Theoretical studies on the metathesis processes, (Tp(PH3)MR(eta 2-H[bond]CH3)]-->[Tp(PH3)M(CH3)(eta 2-H[bond]R)] (M=Fe,Ru, and Os; R=H and CH3)

Theoretical calculations on the metathesis process, [Tp(PH3)MR(eta 2-H[bond]CH3)] --> [Tp(PH3)M(CH3)(eta 2-H[bond]R)] (M=Fe, Ru, and Os; R=H and CH3), have been systematically carried out to study their detailed reaction mechanisms. Other than the one-step mechanism via a four-center transition state and the two-step mechanism through an oxidative addition/reductive elimination pathway, a new one-step mechanism, with a transition state formed under oxidative addition, has been found. Based on the intrinsic reaction coordinate calculations, we found that the trajectories of the transferring hydrogen atom in the metathesis processes studied are similar to each other regardless of the nature of reaction mechanisms.     

GIAO/DFT evaluation of 13C NMR chemical shifts of selected acetals based on DFT optimized geometries

DFT/B3LYP calculations of the ground-state conformation of eight cyclic and acyclic acetals are presented and compared with experimental data. Results of single-point GIAO/DFT calculations at five different levels of theory show that isotropic shieldings need to be empirically scaled to achieve agreement with experimental chemical shifts. Statistical evaluation of data indicates that the most accurate prediction of 13C chemical shifts is achieved at the MPW1PW91/6-311G** level of theory. An empirical equation describing the relationship between delta values and shielding constants is postulated. This equation has been applied to the non-chair ground-state conformation of the six-membered acetonide and to the conformationally flexible benzodioxonine derivative. The agreement observed between the experimental and predicted chemical shifts shows that calculations at the MPW1PW91/6-311G** level of theory are adequate for addressing questions of conformation.     

Diastereoselective hydroformylation of 2-substituted allylic o-DPPB-esters-on the origin of 1,2-asymmetric induction

2-Substituted secondary alcohol o-DPPB esters (o-DPPB=ortho-diphenylphosphanylbenzoyl) have been prepared and their o-DPPB-directed diastereoselective hydroformylation examined. It was found that the diastereoselectivity increased as a function of the steric demand of the substituents both at the stereogenic center and in the alkene 2-position. Hydrolytic cleavage of the o-DPPB group afforded-via the lactols 29-the corresponding lactones 30, the relative configurations of the vicinal stereogenic centers of which were ascertainable by 2D-NOESY spectroscopy. In addition, a crystal structure analysis of the hydroformylation product 2 d provided further confirmation of the relative configuration. Replacement of the ester carbonyl group of the o-DPPB by a methylene unit resulted in significantly worse diastereoselectivity in the course of the hydroformylation (34-->35), which indicates a decisive role for the ester carbonyl function. All the experimental observations were combined in a model of the origin of the 1,2-asymmetric induction during the title reaction. The key feature is the consideration of diastereomeric trigonal-bipyramidal rhodium-hydrido-olefin complexes I and II, capable on the basis of the Hammond postulate of acting as good models for the transition states of the selectivity-determining hydrometalation step. Investigation of these complexes by force-field methods indicated good correlation between theoretically predicted and experimentally determined diastereoselectivities.     

Rearrangements of the carbanions derived from allyl benzyl thioether

The metalation of allyl benzyl thioether involves the benzylic or the allylic hydrogens. The benzylic carbanion undergoes a rapid[2,3] sigmatropic shift whereas the allylic carbanion gives rise to various rearrangements, among them migration of the allylic unit to the para position with allylic inversion. The temperature dependence of the ratio of products arising from the benzylic carbanion vs those from the allylic carbanion shows that the allylic-to-benzylic carbanion transformation occurs only under special conditions: (a) with slow addition of the base; (b) with thioether in excess relative to the base, and (c) on raising the temperature of the reaction medium from ?78° to ?15°. In the last instance, the proton transfer is intramolecular as shown with labeled thioethers. The extent of the different rearrangements depends on the temperature and solvent. A choice of mechanism cannot be made at this time for the para migration 5→9a. A leaving group effect on the reaction regioselectivity of the carbanion from allyl methyl thioether with benzyl halides has been noticed. The presence of dibenzyl indicates that, in addition to S_N2 reactions, some electron transfer process is occurring.     

Novel Reactions of Organomolybdenum and Organotungsten Compounds: Additive–Reductive Carbonyl Dimerization,Spontaneous Transformation of Methyl Ligands into μ-Methylene Ligands,and Selective Carbonylmethylenation

Hitherto there was no reaction known that permits transformations of R¹R²-CO → 0.5 R¹R²R³C–CR¹R²R³ in one step. This type of additive–reductive carbonyl dimerization is now possible using alkoxy(alkyl)tungsten(v) complexes with aromatic, heteroaromatic or α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones. When a corresponding phenyl complex was employed in a test experiment, it was revealed that an aliphatic ketone could be used as the substrate in this reaction. A second interesting type of reaction is the transformation of CH₃ ligands into μ-CH₂ ligands, which occurs during the treatment of MeLi or Me₃Al with molybdenum or tungsten chlorides (oxidation states VI and V, for Mo additionally IV) at low temperatures with liberation of CH₄. Here, the question arises as to whether the intermediate involved has a terminal CH₂ ligand (Schrock carbene complex) or a μ-CH₃ ligand (CH₃ bound by a two-electron three-center bond to two metal atoms). Of all the μ-CH₂ complexes obtained, those which were synthesized by the action of MeLi on molybdenum chlorides can be recommended as reagents for carbonylmethylenation of aldehydes and ketones. They display high selectivity, very low basicity, a surprising resistance to protons, they are readily available, can be easily modified and, as regards their selective behavior, they have been investigated more thoroughly than other readily accessible carbonylmethylenation reagents of comparable selectivity. The results of NMR spectroscopic investigations on the structure of the μ-CH₂ complexes, and associated reaction mechanisms are discussed. A survey of carbonylmethylenation reagents, which have been reported in the literature, permits comparisons to be made with carbonylmethylenating molybdenum and tungsten complexes.     

