Dielectric and Magnetic Relaxations Exhibited in a 2D Parallel Interpenetrating Frustrated Star Net

Constructing multiple functional geometric frustration magnets is a hot topic in solid state chemistry and material science. Herein, a two-dimensional (2D) parallel interpenetrating “star” net complex [HDMPDA][Fe₆(μ₃-O)₂(μ-O₂CH)₁₅] ( 1 ) was obtained successfully with HDMPDA (DMPDA=N, N’-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine) as charge balancer. The dipole reorientation of the rotator [HDMPDA]⁺ in the complex brings a structure transition which leads dielectric relaxation close to room temperature. Despite strong antiferromagnetic coupling existing between ions in the net, long-range order temperature T_N of the complex is suppressed to 4.2 K by geometric frustration. Interestingly, below T_N, a canted antiferromagnetic state, accompanied with slow magnetic relaxation, is detected due to the lack of enough magnetic coupling between 2D layers. Thus, 1 is a particular multifunctional magnetic frustration material containing two different types of relaxations.     

Stereocontrolled Synthesis of Functionalized Azaheterocycles from Carbocycles through Oxidative Ring Opening/Reductive Ring Closing Protocols

Fluorine‐containing organic scaffolds are of significant interest in medicinal chemistry. The incorporation of fluorine into biomolecules can lead to remarkable changes in their physical, chemical, and biological properties. There are already many drugs on the market, which contain at least one fluorine atom. Saturated functionalized azaheterocycles as bioactive substances have gained increasing attention in pharmaceutical chemistry. Due to the high biorelevance of organofluorine molecules and the importance of N‐heterocyclic compounds, selective stereocontrolled procedures to the access of new fluorine‐containing saturated N‐heterocycles are considered to be a hot research topic. This account summarizes the synthesis of functionalized and fluorine‐containing saturated azaheterocycles starting from functionalized cycloalkenes and based on oxidative ring cleavage of diol intermediates followed by ring expansion with reductive amination.     

The Role of Sulphonamides and N-Sulphonyl Ketimines/Aldimines as Directing Groups in the Field of C−H Activation

Sulphonamides and N-sulphonyl ketimines/aldimines have turned out to be versatile motifs in the field of synthetic and medicinal chemistry. The field of C−H activation/functionalization flourished remarkably due to their synthetic applicability and directing group plays a remarkable role to achieve regioselectivity in these reactions. The current review summarizes recent tactics by utilizing sulphonamides and N-sulphonyl ketimines/aldimines as directing groups for C−H activation or functionalization. As a directing group, they also facilitate site selectivity and late-stage functionalization of drug molecules in order to construct complex scaffolds of therapeutic importance by C−H activation.     

Indole‐N‐Carboxylic Acids and Indole‐N‐Carboxamides in Organic Synthesis

Indoles are ubiquitous structures that are found in natural products and biologically active molecules. The synthesis of indoles and indole‐involved synthetic methodologies in organic chemistry have been receiving considerable attention. Indole‐N‐carboxylic acids and derived indole‐N‐carboxamides are intriguing compounds, which have been widely used in organic synthesis, especially in multicomponent reactions and C?H functionalization of indoles. This Minireview summarizes the advances of reactions involving indole‐N‐carboxylic acids and indole‐N‐carboxamides in organic chemistry, and discusses the synthetic potential and perspective of this field.     

Reactivity of Oxygen Radical Anions Bound to Scandia Nanoparticles in the Gas Phase: CH Bond Activation

The activation of C?H bonds in alkanes is currently a hot research topic in chemistry. The atomic oxygen radical anion (O^?.) is an important species in C?H activation. The mechanistic details of C?H activation by O^?. radicals can be well understood by studying the reactions between O^?. containing transition metal oxide clusters and alkanes. Here the reactivity of scandium oxide cluster anions toward n‐butane was studied by using a high‐resolution time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer coupled with a fast flow reactor. Hydrogen atom abstraction (HAA) from n‐butane by (Sc₂O₃)_NO^? (N=1–18) clusters was observed. The reactivity of (Sc₂O₃)_NO^? (N=1–18) clusters is significantly sizedependent and the highest reactivity was observed for N=4 (Sc₈O₁₃^?) and 12 (Sc₂₄O₃₇^?). Larger (Sc₂O₃)_NO^? clusters generally have higher reactivity than the smaller ones. Density functional theory calculations were performed to interpret the reactivity of (Sc₂O₃)_NO^? (N=1–5) clusters, which were found to contain the O^?. radicals as the active sites. The local charge environment around the O^?. radicals was demonstrated to control the experimentally observed size‐dependent reactivity. This work is among the first to report HAA reactivity of cluster anions with dimensions up to nanosize toward alkane molecules. The anionic O^?. containing scandium oxide clusters are found to be more reactive than the corresponding cationic ones in the C?H bond activation.     

