Chemical Science Blog

This month sees the following articles in Chemical Science that are in the top ten most accessed:-

A synthesis of strychnine by a longest linear sequence of six steps 
David B. C. Martin and Christopher D. Vanderwal 
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 649-651, DOI: 10.1039/C1SC00009H, Edge Article 

Hydroxyl-directed C-H carbonylation enabled by mono-N-protected amino acid ligands: An expedient route to 1-isochromanones 
Yi Lu, Dasheng Leow, Xisheng Wang, Keary M. Engle and Jin-Quan Yu 
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 967-971, DOI: 10.1039/C0SC00633E, Edge Article 

Benzoquinone-derived sulfinyl imines as versatile intermediates for alkaloid synthesis: Total synthesis of (-)-3-demethoxyerythratidinone 
Kangway V. Chuang, Raul Navarro and Sarah E. Reisman 
Chem. Sci., 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C1SC00095K, Edge Article 

Transition metal-catalyzed cross coupling with N-acyliminium ions derived from quinolines and isoquinolines 
Thomas J. A. Graham, Jason D. Shields and Abigail G. Doyle 
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 980-984, DOI: 10.1039/C1SC00026H, Edge Article 

Asymmetric catalytic reactions by NbO-type chiral metal-organic frameworks 
Kyung Seok Jeong, Yong Bok Go, Sung Min Shin, Suk Joong Lee, Jaheon Kim, Omar M. Yaghi and Nakcheol Jeong 
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 877-882, DOI: 10.1039/C0SC00582G, Edge Article 

Catalytic, enantioselective synthesis of stilbene cis-diamines: A concise preparation of (-)-Nutlin-3, a potent p53/MDM2 inhibitor 
Tyler A. Davis and Jeffrey N. Johnston 
Chem. Sci., 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C1SC00061F, Edge Article 

Dialkylbiaryl phosphines in Pd-catalyzed amination: a user’s guide 
David S. Surry and Stephen L. Buchwald 
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 27-50, DOI: 10.1039/C0SC00331J, Perspective 

Optimization of distyryl-Bodipy chromophores for efficient panchromatic sensitization in dye sensitized solar cells 
Safacan Kolemen, O. Altan Bozdemir, Yusuf Cakmak, Gokhan Barin, Sule Erten-Ela, Magdalena Marszalek, Jun-Ho Yum, Shaik M. Zakeeruddin, Mohammad K. Nazeeruddin, Michael Grätzel and Engin U. Akkaya 
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 949-954, DOI: 10.1039/C0SC00649A, Edge Article 

A quantum-chemical perspective into low optical-gap polymers for highly-efficient organic solar cells 
Chad Risko, Michael D. McGehee and Jean-Luc Brédas 
Chem. Sci., 2011, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C0SC00642D, Perspective 

Cation-induced molecular motion of spring-like [2]catenanes 
Alexandre V. Leontiev, Christopher J. Serpell, Nicholas G. White and Paul D. Beer 
Chem. Sci., 2011, 2, 922-927, DOI: 10.1039/C1SC00034A, Edge Article 

Why not take a look at the articles today and blog your thoughts and comments below.

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Amorphous molybdenum sulfide films are highly active hydrogen evolution catalysts, say researchers from Switzerland.

Xile Hu and colleagues made the catalysts from relatively cheap and abundant elements. The catalysts offer significant advantages over noble metal catalysts, they say. The catalysts can be easily prepared in a procedure that is amenable to large scale manufacture, they work in water and are compatible with a wide range of pHs.

‘Our results provide new opportunities for the development of renewable and economic hydrogen production technologies,’ says the team.

Read more for free in Chemical Science or check out the news story on the EPFL website.

US scientists have made new pleuromutilin-like compounds that show promise as leads for the development of new antibiotics. Erik Sorensen and colleagues made the compounds in approximately 11 steps from 3-allylcyclopent-2-enone by a strategy featuring sequential carbonyl addition reactions.

They found that the compounds displayed activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

‘As we move forward in our effort to expand the structural and stereochemical diversity of the pleuromutilin class of antibiotics, there is a high likelihood that we will discover additional, new compounds with promising activity against M. tuberculosis and possibly resistant strains of TB as well as other bacteria,’ say the team.

Download the article, which is free to access in Chemical Science.

Hydrogen is explosive – it’s one of the first things children learn in their chemistry classes.

This is a serious drawback for the catalytic hydrogenation of multiple bonds, one of the most widely used reactions in organic synthesis. But now Steven Ley and colleagues at the University of Cambridge, UK, have improved the safety profile of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic hydrogenations using flow chemistry.

In their Chemical Science Edge article, the group describe their ‘Tube-in-Tube’ reactor/injector and a novel computer-assisted bubble counting technique to measure the levels of hydrogen uptake.

Read the article for free and leave your comments below. If you’d like to be seen with the best, submit to Chemical Science today.

Also of interest:
Ten key issues in modern flow chemistry – a ChemComm Highlight in Chemistry article by Andreas Kirschning and colleagues