Heterolytic alkene oxidation with H2O2 catalyzed by Nb-substituted Lindqvist tungstates immobilized on carbon nanotubes

Immobilization of Nb-substituted Lindqvist tungstates on carbon nanotubes stabilizes a monomeric form, Nb(OH)W₅, and leads to efficient and recyclable catalysts for heterolytic alkene oxidation with H₂O₂.

Pyrazine dicarboxylate-bridged arsenotungstate: synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activities in epoxidation of olefins and oxidation of alcohols

The catalytic properties and polyanionic structure of pyrazine dicarboxylate-bridged arsenotungstate are reported.

Redox active mixed-valence hexamanganese double-cubane complexes supported by tetravanadates

A double-cubane-type hexamanganese complex that is reminiscent of the structure of an oxygen evolution center was synthesized using a polyoxovanadate ligand.

Synthesis of Ureas from CO2

Ureas are an important class of bioactive organic compounds in organic chemistry and exist widely in natural products, agricultural pesticides, uron herbicides, pharmaceuticals. Even though urea itself has been synthesized from CO₂ and ammonia for a long time, the selective and efficient synthesis of substituted ureas is still challenging due to the difficulty of dehydration processes. Efficient and economic fixation of CO₂ is of great importance in solving the problems of resource shortages, environmental issues, global warming, etc. During recent decades, chemists have developed different catalytic systems to synthesize ureas from CO₂ and amines. Herein, we focus on catalytic synthesis of ureas using CO₂ and amines.

Hexagonal tungsten oxide nanoflowers as enzymatic mimetics and electrocatalysts

Tungsten oxide (WO_x) has been widely studied for versatile applications based on its photocatalytic, intrinsic catalytic, and electrocatalytic properties. Among the several nanostructures, we focused on the flower-like structures to increase the catalytic efficiency on the interface with both increased substrate interaction capacities due to their large surface area and efficient electron transportation. Therefore, improved WO_x nanoflowers (WONFs) with large surface areas were developed through a simple hydrothermal method using sodium tungstate and hydrogen chloride solution at low temperature, without any additional surfactant, capping agent, or reducing agent. Structural determination and electrochemical analyses revealed that the WONFs have hexagonal Na_0.17WO_3.085·0.17H₂O structure and exhibit peroxidase-like activity, turning from colorless to blue by catalyzing the oxidation of a peroxidase substrate, such as 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine, in the presence of H₂O₂. Additionally, a WONF-modified glassy carbon electrode was adopted to monitor the electrocatalytic reduction of H₂O₂. To verify the catalytic efficiency enhancement by the unique shape and structure of the WONFs, they were compared with calcinated WONFs, cesium WO_x nanoparticles, and other peroxidase-like nanomaterials. The results indicated that the WONFs showed a low Michaelis-Menten constant (k_m), high maximal reaction velocity (v_max), and large surface area.

A highly-flexible cyclic-decavanadate ligand for interconversion of dinuclear- and trinuclear-cobalt(ii) and manganese(ii) cores

The conformation of a cyclic-decavanadate ligand was reversibly transformed in response to the nuclearity of the central metal core.

New sterically encumbered arylimido hexamolybdates for organic oxidation reactions

Surface modification of the parent hexamolybdate by aryl amines results in useful catalysts for the oxidation of cyclohexene to cyclohexene epoxide and benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde and benzoic acid.