Unusual thiophilic ring-opening of fused oligothiophenes with organolithium reagents

Organolithium reagents attack the sulfur atoms of fused oligothiophenes producing ring-opened organolithium intermediates that can be trapped with a suitable electrophile. The reaction was found to be general for fused thieno[2,3-b]-thiophenes and some [3,2-b]-fused oligothiophenes. Thermodynamic (organilithiums basicity) and mechanistic (RLi coordination by neighboring sulfur) aspects control the substrate scope and regioselectivity of the reaction. When competitive deprotonation of the substrate is possible, high selectivity toward ring-opening was observed with n-BuLi when compared with the other tested organolithiums. The recently discovered octathio[8]circulene produces multifold ring-opening products.     

Synthesis and characterization of new planar butterfly-shaped fused oligothiophenes

A simple oxidative cyclization reaction was used to construct new seven-ring-fused butterfly-shaped oligothiophene backbone: dibenzothieno[1,2-b:4,3-b′:6,7-b″:9,8-b″′]tetrathiophene. The new materials show high stability and strong solid state fluorescence. X-ray crystallography results reveal that they exist in 2-D stacked structures in their crystals.     

Reverse selectivity in m-CPBA oxidation of oligothiophenes to sulfones

Oligothiophene sulfones of up to six rings can be conveniently prepared by the direct oxidation of butyl-substituted thiophene oligomers with m-CPBA in dichloromethane. Reverse selectivity of oxidized rings is observed relative to previously reported systems without beta-substitution. The selectivity in the trimer and hexamer is confirmed with single-crystal X-ray structure data. The sulfones possess red-shifted absorptions and increased electron affinities relative to the parent oligomers.     

General synthesis of extended fused oligothiophenes consisting of an even number of thiophene rings

The intramolecular double cyclization of bis(3-bromo-2-thienyl)acetylenes though a lithium-halogen exchange reaction with tBuLi followed by treatment with elemental sulfur produces two thiophene-fused thieno[3,2-c](1,2-dithiin)s. The subsequent dechalcogenation from the 1,2-dithiins with copper nanopowder affords tetrathienoacenes. On the basis of this two-step procedure, a series of trialkylsilyl-terminated, fused oligothiophenes, including hexathienoacene (a six thiophene-fused system) and octathienoacene (an eight thiophene-fused system), were synthesized. In the UV/Vis absorption and fluorescence spectra of the fused oligothiophenes, the absorption and emission maxima shift to longer wavelengths, as the pi-conjugation length increases. Their maximum wavenumbers have linear relationships with the reciprocal number of thiophene rings consisting of the pi-conjugated frameworks. In the cyclic voltammograms, all the compounds show reversible oxidation waves, the first oxidation potential of which shifts to less positive as the conjugation length increases. Among them, the octathienoacene also shows a reversible second oxidation process. Indeed, its chemical oxidation with an excess amount of NO(+)SbF(6) (-) produces the dication as a golden crystal. The crystal structures of the neutral octathienoacene and its dication were determined by X-ray crystallography. While in the neutral state, the octathienoacene has a benzenoid structure with a large bond alternation of about 0.04 A, its dication has a quinoid structure in which two cationic charges are mainly localized on the terminal rings.     

Auxiliary-directed oxidation of ursolic acid by ‘Ru’-porphyrins: chemical modulation of cytotoxicity against tumor cell lines

Derivatization of ursolic acid, one of the natural ursene-type pentacyclic triterpenes, was investigated by the oxidation with dioxoruthenium(VI) tetraphenylporphyrins. Oxidation selectivity on the terpene structure was modulated by the auxiliaries introduced on the tetraphenylporphyrin. Chemical oxidation of the ursolic acid affected the cytotoxic activity against tumor cell lines.     

Pretreatment of landfill leachate by chemical oxidation processes

Kinetics and efficiency of Fenton’s and ozonation processes for the pretreatment of two landfill leachates (fresh and mature) resulting from municipal waste disposal were studied. Both samples presented high organic load, high toxicity and low biodegradability. These were the reasons why oxidative treatment was proposed. Fresh and mature leachate showed different behaviors in the oxidation experiments. The final extents of removal were attained in comparable time intervals in both oxidation systems. Maximal removal of organics by the Fenton’s oxidation reached more than 50 % according to COD. Zero or first order kinetics were found the best to describe the organic components (in terms of COD and DOC) removal by the Fenton’s oxidation for both landfill leachates. Higher reaction rate values of the Fenton’s oxidation were achieved with fresh leachate samples. The efficiency of initial organics removal with ozone was about 70 % for mature leachate, while in case of the fresh one only 41 % of COD were removed. The best fits of COD and DOC experimental data from oxidation of fresh and mature leachates were obtained by a combined kinetic model. No significant improvement of the biodegradability of landfill leachates was achieved using these treatment procedures. Regarding toxicity, ozonation showed to be more effective than the Fenton’s oxidation. Advanced oxidation experiments confirmed that the Fenton’s oxidation and ozonation are comparable oxidative treatment techniques for the reduction of organic pollution in the investigated municipal landfill leachates. However, neither of them is effective enough to be used as a pretreatment method followed by biological treatment.     

