Selective lithium ion extraction with chromogenic monoaza crown ethers

Two chromogenic monoaza crown ethers were synthesized and investigated for their lithium extraction capabilities. The chromogenic monoaza 14-crown-4 compound exhibited the best selectivity for lithium over sodium; ca. 2800, with a detection limit of 0.08 ppm.     

The complexation of alkali metal ions by crown ethers,aza crown ethers,and cryptands in propylene carbonate

The reactions between alkali metal ions and crown ethers, aza crown ethers, and cryptands in propylene carbonate were studied by potentiometric and calorimetric titrations. The most stable complexes formed by macrocyclic and macrobicyclic ligands are when the ligand and cation dimensions are comparable. On comparing the complex stabilities of crown ethers and aza crown ethers of the same size, crown ethers were, on the whole, found to form the most stable complexes, with the exception of the lithium cation. Enthalpic factors are responsible. Substitution of the amino group protons of the aza crown ethers by benzyl groups leads to a high increase in values of the reaction enthalpy. This effect is partly compensated by entropic contributions. The bulky benzyl groups reduce the ligand solvent interactions and induce a ligand conformation with the lone pair of electrons from the nitrogen donor atoms which are more or less directed inside the cavity. The thermodynamic data for the transfer from methanol to propylene carbonate indicate that the ligands containing nitrogen show specific interactions with methanol.This paper is dedicated to Professor H. Strehlow on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Solid state and solution structures of alkaline-earth complexes with lariat ethers containing aniline and benzimidazole pendants

Herein we report the synthesis and structural characterization of Mg(II), Ca(II), Sr(II) and Ba(II) complexes with bibracchial lariat ethers derived from 1,7-diaza-15-crown-5 and 1,7-diaza-12-crown-4 containing aniline or benzimidazole pendant arms. The solid state structures of most of them have been determined by using single crystal X-ray crystallography. A coordination number of seven was observed for the Mg(II) complexes in the solid state, while the Ca(II), Sr(II) and Ba(II) complexes are 8-, 9- and 11-coordinate, respectively. The Ca(II), Sr(II) and Ba(II) complexes show a syn conformation, with the two pendant arms of the ligand disposed on the same side of the macrocyclic mean plane. However, the Mg(II) complex with the largest ligand derived from 1,7-diaza-15-crown-5 containing benzimidazole pendants presents an anti conformation in the solid state. ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy reveal that this conformation is maintained in acetonitrile solution.     

Structure of Dibenzocrown Ethers and their H-bonded Adducts. 3. Isolation of Oxonium Ions by Biphenyl-20-crown-6 and [1.5]Dibenzo-18-Crown-6 in Complexes with [NbF6]− and [TaF6]−

The reaction of Nb₂O₅ and Ta₂O₅ with an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid, HF in the presence of biphenyl-20-crown-6 (BP20C6, L¹) or [1.5]dibenzo-18-crown-6 ([1.5]DB18C6, L²) results in the complexes [L¹·(H₃O)][NbF₆] (1), [L¹ (H₃O)][TaF₆] (2), [2L²·(H₇O₃)][NbF₆] (3) and [2L²·(H₇O₃)][TaF₆] (4). Complexes 1–4 were identified by the elemental and X-ray structural analysis and IR spectroscopy. Complexes 1 and 2 are isostructural, with the H₃O⁺ oxonium ion embedded in one crown molecule via OH···O hydrogen bonds. Complexes 3 and 4 represent the supramolecular isomers distinctive by the crown conformations and crystal packing, with the (H₇O₃)⁺ cation enclosed in the cage of two crown molecules. Being poor H-bond acceptors, NbF₆⁻ and TaF₆⁻ anions do not compete with the crown oxygen atoms for the oxonium hydrogen atoms, but are involved in the numerous C–H···F short contacts responsible for the extended supramolecular architectures in all cases. A change of crown ethers’ conformation in complexes 1–4 and a correlation between the degree of proton hydration and an accessibility of the crown ether oxygen atoms is observed. Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Molecular complexes of crown ethers. Part 3. Effect of cations on charge transfer complexes with TCNE

The intermolecular charge transfer complexes (CT) of two crown ethers (CE), viz, B15C5 and DB18C6 (as donors), and tetracyanoethylene (TCNE), as acceptor, were studied in the UV-visible region in dichloroethane (DCE), at 298.2 K. The sequence of addition of the cation was varied in the case of B15C5 such that in one system the sequence was (CE+Cation)+TCNE and in the other (CE+TCNE)+cation. These two systems were found to be non-interchangeable, even under reflux conditions, giving differentK _c values which were explained as being due to the different geometries of the CE. For the first sequence, the values most affected depended on the fit of the metal cation with the ether cavity, thus in B15C5, Na⁺ showed the greatest effect, while for DB18C6 it was K⁺.     

