Efficient synthesis of poly(enamine)s has been a great challenge because of their poor stability, poor solubility, and low molecular weights. In this work, a spontaneous amino-yne click polymerization for the efficient preparation of poly(enamine)s was established, which could proceed with 100% atom efficiency under very mild conditions without any external catalyst. Through systematic optimization of the reaction conditions, several soluble and thermally stable poly(β-aminoacrylate)s with high molecular weights (M up to 64400) and well-defined structures were obtained in excellent yields (up to 99%). Moreover, the polymerization can perform in a regio- and stereospecific fashion. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra analysis revealed that solely anti-Markovnikov additive products with 100% E-isomer were obtained. The reaction mechanism was well demonstrated with the assistance of density functional theory calculations. In addition, by introducing the tetraphenylethene moiety, the resulting polymers exhibit unique aggregation-induced emission characteristics and could be applied in explosives detection and bioimaging. This polyhydroamination is a new type of click polymerization and opens up enormous opportunities for preparing functional polymeric materials.

Amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta) is the principal constituent of plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is thought to be responsible for the neurotoxicity associated with the disease. Copper binding to Abeta has been hypothesized to play an important role in the neruotoxicity of Abeta and free radical damage, and Cu2+ chelators represent a possible therapy for AD. However, many properties of copper binding to Abeta have not been elucidated clearly, and the location of copper binding sites on Abeta is also in controversy. Here we have used a range of spectroscopic techniques to characterize the coordination of Cu2+ to Abeta(1-16) in solution. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry shows that copper binds to Abeta(1-16) at pH 6.0 and 7.0. The mode of copper binding is highly pH dependent. Circular dichroism results indicate that copper chelation causes a structural transition of Abeta(1-16). UV-visible absorption spectra suggest that three nitrogen donor ligands and one oxygen donor ligand (3N1O) in Abeta(1-16) may form a type II square-planar coordination geometry with Cu2+. By means of fluorescence spectroscopy, competition studies with glycine and L-histidine show that copper binds to Abeta(1-16) with an affinity of Ka approximately 10(7) M(-1) at pH 7.8. Besides His6, His13, and His14, Tyr10 is also involved in the coordination of Abeta(1-16) with Cu2+, which is supported by 1H NMR and UV-visible absorption spectra. Evidence for the link between Cu2+ and AD is growing, and this work has made a significant contribution to understanding the mode of copper binding to Abeta(1-16) in solution.

Imines, carbon-nitrogen double bonds, are fundamentally important functional groups in organic chemistry. This is largely due to the fact that imines act as electrophiles in C–C bond forming reactions towards carbon nucleophiles, thereby serving one of the most widely used precursors for the formation of amines in both synthetic and biosynthetic settings.1–5 If the carbon atom of the imine could be rendered electron-rich, the imine could react as a nucleophile instead of as an electrophile. Such a reversal in the electronic characteristics of the imine functionality would facilitate the development of new chemical transformations that convert imines into amines via C–C bond forming reactions with carbon electrophiles, thereby creating new opportunities for the efficient synthesis of amines. The development of asymmetric ‘umpolung’ reactions of imines remains an uncharted ground, in spite of the far-reaching impact of such reactions in organic synthesis. Here we report the discovery and development of new chiral phase transfer catalysts that promote the highly efficient asymmetric umpolung reactions of imines and enals. These catalysts mediate the deprotonation of imines and direct the 2-azaallylanions thus formed to react in a highly chemoselective, regioselective, diastereoselective and enantioselective fashion with enals. The reaction tolerates a broad range of imines and enals, and can be carried out in high yield with as little as 0.01 mol % catalyst with a moisture and air-tolerant operational protocol. These umpolung reactions provide a conceptually new and practical approach towards chiral amino compounds.

L,X-Type transient directing groups (TDGs) based on a reversible imine linkage have emerged as broadly useful tools for C–H activation of ketones and free amines. However, competitive binding interactions among multiple reaction components (TDG itself, substrate, and substrate–TDG adduct) with the palladium catalyst often lead to the formation of multiple unreactive complexes, rendering ligand development extremely challenging. Herein, we report the finding of versatile 2-pyridone ligands that addresses these problems and significantly improves the γ-methylene arylation of alkyl amines, extending the coupling partners to a wide range of medicinally important heteroaryl iodides and even previously unreactive heteroaryl bromides. The combination of an appropriate transient directing group and pyridone ligand has also enabled the δ-arylation of alkyl amines. Notably, our transient directing group design reveals the importance of matching the size of the Pd-chelation with different transient directing groups and the size of palladacycles generated from γ- and δ-C–H bonds: TDGs that coordinate with Pd­(II) to form a six-membered chelate are selective toward γ-C–H bonds, whereas TDGs that coordinate with Pd­(II) via a five-membered chelate tend to activate δ-C–H bonds. These findings provide an avenue for developing protecting group free and selective C–H functionalization using the transient directing group strategy.

Pd(II)-catalyzed γ-C(sp3)–H arylation of primary amines is realized by using 2-hydroxynicotinaldehyde as a catalytic transient directing group. Importantly, the catalyst and the directing group loading can be lowered to 2% and 4% respectively, thus demonstrating high efficiency of this newly designed transient directing group. Heterocyclic aryl iodides are also compatible with this reaction. Furthermore, swift synthesis of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthyridine derivatives is accomplished using this reaction.

An unprecedented enantioselective and general olefin isomerization was realized via biomimetic proton transfer catalysis with a new chiral organic catalyst. A broad range of mono- and di-substituted β,γ-unsaturated butenolides were transformed into the corresponding chiral α,β-unsaturated butenolides in high enantioselectivity and yield in the presence of as low as 0.5 mol% catalyst. Mechanistic studies have revealed the protonation as the rate-determining step.

The first example of free amine γ-C­(sp3)–H fluorination is realized using 2-hydroxynicotinaldehyde as the transient directing group. A wide range of cyclohexyl and linear aliphatic amines could be fluorinated selectively at the γ-methyl and methylene positions. Electron withdrawing 3,5-disubstituted pyridone ligands were identified to facilitate this reaction. Computational studies suggest that the turnover determining step is likely the oxidative addition step for methylene fluorination, while it is likely the C–H activation step for methyl fluorination. The explicit participation of Ag results in a lower energetic span for methylene fluorination and a higher energetic span for methyl fluorination, which is consistent with the experimental observation that the addition of silver salt is desirable for methylene but not for methyl fluorination. Kinetic studies on methyl fluorination suggest that the substrate and PdL are involved in the rate-determining step, indicating that the C–H activation step may be partially rate-determining. Importantly, an energetically preferred pathway has identified an interesting pyridone-assisted bimetallic transition state for the oxidative addition step in methylene fluorination, thus uncovering a potential new role of the pyridone ligand.

A new approach toward the asymmetric synthesis of optically active trifluromethylated amines was enabled by an unprecedented, highly enantioselective catalytic isomerization of trifluoromethyl imines with a new chiral organic catalyst. Not only aryl but also alkyl trifluoromethylated amines could be obtained in high enantioselecitivities.