Combined ab initio computational and experimental multinuclear solid-state magnetic resonance study of phenylphosphonic acid

1H, 13C, 17O and 31P NMR parameters, including chemical shift tensors and quadrupolar parameters for 17O, were calculated for phenylphosphonic acid, C6H5PO(OH)2, under periodic boundary conditions. The results are in very good agreement with experimental data and permit the unambiguous assignment of all the sites present in the structure. In particular, the 17O NMR parameters of the P=O and P-OH environments were precisely determined, which should help in the characterization of the bonding mode of phosphonate molecules in hybrid solids. Moreover, the effect of intermolecular interactions on the NMR parameters were investigated by comparing the results of the calculations in the crystal and in an isolated molecule of phenylphosphonic acid.     

Combining multinuclear high-resolution solid-state MAS NMR and computational methods for resonance assignment of glutathione tripeptide

We present a complete set of experimental approaches for the NMR assignment of powdered tripeptide glutathione at natural isotopic abundance, based on J-coupling and dipolar NMR techniques combined with (1)H CRAMPS decoupling. To fully assign the spectra, two-dimensional (2D) high-resolution methods, such as (1)H-(13)C INEPT-HSQC/PRESTO heteronuclear correlations (HETCOR), (1)H-(1)H double-quantum (DQ), and (1)H-(14)N D-HMQC correlation experiments, have been used. To support the interpretation of the experimental data, periodic density functional theory calculations together with the GIPAW approach have been used to calculate the (1)H and (13)C chemical shifts. It is found that the shifts calculated with two popular plane wave codes (CASTEP and Quantum ESPRESSO) are in excellent agreement with the experimental results.     

Structure and multinuclear solid-state NMR of a highly birefringent lead-gold cyanide coordination polymer

The coordination polymer Pb(H2O)[Au(CN)2]2 (1) was synthesized by the reaction of KAu(CN)2 and Pb(NO3)2. The structure contains 1-D chains of lead(II)-OH2 linked via Au(CN)2(-) moieties, generating a 2-D slab; weak aurophilic interactions of 3.506(2) and 3.4885(5) A occur within and between slabs. The geometry about each lead(II) is bicapped trigonal prismatic, having six N-bound cyanides at the prism vertices and waters at two of the faces. Dehydration at 175 degrees C yields microcrystalline Pb[Au(CN)2]2 (2), which, along with 1, was examined by 13C, 15N, 1H, and 207Pb solid-state NMR methods. Two 15N resonances are assigned to the mu2-bridging and hydrogen-bonding cyanides in 1. Upon dehydration, the 207Pb NMR spectrum becomes axially symmetric and yields a reduced shielding span, indicating higher site symmetry, while the 13C and 15N spectra reveal a single cyanide. Although no single-crystal X-ray structure of 2 could be obtained, a structure is proposed on the basis of the NMR and X-ray powder data, consisting of a lead(II) center in a distorted square-prismatic environment, with cyanides present at each corner. The birefringence of single crystals of 1 is found to be 7.0 x 10(-2) at room temperature. This value is large compared to that of most optical materials and can be attributed to the anisotropy of the 2-D slabs of 1, with all CN bonds aligned in the same direction by the polarizable lead(II) center.     

Interactions at the surface of organophilic-modified laponites: a multinuclear solid-state NMR study

Organically modified clays are largely employed in the preparation of nanostructured materials. The structural and dynamic characterization of the clay surface appears very important in the perspective of understanding the molecular mechanisms determining the improvement of the material properties. To this aim, in this work, a synthetic clay, Laponite, was studied in its untreated hydrophilic Na+-form, after ion exchange with alkylammonium cations and after subsequent grafting reaction with an alkoxysilane. These three samples were characterized by IR, SEM, TGA, and X-ray techniques and were deeply investigated by means of a wide combination of 29Si, 13C, and 1H high- and low-resolution solid-state NMR experiments. The grafting reaction with alkoxysilanes, occurring at the clay platelet edges, resulted in a reduction of the clay inter-platelet distances, and in an increased disorder in both the arrangement of the platelets and the conformational structure of the intercalated organic cation chains, probably due to the relative twisting of adjacent platelets.     

