Ammonia borane-enabled hydrogen transfer processes:Insights into catalytic strategies and mechanisms

Transfer hydrogenation(TH) with in situ generated hydrogen donor is of great importance in reduction reactions, and an alternative strategy to traditional hydrogenation processes involving pressurized molecular hydrogen. Ammonia borane(NH3BH3, AB) is a promising material of hydrogen storage, and it has attracted much attention in reductive organic transformations owing to its high activity, good atom economy, nontoxicity, sustainability, and ease of transport and storage. This review focuses on summarizing the recent progress of AB-mediated TH reactions of diverse substrates including nitro compounds, nitriles, imines, alkenes, alkynes, carbonyl compounds(ketones and aldehydes), carbon dioxide,and N-and O-heterocycles. Syntheses protocols(metal-containing and metal-free), the effect of reaction parameters, product distribution, and variation of reactivity are surveyed, and the mechanism of each reaction involving the action mode of AB as well as structure-activity relationships is discussed in detail. Finally, perspectives are presented to highlight the challenges and opportunities for AB-enabled TH reactions of unsaturated compounds.

Quantum Dynamics Calculations on Isotope Effects of Hydrogen Transfer Isomerization in Formic Acid Dimer

We present a quantum dynamics study on the isotope effects of hydro-gen transfer isomerization in the formic acid dimer,and this is achieved by multidimensional dy-namics calculations with an efficient quantum mechanical theoretical scheme developed by our group,on a full-dimensional neural network ab initio potential energy surface.The ground-state and fundamental tun-neling splittings for four deuterium isotopologues of formic acid dimer are considered,and the calculated results are in very good general agreement with the avail-able experimental measurements.Strong isotope effects are revealed,the mode-specific funda-mental excitation effects on the tunneling rate are evidently influenced by the deuterium sub-stitution of H atom with the substitution on the OH bond being more effective than on the CH bond.Our studies are helpful for acquiring a better understanding of isotope effects in the double-hydrogen transfer processes.

High yield production of 1,4-cyclohexanediol from lignin derived2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone via Raney Ni Mn catalyst in hydrogen free conditions

Transformation of lignin to valuable chemicals via sustainable pathways is recognized as one of the most efficient ways to explore its value and replace the nonrenewable petroleum resource. In this work, an environmental-friendly transfer hydrogenation process has been developed to convert lignin derived2,6-dimethoxybenzoquinone to 1,4-cyclohexanediol. Compared with previous work under hydrogen pressure(30 bar), this process uses isopropanol as both solvent and hydrogen donor, which significantly simply the operation process. The core of this study is the design and preparation of Mn modified Raney Ni catalysts by ball milling process. A series of Raney Ni Mn catalysts with different ball milling time and Mn content were prepared and investigated. Characterizations by X-ray diffraction(XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS), scanning electron microscope(SEM) and transmission electron microscope(TEM) etc. showed that Ni Mn Al alloy was formed during the ball milling process and then transformed to Ni Mn alloy after treatment by aqueous Na OH. After optimization, a yield as high as 86.1% could be achieved for 1,4-cyclohexanediol at 200℃ in only 1 h.

Chemoselective Transfer Hydrogenation of Cinnamaldehyde over Activated Charcoal Supported Pt/Fe3O4 Catalyst

A variety of spherical and structured activated charcoal supported Pt/Fe3O4 composites with an average particle size of ~100 nm have been synthesized by a self-assembly method using the difference of reduction potential between Pt （Ⅳ） and Fe （Ⅱ） precursors as driving force. The formed Fe3O4 nanoparticles （NPs） effectively prevent the aggregation of Pt nanocrystallites and promote the dispersion of Pt NPs on the surface of catalyst, which will be favorable for the exposure of Pt active sites for high-efficient adsorption and contact of substrate and hydrogen donor. The electron-enrichment state of Pt NPs donated by Fe304 nanocrystallites is corroborated by XPS measurement, which is responsible for promoting and activating the terminal C=O bond of adsorbed substrate via a vertical configuration. The experimental results show that the activated charcoal supported Pt/Fe3O4 catalyst exhibits 94.8% selectivity towards cinnamyl alcohol by the transfer hydrogenation of einnamaldehyde with Pt loading of 2.46% under the optimum conditions of 120 ℃ for 6 h, and 2-propanol as a hydrogen donor. Additionally, the present study demonstrates that a high-efficient and recyclable catalyst can be rapidly separated from the mixture due to its natural magnetism upon the application of magnetic field.

