Solid-phase synthesis of alkyl aryl ethers via the Ullmann condensation

Alkyl aryl ether formation is a frequently employed reaction in organic synthesis. Ullmann condensation is an alternative method to the widely used Mitsunobu reaction and is very useful in situations where application of the Mitsunobu reaction is limited. By application of this reaction to solid-phase synthesis of a series of alkyl aryl ethers, reaction conditions (catalyst, solvent, temperature, time, etc.) for a sterically hindered class of alcohols were investigated and optimized. A range of aryl halides was used to explore the scope of the reaction in solid phase.     

Reaction path synthesis methodology for waste minimization

Being the core of whole process, a chemical process is a key step for reducing waste generation. Therefore, to organize a reasonable reaction path is very important for reducing waste emission. Because of the large amount of the feasible reaction path and other factors in a chemical reaction system, the opti-mizing for reaction path is difficult. Since the reaction path synthesis problem has presented, lots of re-searchers focused on it. At the beginning, only chem-ists took the research work,…     

Synthesis of 2,3-anti-3,4-anti and 2,3-anti-3,4-syn propionate motifs: a diastereoselective tandem sequence of Mukaiyama and free-radical-based hydrogen transfer reactions

[reaction: see text] Reported herein is a strategy employing a Mukaiyama reaction in tandem with a hydrogen transfer reaction for the elaboration of 2,3-anti-3,4-anti and 2,3-anti-3,4-syn propionate motifs. The mode of complexation is controlled through monodentate or chelate pathways for the Mukaiyama reaction to give access to either syn or anti aldol products, precursors of the free-radical reduction reaction. Boron Lewis acid is used to control the free-radical reaction through the exocyclic pathway.     

Chemoselective Schmidt reaction mediated by triflic acid: selective synthesis of nitriles from aldehydes

An excellent utility of Schmidt reaction of aldehydes to access corresponding nitriles in an instantaneous reaction is demonstrated. The reaction of aldehydes with NaN(3) and TfOH furnishes the corresponding nitriles in near quantitative yields and tolerates a variety of electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents on the substrates. Formanilides, a common side product in Schmidt reaction, is not observed in this reaction. Besides these advantages, the salient feature of this reaction is that it exhibits a remarkable chemoselectivity, as acid and ketone functionalities are well tolerated under the reaction conditions. The reaction is easily scalable, high yielding, and nearly instantaneous.     

Feedback Kinetics in Mechanochemistry: The Importance of Cohesive States

Although mechanochemical synthesis is becoming more widely applied and even commercialised, greater basic understanding is needed if the field is to progress on less of a trial‐and‐error basis. We report that a mechanochemical reaction in a ball mill exhibits unusual sigmoidal feedback kinetics that differ dramatically from the simple first‐order kinetics for the same reaction in solution. An induction period is followed by a rapid increase in reaction rate before the rate decreases again as the reaction goes to completion. The origin of these unusual kinetics is found to be a feedback cycle involving both chemical and mechanical factors. During the reaction the physical form of the reaction mixture changes from a powder to a cohesive rubber‐like state, and this results in the observed reaction rate increase. The study reveals that non‐obvious and dynamic rheological changes in the reaction mixture must be appreciated to understand how mechanochemical reactions progress.     

反应类等键反应方法及类反应热动力学参数计算

本文提出了反应类等键反应方法,将通常用于热力学性质计算的等键反应方法推广用于类反应中反应势垒和反应焓变的计算. 对碳氢燃料低温燃烧反应机理中的一类重要反应类：?烷基自由基过氧化氢裂解生成烯烃和HO2自由基的反应势垒和反应焓变进行了计算. 通过对该类16个反应中的5个代表反应分别在不同计算水平HF、DFT、MP2、CCSD(T)的比较计算发现,采用等键反应方法可在较低从头算级别计算得到类反应较高精度的反应势垒,提高了计算的效率和精度. 本文采用反应类等键反应方法在B3LYP/6-311G(d,p)计算水平对该类16个反应进行了反应势垒和反应焓变的计算,并建立了反应势垒和反应能的线性自由能关系：delta V=71.02+0.41?delta E.     