Synthesis and multinuclear NMR investigation on gold(III)-triphenylphosphine-pentafluorophenyl-arylazoimidazole

Reaction of [Au(C₆F₅)(PPh₃)(OSO₂CF₃)₂] with RaaiR′ in dichloromethane medium followed ligand addition leads to [Au(PPh₃)(C₆F₅)(RaaiR′)](OSO₂CF₃)₂ where RaaiR′ = p-R-C₆H₄-N=N-C₃H₂-NN-1-R′ (I–III), abbreviated as N, N′-chelator, where N(imidazole) and N(azo) represent N and N′, respectively; R = H (a), Me (b), Cl (c) and R′ = Me (I), CH₂CH₃ (II), CH₂Ph (III), PPh₃ is triphenylphosphine, OSO₂CF₃ is the triflate anion. The maximum molecular peak of the corresponding molecule is observed in the ESI mass spectrum. IR spectra of the complexes show -C=N- and -N=N- stretching near at ∼1590 and 1370 cm⁻¹ and at ∼1100, 755, 695, 545, and 505 cm⁻¹ due to the presence of triphenylphosphine and pentafluoropheny ring. The ¹H NMR spectral measurements suggest methylene (-CH₂-) in RaaiEt that gives a complex AB type multiplet with coupling constant of av. 6.6 Hz while in RaaiCH₂Ph it shows AB type quartets with coupling constant of av. 6.2 Hz. Considering all the moitie there are a lot of different carbon atoms in the molecule which gives a lot of eleven different peaks in the ¹³C {¹H}NMR spectrum. In the ¹H-¹H COSY NMR spectrum of the present complexes and contour peaks in the ¹H-¹³C HMQC NMR spectrum in the present complexes, assign the solution structure and stereo-retentive transformation in each step. The article is published in the original.     

Phosphorylated amino acids: model compounds for solid-state 31P NMR spectroscopic studies of proteins

Solid-state 31P NMR spectroscopy was applied to measure the isotropic chemical shifts, chemical shift anisotropies and asymmetry parameters of three phosphorylated amino acids, O-phospho-L-serine, O-phospho-L-threonine and O-phospho-L-tyrosine. The cross-polarization buildup rates and longitudinal relaxation times of 31P and 1H were-determined and compared with the values measured for a triphosphate (GppCH2p) bound to a crystalline protein (Ras). It is shown that the phosphorylated amino acids are well-suited model compounds, e.g. for the optimization of experiments on crystalline proteins. Two-dimensional exchange experiments on O-phospho-L-tyrosine indicate the existence of an exchange between the two different conformations of the molecule.     

Regio- and stereoselective lithiation of 2,3-diphenylaziridines: a multinuclear NMR investigation

The alpha-lithiation-trapping sequence of trans-N-alkyl-2,3-diphenylaziridines (s-BuLi or s-BuLi/TMEDA), taking place with a stereochemistry which dramatically depends on the solvent coordinating ability (inversion of configuration in THF and retention in toluene), has been carefully investigated. 1H,13C, and 7Li multinuclear NMR investigations at low temperature suggest that two differently configured lithiated aziridines (monomeric cis-1-Li in THF and dimeric trans-1-Li in toluene) are involved.     

Rational creation of chiral multinuclear and metallosupramolecular compounds from thiol-containing amino acids

Developments in the rational creation of chiral multinuclear and metallosupramolecular compounds based on linear-type metal complexes with penicillaminate (pen), as well as their functionality as a multidentate chiral metalloligand, is the main subject of this paper. The reactions of a mononuclear Au(I) complex, [Au(d-pen)(2)](3-), in which two d-pen ligands bind to an Au(I) center through thiolato S atoms, with transition metal ions afford a variety of S-bridged heterobimetallic multinuclear complexes, the structures and properties of which are highly dependent on the nature of reacting metal ions. The created multinuclear complexes still act as a metalloligand when they possess free amine and/or carboxylate groups, leading to the formation of heterotrimetallic supramolecular structures by reacting with third metal ions. While the Au-S bonds in [Au(d-pen)(2)](3-) are generally retained in the course of the reactions with metal ions, this is not the case for the Hg-S bonds in the corresponding Hg(II) complex, [Hg(d-pen)(2)](2-). A remarkable chiral behavior of multinuclear complexes composed of [Au(l-cys)(2)](3-) (cys = cysteinate), which is opposite to that composed of [Au(l-pen)(2)](3-), is also presented.     

