Photocycloaddition of acetylacetonatoboron derivatives with simple olefins

Acetylacetonatoboron difluoride (AABF₂) and oxalate (AABO) undergo cycloaddition from their singlet excited state with cyclic and terminal olefins to give stereospecific but non-regiospecific products; the latter oxalate reacted slightly faster than the former difluoride. A conjugated diene, 1,3-cyclooctadiene, and methyl substituted benzenes also reacted similarly but with slower rates owing to electron transfer at the encounter stage. The resulting radical ion pairs may undergo radical ion type reactions and/or reverse electron transfer, which leads to the partial waste of the photoenergy. For the same reasons, the reaction occurs more efficiently in non-polar solvents, such as ether, dioxane and methylene chloride than in acetonitrile.     

Pseudo-Polymorphs of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>′-Bis(4-nitrophenyl)-2,6-Pyridinedicarboxamide

Three pseudo-polymorphs of N, N′-bis(4-nitrophenyl)-2,6-pyridinedicarboxamide 1 were characterized by X-ray crystallography. The C–H ⋅s O hydrogen bond was found to contribute significantly to the assembly of this host. With the variation of the guest, the host changed the molecular conformation and the supramolecular synthons. In all three cases concerned, the solvent guests were bonded through direct host-guest interaction and accommodated in the voids formed by the assembly of the host.     

Functionalized ionic liquids catalyzed direct aldol reactions

A series of functionalized ionic liquids (FILs) incorporated with chiral-pyrrolidine unit have been synthesized and tested as reusable organocatalysts for direct aldol reactions. FIL 1b in combination with acetic acid and water as additives could effectively catalyze direct aldol reactions of various ketone donors in high yields and the FIL catalyst was easily recycled and reused for six times with slight reduction in activity. Based on experimental observations as well as previous reports, we proposed that the reactions occurred via syn-enamine intermediate and the ionic-liquid moiety in the FIL provides some space shielding for the participating aldehyde acceptors that accounts for the modest enantioselectivities observed in the reactions.     

N-亚硝基吲哚系列化合物及其自由基负离子在乙腈介质中N—NO键断裂能的测定

利用滴定量热技术并结合适当的热力学循环测定了乙腈溶液中7个取代的N-亚硝基吲哚化合物中N—NO键的异裂能和均裂能, 能量范围分别为206.1~246.2 kJ/mol和119.1~124.6 kJ/mol. 表明N-亚硝基吲哚均裂释放NO自由基(NO·)比异裂释放NO正离子(NO+)要容易得多, 通过热力学循环得到的相应自由基负离子中N—NO键的异裂能和均裂能的能量范围分别为25.5~34.4和5.0~40.5 kJ/mol, 表明所研究化合物的自由基负离子在室温下很不稳定.     

Theoretical prediction of the hydride affinities of various p- and o-quinones in DMSO

The hydride affinities of 80 various p- and o-quinones in DMSO solution were predicted by using B3LYP/6-311++G (2df,p)//B3LYP/6-31+G* and MP2/6-311++G**//B3LYP/6-31+G* methods, combined with the PCM cluster continuum model for the first time. The results show that the hydride affinity scale of the 80 quinones in DMSO ranges from -47.4 kcal/mol for 9,10-anthraquinone to -124.5 kcal/mol for 3,4,5,6-tetracyano-1,2-quinone. Such a long scale of the hydride affinities (-47.4 to -124.5 kcal/mol) indicates that the 80 quinones can form a large and useful library of organic oxidants, which can provide various organic hydride acceptors that the hydride affinities are known for chemists to choose in organic syntheses. By examining the effect of substituent on the hydride affinities of quinones, it is found that the hydride affinities of quinones in DMSO are linearly dependent on the sum of the Hammett substituent parameters sigma: DeltaGH-(Q) approximately -16.0Sigmasigmai - 70.5 (kcal/mol) for p-quinones and DeltaGH-(Q) approximately -16.2Sigmasigmai - 81.5 (kcal/mol) for o-quinones only if the substituents have no large electrostatic inductive effect and large ortho-effect. Study of the effect of the aromatic properties of quinone on the hydride affinities showed that the larger the aromatic system of quinone is, the smaller the hydride affinity of the quinone is, and the decrease of the hydride affinities is linearly to take place with the increase of the number of benzene rings in the molecule of quinones, from which the hydride affinities of aromatic quinones with multiple benzene rings can be predicted. By comparing the hydride affinities of p-quinones and the corresponding o-quinones, it is found that the hydride affinities of o-quinones are generally larger than those of the corresponding p-quinones by ca. 11 kcal/mol. Analyzing the effect of solvent on the hydride affinities of quinones showed that the effects of solvent (DMSO) on the hydride affinities of quinones are mainly dependent on the electrostatic interaction of the charged hydroquinone anions (QH-) with solvent (DMSO). All the information disclosed in this work should provide some valuable clues to chemists to choose suitable quinones or hydroquinones as efficient hydride acceptors or donors in organic syntheses and to predict the thermodynamics of hydride exchange between quinones and hydroquinones in DMSO solution.     