THE CHLOROPHYLL-SENSITIZED REACTION BETWEEN BENZOQUINONE AND ETHANOL*

The electron-transfer reaction between triplet excited chlorophyll and quinones has been extensively studied as a model of the primary reaction in photosystem II. There has also been reported a minor reaction in which the chlorophyll cation radical ostensibly oxidizes the alcohol solvent or even water, leading to a gradual net reduction of quinone, but the exact mechanism and even the existence of this reaction has been uncertain. We have examined the consequences of prolonged irradation of ethyl chlorophyllide and benzoquinone in acidulated ethanol, and find a chlorophyllide-sensitized reaction which is not analogous to the better-known autosensitized reduction of quinones in blue or UV light. In the chlorophyllide-sensitized reaction, benzoquinone is apparently converted to ethoxy-substituted quinones and quinols, and polymeric material. Ethyl chlorophyllide (or chlorophyll) is simultaneously oxidized to more polar products which themselves continue to photosensitize the reaction of quinones. The production of acetaldehyde could not be demonstrated in the sensitized reaction. Chlorophyllide-sensitized reaction of (l-hydroxyethyl)benzoquinone, ethoxybenzoquinone and 2.5-diethoxybenzo-quinone were examined for additional information. A reaction sequence, tentatively proposed to accommodate the known facts, starts with oxidative attack by quinone on an oxidized chlorophyllide radical formed by loss of a hydroxyl proton from alcohol bound as a ligand to Mg²⁺. It is not likely that this reaction is closely related to events at the oxidizing side of photosystem II.     

Ab initio quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical molecular dynamics simulation of enzyme catalysis: the case of histone lysine methyltransferase SET7/9

To elucidate enzyme catalysis through computer simulation, a prerequisite is to reliably compute free energy barriers for both enzyme and solution reactions. By employing on-the-fly Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations with the ab initio quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical approach and the umbrella sampling method, we have determined free energy profiles for the methyl-transfer reaction catalyzed by the histone lysine methyltransferase SET7/9 and its corresponding uncatalyzed reaction in aqueous solution, respectively. Our calculated activation free energy barrier for the enzyme catalyzed reaction is 22.5 kcal/mol, which agrees very well with the experimental value of 20.9 kcal/mol. The difference in potential of mean force between a corresponding prereaction state and the transition state for the solution reaction is computed to be 30.9 kcal/mol. Thus, our simulations indicate that the enzyme SET7/9 plays an essential catalytic role in significantly lowering the barrier for the methyl-transfer reaction step. For the reaction in solution, it is found that the hydrogen bond network near the reaction center undergoes a significant change, and there is a strong shift in electrostatic field from the prereaction state to the transition state, whereas for the enzyme reaction, such an effect is much smaller and the enzyme SET7/9 is found to provide a preorganized electrostatic environment to facilitate the methyl-transfer reaction. Meanwhile, we find that the transition state in the enzyme reaction is a little more dissociative than that in solution.     

Reaktionskalorimeter und reaktionsrohrbehälter mit verbessertem wärmedurchgangskoeffizientenReaction calorimeter and agitated reaction vessel with improved overall heat transfer coefficient

In present types of reaction calorimeters and agitated reaction vessels the overall heat transfer coefficient between reaction mixture and cooling fluid is low, caused by the low heat transfer coefficient on the cooling fluid side. Consequently the thermal response time is high and a quasi-isothermal reaction is difficult to obtain. A new construction of a cylindrical double wall reaction vessel is presented which yields a higher overall heat transfer coefficient than conventional constructions. The cooling fluid flows through a helically shaped flow path between the walls. The outer wall is especially bulged to improve strength and heat transfer. Two reaction vessels are tested yielding good results.     

