Highly regio- and stereoselective intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of norbornadiene-tethered nitrile oxides

[reaction: see text] Intramolecular cycloadditions with high regio- and stereocontrol are important methods for the efficient assembly of complex molecular structures. Efficient routes to the synthesis of norbornadiene-tethered nitrile oxides have been developed, and their intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions were studied. The cycloadditions occurred in good yields for a variety of substrates and were found to be highly regio- and stereoselective.     

A convenient synthesis of chiral succinic acid-d2 by catalytic asymmetric reduction using a ruthenium BINAP catalyst

The synthesis of (2R,3R) and (2S,3S) dideuteriosuccinic acid in 63 ± 10% enantiomeric excess by reduction of the half acid ester of ethyl fumarate from (R) and (S) BINAP ruthenium (II) diacetate complex, respectively, is reported. (2R,3R) and (2S,3S)-Dideuteriosuccinic acid has also been prepared from (R)-BINAP ruthenium (II) dicarboxylate complex directly in similar optical purity by reversing the sequence of introduction of the isotopic label.     

Alkenyl selenols and selenocyanates: synthesis, spectroscopic characterization by photoelectron spectroscopy, and quantum chemical study

Vinyl, allyl, and homoallyl selenols were easily prepared by a chemoselective reduction of the corresponding selenocyanates with aluminum hydrides. Two stable vinyl and five stable allyl conformers of both series were predicted on the potential-energy surface. The interaction of SeH or SeCN groups with the vinyl group has been investigated with UV photoelectron spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations, using the MP2/cc-pVTZ and B3LYP/cc-pVTZ levels. In the vinyl derivatives, a surprisingly strong direct conjugation of the selenium lone electron pair and the C=C double bond was observed. On the other hand, in allyl position the selenium lone pair is independent on the C=C double bond, and the hyperconjugation between the Se-C bond and the double bond is the ruling effect. Thus is clarified the type and extent of the interaction between the SeH or SeCN group and the unsaturated moiety.     

Kinetic Modeling of the Decomposition of Carbon Tetrachloride in Thermal Plasma

Decomposition of carbon tetrachloride in a RF thermal plasma reactor was investigated in argon atmosphere. The net conversion of CCl₄ and the main products of its decomposition were determined from the mass spectrometric analysis of outlet gases. Flow and temperature profiles in the reactor were calculated and concentration profiles of the species along the axis of the reactor were estimated using a newly developed chemical kinetic mechanism, containing 12 species and 34 reaction steps. The simulations indicated that all carbon tetrachloride decomposed within a few microseconds. However, CCl₄ was partly recombined from its decomposition products. The calculations predicted 70\% net conversion of CCl₄, which was close to the experimentally determined value of 60\%. A thermodynamic equilibrium model also simulated the decomposition. Results of the kinetic and thermodynamic simulations agreed well above 2000 K. However, below 2000 K the thermodynamic equilibrium model gave wrong predictions. Therefore, application of detailed kinetic mechanisms is recommended for modeling CCl₄ decomposition under thermal plasma conditions.     

Design and synthesis of a multi-detachable benzhydrylamine-resin for solid phase peptide synthesis

Peptides with C-terminal α-carboxamides were synthesized from a multi-detachable benzhydrylamine-resin containing a Boc-(4-acetoxy)benzhydryl-amine handle of unambiguous origin. The peptides bound to the new resin are stable to trifluoroacetic acid, but are cleavable by hydrogen fluoride, base and nucleophiles to give unprotected or protected peptide fragments.     

Molecular structure of ethynylbenzene from electron diffraction and ab initio molecular orbital calculations

The molecular structure and benzene ring distortions of ethynylbenzene have been investigated by gas-phase electron diffraction and ab initio MO calculations at the HF/6-31G^* and 6-3G^** levels. Least-squares refinement of a model withC _2v, symmetry, with constraints from the MO calculations, yielded the following important bond distances and angles:r _g(C _i -C _o )=1.407±0.003 Å,r _g(C _o -C _m )=1.397±0.003 Å,r _g(C _m -C _p )=1.400±0.003 Å,r _g(Cr _i -CCH)=1.436 ±0.004 Å,r _g(C=C)=1.205±0.005 Å, C _o -C _i -C _o =119.8±0.4°. The deformation of the benzene ring of ethynylbenzene given by the MO calculations, including o-C_i-C_o=119.4°, is insensitive to the basis set used and agrees with that obtained by low-temperature X-ray crystallography for the phenylethynyl fragment, C₆H₅-CC-, in two different crystal environments. The partial substitution structure of ethynylbenzene from microwave spectroscopy is shown to be inaccurate in the ipso region of the benzene ring.     

Photoelectron and penning ionization electron spectroscopic investigation of trimethylsilyl- and t-butyl-thiophenes

Penning ionization electron spectroscopy and CNDO/S calculations have been successfully applied to the analyses of the UV photoelectron spectra of 2- and 2,5-bistrimethylsilylthiophene and 2-t-butylthiophene. The relative intensities of the π type bands are greatly enhanced in the Penning spectra compared with those of the UV photoelectron spectra.     

Dioxomolybdenum(VI) complexes containing 1-alkyl-2-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-pyridin-4(1H)-ones

Dioxomolybdenum(VI) complexes derived from ethyl maltol (2-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-pyrone) and 1-alkyl-2-ethyl-3-hydroxy-4-pyridin-4(1H)-ones have been prepared and characterized using physical methods including ¹H- and ¹³C-n.m.r. spectroscopy, i.r., elemental analysis, and X-ray diffraction for the pyrone and 3-methylpyridine pyridinone derivatives. The octahedral complexes have the general formula cis-MoO₂L₂ where L = the deprotonated pyrone or pyridinone ligand.