Lewis base catalyzed and Brønsted acid controlled chemodivergent electrophilic selenofunctionalizations of alkynes were developed for the first time.Various selenium-containing tetrasubstituted alkenes were readily obtained in moderate to excellent yields with complete E/Z selectivities.As the substrates were 1-ethynyl naphthol derivatives,linear selenium-containing tetrasubstituted alkenes were produced via intermolecular oxygen nucleophilic attack in the absence of acid additive;in contrast,cyclic selenium-containing tetrasubstituted alkenes were generated through intramolecular carbon nucleophilic capture with the addition of Brønsted acid.
Comprehensive Summary This paper presents the first general examples of palladium-catalyzed desulfinative cross-coupling reaction of polyhalogenated aryl triflates with aryl sulfinate salts showing an inversion of the conventional reactivity order of C-Br>C-Cl>C-OTf.The catalyst system,comprising of Pd(OAc)_(2)and tBuPhSelectPhos,exhibited excellent catalytic reactivity and chemoselectivity toward this reaction.This reaction had a wide range of substrate scopes and provided a simple and efficient method for the construction of functionalized biaryl motifs.Notably,the C-H···Pd interaction from the methine hydrogen of the C2-cyclohexyl group of the indolyl phosphine ligand with the Pd center may contribute a key factor in reactivity and chemoselectivity.Assisting with density functional theory(DFT)calculations,the results revealed that the oxidative addition step in this reaction was a controlling-chemoselectivity step.
Cytochrome P450s(P450s)are the most versatile catalysts utilized by plants to produce structurally and functionally diverse metabolites.Given the high degree of gene redundancy and challenge to functionally characterize plant P450s,protein engineering is used as a complementarystrategy to study the mechanisms of P450-mediated reactions,or to alter their functions.We previously proposed an approach of engineering plant P450s based on combining high accuracy homology models generated by Rosetta combined with data-driven design using evoluti onary information of these enzymes.With this strategy,we repurposed a multi-functional P450(CYP87D20)into a monooxygenase after red esigning its active site.Since most plant P450s are membrane-anchored proteins that are adapted to the micro-environments of plant cells,expressing them in heterologous hosts usually results in problems of expression or activity.Here,we applied compu-tational design to tackle these issues by simultaneous optimization of the protein surface and active site.After screening 17 variants,effective su bstitutions of surface residues were observed to improve both expression and activity of CYP87D20.In addition,the identified substitutions were additive and by com-bining them a highly eficient C11 hydroxylase of cucurbitadienol was created to participate in the mogrol biosynthesis.This study shows the importance of considering the interplay between surface and active site residues for P450 engineering.Our integrated strategy also opens an avenue to create more tai loring enzymes with desired functions for the metabolic engineering of high-valued compounds like mogrol,the precursor of natural sweetener mogrosides.
We describe the synthesis of even-dispersed palladium nanoparticles(Pd NPs)confined within a cellulose nanofiber(CNF)matrix for developing a high-performance and recyclable catalyst.The CNF matrix was composed of CNF-assembled mesoporous nanosheets and appeared as soft and hydrophilic foam.Ultrafine Pd NPs(∼6 nm)with high-loading(9.6 wt%)were in situ grown on these mesoporous nanosheets,and their dense spatial distributions were likely to generate nano-confinement catalytic effects on the reactants.Consequently,the CNF-confined Pd NPs(CNF-Pd)exhibited an enhanced room-temperature catalytic activity on the model reaction of 4-nitrophenol hydrogenation with a highest rate constant of 8.8×10^−3 s^−1 and turnover frequency of 2640 h The CNF Pd catalyst possessed good chemical stability and recyclability in aqueous media which could be reused for at least six cycles without losing activity.Moreover,chemoselective reduction of 3 nitrostyrene was achieved with high yield(80%–98%)of 3-aminostyrene in alcohol/water cosolvent.Overall,this work demonstrates a positive nanoconfinement effect of CNFs for developing stable and recyclable metal NP catalysts.
Juan MengYongzhuang LiuXiaochao ShiWenshuai ChenXianquan ZhangHaipeng Yu
The heterogeneity of active sites is the main obstacle for selectivity control in heterogeneous catalysis.Single atom catalysts（SACs） with homogeneous isolated active sites are highly desired in chemoselective transformations. In this work, a Pd1/ZnO catalyst with single‐atom dispersion of Pd active sites was achieved by decreasing the Pd loading and reducing the sample at a relatively low temperature. The Pd1/ZnO SAC exhibited excellent catalytic performance in the chemoselective hydrogenation of acetylene with comparable chemoselectivity to that of PdZn intermetallic catalysts and a greatly enhanced utilization of Pd metal. Such unusual behaviors of the Pd1/ZnO SAC in acetylene semi‐hydrogenation were ascribed to the high‐valent single Pd active sites, which could promote electrostatic interactions with acetylene but restrain undesired ethylene hydrogenation via the spatial restrictions of σ‐chemical bonding toward ethylene.
采用密度泛函理论(DFT)的计算方法,研究了铂催化2-烯炔基苯甲醛水合环化反应的微观机理及化学选择性的根源.计算结果表明,首先炔基被催化活化而发生亲核环化生成吡喃铂中间体;接着吡喃铂中间体与烯烃双键发生[3+2]环加成生成铂-碳卡宾复合物;之后,反应将沿2条路径进行,得到产物3a或4a,其中4a的生成需经两步水分子辅助的质子转移过程.生成产物3a需要克服的活化能垒为146.5 k J/mol;对4a的生成,烯醇式和酮式互变异构是决速步聚,当一个水分子参与反应时,对应的能垒为185.8 k J/mol,当2个和3个水分子参与反应时,能垒分别降低到128.1和64.9 k J/mol.因此,水分子参与催化得到产物4a的路径是有利的.另外,反应的选择性与在异构化过程中水的共催化作用有关.以上结果很好地解释了实验现象,并为铂催化水环化反应提供新的见解.
The mechanisms of gold（I）-catalyzed cycloaddition of 1-（1-alkynyl） cyclopropyl ketones with nucleophiles have been investi- gated using density functional theory calculations at the B3LYP/6-31G （d, p） level of theory. A polarizable continuum model （PCM） has been established in order to evaluate the effects of solvents on the reactions. The results of the calculations indicate that the first step of the catalytic cycle is the cyclization of the carbonyl oxygen onto the triple bond which forms a new and stable resonance structure of an oxonium ion and a carbocation intermediate. The subsequent ring expansion step results in the formation of the final product and regeneration of the catalyst. Furthermore, the regioselectivity and effect of substituents has been discussed, including an analysis of energy, bond length, and natural bond orbital （NBO） charge distributions in the rate-determining step. Our computational results are consistent with earlier experimental observations.
YAN YunFengFANG RanGENG ZhiYuanWANG YongChengLIU ShaoLi