Electrochemical behavior of polyaniline synthesized by chemical oxidation

The slow voltammetry was taken on the paste electrode consisting of polyaniline powder and Teflon binder which was applied to pyrographite disc electrode. The potential cycle range was +0.6V→ ? 0.2V→+0.8V→+0.6V vs. SCE. It was found that the voltammetry curves are similar for both polyanilines obtained chemically and electrochemically. The difference of the voltammetry curves in various acids might be attributed to some exchange of doping anions in polyaniline. The first redox couple peaks shifted to positive potential direction with increase of pH and it might be associated with the proton addition-elimination reaction. It was shown that polyaniline prepared from very dilute or concentrated acid solution was electrochemically inactive.     

Electronic structures of zinc and palladium tetraazaporphyrin derivatives controlled by fused benzo rings

Zinc and palladium tetracyclic aromatic complexes lying structurally between tetraazaporphyrin (TAP) and phthalocyanine (Pc), that is, monobenzo-, adjacently dibenzo-, oppositely dibenzo-, and tribenzo-fused TAPs, have been prepared, and their electronic structures investigated by electronic absorption, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), fluorescence, phosphorescence, and time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy, as well as cyclic voltammetry. The last-named indicated that the first oxidation potentials shift to more negative values with increasing number of the fused benzo rings, but also suggested that the first reduction potential apparently has no correlation with the size and symmetry of the pi-conjugated systems. However, this latter behavior is reasonably interpreted by the finding that the effect of the fused benzo rings on destabilization of the LUMO depends on the orbital to which they are fused (i.e., whether it is an egx or egy orbital), since the LUMOs of TAP complexes are degenerate with D4h symmetry. The energy splitting of the LUMOs, that is, DeltaLUMO, was evaluated experimentally for the first time by analyzing the relationship between the first reduction potential and the size and shape of the pi-conjugated system. Electronic absorption and MCD measurements indicate that the lowest excited singlet states are split in the case of the low-symmetry TAP derivatives, although these excited states are degenerate for Pc and TAP with D4h symmetry. These energy splittings DeltaE(SS) correlate well with the DeltaLUMO values. To investigate the electronic structures in the lowest excited triplet state, zero-field splitting (zfs) was analyzed by time-resolved EPR (TREPR) spectroscopy. The energy splitting in the lowest excited triplet state, DeltaE(TT) was quantitatively evaluated from the temperature dependence of the zfs or spin-orbit coupling of the Pd complexes. Consequently, it is demonstrated that DeltaLUMO, DeltaE(SS), and DeltaE(TT) values exhibiting a mutually good relationship can be determined experimentally.     

Synthesis of donor-acceptor substituted oligothiophenes by Stille coupling

A synthesis of donor-acceptor-substituted oligothiophenes by Stille coupling is described. The 5′-estanyl derivatives, readily prepared from 5-alkoxy- and 5-amino-2,2′-bithiophenes 7 were coupled with the appropriate aryl or heteroaryl bromides to give the title compounds.     

Synthesis of annulated oligothiophenes

Reactions of 1,1-di(2-naphthyl)-2,2-dichloroethene and 1,1-di(2-benzothienyl)-2,2-dichloroethene with sulfur at 220–225 °C resulted in hitherto unknown oligothiophenes. Tetrathio[6]helicene was synthesized from 1,1-di(3-benzothienyl)-2,2-dichloroethene. Preparative pathway to helicene involving intramolecular ring closure of dithiol derived from 1,1-di-(3-benzothienyl)-2,2-dichloroethene was developed as an alternative to high temperature synthesis.     

N(2)-phenyldeoxyguanosine: modulation of the chemical properties of deoxyguanosine toward one-electron oxidation in DNA

We have shown here that (1) substitution of an exocyclic amino group of dG is effective in modulating the chemical properties of dG toward one-electron oxidation and (2) decomposition of the guanine radical cation was effectively suppressed near dPhG. These results indicate that dPhG is a prototype of nucleosides functioning as an intrinsic antioxidant of duplex DNA toward one-electron oxidation.     

