N-Heterocyclic carbenes and their precursors in functionalised porous materials

Though N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have emerged as diverse and powerful discrete functional molecules in pharmaceutics, nanotechnology, and catalysis over decades, the heterogenization of NHCs and their precursors for broader applications in porous materials, like metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), porous coordination polymers (PCPs), covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), porous organic polymers (POPs), and porous organometallic cages (POMCs) was not extensively studied until the last ten years. By de novo or post-synthetic modification (PSM) methods, myriads of NHCs and their precursors containing building blocks were designed and integrated into MOFs, PCPs, COFs, POPs and POMCs to form various structures and porosities. Functionalisation with NHCs and their precursors significantly expands the scope of the potential applications of porous materials by tuning the pore surface chemical/physical properties, providing active sites for binding guest molecules and substrates and realizing recyclability. In this review, we summarise and discuss the recent progress on the synthetic methods, structural features, and promising applications of NHCs and their precursors in functionalised porous materials. At the end, a brief perspective on the encouraging future prospects and challenges in this contemporary field is presented. This review will serve as a guide for researchers to design and synthesize more novel porous materials functionalised with NHCs and their precursors.

Recent advances in liquid hydrosilane-mediated catalytic N-formylation of amines with CO2

Carbon dioxide is an ideal raw material for the synthesis of complex organic compounds because of its rich, non-toxic, and good physical properties. It is of great significance to transform CO₂ into valuable fine chemicals and develop a green sustainable cycle of carbon surplus. Based on hydrosilane as a reducing agent, this work summarizes the recent applications of reductive amidation of CO₂ using different catalysts such as organocatalysts, ionic liquids (ILs), salts, transition metal complexes, and solvents. The main factors affecting the reductive amidation of CO₂ and the possible reaction mechanism are discussed. Moreover, the future orientation and catalytic systems of the formylation of amines with CO₂ and hydrosilane are prospected.

This review depicts different types of catalyst systems developed for upgrading of amines and carbon dioxide into N-formylated products in the presence of hydrosilane, with attention on reaction mechanism and process optimization.

In2O3 Nanocrystals for CO2 Fixation: Atomic-Level Insight into the Role of Grain Boundaries

N-functionalization of amines with CO₂ and H₂ is one of the most important processes to make use of CO₂. Although noble metal-based catalysts with remarkable performance have been widely used in this process, developing efficient non-noble-metal-based catalysts remains a grand challenge. Herein, we report In₂O₃ nanocrystals with high density of grain boundaries (HGB-In₂O₃), which show excellent activity toward methylation of amines. Impressively, HGB-In₂O₃ achieved the optimal yield of 82.7% for N,N-dimethylaniline with a mass activity of 21.2 mmol·g^-1h^-1 in methylation of N-methylaniline, comparable to noble-metal-based catalysts. As a bonus, HGB-In₂O₃ held noticeable stability, remarkable selectivity, and comprehensive applicability. Further mechanistic studies revealed that the presence of high density of grain boundaries not only facilitated the adsorption and activation of CO₂ to generate CH₃OH as the intermediate but also enhanced the activation of N-H bond in amines, contributing to the attractive activity of HGB-In₂O₃ toward methylation of amines.

Catalyst-free N-formylation of amines using BH3NH3 and CO2 under mild conditions

The catalyst-free N-formylation of amines using CO₂ as the C₁ source and BH₃NH₃ as the reductant has been developed for the first time. The corresponding formylated products of both primary and secondary amines are obtained in good to excellent yields (up to 96% of isolated yield) under mild conditions.

DMF-promoted reductive functionalization of CO2 with secondary amines and phenylsilane to methylamines

An amide-promoted protocol was developed for the reductive functionalization of CO2 with amines/imine and phenylsilane to produce methylamine. Secondary amines and an imine were methylated successfully to methylamines with up to 98% yield under atmospheric pressure of CO2 and 80°C. Furthermore, a tentative mechanism involving amide-promoted CO2 reduction to the silyl acetal species was proposed. Striking features of this metal-free protocol are selective six-electron reduction of CO2 with hydrosilane as a reductant in the presence of amine.

Post-synthetically modified MOF for the A3-coupling reaction of aldehyde, amine, and alkyne

A new heterogeneous NHC catalyst (Ag-NHC-MOF) was synthesized by the post-synthetic modification of an azolium-containing metal–organic framework.

Solvent-promoted catalyst-free N-formylation of amines using carbon dioxide under ambient conditions

An unprecedented catalyst-free formylation of amines using CO2 and hydrosilanes was developed. The solvent plays a vital role in promoting the interaction of amines with hydrosilanes and subsequent CO2 insertion, thus facilitating the simultaneous activation of N-H and Si-H bonds. Based on relevant mechanistic studies, a plausible mechanism involving a silyl carbamate intermediate is proposed.

