C-H bond activation and decarboxylation are two significant processes in organic synthesis. The combination of these processes provides a novel synthetic strategy, that is, decarboxylative C-H bond functionalization. Considerable attention has been focused on such an active research field. This review offers an overview of the utility of decarboxylative C-H bond functionalization in the synthesis of various organic compounds, such as styrenes, chalcones, biaryls, and heterocycles, covering most of the recent advances of the decarboxylative functionalization of Csp-H, Csp-H, and Csp-H bonds, as well as their scopes, limitations, practical applications, and synthetic potentials.

An efficient system catalyzed by a Ru-PNN pincer complex was developed for reforming methanol to H 2 and CO 2 (absorbed by base) under relatively low temperature (around 100 °C), and good yields of H 2 were obtained (∼80%). The catalyst solution can be reused without isolation and purification, with no decrease in catalytic activity being observed for a period of ∼1 month. Decomposition of formic acid, which is likely to be the last step of the methanol reforming reaction, was also investigated, and the formic acid adduct of the catalyst was fully characterized spectroscopically and by X-ray crystallography.

Hydrogen is an efficient green fuel, but its low energy density when stored under high pressure or cryogenically, and safety issues, presents significant disadvantages; hence finding efficient and safe hydrogen carriers is a major challenge. Of special interest are liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs), which can be readily loaded and unloaded with considerable amounts of hydrogen. However, disadvantages include high hydrogen pressure requirements, high reaction temperatures for both hydrogenation and dehydrogenation steps, which require different catalysts, and high LOHC cost. Here we present a readily reversible LOHC system based on catalytic peptide formation and hydrogenation, using an inexpensive, safe and abundant organic compound with high potential capacity to store and release hydrogen, applying the same catalyst for loading and unloading hydrogen under relatively mild conditions. Mechanistic insight of the catalytic reaction is provided. We believe that these findings may lead to the development of an inexpensive, safe and clean liquid hydrogen carrier system.

Metal-ligand cooperation (MLC) plays an important role in catalysis. Systems reported so far are generally based on a single mode of MLC. We report here a system with potential for MLC by both amine-amide and aromatization-dearomatization ligand transformations, based on a new class of phosphino-pyridyl ruthenium pincer complexes, bearing sec-amine coordination. These pincer complexes are effective catalysts under unprecedented mild conditions for acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols to esters at 35 °C and hydrogenation of esters at room temperature and 5 atm H2. The likely actual catalyst, a novel, crystallographically characterized monoanionic de-aromatized enamido-Ru(II) complex, was obtained by deprotonation of both the N-H and the methylene proton of the N-arm of the pincer ligand.

Efficient degradation of plastics, the vital challenge for a sustainable future, stands in need of better chemical recycling procedures that help produce commercially valuable small molecules and redefine plastic waste as a rich source of chemical feedstock. However, the corresponding chemical recycling methods, while being generally restricted to polar polymers, need improvement. Particularly, degradation of chemically inert nonpolar polymers, the major constitutes of plastics, suffers from low selectivity and very harsh trans-formation conditions. Herein, an efficient method was developed for selective degradation of styrene-related plastics under gentle conditions through multiple oxidation of sp 3 CÀ H bonds and sp 3 CÀ C bonds. The procedure was catalyzed with inexpensive iron salts under visible light, using oxygen as green oxidant. Furthermore, simple iron salts could be used to degrade plastics in the absence of solvent under natural conditions, highlighting the potential application of iron salts as additives for degradable plastics.

TiO2 nanotube arrays (NTA), prepared by potentiostatic anodization, were discovered to possess an intrinsic peroxidase-like activity. The colorimetric and electrochemical assays both demonstrated their excellent catalytic activity towards H2O2 reduction. On this basis, a simple and inexpensive electrochemical biosensor for glucose detection was developed.

Light-induced [2 + 2] cycloaddition is the most straightforward way to generate cyclobutanes, which are core structures of many natural products, drugs and bioactive compounds. Despite continuous advances in selective [2 + 2] cycloaddition research, general method for intermolecular photocatalysis of acyclic olefins with specific regio- and diastereoselectivity, for example, syn-head-to-head (syn-HH) cyclobutane derivatives, is still lack of development but highly desired. Herein, we report a cage-confined photocatalytic protocol to enable unusual intermolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition for α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. The syn-HH diastereomers are readily generated with diastereoselectivity up to 99%. The cage-catalyst is highly efficient and robust, covering a diverse substrate range with excellent substituent tolerance. The mimic-enzyme catalysis is proposed through a host-guest mediated procedure expedited by aqueous phase transition of reactant and product, where the supramolecular cage effect plays an important role to facilitate substrates inclusion and pre-orientation, offering a promising avenue for general and eco-friendly cycloaddition photocatalysis with special diastereoselectivity.

Scheme 1. Three examples of useful alkynylated thiophenes: a) 5-(2-Phenylethynyl)-2-b-glucosylmethyl-thiophene, a natural product; [10a] b) S-3304, a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor; [10b] c) R = n-C 4 H 9 , a liquid-crystalline semiconductor. [10c]