Electrophilic fluorinating reagent mediated synthesis of fluorinated alpha-keto Ethers,benzil, and 6,6'-dialkoxy-2,2'-bipyridines

Interactions of various fluorinated and nonfluorinated alcohols with trans-stilbene in the presence of electrophilic reagents were studied. Under neat conditions, reactions of trans-stilbene (1) with fluorinated alcohols, R(f)OH (R(f) = CF3CH2-, CFH2CH2-, CF3CF2CH2-, CF2H(CF2)3CH2-, (CF3)2CH-, (CF3)3C- (2a-f) in the presence of an electrophilic reagent, 1-(chloromethyl)-4-fluoro-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane bis(tetrafluoroborate) (Selectfluor) or N,N-difluoro-2,2'-bipyridinium bis(tetrafluoroborate) (MEC-31), gave alpha-keto ethers (3a-f) and benzil (4) in good to moderate yields. alpha-Keto ether and benzil formation was very much dependent on the reaction time, the degree of fluorination of the alcohols, and whether a solvent such as CH3CN, DMF or DMA was utilized. In solution, alpha-keto ethers and benzil did not form. Interestingly, under neat conditions, nonfluorinated alcohols, ROH (R = CH3-, CH3CH2-, CH3CH2CH2-, CH3CH2CH2CH2-, CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2-) (5g-k) did not react with trans-stilbene in the presence of MEC-31 but gave 6,6'-dialkoxy-2,2'-bipyridines (6g-k), regioselectively, in excellent isolated yields. On the other hand, fluorinated alcohols did not react with MEC-31. Reaction of MEC-31 with an excess of diethylene glycol (7) gave the bipyridine derivative (8) in 88% isolated yield. Reaction of 8 either with diethylaminosulfur trifluoride (DAST) or bis(2-methoxyethyl)aminosulfur trifluoride (Deoxofluor) readily produced the corresponding difluoro derivative (9) in 85% isolated yield. All new compounds have been characterized by spectroscopic and elemental analysis.     

Benzannelated analogs of phenanthro[1,2-b]- and [2,1-b]thiophene: Synthesis and structural characterization by two-dimensional NMR and X-ray techniques

Syntheses of benzo[3,4]phenanthro[1,2-b]thiophene, benzo[3,4]phenanthro[2,1-b]thiophene and their 1-methyl analogs are reported as potential constituents of solvent refined coal liquids and for mutagenicity testing. The attempted synthesis of the 13-methyl analogs which gave the 11-methyl isomers is also described. Total assignments of the ¹H- and ¹³C-nmr spectra based on long range optimized heteronuclear protoncarbon two-dimensional chemical shift correlation are reported. Carbon assignments obtained for benzo[3,4]-phenanthro[1,2-b]thiophene using this approach were confirmed with a 125 MHz ¹³C–¹³C INADEQUATE spectrum. X-Ray crystal structures were determined for benzo[3,4]phenanthro[1,2-b]thiophene and 1-methyl-benzo[3,4]phenanthro[2,1-b]thiophene. Both molecules were helically distorted from planarity. Close intramolecular contacts between the bay region H1–H13 and ClMe-H13 of 2.03 and 2.28 Å, respectively, were responsible for the distortions. There were no close intermolecular contacts of <3.5Å. both molecules refined to an R value of <0.05.     

Synthesis and characterization of highly ordered Ni-MCM-41 mesoporous molecular sieves

Highly ordered Ni-MCM-41 samples with nearly atomically dispersed nickel ions were prepared reproducibly and characterized. Similar to the Co-MCM-41 samples, the pore diameter and porosity can be precisely controlled by changing the synthesis surfactant chain length. Nickel was incorporated by isomorphous substitution of silicon in the MCM-41 silica framework, which makes the Ni-MCM-41 a physically stable catalyst in harsh reaction conditions such as CO disproportionation to single wall carbon nanotubes or CO2 methanation. X-ray absorption spectroscopy results indicate that the overall local environment of nickel in Ni-MCM-41 was a tetrahedral or distorted tetrahedral coordination with surrounding oxygen anions. Hydrogen TPR revealed that our Ni-MCM-41 samples have high stability against reduction; however, compared to Co-MCM-41, the Ni-MCM-41 has a lower reduction temperature, and both the H2-TPR and in situ XANES TPR reveal that the reducibility of nickel is not clearly correlated with the pore radius of curvature, as in the case of Co-MCM-41. This is probably a result of nickel being thermodynamically more easily reduced than cobalt. The stability of the structural order of Ni-MCM-41 has been investigated under SWNT synthesis and CO2 methanation reaction conditions as both require catalyst exposure to reducing environments leading to formation of metallic Ni clusters. Nitrogen physisorption and XRD results show that structural order was maintained under both SWNT synthesis and CO2 methanation reaction conditions. EXAFS results demonstrate that the nickel particle size can be controlled by different prereduction temperatures but not by the pore radius of curvature as in the case of Co-MCM-41.     

