Chalcogen-containing compounds have received considerable attention because of their manifold applications in agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and material science. While many classical methods have been developed for preparing organic sulfides, most of them exploited the transition-metal-catalyzed cross-couplings of aryl halides or pseudo halides with thiols or disulfides, with harsh reaction conditions usually being required. Herein, we present a user-friendly, nickel-catalyzed reductive thiolation of unactivated primary and secondary alkyl bromides with thiosulfonates as reliable thiolation reagents, which are easily prepared and bench-stable. Furthermore, a series of selenides is also prepared in a similar fashion with selenosulfonates as selenolation reagents. This catalytic method offers a facile synthesis of a wide range of unsymmetrical alkyl-aryl or alkyl-alkyl sulfides and selenides under mild conditions with an excellent tolerance of functional groups. Likewise, the use of sensitive and stoichiometric organometallic reagents can be avoided.

SYNOPSISPolyethersulfone (PES) membranes using different evaporation periods were fabricated by the phase-inversion method. Pervaporation experiments were conducted for chloroform/ water mixtures to determine the selectivity of the PES membranes. It was found that chloroform could be concentrated in the permeate from chloroform/water binary feed mixtures by PES membranes prepared using longer evaporation periods, and that the selectivity of PES membranes in pervaporation could be reversed by shorter evaporation periods. This study also showed that by adding surface-modifying macromolecules (SMM) up to 1 wt % into the casting solution, chloroform enrichment in the permeate could be increased by 50%. Chloroform enrichment increased with increasing SMM concentration until an optimal value, after which the enrichment decreased.

A facile and novel method for the synthesis of functionalized 1,2,4-selenadiazoles through aerobic radical-cascade cyclization of isocyanides, selenium and imidamides is established.

Protonation of [RCnRuH(L)(L‘)]+ (RCn = 1,4,7-triazacyclononane and 1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane; L,L‘ = (PPh3)2, dppe, and CO,PPh3) produced the corresponding dicationic dihydrogen complexes [RCnRu(H2)(L)(L‘)]2+. Protonation of TpRuH(dppe) (Tp = hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borato) yielded the new monocationic dihydrogen complex [TpRu(H2)(dppe)]+. The acidity of the dihydrogen complexes [RCnRu(H2)(L)(L‘)]2+ and monocationic dihydrogen complexes [TpRu(H2)(L)(L‘)]+ (L,L‘ = dppe, (PPh3)2, CH3CN,PPh3, and CO,PPh3) has been studied. It was found that the dicationic complexes are more acidic than their monocationic Tp and Cp counterparts. [MeCnRu(H2)(CO)(PPh3)]2+ was found to be more acidic than [HCnRu(H2)(CO)(PPh3)]2+, probably due to the stronger H−H interaction in the latter complex. It is also noted that triazacyclononane and hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borato dihydrogen complexes with pseudo aqueous pK a values well above that of H3O+ can be deprotonated by H2O to form the corresponding monohydride complexes in organic/aqueous mixed solvents. It is believed that deprotonation of the dihydrogen ligands in these complexes is assisted by strong solvation of H+ by H2O.