Characterisation of oxygen defects in calciumdifluoride

We study the aggregation of oxygen dipoles well dispersed in a CaF₂ crystal upon annealing at temperatures ranging from 370 to 420 K. The concentration of oxygen dipoles is monitored by measuring the intensity of the ionic thermocurrent peak as well as by absorption and luminescence spectroscopies. Results from three methods agree within experimental error and yield an activation energy of (1.2±0.1) eV for the diffusion of isolated oxygen centres in the crystal.     

Ring-opening carbonyl–olefin metathesis of norbornenes

A computational and experimental study of the hydrazine-catalyzed ring-opening carbonyl–olefin metathesis of norbornenes is described. Detailed theoretical investigation of the energetic landscape for the full reaction pathway with six different hydrazines revealed several crucial aspects for the design of next-generation hydrazine catalysts. This study indicated that a [2.2.2]-bicyclic hydrazine should offer substantially increased reactivity versus the previously reported [2.2.1]-hydrazine due to a lowered activation barrier for the rate-determining cycloreversion step, a prediction which was verified experimentally. Optimized conditions for both cycloaddition and cycloreversion steps were identified, and a brief substrate scope study for each was conducted. A complication for catalysis was found to be the slow hydrolysis of the ring-opened hydrazonium intermediates, which were shown to suffer from a competitive and irreversible cycloaddition with a second equivalent of norbornene. This problem was overcome by the strategic incorporation of a bridgehead methyl group on the norbornene ring, leading to the first demonstrated catalytic carbonyl–olefin metathesis of norbornene rings.

A computational and experimental study has uncovered a second generation hydrazine that enables the catalytic ring-opening carbonyl–olefin metathesis of norbornenes.     

Reversible carboxylation of N-heterocyclic carbenes

Spectroscopic analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and crossover experiments performed on a series of imidazolium carboxylates revealed carboxylation was reversible with N-aryl substituted adducts.     

Femtosecond excitation energy transport in triarylamine dendrimers

The search for a model that can be used to describe the optical excitation migration in dendrimers has attracted great attention. In most cases in a dendrimer the conjugation is disrupted at the branching point; however, the excitation is delocalized. The strength of interactions among neighboring chromophores plays a key role in determining the energy migration mechanism. Conversely, having many identical chromophores held tightly together in an ordered macromolecular architecture will allow for many dipoles to be accessible for optical excitation. Therefore, the relative orientation of dipoles will be important in determining the mechanism of energy migration. Here we report the synthesis and photo-physical investigation of triarylamine-based dendrimers. Two important synthetic steps were utilized in the synthesis. First, we employed diphenylmethyl protective groups on the amines to assist in deprotective hydrogenolysis of the larger structures. Second, highly active catalysts for formation of both di- and triarylamines that are based on a 1:1 ratio of P(t-Bu)3 and Pd(dba)2 improved reaction yields of the C-N bond formation and decreased reaction times The energy migration processes in the dendrimers were investigated utilizing ultrafast time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy measurements. The fluorescence anisotropy of all three dendrimers decayed to a residual value within approximately 100 fs. This fluorescence anisotropy decay showed a general trend in decreasing with increasing dendrimer generation. The residual anisotropy value also showed a gradual decrease with an increase in the dendrimer generation. This fast energy depolarization is discussed through a coherent excitonic mechanism among dipoles oriented in different directions. We believe that the formation of coherent domains leads to fast energy migration extending over a large part of the dendrimer.     

Preparation of macrocyclic 15N-labelled oligoaminodeoxysaccharides as probes for RNA-binding

Two macrocyclic aminoglycosides were prepared from a 1,4-butanediol linked 2-deoxy-L-rhamnal which was O-allylated at the 4- and 4'-positions via the precursor allyl 3,4-di-O-acetyl-2,6-dideoxy-alpha-L-arabino-hexoside employing olefin metathesis and ring closing metathesis in a sequential manner. The macrocycles were 15N-labelled at all four amino groups in order to study interactions with regulatory RNA structures in solution by NMR spectroscopy. A key step for the introduction of the 15N-label was a reductive amination step using commercially available 15NH4OAc. The reductive amination proceeds with excellent stereocontrol. As a by-product the unusual acyclic amino nitrile was isolated which originated from intramolecular imine formation followed by cyanide addition to the intermediate C=N double bond.     