17O and 29Si NMR parameters of MgSiO3 phases from high-resolution solid-state NMR spectroscopy and first-principles calculations

The 29Si and 17O NMR parameters of six polymorphs of MgSiO3 were determined through a combination of high-resolution solid-state NMR and first-principles gauge including projector augmented wave (GIPAW) formalism calculations using periodic boundary conditions. MgSiO3 is an important component of the Earth's mantle that undergoes structural changes as a function of pressure and temperature. For the lower pressure polymorphs (ortho-, clino-, and protoenstatite), all oxygen species in the 17O high-resolution triple-quantum magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectra were resolved and assigned. These assignments differ from those tentatively suggested in previous work on the basis of empirical experimental correlations. The higher pressure polymorphs of MgSiO3 (majorite, akimotoite, and perovskite) are stabilized at pressures corresponding to the Earth's transition zone and lower mantle, with perovskite being the major constituent at depths >660 km. We present the first 17O NMR data for these materials and confirm previous 29Si work in the literature. The use of high-resolution multiple-quantum MAS (MQMAS) and satellite-transition MAS (STMAS) experiments allows us to resolve distinct oxygen species, and full assignments are suggested. The six polymorphs exhibit a wide variety of structure types, providing an ideal opportunity to consider the variation of NMR parameters (both shielding and quadrupolar) with local structure, including changes in coordination number, local geometry (bond distances and angles), and bonding. For example, we find that, although there is a general correlation of increasing 17O chemical shift with increasing Si-O bond length, the shift observed also depends upon the exact coordination environment.     

Hydrogen bonding and chemical shift assignments in carbazole functionalized isocyanides from solid-state NMR and first-principles calculations

Carbazole functionalized polyisocyanides are known to exhibit excellent electronic properties (E. Schwartz, et al., Chemistry of Materials, 2010, 22, 2597). The functionalities and properties of such materials crucially depend on the organization and stability of the polymer structure. We combine solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) experiments with first-principles calculations of isotropic chemical shifts, within the recently developed converse approach, to rationalize the origin of isotropic chemical shifts in the crystalline monomer l-isocyanoalanine 2-(9H-carbazol-9-yl) ethyl amide (monomer 1) and thereby gain insight into the structural organization of its polymer (polymer 2). The use of state-of-the-art solid-state NMR experiments combined with Density Functional Theory (DFT) based calculations allows an unambiguous assignment of all proton and carbon resonances of the monomer. We were able to identify the structure stabilising interactions in the crystal and understand the influence of the molecular packing in the crystal structure on the chemical shift data observed in the NMR spectra. Here the Nuclear Independent Chemical Shift (NICS) approach allows discriminating between 'physical' interactions amongst neighboring molecules such as ring-current effects and 'chemical' interactions such as hydrogen bonding. This analysis reveals that the isocyanide monomer is stabilized by multiple hydrogen bonds such as a bifurcated hydrogen bond involving -N-H, -C-H and O=C- moieties and Ar-H···C≡N- hydrogen bonding (Ar = aromatic group). Based on the geometrical arrangement it is postulated that the carbazole units are involved in the weak σ-π interactions giving rise to a Herringbone packing of the molecules. The chemical shift analysis of the polymer spectra readily establishes the existence of N-H···O=C hydrogen bonds despite the limited resolution exhibited by the polymer spectra. It is also elucidated that the relative arrangement of the carbazole units in the polymer differs significantly from that of the monomer.     

A solid-state NMR investigation of the structure of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite

Nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HAp) prepared by a precipitation route was investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) powder patterns of the elongated nanocrystals with a typical diameter of about 10 nm and length of 30-50 nm (by transmission electron microscopy (TEM)) revealed the presence of HAp with significantly broadened XRD reflections. However, Ca deficiency was found, as the Ca/P ratio was 1.5 only (so-called calcium-deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA)), and not 1.67. This Ca deficiency of nanocrystalline HAp is explained using NMR. It is shown unambiguously that (i) the nanocrystals consist of a crystalline core and a (disordered) surface region with a relative phosphate content of about 1:1, (ii) the crystalline core is HAp, and (iii) the surface region is dominated by hydrogen phosphate anions (with no hydroxyapatite-like structural motif) and structural water (hydrate). From the relative phosphate content and taking into account the crystal shape, the thickness of the surface layer along the main crystal axis could be estimated to be about 1 nm, and the average chemical composition of the surface layer has been determined. Finally, a Ca/P ratio of 1.52 was estimated from the NMR data that compares well with the value of 1.51 from chemical analysis. The important consequences are that the surface of nanocrystalline HAp has nothing in common with the bulk composition and that the chemistry of such materials (e.g. the binding of protein molecules to phosphate surfaces) must be reconsidered.     

