Ionic crystals [M3O(OOCC6H5)6(H2O)3]4[α-SiW12O40] (M = Cr, Fe) as heterogeneous catalysts for pinacol rearrangement

Complexation of trinuclear oxo-centered carboxylates with a silicododecatungstate resulted in the formation of ionic crystals of [M(3)O(OOCC(6)H(5))(6)(H(2)O)(3)](4)[α-SiW(12)O(40)]·nH(2)O·mCH(3)COCH(3) [M = Cr (Ia), Fe (IIa)]. Treatments of Ia and IIa at 373 K in vacuo formed guest-free phases Ib and IIb, respectively. Compounds Ib and IIb heterogeneously catalyzed the pinacol rearrangement to pinacolone with high conversion at 373 K, and the catalysis is suggested to proceed size selectively in the solid bulk.     

Self-assembly of active IrO2 colloid catalyst on an ITO electrode for efficient electrochemical water oxidation

Active catalysts for water oxidation to evolve O(2) are required for the construction of artificial photosynthetic devices that are expected to be promising energy-providing systems in the future. The citrate-stabilized IrO(2) colloid was self-assembled onto an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode to form a monolayer of the colloidal IrO(2) particles when it was dipped in the colloid solution. The self-assembly could be achieved by a chemical interaction between carboxylate groups on the citrate stabilizer and hydroxyl groups on the ITO surface to form ester bonds. Efficient electrocatalysis for water oxidation was demonstrated using the electrode modified by the self-assembled IrO(2) colloid to yield the highest turnover frequency ((2.3-2.5) x 10(4) h(-1)) of IrO(2) in the hitherto-reported catalysts for electrochemical water oxidation.     

Facile conversion of 23-hydroxyspirosolane into pregnane

Two novel reactions with regard to steroidal alkaloid sapogenols obtained from ripe tomato have been found. These reactions have been attained by simple facile method in only refluxing with pyridine and water. One is isomerization of a spirosolane derivative, isoesculeogenin A (2), into a rare solanocapsine derivative, esculeogenin B (3), disclosing a chemical correlation between isoesculeogenin A and esculeogenin B. Another is conversion of a 23-hydroxyspirosolane derivative, esculeogenin A (1), into a pregnane derivative (4), presenting an epoch-making method for derivation of steroidal hormone material.     

The unique properties observed for the unsymmetrical macrocyclic compounds with the highly distorted structure

A new class of aza-macrocycles with the highly distorted structure was found to exhibit unique properties. These macrocycles react with various lithium salts to form lithium complexes and their lithium complexation reactions depend on a substituent on the macrocyclic ring; slower rates and larger equilibrium constants were observed for the macrocycle with a bulkier substituent. The irradiation of these macrocycles by UV light was found to lead to the isomerization, and the photoisomerization rate of macrocycle with the bulky substituent was much faster. The highly distorted structure of these macrocycles makes it much easier to change the conformation of macrocyclic skeleton and these macrocycles have a variety of conformations. The factors to govern this conformational change were therefore explored. The solvent effect was examined by ¹H NMR spectroscopy, because these macrocycles have a strong intramolecular hydrogen bond in the ring. As a result, the solvent was found to have a big effect on the ¹H NMR spectra of macrocycles that could be explained in terms of the conformational change of macrocycle. This finding suggests the solvent to be an important way of controlling the conformation.     

Dicationic (BINAP)palladium-catalyzed enantioselective aldol reaction of aldehydes with a silyl enol ether: a simplified practical procedure

The dicationic ((R)-BINAP)palladium-catalyzed enantioselective aldol reaction of benzaldehyde with 1-phenyl-1-trimethylsilylethene has been reinvestigated regarding the reaction conditions in the presence of ((R)-BINAP)palladium chloride and AgSbF₆ with 3 Å molecular sieves. The simplified practical procedure with 1 mol % catalyst loading realized the high performance of 98% yield and 76% ee with reliable reproducibility.     

Laser photolysis studies of β-bond cleavage of phenacyl phenyl sulfide in acetonitrile

Photo-induced β-bond dissociation of phenacyl phenyl sulfide (PPS) has been investigated in acetonitrile by laser photolysis techniques. Direct excitation of PPS at 295 K provided the acetylmethyl and phenylthiyl radicals with a quantum yield (Φ_rad) of 0.18, whereas triplet sensitization using xanthone revealed an efficiency for β-cleavage of triplet PPS (α _rad) of ≥0.64. From disagreement between the Φ_rad and α _rad values, it was concluded that both the lowest excited single and triplet states are reactive for β-bond dissociation in PPS. The photochemical processes of excited PPS, including β-cleavage, are discussed in detail.     

Chalcogeno-Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction of enones with acetals: simple alpha-alkoxyalkylation of enones

1-[2-(Methylsulfanyl)phenyl]prop-2-en-1-one (1) and the seleno congener (2) reacted with acetals 3 and 21 in the presence of BF(3).Et(2)O to give alpha-alkoxyalkyl enones 4, 5 and 22, 23 in good yields. When the reaction mixtures were worked up with a saturated NaHCO(3) solution instead of Et(3)N, onium salts 6 and 7 were obtained together with 4 and 5. Reactions with cyclic acetal 14 gave alpha-(beta-hydroxyethoxy) enones 15 and 16 accompanied by dimeric products 17 and 18.     

Total synthesis of spicamycin

The first total synthesis of one of the spicamycin congeners, SPM VIII (3), is described. A preliminary model study for construction of the characteristic N-glycoside linkage in spicamycin using tetra-O-benzyl-beta-D-mannopyranosylamine (13) and halopurines 5 revealed that Pd-catalyzed conditions successfully provided the coupling products 14 and 15 in good yields. It was also shown that thermal anomerization of the N-glycosides easily occurred, which resulted in the predominant formation of the beta-anomer as the thermodynamically favored compound, and the activation energy of anomerization of 15 was estimated to be ca. 30 kcal/mol. The novel aminoheptose unit of spicamycin 6 was prepared stereoselectively by carbon elongation of an acyclic aldehyde, prepared by ring cleavage reaction of a highly functionalized cyclohexane derived from naturally abundant myo-inositol. The Pd-catalyzed coupling reaction of the beta-heptopyranosylamine 6 with protected 6-chloropurine 5d, followed by deprotection, provided spicamycin amino nucleoside 2, whose condensation with dodecanoylglycine completed the total synthesis of 3. This study confirmed the proposed unique structure of a novel nucleoside antibiotic.