V. Van Speybroeck

A method for the preparation of 3,5-bridged piperazin-2-ones from a tryptophan–proline-based diketopiperazine is described using diphosgene to induce the ring closure. Density functional theory calculations were conducted to study the mechanism of this C–C bond formation. Several derivatives of the thus obtained α-chloroamine were synthesized by substitution of the chlorine atom using a range of O-, N-, S-, and C-nucleophiles. This novel class of brevianamide F analogues possess interesting breast cancer resistance protein inhibitory activity.

Zeolites are versatile and fascinating materials which are vital for a wide range of industries, due to their unique structural and chemical properties, which are the basis of applications in gas separation, ion exchange and catalysis. Given their economic impact, there is a powerful incentive for smart design of new materials with enhanced functionalities to obtain the best material for a given application. Over the last decades, theoretical modeling has matured to a level that model guided design has become within reach. Major hurdles have been overcome to reach this point and almost all contemporary methods in computational materials chemistry are actively used in the field of modeling zeolite chemistry and applications. Integration of complementary modeling approaches is necessary to obtain reliable predictions and rationalizations from theory. A close synergy between experimentalists and theoreticians has led to a deep understanding of the complexity of the system at hand, but also allowed the identification of shortcomings in current theoretical approaches. Inspired by the importance of zeolite characterization which can now be performed at the single atom and single molecule level from experiment, computational spectroscopy has grown in importance in the last decade. In this review most of the currently available modeling tools are introduced and illustrated on the most challenging problems in zeolite science. Directions for future model developments will be given.

We present the in situ synthesis of Au nanoparticles within the Zr based Metal Organic Framework, UiO-66. The resulting Au@UiO-66 materials were characterized by means of N2 sorption, XRPD, UV-Vis, XRF, XPS and TEM analysis. The Au nanoparticles (NP) are homogeneously distributed along the UiO-66 host matrix when using NaBH4 or H2 as reducing agents. The Au@UiO-66 materials were evaluated as catalysts in the oxidation of benzyl alcohol and benzyl amine employing O2 as oxidant. The Au@MOF materials exhibit a very high selectivity towards the ketone (up to 100 %). Regenerability and stability tests demonstrate that the Au@UiO-66 catalyst can be recycled with a negligible loss of Au species and no loss of crystallinity. In situ IR measurements of UiO-66 and Au@UiO-66-NaBH4, before and after treatment with alcohol, showed an increase in IR bands that can be assigned to a combination of physisorbed and chemisorbed alcohol species. This was confirmed by velocity power spectra obtained from the molecular dynamics simulations. Active peroxo and oxo species on Au could be visualized with Raman analysis.