Combined experimental and computational thermochemistry of isomers of chloronitroanilines

The standard (p^° = 0.1 MPa) molar enthalpies of formation, at T = 298.15 K, of 4-chloro-3-nitroaniline and 5-chloro-2-nitroaniline, in the condensed phase, were derived from their standard molar energies of combustion, in oxygen, to yield CO₂(g), N₂(g), and HCl · 600H₂O(l), measured by rotating bomb combustion calorimetry. From the temperature dependence of the vapour pressures of these compounds, measured by the Knudsen effusion technique, their standard molar enthalpies of sublimation, at T = 298.15 K, were derived by means of the Clausius–Clapeyron equation. The Calvet microcalorimetry was also used to measure the standard molar enthalpies of sublimation of these compounds, at T = 298.15 K. The combination of the standard molar enthalpies of formation in the condensed phases and the standard molar enthalpies of sublimation yielded the standard molar enthalpies of formation in the gaseous phase at T = 298.15 K for each isomer. Further, the standard (p^° = 0.1 MPa) molar enthalpies, entropies and Gibbs free energies of sublimation, at T = 298.15 K, were also derived.The standard molar enthalpies of formation, in the gaseous phase of all the chloronitroaniline isomers were also estimated by the Cox scheme and by the use of computational thermochemistry and compared with the available experimental values.     

Ruthenium agostic (phosphinoaryl)borane complexes: multinuclear solid-state and solution NMR, X-ray, and DFT studies

The reactivity of the (o-phosphinophenyl)(amino)borane compound HB(N(i)Pr(2))C(6)H(4)(o-PPh(2)) prepared from Li(C(6)H(4))PPh(2) and HBCl(N(i)Pr(2)) toward the bis(dihydrogen) complex RuH(2)(H(2))(2)(PCy(3))(2) (1) was studied by a combination of DFT, X-ray, and multinuclear NMR techniques including solid-state NMR, a technique rarely employed in organometallic chemistry. The study showed that the complex RuH(2){HB(N(i)Pr(2))C(6)H(4)(o-PPh(2))}(PCy(3))(2) (3), isolated in excellent yield as yellow crystals and characterized by X-ray diffraction, led in solution to PCy(3) dissociation and formation of an unsaturated 16-electron complex RuH(2){HB(N(i)Pr(2))C(6)H(4)(o-PPh(2))}(PCy(3)) (4), with a hydride trans to a vacant site. In both cases, the (phosphinoaryl)(amino)borane acts as a bifunctional ligand through the phosphine moiety and a Ru-H-B interaction, thus featuring an agostic interaction.     

Structural investigation of aluminium doped ZnO nanoparticles by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

The electrical conductivity of aluminium doped zinc oxide (AZO, ZnO:Al) materials depends on doping induced defects and grain structure. This study aims at relating macroscopic electrical conductivity of AZO nanoparticles with their atomic structure, which is non-trivial because the derived materials are heavily disordered and heterogeneous in nature. For this purpose we synthesized AZO nanoparticles with different doping levels and narrow size distribution by a microwave assisted polyol method followed by drying and a reductive treatment with forming gas. From these particles electrically conductive, optically transparent films were obtained by spin-coating. Characterization involved energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, wet chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, which provided a basis for a detailed structural solid-state NMR study. A multinuclear ((27)Al, (13)C, (1)H) spectroscopic investigation required a number of 1D MAS NMR and 2D MAS NMR techniques (T(1)-measurements, (27)Al-MQMAS, (27)Al-(1)H 2D-PRESTO-III heteronuclear correlation spectroscopy), which were corroborated by quantum chemical calculations with an embedded cluster method (EEIM) at the DFT level. From the combined data we conclude that only a small part of the provided Al is incorporated into the ZnO structure by substitution of Zn. The related (27)Al NMR signal undergoes a Knight shift when the material is subjected to a reductive treatment with forming gas. At higher (formal) doping levels Al forms insulating (Al, H and C containing) side-phases, which cover the surface of the ZnO:Al particles and increase the sheet resistivity of spin-coated material. Moreover, calculated (27)Al quadrupole coupling constants serve as a spectroscopic fingerprint by which previously suggested point-defects can be identified and in their great majority be ruled out.     

