Proton transfer reactions in apolar aprotic solvents

Proton transfer reactions are advantageously investigated in low‐dielectric‐constant apolar aprotic solvents where specific solute–solvent interactions are greatly minimized, if not eliminated, and proton transfer occurs directly. An intriguing feature of these reactions is their general acid/base‐catalyzed kinetics with a timescale over microseconds to minutes. Proton‐coupled electron transfer (PCET), a great promise in the development of renewable energy sources, is an emerging application of the reactions. This article is an updated review of the post‐1980 developments in understanding the mechanism of proton transfer reactions, quantitative structure–reactivity relationships, acid/base‐catalyzed molecular rearrangements, reverse trends between acidity parameters and ¹³C δ_co (a measure of electron population at the carboxyl carbon) in aromatic carboxylic acids, coupling of proton transfer with electron transfer, and PCET reactions in suitably designed model systems in apolar aprotic solvents for renewable energy devices. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Proton shuffling in acid/base‐catalyzed enolizations: a computational study

Enolization of acetaldehyde catalyzed by the combined action of a general base (ammonia) and a general acid (formic acid) was examined by density functional theory at the B3LYP/6‐311 + G(3df,2p) level while manipulating distance relationships among the reactants. Computations were carried out in the gas phase, in the presence of four water molecules, and with a dielectric constant of 78.4. Enolization involves an early transition state where general‐base catalysis is more developed than general‐acid catalysis. Although formic acid does not promote enolization by itself, it does facilitate α‐proton transfer from acetaldehyde to the general base by several orders of magnitude. Formic acid accomplishes this feat via a hydrogen bond at a van der Waals distance to the carbonyl oxygen as opposed to forming a low‐barrier hydrogen bond. A low‐barrier hydrogen bond would indeed be capable of accelerating the enolization were it not for the energy cost of generating it. Formic acid may also facilitate enolization by internal solvation of the ammonium ion that is partially formed in the transition state via carbon‐to‐nitrogen proton transfer. General‐base catalysis by trimethylamine, which is out of position to coordinate with the formic acid carboxyl, actually has lower activation energy than that of ammonia catalysis, possibly owing to basicity/shielding effects. Computations also demonstrate that the proton removed by the ammonia nitrogen remains on the nitrogen throughout rather than being transferred via low‐energy rotation processes and secondary proton transfers to an oxygen atom of formic acid or the enol itself. Finally, stepwise and concerted mechanisms for enolizations have been proposed in the literature, with experimental evidence being provided for both. The concerted/non‐concerted disagreement seems to stem from the continuum of organic mechanisms that Nature bestows onto organic chemistry. Thus, acid/base catalysis varies from stepwise at one extreme to synchronous at the other extreme with an infinite number of concerted mechanisms in between. Since the degree of concertedness undoubtedly depends upon the particular acid, base, substrate, and solvent, disparate enolization models are to be expected. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of Aprotic Solvents on the Transmission of Anomalous Substituent Effects on 13C NMR Chemical Shifts at the Carboxyl Carbon (δco) in Meta-Substituted Benzoic Acids: A Strong Evidence for π-Polarization Mechanism

Anomalous (reverse) substituent-induced ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts at the carboxyl carbon (δ_co) in meta-substituted benzoic acids have been studied for 11 substituents having varying electronic effects in 4 aprotic (nonhydroxylic) solvents of varying polarity by employing different dual substituent parameter models. The regression results for apolar aprotic solvents provide a strong evidence for through space π-polarization mode of transmission of reverse meta-substituent effects on the carboxyl carbon in benzoic acids. The results for dipolar aprotic solvents indicate significant specific solvation of π-polarized forms of the acids. The study showed further that an apolar aprotic solvent has a distinct preference over a dipolar aprotic one for investigating intrinsic substituent effects on chemical shifts in aromatic molecules.     

