Recent Developments in C–H Activation for Materials Science in the Center for Selective C–H Activation

Abstract

Organic electronics is a rapidly growing field driven in large part by the synthesis of π-conjugated molecules and polymers. Traditional aryl cross-coupling reactions such as the Stille and Suzuki have been used extensively in the synthesis of π-conjugated molecules and polymers, but the synthesis of intermediates necessary for traditional cross-couplings can include multiple steps with toxic and hazardous reagents. Direct arylation through C–H bond activation has the potential to reduce the number of steps and hazards while being more atom-economical. Within the Center for Selective C–H Functionalization (CCHF), we have been developing C–H activation methodology for the synthesis of π-conjugated materials of interest, including direct arylation of difficult-to-functionalize electron acceptor intermediates and living polymerization of π-conjugated polymers through C–H activation.

Structural and Bonding Characteristics of Potassium-Doped p-Terphenyl Superconductors

“…So far the highest T c reached is 33.1 Kelvin in PAH superconductors, which was obtained in K-doped 1,2;8,9dibenzopentacene 8 . However, previous theoretical studies showed that PAH superconductors usually exhibit the antiferromagnetic (AFM) ground state [10][11][12][13] and exist the strong electronic correlation effects [13][14][15][16][17][18] , indicating the superconducting mechanism is complicated in aromatic hydrocarbons. Our theoretical predictions have argued that electronic correlations 9 or pressure 19 could enhance high T c in aromatic hydrocarbons.…”

Superconductivity in solid benzene molecular crystal

“…Only electron-phonon coupling is not enough to produce such high-T c superconductivity in alkali metal doped fullerides [13] and PAHs [15]. Meanwhile, the low dimensional feature of organic molecule was proposed to favor the strong electronic correlation effects in these materials such as doped fullerides [16] and PAHs [17][18][19]. While pressure can greatly enhance superconductivity in PAHs such as potassium-doped phenanthrene [20] and picene [21], the realization of superconductivity solely by applying pressure on pristine organic compounds has not been achieved yet.…”

Fluorescent Imaging for Cysteine Detection In Vivo with High Selectivity

“…The probe was used in human lung adenocarcinoma cells (A549) for the fluorescent imaging of endogenous and exogenous cysteine. The cells were divided to five groups, and a thiol-blocking reagent N-ethylmaleimide [39] (NEM, 1 mM) was incubated with each group of cells, except the control group, before PÀ Cy (5 μM) was loaded. As shown in Figure 4a, prominent fluorescence was shown in control group cells, which was only incubated with PÀ Cy, indicating that PÀ Cy could successfully sense the endogenous cysteine level in the cell.…”