Sterically demanding diporphyrin ligands and rhodium(II) porphyrin bimetalloradical complexes

A series of sterically demanding diporphyrins H2(por)-X-(por)H2 ligands that contain spacers (X) with different degrees of flexibility were synthesized from the trimesitylporphyrin derivatives 5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-10,15,20-trimesitylporphyrin (TMP-OH)H2 (1a) and 5-(2,6-dimethyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)-10,15,20-trimesityl-porphyrin, (DMTMP-OH)H2 (1b). The monomeric porphyrins 1a,b, which have steric demands similar to that of tetramesitylporphyrin, (TMP)H2, and carry a hydroxyl functional group at the para position of one of the mesophenyl substituents, were constructed from reaction of pyrrole with two aromatic aldehydes by a mixed aldehyde condensation approach. The diporphyrins with alkyl diether tethers were obtained stepwise from reactions of the hydroxy functionalized porphyrins 1a,b with dibromides Br(CH2)nBr. The diporphyrin which contains a more rigid m-xylylene spacer, was made directly from reaction of 1b with alpha,alpha'-dibromo-m-xylene. Rhodium was inserted into the porphyrins using Rh2(CO)2Cl2 and converted to dimethyl complexes Me-Rh(Por)-X-(Por)Rh-Me. The dirhodium(II) derivatives .Rh(por)-X-(por)Rh.) were generated by photolysis of the dimethyl complexes and observed to occur as stable bimetalloradicals because the ligand steric demands prohibit Rh(II)-Rh(II) bonding. EPR spectra of the dirhodium(II) derivatives, triphenyl phospine adducts, and dioxygen complexes are reported. The kinetic advantage of bimetalloradical complexes for substrate reactions that have two metal-centered radicals in the transition state is demonstrated by reactions of dihydrogen with dirhodium(II) bimetalloradical complexes.     

Diels‐alder reactions of 2‐(2‐nitroethenyl)‐1H‐pyrroles and their oxygen and sulfur analogs with quinones

Diels‐Alder reaction of 2‐(E‐2‐nitroethenyl)‐1H‐pyrrole ( 2a ) with 1,4‐benzoquinone gave the desired benzo[e]indole‐6, 9(3H)‐dione ( 4a ) in 10% yield versus a 26% yield (lit. 86% [5]) of the known N‐methyl compound ( 4b ) from the N‐(or 1)‐methyl compound ( 2b ). Protection of the nitrogen of 2a with a phenylsul‐fonyl group ( 2c ) gave a 9% yield of the corresponding N‐(or 3)‐phenylsulfonyl compound ( 4c ). The reaction of 2b with 1,4‐naphthoquinone gave in 6% yield (lit. 64% [5]) the known 3‐methylnaphtho[2,3‐e]‐indole‐6, 9(3H)‐dione ( 6 ). The reaction of 2‐(E‐2‐nitroethenyl)furan ( 8a ) gave a small yield of the desired naphtho[2,1‐b]furan‐6, 9‐dione ( 9a ), recognized by comparing its NMR spectrum with that of 4b. The corresponding reaction of 2‐(E‐2‐nitroethenyl)thiophene ( 8b ) gave a 4% yield of naphtho[2,1‐ b ]thiophene‐6,9‐dione ( 9b ), previously prepared in 24% yield [12] in a three‐step procedure involving 2‐ethenylthiophene. Introducing an electron‐releasing 2‐methyl substituent into 8a and 8b gave 12a and 12b , which, upon reaction with 1,4‐benzoquinone, gave 2‐methylnaphtho[2,1‐b]furan‐6, 9‐dione ( 13a ) and its sulfur analog ( 13b ) in yields of 4 and 8%, respectively.     

Synthesis of vinylindoles and vinylpyrroles by the Peterson olefination or by use of the Nysted reagent

Vinylindoles and vinylpyrroles were prepared from their corresponding aldehydes or ketones using the Peterson olefination, or by use of the Nysted reagent, a commercially available gem‐dimetallic compound. The two methods provide efficient and convenient access to these useful heterocyclic 1,3‐diene systems. J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2011).     

Formation and reactivity of a porphyrin iridium hydride in water: acid dissociation constants and equilibrium thermodynamics relevant to Ir-H, Ir-OH, and Ir-CH2- bond dissociation energetics

Aqueous solutions of group nine metal(III) (M = Co, Rh, Ir) complexes of tetra(3,5-disulfonatomesityl)porphyrin [(TMPS)M(III)] form an equilibrium distribution of aquo and hydroxo complexes ([(TMPS)M(III)(D(2)O)(2-n)(OD)(n)]((7+n)-)). Evaluation of acid dissociation constants for coordinated water show that the extent of proton dissociation from water increases regularly on moving down the group from cobalt to iridium, which is consistent with the expected order of increasing metal-ligand bond strengths. Aqueous (D(2)O) solutions of [(TMPS)Ir(III)(D(2)O)(2)](7-) react with dihydrogen to form an iridium hydride complex ([(TMPS)Ir-D(D(2)O)](8-)) with an acid dissociation constant of 1.8(0.5) × 10(-12) (298 K), which is much smaller than the Rh-D derivative (4.3 (0.4) × 10(-8)), reflecting a stronger Ir-D bond. The iridium hydride complex adds with ethene and acetaldehyde to form organometallic derivatives [(TMPS)Ir-CH(2)CH(2)D(D(2)O)](8-) and [(TMPS)Ir-CH(OD)CH(3)(D(2)O)](8-). Only a six-coordinate carbonyl complex [(TMPS)Ir-D(CO)](8-) is observed for reaction of the Ir-D with CO (P(CO) = 0.2-2.0 atm), which contrasts with the (TMPS)Rh-D analog which reacts with CO to produce an equilibrium with a rhodium formyl complex ([(TMPS)Rh-CDO(D(2)O)](8-)). Reactivity studies and equilibrium thermodynamic measurements were used to discuss the relative M-X bond energetics (M = Rh, Ir; X = H, OH, and CH(2)-) and the thermodynamically favorable oxidative addition of water with the (TMPS)Ir(II) derivatives.     

