Computational studies of the cone and 1,2,3 alternate calix[6]arene bis‐crown‐4 isomers: structures,NMR shifts,atomic charges,and steric compression

The cone and 1,2,3 alternate isomers of calix[6]arene bis‐crown‐4 were investigated computationally. Structural optimizations, energies, bond distances, and Mulliken charges were calculated by the application of the B3LYP/6‐31g(d) method/basis, followed by NMR calculations via both B3LYP/6‐31g(d) and HF/6‐31g(d). Calculations were completed at three different levels of imposed symmetry, and two calculations investigated the chloroform solvent effects. Better NMR results were obtained from HF/6‐31g(d) calculations that did not impose molecular symmetry constraints. Consideration of solvent effects improved ground state energies, but other improvements were minimal and not significant enough to justify the added computational expense of solvent calculations. Overall results are consistent with known experimental assignments and were valuable for assigning previously unknown NMR peaks. Net charges, electrostatic forces, and local dipoles – but not bond lengths – are strongly correlated to spectroscopic manifestations of steric compression. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Diastereofacial selectivity in some 4‐substituted (X) 2‐adamantyl derivatives: electronic versus steric effects

π‐Facial selectivity data for the reduction and methylation of some 4^ax‐substituted (X) 2‐adamantanones ( 3 , Y = O) as well as the nucleophilic trapping of secondary and tertiary 4^ax‐substituted (X)‐2‐adamantyl cations ( 4 ; R = H and CH₃, respectively) and the 4‐methylene‐2‐adamantyl radical ( 8 ) are presented. The pronounced anti‐face selectivities observed for ( 3 , Y = O and 4 , R = CH₃) emphasize the importance of the steric factor as expected for systems with a strong steric bias. However, the dominant syn‐face capture of 4 (R = H) was completely unexpected and highlights a subtle interplay between steric and electronic effects. Finally, the very high anti‐face stereoselectivity for the trapping of ( 8 ) with the trimethylstannyl anion (Me₃Sn^?) is rationalized in terms of an electrostatic effect overwhelming the steric factor. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrophilic aromatic substitution by the fluorofullerene C60F18

The FeCl3-catalysed arylation of C60F18 gives tri-substituted compounds C60F15Ar3, where Ar=phenyl, 4-tolyl, 4-methoxyphenyl, 4-phenoxyphenyl, 4-chlorophenyl, 3,4-dichlorophenyl, 2-biphylenyl and 2-fluorenyl, together with some bis- and mono-substituted product. Bis-substitution was achieved with biphenylene and fluoranthene, and mono-substitution with biphenylene (2-position), pyrene (1-position), and naphthalene (1- and 2-positions); the tris-phenyl and tris-biphenylene derivatives are fluorescent. The 2-naphthyl substituent freely rotates at 328 K, whereas rotation of the 1-naphthyl substituent is prevented by interaction of the peri-hydrogen atom with fluorine. The 1-naphthyl derivative eliminates a molecule of HF during EI mass spectrometry, whilst the 2-naphthyl derivative eliminates HF and all fluorenes to give a naphthaleno[60]fullerene. The reaction rate is relatively unaffected by electron supply in the aryl rings, but no product was obtained with benzotrifluoride which defines the lower reactivity limit. The low discrimination between aromatics makes it possible to isolate derivatives having different aryl groups attached to the cage. Reactions occur mainly when the reagent solutions (or solutions in 1,2-dichlorobenzene) are evaporated to dryness. In most FeCl3-catalysed reactions, unreacted C60F18 was recovered, more if the less effective SnCl4 was used as a catalyst; use of AlCl3 resulted in polyarylation and degradation of the C60F18. The structure of C60F17(1-biphenylyl) was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis. Reaction of C60F18 with perylene/FeCl3/o-dichlorobenzene gave red fluorescent "tagliatelli"-like threads (up to 1 cm long) of self-assembled pi-stacked tetrachloroperylene arising from chlorination by FeCl3.     

Diastereoselectivity in the Carroll rearrangement of β-keto esters of tertiary allylic alcohols

Carroll rearrangement of β-keto esters derived from tertiary allylic alcohols, for example, 7, under basic conditions followed by decarboxylation of the resulting β-keto acids yielded the expected γ,δ-unsaturated methyl ketones 8 with a range of olefin geometries from 100:0 to 1:1.8 E/Z, depending on the relative steric requirements of the two groups at the allylic center.     

Synthesis of organofunctional silanes with sterically hindered substituents at silicon atoms

Organofunctional silanes with more sterically hindered substituents at the silicon atom than the typical methoxy (ethoxy) group have lately been frequently used as silane coupling agents, in polymer coupling systems, sol‐gel processes and also as interpenetrating polymer network substrates. New and very efficient synthetic ways leading to organofunctional silanes of the above type with methacryl, amine, chloro and isocyanato functional groups are proposed here. Catalytic transesterification and/or alcoholysis of chloropropyltrialkoxysilanes followed by­nucleophilic substitution has been employed. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of peripheral ligand bulk on nitrogen activation by three‐coordinate molybdenum complexes—A theoretical study using the ONIOM method

Electronic structure methods have been combined with the ONIOM approach to carry out a comprehensive study of the effect of ligand bulk on the activation of dinitrogen with three‐coordinate molybdenum complexes. Calculations were performed with both density functional and CCSD(T) methods. Our results show that not only is there expected destabilization of the intermediate on the pathway due to direct steric interactions of the bulky groups, but also there is significant electronic destabilization as the size of the ligand increases. This latter destabilization is due to the inability of the molecule to accommodate a rotated amide group bound to the molybdenum once the amide reaches a certain size. This destabilization also leads to a clear preference for the triplet intermediate (rather than the singlet intermediate) for bulky substituents which is in agreement with experiment. Overall, the calculated reaction profile for the bulky substituents shows a good correlation with the available experimental data. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009     

Redox Potential and Crystal Chemistry of Hexanuclear Cluster Compounds

Most of TM₆-cluster compounds (TM = transition metal) are soluble in polar solvents, in which the cluster units commonly remain intact, preserving the same atomic arrangement as in solids. Consequently, the redox potential is often used to characterize structural and electronic features of respective solids. Although a high lability and variety of ligands allow for tuning of redox potential and of the related spectroscopic properties in wide ranges, the mechanism of this tuning is still unclear. Crystal chemistry approach was applied for the first time to clarify this mechanism. It was shown that there are two factors affecting redox potential of a given metal couple: Lever’s electrochemical parameters of the ligands and the effective ionic charge of TM, which in cluster compounds differs effectively from the formal value due to the bond strains around TM atoms. Calculations of the effective ionic charge of TMs were performed in the framework of bond valence model, which relates the valence of a bond to its length by simple Pauling relationship. It was also shown that due to the bond strains the charge depends mainly on the atomic size of the inner ligands.