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Rh-N-heterocyclic carbene compounds [Rh(μ-Cl)(IPr)(η(2)-olefin)](2) and RhCl(IPr)(py)(η(2)-olefin) (IPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-carbene, py = pyridine, olefin = cyclooctene or ethylene) are highly active catalysts for alkyne hydrothiolation under mild conditions. A regioselectivity switch from linear to 1-substituted vinyl sulfides was observed when mononuclear RhCl(IPr)(py)(η(2)-olefin) catalysts were used instead of dinuclear precursors. A complex interplay between electronic and steric effects exerted by IPr, pyridine, and hydride ligands accounts for the observed regioselectivity. Both IPr and pyridine ligands stabilize formation of square-pyramidal thiolate-hydride active species in which the encumbered and powerful electron-donor IPr ligand directs coordination of pyridine trans to it, consequently blocking access of the incoming alkyne in this position. Simultaneously, the higher trans director hydride ligand paves the way to a cis thiolate-alkyne disposition, favoring formation of 2,2-disubstituted metal-alkenyl species and subsequently the Markovnikov vinyl sulfides via alkenyl-hydride reductive elimination. DFT calculations support a plausible reaction pathway where migratory insertion of the alkyne into the rhodium-thiolate bond is the rate-determining step.

Among biofuels, the bio-oil produced by hydrothermal liquefaction of waste biomass can be considered an alternative to fossil fuels in industry as well as transport and heating compartments. The bio-oil complex composition is directly dependent upon the specific biomass used as feedstock and the process used for the chemical conversion. The coexistence of proteins and lipids can explain, in principle, the high percentage of fatty acid amides found in the produced bio-oil. In the present study, the amides in a sample of bio-oil have been separated by gas chromatography and identified at first on the basis of their electron impact (EI) mass spectra. To distinguish between N-alkyl isomers, standard amides have been synthesized and analyzed. Because the most reasonable origin of fatty acid amides in hydrothermal bio-oils is the condensation reaction between fatty acids and the decarboxylation products of amino acids, a series of model experiments have been carried out by reacting hexadecanoic acid, at high temperature and pressure, with each of the 20 amino acids constitutive of proteins, looking for the formation of fatty acid amides. Remarkably, by such experiments, all of the amides present in the bio-oil have been recognized as hydrothermal coupling compounds of the decomposition products of amino acids with fatty acids, thus allowing for their structural elucidation and, also important, confirming their (bio)chemical origin.

New trends in material science and nanotechnologies have spurred growing interest in eumelanins black insoluble biopolymers derived by tyrosinase-catalysed oxidation of tyrosine via 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI) and its 2-carboxylic acid (DHICA). Efficient antioxidant and photoprotective actions, associated with peculiar optoelectronic properties, are recognised as prominent functions of eumelanin macromolecules within the human and mammalian pigmentary system, making them unique candidates for the realisation of innovative bio-inspired functional soft materials, with structure-based physical-chemical properties. An unprecedented breakthrough into the mechanism of synthetic eumelanin buildup has derived from a detailed investigation of the oxidative polymerization of DHI and its N-methyl derivative (NMDHI) by linear and reflectron matrix-assisted laser/desorption ionization mass spectrometry. Regular collections of oligomers of increasing masses, spanning the entire m/z ranges up to 5000 Da (>30-mer) and 8000 Da (> 50-mer) for the two building blocks, respectively, were disclosed. It is the first time that the in vitro polymerisation of dihydroxyindoles to form synthetic eumelanins is explored up to its high mass limits, giving at the same time information on the polymerisation mode, whether it follows a stepwise pattern (being this the conclusion in our case) or a staking sequencing of small-sized entities. It also highlighted the influence of the N-methyl substituent on the polymerization process; this opens the way to the production of N-functionalized, synthetic eumelanin-inspired soft materials, for possible future technological applications.

Two kinds of new optically active chelating ligands bearing a chiral sulfinyl functionality, namely the 3,4-bis-(p-tolylsulfinyl)hexanes 4 and the N-mono- and N,N-disubstituted β-p-tolylsulfinyl ethylamines 5 and 2, have been synthesized and their coordination chemistry with Pd(II) and Rh(I) metals has been studied in detail. Complexes formed with ligands 4 featured a homocoordination between the two sulfur donors and the metal atom, in solution as well as in the solid state, as demonstrated by X-ray diffraction of cis-dichloro[3,4-bis-(p-tolylsulfinyl)hexane]palladium(II) ((3R,4R,R S,R S)-7), in which the ligand shows a C 2 symmetry. Complexes formed with ligands 2 and 5 showed a heterocoordination of the metal by the sulfur and the nitrogen donors, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction of cis-dichloro[N,N-dimethyl-2-(p-tolylsulfinyl)ethylamine]palladium(II) ((R)-6). All nine complexes 6−11, displaying a monomeric structure, have been synthesized and completely characterized in the solid state (IR, MS-FAB) as well as in solution (1H and 13C NMR, [α]25 D).