In situ vinylindole synthesis. Diels-alder reactions with maleimides to give tetrahydrocarbazoles

Tetrahydrocarbazoles have been prepared in one-flask syntheses from indoles, ketones or aldehydes, and maleimides, with acid catalysis. The reactions involve a condensation of the indole with the ketone or aldehyde, followed by an in situ trapping of the vinylindole in a Diels-Alder addition with a maleimide. Isomerization of the double bond into the indole nucleus gave the tetrahydrocarbazoles which were isolated ( 6, 9 , and 10 ). Variation of the indole, carbonyl compound, and maleimide has been explored. The predominant stereochemistry of the tetrahydro ring in the products is all-cis, although a second stereoisomer has been isolated. Two regioisomers were generated from all unsymmetrical 2-alkanones, except 2-butanone, which gave the single isomer 9a . Aromatization of tetrahydrocarbazoles 6 to carbazoles 7 was accomplished with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone.     

Minimum path decompositions of oriented cubic graphs

Pullman [3] conjectured that if k is an odd positive integer, then every orientation of a regular graph of degree k has a minimum decomposition which contains no vertex which is both the initial vertex of some path in the decomposition and the terminal vertex of some other path in the decomposition. In this paper, the conjecture is established for cubic graphs, and its connection with Kelly's conjecture for tournaments is described.     

The crystal structure of a novel product from the acid-catalyzed condensation of 1-benzylindole with acetone

The acid-catalyzed condensation of 1-benzylindole with acetone in the presence of N-phenylmaleimide gave a tetrahydrocarbazole, (4,5,10,10b-tetrahydro-5-methyl-2-phenyl-10-(phenylmethyl)pyrrolo[3,4-a]carbazole-1,3[2H, 3aH]-dione (1), as the major product and a novel spiro compound, 1,3,4,4-tetrahydro-1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-4,4-bis(phenylmethyl)-1,3(2H, 2H)-spiro[cyclopent[b]indole] (2), as the minor product. The structure of the spiro compound was determined by an X-ray crystallographic determination. The acid-catalyzed condensation of 1-benzylindole with acetone in the absence of N-phenylmaleimide gave a bisindole, (1,1-bis(phenylmethyl)-3,3-(1-methylethylidene)diindole (3), as the major product and the spiro-compound as the minor product.     

Enzymatic Synthesis of Sequence‐Defined Synthetic Nucleic Acid Polymers with Diverse Functional Groups

The development and in‐depth analysis of T4 DNA ligase‐catalyzed DNA templated oligonucleotide polymerization toward the generation of diversely functionalized nucleic acid polymers is described. The NNNNT codon set enables low codon bias, high fidelity, and high efficiency for the polymerization of ANNNN libraries comprising various functional groups. The robustness of the method was highlighted in the copolymerization of a 256‐membered ANNNN library comprising 16 sub‐libraries modified with different functional groups. This enabled the generation of diversely functionalized synthetic nucleic acid polymer libraries with 93.8 % fidelity. This process should find ready application in DNA nanotechnology, DNA computing, and in vitro evolution of functional nucleic acid polymers.     

Reactivity and equilibrium thermodynamic studies of rhodium tetrakis(3,5-disulfonatomesityl)porphyrin species with H2, CO, and olefins in water

Aqueous (D2O) solutions of tetrakis(3,5-disulfonatomesityl)porphyrin rhodium(III) aquo/hydroxo complexes ([(TMPS)Rh(III)(D2O)2]-7 (1), [(TMPS)Rh(III)(OD)(D2O)]-8 (2), and [(TMPS)Rh(III)(OD)2]-9 (3)) react with hydrogen (D2) to form an equilibrium distribution with a rhodium hydride ([(TMPS)Rh-D(D2O)]-8 (4)) and a rhodium(I) complex ([(TMPS)Rh(I)(D2O)]-9 (5)). Equilibrium constants (298 K) are measured that define the distribution for all five of these (TMPS)Rh species in this system as a function of the dihydrogen (D2) and hydrogen ion (D+) concentrations. The hydride complex [(TMPS)Rh-D(D2O)]-8 is a weak acid in D2O (Ka(298 K) = 4.3 x 10(-8)). Steric demands of the TMPS porphyrin ligand prohibit formation of a Rh(II)-Rh(II)-bonded complex, related rhodium(I)-rhodium(III) adducts, and intermolecular association of alkyl complexes which are prominent features of the rhodium tetra(p-sulfonatophenyl)porphyrin ((TSPP)Rh) system. The rhodium(II) complex ([(TMPS)Rh(II)(D2O)]-8) reacts with water to form hydride and hydroxide complexes and is not observed in D2O. The (TMPS)Rh-OD and (TMPS)Rh-D bond dissociation free energies (BDFE) are virtually equal and have a value of approximately 60 kcal mol(-1). Reactions of [(TMPS)Rh-D(D2O)]-8 in water with CO and olefins produce rhodium formyl and alkyl complexes which have equilibrium thermodynamic values comparable to the values for the corresponding substrate reactions of [(TSPP)Rh-D(D2O)]-4.