Progress on phthalocyanine-conjugated Ag and Au nanoparticles: Synthesis,characterization, and photo-physicochemical properties

Phthalocyanine (Pc) complexes are an important class of dyes with numerous (e.g., biological, photophysical, and analytical) applications. Among the methods used to improve the properties of these complexes, one should mention the introduction of different substituents, variation of the central metal ion, ligand exchange, and conjugation to nanomaterials (e.g., carbon-based nanomaterials and metal nanoparticles (NPs)). This work briefly reviews Pc complex conjugation to Ag and Au NPs, highlights the different NP shapes, and discusses the diversity of conjugation approaches. Moreover, the use of UV–Vis spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to characterize Pc-NP hybrids is summarized. The effect of conjugation on Pc photo-physicochemical properties (fluorescence, singlet oxygen generation, triplet state formation, and optical limiting behavior) is discussed, and future perspectives for the synthesis and applications of new hybrids are provided.     

Synthesis,Crystal Structure,and Spectral Properties of a Cobalt(II) Complex with N‐Salicylidene‐p‐Toluidine

The complex Co(C₁₄H₁₃NO)₂Cl₂ with the protonated N‐salicylidene‐p‐toluidine ligand was synthesized from an ethanolic solution of CoCl₂·6H₂O and N‐salicylidene‐p‐toluidine. The crystal structure was determined from X‐ray single crystal data (monoclinic, space group Cc, a = 1496.2(3) pm, b = 1257.4(4) pm, c = 1544.6(3) pm, β = 115.01(1)°, Z = 4). Co²⁺ adopts a distorted tetrahedral geometry. The UV‐Vis and IR spectra of the complex are discussed.     

Oxidative addition of the ethane C-C bond to Pd. An ab initio benchmark and DFT validation study

We have computed a state-of-the-art benchmark potential energy surface (PES) for the archetypal oxidative addition of the ethane C-C bond to the palladium atom and have used this to evaluate the performance of 24 popular density functionals, covering LDA, GGA, meta-GGA, and hybrid density functionals, for describing this reaction. The ab initio benchmark is obtained by exploring the PES using a hierarchical series of ab initio methods [HF, MP2, CCSD, CCSD(T)] in combination with a hierarchical series of five Gaussian-type basis sets, up to g polarization. Relativistic effects are taken into account either through a relativistic effective core potential for palladium or through a full four-component all-electron approach. Our best estimate of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters is -10.8 (-11.3) kcal/mol for the formation of the reactant complex, 19.4 (17.1) kcal/mol for the activation energy relative to the separate reactants, and -4.5 (-6.8) kcal/mol for the reaction energy (zero-point vibrational energy-corrected values in parentheses). Our work highlights the importance of sufficient higher angular momentum polarization functions for correctly describing metal-d-electron correlation. Best overall agreement with our ab initio benchmark is obtained by functionals from all three categories, GGA, meta-GGA, and hybrid DFT, with mean absolute errors of 1.5 to 2.5 kcal/mol and errors in activation energies ranging from -0.2 to -3.2 kcal/mol. Interestingly, the well-known BLYP functional compares very reasonably with a slight underestimation of the overall barrier by -0.9 kcal/mol. For comparison, with B3LYP we arrive at an overestimation of the overall barrier by 5.8 kcal/mol. On the other hand, B3LYP performs excellently for the central barrier (i.e., relative to the reactant complex) which it underestimates by only -0.1 kcal/mol.     

Gas–liquid partition coefficients and Henry's law constants of methyl mercaptan in aqueous solutions of Fe(II)–CDTA chelate complex

Utilization of ferric chelate complex of trans-1,2-cyclohexanediaminetetraacetic acid (CDTA) for the oxidative scrubbing of H₂S and CH₃SH in Kraft mill streams can be beneficial from the standpoints of iron protection against precipitation and oxygen-mediated regenerative oxidation of the ferrous chelate CDTA. The physical solubility of methyl mercaptan in CDTA–Fe(III) complex cannot be measured directly because of oxidation of the sulfur-bearing gaseous species with the ferric chelate. Therefore, this investigation was carried out to determine the gas–liquid partition coefficients and Henry's law constants of methyl mercaptan in aqueous iron-free CDTA solutions and non-reacting ferrous chelate solutions (CDTA–Fe(II) complex), using the static headspace method with an estimated accuracy of about 2%. Experiments with aqueous solutions of chelate concentrations varying between 38 and 300 mol m⁻³ were carried out at temperatures between 298 and 333 K and atmospheric pressure. It was shown that the methyl mercaptan solubility decreases with increasing temperature for all systems but was not much influenced, in the studied conditions, by the chelate concentration especially at larger temperatures.