Eunsung Lee

Selective Inclusion of a Hetero‐Guest Pair in a Molecular Host: Formation of Stable Charge‐Transfer Complexes in Cucurbit[8]uril

Two different molecules are selectively included in cucurbit[8]uril to form a stable 1:1:1 ternary complex, which has been characterized by X-ray crystallography. The inclusion of a hetero-guest pair (a pyridinium derivative (blue) and 2,6-dihydroxynaphthalene (magenta)) in the molecular host is driven and stabilized by a charge-transfer interaction between the electron-rich and electron-deficient guests.

A Fluoride-Derived Electrophilic Late-Stage Fluorination Reagent for PET Imaging

A palladium compound facilitates rapid incorporation of radioactive fluoride into prospective tracers for medical imaging. The unnatural isotope fluorine-18 (18F) is used as a positron emitter in molecular imaging. Currently, many potentially useful 18F-labeled probe molecules are inaccessible for imaging because no fluorination chemistry is available to make them. The 110-minute half-life of 18F requires rapid syntheses for which [18F]fluoride is the preferred source of fluorine because of its practical access and suitable isotope enrichment. However, conventional [18F]fluoride chemistry has been limited to nucleophilic fluorination reactions. We report the development of a palladium-based electrophilic fluorination reagent derived from fluoride and its application to the synthesis of aromatic 18F-labeled molecules via late-stage fluorination. Late-stage fluorination enables the synthesis of conventionally unavailable positron emission tomography (PET) tracers for anticipated applications in pharmaceutical development as well as preclinical and clinical PET imaging.

Nickel-Mediated Oxidative Fluorination for PET with Aqueous [18F] Fluoride

A one-step oxidative fluorination for carbon-fluorine bond formation from well-defined nickel complexes with oxidant and aqueous fluoride is presented, which enables a straightforward and practical (18)F late-stage fluorination of complex small molecules with potential for PET imaging.

A Dinuclear Palladium Catalyst for α-Hydroxylation of Carbonyls with O2

A chemo- and regioselective α-hydroxylation reaction of carbonyl compounds with molecular oxygen as oxidant is reported. The hydroxylation reaction is catalyzed by a dinuclear Pd(II) complex, which functions as an oxygen transfer catalyst, reminiscent of an oxygenase. The development of this oxidation reaction was inspired by discovery and mechanism evaluation of previously unknown Pd(III)-Pd(III) complexes.

A Two-Dimensional Polyrotaxane with Large Cavities and Channels: A Novel Approach to Metal–Organic Open-Frameworks by Using Supramolecular Building Blocks

A seven-membered molecular necklace composed of six copper ions and six pseudorotaxane units behaves as a secondary building block in the formation of a two-dimensional polyrotaxane network with large voids. This novel metal-organic framework allows size-selective anion exchange as well as the exchange of coordinated ligands. Thus a new synthetic strategy has been identified for modular porous solids which utilizes large, rigid, interlocked supermolecules as primary or secondary building blocks.

Macrocycles within Macrocycles: Cyclen, Cyclam, and Their Transition Metal Complexes Encapsulated in Cucurbit[8]uril

Reminiscent of Russian Matrioshka dolls, tetraazamacrocycles (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen) and 1 , 4 , 8 , 11 - tetraazacyclotetradecane (cyclam)) and their transition metal complexes are encapsulated in the cavity of cucurbit[8]uril (CB[8]). The X-ray crystal structure of the [Cu(cyclen)] in CB[8] complex (see picture; copper: green, oxygen: red, nitrogen: blue, carbon: gray) reveals a five-coordinate CuII center in a square-pyramidal environment with a water molecule bound to the axial position.

Silver-Mediated Trifluoromethoxylation of Aryl Stannanes and Arylboronic Acids

A silver-mediated cross-coupling of trifluoromethoxide with aryl stannanes and arylboronic acids to give aryl trifluoromethyl ethers is reported. This is the first report of a transition-metal-mediated C(aryl)-OCF(3) bond formation.

Synthesis and structure of solution-stable one-dimensional palladium wires

One-dimensional metal wires are valuable materials because of their optical and electronic anisotropy, and they have potential utility in devices such as photovoltaic cells and molecular sensors. However, despite more than a century of research, only a few examples exist of well-defined one-dimensional (1D) metal wires that allow for the rational variation of conductivity. Herein we describe the first examples of 1D molecular wires supported by Pd-Pd bonds, the thin-film conductive properties of which can be altered by controlled molecular changes. Wires based on Pd(III) give semiconducting films with a modifiable bandgap, whereas wires based on Pd(2.5) give films that display metallic conductivity above 200 K: a metallic state has not been reported previously for any polymer composed of 1D metal wires. The wires are infinite in the solid state and maintain 1D structures in solution with lengths of up to 750 nm. Solution stability enables thin film coating, a requisite for device fabrication using molecular wires.

Application of Palladium-Mediated 18F-Fluorination to PET Radiotracer Development: Overcoming Hurdles to Translation

New chemistry methods for the synthesis of radiolabeled small molecules have the potential to impact clinical positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, if they can be successfully translated. However, progression of modern reactions from the stage of synthetic chemistry development to the preparation of radiotracer doses ready for use in human PET imaging is challenging and rare. Here we describe the process of and the successful translation of a modern palladium-mediated fluorination reaction to non-human primate (NHP) baboon PET imaging–an important milestone on the path to human PET imaging. The method, which transforms [18F]fluoride into an electrophilic fluorination reagent, provides access to aryl–18F bonds that would be challenging to synthesize via conventional radiochemistry methods.

Designing a Highly Active Metal‐Free Oxygen Reduction Catalyst in Membrane Electrode Assemblies for Alkaline Fuel Cells: Effects of Pore Size and Doping‐Site Position

To promote the oxygen reduction reaction of metal-free catalysts, the introduction of porous structure is considered as a desirable approach because the structure can enhance mass transport and host many catalytic active sites. However, most of the previous studies reported only half-cell characterization; therefore, studies on membrane electrode assembly (MEA) are still insufficient. Furthermore, the effect of doping-site position in the structure has not been investigated. Here, we report the synthesis of highly active metal-free catalysts in MEAs by controlling pore size and doping-site position. Both influence the accessibility of reactants to doping sites, which affects utilization of doping sites and mass-transport properties. Finally, an N,P-codoped ordered mesoporous carbon with a large pore size and precisely controlled doping-site position showed a remarkable on-set potential and produced 70% of the maximum power density obtained using Pt/C.