Solvatochromism of 2‐(N,N‐dimethylamino)‐7‐nitrofluorene and the natural dye β‐carotene: application for the determination of solvent dipolarity and polarizability

The effects of solvents on chemical phenomena (rate and equilibrium constants, spectroscopic transitions, etc.) are conveniently described by solvation free‐energy relationships that take into account solvent acidity, basicity and dipolarity/polarizability. The latter can be separated into its components by manipulating the UV–vis spectra of two solvatochromic probes, 2‐(N,N‐dimethylamino)‐7‐nitrofluorene (DMANF) and a di‐(tert‐butyl)‐tetramethyl docosanonaen probe (ttbP9) whose synthesis is laborious and expensive. Recently, we have shown that the natural dye β‐carotene can be conveniently employed instead of ttbP9 for the determination of solvent polarizability (SP) of 76 molecular solvents and four ionic liquids. In the present work, we report the polarizabilities of further 24 solvents. Based on the solvatochromism of β‐carotene and DMANF, we have calculated solvent dipolarity (SD) for 103 protic and aprotic molecular solvents, and ionic liquids. The dependence of SD and SP on the number of carbon atoms in the acyl‐ or alkyl group of several homologous series (alcohols; 2‐alkoxyethanols; carboxylic acid‐ anhydrides, and esters, ionic liquids) is calculated and briefly discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Concerted SN2 mechanism for the hydrolysis of acid chlorides: comparisons of reactivities calculated by the density functional theory with experimental data

DFT computations have been performed in acetone and water solvents in order to investigate the mechanism of hydrolysis of acid chlorides. Acetyl chloride and chloroacetyl chloride hydrolyze via concerted, one‐step S_N2 mechanism, with the attack of water at the sp² hybridized carbon atom of the C?O group, and the transition state (TS) has distorted tetrahedral geometry. Solvent molecules act as general base and general acid catalysts. The TS of chloroacetyl chloride is tighter and less polar than the TS of acetyl chloride. The structure of the S_N2 TS for the hydrolysis of benzoyl chlorides changes with the substituents and the solvent. Tight and loose TSs are formed for substrates bearing electron withdrawing (e‐w) and electron donating (e‐d) groups, respectively. In acetone, only the e‐w effect of the substituents increase the reactivity of the substrates, and the change of the structure of the TSs with the substituents is small. In water, polar and very loose TSs are formed in the reactions of benzoyl chlorides bearing e‐d substituents, and the rate enhancing effect of both e‐d and e‐w groups can be computed at higher level of theory. Calculated reactivities and the changes of the structure of the TSs with substituents and solvent are in accordance with the results of kinetic studies. In S_N2 nucleophilic substitutions late/early TSs are formed if the attacking reagent is poorer/better nucleophile than the leaving group, and loose/tight TSs are formed for substrates bearing e‐d/e‐w substituents and in protic/aprotic solvents. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanistic insights into N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)‐catalyzed N‐acylation of N‐sulfonylcarboxamides with aldehydes

In the current work, density functional theory calculations were performed to elucidate the detailed reaction mechanism for N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC)‐catalyzed oxidative N‐acylation reaction of amides with aldehydes affording imide products. According to the calculated results, the reaction is initiated by the nucleophilic attack of NHC to aldehydes forming zwitterionic intermediate, which can then form Breslow intermediate via proton transfer. The Breslow intermediate can then be oxidized affording the oxidative intermediate, which can then go through 1,2‐addition with the deprotonated N‐sulfonylcarboxamides. Subsequently, elimination of NHC catalyst produces the final imide product. Our results reveal that the proton in N‐sulfonylcarboxamides is probably abstracted by base t‐BuOK or DPQH, and the deprotonation process is barrier‐less. Moreover, for the second step, ie, the formation of Breslow intermediate, direct proton transfer is impossible to occur. On the contrary, the results reveal that t‐BuOH can mediate the proton transfer in this step and significantly lower the energy barrier to 24.1 kcal/mol, which is also the highest energy barrier for the whole reaction. The work provides not only valuable clues for elucidating the detailed reaction mechanism for the invaluable NHC‐catalyzed oxidative reactions but also mechanistic insights for the rational design of novel NHC‐catalyzed oxidative reactions in the future.     

Spectroscopic Studies of Intra- and Inter-Molecular Hydrogen Bonding of Some O-Hydroxylbenzenesulfonanilides in Solutions

The effect of solvent on the electronic spectra of some fasciolici-dal o–-hydroxylbenzenesulfonanilides is examined and discussed. It is revealed that in solution these compounds exist in both intramolecular hydrogen bond form and intermolecular hydrogen bond form occurring between solute and solvent molecule. In solutions containing large amount of apolar aprotic solvents such as dioxane, compounds studied are mainly intramolecular hydrogen bond form and exhibit a weak transition band which is presumably attributed to the transition of n-electrons of oxygen atom in the intramolecular hydrogen bonded six-membered ring of the compounds.     

