The pyrimidinamine diflumetorim is an ideal template for the discovery of agrochemical lead compounds due to its unique mode of action, novel chemical structure, and lack of reported resistance. To develop a new pyrimidinamine fungicide effective against cucumber downy mildew (CDM), a series of new pyrimidinamine derivatives containing an aryloxy pyridine moiety were designed and synthesized by employing the recently reported intermediate derivatization method (IDM). The structures of all compounds were identified by H NMR, elemental analyses, HRMS, and X-ray diffraction. Bioassays demonstrated that some of the title compounds exhibited excellent fungicidal activities against CDM. Compound 9 gave the best activity (EC = 0.19 mg/L), which is significantly better than the commercial fungicides diflumetorim, flumorph, and cyazofamid. The relationship between structure and fungicidal activity of the synthesized pyrimidinamines was explored. The study showed that compound 9 is a promising fungicide candidate for further development.

Strobilurins are one of the most important classes of agricultural fungicides. To discover new strobilurin analogues with high activity, a series of new strobilurin derivatives containing a substituted pyrazole in the side chain were synthesized and their biological activities were tested. The compounds were identified by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared, and elemental analysis. The test results indicated that the compounds exhibited strong fungicidal activities against Pyricularia oryzae , Phytophthora infestans , Pseudoperonospora cubensis , and Erysiphe graminis . The relationship between structure and biological activity is discussed in terms of the effects of the substituents on the pyrazole ring. The present work demonstrates that strobilurin analogues with a 3-(substituted phenyl)-1H-pyrazol-5-oxy side chain can be used as possible lead compounds for the development of potential agrochemicals.

Magnesium hydride and its compounds have a high hydrogen storage capacity and are inexpensive, and thus have been considered as one of the most promising hydrogen storage materials for on-board applications.

The present work demonstrates that coumarin derivatives containing methoxyacrylate moieties can be used as possible lead compounds for developing novel fungicides.

No abstract

No abstract

Methyl radicals (CH3 •) are the key intermediates in the heterogeneous–homogeneous reaction processes of catalytic oxidative coupling of methane (OCM). Here, by applying in situ synchrotron-based vacuum ultraviolet photoionization mass spectrometry, we quantitatively detected CH3 • being desorbed from various metal oxides and validated the CH3 •-generating capability as an effective descriptor for the catalytic performance of the metal oxides in OCM. It is found that the C2 yield is linearly correlated to the amount and the desorption temperature of CH3 •, with the better OCM catalyst showing stronger CH3 • intensity and lower CH3 • desorption temperature. Furthermore, experimental characterizations together with density functional theory calculations suggest that the intrinsic electronic properties of metals and the subsequent generated electrophilic oxygen species are the decisive factors for CH3 • generation. Then, the CH3 •-generating capability can bridge the gap between the OCM performance and the structure of the catalyst and help us better understand the intrinsic structure–performance relationship in OCM over metal oxide catalysts.

Chlorothalonil with both low cost and low toxicity is a popularly used fungicide in the agrochemical field. The presence of nucleophilic groups on this compound allows further chemical modifications to obtain novel chlorothalonil derivatives. Fluazinam, another commercially available agent with a broad fungicidal spectrum, has a scaffold of diaryl amine structure. To mimic this backbone structure, a variety of (un)substituted phenyl amines was used as nucleophilic agents to react with chlorothalonil to obtain compounds with a diphenyl amine structure. Via an elegant design, two leads, 2,4,5-trichloro-6-(2,4-dichlorophenylamino)isophthalonitrile (7) and 2,4,5-trichloro-6-(2,4,6-trichlorophenylamino)isophthalonitrile (11), with potential fungicidal activity were discovered after a preliminary bioassay screen. These two leads were further modified to obtain final products by replacing the chlorine groups in the phenyl ring in phenyl amine with other functional groups. These functional groups with various electronic properties and spatial characteristics were considered to explore the relationship between structure and fungicidal activity. The results indicate that the electron-withdrawing group NO2 on the 4 position on the right phenyl ring plays a unique role on enhancing the fungicidal activity. The compounds were identified by proton nuclear magnetic resonance and elemental analysis. Bioassays demonstrated that some of the title compounds exhibited excellent fungicidal activities against cucumber downy mildew at 25 mg/L. Compound 20 has been shown as the optimal structure with 85% control against cucumber downy mildew at 6.25 mg/L concentration. The relationship between structure and fungicidal activity is reported. The present work demonstrates that chlorothalonil derivatives can be used as possible lead compounds for developing novel fungicides.