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Olefin metathesis is a broadly employed reaction with applications that range from fine chemicals to materials and petrochemicals. The design and investigation of olefin metathesis catalysts have b...

The chemistry of vanadium has seen remarkable activity in the past 50 years. In the present review, reactions catalyzed by homogeneous and supported vanadium complexes from 2008 to 2018 are summarized and discussed. Particular attention is given to mechanistic and kinetics studies of vanadium-catalyzed reactions including oxidations of alkanes, alkenes, arenes, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, and sulfur species, as well as oxidative C-C and C-O bond cleavage, carbon-carbon bond formation, deoxydehydration, haloperoxidase, cyanation, hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, ring-opening metathesis polymerization, and oxo/imido heterometathesis. Additionally, insights into heterogeneous vanadium catalysis are provided when parallels can be drawn from the homogeneous literature.

Single-site heterogeneous catalysts receive increasing attention due to their unique catalytic properties and well-defined active sites. We report a combined computational and experimental study on a series of silica-supported metal ion hydrogenation catalysts (i.e., In3+, Ga3+, Zn2+, Mn2+, and Ti4+/SiO2). These catalysts were synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for gas-phase propylene hydrogenation. Computational studies were carried out on active-site structures and reaction mechanisms. An activity–descriptor relationship was established, which correlates a computational quantity (reaction free energy of the metal hydride formation) with the experimental reaction rate, as a function of the metal. Microkinetic modeling provided qualitative kinetic insights into the activity–descriptor relationship. This relationship was used to predict the trend of activities in a variety of M/SiO2 catalysts. These fundamental studies and the developed activity–descriptor relationship open up new opportunities for rational design of hydrogenation catalysts.

Attempts to synthesize the base-free dication [(C5Me5)2Th]2+ by reaction of the bis(allyl) complex (C5Me5)2Th(C3H5)2 with 2 equiv of [Et3NH][BPh4] in benzene yielded a cationic phenyl complex that, in the presence of THF, crystallized from toluene as [(C5Me5)2Th(C6H5)(THF)][BPh4]. The reaction of the dimethyl complex (C5Me5)2ThMe2 with [Et3NH][BPh4] in toluene in the presence of nitriles RCN generates cations of the formula [(C5Me5)2Th(NCR)5][BPh4]2 (R = Me, Ph) in 40–55% crystalline yield. The molecular structures reveal the first examples of thorium cyclopentadienyl metallocene complexes with parallel rings.

Understanding the mechanisms of action for base metal catalysis of transformations typically associated with precious metals is essential for the design of new technologies for a sustainable energy economy. Isolated transition metal and post-transition metal catalysts on oxides such as silica are generally proposed to effect hydrogenation and dehydrogenation by a mechanism featuring either σ-bond metathesis or heterolytic bond cleavage as the key bond activation step. In this work an organovanadium(III) complex on silica, which is a precatalyst for both olefin hydrogenation and alkane dehydrogenation, is interrogated by a series of reaction kinetics and isotopic labeling studies in order to shed light on the operant mechanism for hydrogenation. The kinetic dependencies of the reaction components are potentially consistent with both the σ-bond metathesis and the heterolytic bond activation mechanisms, however, a key deuterium incorporation experiment definitively excludes the simple σ-bond metathesis mechanism. Alternatively a two electron redox cycle, rarely invoked for homologous catalyst systems, is also consistent with experimental observations. Evidence supporting the formation of a persistent vanadium(III) hydride upon hydrogen treatment of the as prepared material is also presented.

The Th3+ complex, (C5Me5)3Th, has been isolated despite the fact that tris(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) complexes are highly reactive due to steric crowding and few crystallographically characterizable Th3+ complexes are known due to their highly reducing nature. Reaction of (C5Me5)2ThMe2 with [Et3NH][BPh4] produces the cationic thorium complex [(C5Me5)2ThMe][BPh4] that can be treated with KC5Me5 to generate (C5Me5)3ThMe, 1. The methyl group on (C5Me5)3ThMe can be removed with [Et3NH][BPh4] to form [(C5Me5)3Th][BPh4], 2, the first cationic tris(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) metal complex, which can be reduced with KC8 to yield (C5Me5)3Th, 3. Complexes 1–3 have metrical parameters consistent with the extreme steric crowding that previously has given unusual (C5Me5)− reactivity to (C5Me5)3M complexes in reactions that form less crowded (C5Me5)2M-containing products. However, neither sterically induced reduction nor (η1-C5Me5)− reactivity is observed for these complexes. (C5Me5)3Th, which has a characteristic...