Computation of pKa values of substituted aniline radical cations in dimethylsulfoxide solution

A newly developed computation strategy was used to calculate the absolute pKa values of 18 substituted aniline radical cations in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) solution with the error origin elucidated and deviation minimized. The B3LYP/6-311++G(2df,2p) method was applied and was found to be capable of reproducing the gas-phase proton-transfer free energies of substituted anilines with a precision of 0.83 kcal/mol. The IEF-PCM solvation model with gas-phase optimized structures was adopted in calculating the pKa values of the substituted neutral anilines in DMSO, regenerating the experimental results within a standard deviation of 0.4 pKa unit. When the IEF-PCM solvation model was applied to calculate the standard redox potentials of anilide anions, it showed that the computed values agreed well with experiment, but the redox potentials of substituted anilines were systematically overestimated by 0.304 eV. The cause of this deviation was found to be related to the inaccuracy of the calculated solvation free energies of aniline radical cations. By adjusting the size of the cavity in the IEF-PCM method, we derived a reliable procedure that can reproduce the experimental pKa values of aniline radical cations within 1.2 pKa units to those from experiment.     

New redox anion receptors based on calix[4]pyrrole bearing ferrocene amide

Two redox anion receptors based on calix[4]pyrrole and ferrocene have been synthesized. The electrochemical investigation revealed that these compounds can be response to the anions with different shifts of Fc/Fc⁺ couple. With the ¹H NMR titration study, the selectivity to F⁻ and AcO⁻ ions in CD₃CN solution was confirmed. The conformations of the mono-aromatic meso-substituted calix[4]pyrroles, which were the synthetical intermediate of the ferrocene based receptors, and their anion complexes in the solid state have also been studied by single X-ray crystallography, and the rationality of the crystal conformations was proved by theoretical study.     

乙腈介质中S-NO键异裂能和均裂能的测定

近年来, 大量研究表明, 一氧化氮在许多生命过程(如免疫、神经传导和血管扩张等)中发挥着十分重要的作用[1～4]. 然而, 文献[5]的研究表明, NO在生命体内很少以游离形式存在, 绝大部分都是与生命体内活线性分子结合着, 其中NO与有机硫以S-NO键方式结合形成的NO蕴合物(Nitric oxide-generating agent)被认为是NO在生命体内贮存、 转移和释放最主要的分子源[5]. 因此, 系统研究各种类型硫键NO蕴合物中S-NO键的断裂能, 可以诠释和预测NO在生命体内的转移方向和转移机制. 由于这一原因, S-NO键断裂能的研究是当今许多键能化学家正致力于解决的最热门课题之一. 10多年来, 我们从事的化学键键能研究, 已为这一领域的深入研究奠定了基础. 前文[6～8]根据热力学循环利用滴定量热法成功地测得了多个系列的N-NO键的异裂能和均裂能. 最近, 我们在此工作的基础上, 通过改变热力学循环方式又成功地利用滴定量热法测得了12个S-亚硝基化合物中的S-NO键的异裂能和均裂能, 其中9个为芳香体系, 3个为脂肪体系, 分别模拟生命体系内芳香体系和脂肪体系中的S-NO键. 本文首次报道其实验结果, 并进行一些讨论.     

Towards Predicting the Magnitude and Direction of Radical Substituent Effect:The Importance of Polar Interaction in Radical System

Substituent effect of reactive intermediates has long been a central issue in organic chemistry^[1]. While quantitative knowledge on structure-property relationship of close-shell species (e.g., carbanions, carbocations, and neutral molecules, etc.) has already been well documented in the literature and textbooks, the present understanding of substituent effect on radicals is still largely limited to the information drawn basically from the (σ and BDE (bond dissociation energy) studies of a single family, the benzyl radical^[2]. Naturally, the general applicability of these scales as indicators of radical stability to other families bearing different structural features needs to be examined. The present systematic experimental and computational investigation on radicals of the benzylic type centered on carbon atoms of vaiying degree of electronegativity shows that i) there are actually three (rather than one as previously well claimed) basic patterns of radical substituent effect for carbon radical; and ii) prediction of the direction and magnitude of radical substituent effect should be workable on the basis of quantitative understanding of polar interactions within a radical system^[3]. Experimental evidence and detailed analysis on this respect are presented.     

化学选择性还原21-叠氮基皮质激素法制备21-伯胺基皮质激素

以锌/氯化铵为还原剂,在含水四氢呋喃中将21-叠氮基皮质激素化学选择性地还原为21-伯氨基皮质激素.11β-羟基-21-叠氮基皮质激素比相应的11-酮基和11-去氧皮质激素容易还原,含水四氢呋喃是该反应的最适合溶剂,水的含量在还原体系中起着极其重要的作用.