Topics in Current Chemistry

The problem of catalyst-controlled site-selectivity can potentially require a catalyst to overcome energetic barriers larger than those associated with enantioselective reactions. This challenge is a signature of substrates that present reactive sites that are not of equivalent reactivity. Herein we present a narrative of our laboratory's efforts to overcome this challenge using peptide-based catalysts. We highlight the interplay between understanding the inherent reactivity preferences of a given target molecule and the development of catalysts that can overcome intrinsic preferences embedded within a substrate...

This chapter describes synthesis, structural properties, activation modes, and applications of hypervalent iodine reagents for trifluoromethylation, thereby focusing on recent advances.

This chapter describes advances in hypervalent iodine(III)-induced rearrangements reported between 2004 and 2015, beginning with Hofmann-type rearrangements and aliphatic aryl transpositions. In both reactions the iodine(III) reagent may be off-the-shelf or catalytically generated in situ. A number of stereoselective transformations are discussed, followed by transpositions triggered through phenol dearomatization, including Wagner-Meerwein-type rearrangements, Prins-pinacol transpositions, and a tandem polycylization-pinacol process...

Carbohydrates generally possess multiple hydroxyl groups of similar reactivity, and selective monofunctionalization is often difficult. Catalysis provides a versatile and potentially general solution to this problem. This chapter provides an overview of catalyst-controlled methods for the regioselective activation of carbohydrate derivatives. The catalysts discussed include organocatalysts (Lewis bases, Brønsted acids/bases, and others) as well as those based on main group and transition metal elements.

In situ and operando techniques can play important roles in the development of better performing photoelectrodes, photocatalysts, and electrocatalysts by helping to elucidate crucial intermediates and mechanistic steps. The development of high throughput screening methods has also accelerated the evaluation of relevant photoelectrochemical and electrochemical properties for new solar fuel materials. In this chapter, several in situ and high throughput characterization tools are discussed in detail along with their impact on our understanding of solar fuel materials...

Site-selectivity in conjugate addition reactions is tightly associated with the principle of vinylogy. Various vinylogous nucleophiles and electrophiles have been applied to stereoselective conjugate additions directed by chiral small-molecule catalysts. This chapter focuses on the systems that control site- and stereoselectivity via chiral ion-pairing intermediates under organocatalytic conditions and describes individual vinylogous substrates in a separate section. Although site-selectivity originates largely from the intrinsic stereoelectronic nature of individual substrates, catalyst-controlled site-selectivity can be attained in certain cases...

Site-selective peptide/protein degradation through chemical cleavage methods is an important modification of biologically relevant macromolecules which complements enzymatic hydrolysis. In this review, recent progress in chemical, site-selective peptide bond cleavage is overviewed, with an emphasis on postulated mechanisms and their implications on reactivity, selectivity, and substrate scope.

The contemporary demand to generate fuels from solar energy has stimulated intense effort to develop water splitting catalysts that can be coupled to light-absorbing materials. Cobalt oxido catalyst (Co-OECs) films deposited from buffered Co(II) solutions have emerged as arguably the most studied class of heterogeneous oxygen evolution catalysts. The interest in these materials stems from their formation by self-assembly, their self-healing properties, and their promising catalytic activity under a variety of conditions...

Site-selective mono-cross-coupling reactions involving dichloro- or dibromo(hetero)aryl substrates are utilized to prepare substituted monochloro- or monobromo(hetero)arenes, which are used as drug components and synthetic precursors. In these reactions, selectivity toward the preferred reaction site of a dihalo(hetero)arene can vary depending on the ancillary ligand of the transition metal catalyst. This review summarizes the examples of ligand-controlled site-selective cross-coupling reactions, specifically those mediated by Pd complexes...

Cyclometalated π-allyliridium C,O-benzoate complexes modified by axially chiral chelating phosphine ligands display a pronounced kinetic preference for primary alcohol dehydrogenation, enabling highly site-selective redox-triggered carbonyl additions of chiral primary-secondary 1,3-diols with exceptional levels of catalyst-directed diastereoselectivity. Unlike conventional methods for carbonyl allylation, the present redox-triggered alcohol C-H functionalizations bypass the use of protecting groups, premetalated reagents, and discrete alcohol-to-aldehyde redox reactions...