Isotopic scrambling in Di-13C-labeled 2-butyl cation: evidence for a protonated cyclopropane intermediate

The (13)C NMR spectrum of 2-butyl-1,2-(13)C(2) cation (1) is unchanged on heating the sample to -78 degrees C, indicating no isomerization to another isotopomer. In contrast, the spectrum of 2-butyl-2,3-(13)C(2) cation (2) shows rapid formation of all of the other isotopomers except 1. These results are consistent with a protonated cyclopropane intermediate in the rearrangement process. In this mechanism, either C(1) and C(2) or C(3) and C(4) interchange. Only the bond between C(2) and C(3) breaks.     

Intercalation of trioxatriangulenium ion in DNA: binding,electron transfer,x-ray crystallography,and electronic structure

Trioxatriangulenium ion (TOTA(+)) is a flat, somewhat hydrophobic compound that has a low-energy unoccupied molecular orbital. It binds to duplex DNA by intercalation with a preference for G-C base pairs. Irradiation of intercalated TOTA(+) causes charge (radical cation) injection that results in strand cleavage (after piperidine treatment) primarily at GG steps. The X-ray crystal structure of TOTA(+) intercalated in the hexameric duplex d[CGATCG](2) described here reveals that intercalation of TOTA(+) results in an unusually large extension of the helical rise of the DNA and that the orientation of TOTA(+) is sensitive to hydrogen-bonding interactions with backbone atoms of the DNA. Electronic structure calculations reveal no meaningful charge transfer from DNA to TOTA(+) because the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital of TOTA(+), (LUMO)(T), falls in the gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital, (HOMO)(D), and the (LUMO)(D) of the DNA bases. These calculations reveal the importance of backbone, water, and counterion interactions, which shift the energy levels of the bases and the intercalated TOTA(+) orbitals significantly. The calculations also show that the inserted TOTA(+) strongly polarizes the intercalation cavity where a sheet of excess electron density surrounds the TOTA(+).     

Design of pure heterodinuclear lanthanoid cryptate complexes

Heterolanthanide complexes are difficult to synthesize owing to the similar chemistry of the lanthanide ions. Consequently, very few purely heterolanthanide complexes have been synthesized. This is despite the fact that such complexes hold interesting optical and magnetic properties. To fine-tune these properties, it is important that one can choose complexes with any given combination of lanthanides. Herein we report a synthetic procedure which yields pure heterodinuclear lanthanide cryptates LnLn*LX₃ (X = NO₃⁻ or OTf⁻) based on the cryptand H₃L = N[(CH₂)₂N CH–R–CH N–(CH₂)₂]₃N (R = m-C₆H₂OH-2-Me-5). In the synthesis the choice of counter ion and solvent proves crucial in controlling the Ln–Ln* composition. Choosing the optimal solvent and counter ion afford pure heterodinuclear complexes with any given combination of Gd(iii)–Lu(iii) including Y(iii). To demonstrate the versatility of the synthesis all dinuclear combinations of Y(iii), Gd(iii), Yb(iii) and Lu(iii) were synthesized resulting in 10 novel complexes of the form LnLn*L(OTf)₃ with LnLn* = YbGd 1, YbY 2, YbLu 3, YbYb 4, LuGd 5, LuY 6, LuLu 7, YGd 8, YY 9 and GdGd 10. Through the use of ¹H, ¹³C NMR and mass spectrometry the heterodinuclear nature of YbGd, YbY, YbLu, LuGd, LuY and YGd was confirmed. Crystal structures of LnLn*L(NO₃)₃ reveal short Ln–Ln distances of ∼3.5 Å. Using SQUID magnetometry the exchange coupling between the lanthanide ions was found to be anti-ferromagnetic for GdGd and YbYb while ferromagnetic for YbGd.

