In view of the industrial importance high-grade unsaturated ether (UE) and inconvenience acquiring compound, herein, a series low-cost Al-Ni-P catalysts in robust AlPO4/Ni2P structure possessing novel bi-functional catalytic features (hydrogenation activation acid catalysis) were innovated, testified to be efficient for directly synthesizing UE with superior yield up 97% from selective hydrogen...

Deracemization of racemic chiral compounds is an attractive approach in asymmetric synthesis, but its development has been hindered by energetic and kinetic challenges. Here we describe a catalytic deracemization method for secondary benzylic alcohols which are important synthetic intermediates end products many industries. Driven visible light only, this based on sequential photochemical dehyd...

In view of the importance of optically pure chiral products there is ample reason to develop methods that facilitate their efficient production. Compared to the mostly applied homogeneous catalysts based on transition metals coordinated to suitable chiral ligands, heterogeneous chiral catalysts could offer several features that are beneficial for practical application such as stability, ease of...

Understanding how heterogeneous catalysts change size, shape and structure during chemical reactions is limited by the paucity of methods for studying catalytic ensembles in working state, that is, in operando conditions. Here by a correlated use of synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy and scanning transmission electron microscopy in operando conditions, we quantitatively describe the comp...

Identification on catalytic sites of heterogeneous catalysts at atomic level is important to understand catalytic mechanism. Surface engineering on defects of metal oxides can construct new active sites and regulate catalytic activity and selectivity. Here we outline the strategy by controlling surface defects of nanoceria to create the solid frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) metal oxide for efficien...

biological structures and functions. It is suitable for the analysis of biological interactions because it is based on the affinity of the ligand moiety. Various photophors, such as phenyldiazirine, arylazide and benzophenone, were used. Comparative irradiation studies of these three photophors in living cells suggested that a carbene precursor, (3-trifluoromethyl) phenyldiazirine, is the most ...

Transfer hydrogenation (TH) reaction – the addition of hydrogen to an unsaturated group of an organic molecule from a source other than H2 – has been gaining a lot of attention as it is an appealing alternative to direct hydrogenation. The reasoning behind it is the elimination of pressurised hydrogen and high pressure equipment use. Besides, a conventional hydrogenation catalyst is rarely sele...

The renewable phenolic compounds produced by directional liquefaction of biomass are a mixture of complete fragments decomposed from native lignin. These compounds are unstable and difficult to use directly as biofuel. Here, we report an efficient in situ catalytic hydrogenation method that can convert phenolic compounds into saturated cyclohexanes. The process has high potential for production...

A carboxy-directed asymmetric hydrogenation of α-alkyl-α-aryl terminal olefins was developed by using a chiral spiro iridium catalyst, providing a highly efficient approach to the compounds with a chiral benzylmethyl center. The carboxy-directed hydrogenation prohibited the isomerization of the terminal olefins, and realized the chemoselective hydrogenation of various dienes. The concise enanti...