Hypervalent iodine(III) reagents have been widely exploited in a diverse array of synthetic transformations. This chapter focuses on the general application of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents in the de novo synthesis and in the late stage functionalization of heterocyclic compounds.

Solar energy conversion is essential to address the gap between energy production and increasing demand. Large scale energy generation from solar energy can only be achieved through equally large scale collection of the solar spectrum. Overall water splitting using heterogeneous photocatalysts with a single semiconductor enables the direct generation of H2 from photoreactors and is one of the most economical technologies for large-scale production of solar fuels. Efficient photocatalyst materials are essential to make this process feasible for future technologies...

Absorption spectroscopy, emissive properties, and ultrafast intersystem crossing processes in transition metal complexes are discussed in the light of recent developments in time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT), spin-orbit coupling (SOC) effects, and non-adiabatic excited states dynamics. Methodological highlights focus on spin-orbit and vibronic couplings and on the recent strategies available for simulating ultra-fast intersystem crossings (ISC).The role of SOC in the absorption spectroscopy of third-row transition metal complexes is illustrated by two cases studies, namely Ir(III) phenyl pyridine and Re(I) carbonyl bipyridine complexes...

Nature relies on a unique and intricate biochemical setup to achieve sunlight-driven water splitting. Combined experimental and computational efforts have produced significant insights into the structural and functional principles governing the operation of the water-oxidizing enzyme Photosystem II in general, and of the oxygen-evolving manganese-calcium cluster at its active site in particular. Here we review the most important aspects of biological water oxidation, emphasizing current knowledge on the organization of the enzyme, the geometric and electronic structure of the catalyst, and the role of calcium and chloride cofactors...

The utilization of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) from plasmonic noble metals in combination with semiconductors promises great improvements for visible light-driven photocatalysis, in particular for energy conversion. This review summarizes the basic principles of plasmonic photocatalysis, giving a comprehensive overview about the proposed mechanisms for enhancing the performance of photocatalytically active semiconductors with plasmonic devices and their applications for surface plasmon-assisted solar energy conversion...

This chapter describes recent developments in stereoselective synthesis using hypervalent iodine reagents.

In this chapter we present applications of TD-DFT aiming at reproducing and rationalizing the optical signatures of molecules, and, more precisely, the absorption and fluorescence spectra of conjugated compounds belonging to both organic and inorganic families. We particularly focus on the computations going beyond the vertical approximation, i.e., on the calculation of 0-0 energies and vibronic spectra with TD-DFT, and on large applications performed for "real-life" structures (organic and inorganic dyes, optimization of charge-transfer structures, rationalization of excited-state proton transfer, etc...

Solar energy provides by far the greatest potential for energy generation among all forms of renewable energy. Yet, just as for any form of energy conversion, it is subject to physical limits. Here we review the physical limits that determine how much energy can potentially be generated out of sunlight using a combination of thermodynamics and observed climatic variables. We first explain how the first and second law of thermodynamics constrain energy conversions and thereby the generation of renewable energy, and how this applies to the conversions of solar radiation within the Earth system...

Combining different light-absorbing materials for the formation of semiconductor heterojunctions is a very effective strategy for preparing highly active photocatalyst and photoelectrochemical systems. Moreover, the combination of solid state semiconductors with polymers or molecular absorbers expands the possible combinations of materials to alter light absorption and optimize charge carrier separation. In this chapter, different strategies to prepare such composites are presented, highlighting the necessity of intimate interfacial contact for optimum charge carrier transfer...

In their famous paper, Kohn and Sham formulated a formally exact density-functional theory (DFT) for the ground-state energy and density of a system of N interacting electrons, albeit limited at the time by certain troubling representability questions. As no practical exact form of the exchange-correlation (xc) energy functional was known, the xc-functional had to be approximated, ideally by a local or semilocal functional. Nowadays, however, the realization that Nature is not always so nearsighted has driven us up Perdew's Jacob's ladder to find increasingly nonlocal density/wavefunction hybrid functionals...