Combined experimental and computational study of the thermochemistry of methylpiperidines

To understand the influence of the methyl group in the stability and conformational behavior of the piperidine ring, the standard (p0= 0.1 MPa) molar enthalpies of formation of 1-methylpiperidine, 3-methylpiperidine, 4-methylpiperidine, 2,6-dimethylpiperidine, and 3,5-dimethylpiperidine, both in the liquid and in the gaseous states, were determined at the temperature of 298.15 K. The numerical values of the enthalpies of formation in the liquid and in the gaseous state are, respectively, -(95.9 +/- 1.6) and -(59.1 +/- 1.7) kJ.mol(-1) for 1-methylpiperidine; -(123.6 +/- 1.4) and -(79.2 +/- 1.6) kJ.mol(-1) for 3-methylpiperidine; -(123.5 +/- 1.5) and -(82.9 +/- 1.7) kJ.mol(-1) for 4-methylpiperidine; -(153.6 +/- 2.1) and -(111.2 +/- 2.2) kJ.mol(-1) for 2,6-dimethylpiperidine; and -(155.0 +/- 1.7) and -(105.9 +/- 1.8) kJ.mol(-1) for 3,5-dimethylpiperidine. In addition, and to be compared with the experimental results, theoretical calculations were carried out considering different ab initio and density functional theory based methods. The standard molar enthalpies of formation of the four isomers of methylpiperidine and of the 12 isomers of dimethylpiperidine have been computed. The G3MP2B3-derived numbers are in excellent agreement with experimental data, except in the case of 2,6-dimethylpiperidine for which a deviation of 9 kJ.mol(-1) was found. Surprisingly, the DFT methods fail in the prediction of these properties with the exception of the most approximated SVWN functional.     

A multinuclear NMR spectroscopy study of alkoxysilanes

¹⁷O, ²⁹Si, and ¹³C NMR spectra of more than 100 mono-, di-, tri- and tetra-alkoxysilanes R_4−nSi(OR′)_n; R = C_nH_2n+1, Ph, CH₂Cl, CH₂Br; R′ = C_nH_2n+1, CH₂Ph, CH₂CH₂Cl, CH₂CHCH₂, CH₂CCH, CH₂CF₃. (CH₂)₃Cl, (CH₂)₃CN have been studied.Linear relationships between the chemical shifts of ¹⁷O, ²⁹Si, ¹³C in alkoxysilanes and the inductive and steric constants of substituents R and R′ were observed. Different transmission of electronic effects along the SiO bond in various directions was revealed by means of ¹³C, ²⁹Si, ¹⁷O NMR spectroscopy and correlation analysis. The results are discussed in terms of (pd)_π-bonding between the oxygen and silicon atoms in compounds containing an SiO bond.     

1,3-Diamido-calix[4]arene conjugates of amino acids: recognition of -COOH side chain present in amino acids, peptides, and proteins by experimental and computational studies

Lower rim 1,3-diamido conjugates of calix[4]arene have been synthesized and characterized, and the structures of some of these have been established by single crystal XRD. The amido-calix conjugates possessing a terminal -COOH moiety have been shown to exhibit recognition toward guest molecules possessing -COOH moiety, viz., Asp, Glu, and reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH, GSSG), by switch-on fluorescence in aqueous acetonitrile and methanol solutions when compared to the control molecules via forming a 1:1 complex. The complex formed has been shown by mass spectrometry, and the structural features of the complexes were derived on the basis of DFT computations. The association constants observed for the recognition of Asp/Glu by Phe-calix conjugate, viz., 532/676 M(-1), are higher than that reported for the recognition of Val, Leu, Phe, His, and Trp (16-63 M(-1)) by a water-soluble calixarene (Arena, G., et al. Tetrahedron Lett. 1999, 40, 1597). For this recognition, there should be a free -COOH moiety from the guest molecule. AFM, SEM, and DLS data exhibited spherical particles with a hundred-fold reduction in the size of the complexes when compared to the particles of the precursors. These spherical particles have been computationally modeled to possess hexameric species reminiscent of the hexameric micellar structures shown for a Ag(+) complex of a calix[6]arene reported in the literature (Houmadi, S., et al. Langmuir 2007, 23, 4849). Both AFM and TEM studies demonstrated the formation of nanospheres in the case of GSH-capped Ag nanoparticles in interaction with the amido-calix conjugate that possesses terminal -COOH moiety. The AFM studies demonstrated in this paper have been very well applied to albumin proteins to differentiate the aggregational behavior and nanostructural features exhibited by the complexes of proteins from those of the uncomplexed ones. To our knowledge, this is the first report wherein a amido-calix[4]arene conjugate and its amino acid/peptide/protein complexes have been differentiated on the basis of spectroscopy and microscopy studies followed by species modeling by computations.