Geometry of molecules: Part 5. Interatomic distances and electronic structures of some aloukyl-substituted cyclopropanes and cyclopropenes by the IMOA method

The geometric and electronic structures of some alkyl- and vinyl-substituted cyclopropanes and cyclopropenes have been computed by the iterative maximum overlap approach (IMOA). Some MINDO/3 calculations have been carried out for comparison. Asymmetries introduced in the three-membered rings by the substitution are discussed in detail. Comparison of the predicted bond distances in vinylcyclopropane with microwave data indicates the presence of a conjugative HOMO-LUMO interaction between the strained ring and the ethylene moiety. It is stressed that interatomic distances and bond lengths should be distinguished in strained systems. The bond lengths are defined as segments of curves passing through the points of maximum electron density and the relevant nuclei. They are calculated and discussed for some characteristic highly strained rings. The estimated heats of formation and strain energies are in satisfactory agreement with available experimental data.     

Diastereoselective intermolecular Pauson-Khand reactions of chiral cyclopropenes

In this Letter, it is demonstrated that the unusual reactivity of cyclopropenes can increase the scope and utility of intermolecular Pauson-Khand reactions. The well-defined chiral environment of cyclopropenes has a powerful influence on the diastereoselectivity of the reactions and leads to the production of a single cyclopentenone in each of the described cases. The cyclopropane ring strongly influences the stereochemistry of reactions at the enone, and the three-membered ring can subsequently be cleaved under mild conditions. [reaction: see text]     

The electron impact mass spectra of some cevine orthoacetates

The most important fragmentation in the electron impact mass spectra of dihydrocevine orthoacetate and some analogues involves loss of an acetoxyl radical from the molecular ion, and is associated with strain in the orthoacetate group bridging a six-membered ring. The process is much less important in the less-strained dihydrocevine isoorthoacetate, which gives the ion m/z 112, characteristic of cevine alkaloids, as the most abundant. A further important difference concerns an ion involving the loss of C(20) and its substituents together with a hydrogen atom from M⁺˙, also relatively unimportant in the isoorthoacetate.     

Structure, strain, and degenerate rearrangement of tricyclo[2.1.0.0 1,3]pentasilane and related molecules

We theoretically investigate a highly strained tricyclic silane (tricyclo[2.1.0.0 1,3]pentasilane (4b), an isomer of pentasila[1.1.1]propellane (3b)) composed of three fused three-membered rings. The central ring is distorted. One of the fusion bonds in the central ring is shorter than the normal Si-Si single bond (2.350 A) whereas the other is as long as the fusion bonds in bicyclo[1.1.0]tetrasilane (2b) (2.860 A) and 3b (2.778 A). The tricyclic silane is less strained than the carbon congener and more strained than the isomer 3b. The electron delocalization between one of the fusion bonds and the geminal Si-Si ring bonds elongates the fusion bond and stabilizes the molecules to reduce the strain. The silanes composed of the fused three-membered rings are less strained than the carbon congener. A degenerate rearrangement of a three-membered ring is predicted. The enthalpy of activation of the rearrangement of the distorted central ring is low (7.2 kcal/mol) for 4b, but appreciable (22.3 kcal/mol) for the germanium congener, tricyclo[2.1.0.0(1,3)]pentagermane (4c). We investigate the effects of the substituents on the distortion of the central three-membered ring and the degenerate rearrangement.     

Evidence for an aryl migration during the electron impact induced fragmentation of substituted aryloxymethylquinoxalines.

The electron impact (EI) mass spectra of 34 differently substituted 2-phenoxymethyl-, 2-naphthyloxymethyl-, 2-pyridinyloxymethyl- and 2-chinolinyloxymethylquinoxalines were recorded. The fragmentation patterns were examined by metastable ion analysis and exact mass measurements, employing finally also selective deuterium labelling. The inclusion of the substituted aryl ring moiety appears to be important for the fragmentation of the aryloxymethylquinoxalines. A molecular ion rearrangement is proposed for the observed loss of OH* and CHO* radicals. The influence of the different substituents on the aryl ring moiety on the rearrangement in the gas phase and on the resulting fragmentation was investigated.     

Electron ionisation and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometric study of a series of isomeric methyl-, dimethyl- and trimethylalloxazines

Electron ionisation (EI) mass spectra and electrospray ionisation (ESI) mass spectra at different cone voltages of a series of isomeric methyl- and dimethylalloxazines are discussed, and compared with those of lumichrome, and 1- and 3-methyllumichrome. Examination of ESI mass spectra taken at a higher cone voltage and the use of isotope-labelled methanol allow us to discuss the fragmentation pathways of [M+H]+ and [M-H](-) ions. The fragmentation pathways of all of the compounds and the characteristic fragment ions formed in EI-MS are compared with published data. The influence of methyl and dimethyl substituents in the benzene ring on the fragmentation pathways leading to the loss of 43 and 45 Da upon both electron and electrospray ionisation is described.     

Conformational behaviour of 3-phenyl- and 3-carbomethoxy-substituted cyclopropene derivatives

According to MNDO calculated heats of formation for various 3-substituted cyclopropenes the π-acceptor methoxycarbonyl as well as the π-donor group phenyl both prefer a non-bisected orientation with respect to the three-membered ring. Temperature dependent NMR chemical shifts seem to confirm this behaviour for the free molecules. In the crystalline state, however, 1,2,3-triphenylcyclopropene (3e) and 3-isopropyl-1,2,3-triphenylcyclopropene (3f) both adopt a conformation with a bisected orientation of the 3-phenyl groups.     

