Sterically encumbered Lewis acid and Lewis base combinations do not undergo the ubiquitous neutralization reaction to form "classical" Lewis acid/Lewis base adducts. Rather, both the unquenched Lewis acidity and basicity of such sterically "frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs)" is available to carry out unusual reactions. Typical examples of frustrated Lewis pairs are inter- or intramolecular combinations of bulky phosphines or amines with strongly electrophilic RB(C(6)F(5))(2) components. Many examples of such frustrated Lewis pairs are able to cleave dihydrogen heterolytically. The resulting H(+)/H(-) pairs (stabilized for example, in the form of the respective phosphonium cation/hydridoborate anion salts) serve as active metal-free catalysts for the hydrogenation of, for example, bulky imines, enamines, or enol ethers. Frustrated Lewis pairs also react with alkenes, aldehydes, and a variety of other small molecules, including carbon dioxide, in cooperative three-component reactions, offering new strategies for synthetic chemistry.

Frustrated Lewis pairs: metal-free hydrogen activation and more.

This critical review highlights supermolecular building blocks (SBBs) in the context of their impact upon the design, synthesis, and structure of metal–organic materials (MOMs). MOMs, also known as coordination polymers, hybrid inorganic–organic materials, and metal–organic frameworks, represent an emerging class of materials that have attracted the imagination of solid-state chemists because MOMs combine unprecedented levels of porosity with a range of other functional properties that occur through the metal moiety and/or the organic ligand. First generation MOMs exploited the geometry of metal ions or secondary building units (SBUs), small metal clusters that mimic polygons, for the generation of MOMs. In this critical review we examine the recent (<5 years) adoption of much larger scale metal–organic polyhedra (MOPs) as SBBs for the construction of MOMs by highlighting how the large size and high symmetry of such SBBs can afford improved control over the topology of the resulting MOM and a new level of scale to the resulting framework (204 references).

Design and synthesis of metal-organic frameworks using metal-organic polyhedra as supermolecular building blocks.

The [2 + 2] photocycloaddition is undisputedly the most important and most frequently used photochemical reaction. In this review, it is attempted to cover all recent aspects of [2 + 2] photocycloaddition chemistry with an emphasis on synthetically relevant, regio-, and stereoselective reactions. The review aims to comprehensively discuss relevant work, which was done in the field in the last 20 years (i.e., from 1995 to 2015). Organization of the data follows a subdivision according to mechanism and substrate classes. Cu(I) and PET (photoinduced electron transfer) catalysis are treated separately in sections 2 and 4, whereas the vast majority of photocycloaddition reactions which occur by direct excitation or sensitization are divided within section 3 into individual subsections according to the photochemically excited olefin.

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00723

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Cyclobutanes by Olefin [2+2] Photocycloaddition Reactions

Frustrierte Lewis‐Paare: metallfreie Wasserstoffaktivierung und mehr

Supramolecular coordination compounds bear exceptional advantages over their organic counterparts. They are available in one-pot reactions and in high yields and display physical properties that are generally inaccessible with organic species. Moreover, their weak, reversible, noncovalent bonding interactions facilitate error checking and self-correction. This Review emphasizes the achievements in supramolecular coordination chemistry initiated by serendipity and their materialization based on rational design. The recognition of similarities in the synthesis of different supramolecular assemblies allows prediction of potential results in related cases. Supramolecular synthesis obeys guidelines comparable to the "lead sheet" used by small jazz ensembles for improvisation and therefore more often leads to unpredicted results. The combination of detailed symmetry considerations with the basic rules of coordination chemistry has only recently allowed for the design of rational strategies for the construction of a variety of nanosized systems with specified size and shape.

Supramolecular coordination chemistry: the synergistic effect of serendipity and rational design.