Complex forming and extraction properties of oligo benzo-fused crown ethers

The complex forming properties with alkali metal and ammonium ions of a series of oligo benzo-condensed 18-crown-6 ethers1–8 having a different gradation of lipophilicity and of molecular rigidity are investigated by voltammetry at the interface of two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES) and by a liquid-liquid extraction technique. The experimental results obtained in the two phase system H₂O/nitrobenzene are discussed in relation to the structure of the crown and the cation type. The stability constants for the 1 : 1 complexes of Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, Cs⁺ and NH ₄ ⁺ in nitrobenzene have been determined and compared with the extraction constants for the 1: 1 complexes of Na⁺ and K⁺ and for the 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 complexes of Cs⁺, showing the effect of oligo benzo condensation for the 18-crown-6 system.     

Facile one-pot synthesis of aliphatic bridged diaryloxy compounds,cyclic and crown ethers under mild conditions

We report here the facile, room temperature, catalyst free, one pot synthesis of aliphatic bridged diaryloxy compounds, cyclic and crown ethers. Anhydrous potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) as a mild base along with dimethyl sulfoxide generates the phenoxide ion which facilitates the nucleophilic substitution of bromoalkanes to yield the corresponding crown ethers.     

Ion-pair extraction of uranyl ion from aqueous medium using crown ethers

Ion-pair extraction behaviour of uranyl ion from aqueous solutions was studied at pH 3.0 employing crown ethers viz. benzo 15 crown 5 (B15C5), 18 crown 6 (18C6), dibenzo 18 crown 6 (DB18C6), and dibenzo 24 crown 8 (DB24C8) in chloroform as the organic phase and picric acid as the organophilic counter anion. The stoichiometry of the extracted species corresponded to [UO₂(crown ether)_n]²⁺·[pic⁻]₂ where n=1.5 for benzo 15 crown 5 and 1 for 18 crown 6 as well as dibenzo 18 crown 6. Adducts of DB24C8 could not be observed as practically no extraction was possible using this reagent. The separation behaviour of fission products from an irradiated uranium target was also studied. An interesting observation on the separation of trivalent lanthanides from uranyl ion is reported.     

Preparation and X-ray structures of complexes of 18-membered crown ethers with polyfunctional guests: Urea and (O-alkyliso)uronium salts

The preparation and X-ray structure determinations of six complexes of urea and (O-n-butyliso)uronium salts with crown ethers are presented. Urea forms isostructural 5:1 adducts with 18-crown-6 (1) and aza-18-crown-6 (2), in which two urea molecules are each hydrogen bonded to two neighbouring hetero atoms of the macroring. The remaining urea molecules form two-dimensional layers alternating with crown ether layers. In both complexes the macroring has theg ⁺ g ⁺ a ag ^– a ag ^– a g ^– g ^– a ag ⁺ a ag ⁺ a conformation withC _i symmetry. In the solid 1:1 complex of O-n-butylisouronium picrate with 18-crown-6 (3) two types of conformations of the macroring were observed: theg ⁺ g ⁺ a ag ^– a ag ⁺ a ag ^– g ^– ag ^– a ag ⁺ a conformation with approximateC _m symmetry and to a lesser extent theg ⁺ g ⁺ a ag ^– a ag ⁺ a g ⁺ g ⁺ a ag ^– a ag ⁺ a conformation with approximateC ₂ symmetry. Both conformations allow the guest to form three hydrogen bonds to the macrocyclic host. Three complexes of 18-crown-6 and uronium salts have been prepared and characterized by X-ray crystallography. The 1:1 complexes with uronium nitrate (4) and uronium picrate (5) both exhibit the sameC ₂ conformation and the same hydrogen bonding scheme as in the least occupied form of the previous complex. A 1:2 complex with uroniump-toluenesulphonate (6) has a different hydrogen bonding scheme (two hydrogen bonds per cation to neighbouring oxygen atoms of the macroring) and a different conformation of the host molecule (theag ⁺ a ag ^– a ag ⁺ a ag ^– a ag ⁺ a ag ^– a conformation with almostD _3d symmetry). An attempt to prepare a solid uronium nitrate complex with diaza-18-crown-6 in the same way as the 18-crown-6·uronium nitrate (1:1) complex did not yield the expected result. Instead X-ray analysis revealed that the uronium ion is dissociated, resulting in the nitrate salt of the diprotonated diaza crown ether (7). Supplementary Data relating to this article are deposited with the British Library as Supplementary Publication No. SUP 82058 (26 pages).     

