Consecutive four-component coupling-coupling-cyclocondensation syntheses of pyrazoles and pyrimidines were developed by taking advantage of the provisional, sequentially Pd-catalyzed one-pot generation of alkynones from aryl iodides, ethynylmagnesium bromide, and acid chlorides. This one-pot methodology allows the concise, diversity-oriented generation of a set of donor-, acceptor-, and donor-acceptor-substituted pyrazoles, which are interesting fluorophores. Most distinctly, donor-acceptor pyrazoles display remarkably red-shifted emission maxima and pronounced positive solvochromicity, spanning an overall range from 363 nm (cyclohexane) to 595 nm (acetonitrile). DFT and TD-DFT calculations elucidate the electronic structure and the photophysical behavior. Upon photonic excitation, considerable charge-transfer character becomes apparent, which rationalizes the origin of huge Stokes shifts and solvochromic behavior.

Chiral cyclooctadienes are a frequently occurring scaffold in natural products and specialty chemicals, and are used as ligands in asymmetric catalysis. Accessing substituted cyclooctadienes in an efficient asymmetric fashion has been notoriously challenging. We report an iron-catalyzed enantioselective cross-[4+4]-cycloaddition of 1,3-dienes to form substituted cyclooctadienes under very mild conditions. A highly tailored chiral α-diimine iron complex is key for the success of the transformation providing a balanced performance between reactivity, excellent cross-selectivity and very high enantioselectivity. Steric maps of the complexes help accounting for the observed selectivity. The developed method allows rapid and atom-economic access to novel differently functionalized cyclooctadienes in very high yields and enantioselectivities.

Phenothiazines are redox-active, fluorescent molecules with potential applications in molecular electronics. Phosphonated phenylethynyl phenothiazine can be easily obtained in a four-step synthesis, yielding a molecule with a headgroup permitting surface linkage. Upon modifying hydroxylated polycrystalline zinc and iron, both covered with their respective native oxides, ultrathin organic layers were formed and investigated by use of infrared (IR) reflection spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), contact angle measurement, and ellipsometry. While stable monolayers with upright oriented organic molecules were formed on oxide-covered iron, multilayer formation is observed on oxide-covered zinc. ToF-SIMS measurements reveal a bridging bidentate bonding state of the organic compound on oxide-covered iron, whereas monodentate complexes were observed on oxide-covered zinc. Both organically modified and unmodified surfaces exhibit reactive wetting, but organic modification makes the surfaces initially more hydrophobic. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) indicates redox activity of the multilayers formed on oxide-covered zinc. On the other hand, the monolayers on oxide-covered iron desorb after electrochemical modifications in the state of the oxide, but are stable at open circuit conditions. Exploiting an electronic coupling of phenothiazines to oxides may thus assist in corrosion protection.

Alkynones as well as unsymmetrically substituted tolanes (diarylalkynes) can be rapidly generated in a one-pot fashion via sequential palladium catalysis. Terminal alkynes, formed in situ by protecting-group free palladium-catalyzed coupling of aryl iodides with ethynyl magnesium bromide, are subsequently transformed by Sonogashira coupling with aryl halides or aroyl chlorides to furnish unsymmetrically substituted alkynes in good to excellent yields.