Synthesis of a solid chelating ligand for the formation of efficient heterogeneous catalysts is highly desired in the fields of organic transformation and solar energy conversion. Here, we report the surfactant-directed self-assembly of a novel periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) containing 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) ligands within the framework (BPy-PMO) from a newly synthesized organosilane precursor [(i-PrO)3Si-C10H6N2-Si(Oi-Pr)3] without addition of any other silane precursors. BPy-PMO had a unique pore-wall structure in which bipyridine groups were densely and regularly packed and exposed on the surface. The high coordination ability to metals was also preserved. Various bipyridine-based metal complexes were prepared using BPy-PMO as a solid chelating ligand such as Ru(bpy)2(BPy-PMO), Ir(ppy)2(BPy-PMO) (ppy = 2-phenylpyridine), Ir(cod)(OMe)(BPy-PMO) (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene), Re(CO)3Cl(BPy-PMO), and Pd(OAc)2(BPy-PMO). BPy-PMO showed excellent ligand properties for heterogeneous Ir-catalyzed direct C-H borylation of arenes, resulting in superior activity, durability, and recyclability to the homogeneous analogous Ir catalyst. An efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution system was also constructed by integration of a Ru-complex as a photosensitizer and platinum as a catalyst on the pore surface of BPy-PMO without any electron relay molecules. These results demonstrate the great potential of BPy-PMO as a solid chelating ligand and a useful integration platform for construction of efficient molecular-based heterogeneous catalysis systems.

Mesostructured organosilica films with strong blue fluorescence emission were synthesized by surfactant-templated sol-gel polycondensation using a 1,3,6,8-tetraphenylpyrene (TPPy)-containing organosilane precursor. The TPPy precursor, which contained four polymerizable silyl groups, was suitable for the preparation of mesostructured films with high TPPy content in the framework. The fluorescence quantum yields of the TPPy-bridged mesostructured organosilica films reached more than 0.7, despite the dense accumulation of TPPy units within the framework. Doping of the mesostructured films with fluorescence dyes enabled fine-tuning of the emission colors over a wide range of the visible spectrum. Such mesostructured organosilica films, in which different chromophores can be distributed into the framework and mesopores, have significant potential for luminescence applications.

Heterogenization of metal-complex catalysts for water oxidation without loss of their catalytic activity is important for the development of devices simulating photosynthesis. In this study, efficient heterogeneous iridium complexes for water oxidation were prepared using bipyridine-bridged periodic mesoporous organosilica (BPy-PMO) as a solid chelating ligand. The BPy-PMO-based iridium catalysts (Ir-BPy-PMO) were prepared by postsynthetic metalation of BPy-PMO and characterized through physicochemical analyses. The Ir-BPy-PMOs showed high catalytic activity for water oxidation. The turnover frequency (TOF) values for Ir-BPy-PMOs were one order of magnitude higher than those of conventional heterogeneous iridium catalysts. The reusability and stability of Ir-BPy-PMO were also examined, and detailed characterization was conducted using powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption, (13) C DD MAS NMR spectroscopy, TEM, and XAFS methods.

Heterogeneous catalysis for direct C-H borylation of arenes and heteroarenes in the combination of iridium (Ir) complex fixed on periodic mesoporous organosilica containing bipyridine ligands within the framework (Ir-BPy-PMO) and pinacolborane (HBpin) is reported. Ir-BPy-PMO showed higher catalytic activity toward the borylation of benzene with inexpensive HBpin compared to expensive bis(pinacolato)diboron (B2pin2). The precatalyst could be handled without the use of a glove box. The catalyst was easily recovered from reaction mixtures by simple filtration under air. The recovered catalyst still showed good catalytic activity for at least three more times for the borylation of benzene. A variety of arenes and heteroarenes were successfully borylated with high boron efficiency by Ir-BPy-PMO using HBpin, whereas almost no activity was observed for borylation of some heteroarenes with B2pin2. The system using Ir-BPy-PMO and HBpin was also utilized in syntheses of multi-boronated thiophene-based building blocks containing ladder-, acenefused-, and fused-thiophene skeletons. The combination of a stable and reusable solid catalyst and inexpensive HBpin is expected to be superior to conventional approaches for the development of industrial applications.

