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    Origins of high catalyst loading in copper(i)-catalysed Ullmann-Goldberg C-N coupling reactions
    (Cambridge : RSC, 2017) Sherborne, Grant J.; Adomeit, Sven; Menzel, Robert; Rabeah, Jabor; Brückner, Angelika; Fielding, Mark R.; Willans, Charlotte E.; Nguyen, Bao N.
    A mechanistic investigation of Ullmann-Goldberg reactions using soluble and partially soluble bases led to the identification of various pathways for catalyst deactivation through (i) product inhibition with amine products, (ii) by-product inhibition with inorganic halide salts, and (iii) ligand exchange by soluble carboxylate bases. The reactions using partially soluble inorganic bases showed variable induction periods, which are responsible for the reproducibility issues in these reactions. Surprisingly, more finely milled Cs2CO3 resulted in a longer induction period due to the higher concentration of the deprotonated amine/amide, leading to suppressed catalytic activity. These results have significant implications on future ligand development for the Ullmann-Goldberg reaction and on the solid form of the inorganic base as an important variable with mechanistic ramifications in many catalytic reactions.
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    Selective Earth-Abundant System for CO2 Reduction: Comparing Photo- and Electrocatalytic Processes
    (Washington, DC : American Chemical Society, 2019) Steinlechner C.; Roesel A.F.; Oberem E.; Päpcke A.; Rockstroh N.; Gloaguen F.; Lochbrunner S.; Ludwig R.; Spannenberg A.; Junge H.; Francke R.; Beller M.
    The valorization of CO2 via photo- or electrocatalytic reduction constitutes a promising approach toward the sustainable production of fuels or value-added chemicals using intermittent renewable energy sources. For this purpose, molecular catalysts are generally studied independently with respect to the photo- or the electrochemical application, although a unifying approach would be much more effective with respect to the mechanistic understanding and the catalyst optimization. In this context, we present a combined photo- and electrocatalytic study of three Mn diimine catalysts, which demonstrates the synergistic interplay between the two methods. The photochemical part of our study involves the development of a catalytic system containing a heteroleptic Cu photosensitizer and the sacrificial BIH reagent. The system shows exclusive selectivity for CO generation and renders turnover numbers which are among the highest reported thus far within the group of fully earth-abundant photocatalytic systems. The electrochemical part of our investigations complements the mechanistic understanding of the photochemical process and demonstrates that in the present case the sacrificial reagent, the photosensitizer, and the irradiation source can be replaced by the electrode and a weak Brønsted acid. © 2019 American Chemical Society.