An enantioselective synthesis of spirocyclic indoline scaffolds was achieved by applying an asymmetric iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation of 3H-indoles. Low catalyst loadings and mild reaction conditions provide a broad range of differently substituted products with excellent yields and enantioselectivities. The developed methodology allows an efficient synthesis of this important spirocyclic structural motif, which is present in numerous biologically active molecules and privileged structures in medicinal chemistry.

A mild approach for the decarboxylative aminomethylation of aryl sulfonates by the combination of photoredox and nickel catalysis through C−O bond cleavage is described for the first time. A wide range of aryl triflates as well as aryl mesylates, tosylates and alkenyl triflates afford the corresponding products in good to excellent yields.

A new and efficient nickel-catalyzed decarbonylative borylation reaction of carboxylic acid esters with bis(pinacolato)-diboron has been developed. This transformation allows access to structurally diverse aryl as well as alkenyl and alkyl boronate esters with high reactivity, broad substrate scope, and excellent functional-group tolerance. Further experiments show that this protocol can be carried out on a gram scale and applied to orthogonal synthetic strategies.

Based on the structure of the nitrogenase FeMo cofactor (FeMoco), it is reported that Fe deposited on MoS2 2D sheets exhibits high selectivity towards the spontaneous fixation of N2 against chemisorption of CO2 and H2 O. DFT predictions also indicate the ability of this material to convert N2 into NH3 with a maximum energy input of 1.02 eV as an activation barrier for the first proton-electron pair transfer.

We report a novel strategy for post-synthesis amine borane functionalization of MOFs under gas-solid phase transformation utilizing gaseous diborane. The covalently confined amine borane derivative decorated on the framework backbone is stable when preserved at low temperature, but spontaneously liberates soft chemical hydrogen at room temperature leading to the development of an unusual borenium type species (-NH=BH2+) ion-paired with hydroborate anion. Furthermore, the unsaturated amino borane (-NH=BH2) and the -iminodiborane ((--NHB2H5) were detected as final products. A combination of DFT based molecular dynamics simulations and solid state NMR spectroscopy, utilizing isotopically enriched materials, were undertaken to unequivocally elucidate the mechanistic pathways for H2 liberation.

Density functional theory calculations have been used to explore the potential of Ru-based complexes with 1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene (SIMes) ligand backbone (A) being modified in silico by the insertion of a C60 molecule (B and C), as olefin metathesis catalysts. To this end, we investigated the olefin metathesis reaction catalyzed by complexes A, B, and C using ethylene as the substrate, focusing mainly on the thermodynamic stability of all possible reaction intermediates. Our results suggest that complex B bearing an electron-withdrawing N-heterocyclic carbene improves the performance of unannulated complex A. The efficiency of complex B is only surpassed by complex A when the backbone of the N-heterocyclic carbene of complex A is substituted by two amino groups. The particular performance of complexes B and C has to be attributed to electronic factors, that is, the electronic-donating capacity of modified SIMes ligand rather than steric effects, because the latter are predicted to be almost identical for complexes B and C when compared to those of A. Overall, this study indicates that such Ru-based complexes B and C might have the potential to be effective olefin metathesis catalysts. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A general synthetic route was used to prepare 15 new N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)–AgI complexes bearing anionic carboxylate ligands [Ag(NHC)(O2CR)], including a homologous series of complexes of sterically flexible ITent ligands, which permit a systematic spectroscopic and theoretical study of the structural and electronic features of these compounds. The complexes displayed a significant ligand-accelerated effect in the intramolecular cyclisation of propargylic amides to oxazolidines. The substrate scope is highly complementary to that previously achieved by NHC–Au and pyridyl–AgI complexes. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands with naphthyl side chains were employed for the synthesis of unsaturated, yet isolable [(NHC)Ir(cod)]+ (cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene) complexes. These compounds are stabilised by an interaction of the aromatic wingtip that leads to a sideways tilt of the NHC-Ir bond. Detailed studies show how the tilting of such N-heterocyclic carbenes affects the electronic shielding properties of the carbene carbon atom and how this is reflected by significant upfield shifts in the 13CNMR signals. When employed in the intramolecular hydroamination, these [(NHC)Ir(cod)]+ species show very high catalytic activity under mild reaction conditions. An enantiopure version of the catalyst system produces pyrrolidines with excellent enantioselectivities. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Single-site, well-defined, silica-supported tantallaaziridine intermediates [≡Si-O-Ta(η2-NRCH2)(NMe2)2] [R=Me (2), Ph (3)] were prepared from silica-supported tetrakis(dimethylamido)tantalum [≡Si-O-Ta(NMe2)4] (1) and fully characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and 1H,13C HETCOR and DQ TQ solid-state (SS) NMR spectroscopy. The formation mechanism, by β-H abstraction, was investigated by SS NMR spectroscopy and supported by DFT calculations. The C-H activation of the dimethylamide ligand is favored for R=Ph. The results from catalytic testing in the hydroaminoalkylation of alkenes were consistent with the N-alkyl aryl amine substrates being more efficient than N-dialkyl amines. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A tin- and halide-free, visible-light photoredox-catalyzed Giese reaction was developed. Primary and secondary α-amino radicals were generated readily from amino acids in the presence of catalytic amounts of an iridium photocatalyst. The reactivity of the α-amino radicals has been evaluated for the functionalization of a variety of activated olefins. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim