Metal cation-methyl interactions in CB11Me12(-) salts of Me3Ge+, Me3Sn+, and Me3Pb+

Oxidation of Me(6)M(2) (M = Ge, Sn) and Me(4)Pb with the CB(11)Me(12)(*) radical in alkane solvents produced the insoluble salts Me(3)M(+)CB(11)Me(12)(-), characterized by CP-MAS NMR and EXAFS. The cations interact with methyl groups of CB(11)Me(12)(-) with coordination strength increasing from Pb to Ge. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for the isolated ion pairs, Me(3)M(+)CB(11)Me(12)(-) (M = Ge, Sn), revealed three isomers with the cation above methyl 2, 7, or 12, and not above a BB edge or a BBB triangle. The interaction has a considerable covalent component, with the cation attempting to perform a backside S(E)2 substitution on the methyl carbon. In a fourth less favorable isomer the cation is near methyl 1, inclined toward methyl 2, and interacts with hydrogens. DFT atomic charge distributions and plots of the electrostatic potential on the surface of spheres centered at the CB(11)H(12)(-) and CB(11)Me(12)(-) icosahedra display the effects of uneven charge distribution within the anion and contradict the common belief that the negative charge of the cage anion is concentrated primarily on the cage boron atoms 7-12; in CB(11)Me(12)(-), roughly half is on the cage carbon and the rest on methyls 7-12.     

Studies on ylides: exclusive carbonyl olefination with semistabilized arsonium ylides

The reactions of some semistabilized arsonium ylides with 9-anthrones and 9-anthraldehyde give 9-arylidene-10-hydroanthracenes, 9-arylidene-2-chloro-10-hydroanthracenes and 1-aryl-2-(9-anthryl)ethylenes, respectively. IR and NMR spectral data of the products are reported.     

The sixteen CB(11)H(n)Me(12-n)(-) anions with fivefold substitution symmetry: anodic oxidation and electronic structure

The 15 symmetrically methylated derivatives of the CB11H12(-) anion (1a) have been synthesized and found to vary greatly in ease of oxidation. Cyclic voltammetry in liquid SO2 yielded fully reversible oxidation potentials for five of those that have no adjacent unsubstituted vertices in positions 7-12; three others showed some indication of reversibility. The anions 1a-16a and the Jahn-Teller distorted neutral radicals 1r-16r have been characterized by ab initio and density functional theory calculations. In the state average CASSCF(13,12)/6-31+G* approximation, the ground state potential energy surface of 1r contains five symmetry-related pairs of minima. The computational results account for the reversible redox potentials very well when the solvent is included explicitly (RI-DFT(BP)/TZVP, COSMO). For display and for a semiquantitative understanding of methyl substituent effects in terms of perturbation theory, the molecular orbitals of 1a have been expressed in the symmetry-adapted cluster basis. The results serve as an underpinning for a set of additive empirical increments for redox potential prediction. Relative to the usual hydrogen standard, a single methyl group facilitates oxidation by approximately 50, 70, 70, and 10 mV in positions 1, 2, 7, and 12, respectively. This electron donor effect on the redox potential is due to a contribution, whereas those of (inductive and direct field) type are negligible.     

Planar tetracoordinate carbon versus planar tetracoordinate boron: the case of CB4 and its cation

In this study, we analyzed CB(4) and its cation, CB(4)(+). Using CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVQZ//CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVTZ quantum-chemical calculations, we found that the neutral molecule is in accord with the results of Boldyrev and Wang, having a C(s) global minimum with a planar tricoordinate carbon structure, contradicting previous studies. In contrast, CB(4)(+), which was reported by an early mass spectroscopic study, has a planar tetracoordinate carbon (ptC) atom, demonstrating that a modification of the charge can promote the stabilization of a ptC structure.     

Ab initio MO study of selected aluminum and boron chlorides and fluorides: Comparison with 11B NMR spectra of a tetrachloroborate melt

Molecular geometries were fully optimized for AlCl₃, AlCl₄^-, Al₂Cl₆, Al₂Cl₇^-, AlF₃, AlF₄^-, Al₂F₆, Al₂F₇^-, BCl₃, BCl₄^-, B₂Cl₆, B₂Cl₇^-, BF₃, BF₄^-, B₂F₆, and B₂F₇^-, as well as a few mixed halogen species, at the Hartree-Fock (HF) level, using basis sets from STO-3G to 6–311 + G(d). In some cases geometries were also optimized at the MP2 level. Where possible, the computed geometries were compared to known structures from electron or X-ray diffraction. The agreement between these was quite good for the neutral species, and somewhat poorer for the anions. Vibrational frequencies were calculated for all species at the HF level with the largest basis set. The geometries were characterized as minima or transition structures. Various formation reaction enthalpies were calculated; these compare well with known values. More extensive calculations on the BF₃/BF₄^- system indicate the structures and enthalpies are nearly converged with respect to basis set size and level of correlation treatment. The previously unknown species B₂Cl₇^- is predicted to be energetically stable on the basis of the calculations. Some features of the ¹¹B NMR spectra of room temperature melts consisting of mixtures of boron trichloride with 1-methyl-3-ethylimidazolium chloride are presented. These features suggest that these melts may contain small amounts of B₂Cl₇^- as an intermediate in an exchange reaction. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Nonstabilized N-unsubstituted azomethine ylides: a synthesis of indolizidine 239CD

[formula: see text] Treatment of a (2-azaallyl)stannane with HF.pyridine generated a nonstabilized N-unsubstituted azomethine ylide, which was found to undergo an efficient and stereoselective dipolar cycloaddition with phenyl vinyl sulfone to produce a trans-2,5-dialkylpyrrolidine that was further transformed into the dendrobatid alkaloid indolizidine 239CD.     

Oxygen ylides - I. : Reactions of carbenes with oxetane

The ylides generated from carbenes (:CH₂, :CHCO₂Et, :CHPh) and oxetane in the presence of methanol undergo Stevens rearrangement and protonation competitively, yielding tetrahydrofurans and 1,3-dialkoxycyclopropanes as major products.     

SrZn11: a new binary compound with the BaCd11 structure

Single crystals of strontium undecazinc, SrZn₁₁, were obtained when decomposing SrZn₂ under conditions of high pressure and high temperature. The new binary Sr–Zn compound crystallizes in the space group I4₁/amd (BaCd₁₁ structure type) with one Sr position (m2) and three Zn sites (m2, .2/m., 1). The structure is described in terms of all‐face‐capped Zn₈ tetrahedra as the central building unit, defined by the Zn atoms on .2/m. and 1. The building units are condensed into chains by the central tetrahedra sharing edges, and the chains are interconnected by shared capping atoms. The resulting three‐dimensional framework of Zn atoms yields channels that are occupied by Sr and Zn atoms on the high‐symmetry m2 positions.     

Cycloaddition reactions of azomethine ylides with a 9-fluorenone-malononitrile Knöevenagel adduct

Numerous derivatives of spiropyrrolidines and spiropyrrolizines containing cyano groups were successfully synthesized via condensation of sarcosine and proline Schiff bases of several aromatic aldehydes with the Knöevenagel adduct of 9-fluorenone-malononitrile prepared through a modified procedure. Assignment of the molecular structure was carried out by single crystal X-ray diffraction, as well as by HMBC and ROSEY spectroscopy.     

Z-BN: a novel superhard boron nitride phase

A superhard boron nitride phase dubbed as Z-BN is proposed as a possible intermediate phase between h-BN and zinc blende BN (c-BN), and investigated using first-principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory. Although the structure of Z-BN is similar to that of bct-BN containing four-eight BN rings, it is more energetically favorable than bct-BN. Our study reveals that Z-BN, with a considerable structural stability and high density comparable to c-BN, is a transparent insulator with an indirect band gap of about 5.27 eV. Amazingly, its Vickers hardness is 55.88 GPa which is comparable to that of c-BN. This new BN phase may be produced in experiments through cold compressing AB stacking h-BN due to its low transition pressure point of 3.3 GPa.     

The first example of a mixed alkoxide hydride of boron: sodium boron isopropoxide trihydride

The title compound, poly[[μ‐trihydro(isopropoxy)borato]sodium(I)], [Na(C₃H₁₀BO)]_n, forms unique polymeric layers normal to the c axis via Na⁺...O [2.3405 (15) Å] and Na⁺...H(borane) [2.22 (3) and 2.28 (3) Å] interactions. This arrangement builds on distorted tetrahedral Na⁺, oxygen and boron environments, with one of the borane hydride units uncoordinated, and highlights potential H₃B—O‐based chemistry.     

Alkynes as masked ylides: gold-catalysed intermolecular reactions of propargylic carboxylates with sulfides

The in situ-generation of sulfur ylides by the gold-catalysed rearrangement of propargylic carboxylates in the presence of sulfides has resulted in highly efficient and novel transformations.