N,N′-Ethylene-Bridged Bis-2-Aryl-Pyrrolinium Cations to E-Diaminoalkenes: Non-Identical Stepwise Reversible Double-Redox Coupled Bond Activation Reactions

This work presents a stepwise reversible two-electron transfer induced hydrogen shift leading to the conversion of a bis-pyrrolinium cation to an E-diaminoalkene and vice versa. Remarkably, the forward and the reverse reaction, which are both reversible, follow two completely different reaction pathways. Establishing such unprecedented property in this type of processes was possible by developing a novel synthetic route towards the starting dication. All intermediates involved in both the forward and the backward reactions were comprehensively characterized by a combination of spectroscopic, crystallographic, electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, and theoretical methods. The presented synthetic route opens up new possibilities for the generation of multi-pyrrolinium cation scaffold-based organic redox systems, which constitute decidedly sought-after molecules in contemporary chemistry.     

A Minty variational principle for set optimization

Extremal problems are studied involving an objective function with values in (order) complete lattices of sets generated by so-called set relations. Contrary to the popular paradigm in vector optimization, the solution concept for such problems, introduced by F. Heyde and A. Löhne, comprises the attainment of the infimum as well as a minimality property. The main result is a Minty type variational inequality for set optimization problems which provides a sufficient optimality condition under lower semicontinuity assumptions and a necessary condition under appropriate generalized convexity assumptions. The variational inequality is based on a new Dini directional derivative for set-valued functions which is defined in terms of a “lattice difference quotient.” A residual operation in a lattice of sets replaces the inverse addition in linear spaces. Relationships to families of scalar problems are pointed out and used for proofs. The appearance of improper scalarizations poses a major difficulty which is dealt with by extending known scalar results such as Diewert's theorem to improper functions.     

Size Matters! On the Way to Ionic Liquid Systems without Ion Pairing

Several, partly new, ionic liquids (ILs) containing imidazolium and ammonium cations as well as the medium‐sized [NTf₂]^? (0.230 nm³; Tf=CF₃SO₃^?) and the large [Al(hfip)₄]^? (0.581 nm³; hfip=OC(H)(CF₃)₂) anions were synthesized and characterized. Their temperature‐dependent viscosities and conductivities between 25 and 80 °C showed typical Vogel–Fulcher–Tammann (VFT) behavior. Ion‐specific self‐diffusion constants were measured at room temperature by pulsed‐gradient stimulated‐echo (PGSTE) NMR experiments. In general, self‐diffusion constants of both cations and anions in [Al(hfip)₄]^?‐based ILs were higher than in [NTf₂]^?‐based ILs. Ionicities were calculated from self‐diffusion constants and measured bulk conductivities, and showed that [Al(hfip)₄]^?‐based ILs yield higher ionicities than their [NTf₂]^? analogues, the former of which reach values of virtually 100 % in some cases.From these observations it was concluded that [Al(hfip)₄]^?‐based ILs come close to systems without any interactions, and this hypothesis is underlined with a Hirshfeld analysis. Additionally, a robust, modified Marcus theory quantitatively accounted for the differences between the two anions and yielded a minimum of the activation energy for ion movement at an anion diameter of slightly greater than 1 nm, which fits almost perfectly the size of [Al(hfip)₄]^?. Shallow Coulomb potential wells are responsible for the high mobility of ILs with such anions.     

Synthesis and Chemical Constitution of Diphenoxyphosphoryl Derivatives and Phosphonium Salts as Coupling Reagents for Peptide Segment Condensation

The reactions of diphenoxyphosphoryl chloride ((PhO) 2 P(O)Cl) and different chlorophosphonium salts ([R 3 PCl]X, R = (CH 3 ) 2 N, pyrrolidine, X = PF 6 m , BF 4 m ), respectively, with 7-aza-1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOAt), 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt), hydroximinomalonitrile (HOxDCO), and ethyl hydroximinocyanoacetate (HOxO) are described. The structures of the new compounds, which are useful coupling reagents for epimerization-free peptide segment condensation, are discussed on the basis of their 1 H, 13 C, 31 P NMR, and IR spectra. The reactions of (PhO) 2 P(O)Cl lead to mixtures of O - and N -phosphorylated isomers of varying ratios. Contrary, reactions of chlorophosphonium salts yield exclusively one isomer.     

Solvent effect on the conformational behaviour of amino acid and oligopeptide derivatives

The solvent effect on acetyl amino acid methyl esters and C- and N-protected di- and tripeptide derivatives has been studied in deuterium oxide (D₂O), 1.1.1.3.3.3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFiP), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and methylene chloride (CH₂Cl₂). The interpretation is based on the amide I region. For the amino acid derivatives the relative shift of the amide I signal clearly indicates the strength of the interaction with the solvent molecules. However, in HFiP and DMSO solutions the occurrence of two overlapping signals for the amide I and the ester carbonyl signal, respectively, indicates the existence of two major conformers. Knowing the solvent effects on the small amino acid esters allows the assignment of the signals in di- and tripeptide derivatives. Although the identification of turn structures in these flexible molecules is not possible, the band positions and intensity of the deconvoluted amide I region clearly shows that certain conformers can be stabilised. It can be concluded that the band profile in the amide I region is determined by the number of amino acid residues linked in the molecule, the bulkiness of the side chains and their sequence and to a major extend by the solvent properties.     

Correction to: Quantitative analysis of PET microplastics in environmental model samples using quantitative 1H-NMR spectroscopy: validation of an optimized and consistent sample clean-up method

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - The original version of this article contained a mistake.