The reactivity of the recently discovered Th2+ complex [K(18-crown-6)(THF)2][Cp″3Th], 1 [Cp′′ = C5H3(SiMe3)2-1,3], with hydrogen reagents has been investigated and found to provide syntheses of new classes of thorium hydride compounds. Complex 1 reacts with [Et3NH][BPh4] to form the terminal Th4+ hydride complex Cp″3ThH, 2, a reaction that formally involves a net two-electron reduction. Complex 1 also reacts in the solid state and in solution with H2 to form a mixed-valent bimetallic product, [K(18-crown-6)(Et2O)][Cp″2ThH2]2, 3, which was analyzed by X-ray crystallography, electron paramagnetic resonance and optical spectroscopy, and density functional theory. The existence of 3, which formally contains Th3+ and Th4+, suggested that KC8 could reduce [(C5Me5)2ThH2]2. In the presence of 18-crown-6, this reaction forms an analogous mixed-valent product formulated as [K(18-crown-6)(THF)][(C5Me5)2ThH2]2, 4. A similar complex with (C5Me4H)1– ligands was not obtained, but reaction of (C5Me4H)3Th with H2 in the p...

Thin hafnium oxide films were prepared by atomic layer deposition using a carbon-free precursor, tetrakis(tetrahydroborato)hafnium [Hf(BH4)4], and H2O. Film growth was studied using an in situ quartz crystal microbalance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements. Self-limiting growth was observed between 100 and 175 °C, but the thermal decomposition of the Hf precursor occurred at higher temperatures. The film properties were investigated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, x-ray reflectivity, x-ray diffraction, ellipsometry, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The as-deposited films were found to consist of an amorphous mixture of HfO2 and B2O3, and had a lower density and lower refractive index compared to pure HfO2 thin films. Annealing the films to >750 °C yielded crystalline monoclinic HfO2 with a density of 9 g/cm3 and a refractive index of 2.10.

Dimeric and monomeric supported single-site Fe(II) pre-catalysts on SiO2 have been prepared via organometallic grafting and characterized with advanced spectroscopic techniques. Manipulation of the surface hydroxyl concentration on the support influences monomer/dimer formation. While both pre-catalysts are highly active in liquid-phase hydrogenation, the dimeric pre-catalyst is ∼3× faster than the monomer. Preliminary XAS experiments on the H2-activated samples suggest the active species are isolated Fe(II) sites.

Tetrabutylammonium chloride and nitrate salts react with (C5Me5)2UCl2 to expand the coordination sphere of the metallocene to form the formal 9- and 10-coordinate complexes, [NBu4][(C5Me5)2UCl2(NO3)], 1, and [NBu4][(C5Me5)2UCl2(NO3)], 2, respectively. Complex 2 displays modified reactivity compared to that of (C5Me5)2UCl2 in substitution reactions with Khpp [hpp =1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido(1,2-a)pyrimidine] and K(NC4Me4) in the synthesis of (C5Me5)2U(hpp)Cl, (C5Me5)U(hpp)3, and (C5Me5)2U(NC4Me4)Cl. The U3+ complex, [NBu4][(C5Me5)2UCl2], can be formed by reduction of 2 with K(Hg), as well as with KC5Me5, K2C8H8, and Li3N.

Scleroglucan is a β-(1,3)-glucan which is highly branched at the 6-position with a single glucose residue. Acid hydrolysis of a high molecular weight scleroglucan gave a medium molecular weight, freely soluble material. Linkage analysis by the partially methylated alditol acetate method showed that the solubilized material had 30% branching. When the material was subjected to partial Smith degradations, the percent branching was reduced accordingly to 12% or 17%. After the percent branching was reduced, the average molecular weight of the samples increased considerably, indicating the assembly of higher ordered aggregate structures. An aggregate number distribution analysis was applied to confirm the higher aggregated structures. These aggregated structures gave the material significantly enhanced activity in an in vitro oxidative burst assay compared to the highly branched material. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 103: 665–674, 2015.

