The palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of N-acylsuccinimides as versatile acyl-transfer reagents via selective amide N-C bond cleavage is reported. The method is user-friendly since it employs commercially-available, air-stable reagents and catalysts. The cross-coupling is enabled by half-twist of the amide bond in N-acylsuccinimides. These highly effective, crystalline acyl-transfer reagents present major advantages over perpendicularly twisted N-acylglutarimides, including low price of the succinimide activating ring, selective metal insertion under redox neutral conditions and high stability of the amide bond towards reaction conditions. Mechanistic studies indicate that oxidative addition is the rate limiting step in this widely applicable protocol.

Carbon disulfide (CS2) is a highly volatile neurotoxic species. It is known to cause atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease and contributes significantly to sulfur-based pollutants. Therefore, effective detection and capture of carbon disulfide represents an important aspect of research efforts for the protection of human and environmental health. In this study, we report the synthesis and characterization of two strongly luminescent and robust isoreticular metal organic frameworks (MOFs) Zr6(µ3-O)4(OH)8(tcbpe)2(H2O)4 (here termed 1) and Zr6(µ3-O)4(OH)8(tcbpe-f)2(H2O)4 (here termed 2) and their use as fluorescent sensors for the detection of carbon disulfide. Both MOFs demonstrate a calorimetric bathochromic shift in the optical bandgap and strong luminescence quenching upon exposure to carbon disulfide. The interactions between carbon disulfide and the frameworks are analyzed by in-situ infrared spectroscopy and computational modelling by density functional theory. These results reveal that both the Zr metal node and organic ligand act as the preferential binding sites and interact strongly with carbon disulfide.