We present a synthetic strategy to prepare the first heterodinuclear lanthanide(iii) cryptate complexes. The cryptate design ensures that the complexes are stable in solution for days. The exchange coupling in YbYb, GdGd and YbGd is investigated.     

Polymerizable benzophenone derivatives for labeling vinyl acetate‐butylacrylate latex particles

We describe the synthesis and characterization of three new polymerizable benzophenone derivatives [2‐acryloxy‐5‐methyl benzophenone ( 8 ), 4′‐dimethylamino‐2‐acryloxy‐5‐methyl benzophenone ( 9 ), and 4′‐dimethylamino‐2‐(β‐acryloxyethyl)oxy‐5‐methyl benzophenone ( 10 )]. We show that these monomers can successfully be incorporated into vinyl acetate (VAc) copolymer latex particles. These particles were prepared by semicontinuous emulsion polymerization and mini‐emulsion polymerization of VAc with butylacrylate (BA) for VAc/BA = 4/1 by weight. The two monomers 9 and 10 bearing the 4′‐dimethylamino group satisfy the important spectroscopic criteria required of a dye to serve as an acceptor chromophore for nonradiative energy transfer from phenanthrene (Phe) as the donor. Their UV absorption spectra suggest significant overlap with the emission spectrum of Phe, which can be incorporated into P(VAc‐co‐BA) latex through copolymerization with 9‐acryloxymethyl Phe ( 2 ). In addition, these chromophores provide a window in their absorption spectra for excitation of the Phe chromophore at 300 nm. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3001–3011, 2002     

Synthesis of discodermolide intermediates from engineered polyketides

Key intermediates used in Smith’s total synthesis of discodermolide were synthesized from an engineered polyketide made via precursor feeding to genetically modified polyketide producing bacteria.     

Effects of ammonium nitrate on sensitivity for determinations of copper,iron, and manganese in sea water by atomic absorption spectrometry with pyrolytically coated graphite tubes

Ammonium nitrate, used as a matrix modifier in sea-water analysis to eliminate the interference of sodium chloride, degrades the pyrolytic coating on graphite-furnace tubes. The initially increased sensitivities for copper, manganese and iron are maintained for up to 15 atomizations; there is then a rapid decline to a constant lower sensitivity. The characteristics depend strongly on the particular lot of furnace tubes. To decrease the NaCl interference without using matrix modifier, estuarine samples must be diluted (1 + 1) with pure water. Blanks and standards are prepared and diluted with Gulf Stream water containing low amounts of trace metals to match the estuarine matrix.     

Infrared-visible sum frequency generation spectroscopic study of molecular orientation at polystyrene/comb-polymer interfaces

Surface-sensitive infrared-visible sum frequency generation spectroscopy (SFG) in total internal reflection geometry has been used to study the structure of poly(vinyl n-octadecyl carbamate-co-vinyl acetate) (PVNODC) or poly(octadecyl acrylate) (PA-18) in contact with a deuterated or hydrogenated polystyrene (dPS or hPS) layer. SFG spectra from the PVNODC (or PA-18)/hPS interface show methyl and methylene peaks corresponding to PVNODC (or PA-18) and phenyl peaks corresponding to the PS. Analysis suggests that the methyl groups are tilted at angles less than 30 degrees with respect to the surface normal. The presence of a strong methylene peak suggests the PVNODC alkyl side chains contain more gauche defects at the PS/PVNODC interface in comparison to PVNODC (or PA-18)/air interfaces. On heating, the SFG intensity from the PS/PA-18 interface drops sharply near the bulk melting temperature (T(m)) of PA-18. Interestingly, a similar drop in SFG signal is also observed for the PS phenyl groups. This demonstrates the ability of the phenyl group at the PS/PA-18 interface to rearrange itself upon the solid-to-liquid transition of the PA-18 alkyl side chain, at a temperature well below the bulk PS glass transition temperature. For PS/PVNODC interfaces, the drop in SFG intensity is gradual and in agreement with the three broad transitions of PVNODC observed in the bulk.