Explanation for Hydrogen Bonds of Chitin‐Alcohols from Lewis Acid‐Base Theories

The inverse gas chromatography (IGC) method was used to characterize the hydrogen bond energies of chitin‐methanol and chitin‐ethanol. Surface Lewis acid‐base properties of the chitin were determined at the same time. Six solvents, trichloromethane, acetone, ether, tetrahydrofuran, methanol, and ethanol were used as polar probes for the IGC measuration. The hydrogen bond energies of chitin‐methanol and chitin‐ethanol were 23.3 and 21.3 kJ/mol, respectively. Because the linear relation of the plot of ?ΔH_a ^s/AN* versus DN/AN* (DN and AN* are the Gutmann's donor and modified acceptor numbers of solvents) for the six probes was perfect, it can be concluded that the hydrogen bonds of chitin‐alcohols belong to Lewis acid‐base interactions. The hydrogen bonds were moderate hydrogen bonds.     

激发态分子内质子转移分子2-羟基-1-萘甲醛半碳酰腙的光谱特性

通过考察2-羟基-1-萘甲醛半碳酰腙(HNLSC)在不同极性溶剂中的吸收光谱和荧光光谱,详细研究了HNLSC分子在不同溶剂及酸、碱条件下的不同构型,证实了HNLSC具有典型的ESIPT特性。在非极性溶剂中分子主要以分子内氢键的闭式构型存在,这种闭式构型使分子具有ESIPT特性,在环己烷溶剂和高酸度极性溶剂中分子均表现出～415nm的正常荧光和～435nm处的反常ESIPT荧光。在极性质子溶剂中,因溶质和溶剂之间形成了分子间的氢键以及进一步去质子化,HNLSC形成了基态的溶剂化开式构型和离子构型,在吸收光谱中表现出～395nm的离子构型特征吸收。开式构型和离子构型阻断了分子内质子转移途径,因而在荧光光谱中仅表现出一个特征峰。实验进一步通过三乙胺和稀硫酸调节溶液体系的极性和酸度环境,证明在不同溶剂极性和酸度环境下,HNLSC分子不仅存在萘环上羟基变化引起的多种互变异构体间的转化平衡,同时存在—CHN—NH—CO—NH2结构域的烯醇式和酮式结构的相互转化。     

Palladium‐catalyzed cyclization of 2‐alkynyl‐N‐ethanoyl anilines to indoles: synthesis,structural, spectroscopic,and mechanistic study

This study reports a facial regio‐selective synthesis of 2‐alkyl‐N‐ethanoyl indoles from substituted‐N‐ethanoyl anilines employing palladium (II) chloride, which acts as a cyclization catalyst. The mechanistic trait of palladium‐based cyclization is also explored by employing density functional theory. In a two‐step mechanism, the palladium, which attaches to the ethylene carbons, promotes the proton transfer and cyclization. The gas‐phase barrier height of the first transition state is 37 kcal/mol, indicating the rate‐determining step of this reaction. Incorporating acetonitrile through the solvation model on density solvation model reduces the barrier height to 31 kcal/mol. In the presence of solvent, the electron‐releasing (–CH₃) group has a greater influence on the reduction of the barrier height compared with the electron‐withdrawing group (–Cl). These results further confirm that solvent plays an important role on palladium‐catalyzed proton transfer and cyclization. For unveiling structural, spectroscopic, and photophysical properties, experimental and computational studies are also performed. Thermodynamic analysis discloses that these reactions are exothermic. The highest occupied molecular orbital?lowest unoccupied molecular orbital gap (4.9–5.0 eV) confirms that these compounds are more chemically reactive than indole. The calculated UV–Vis spectra by time‐dependent density functional theory exhibit strong peaks at 290, 246, and 232 nm, in good agreement with the experimental results. Moreover, experimental and computed ¹H and ¹³C NMR chemical shifts of the indole derivatives are well correlated. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Piperidine‐appended imidazolium ionic liquids as task‐specific catalysts: computational study,synthesis, and multinuclear NMR