Synthesis,characterization and catalytic reactivity of pentacoordinate iron dicarbonyl as a model of the [Fe]-hydrogenase active site

Two mono iron complexes Fe（CO）2PR3（NN） （R = Cy （3）, Ph （4）, NN = o-phenylenediamine dianion ligand, N2H2Ph2-） derived from the ligand substitution of Fe（CO）3hPR3 by the NN ligand were isolated and structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. They have a similar first coordination sphere and oxidation state of the iron center as the [Fe]-hydrogenase active site, and can be a model of it IR demonstrated that the effect of the NN ligand on the coordinated CO stretch- ing frequencies was due to its excellent electron donating ability. The reversible protonation/deprotonation of the NN ligand was identified by infrared spectroscopy and density functional theory computation. The NN ligand is an effective proton acceptor as the internal base of the cysteine thiolate ligand in [Fe]-hydrogenase. The electrochemical properties of complexes 3, 4 were investigated by cyclic voltammograms. Complex 3 catalyzed the transfer hydrogenation of benzoquinone to hydroquinone effectively under mild conditions.

Synergetic Effect of Y Zeolite and ZSM-5 Zeolite Ratios on Cracking, Oligomerization and Hydrogen Transfer Reactions

The objective of this study is to explore the optimum composition of Y and ZSM-5 zeolites to develop novel catalysts for obtaining lower gasoline olefins content and higher propylene yield. Five composite zeolite catalysts with varying Y zeolite/ZSM-5 zeolite ratios have been prepared in this work to investigate the synergy between the Y zeolite and ZSM-5 zeolite on the selectivity to protolytic cracking, β-scission, oligomerization, and hydrogen transfer reactions using a FCC naphtha feedstock at 480 ℃ in a confined fluidized bed reactor. Experimental results showed that the composite catalyst with a Y zeolite/ZSM-5 zeolite ratio of 1:4 had the highest protolytic cracking and β-scission ability, which was even higher than that of pure ZSM-5 catalyst. On the other hand, the catalyst with a Y zeolite/ZSM-5 zeolite ratio of 3:2 exhibited the strongest hydrogen transfer functionality while the pure Y zeolite based catalyst had the highest oligomerization ability. For all the catalysts tested, increasing conversion enhanced the selectivity to protolytic cracking and hydrogen transfer reactions but reduced the selectivity to β-scission reaction. However, no clear trend was identified for the selectivity to oligomerization when an increased conversion was experienced.

Influence of zinc state on the catalyst properties of Zn/HZSM-5 zeolite in 1-hexene aromatization and cyclohexane dehydrogenation

Rational design of Zn-containing HZSM-5 zeolite(Zn/HZSM-5)with high reactivity and excellent aromatization performance for olefin aromatization is crucially desired.We develop a new and uncomplicated method to synthesize Zn/HZSM-5(IMX/Z5)with superior aromatization performance in the paper.Compared to incipient wetness impregnation(IMP/Z5)and mechanical mixing(MIX/Z5),the asprepared IMX/Z5 presents a higher amount of surface ZnOH^(+)species(2.87%)while keeping identical bulk zinc content.As a result,more surface ZnOH^(+)favor both the aromatization of 1-hexene and cyclohexane dehydrogenation.For the two olefin aromatization pathways(hydrogen transfer and dehydrogenation),it is the first time found both the hydrogen transfer ability and the dehydrogenation ability increase linearly with the amount of surface ZnOH^(+)species while keeping identical bulk zinc content.We believe that the linear relationships are essential to design next generation olefin aromatization catalysts.

