A robust & weak-nucleophilicity electrocatalyst with an inert response for chlorine ion oxidation in large-current seawater electrolysis

Seawater splitting into hydrogen,a promising technology,is seriously limited by the durability and tolerance of electrocatalysts for chlorine ions in seawater at large current densities due to chloride oxidation and corrosion.Here,we present a robust and weak-nucleophilicity nickel-iron hydroxide electrocatalyst with excellent selectivity for oxygen evolution and an inert response for chlorine ion oxidation which are key and highly desired for efficient seawater electrolysis.Such a weak-nucleophilicity electrocatalyst can well match with strong-nucleophilicity OH-compared with the weak-nucleophilicity Cl^(-),resultantly,the oxidation of OH-in electrolyte can be more easily achieved relative to chlorine ion oxidation,confirmed by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium probing test.Further,no strongly corrosive hypochlorite is produced when the operating voltage reaches about 2.1 V vs.RHE,a potential that is far beyond the thermodynamic potential of chlorine ion oxidatio n.This concept and approach to reasonably designing weaknucleophilicity electrocatalysts that can greatly avoid chlorine ion oxidation under alkaline seawater environments can push forward the seawater electrolysis technology and also accelerate the development of green hydrogen technique.

Carbon enhanced nucleophilicity of Na_(3)V_(2)(PO_(4))_(3):A general approach for dendrite-free zinc metal anodes

Zincophilic property and high electrical conductivity are both very important parameters to design novel Zn anode for aqueous Zn-ion batteries(AZIBs).However,single material is difficult to exhibit zincophilic property and high electrical conductivity at the same time.Herein,originating from theoretical calculation,a zincophilic particle regulation strategy is proposed to address these limitations and carbon coated Na_(3)V_(2)(PO_(4))_(3)is taken as an example to be a protective layer on zinc metal(NVPC@Zn).Na_(3)V_(2)(PO_(4))_(3)(NVP)is a common cathode material for Zn-ion batteries,which is zincophilic.Carbon materials not only offer an electron pathway to help Zn deposition onto NVPC surface,but also enhance the zinc nucleophilicity of Na_(3)V_(2)(PO_(4))_(3).Hence,this hybrid coating layer can tune zinc deposition and resist side reactions such as hydrogen generation and Zn metal corrosion.Experimentally,a symmetrical battery with NVPC@Zn electrode displays highly reversible plating/stripping behavior with a long cycle lifespan over 1800 h at2 mA cm^(-2),much better than carbon and Na_(3)V_(2)(PO_(4))_(3)solely modified Zn electrodes.When the Na_(3)V_(2)(PO_(4))_(3)is replaced with zincophobic Al2O3or zincophilic V2O3,the stability of the modified zinc anodes is also prolonged.This strategy expands the option of zincophilic materials and provides a general and effective way to stabilize the Zn electrode.

（Salen）Ti（Ⅳ）-Catalyzed Asymmetric Ring-opening of meso Epoxides Using Dithiophosphorus Acid as the Nucleophile

The asymmetric ring-opening of epoxides with dithiophosphorus acids catalyzed by a （salen）Ti（Ⅳ） complex formed in situ from the reaction of Ti（OPr-i）4 and the chiral Schiff base derived from （1R,2R）-（＋）-diaminocyclohexane was realized. The resulting products were obtained with low to good enantioselectivity （up to 73% ee）.

Simple nucleophile/H_(2)O promoted defluorinative ring-opening of gem-difluorocyclopropenes

A novel defluorinative ring-opening of gem-difluorocyclopropenes is presented,providing a concise and efficient method for accessing 2-fluoropropenals and 2-fluorobuta-1,3-dienes in moderate to good yields with excellent regio-and stereoselectivities.The reaction is performed under mild conditions with no need of using an excess amount of nucleophilic reagents.Water plays a crucial role in this transformation.