Structure-property relationships in push-pull amino/cyanovinyl end-capped oligothiophenes: quantum chemical and experimental studies

A series of push-pull chromophores built around thiophene-based pi-conjugating spacers and bearing various types of amino donors and cyanovinyl acceptors have been analyzed by means of UV-vis-NIR, IR, and Raman spectroscopic measurements in the solid state as well as in solution. The intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) of these pi-conjugated systems has also been tested by analyzing the ability of the solute molecules to undergo shifts in their fluorescence emission maxima with increasing solvent polarity. These push-pull oligomers also display an attractive electrochemical behavior since they generate stable species both upon oxidation and reduction. Oxidation mainly involves changes in the electron-rich aminooligothienyl half-part of the molecule and leads to the formation of stable cations. On the other hand, reduction to radical anions and dianions is mainly cyanovinyl-centered but also affects the pi-conjugated electron relay. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been carried out to help the assignment of the most relevant electronic and vibrational features and to derive useful information about the molecular structure of these NLO-phores.     

Electronic excitations induced by hydrogen surface chemical reactions on gold

Associated with chemical reactions at surfaces energy may be dissipated exciting surface electronic degrees of freedom. These excitations are detected using metal-insulator-metal (MIM) heterostructures (Ta-TaOx-Au) and the reactions of H with and on a Au surface are probed. A current corresponding to 5×10(-5) electrons per adsorbing H atom and a marked isotope effect are observed under steady-state conditions. Analysis of the current trace when the H atom flux is intermitted suggests that predominantly the recombination reaction creates electronic excitations. Biasing the front versus the back electrode of the MIM structure provides insights into the spectrum of electronic excitations. The observed spectra differ for the two isotopes H and D and are asymmetric when comparing negative and positive bias voltages. Modeling indicates that the excited electrons and the concurrently created holes differ in their energy distributions.     

Structure-property relationship of acceptor-substituted oligothiophenes

A series of oligothiophenes that are end-capped with dicyanovinyl (DCV) and 1,3,2-(2H)-dioxaborine (DOB) moieties has been prepared using standard procedures. Their optoelectronic properties have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and optical absorption. The optical absorption has been measured both in solution and thin film state.     

Regiodivergent Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of fused ketone substrates by recombinant whole-cells expressing two monooxygenases from Brevibacterium

Microbial Baeyer-Villiger oxidations of fused bicyclic ketones with a cyclobutanone structural motif were investigated using recombinant Escherichia coli cells expressing two monooxygenases from Brevibacterium. In a kinetic resolution process fused ketones were transformed to regioisomeric lactones: ‘normal’ lactones were generated by migration of the more substituted carbon atom and ‘abnormal’ lactones resulted from migration of the less substituted carbon atom. The two Baeyer-Villigerases demonstrated a significantly different stereoselectivity for the regiodivergent biotransformation.     

Electronic mechanism in cadmium chemical shift

Cadmium chemical shifts are studied theoretically by the ab initio molecular orbital method. The compounds studied are CdMe₂, CdMeEt, CdEt₂, CdMe(OMe), Cd(OMe)₂, CdMe(SMe) and Cd(SMe)₂. The calculated values of the Cd chemical shifts agree excellently with the experimental values, showing quantitative reliability of the theoretical method used in this paper. The cadmium chemical shift is mainly due to the p mechanism in the paramagnetic term. The contribution of the d mechanism is small. Therefore, the metal chemical shift is proportional to the π-electron donating ability of the ligands. The diamagnetic contribution, which is determined solely by a structural factor, is small for the chemical shift. The difference between the methyl and ethyl ligands is attributed partly to the p mechanism (paramagnetic) and partly to the structural factor (diamagnetic). The outer d orbitals of the sulfur in the SMe ligand are unimportant for the Cd chemical shift.     

Electron-transporting oligothiophenes containing dicyanomethylene-substituted cyclopenta[b]thiophene: chemical tuning for air stability in OFETs

We have synthesized new electron-transporting oligothiophenes containing dicyanomethylene-substituted cyclopenta[b]thiophene as an active material for the fabrication of solution-processable n-type organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). The influence of the number of dicyanomethylene groups as well as the position of hexyl groups was investigated in detail by performing photophysical and electrochemical measurements. Results revealed that the optical energy gaps and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels can be controlled by changing the number of dicyanomethylene groups. In contrast, the position of hexyl groups has little influence on molecular electronic properties. X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy measurements revealed that spin-coated thin films of the new compounds had a crystalline structure. OFETs based on these compounds were evaluated in vacuum and air-exposed conditions, and the electron mobility of up to 0.016 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) was achieved. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the air stability of the OFETs depends on the LUMO energy level of the compounds.