Biomass is an important feedstock for the renewable production of fuels, chemicals, and energy. As of 2005, over 3% of the total energy consumption in the United States was supplied by biomass, and it recently surpassed hydroelectric energy as the largest domestic source of renewable energy. Similarly, the European Union received 66.1% of its renewable energy from biomass, which thus surpassed the total combined contribution from hydropower, wind power, geothermal energy, and solar power. In addition to energy, the production of chemicals from biomass is also essential; indeed, the only renewable source of liquid transportation fuels is currently obtained from biomass.

The Catalytic Valorization of Lignin for the Production of Renewable Chemicals

Dioxygen activation at mononuclear nonheme iron active sites: enzymes, models, and intermediates.

A number of studies were conducted to demonstrate C-H activation for the construction of C-B bonds. Investigations revealed that the conversion of C-H bonds to C-B bonds was both thermodynamically and kinetically favorable. The reaction at a primary C-H bond of methane or a higher alkene B 2(OR)4 formed an alkylboronate ester R' -B(OR)2 and the accompanying borane H-B(OR2. The ester and the borane were formed on the basis of calculated bond energies for methylboronates and dioaborolanes. The rates of key steps along the reaction pathway for the conversion of a C-H bond in an alkane or arene to the C-B bond in an alkyl or arylboronate ester were favorable. These studies also highlighted the accessible barriers for C-H bond cleavage and B-C bond formation during the borylation of alkanes and arenes.

/pdf/c-h-activation-for-the-construction-of-c-b-bonds-23ckat61mx.pdf

C−H Activation for the Construction of C−B Bonds

and Fuels Changzhi Li,† Xiaochen Zhao,† Aiqin Wang,† George W. Huber,†,‡ and Tao Zhang*,† †State Key Laborotary of Catalysis, iChEM (Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials), Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dalian 116023, China ‡Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of WisconsinMadison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, United States

Catalytic Transformation of Lignin for the Production of Chemicals and Fuels

Notably, many significant breakthroughs for a new generation of supercapacitors have been reported in recent years, related to theoretical understanding, material synthesis and device designs. Herein, we summarize the state-of-the-art progress toward mechanisms, new materials, and novel device designs for supercapacitors. Firstly, fundamental understanding of the mechanism is mainly focused on the relationship between the structural properties of electrode materials and their electrochemical performances based on some in situ characterization techniques and simulations. Secondly, some emerging electrode materials are discussed, including metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), MXenes, metal nitrides, black phosphorus, LaMnO3, and RbAg4I5/graphite. Thirdly, the device innovations for the next generation of supercapacitors are provided successively, mainly emphasizing flow supercapacitors, alternating current (AC) line-filtering supercapacitors, redox electrolyte enhanced supercapacitors, metal ion hybrid supercapacitors, micro-supercapacitors (fiber, plane and three-dimensional) and multifunctional supercapacitors including electrochromic supercapacitors, self-healing supercapacitors, piezoelectric supercapacitors, shape-memory supercapacitors, thermal self-protective supercapacitors, thermal self-charging supercapacitors, and photo self-charging supercapacitors. Finally, the future developments and key technical challenges are highlighted regarding further research in this thriving field.

Latest advances in supercapacitors: from new electrode materials to novel device designs.

Transition Metal−Boryl Compounds: Synthesis, Reactivity, and Structure

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/anie.201610955

Cover Picture: A Metallaanthracene and Derived Metallaanthraquinone (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1/2017)

Metallabenzenes are analogues of benzene in which one of the benzene CH groups has been formally replaced by a transition metal and its ancillary ligands. This article summarises some of the important recent highlights of metallabenzene chemistry including the synthesis of the first platinabenzene, the synthesis of the first metallanaphthalene (an iridanaphthalene) and the development of new synthetic routes to metallabenzenes. The results of a number of theoretical studies that provide important insights into the nature and reactivity of metallabenzenes are discussed and in the concluding section some of the immediate goals and challenges in this field are identified.

Metallabenzenes and metallabenzenoids

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ange.201610955

Titelbild: A Metallaanthracene and Derived Metallaanthraquinone (Angew. Chem. 1/2017)

Synthetic iron(IV) complexes are attracting interest both as models for putative intermediates of biochemical reactions as well as for proposed catalytic entities. We have previously reported the X-ray structure of [Et 4 N] [Fa IV -Cl(η 4 -MAC * )] (H 4 [MAC * ]= 1,4,8,11-tetraaza-13,13-diethyl-2,2,5,5,7,7,10,10-octamethyl-3,6,9,12,14-pantaoxocyclotetradecane), where iron is coordinated to a plane of four amide nitrogen anions of a macrocyclic ligand and to one axial chloride (Collins, T. J.; Kostka, K. L.; Munck, E.; Uffelman, E. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1990, 112, 5637-5639)

High-valent transition metal chemistry. Moessbauer and EPR studies of high-spin (S = 2) iron(IV) and intermediate-spin (S = 3/2) iron(III) complexes with a macrocyclic tetraamido-N ligand

L. James Wright

Papers

Transition Metal−Boryl Compounds: Synthesis, Reactivity, and Structure

Cover Picture: A Metallaanthracene and Derived Metallaanthraquinone (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 1/2017)

Metallabenzenes and metallabenzenoids

Titelbild: A Metallaanthracene and Derived Metallaanthraquinone (Angew. Chem. 1/2017)

High-valent transition metal chemistry. Moessbauer and EPR studies of high-spin (S = 2) iron(IV) and intermediate-spin (S = 3/2) iron(III) complexes with a macrocyclic tetraamido-N ligand