The discrete supertetrahedral chalcogenido Tn clusters can be regarded as a type of quantum dot (QD) with precise structure and uniform size. They were commonly studied in the solid state because of their poor solubility or highly negative charge that leads to instability in common solvents. These drawbacks limit their potential applications as efficient photocatalysts. Herein we first obtained a sulfide compound via an ionic-liquid-assisted precursor method, namely, (BMMim)9(Cd3In17S31Cl4) (T4-1, BMMim = 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium). T4-1 is characteristic of the discrete anionic T4 cluster and is insoluble in common solvents. Introducing Se into the structure resulted in compounds (BMMim)9(Cd3In17S13Se18Cl4) (T4-2) and (BMMim)9(Cd3In17Se31Cl4)­(4,4′-bpy) (T4-3) with narrower band gaps. Moreover, T4-2 and T4-3 were soluble in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) probably because of weaker interactions between cations and anions than in T4-1. The solution stability of these clusters has been confirmed by mass spectrometry. Further characterization reveals that the highly dispersed T4 clusters exposed more active sites in solution, so their rates of relevant H2 production were improved to be ∼5 times that in the solid state. To our knowledge, this is the first time that highly dispersed Tn clusters have been applied in photocatalytic H2 generation.

The Co(III)-catalyzed redox-neutral annulation of benzamides and acrylamides with vinylene carbonate for the synthesis of isoquinolinones and pyridinones has been developed. This protocol employing inexpensive Co(III) as the catalyst tolerated diverse functional groups and substitution patterns, affording the target products with good to excellent yields. The synthetic utility of this transformation was demonstrated by a three-step synthesis of gusanlung D, 8-oxopseudopalmatine, and oxopalmatine.Letter pubs.acs.org/OrgLett

The ambient-temperature ortho C-H arylation of electron-deficient benzoic acids with aryl iodides has been achieved by using an Ac-Ile-OH-supported Pd catalyst. A wide range of unactivated benzoic acids could cross-couple an array of aryl iodides in moderate to excellent yields. The choice of HFIP as a solvent is crucial to realizing the mild C-H arylation, and the beneficial effect of the ligand on the reaction likely stems from the accelerated C-H activation process and the improved catalyst lifetime.