Imidazolium ionic liquids (IMILs) with a piperidine moiety appended via variable length methylene spacers (with n = 1–4) were studied computationally to assess their potential to act as internal base for N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) generation. Proton transfer energies computed by B3LYP/6‐311+G(2d,p) were least endothermic for the basic‐IL with n = 3, whose optimized structure showed the shortest C₂‐H‐‐‐‐N(piperidine) distance. Inclusion of counter anion (Cl or NTf₂) caused dramatic conformational changes to enable close contact between the acidic C₂‐H and the anions. To examine the prospect for internal C₂‐H‐‐‐‐N coordination, multinuclear NMR data (¹H, ¹⁵N, and ¹³C) were computed by gauge independent atomic orbitals–density functional theory (GIAO‐DFT) in the gas phase and in several solvents by the PCM method for comparison with the experimental NMR data for the basic ILs (with n = 2–4) synthesized in the laboratory. These studies indicate that interactions with solvent and counter ion are dominant forces that could disrupt internal C₂‐H‐‐‐‐N coordination/proton transfer, making carbene generation from these basic‐ILs unlikely without an added external base. Therefore, the piperidine‐appended IMILs appear suitable for application as dual solvent/base in organic/organometallic transformations that require the use of mild base, without the necessity to alkylate at C‐2 to prevent N‐heterocyclic carbene formation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Combined 1H NMR and DFT study of the solvent effects on the iron pentacarbonyl‐catalyzed photo‐assisted isomerization of allyl alcohol

The relative rates of iron pentacarbonyl‐catalyzed photo‐induced isomerization of allyl alcohol to propanal in various solvents have been measured using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The reactions were run in linear and cyclic alkanes, alcohols, and amines in order to investigate solvent effects on the isomerization mechanism upon ultraviolet irradiation. The isomerization was efficient in nonane, hexane, cyclohexane, and benzene. The isomerization was very slow or completely suppressed in ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, triethylamine, and pyridine. Density functional theory calculations predicted thermodynamically favorable (ΔG^o < 0) formation of Fe(CO)₄–solvent compounds in the suppressing alcohol/amine solvents and unfavorable (ΔG^o > 0) formation in the hydrocarbon solvents. The strong solvent ligation likely prevents formation of Fe(CO)₃●(η²‐alkene) necessary for isomerization. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A computational exploration of the mechanisms for the acid‐catalytic urea–formaldehyde reaction: new insight into the old topic

Some initial acid‐catalytic reactions involved in the synthesis of the urea‐formaldehyde resin were theoretically investigated at B3LYP and MP2 levels with solvent effects included. The results suggest that the addition between urea and formaldehyde in neutral condition undergoes with a concerted mechanism represented by a four‐member ring transition state. For this reaction, a notable barrier (above 130 kJ/mol) was identified at all theoretical levels. The reactions between urea and different protonated forms of formaldehyde in acid solution were investigated. The reaction between protonated methanediol with urea can produce the methylol urea cation via an S_N2 transition state with a lower barrier of 54.8 kJ/mol. With the mediation of a water molecule, the intra‐molecular proton transfer produces the stable methylol carbonium (NH₂CONHCH₂⁺), which plays an important role in the following formation of methylene and methylene ether linkages. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanistic aspects of reactions of triphenylphosphine with electron‐deficient alkenes in acetic acid solution

Kinetic data provide evidence that proton transfer to the carbanion centre of a phosphonium zwitterion is the rate‐determining step in quarternization reactions of triphenylphosphine with electron‐deficient alkenes in acetic acid solution. This conclusion is based on the third‐order rate equation, the reactivity of the alkenes, and solvent isotope effects in deuteroacetic acid. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photophysical Characterization of New 3-Amino and 3-Acetamido BODIPY Dyes with Solvent Sensitive Properties

The structural, electronic and photophysical properties of three new asymmetric, highly fluorescent difluoroborondipyrromethene (BODIPY) dyes, bearing an amino or an acetamido group at position 3 of the chromophoric core, have been studied in different apolar, polar and polar/protic solvents. The presence of the 3-amido group extents the delocalization of the π-system, leading to bathochromic shifts in the absorption and fluorescence bands, as predicted by quantum mechanic calculations. The 3-amino dye shows photophysical properties highly dependent on the solvent polarity and acidity, and is characterized by a hypsochromic shift of its absorption band, with regard to the corresponding acetylated dye, as well as a low fluorescence quantum yield in acid media with proton concentration lower than 4 × 10⁻⁴ M. In media with higher proton concentration, the BF₂ bridge group of the 3-amino dye is removed, yielding the corresponding non-fluorescent dipyrromethene precursor. These results suggest that the 3-amino dye could be used as a fluorescence probe for the study of the acidity of different environments.     