The reaction force. A scalar property to characterize reaction mechanisms

The reaction force is a global property of a chemical reaction that arises when applying the Hellmann–Feynmann theorem to the potential energy surface that links reactants, products and transition states. In the present work, the reaction force is defined rigorously from the cartesian components coming out from all forces exerted over each atom of a molecular system during the chemical reaction; it is demonstrated that the reaction force is a scalar property. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Copper-catalyzed enantioselective Henry reactions of alpha-keto esters: an easy entry to optically active beta-nitro-alpha-hydroxy esters and beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters

The catalytic enantioselective Henry reaction of alpha-keto esters with nitromethane has been developed. The reaction conditions have been optimized by the screening of different chiral Lewis acids, solvents, and bases, and it was found that the copper(II)-tert-butyl bisoxazoline complex in combination with triethylamine catalyzed a highly enantioselective reaction giving optically active beta-nitro-alpha-hydroxy esters in high yields and with excellent enantiomeric excesses. The scope of the reaction is demonstrated by the reaction of a variety of different alpha-keto esters. The catalytic enantioselective Henry reaction of beta,gamma-unsaturated-alpha-keto esters proceeds as a 1,2-addition reaction exclusively, in contrast to the uncatalyzed reaction where both the 1,2- and 1,4-addition products are formed. It is demonstrated that the beta-nitro-alpha-hydroxy esters can be converted into, e.g., Boc-protected beta-amino-alpha-hydroxy esters in high yields and without loss of optical purity. The mechanism for the reaction is discussed, and it is postulated that both the alpha-keto ester and nitromethane/nitronate is coordinated to the metal center during the reaction course.     

对化学反应数据分类获取反应知识的新方法

尽管已有大量化学反应数据可供使用,但化学家仍常常感到很难便捷地从中得到所需的信息.这主要是由于反应数据库基于结构的检索方法与化学家解决问题的方法相去甚远.为解决这一问题而发展了一种通过对反应进行二级分类得到精细描述反应知识的层次模型的方法.第一次分类时不同的同类反应都在由一组普适性好的称作反应结构一级描述符构成的空间中进行.在第一次分类结果的基础上,得到每一类反应的公共结构特征作为第二次分类的结构描述符,利用它们进行更精细的分类,即可从原始反应数据中得到所需的基核反应.由特定反应、基核反应和基型反应就可将反应知识更合理地组织在同类反应知识库中,使它们得到更好的利用.     

Theoretical study on the alkaline hydrolysis of methyl thioacetate in aqueous solution

A base-catalyzed hydrolysis reaction of thiolester has been studied in both gas and solution phases using two ab initio quantum mechanics calculations such as Gaussian09 and CPMD. The free-energy surface along the reaction path is also constructed using a configuration sampling technique, namely, the metadynamics method. While there are two different reaction paths obtained for the potential profile of the base-catalyzed hydrolysis reaction for thiolester in the gas phase, a triple-well reaction path is computed for the reaction in the solution phase by two quantum mechanics calculations. Unlike the S(N)2 mechanism (a concerted mechanism) found for the gas-phase reaction, a nucleophilic attack from the hydroxide ion on the carbonyl carbon to yield a tetrahedral intermediate (a stepwise mechanism) is observed for the solution-phase reaction. Moreover, the energy profiles computed by these two theoretical calculations are found to be very comparable with those determined experimentally.     

Implicit versus explicit solvent in free energy calculations of enzyme catalysis: Methyl transfer catalyzed by catechol O-methyltransferase

We compare free energy calculations for the methyl transfer reaction catalyzed by catechol O-methyltransferase using the quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical free energy method with implicit and explicit solvents. An analogous methylation reaction in a solution is also studied. For the explicit solvent model, we use the three-point transferable intermolecular potential model, and for the implicit model, we use the generalized Born molecular volume model as implemented in CHARMM. We find that activation and reaction free energies calculated with the two models are very similar, despite some structural differences that exist. A significant change in the polarization of the environment occurs as the reaction proceeds. This is more pronounced for the reaction in a solution than for the enzymatic reaction. For the enzymatic reaction, most of the changes take place in the protein rather than in the solvent, and, hence, the benefit of having an instantaneous relaxation of the solvent degrees of freedom is less pronounced for the enzymatic reaction than for the reaction in a solution. This is a likely reason why energies of the enzyme reaction are less sensitive to the choice of atomic radii than are energies of the reaction in a solution.     

