescence, relative to previous optical input, underlines the reliability and usefulness of the ruthenium-dioxetane system for optical storage, sensing and ruthenium detection.

Copper-catalysed dehydrogenative self-coupling/cyclization of 5-aminopyrazoles: synthesis and photophysical study of pyridazines

An interesting self-coupling/cyclization of 5-aminopyrazoles is revealed, which provides a variety of pyridazine cores in reasonable yields. In this reaction, C(sp²)-C(sp²) and N-N bond formation occurs simultaneously in one reaction vessel. The photophysical properties of the synthesized compounds were also studied and some of them exhibited fluorescence properties with good quantum yields. A radical mediated reaction mechanism is proposed with the help of control experiments.

Emerging trends in the sustainable synthesis of N-N bond bearing organic scaffolds

N-N bond bearing organic frameworks such as azos, hydrazines, indazoles, triazoles and their structural moieties have piqued the interest of organic chemists due to the intrinsic nitrogen electronegativity. Recent methodologies with atom efficacy and a greener approach have overcome the synthetic obstacles of N-N bond construction from N-H. As a result, a wide range of amine oxidation methods have been reported early on. This review's vision emphasizes the emerging methods of N-N bond formation, particularly photo, electro, organo and transition metal free chemical methods.

Azo-tagged C4N4 fluorophores: unusual overcrowded structures and their application to fluorescent imaging

The C4N4 fluorophore is an intense fluorescence emitter featuring a 2,5-diaminopyrimidine core comprising four carbon and four nitrogen atoms. A series of C4N4 derivatives was photochemically dimerized at the 5-amino group, furnishing overcrowded ortho-tetraaryl-substituted diaryl azo compounds with a characteristic skewed structure revealed by X-ray crystallography. The photoquenched azo-C4N4s are useful for fluorescently visualizing cells under hypoxic conditions.

Low-Valent Tungsten-Catalyzed Controllable Oxidative Dehydrogenative Coupling of Anilines

Herein, we have developed an efficient tungsten-catalyzed homogeneous system for oxidative dehydrogenative coupling of anilines to selectively produce various azoaromatics and azoxyaromatics as well as 2-substituted indolone N-oxides by simply regulating the reaction solvent with peroxide as a terminal oxidant under additive-free conditions. These findings provide an experimental framework for exploring tungsten catalysis in organic synthesis and offer an efficient and convenient tactic for the selective oxidation of anilines.

Magnetically Separable Visible Light-Active Ag0.75Ni0.25 Binary Alloy Nanoparticles as a Highly Efficient Photocatalyst for the Selective Oxidative Coupling of Aniline to Azobenzene

Aniline wastes can be converted to useful pharmaceutical and industrial compounds like azobenzene. For this purpose, a bimetallic Ag_0.75Ni_0.25 alloy is designed in the nanoscale range resembling a fivefold twinned morphology using water as the solvent. These newly developed alloy nanoparticles (NPs) are employed for the first time as an efficient visible light-active photocatalyst for the oxidative homocoupling of aniline to azobenzene. Our catalytic protocol is highly sustainable for a large number of aniline substrates with a high yield of the product (up to 95%), which might be attributed to the combinational and superior properties achieved on alloy formation in comparison to the monometallic counterparts. High-electron density amines (p-anisidine) display greater photocatalytic proficiency than that of low-electron density amines (4-fluoroaniline). The developed photocatalyst is magnetically well-separable and can be reused for at least five catalytic cycles without appreciable loss in its activity.

Hollow mesoporous atomically dispersed metal-nitrogen-carbon catalysts with enhanced diffusion for catalysis involving larger molecules

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) show great promise in various applications due to their maximal atom utilization efficiency. However, the controlled synthesis of SACs with appropriate porous structures remains a challenge that must be overcome to address the diffusion issues in catalysis. Resolving these diffusion issues has become increasingly important because the intrinsic activity of the catalysts is dramatically improved by spatially isolated single-atom sites. Herein, we develop a facile topo-conversion strategy for fabricating hollow mesoporous metal-nitrogen-carbon SACs with enhanced diffusion for catalysis. Several hollow mesoporous metal-nitrogen-carbon SACs, including Co, Ni, Mn and Cu, are successfully fabricated by this strategy. Taking hollow mesoporous cobalt-nitrogen-carbon SACs as a proof-of-concept, diffusion and kinetic experiments demonstrate the enhanced diffusion of hollow mesoporous structures compared to the solid ones, which alleviates the bottleneck of poor mass transport in catalysis, especially involving larger molecules. Impressively, the combination of superior intrinsic activity from Co-N₄ sites and the enhanced diffusion from the hollow mesoporous nanoarchitecture significantly improves the catalytic performance of the oxidative coupling of aniline and its derivatives.

One-Pot Difunctionalization of Aryldiazonium Salts for Synthesis of para-Azophenols

A novel difunctionalization of aryldiazonium salts was realized for the one-step generation of symmetric and asymmetric p-azophenols. This approach is proceeded by the sequentially regioselective aromatic C-O and C-N bond construction under mild reaction conditions, unlocking a new reaction strategy to facilitate the synthesis of p-azophenols.

Selective Electrosynthetic Hydrocarboxylation of α,β-Unsaturated Esters with Carbon Dioxide*

The carboxylation of low-value commodity chemicals to provide higher-value carboxylic acids is of significant interest. Recently alternative routes to the traditional hydroformylation processes that used potentially toxic carbon monoxide and a transition metal catalyst have appeared. A significant challenge has been the selectivity observed for olefin carboxylation. Photochemical methods have shown a viable route towards the hydrocarboxylation of α,β-unsaturated alkenes but rely on the use of an excess reducing or amine reagent. Herein we report our investigations of an electrochemical approach that is able to hydrocarboxylate α,β-unsaturated alkenes with excellent regioselectivity and the ability to carboxylate hindered substrates to afford α-quaternary center carboxylic acids. The reported process requires no chromatography and the products are purified by simple crystallization from the reaction mixture after work-up.