Conductance study of the thermodynamics of ammonium ion complexes with several crown ethers in acetonitrile solution

A conductance study concerning the interaction between ammonium ion and several crown ethers in acetonitrile solution has been carried out at different temperatures. The stability constants of the resulting 11 complexes at various temperatures were determined from the molar conductance-mole ratio data and found to vary in the order DC18C6>18C6>DB30C10>DB21C7>DB24C8>DB18C6>15C5>B15C5. The enthalpy and entropy of complexation were determined from the temperature dependence of the formation constants. The influence on the thermodynamic data of different parameters such as cavity size and dimensionality of crown ethers, nature of substituents in the polyether ring, conformations of the free and complexed ligands, solvent-ligand interaction and number of N–H bonds available for hydrogen bonding are discussed.     

Luminescence of lanthanides in complexes with chromophoric crown ethers

Spectral luminescence characteristics, viz., quantum yields and luminescence lifetime, of the Yb³⁺ and Nd³⁺ ions in aqueous-methanolic solutions of their complexes with chromophoric benzo-15-crown-5 derivatives were determined. The efficient 4f-luminescence (_exc = 337 nm) is due to the intramolecular transfer of the excitation energy from the chromophoric moiety of the molecule to the Ln³⁺ ion.     

The GC separation of C2-naphthalene isomers using cyclodextrins and crown ethers

Summary The twelve structural C₂ isomers of naphthalene are resolved on a single capillary column using , , or cyclodextrin as the stationary phase. A change in elution order is seen upon going from to and then cyclodextrin which can be related to the size of the cyclodextrin cavity and the stereochemical fit of the isomer. A crown-ether column and a liquid-crystal column were found to be unable to separate all of the isomers.     

Influence of ligand structure and solvent effects on complexation of neutral guests by several crown ethers

The formation of complexes between crown ethers and acetonitrile, chloroform, and nitromethane were investigated in carbon tetrachloride at 25°C. A significant influence of the ring size on the selectivity of the host is evident. The host 18-crown-6 forms complexes for which the reaction enthalpy and entropy are quite high. Host molecules with benzene side groups form complexes of lower reaction enthalpy and entropy and therefore the complexes formed are less stable than that of the analogous crown ethers without aromatic groups. Solvent effects on the stability constant K, the reaction enthalpy H, and the reaction entropy S were studied for the complexation of malonitrile by 18-crown-6. The reaction enthalpy and entropy values change in accordance with the dielectric constant of the solvent used, but no overall effect on complex stability with change in solvent dielectric constant was observed.     

Application of crown ethers as modifiers for the separation of amines by capillary electrophoresis

The separation of amines with capillary electrophoresis (CE) was made possible by applying crown ethers such as 18-crown-6 and 15-crown-5 as modifiers. Crown ether 18-crown-6 performed better as a modifier than 15-crown-5. The mobility change of primary amines with 18-crown-6 was larger than that for secondary and tertiary amines. The mobility change of various amines with 18-crown-6 were in the order: 1-aminobutane>2-aminobutane>2-amino-2-methylpropane. Effects of crown ether concentration, pH and cations in the eluent of CE were also investigated and discussed. Some neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, epinephrine, isoproterenol and phenylalanine were separated successfully by using crown ethers in CE analysis.     