© The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015. Reduction of the Th3+complex Cp′′3Th, 1 [Cp′′ = C5H3(SiMe3)2], with potassium graphite in THF in the presence of 2.2.2-cryptand generates [K(2.2.2-cryptand)][Cp′′3Th], 2, a complex containing thorium in the formal +2 oxidation state. Reaction of 1 with KC8in the presence of 18-crown-6 generates the analogous Th2+compound, [K(18-crown-6)(THF)2][Cp′′3Th], 3. Complexes 2 and 3 form dark green solutions in THF with ε = 23 000 M-1cm-1, but crystallize as dichroic dark blue/red crystals. X-ray crystallography revealed that the anions in 2 and 3 have trigonal planar coordination geometries, with 2.521 and 2.525 Å Th-(Cp′′ ring centroid) distances, respectively, equivalent to the 2.520 Å distance measured in 1. Density functional theory analysis of (Cp′′3Th)1-is consistent with a 6d2ground state, the first example of this transition metal electron configuration. Complex 3 reacts as a two-electron reductant with cyclooctatetraene to make Cp′′2Th(C8H8), 4, and [K(18-crown-6)]Cp′′. This journal is

A well-defined, isolated, single-site organovanadium(III) catalyst on SiO2 [(SiO2)V(Mes)(THF)] was synthesized via surface organometallic chemistry, and fully characterized using a combination of analytical and spectroscopic techniques (EA, ICP, 1H NMR, TGA-MS, EPR, XPS, DR-UV/Vis, UV-Raman, DRIFTS, XAS). The catalyst exhibits unprecedented reactivity in liquid- and gas-phase alkene/alkyne hydrogenation. Kinetic poisoning experiments revealed that 100% of the V sites are active for hydrogenation.

Reactions of the 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl radical (TEMPO) with thorium metallocenes have been examined to investigate both the radical reaction patterns for organothorium complexes and the coordination chemistry of TEMPO with thorium. (η(5)-C5Me5)2ThMe2 reacts with 2 equiv of TEMPO to generate 1-methoxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (Me-TEMPO) and (η(5)-C5Me5)2ThMe(η(1)-TEMPO), which contains a TEMPO(-) anion coordinated to thorium through oxygen only. (η(5)-C5Me5)2Th(η(1)-C3H5)(η(3)-C3H5), synthesized from (η(5)-C5Me5)2ThBr2 and (C3H5)MgBr, reacts with 2 equiv of TEMPO to form 1-(2-propen-1-yloxy)-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (allyl-TEMPO) and (η(5)-C5Me5)2Th(η(1)-C3H5)(η(1)-TEMPO). Although bis(TEMPO) metallocenes were not obtained in these reactions, the methyl group in (η(5)-C5Me5)2ThMe(η(1)-TEMPO) is reactive with 1 equiv of CuBr to form (η(5)-C5Me5)2ThBr(η(1)-TEMPO). The bis(TEMPO) metallocene (η(5)-C5Me5)2Th(η(1)-TEMPO)2 is accessible in the reaction of [(η(5)-C5Me5)2ThH2]2 with 4 equiv of TEMPO. In contrast, (η(5)-C5Me5)2ThBr2 reacts with 2 equiv of TEMPO by loss of C5Me5 to form (C5Me5)2 and (η(2)-TEMPO)2ThBr2, in which the TEMPO(-) anions bind through oxygen and nitrogen. The bromide ions in (η(2)-TEMPO)2ThBr2 can be replaced by an additional 2 equiv of TEMPO in the presence of 2 equiv of KC8 to form the per(TEMPO) complex Th(η(1)-TEMPO)2(η(2)-TEMPO)2. ThBr4(THF)4 reacts with TEMPO to form ThBr4(THF)2(η(1)-TEMPO), which contains an oxygen-bound TEMPO radical. The Th(3+) complex (η(5)-C5Me4H)3Th is oxidized in the presence of TEMPO, without ligand loss, to afford the Th(4+) species (η(5)-C5Me4H)3Th(η(1)-TEMPO). The reactions show that TEMPO can react with organothorium complexes in several ways including coordination, anion substitution, and cyclopentadienyl replacement.

The Th

There is significant interest in the development of methods to create hybrid materials that transform capabilities, in particular for Earth-abundant metal oxides, such as TiO2, to give improved or new properties relevant to a broad spectrum of applications. Here we introduce an approach we refer to as ‘molecular cross-linking’, whereby a hybrid molecular boron oxide material is formed from polyhedral boron-cluster precursors of the type [B12(OH)12]2–. This new approach is enabled by the inherent robustness of the boron-cluster molecular building block, which is compatible with the harsh thermal and oxidizing conditions that are necessary for the synthesis of many metal oxides. In this work, using a battery of experimental techniques and materials simulation, we show how this material can be interfaced successfully with TiO2 and other metal oxides to give boron-rich hybrid materials with intriguing photophysical and electrochemical properties.