New Developments in Nitrogen Fixation

The production of ammonia from atmospheric dinitrogen at room temperature and ambient pressure in analogy to nature is a long-term goal for coordination chemists. Novel reactions of N₂-containing transition metal complexes with H₂, the first side-on N₂-bridged structure of an actinide complex, and an interesting variation of synthetic N₂ fixation are the key points addressed in this contribution. The results are related to the known chemistry of N₂ complexes, and their significance is discussed with respect to enzymatic N₂ fixation.     

Direct Cyclopropanation of α-Cyano β-Aryl Alkanes by Light-Mediated Single Electron Transfer Between Donor–Acceptor Pairs

Cyclopropanes are traditionally prepared by the formal [2+1] addition of carbene or radical based C1 units to alkenes. In contrast, the one-pot intermolecular cyclopropanation of alkanes by redox active C1 units has remained unrealised. Herein, we achieved this process simply by exposing β-aryl propionitriles and C1 radical precursors (N-oxy esters) to base and blue light. The overall process is redox-neutral and a photocatalyst, whether metal- or organic-based, is not required. Our findings support that single electron transfer (SET) from the α-cyano carbanion of the propionitrile to the N-oxy ester is facilitated by blue-light via their electron donor–acceptor (EDA) complex. The α-cyano carbon radical thus formed can then lose a β-proton to form a π-resonance stabilised radical anion that preferentially couples at the benzylic β-position with a decarboxylated C1 radical unit. This new transition metal-free chemistry tolerates both electron rich and electron deficient (hetero)aryl systems, even sulfide or alkene functionality, to afford a range of cis-aryl/cyano cyclopropanes bearing congested tetrasubstituted quaternary carbons.     

Pyrrole Denitrogenation and Fragmentation of Tetramethylethylenediamine Promoted by a NbII Cluster

A nitrogen center was abstracted from a pyrrolyl ring to form the dinuclear nitrido- and dienyl-bridged complex 1 during the reaction of [{(tmeda)Nb^IICl}₂(μ-Cl)₃Li(tmeda)] with the lithium salt of 2,5-dimethylpyrrole (tmeda=N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine). A second product from this reaction is the amido-carbene-hydride niobium complex 2 , which likewise forms under C−N bond cleavage.     

Highly Chemoselective gem-Difluoropropargylation of Aliphatic Alcohols

Despite the potential of α-fluoroethers in medicinal chemistry, their synthetic methods, especially etherification of aliphatic alcohols, have been limited. Herein, we developed two- and three-step gem-difluoropropargylation of aliphatic alcohols including amino acid derivatives and naturally occurring bioactive molecules. Highly chemoselective etherification proceeded by using the gem-difluoropropargyl bromide dicobalt complex in the presence of silver triflate and triethylamine. Decomplexation of dicobalt complexes was achieved by using cerium ammonium nitrate or N,N,N′-trimethylethylenediamine. The thus obtained gem-difluoropropargyl ethers were converted to various α-difluoroethers which are expected to be useful for medicinal chemistry.     

The influence of N-protected amino acid residues on the cis/trans isomerism of proline moieties in peptides

¹³C NMR spectroscopy is an excellent tool for studying the influence of N-protecting groups on the cis/trans isomerism of proline residues in proline peptides. This communication demonstrates the usefulness of ¹³C NMR spectroscopy in investigating conformational problems in protein and peptide chemistry.     

Chemistry on the Complex: Derivatization of TiO4N2-Based Complexes and Application to Multi-Step Synthesis

The chemistry on octahedral TiO₄N₂-complexes is described. The Ti(IV)-based precursors are composed of two 3,3’-diphenyl-2,2’-biphenolato ligands (1) and one substituted 1,10-phenanthroline ligand (2-5). The application of imine condensation, palladium-catalyzed C−C bond formation or copper-catalysed azide-alkyne cycloaddition allowed the grafting of various new groups onto these species. In particular Sonogashira reactions permitted to observe an excellent conversion of the starting complexes. This systematic study enabled to compile the factors required to preserve the framework of the complexes in the course of a chemical transformation. Thanks to this chemistry realized on the complex, the Ti(1)₂ fragment was used as a protecting group to develop a multi-step synthesis of a bis-phenanthroline compound (12), for which the synthesis without this protection failed. Thus, a dinuclear complex [Ti₂(1)₄(12)] was first prepared starting from complex precursor bearing an acetylenic function via a Hay coupling reaction. This was followed by a deprotection step affording 12. Overall, this work illustrates how the Ti(1)₂ fragment could be an useful tool for the preparation of unprecedented diimine compounds.     

Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Novel Neutral Higher‐Coordinate Silicon(IV) Complexes with SiON3C and SiON4C Skeletons

The neutral pentacoordinate silicon(IV) complex 10 (SiON₃C skeleton) and the neutral hexacoordinate silicon(IV) complex 11 (SiON₄C skeleton) were synthesized, starting from methyldi(thiocyanato‐N)silane ( 7 ). In addition to their monodentate thiocyanato‐N and methyl ligands, these compounds contain a tridentate dianionic O,N,N ligand ( 10 ) or a tridentate monoanionic O,N,N ligand ( 11 ). Compounds 10 and 11 were characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction and solid‐state and solution NMR spectroscopy. According to these studies, compounds 10 and 11 exist in solution as well.     

Fast and effective copper(0)‐mediated simultaneous chain‐ and step‐growth radical polymerization at ambient temperature

Vinyl‐conjugated monomer (methyl acrylate, MA) and allyl 2‐bromopropanoate (ABP)‐possessing unconjugated C?C and active C? Br bonds were polymerized via the Cu(0)‐mediated simultaneous chain‐ and step‐growth radical polymerization at ambient temperature using Cu(0) as catalyst, N,N,N′,N″,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine as ligand and dimethyl sulfoxide as solvent. The conversion was reached higher than 98% within 20 h. The obtained polymers showed block structure consisting of polyester and vinyl polymer moieties. The Cu(0)‐catalyzed simultaneous chain‐ and step‐growth radical polymerization mechanism was demonstrated by NMR, matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization time‐of‐flight, and GPC analyses. Furthermore, the obtained copolymers of MA and ABP were further modified with poly(N‐isopropylamide) through radical thiol‐ene “click” chemistry from the terminal double bond. The thermoresponsive behavior of this block copolymer was investigated. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013 , 51, 3907–3916     

Guest Binding via N−H⋅⋅⋅π Bonding and Kinetic Entrapment by an Inorganic Macrocycle

Modern supramolecular chemistry is overwhelmingly based on non‐covalent interactions involving organic architectures. However, the question of what happens when you depart from this area to the supramolecular chemistry of structures based on non‐carbon frameworks remains largely unanswered, and is an area that potentially provides new directions in molecular activation, host–guest chemistry, and biomimetic chemistry. In this work, we explore the unusual host–guest chemistry of the pentameric macrocycle [{P(μ‐N^tBu}₂NH]₅ with a range of anionic and neutral guests. The polar coordination site of this host promotes new modes of guest encapsulation via hydrogen bonding with the π systems of the unsaturated C≡C and C≡N bonds of acetylenes and nitriles as well as with the PCO^? anion. Halide guests can be kinetically locked within the structure by oxidation of the phosphorus periphery by oxidation to P^V. Our study underscores the future promise of p‐block macrocyclic chemistry.     

Nickel-Catalyzed Chemoselective Arylation of Amino Alcohols

A systematic evaluation of competitive bisphosphine/Ni-catalyzed C−N versus C−O cross-couplings involving model compounds enabled development of hitherto unknown chemoselective O- and N-arylation of amino alcohols with (hetero)aryl chloride electrophiles, without recourse to protection group chemistry. Use of the CyPAd-DalPhos pre-catalyst C2 enabled particularly challenging O-arylation chemoselectivity in amino alcohols featuring branched primary and secondary alkylamine groups, while selective N-arylation was observed in substrates featuring less-hindered linear alkylamine and aniline reacting groups. Useful reaction scope in the (hetero)aryl chloride was achieved throughout, and the ability to conduct such transformations using benchtop handling of materials is demonstrated.     