PVP-Supported Palladium-Cadmium Bimetallic Catalyst for the Hydrogen Transfer Dechlorination of Aryl Chlorides

PVP-supported bimetallic catalyst, PVP-PdCl2-CdCl2, exhibits extremely high catalytic activity for the hydrogen transfer dechlorination of aryl chlorides in neutral environment. The yields of dechlorination products are high under mild reaction conditions and the operation is simple.

Highly stable and selective Ru/NiFe2O4 catalysts for transfer hydrogenation of biomass-derived furfural to 2-methylfuran

Spinel ferrites NiFeOsupported Ru catalysts have been prepared via a simple sol–gel route and applied for converting biomass-derived furfural to 2-methylfuran. The as-prepared catalysts were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis（TG）, Nadsorption–desorption, X-ray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electronic microscopy（SEM）, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）. Results showed that the catalysts had well-dispersed Ru active sites and large surface area for calcination temperature ranging from 300 to 500 ℃. The conversion of biomass-derived furfural into 2-methylfuran was conducted over Ru/NiFeOthrough catalytic transfer hydrogenation in liquid-phase with 2-propanol as the hydrogen source. A significantly enhanced activity and increased 2-methylfuran yield have been achieved in this study. Under mild conditions（180 ℃ and 2.1 MPa N）, the conversion of furfural exceeds 97% and 2-methylfuran yield was up to 83% over the catalyst containing 8 wt% Ru. After five repeated uses, the catalytic activity and the corresponding product yield remained almost unchanged. The excellent catalytic activity and recycling performance provide a broad prospects for various practical applications.

Theoretical Studies on the Hydrogen Bond Transfer and Proton Transfer between Anamorphoses of the Dihydrated Glycine Complex

The conversion between anamorphoses of the dihydrated glycine complex was studied by means of B3LYP/6-31＋＋G^＊＊. It was found that proton transfer was accompanied by hydrogen bond transfer in the process of conversion between different kinds of anamorphoses. With proton transfer, the electrostatic action was notably increased and the hydrogen-bonding action was evidently strengthened when the dihydrated neutral glycine complex converts into dihydrated zwitterionic glycine complex. The activation energy required for hydrogen bond transfer between dihydrated neutral glycine complexes is very low （6.32 kJ·mol^-1）; however, the hydrogen bond transfer between dihydrated zwitterionic glycine complexes is rather difficult with the required activation energy of 13.52 kJ·mol^-1 due to the relatively strong electrostatic action. The activation energy required by proton transfer is at least 27.33 kJ·mol^-1, higher than that needed for hydrogen bond transfer. The activation energy for either hydrogen bond transfer or proton transfer is in the bond-energy scope of medium-strong hydrogen bond, so the four kinds of anamorphoses of the dihydrated glycine complex could convert mutually.

Novel Chiral PNNP-Ru Complexes:Synthesis and Application in Asymmetric Transfer Hydrogenation of Ketones

The efficient catalytic systems generated in situ from RuCl2（PPh3）3 and chiral ligands N,N-bis[2-（di-o-tolylphosphino）-benzyl]cyclohexane-1,2-diamine（2） were employed for asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic ketones, giving the corresponding optically active alcohols with high activities（up to 99% conversion） and excellent enantioselectivities（up to 96% e.e.） under mild conditions. The chiral ruthenium（Ⅱ） complex （R,R）-3 has been prepared and characterized by NMR and X-ray crystallography.

Mild and highly efficient transfer hydrogenation of aldehyde and ketone catalyzed by rubidium phosphate

Rubidium phosphate can be more conveniently obtained by extracting trace Rb+ from the salt lake brine. Rb_3PO_4 was found to be an excellent heterogeneous catalyst for transfer hydrogenation. Rb_3PO_4 lost 70% of its active sites after adsorbing water, but the remaining was not affected. The reductions of aldehydes and ketones, when promoted by Rb_3PO_4, were allowed at room temperature. The activities of substrates at room temperature followed a descending order of 2,6-dichlorobenzaldehyde> 4-bromobenzaldehyde>benzaldehyde>acetophenone>anisaldehyde>butanone. A new catalytic cycle postulating a six-membered cyclic transition state for the reductions of aldehydes and ketones was proposed. These results exploited the catalytic usage of Rb_3PO_4 and worth in industrial application.