The reactivity of the recently discovered Th(2+) complex [K(18-crown-6)(THF)2][Cp″3Th], 1 [Cp'' = C5H3(SiMe3)2-1,3], with hydrogen reagents has been investigated and found to provide syntheses of new classes of thorium hydride compounds. Complex 1 reacts with [Et3NH][BPh4] to form the terminal Th(4+) hydride complex Cp″3ThH, 2, a reaction that formally involves a net two-electron reduction. Complex 1 also reacts in the solid state and in solution with H2 to form a mixed-valent bimetallic product, [K(18-crown-6)(Et2O)][Cp″2ThH2]2, 3, which was analyzed by X-ray crystallography, electron paramagnetic resonance and optical spectroscopy, and density functional theory. The existence of 3, which formally contains Th(3+) and Th(4+), suggested that KC8 could reduce [(C5Me5)2ThH2]2. In the presence of 18-crown-6, this reaction forms an analogous mixed-valent product formulated as [K(18-crown-6)(THF)][(C5Me5)2ThH2]2, 4. A similar complex with (C5Me4H)(1-) ligands was not obtained, but reaction of (C5Me4H)3Th with H2 in the presence of KC8 and 2.2.2-cryptand at -45 °C produced two monometallic hydride products, namely, (C5Me4H)3ThH, 5, and [K(2.2.2-cryptand)]{(C5Me4H)2[η(1):η(5)-C5Me3H(CH2)]ThH]}, 6. Complex 6 contains a metalated tetramethylcyclopentadienyl dianion, [C5Me3H(CH2)](2-), that binds in a tuck-in mode.

An enzymatic method to measure β-glucan content (GEM assay) is applicable in a variety of matrices. The method is composed of swelling the sample with KOH and initial digestion with a lyticase, which is followed by treatment with a mixture of exo-1,3-β-d-glucanase and β-glucosidase that converts the β-glucan to glucose. The glucose generated by the enzymatic hydrolysis is measured by another enzymatic method. The method is shown to be accurate and precise. The method is selective and applicable to both highly branched and unbranched β-1,3-glucans.

In the version of this Article originally published, Liban M. A. Saleh was incorrectly listed as Liban A. M. Saleh due to a technical error. This has now been amended in all online versions of the Article.

Scleroglucan is a β-(1,3)-glucan which is highly branched at the 6-position with a single glucose residue. Acid hydrolysis of a high molecular weight scleroglucan gave a medium molecular weight, freely soluble material. Linkage analysis by the partially methylated alditol acetate method showed that the solubilized material had 30% branching. When the material was subjected to partial Smith degradations, the percent branching was reduced accordingly to 12% or 17%. After the percent branching was reduced, the average molecular weight of the samples increased considerably, indicating the assembly of higher ordered aggregate structures. An aggregate number distribution analysis was applied to confirm the higher aggregated structures. These aggregated structures gave the material significantly enhanced activity in an in vitro oxidative burst assay compared to the highly branched material.

Structural, spectroscopic, and DFT analysis of the first molecular complexes of Th2+ indicate they have a 6d2 electron configuration of the type expected for the transactinide ions Rf2+ and Db3+., Reduction of the Th3+ complex Cp′′3Th, 1 [Cp′′ = C5H3(SiMe3)2], with potassium graphite in THF in the presence of 2.2.2-cryptand generates [K(2.2.2-cryptand)][Cp′′3Th], 2, a complex containing thorium in the formal +2 oxidation state. Reaction of 1 with KC8 in the presence of 18-crown-6 generates the analogous Th2+ compound, [K(18-crown-6)(THF)2][Cp′′3Th], 3. Complexes 2 and 3 form dark green solutions in THF with ε = 23 000 M–1 cm–1, but crystallize as dichroic dark blue/red crystals. X-ray crystallography revealed that the anions in 2 and 3 have trigonal planar coordination geometries, with 2.521 and 2.525 Å Th–(Cp′′ ring centroid) distances, respectively, equivalent to the 2.520 Å distance measured in 1. Density functional theory analysis of (Cp′′3Th)1– is consistent with a 6d2 ground state, the first example of this transition metal electron configuration. Complex 3 reacts as a two-electron reductant with cyclooctatetraene to make Cp′′2Th(C8H8), 4, and [K(18-crown-6)]Cp′′.