Highly ordered periodic mesoporous organosilica synthesized from a newly designed 9(10H)-acridone bridged organosilane precursor exhibited efficient light-harvesting antenna properties for visible light, at wavelengths up to 450 nm.

The dichlorodioxomolybdenum­(VI) complex (MoO2Cl2) is an efficient and low-cost homogeneous catalyst for a variety of organic reactions, but its activity usually decreases after immobilization on a solid support. This report describes the synthesis of heterogeneous Mo complex catalysts using a bipyridine-periodic mesoporous organosilica (BPy-PMO) as a solid chelating ligand and MoO2Cl2 as a precursor, and their catalysis in the epoxidation of olefins with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP). The MoO2Cl­(OH) complex could be immobilized on trimethylsilylated BPy-PMO (BPy-PMO-TMS), which was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption fine-structure analysis. The Mo complex immobilized on BPy-PMO-TMS exhibited greater catalytic activity for the epoxidation of cis-cyclooctene compared with conventional heterogeneous Mo complex catalysts using mesoporous silica, polystyrene, and naked BPy-PMO as supports. A large amount (up to 0.72 mmol g–1) of the Mo complex could be loaded on BPy-PMO-TMS, which resulted in 37% of the exposed bipyridine ligands on the surface forming Mo complexes. The turnover frequency relative to Mo was nearly constant, even with a high density of Mo complex on the pore surface. The Mo-BPy-PMO-TMS catalyst exhibited a solvent effect on the catalysis, and the presence of water in the reaction medium was detrimental for the catalysis. Under anhydrous conditions, Mo-BPy-PMO-TMS showed good catalytic activity for at least three reuse cycles in the epoxidation of cis-cyclooctene. A variety of olefins including aliphatic and aromatic olefins were successfully oxidized by Mo-BPy-PMO-TMS to give the desired epoxides in high yield.

This paper describes the physicochemical properties of a rhenium (Re) complex [Re(bpy)(CO) Cl] immobilized on a bipyridine-periodic mesoporous organosilica (BPy-PMO) acting as a solid support. The immobilized Re complex generated a metal-to-ligand charge transfer absorption band at 400 nm. This wavelength is longer than that exhibited by Re(bpy)(CO) Cl in the polar solvent acetonitrile (371 nm) and is almost equal to that in nonpolar toluene (403 nm). The photocatalytic activity of this heterogeneous Re complex was lower than that of a homogeneous Re complex due to the reduced phosphorescence lifetime resulting from immobilization. However, the catalytic activity was enhanced by the co-immobilization of the ruthenium (Ru) photosensitizer [Ru(bpy) ] on the PMO pore surfaces. Quantum chemical calculations suggest that electron transfer between the Ru and Re complexes occurs through interactions between the molecular orbitals in the pore walls. These results should have applications to the design of efficient heterogeneous CO reduction photocatalysis systems.

Bipyridine is the most widely used chelating ligand for developing metal complexes in coordination and supramolecular chemistry. Here, we present a series of three bipyridine periodic mesoporous organosilicas (BPy-PMOs) grafted with lanthanide β-diketonate complex for the purpose of obtaining thermochromic materials, which can be employed as ratiometric temperature sensors. Such thermometers are based on the ratio of two emission intensity peaks and are not affected by factors such as alignment or optoelectronic drift of the excitation source and detectors. Three thermometric systems are studied: Dy−Dy, Tb− Sm, and Tb−Eu with the first two showing very attractive performance. For the first two systems, some of the best reported to date relative sensitivities are observed. In the BPy-PMO@ Dy(acac) 3 system, it is very unusual that the 4 I 15/2 → 6 H 15/2 transition is already occupied at low temperature such as 200 K, which influences its thermometric behavior. The Tb−Sm shows excellent performance in the physiological range and when suspended in water. We have additionally confirmed that the BPy-PMO hybrid materials lack toxicity to human cells, proving them very promising candidates for biomedical thermometric applications.