Nondiverging algebraically special ℋ-spaces

All nondiverging algebraically special -spaces are found by means of the complexified spin-coefficient formalism. The solutions are found to group naturally into two classes according to whether or not the optical-rotation spin coefficient vanishes.Research supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation.     

Cluster chemistry: XXXVIII. Reactions between M(C2R)(PR′3 (M = Cu,Ag, Au; R = Ph,C6F5; R′ = Me Ph) and H2Os3(CO)10: X-ray structures of Os3Au(μ-CHCHR)(CO)10(PPh3) (R = Ph and C6F5)

The reactions of Os₃(μ-H)₂(CO)₁₀ with a series of Group IB metal acetylide-tertiary phosphine complexes are described. Whereas the compounds M(C₂C₆F₅)(PPh₃) (M = Cu, Ag, Au) afforded the complexes MOs₃(μ-CHCHC₆F₅)(CO)₁₀(PPh₃) cleanly and in high yield, complex mixtures of products were obtained from reactions of the analogous phenylacetylides. The complexes MOs₃(μ-CHCHPh)(CO)₁₀(PPh₃), MOs₃(μ-CHCHPh)(CO)₉(PPh₃)₂ and MOs₃(μ-H)(CO)₁₀(PPh₃) (of known structure), and MOs₃(μ-CHCHPh)(CO)₉(PPh₃)₂ and HMOs₃(CHCPh)(CO)₈ (of unknown structure) were characterised; Au(C₂Ph)(PMe₃) afforded similar derivatives. The reactions proceed by oxidative-addition and hydrogen migration steps; MP bond cleavage reactions also occur to a small extent. The molecular structures of AuOs₃(μ-CHCHC₆R₅)(CO)₁₀(PPh₃) (R = F or H) were determined by X-ray analyses. For R = F, crystals are triclinic, space group P$\text{1}$ with a 9.081(2), b 13.291(2), c 17.419(2) Å, α 84.49(1), β 76.20(2), γ 75.81(2)° and Z = 2; 4622 observed data [I > 2.5σ(I)] were refined to R = 0.027, R_W = 0.031. For R = H, crystals are triclinic, space group P$\text{1}$, with a 9.403(4), b 13.448(3), c 13.774(4) Å, α 83.34(2), β 88.66(3), γ 70.21(3)°, and Z = 2; 4405 observed data [I > 2.5σ(I)] were refined to R = 0.030, R_W = 0.033. The two molecules differ in the orientation of the Ph rings of the PPh₃ groups, but are otherwise similar to Os₃(μ-H)(μ-CHCHBu^t)(CO)₁₀ with the μ-H ligand replaced by the isolobal μ-Au(PPh₃) group.     

Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Polymers from the Polymerisation of Methacrylate-Substituted Oxotantalum Clusters with Methylmethacrylate: A Thermomechanical and Spectroscopic Study

New inorganic-organic hybrid materials were prepared by free-radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with methacrylate-substituted oxotantalum cluster [Ta₄O₄(OEt)₈(OMc)₄] and their properties evaluated. The cluster was prepared by the reaction of the parent alkoxide with methacrylic acid. Samples of the hybrid materials were produced with Ta-cluster to methyl methacrylate in the ratios of 1:50 and 1:100 and were characterized by thermal and spectroscopic techniques. The glass transition temperatures of the hybrid materials are shifted to higher temperatures than pure PMMA as a result of cross-linking of the polymer by the oxotantalum clusters. The increase in T_g is also observed from the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Evidence of crosslinking between the Ta-cluster and PMMA is obtained from infrared spectroscopic study. Surface studies performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) provide information about the atomic concentrations of the surface and indicate tantalum bonded to oxygen.