Catalytic asymmetric intermolecular Stetter reaction of glyoxamides with alkylidenemalonates

An asymmetric intermolecular Stetter reaction of glyoxamide and alkylidenemalonates has been developed. Catalyzed by a novel N-heterocyclic carbene, the Stetter adducts are formed in good yield and excellent enantioselectivity. The presence of a sensitive epimerizable stereocenter is tolerated under these mildly basic reaction conditions if a bulky amine base is used. The products may be further elaborated to provide synthetically useful intermediates.     

A diastereoselective intermolecular heck reaction of 1,3-dioxepins

A highly diastereoselective intermolecular Heck reaction of 1,3-dioxepins is reported. Substitution at both the 2- and 4-positions of the dioxepin directs the Pd coordination and subsequent olefin insertion to provide the trans-disubstituted adduct in good yield and high diastereoselectivity. Chemoselective Heck reaction occurs at the dioxepin alkene in the presence of other olefinic functional groups. A labeling study has been conducted which suggests that the reaction is under kinetic control.     

Evaluation of the Potential Release Tendency of Metals and Metalloids from the Estuarine Sediments: Case Study of Raša Bay

Assessing the environmental quality of coastal systems is important not only for the management and protection of such areas, but also for improving the quality of water resources. Since sediment itself can often be a source of certain toxic elements, in addition to information on the distribution of metals in the water column and in the sediment itself, it is useful to determine the bioavailable forms of individual elements, particularly toxic ones. In this study, water and sediment geochemical data were supplemented with oxyanion mobility in sediments estimated by diffusion gradients in thin film (DGTs). The data obtained indicate that the chemical composition of the water in the Raša River estuary primarily reflects the high input of suspended sediment from the catchment, the mixing of freshwater and seawater, and to a lesser extent the effects of anthropogenic activities. Although sediment composition is primarily determined by geological and hydrodynamic conditions in the catchment, it also indicates moderate enrichment in Co, Cr, Mo and Ni. In contrast, the distribution of oxyanions in sediment pore water indicates the influence of sediment as a source of some elements in the bottom water; e.g., sediment contributes to 40% of the arsenic bottom water budget. The obtained depth profiles of the oxyanion distribution in the sediment pore water indicate an early onset of suboxic to anoxic conditions in Raša Bay, which is prone to rapid sedimentation. All this demonstrates the need to consider the bioavailable forms of elements when assessing environmental quality, as the lack of such information can lead to an incomplete assessment, especially in dynamic coastal systems such as estuaries.     

Vibrational isotope effect by the low rank perturbation method

Mathematical formalism of the Low Rank Perturbation method (LRP) is applied to the vibrational isotope effect in the harmonic approximation with a standard assumption that force field does not change under isotopic substitutions. A pair of two n-atom isotopic molecules A and B which are identical except for isotopic substitutions at ρ atomic sites is considered. In the LRP approach vibrational frequencies ω _k and normal modes of the isotopomer B are expressed in terms of the vibrational frequencies ν _i and normal modes of the parent molecule A. In those relations complete specification of the normal modes is not required. Only amplitudes at sites τ affected by the isotopic substitutions and in the coordinate direction s (s = x, y, z) are needed. Out-of-plane vibrations of the (H,D)-benzene isotopomers are considered. Standard error of the LRP frequencies with respect to the DFT frequencies is on average . This error is due to the uncertainty of the input data (± 0.5 cm⁻¹) and in the absence of those uncertainties and in the harmonic approximation it should disappear. In comparing with experiment, one finds that LRP frequencies reproduces experimental frequencies of (H,D)-benzene isotopomers better () than scaled DFT frequencies () which are designed to minimize (by frequency scaling technique) this error. In addition, LRP is conceptually and numerically simple and it also provides a new insight in the vibrational isotope effect in the harmonic approximation.     

One‐Pot Mechanosynthesis with Three Levels of Molecular Self‐Assembly: Coordination Bonds,Hydrogen Bonds and Host–Guest Inclusion

Liquid‐assisted grinding (LAG) was used to combine three levels of molecular self‐assembly into a one‐pot mechanochemical approach for the construction of metal–organic materials. The approach was applied for the construction of three adducts of cobalt(II) dibenzoylmethanate with isonicotinamide, nicotinamide and imidazole, to screen for their inclusion compounds. The one‐pot process consists of: i) The coordination‐driven binding of addends to the equatorially‐protected metal ion, resulting in “wheel‐and‐axle”‐shaped complexes; ii) self‐assembly of resulting complexes by way of hydrogen‐bonded synthons to form metal–organic inclusion hosts; iii) in situ inclusion of the grinding liquid in the resulting host. This approach provided quantitatively and within 20 min the known inclusion compounds of the bis(isonicotinamide) adduct in a single synthetic step. Changing the liquid phase in LAG was used to explore the inclusion behaviour of new wheel‐and‐axle adducts with nicotinamide and imidazole, revealing several inclusion compounds, as well as two polymorphs, of the bis(nicotinamide) host. Preliminary results suggest that one‐pot LAG is superior to solution synthesis in screening for metal–organic inclusion compounds. The difference between the methods is rationalised in terms of reactant solubility and solvent competition. In contrast to the nicotinamide adduct, the bis(imidazole) adduct did not form inclusion compounds. The difference in the inclusion properties of the two adducts is rationalised by structural information gathered by single crystal and powder X‐ray diffraction.     

Asymmetric synthesis of hydrobenzofuranones via desymmetrization of cyclohexadienones using the intramolecular Stetter reaction

Dearomatization of phenols followed by oxidation affords cyclohexadienyloxyacetaldehydes, which produce hydrobenzofuranones via asymmetric intramolecular Stetter reaction in good to excellent yield. Quaternary as well as up to three contiguous stereocenters may be formed in good to excellent enantioselectivities and high diastereoselectivities.