Asymmetric Synthesis of Natural Product Inspired Tricyclic Benzopyrones by an Organocatalyzed Annulation Reaction

The selective transformation of methane into more reactive molecules, considered to be one of the “holy grails” of chemistry, lies at the heart of our understanding of chemical reactivity and has potentially far-reaching practical implications. The challenge in achieving this transformation arises from the low reactivity of methane. An economically feasible process for C H activation is not available, but is highly desirable owing to the abundance of methane as the major constituent of natural gas. Although natural gas is the most abundant, low-cost, carbon-based feedstock, most basic chemicals are produced today indirectly from petroleum in energy-extensive processes. While superacids, free radicals and radical cations, and enzymatic systems can be used to functionalize simple hydrocarbons, much success has been achieved in the field of transition-metal chemistry. A typical theme of transitionmetal-mediated C H bond activation is the oxidative addition of an alkane to a coordinatively unsaturated metal center [LnM ] [Eq. (1)], which is usually generated in situ by thermal or photochemical decomposition of a suitable precursor. The alkane RH acts then as a nucleophile towards the electrophilic metal center [LnM ] [Eq. (1)].

Metal-Free Conversion of Methane and Cycloalkanes to Amines and Amides by Employing a Borylnitrene

Rational Design of a Double‐Walled Tetrahedron Containing Two Different C3‐Symmetric Ligands

The solid state structures of a number of ortho-substituted arylboronic acids, ortho-bromophenyl, ortho-phenylphenyl, pentamethylphenyl, and 10-bromo-9-anthryl, were determined by X-ray diffraction techniques. All boronic acids investigated form dimers in the solid state, but the interconnection of dimers to ribbons differs from that of the parent phenylboronic acid. Pentamethylphenylboronic acid only uses onehydrogen bond but an additional OH–π interaction for connection of dimers, while all others investigated employ two hydrogen bonds for interconnection of dimers to ribbons. 10-Bromo-9-anthrylboronic acid is found to undergo spontaneous resolution of its enantiomers to a racemic conglomerate upon crystallization.

Supramolecular structures and spontaneous resolution: the case of ortho-substituted phenylboronic acids

The complexation of carboxylic acid Monensin A (MonH, 1a) with CoCl2.6H2O and MnCl2.4H2O leads to the formation of mononuclear complexes [Co(Mon)2(H2O)2], 2a and [Mn(Mon)2(H2O)2], 2b, respectively. The unique crystal structures of 2a and 2b were determined by X-ray crystallography. The complexes crystallize in the monoclinic space group P21 with an octahedrally coordinated transition metal center forming the crystallographically centrosymmetric chromophore CoO6 or MnO6, respectively. Two molecules of Monensin A act bidentately through their carboxylate moiety and a hydroxyl group, and two water molecules are additionally transcoordinated. Although the transition metal ions are not bound into the cavity of the ligand, the unusual bidentate coordination mode of the ionophore induces its “pseudo-cyclization” forming 22-membered cycles further stabilized by a number of H-bonds. The complexes are the first example of divalent metal complexes of the monovalent polyether ionophore. The parallel study on the complexation ability of the potassium complex of Monensin A (MonK, 1b) towards Co(II) and Mn(II) showed the formation of the isostructural complexes 2a and 2b accompanied by loss of the potassium ion due to the new coordination mode of the ligand. The biological tests performed with the antibiotic MonH and the corresponding metal(II) complexes show greatly enhanced antimicrobial activity of complexes 2a-b against Gram(+)-bacteria.

First divalent metal complexes of the polyether ionophore Monensin A: X-Ray structures of [Co(Mon)2(H2O)2] and [Mn(Mon)2(H2O)2] and their bactericidal properties.

Iris M. Oppel

Papers

Asymmetric Synthesis of Natural Product Inspired Tricyclic Benzopyrones by an Organocatalyzed Annulation Reaction

Metal-Free Conversion of Methane and Cycloalkanes to Amines and Amides by Employing a Borylnitrene

Rational Design of a Double‐Walled Tetrahedron Containing Two Different C3‐Symmetric Ligands

Supramolecular structures and spontaneous resolution: the case of ortho-substituted phenylboronic acids

First divalent metal complexes of the polyether ionophore Monensin A: X-Ray structures of [Co(Mon)2(H2O)2] and [Mn(Mon)2(H2O)2] and their bactericidal properties.