Sustainable Conversion of Carbon Dioxide: An Integrated Review of Catalysis and Life Cycle Assessment

CO₂ conversion covers a wide range of possible application areas from fuels to bulk and commodity chemicals and even to specialty products with biological activity such as pharmaceuticals. In the present review, we discuss selected examples in these areas in a combined analysis of the state-of-the-art of synthetic methodologies and processes with their life cycle assessment. Thereby, we attempted to assess the potential to reduce the environmental footprint in these application fields relative to the current petrochemical value chain. This analysis and discussion differs significantly from a viewpoint on CO₂ utilization as a measure for global CO₂ mitigation. Whereas the latter focuses on reducing the end-of-pipe problem "CO₂ emissions" from todays' industries, the approach taken here tries to identify opportunities by exploiting a novel feedstock that avoids the utilization of fossil resource in transition toward more sustainable future production. Thus, the motivation to develop CO₂-based chemistry does not depend primarily on the absolute amount of CO₂ emissions that can be remediated by a single technology. Rather, CO₂-based chemistry is stimulated by the significance of the relative improvement in carbon balance and other critical factors defining the environmental impact of chemical production in all relevant sectors in accord with the principles of green chemistry.

Efficient and Selective N-Methylation of Nitroarenes under Mild Reaction Conditions

Herein, we report a straightforward protocol for the preparation of N,N-dimethylated amines from readily available nitro starting materials using formic acid as a renewable C₁ source and silanes as reducing agents. This tandem process is efficiently accomplished in the presence of a cubane-type Mo₃ PtS₄ catalyst. For the preparation of the novel [Mo₃ Pt(PPh₃ )S₄ Cl₃ (dmen)₃ ]⁺ (3⁺ ) (dmen: N,N'-dimethylethylenediamine) compound we have followed a [3+1] building block strategy starting from the trinuclear [Mo₃ S₄ Cl₃ (dmen)₃ ]⁺ (1⁺ ) and Pt(PPh₃ )₄ (2) complexes. The heterobimetallic 3⁺ cation preserves the main structural features of its 1⁺ cluster precursor. Interestingly, this catalytic protocol operates at room temperature with high chemoselectivity when the 3⁺ catalyst co-exists with its trinuclear 1⁺ precursor. N-heterocyclic arenes, double bonds, ketones, cyanides and ester functional groups are well retained after N-methylation of the corresponding functionalized nitroarenes. In addition, benzylic-type as well as aliphatic nitro compounds can also be methylated following this protocol.

Cooperative Catalytic Activation of Si-H Bonds: CO2 -Based Synthesis of Formamides from Amines and Hydrosilanes under Mild Conditions

A simple cooperative catalytic system was successfully developed for the solvent-free N-formylation of amines with CO₂ and hydrosilanes under ambient conditions, which was composed of a Zn(salen) catalyst and quaternary ammonium salt. These commercially available binary components activated the Si-H bonds effectively, owing to the intermolecular synergistic effect between Lewis base and transition metal center (LB-TM), and subsequently facilitated the insertion of CO₂ to form the active silyl formats, thereby leading to excellent catalytic performance at a low catalyst loading. Furthermore, the bifunctional Zn(salen) complexes, with two imidazolium-based ionic-liquid (IL) units at the 3,3'-position of salen ligand, acted as intramolecularly cooperative catalysts, and the solvent-regulated separation resulted in facile catalyst recycling and reuse.

Iridium–NSiN catalyzed formation of silylphosphinecarboxylates from the reaction of CO2 with P(SiMe3)R2 (R = Ph, Cy)

Iridium-catalyzed insertion of CO₂ into the P-SiMe₃ bond of P(SiMe₃)R₂ (R = Ph, Cy) to give P(C(O)OSiMe₃)R₂ species.

Selective Catalytic Synthesis Using the Combination of Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen: Catalytic Chess at the Interface of Energy and Chemistry

The present Review highlights the challenges and opportunities when using the combination CO2 /H2 as a C1 synthon in catalytic reactions and processes. The transformations are classified according to the reduction level and the bond-forming processes, covering the value chain from high volume basic chemicals to complex molecules, including biologically active substances. Whereas some of these concepts can facilitate the transition of the energy system by harvesting renewable energy into chemical products, others provide options to reduce the environmental impact of chemical production already in today's petrochemical-based industry. Interdisciplinary fundamental research from chemists and chemical engineers can make important contributions to sustainable development at the interface of the energetic and chemical value chain. The present Review invites the reader to enjoy this exciting area of "catalytic chess" and maybe even to start playing some games in her or his laboratory.

A general protocol for the reductive N-methylation of amines using dimethyl carbonate and molecular hydrogen: mechanistic insights and kinetic studies

A general and selective ruthenium-catalyzed reductive N-methylation of primary and secondary aromatic and aliphatic amines using dimethyl carbonate as a C₁ source and molecular hydrogen as a reducing agent is reported for the first time.