Water-involving transfer hydrogenation and dehydrogenation of N-heterocycles over a bifunctional MoNi_(4)electrode

A room-temperature electrochemical strategy for hydrogenation(deuteration)and reverse dehydrogenation of N-heterocycles over a bifunctional MoNi_(4)electrode is developed,which includes the hydrogenation of quinoxaline using H2O as the hydrogen source with 80%Faradaic efficiency and the reverse dehydrogenation of hydrogen-rich 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxaline with up to 99%yield and selectivity.The in situ generated active hydrogen atom(H^(*))is plausibly involved in the hydrogenation of quinoxaline,where a consecutive hydrogen radical coupled electron transfer pathway is proposed.Notably,the MoNi_(4)alloy exhibits efficient quinoxaline hydrogenation at an overpotential of only 50 mV,owing to its superior water dissociation ability to provide H^(*)in alkaline media.In situ Raman tests indicate that the Ni^(Ⅱ)/Ni^(Ⅲ)redox couple can promote the dehydrogenation process,representing a promising anodic alternative to low-value oxygen evolution.Impressively,electrocatalytic deuteration is easily achieved with up to 99%deuteration ratios using D2O.This method is capable of producing a series of functionalized hydrogenated and deuterated quinoxalines.

A MoS_2 nanocatalyst with surface-enriched active sites for the heterogeneous transfer hydrogenation of nitroarenes

A highly efficient and reusable plane‐curved and interlayer‐expanded MoS2nanocatalyst with increased exposure of active sites was prepared.The catalyst was used for the heterogeneous hydrogen transfer reaction of nitroarenes with hydrazine monohydrate as a reductant under mild reaction conditions without pressure and base,which was different from other hydrogen transfer systems that require the presence of a base(e.g.,propan‐2‐ol/KOH).The sandwiching of carbon between the MoS2nanosheets increased the distance between the layers of MoS2and exposed more Mo sites,resulting in superior catalytic performance compared with that of bulk MoS2catalyst.The active hydrogen(H*)generated from N2H4could directly transfer to the–NO2groups of nitrobenzene to form aniline followed by N2emission,which was confirmed by detecting the gas emission with mass spectrometry during the decomposition of hydrazine or the co‐existence of nitrobenzene and hydrazine.?2018,Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences.Published by Elsevier B.V.All rights reserved.

Chemoselective transfer hydrogenation to nitroarenes mediated by oxygen-implanted MoS_2

We present an efficient approach for the chemoselective synthesis of arylamines from nitroarenes and formate over an oxygen-implanted MoS2 catalyst（O-MoS2）.O-MoS2 was prepared by incomplete sul idation and reduction of an ammonium molybdate precursor.A number of Mo-O bonds were implanted in the as-synthesized ultrathin O-MoS2 nanosheets.As a consequence of the different coordination geometries of O（Mo O2） and S（MoS2）,and lengths of the Mo-O and Mo-S bonds,the implanted Mo-O bonds induced obvious defects and more coordinatively unsaturated（CUS） Mo sites in O-MoS2,as confirmed by X-ray diffraction,Raman spectroscopy,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,high resolution transmission electron microscopy,and extended X-ray absorption fine structure characterization of various MoS2-based materials.O-MoS2 with abundant CUS Mo sites was found to efficiently catalyze the chemoselective reduction of nitroarenes to arylamines.

Effect of the Para-substituent of the Tridentate Pyridine-based Ru（II） Complex upon the Catalytic Activity in Transfer Hydrogenation

Three stable 4-substituted pyridine-based ruthenium（II）complexes[RuCl2（PPh3）L]（L=4-R-2,6-bis （diethylaminomethylene）pyridine,R=Br,H or allyloxy）were synthesized.The catalytic activities of the complexes toward transfer hydrogenation from alcohols to ketones were investigated.The electronic effects of the para-substituent in the pyridyl ring were probed and we found that the electron-donating group increased the catalytic activity.The result suggests that an electron-donating group is probably preferential for linking the catalytic ruthenium complex and the chemically inert supporting molecules such as a carbosilane dendrimer.