Twisted intramolecular charge-transfer state of trans-3-(N,N-Dimethylamino)-4'-cyanostilbene: The C−C bond twisting

Whether a twisted intramolecular charge-transfer (TICT) state is formed is an important issue for understanding the fluorescence properties of a push-pull organic dye. Here we report a position effect of the donor substituent on the TICT state formation of aminostilbenes: namely, trans-3-(N,N-dimethylamino)-4′-cyanostilbene ( mDCS ) behaves differently from its TICT-free para isomer DCS and forms a TICT state in acetonitrile (MeCN). The TICT state of mDCS also differs from that of many previously reported aminostilbenes by twisting a C−C bond instead of a C−N bond. In addition, among the ring-bridged model compounds mDCS-N , mDCS-C1 , and mDCS-C2 , we observed an unusual electronic effect of the ring-bridging in mDCS-C2 that mitigates the impact of the TICT state on the fluorescence properties. Both the C−C bond twisting in mDCS and the ring-bridging electronic effect in mDCS-C2 provide new insights into the TICT chemistry of aminostilbenes.     

Enantioselective Oxidative Aerobic Dealkylation of N‐Ethyl Benzylisoquinolines by Employing the Berberine Bridge Enzyme

N‐Dealkylation methods are well described for organic chemistry and the reaction is known in nature and drug metabolism; however, to our knowledge, enantioselective N‐dealkylation has not been yet reported. In this study, exclusively the (S)‐enantiomers of racemic N‐ethyl tertiary amines (1‐benzyl‐N‐ethyl‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydroisoquinolines) were dealkylated to give the corresponding secondary (S)‐amines in an enantioselective fashion at the expense of molecular oxygen. The reaction is catalyzed by the berberine bridge enzyme, which is known for C? C bond formation. The dealkylation was demonstrated on a 100 mg scale and gave optically pure dealkylated products (ee>99 %).     

Acid Dissociation Behaviour and Complexation with Nickel(II), Copper(II) and Zinc(II) for Two Conformational Isomers of Dicyclohexylcyclam

Abstract

Acid dissociation constants for two conformational isomers of dicyclohexylcyclam, cis-anti-cis, (P) and cis-syn-cis, (N) have been determined at 25, 35 and 40°C, and thermodynamic data are estimated. It was found that (N) shows very different behaviour from (P). Stability constants of (P) and (N) toward Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II) have been determined by pH-titration at 25°C by using a ligand exchange reaction. It is found that the (P) complex is more stable for Ni(II) and the (N) complex is more stable for Cu(II). Contributions of the cyclohexyl group to the macrocyclic effect (ME) have been also estimated by considering basicity corrections. It is found that substitution of the cyclohexyl group in cyclam increases ME only for the Ni(II) complex of (P).     

Synthesis and crystal structure of the dinuclear copper(II) Schiff base complex μ‐hydroxido‐μ‐chlorido‐bis{[bis(trans‐2‐nitrocinnamaldehyde)ethylenediamine]chloridocopper(II)} dichloromethane sesquisolvate

Transition metal complexes of Schiff base ligands have been shown to have particular application in catalysis and magnetism. The chemistry of copper complexes is of interest owing to their importance in biological and industrial processes. The reaction of copper(I) chloride with the bidentate Schiff base N,N′‐bis(trans‐2‐nitrocinnamaldehyde)ethylenediamine {Nca₂en, systematic name: (1E,1′E,2E,2′E)‐N,N′‐(ethane‐1,2‐diyl)bis[3‐(2‐nitrophenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐imine]} in a 1:1 molar ratio in dichloromethane without exclusion of air or moisture resulted in the formation of the title complex μ‐chlorido‐μ‐hydroxido‐bis(chlorido{(1E,1′E,2E,2′E)‐N,N′‐(ethane‐1,2‐diyl)bis[3‐(2‐nitrophenyl)prop‐2‐en‐1‐imine]‐κ²N,N′}copper(II)) dichloromethane sesquisolvate, [Cu₂Cl₃(OH)(C₂₀H₁₈N₄O₄)₂]·1.5CH₂Cl₂. The dinuclear complex has a folded four‐membered ring in an unsymmetrical Cu₂OCl₃ core in which the approximate trigonal bipyramidal coordination displays different angular distortions in the equatorial planes of the two Cu^II atoms; the chloride bridge is asymmetric, but the hydroxide bridge is symmetric. The chelate rings of the two Nca₂en ligands have different conformations, leading to a more marked bowing of one of the ligands compared with the other. This is the first reported dinuclear complex, and the first five‐coordinate complex, of the Nca₂en Schiff base ligand. Molecules of the dimer are associated in pairs by ring‐stacking interactions supported by C—H…Cl interactions with solvent molecules; a further ring‐stacking interaction exists between the two Schiff base ligands of each molecule.