We previously reported the novel efficient proton/heat-promoted four-component reactions (4CRs) of but-2-ynedioates, two same/different primary amines, and aldehydes for the synthesis of tetra- and pentasubstituted polyfunctional dihydropyrroles. If aromatic and aliphatic amines were used as reagents, four different series of products should be obtained via the permutation and combination of aromatic and aliphatic primary amines. However, only three/two rather four different series of tetra-/pentasubstisuted dihydropyrroles could be prepared via the proton/heat-promoted 4CRs. Herein, Cu(OAc)2·H2O, a Lewis acid being stable in air and water, was found to be an efficient catalyst for the 4CR synthesis of all the four different series of tetra-/pentasubstisuted dihydropyrroles. The copper-catalyzed 4CR could produce target products at room temperature in good to excellent yields. Interestingly, benzaldehyde, in addition to being used as a useful reactant for the synthesis of pentasubstituted dihydropyrroles, was found to be an excellent additive for preventing the oxidation of aromatic amines with copper(II) and ensuring the sooth conduct of the 4CRs for the synthesis of tetrasubstituted dihydropyrroles with aryl R(3). In addition, salicylic acid was found to be needed to increase the activities and yields of the copper-catalyzed 4CRs for the synthesis of petasubstituted diyhydropyrroles. On the basis of experimental results, the enamination/amidation/intramolecular cyclization mechanism was proposed and amidation is expected to be the rate-limited step in the copper-catalyzed 4CRs.

Organic fluorophores have attracted great interest owing to their wide applications. They usually contain an electron-conjugated system with an aromatic moiety and show high emission in dilute solutions but weaker or even no emission upon aggregation. Here, a simple one-pot, three-component reaction (3CR) (method I) for the synthesis of various di- and monosubstituted aminomaleimides (DAMIs and MAMIs) has been developed, and the reported 3CR (method II) has been found to be efficient only for the synthesis of MAMIs with R = alkyl. Twelve AMIs were designed and synthesized for investigation of the influence of structures on their optical properties in monomers and aggregates. It was found that alkyl MAMIs, alkyl DAMIs, and aryl AMIs/DAMIs show very different fluorescence efficiencies in different solvents, and only MAMIs with butyl and oleyl show high emissions in powders similar to those in nonpolar solutions. Single-crystal structures indicate that their fluorescence efficiencies in aggregates mainly correlate with molecular packing modes. The efficient synthesis method, the sensitive fluorescence on-off response to protic solvents or polar solvents, and the unusual high emissions of AMI without any aromatic moiety in both monomer and aggregates are expected to attract great interest in the fields of application and theory.

No abstract