Ion-pair extraction of tetravalent plutonium from hydrochloric acid medium using crown ethers

Ion-pair extraction behaviour of plutonium (IV) from varying concentrations of HCl solution was studied employing crown ethers (benzo-l5-crown-5 (B15C5), 18-crown-6, (18C6), dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6), dicyclohexano-18-crown-6, (DC18C6), dibenzo-24-crown-8 (DB24C8) and dicyclohexano-24-crown-8 (DCH24C8)) in nitrobenzene as the extractant. Ammonium metavanidate was used as the holding oxidant in the aqueous phase and the conditions necessary for the quantitative extraction of the tetravalent ion were found. The co-extraction of species of the type [HL⁺].[HPu(Cl) ₆ ^– ] and [HL⁺]2·[Pu(Cl) ₆ ^2– ] as ion-pairs (where L represents the crown ether) is suggested.     

A molecular mechanics study of the selectivity of crown ethers for metal ions on the basis of their size

A molecular mechanics (MM) analysis is carried out on complexes of crown ethers CH₂(OCH₂CH₂)_nCH₂O, 12-crown-4 (n=3), 15-crown-5 (n=4), 18-crown-6 (n=5), 24-crown-8 (n=7), and 30-crown-11 (n=9) to determine the nature of the selectivity shown by these ligands for metal ions on the basis of metal ion size. The MM program used is SYBYL, and M-O bonds are represented using a covalent model, i.e. the M-O bonds are modelled with ideal M-O bond lengths and force constants. The previously used technique of calculating strain energy as a function of M-O bond length is used for all the complexes, and also the complexes of the non-macrocyclic polyethylene glycol analogues. It is concluded that the crown ethers fall into three groups with regard to selectivity for metal ions. Group one consists of the smaller macrocycles such as 12-crown-4 and 15-crown-5, where metal ions generally are too large to enter the cavity of the macrocycle, and the metal ion is coordinated lying outside the plane of the donor atoms of the ligand. Here factors that control selectivity are the same as in non-macrocyclic ligands, chiefly the size of the chelate ring. Group 2 contains only 18-crown-6 of the ligands studied here. 18-Crown-6 complexes have three important conformers, one of which, theD _3d , shows sharp size match selectivity, preferring metal ions with M-O bond lengths of about 2.9 . The other two conformers are adopted by metal ions too small for theD _3d conformer, and are more flexible, exerting little size-match selectivity. These other two conformers are of higher energy than theD _3d conformer for metal ions with M-O bond lengths greater than 2.55 . Thus, a genuine size match selectivity is found for K⁺ with 18-crown-6. With an ideal M-O bond length of 2.88 , K⁺ fits the cavity of theD _3d conformer of 18-crown-6 very closely. The third group consists of very large macrocycles such as 24-crown-8 and 30-crown-10. These enfold the metal ion in extremely folded conformations, but may, as does 30-crown-10, exert considerable selectivity for metal ions on the basis of their size by virtue of the conformation resulting in a set of torsional angles in the ring atoms of the macrocycle which confer considerable rigidity on the ligand.     

Retention behaviour of crown ethers and actinomycin D in reversed-phase HPLC

Summary Retention of crown ethers in reverse-phase HPLC has been determined by their bonding ability with cations present in the eluent. The dependence of retention of crown ethers on cation concentration exhibits an inflection and makes it possible to calculate stability constant for the crown ether-cation complex. It is shown that in 75% MeOH retention of antitumor antibiotic, actinomycin D, depends on [Na⁺] and not on [K⁺] at concentrations of K⁺ from 5×10^–7 to 10^–1 mol l^–1. Hence, actinomycin D may be classified as an ionophore-antibiotic.     

A structural study of calcium,strontium and barium crown ether complexes

Complexes involving the perchlorate, chloride, bromide or iodide salts of the heavy group 2 elements, calcium, strontium or barium, and either 15-crown-5 or 18-crown-6 have been synthesized and their X-ray crystal structures determined. A variety of coordination modes are presented between the crown ether and metal ions.     

A 13-membered crown ether with an azoxy subunit in the macrocycle: Synthesis and X-ray structure

The presented azoxy compound is an example of a new crown ether analogue. It has been synthesized by the reduction of an open chain dinitro compound with stannite under strongly alkaline conditions. A method for the separation of the azo and azoxy compounds formed simultaneously has been proposed. The structures of two crystallographically independent molecules of compound2 have been determined. In spite of the small size of the macroring in compound2, the phenyl residues around the azoxy group have atrans orientation. Supplementary Data relating to this article have been deposited with the British Library as Supplementary Publication No. 82157 (11 pages).