First-principles calculations have been used to investigate the structural and electronic properties of graphene supported on functionalized hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) with hydrogen and fluorine atoms. Our results show that the hydrogenation and fluorination of the h-BN substrate modify the electronic properties of graphene. Interactions of graphene with fully hydrogenated or fully fluorinated h-BN and half-hydrogenated and half-fluorinated h-BN with H at N sites and F at the B sites can lead to n- or p-type doping of graphene. The different doping effect may be attributed to the significant charge transfer from graphene to the substrate. Interestingly, when graphene is supported on the functionalized h-BN with H at B sites and F at N sites (G/HBNF), a finite band gap of 79 meV in graphene is opened due to the equivalence breaking of two sublattices of graphene, and can be effectively modulated by changing the interlayer spacing, increasing the number of functionalized BN layers, and applying an external electric field. More importantly, the modification of the band gap in G/HBNF with a functionalized BN bilayer by the electric field is more pronounced than that of the single-layer h-BN, which is increased to 408 meV with 0.8 V Å(-1). Thus, graphene on chemically modified h-BN with a tunable and sizeable band gap may provide a novel way for fabricating high-performance graphene-based nanodevices.

Do the Maca‐Rhena: Although there are many known stable metallabenzenes that contain a late transition metal, there are no examples of the direct observation of metallabenzenes that contain an early or middle transition metal. The isolation and structural characterization of air‐stable rhenabenzenes 1 and 2 (see scheme) are reported.

A general approach to (5S,6R)-6-alkyl-5-benzyloxy-2-piperidinones based on the regio- and diastereoselective reductive alkylation of (S)-3-benzyloxyglutarimide 7 is described. This method opens an entrance to chiral nonracemic substituted 3-piperidinols. The versatility of the method is illustrated by the asymmetric syntheses of neurokinin substance P receptor antagonist L-733,061 (ent-1), (-)-deoxocassine (4), and an inhibitor of HIV proteases (5a).

A highly stereoselective and efficient transition-metal-free semihydrogenation of internal alkynes to E-alkenes using cheap and green water as hydrogen donor is described. The reactions are conducted under convenient conditions and provide products in good to excellent yields, with broad substrate scope, including a variety of diarylalkynes.