A Lewis pair composed of a strong nucleophilic N-heterocyclic olefin (NHO) as a Lewis base (LB) and triphenylaluminum (AlPh₃) as a Lewis acid (LA) was employed to achieve the rapid and living polymerization of acrylamides including N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMAA) and N,N-diethylacrylamide (DEAA) at room temperature in toluene. The livingness of this Lewis pair polymerization (LPP) was unequivocally verified by the observed linear increase of polymer M_nvs. monomer conversion and monomer-to-initiator ratio, successful chain extensions and high end-group fidelity. Moreover, well-defined diblock and triblock copolymers with narrow Đ values were also successfully synthesized through the sequential addition method, regardless of the comonomer addition order.

Biomass-derived chitosan-supported Zr catalyst with dual acid–base properties exhibits highly efficient performance towards MPV reduction of ethyl levulinate to γ-valerolactone.

It is an attractive but formidable challenge in the chemical recycling of polystyrene (PS) wastes to the value-added aromatic compounds due to the inertness of C-C bonds in polymer backbone. Here we develop a light-driven, copper-catalyzed protocol to achieve aerobic oxidation of various alkylarenes or real-life PS wastes to benzoic acid and oxidized styrene oligomers. The resulting oligomers can be further transformed under heating condition, thus achieving benzoic acid in up to 65% total yields through an integrated one-pot two-step procedure. Mechanistic studies show that the CuCl₂ catalyst undergoes Ligand-to-Metal Charge Transfer (LMCT) to generate a chlorine radical, which triggers the activation of C-H bond and subsequent oxidative cleavage of C-C bonds. The practicality and scalability of this strategy are demonstrated by depolymerization of real-life PS foam on a gram scale, thus showing promising application potentials in chemical recycling of PS wastes.

1,2-Regioselective hydroboration of quinolines achieved using a potassium-based catalyst.