Magnetic graphene oxide-anchored Ni/Cu nanoparticles with a Cu-rich surface for transfer hydrogenation of nitroaromatics

The bimetallic nanoparticles compositing of Ni-rich core and Cu-rich shell(Ni/Cu NPs)were successfully synthesized by a liquid-phase thermal decomposition method.The content of copper and nickel in Ni/Cu NPs was controllable by adjusting the ratio of two metal precursors,copper formate(Cuf)and nickel acetate tetrahydrate(Ni(OAc)_(2)·4H_(2)O).Ni/Cu NPs were further anchored on graphene oxide(GO)to prepare a magnetic composite catalyst,called Ni/Cu-GO.The dispersibility of Ni/Cu NPs in solution was enhanced by GO anchoring to prevent the sintering and aggregation during the reaction process,thereby ensuring the catalytic and cycling performance of the catalyst.The catalytic transfer hydrogenation(CTH)reaction of nitroaromatics was investigated when ammonia borane was used as the hydrogen source.Cu dominated the main catalytic role in the reaction,while Ni played a synergistic role of catalysis and providing magnetic properties for separation.The Ni_(7)/Cu_(3)-GO catalyst exhibited the best catalytic performance with the conversion and yield of 99%and 96%,respectively,when 2-methyl-5-nitrophenol was used as the substrate.The Ni_(7)/Cu_(3)-GO catalyst also exhibited excellent cyclic catalytic performance with the 5-amino-2-methylphenol yield of above 90%after six cycles.In addition,the Ni_(7)/Cu_(3)-GO catalyst could be quickly recycled by magnetic separation.Moreover,the Ni_(7)/Cu_(3)-GO catalyst showed good catalytic performance for halogen-containing nitroaromatics without dehalogenation.

Synthesis of antidepressant duloxetine via asymmetric transfer hydrogenation

Antidepressant duloxetine （1） was prepared via asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of 3-（dimethylamino）-1-（thiophen-2- yl）propan-1-one （3）. The Ru（Ⅱ）, Rh（Ⅲ） and Ir（Ⅲ） complexes of several chiral ligands were examined as the catalyst and （S,S）-N-tosyl-1,2-diphenyl ethylenediamine （TsDPEN）-Ru（Ⅱ） complex was found to provide good yield and excellent enantioselectivity. 2007 Ming Yan. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

Osmium complexes in catalysis of olefin hydrogenation and isomerization

This review focuses on the evolution of the use of osmium complexes as catalysts in the hydrogenation and isomerization of olefins.Osmium systems show good catalytic activities and selectivities in the hydrogenation of olefins via both dihydrogen and transfer hydrogenation.Such systems therefore have significant potential to become a powerful tool in organic synthesis.

Water promoted photocatalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural to furfural alcohol over ultralow loading metal supported on TiO_(2)

Photocatalytic hydrogenation of furfural offers an ideal method for selective biomass upgrading into value-added chemicals or fuel additives under mild conditions. However, it is still challenging to control the product selectivity due to side reactions of functional groups and reactive radical intermediates.Herein, photocatalytic transfer hydrogenation of furfural was studied using the TiO_(2)-based photocatalysts with alcohols as both the solvent and hydrogen donor. Ultralow loading metal supported on TiO_(2),together with adding a small amount of water in the system, were demonstrated to greatly increase the selectivity of furfuryl alcohol product. Electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy(UV-Vis) and photoluminescence(PL) measurements gave evidence that ultralow loading Pt or Pd on TiO_(2)increase the oxygen vacancy concentration and the photogenerated charge separation efficiency, which accelerates the photocatalytic reduction of furfural. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy(DRIFTS) and mechanistic studies confirmed that photogenerated holes and electrons are active species, with dissociatively adsorbed methanol being directly oxidized by holes,furfural hydrogenated by protons and electrons and H_(2)O modifying the intermediate diffusion which contributes to high selectivity of furfuryl alcohol. This work demonstrates a simple approach to design photocatalysts and tune product selectivity in biomass valorization.