Predicting Rate Constants for Nucleophilic Reactions of Amines with Diarylcarbenium Ions Using an ONIOM Method

The rate constants of the nucleophilic reactions between amines and benzhydrylium ions were calculated using first-principles theoretical methods. Solvation models including PCM, CPCM, and COSMORS, as well as different types of atomic radii including UA0, UAKS, UAHF, Bondi, and UFF, and several single-point energy calculation methods （B3LYP, B3P86, B3PW91, BHANDH, PBEPBE, BMK, M06, MP2, and ONIOM method） were examined. By comparing the correlation between experimental rate constants and the calculated values, the ONIOM（CCSD（T）/6-311＋＋G（2df,2p）：B3LYP/6-311＋＋G（2df,2p））//B3LYP/6- 31G（d）/PCM/UFF） method was found to perform the best. This method was then employed to calculate the rate constants of the reactions between diverse amines and diarylcarbenium ions. The calculated rate constants for 65 reactions of amines with diarylcarbenium ions are in agreement with the experimental values, indicating that it is feasible to predict the rate constant of a reaction between an amine and a diarylcarbenium ion through ab initio calculation.

Ionic Liquid Solvent Based on Cyclic Guanidinium Cation for Nucleophilic Displacement Reactions

The nucleophilic displacement reaction of n-bromooctane and potassium iodide in ionic liquid based on cyclic guanidinium cation(2) was investigated. The kinetic reasult shows that the rate of the reaction is enhanced in ionic liquid (2). The same reaction in [bmim][PF6](1)(where bmim=1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium) was also studied. It was found that as a reaction medium ionic liquid (2) is better than (1) for nucelophilic displacement reactions.

A Novel Nucleophilic Substitution of 3-Halo-6-phenoxypyridazines

A novel nucleophilic substitution of pyridazines is found, in which phenoxy group is dislodged rather than the halogen atom, on treating 3-halo-6-phenoxypyridazines with alkoxy anion. The reactivity of substituents on benzene ring and the halogen atom of pyridazines are studied. Reasonable explanation based on the quantum chemical calculations are given.

RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION OF TRIMETHYLENE CARBONATE CATALYZED BY NOVEL SINGLE COMPONENT RARE EARTH CALIXARENE COMPLEXES

In this paper,ring-opening polymerization of trimethylene carbonate(TMC)with rare earth(Nd,Y,La)ρ-tert- butylcalix[n]arene(n=4,6,and 8)complexes as catalysts has been studied.Poly(trimethylene carbonate)(PTMC)with M_v of 21,400 was produced by bulk polymerization under the conditions as follows:[TMC]_0/[Nd](molar ratio)=1000,80℃, 8 h.Mechanism study reveals that the polymerization proceeds via a coordination mechanism.

Ring-opening Polymerization ofε-Caprolactone Using Lanthanide Tris(4-tert-butylphenolate)s as a Single-component Initiator

The ring-opening polymerization of e-caprolactone (CL) initiated by novel single lanthanide tris(4-tert-butylphenolate)s [Ln(OTBP)3] is reported. Single-component La(OTBP)3 can effectively prepare polycaprolactone (PCL) with over 90% yield and viscosity average molecular weight about 60 x 10 under quite mild conditions: molar ratio of CL to initiator is 1000, 60 C, 2 h in toluene. Mechanism study indicates that the monomer inserts into the growing chain via the break of acyl-oxygen bond of CL.

A flexible design strategy to modify Ti3C2Tx MXene surface terminations via nucleophilic substitution for long-life Li-S batteries

MXene-based materials have gained considerable attention for lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries cathode materials due to their superior electric conductivity and high affinitive to polysulfides.However,there are still challenges in modifying the surface functional groups of MXene to further improve the electrochemical performance and increase the structure variety for MXene-based sulfur host.Herein,we report an efficient and flexible nucleophilic substitution(S_(N))strategy to modify the Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x) surface terminations and purposefully designed Magnolol-modified Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x)(M-Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x))as powerful cathode host materials.Benefiting from more C-Ti-O bonds forming and diallyl groups terminations reducing after the dehalogenation and nucleophilic addition reactions,the given M-Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x) electrode could effectively suppress the lithium polysulfides shuttling via chemisorption and C—S covalent bond formation.Besides,the Magnolol-modified Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x) significantly accelerates polysulfide redox reaction and reduces the activation energy of Li_(2) S decomposition.As a result,the as-prepared M-Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x) electrode displays an excellent rate capability and a high reversible capacity of 7.68 mAh cm^(-2)even under 7.2 mg cm^(-2)S-loaded with a low decay rate of 0.07%(from 2 nd cycle).This flexible surface-modified strategy for MXene terminations is expected to be extended to other diverse MXene applications.

RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION OFε-CAPROLACTONE USING LANTHANIDE TRIS(N-PHENYL-3,5-DI-T-BUTYLSALICYLALDIMINATO)S AS SINGLE COMPONENT CATALYST

Ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone has been carried out by using rare earth Schiff base complexes： lanthanide tris（N-phenyl-3,5-di-t-butylsalicylaldiminato）s [Ln（OPBS）3] as single component catalyst for the first time. The influences of different rare earth elements, monomer and catalyst concentration as well as reaction time on the polymerization were investigated. Mechanism studies showed that monomer inserts into the active site with the acyl-oxygen bond scission rather than the break of alkyl-oxygen bond.

SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION OF CYCLIC (ARYLENE PHOSPHONATE) OLIGOMERS

A series of cyclic (arylene phosphonate) oligomers were prepared by reaction of phenylphosphonic dichloride (PPD) with various bisphenols under pseudo-high dilution conditions via interfacial polycondensation. The yield of cyclic (arylene phosphonate) oligomers is over 85% by using hexadecyltrimethylammoniun bromide as phase transfer catalyst (PTC) at 0 'C . The structures of the cyclic oligomers were confirmed by a combination of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and IR analysis. These cyclic oligomers undergo facile ring-opening polymerization in the melt by using potassium 4,4'-biphenoxide as the initiator to give linear polyphosphonate. Free-radical ring-opening polymerization of cyclic(arylene phosphonate) oligomers containing sulfur linkages was also performed in the melt using 2,2'-dithiobis(benzothiazole) (DTB) as the initiator at 270 °C and the resulting polymer had a Mw, of 8 × 103 with a molecular weight distribution of 4. Ring-opening copolymerization of these cyclic oligomers with cyclic carbonate oligomers was also achieved. The average molecular weight of the resulting copolymer is higher than the corresponding homopolymer and the thermal stability of the copolymer is better than the corresponding homopolymer.

SYNTHESIS OF POLY(5,5-DIMETHYL-1,3-DIOXAN-2-ONE)BY LIPASE-CATALYZED RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION

Porcine pancreas lipase (PPL) and PPL immobilized on narrow distributed micron-sized glass beads wereemployed successfully for the ring-opening polymerization of 5, 5-dimethyl-1, 3-dioxan-2-one (DTC) for the first time.Different polymerization conditions such as enzyme concentration and reaction temperature were studied. Immobilized PPLexhibits higher activity than native PPL. Along wth the increasing enzyme concentration, the molecular weigh of resultingPDTC decreases. PPL immobilized on narrow distributed micron-sized glass beads has outstanding recyclability. For thethird recycle time, immobilized PPL exhibits the highest catalytic activity and with high activity even after the fifth recyletime for the synthesis of PDTC. The ~1H-NMR spectra indicate that decarboxylation does not occur during the ring-openingpolymerization.

Calcium chloride doped zinc-cobalt metal-cyanide complex:Unexpected highly activity towards ring-opening polymerization of propylene oxide

Highly active calcium chloride（CaCl2） doped Zn-Co^Ⅲdouble metal-cyanide（Ca-DMC） catalysts were firstly reported.Ca-DMCs presented a very higher polymer yield（54 kg polymer/g catalyst） at relative low temperature（80-115℃） toward ringopening polymerization（ROP） of propylene oxide（PO） than did DMC catalysts without modification.