Thermolysis of polyethylene hydroperoxides in the melt, Part 12: Mechanisms and kinetics of thermolysis

The thermolysis of polyethylene hydroperoxides is attributed to the reaction of two hydroperoxide groups. This bimolecular reaction appears as a first-order reaction with the mean values of the hydroperoxide concentrations that can be used for the experimental verification of the kinetics. In low molecular mass liquids and solutions these findings would be irreconcilable. However, in polymer melts, this contradiction is more apparent than real. It is a consequence of the heterogeneous kinetics valid in polymer melts. The bimolecular reaction involves the decomposition of pairs of hydroperoxide groups that are relatively close in the elementary oxidation volumes. By diffusion these hydroperoxide groups can come close enough for reaction. From the chemical point of view the decomposition is a bimolecular reaction. However, from the kinetic point of view it is a first-order reaction of the hydroperoxide pairs. The dependency of the first-order rate on the initial hydroperoxide concentration is explained by the heterogeneous kinetics. The activation energy of the overall process can be related to the sum of the activation energies pertaining to the chemical reaction and to the diffusion process.     

The photo-dehydro-Diels-Alder (PDDA) reaction

The photo-dehydro-Diels-Alder (PDDA) reaction is a valuable extension of the classical Diels-Alder (DA) reaction. The PDDA reaction differs from the DA reaction by the replacement of one of the C-C-double bonds of the diene moiety by a C-C triple bond and by the photochemical triggering of the reaction. This entails that, in contrast to the DA reaction, the PDDA reaction proceeds according to a multistage mechanism with biradicals and cycloallenes as intermediates. The PDDA reaction provides access to a considerable variety of compound classes. For example, 1-phenylnaphthlenes, 1,1'-binaphthyls, N-heterocyclic biaryls, and naphthalenophanes could be obtained by this reaction.     

Impact of water on the OH + HOCl reaction

The effect of a single water molecule on the OH + HOCl reaction has been investigated. The naked reaction, the reaction without water, has two elementary reaction paths, depending on how the hydroxyl radical approaches the HOCl molecule. In both cases, the reaction begins with the formation of prereactive hydrogen bond complexes before the abstraction of the hydrogen by the hydroxyl radical. When water is added, the products of the reaction do not change, and the reaction becomes quite complex yielding six different reaction paths. Interestingly, a geometrical rearrangement occurs in the prereactive hydrogen bonded region, which prepares the HOCl moiety to react with the hydroxyl radical. The rate constant for the reaction without water is computed to be 2.2 × 10(-13) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) at room temperature, which is in good agreement with experimental values. The reaction between ClOH···H(2)O and OH is estimated to be slower than the naked reaction by 4-5 orders of magnitude. Although, the reaction between ClOH and the H(2)O···HO complex is also predicted to be slower, it is up to 2.2 times faster than the naked reaction at altitudes below 6 km. Another intriguing finding of this work is an interesting three-body interchange reaction that can occur, that is HOCl + HO···H(2)O → HOCl···H(2)O + OH.     

Cholesterol study: Reaction plateau and kinetic determinations

A study has been described of a comparison between reaction plateaus and kinetic modes for measuring cholesterol. A similar investigation of bilirubin reactions under the same procedural conditions was also carried out because this compound is a major interference which is frequently encountered in abnormal serums. The findings indicate that bilirubin is a more sensitive reactant than cholesterol by LB reaction but that its effect as an interference can be lessened by a kinetic approach providing that the effect of H₂O on reaction velocity and molar absorptivity can be minimized. An iron reaction even though more sensitive proved less workable in the kinetic mode owing to reaction velocity and the presence of air bubbles. However, its reaction plateau characteristics were superior to the LB reaction because of a favorable ratio of colors generated for the two reacting constituents. Based on this study, it is predictable that a kinetic approach is quite workable for the LB reaction and could be made more workable for the iron reaction if, in the latter case, conditions perhaps such as temperature and reaction media, could be altered to slow the rate of color formation.     

Platinum-catalyzed tandem diboration/asymmetric allylboration: access to nonracemic functionalized 1,3-diols

[reaction: see text] A single-pot tandem catalytic diene diboration/carbonyl allylation reaction is described that uses a commercially available chiral diboron reagent. The chirality of the intermediate diboration adduct is transferred to the product in the carbonyl allylation reaction, thereby providing access to enantioenriched chiral products. Notably, the reaction allows for construction of a quaternary stereocenter and furnishes a synthetically versatile C-B bond in the reaction product.