Directing-Group-Free C7-Alkylations of N-Alkylindoles Mediated by Cationic Zirconium Complexes: Role of Brønsted Acid for Catalytic Manifold

Highly position selective alkylations of N-alkylindoles at C7-positions have been enabled by cationic zirconium complexes. The strategy provides a straightforward access to install alkyl groups at C7-positions of indoles without a complex directing group. Mechanistic studies provided support for the importance of Brønsted acids in the catalytic manifold.     

Approaches to sharing knowledge in group problem structuring

Problem-structuring techniques are an integral aspect of ‘Soft-OR’. SSM, SAST, Strategic Choice, and JOURNEY Making, all depend for their success on a group developing a shared view of a problem through some form of explicit modelling. The negotiated problem structure becomes the basis for problem resolution. Implicit to this process is an assumption that members of the group share and build their knowledge about the problem domain. This paper explores the extent to which this assumption is reasonable. The research is based on detailed records from the use of JOURNEY Making, where it has used special purpose Group Support software to aid the group problem structuring. This software continuously tracks the contributions of each member of the group and thus the extent to which they appear to be ‘connecting’ and augmenting their own knowledge with that of other members of the group. Software records of problem resolution in real organisational settings are used to explore the sharing of knowledge among senior managers. These explorations suggest a typology of knowledge sharing. The implications of this typology for problem structuring and an agenda for future research are considered.     

Electrospray deposition in vacuum

We have used the established technique of electrospray in developing a portable vacuum electrospray system which can deposit, in vacuo, dissolved molecules onto a sample which may then be analysed by UHV techniques. As an initial test of the system we have analysed silicon samples with an electrosprayed layer of poly(ethylene) oxide (PEO) using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The polymer forms different structures depending on the voltage applied to the emitter, and solution composition. The system is part of our ongoing effort to deposit other materials such as nanoparticles, and large dye molecules for developing molecular dye sensitised solar cells.     

Über die Erfüllbarkeit gewisser Zählausdrücke

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Untersuchungen an reagenzien zur photometrischen zinnbestimmung

The formation of complexes between tin(IV) and o-diphenols, and o-hydroxyquinones, has been studied spectrophotometrically. Simple o-hydroxyquinones do not react with tin(IV), chloranilic acid gives an SnR₂ complex, and o-diphenols give SnR₃ complexes. The reactions of tin(IV) with hydroxyxanthene dyes to give coloured products were considered for their possible analytical utility: the pH range, absorption spectrum, solubility and composition of the complexes were investigated, and the stability constants determined. Analytical procedures have been developed for tin and checked for precision and sensitivity: gallein and hydroxyhydroquinonephthalein (dihydroxyfluorescein) are to be recommended.     

Photokatalytische Systeme. XLIV. Über das Intervalence-Charge-Transfer-Verhalten von Ionenpaarassoziaten des Octacyanomolybdats

Photocatalytic Systems. XLIV. On the Intervalence Charge Transfer Behaviour of Ion Pairs of Octacyanomolybdate [Mo(CN)₈]^4? ions are forming coloured ion pairs with Fe^III, Cu^II, U^VIO₂, and V^IVO, the long-wavelength absorption band of which could be assigned to an intervalence charge-transfer transition. From the solvent dependence of the IT band, interionic distances could be estimated.     

Comparative investigation of ruthenium-based metathesis catalysts bearing N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands

Exchange of one PCy3 unit of the classical Grubbs catalyst 1 by N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands leads to "second-generation" metathesis catalysts of superior reactivity and increased stability. Several complexes of this type have been prepared and fully characterized, six of them by X-ray crystallography. These include the unique chelate complexes 13 and 14 in which the NHC- and the Ru-CR entities are tethered to form a metallacycle. A particularly favorable design feature is that the reactivity of such catalysts can be easily adjusted by changing the electronic and steric properties of the NHC ligands. The catalytic activity also strongly depends on the solvent used; NMR investigations provide a tentative explanation of this effect. Applications of the "second-generation" catalysts to ring closing alkene metathesis and intramolecular enyne cycloisomerization reactions provide insights into their catalytic performance. From these comparative studies it is deduced that no single catalyst is optimal for different types of applications. The search for the most reactive catalyst for a specific transformation is facilitated by IR thermography allowing a rapid and semi-quantitative ranking among a given set of catalysts.