Comparison of the process of deactivation of homogeneous catalysts by the example of copper(II) compounds in the presence of some additives in various solvents

For a model reaction of tetralylhydroperoxide decomposition, kinetic data for evaluating the catalytic activity of Cu(II) complexes in solvents of different natures were obtained. The experiments were performed using chlorobenzene (aprotic solvent), ethanol (capable of forming intermolecular hydrogen bonds), and ethyl acetate (having no movable proton). The passivation of the catalysts in the presence of benzoic acid and N,N'-bis(o-hydroxybenzoyl) hydrazine (inhibitor) in these solvents was studied. It was found that the tested additives produce different effects on the catalytic activity of the initial and reaction-modified forms of Cu(II).     

Ionic equilibrium in mixtures of protophobic and protophilic polar non‐hydrogen bond donor solvents: acids,salts, and indicators in acetone containing 5 mol% DMSO

Properties of a protophobic polar non‐HBD solvent can be strongly modified by introduction of a small amount of a protophilic polar non‐HBD solvent. In this paper, acetone (AC) with 5 mol% additive of DMSO, a solvent with , was considered as a media for acid–base reactions. Conductance was used for determination of dissociation constants of a set of salts, hydrogen chloride, and picric acid. The last‐named was also studied by UV‐vis spectroscopy. The introduction of 5 mol% of DMSO results in suppressing, to some extent, the homoconjugation processes in AC media as well as of proton hydration by (possible) traces of water. The dissociation of salicylic acid and 2,4‐dinitrophenol was examined utilizing quinhydrone electrodes in a cell with liquid junction. The pK_a values of buffer acids and values of buffer solutions were calculated by taking into account the incomplete dissociation of salts. The response of the glass electrode appeared to be satisfactory, which allowed the estimation of the pK_a value of benzoic acid. The apparent ionization constants of 22 acid–base indicators in buffer mixtures and perchloric acid solutions were determined in (AC + 5 mol% DMSO) using the spectrophotometric procedure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

General and Specific Solvent Effects in Optical Spectra of <Emphasis Type="Italic">ortho</Emphasis>-Aminobenzoic Acid

We describe studies about solvent effects on the absorption and emission properties of o-aminobenzoic acid (o-Abz), interpreting the results within the framework of general and specific solute-solvent interactions. Measurements were performed in several solvents and analysis of the absorption and emission wavelengths were made based on Lipperts model for general solvent effects and on the use of different parameters to describe the ability of the solvent to promote specific interactions with the solute. We observed low sensitivity of the Stokes shift upon changes in the medium polarity, and large deviation from the linearity predicted by Lipperts equation when the solvents were characterized as Bronsted acid in the Kamlet-Taft ^* scale. Quantum yield and fluorescence lifetimes were best interpreted based on the AN+DN scale used to describe the electron donor/acceptor properties of the solvent. The results indicated that non-radiative deexcitation processes are favoured in solvents which promote the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bond, while interactions with electron acceptor solvents lead to enhancement of fluorescence.     

Structure and spectral-luminescent properties of 6-isoxazolyl-7-hydroxycoumarins

We have studied the particular features of the spectral and fluorescent properties of 6-isoxazolyl-7-hydroxycoumarin and its 7-methoxy-substituted analog in aprotic and proton-donor solvents of different polarity. Changes in the electron charge and bond orders in the ground and first excited states have been analyzed by the ab initio DFT and TDDFT quantum-chemical methods with the B3LYP/6–31G(d,p) basis set. Based on this analysis, we have analyzed anomalously high Stokes shifts, the shape of vibronic bands, and the fluorescence ability of these compounds in aprotic solvents. It has been found that the fluorescence spectra of hetaryl-substituted 7-hydroxycoumarin, in contrast with its absorption spectra in motional, DMSO, basic and acidic solutions, strongly differ from the fluorescence spectra of its 7-metoxy analog. We show that this is related to the proton detachment and transfer in the neutral form of 7-hydroxycoumarin upon photoexcitation with the possible formation of anion or tautomer depending on the pH of the medium.