A Series of Rare Earth Phenolates Substituted by Alkyl Groups for D,L-Lactide Ring-Opening Polymerization

Single component rare earth phenolates substituted by various alkyl groups have been prepared and the correlation between the aryloxides＇ structure and catalytic activity in the ring-opening polymerization of D,L-lactide has also been investigated.The catalytic activity of all rare earth aryloxides,characteristics of the ring-opening polymerization as well as polymerization kinetics and mechanism were investigated.The results showed that both phenolates＇ catalytic activities and polymerization characteristics changed regularly,keeping in good concordance with variations in substitutents＇ number on phenol and structure of aryloxide ligands.The stronger ability of electron-donation of alkyl groups,the higher catalytic activity.Moreover,the more numbers of substituted alkyl on phenyl ring,the higher catalytic activity.The analyses of polymer ends revealed that the polymerization proceeded via a coordination-acyl-oxygen bond cleavage-insertion mechanism.

A reaction density functional theory study of solvent effect in the nucleophilic addition reactions in aqueous solution

Whereas the proper choice of reaction solvent constitutes the cornerstone of the green solvent concept,solvent effects on chemical reactions are not mechanistically well understood due to the lack of feasible molecular models.Herein,by taking the case study of nucleophilic addition reaction in aqueous solution,we extend the proposed multiscale reaction density functional theory(RxDFT)method to investigate the intrinsic free energy profile and total free energy profile,and study the solvent effect on the activation and reaction free energy for the nucleophilic addition reactions of hydroxide anion with methanal and carbon dioxide in aqueous solution.The predictions of the free energy profile in aqueous solution for these two nucleophilic addition reactions from RxDFT have a satisfactory agreement with the results from the RISM and MD-FEP simulation.Meanwhile,the solvent effect is successfully addressed by examining the difference of the free energy profile between the gas phase and aqueous phase.In addition,we investigate the solvent effect on the reactions occurred near solid-liquid interfaces.It is shown that the activation free energy is significantly depressed when reaction takes place in the region within 10A distance to the substrate surface owing to the decrease of hydration free energy at the solid-liquid interface.

Tetrahydrosalen backboned gadolinium complex as initiator for the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone

Tetrahydrosalen ligand was employed in the synthesis of gadolinium complex. The ligand was deprotoned by LiBu, and the afforded lithium salt was reacted with anhydrous GdCl3 to produce the gadolinium complex through salt metathesis. This complex was successfully used to initiate the ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone. The initiation conditions in different temperature, monomer-to-initiator ratio and time were investigated. Under the condition： [ε-caprolactone]：[catalyst] = 600, 56 ℃, toluene： 2 ml, poly（ε-caprolactone） （PCL） with Mw = 11,2782 and PDI = 1.96 was achieved.

SYNTHESIS OF NOVEL BI-FUNCTIONAL COPOLYMER BEARING STERICALLY HINDERED PHENOL AND HINDERED AMINE GROUPS VIA RING-OPENING METATHESIS POLYMERIZATION

Norbornene derivatives exo,endo-2-[2-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenoxy)-acetoxy]methyl-5-norbornene(M1) and 3,3,5,5-tetramethyl-4-piperidinyl 5-norbornene-exo,endo-2-carboxylate(M2)were synthesized and polymerized by RuCl_2(=CHPh)(PCy_3)_2 to prepare a novel kind of bi-functional polymer bearing sterically hindered phenol(SHP)and hindered amine(HLAS)groups via ring-opening metathesis polymerization(ROMP).The resulting copolymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography(GPC),~1H-NMR and differen...

RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION OF TRIMETHYLENE CARBONATE BY CALIX[8]ARENE-NEODYMIUM

Ring-opening polymerization of trimethylene carbonate (TMC) with a rare earth calixarene compound as catalyst has been studied for the first time. The effect of TMC/Nd (molar ratio) and polymerization conditions were investigated in detail. It was found that calix[8]arene-neodymium is a highly effective catalyst for the bulk polymerization of TMC and gives high molecular weight (M-v = 60,000) polymer. The optimum conditions of TMC polymerization were found to be as follows:TMC/Nd (molar ratio) = 2,000, 80 degrees C, 16 h. The polymers were characterized by NMR, GPC and DSC. Studying the mechanism by NMR showed that the polymerization of TMC catalyzed by calix[8]arene-neodymium proceeds via a cationic mechanism.