In recent years, mechanochemistry has become an innovative and sustainable alternative to traditional solvent-based synthesis. Mechanochemistry rapidly expanded across a wide range of chemistry fields, including diverse organic compounds and active pharmaceutical ingredients, coordination compounds, organometallic complexes, main group frameworks, and technologically relevant materials. This Review aims to highlight recent advancements and accomplishments in mechanochemistry, underscoring its potential as a viable and eco-friendly alternative to conventional solution-based methods in the field of synthetic chemistry.
The synthesis of alkyl halides can be performed by simply halide exchange reactions between two different alkyl halides, catalyzed by aluminosilicates. Here, we show that commercially available alumina shows a superior catalytic activity for the halogen exchange reaction between long alkyl halides (more than 6 carbons), including fluorides, in either batch or flow modes. The catalytic activity of the solid alumina is modulated by alkaline countercations on the surface, and sodium-supported alumina shows the optimal performance for the iodo-bromo and iodo-fluoro exchange under inflow reaction conditions, after >24 h reaction time, without any external additive.
Bipyridines and azaarenes are an important class of ligands that impart unique and tunable properties to transition metal complexes and catalysts. While some derivatives are commercially available, noncommercial analogues are often challenging to prepare and purify. Herein, we report a general nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction that converts cationic trimethylaminated bipyridines into a series of functionalized bipyridines. Our method showcases a series of C–O, C–S, and C–F bond-forming reactions as well as a selective monodemethylation that converts the electron-deficient trimethylammonium to an electron-rich dimethylamine. The approach was further applied to diversification of pharmaceuticals and natural products and was applied to the total synthesis of Graveolinine and the preparation of Graveolinine derivatives.
Four dinuclear organometallic molecular wire complexes with diethynylmetalloporphyrin linkers 1MM’, [5,15-bis{MCp*(dppe)ethynyl}-10,20-diarylporphinato]M’ (Cp* = η5-C5Me5; dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane; M/M’ = Fe/Zn (1FeZn), Ru/Zn (1RuZn), Fe/Ni (1FeNi), Ru/Ni (1RuNi); aryl = 3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl), are synthesized and characterized by NMR, CV, UV–vis-NIR, and ESI-TOF mass spectrometry techniques. Electrochemical investigations combined with electronic absorption spectroscopic studies reveal strong interactions among the electron-donating, redox-active MCp*(dppe) termini and the metalloporphyrin moieties. The monocationic species of the four complexes obtained by chemical oxidation have been characterized as mixed-valence Class II/III or Class III compounds according to the Robin-Day classification despite the long molecular dimension (>1.5 nm), as demonstrated by their intense intervalence charge transfer bands (IVCT) in the near IR region. DFT calculations indicate large spin densities on the metalloporphyrin moieties. Furthermore, the wirelike performance can be finely tuned by coordination of appropriate nitrogen donors to the axial sites of the metalloporphyrin.
The electrochemical oxidation of amines to nitriles and imines represents a critical frontier in organic electrochemistry, offering a sustainable pathway to these valuable compounds. Nitriles and amines are pivotal in various industrial applications, including pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials science. This review encapsulates the recent advancements in the electrooxidation process, emphasizing mechanistic understanding, electrode material innovations, optimization of reaction conditions, and exploration of solvent and electrolyte systems. Additionally, the review addresses the operational parameters that significantly affect the electrooxidation process, such as current density, temperature, and electrode surface, offering insights into their optimization for enhanced performance. By providing a comprehensive view of the current state and prospects of amine electrooxidation to nitriles and imines, this review aims to inspire further development, innovation, and research in this promising area of green chemistry.
A combined direct and inverse photoemission study of coinage metal corroles suggests that the latter technique, in favorable cases, can provide some additional information relative to electrochemical measurements. Thus, whereas inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES) provides relative electron affinities for electron addition to different unoccupied orbitals, electrochemical reduction potentials shed light on the energetics of successive electron additions. While all three coinage metal triphenylcorrole (TPC) complexes exhibit similar ionization potentials, they exhibit dramatically different inverse photoemission spectra. For Cu[TPC], the lowest-energy IPES feature (0.74 eV) is found to be exceedingly close to the Fermi level; it is significantly higher for Ag[TPC] (1.65 eV) and much higher for Au[TPC] (2.40 eV). These differences qualitatively mirror those observed for electrochemical reduction potentials and are related to a partially metal-centered LUMO in the case of Cu- and Ag[TPC] and a fully corrole-based LUMO in the case of Au[TPC]; the latter orbital corresponds to the LUMO+1 in the case of Ag[TPC].