Synthesis of Fluoro-, Monofluoromethyl-, Difluoromethyl-, and Trifluoromethyl-Substituted Three-Membered Rings

This Minireview describes recent advances toward the synthesis of fluoro-, monofluoromethyl-, difluoromethyl-, and trifluoromethyl-substituted three-membered rings such as cyclopropanes, aziridines, epoxides, episulfides, cyclopropenes, and 2 H-azirines. The main synthetic methodologies since 2016 for cyclopropanes and since 2010 for the other three-membered rings are reported.     

Mass spectrometry in structural and stereochemical problems—CCIV. Spectra of hydantoins II. Electron impact induced fragmentation of some substituted hydantoins

The mass spectral decomposition modes of hydantoin and derivatives containing alkyl and phenyl substituents have been investigated using isotopic labeling techniques. The loss of carbon monoxide from the molecular ions of these compounds was shown to preferentially involve the C-4 carbonyl group. Other fragmentation processes characteristic of the hydantoin ring system and the effect on this of alkyl and phenyl substitution are described.     

Vibrational spectra of cyclopropenes. II. IR spectra of 1,2-disubstituted cyclopropenes

The IR spectra were measured and the vibrational problem was solved for the 1,2-dimethyl-3-phenylcyclopropene (I) and 1,2-diphenylcyclopropene (II) molecules. The forms of the normal vibrations were determined, and the vibrations associated with vibrations of the exo- and endocyclic bonds of the ring were distinguished. It was shown that substitution at the double bond of cyclopropene leads to a change in the form of the symmetrical vibration of the ring in comparison with the vibration of unsubstituted cyclopropene. It was shown that a significant hypsochromic shift of the band of the symmetrical ring vibration in 1,2-disubstituted cyclopropenes in comparison with cyclopropenes that do not contain substituents at the C^1,2 atoms is due chiefly to the kinematic effect of the substituent. It was found that the introduction of substituents at the double bond of the ring leads to a decrease in the force constant of the double bonds.St. Petersberg University. Translated from Zhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 125–132, January–February, 1993.     

The mass spectra of sydnones

The mass spectra of thirty sydnoes have been interpreted; the types investigated include 3-aryl, 3-alkyl-, substituted 3-alkylsydnones; and bis sydnones. A characteristic fragmentation mode involves initial loss of NO and CO from the molecular ion, but peaks corresponding to alkylcarbonium ions dominate the spectra of 3-alkylsydnones; a cyclic mechanism is suggested for weak transitions involving loss of sydnone neutral molecule from the molecular ion. A mechanism is proposed for loss of chlorine radical from the molecular ion of 3-(2,4-dichlorophenethyl)sydnone. An unusual feature in the mass spectrum of trimethylenebis sydnone is rationalised on the basis of a precursor 1,2,3-oxadiazole ion. The effect of substituents in the aryl ring on the fragmentation of 3-arylsydnones is discussed.     

Mass spectrometry of 3,4-dihydroquinazolin-4-ones of pharmaceutical interest. Part 3 . Electron ionization mass spectra of 2-substituted-3-(5′-pyrazolyl)-4(3H)-quinazolinones

The fragmentation reactions induced by electron impact of eighteen title compounds has been investigated with the aid of low beam energy spectra (14 eV, nom. value), metastable ion detection, high resolution measurements and labelling experiments. The loss of the 4-carbonyl oxygen together with the 3-substituent, which constitutes a characteristic fragmentation route of 3-aryl and 3-heteroaromatic substituted-4(3H)-quinazolinones, is again observed, but the presence of a carboxyethyl group at the 4′-position of the pyrazole ring is responsible of an anomalous loss of 47 daltons from the molecular ion. Lastly, a comparison with the previously described behaviour of 3-(5′-isoxazolyl) derivatives was carried out.     

Pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry of polyvinylsilanes. Mass spectrometric characteristics of alkanes and alkenes containing two or more triorganosilyl substituents

Pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass Spectrometry was applied to the investigation of homopolymers obtained from trimethyl-, n-pentyldimethyl-, n-octyldimethyl- and trideuteromethyldimethyl-vinylsilanes. The electron impact-induced fragmentation of alkanes, alkenes and alkadienes containing two or more corresponding silyl substituents and resulting from pyrolysis of polymers was elucidated. The most characteristic fragmentation patterns of trimethylsilyl-substituted compounds are due to the loss of HSi(CH₃)₃ and Si(CH₃)₄ from M^+˙, the order of which depends on the presence or absence of a double bond in hydrocarbon chain. The same structural parameter determines the probability of the characteristic decomposition of n-alkyldimethylsilyl-substituted compounds through the loss of alkene and alkyl groups from the molecular ions.     

Electrospray tandem mass spectrometry of 2H-chromenes

Several 2H-chromenes derived from carbazoles were analyzed by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. The 2H-chromenes constitute an important class of compounds that exhibit photochromic activity. The fragmentation pathways of the protonated molecular species [M+H]+ were studied, and main fragmentation pathways of these compounds were identified. Fragmentation pathways of [M+D]+ ions were also studied in order to obtain information about the location of the ionizing proton or deuteron. It was found that the proton is not preferentially located on the nitrogen atom. The charge is preferentially located as a tertiary carbocation, resulting from the uptake of the proton (or deuteron) by the zwitterionic open structure of the chromenes. The major fragmentation occurred by cleavage of the gamma-bond relative to the carbocation center, leading to a fragment at m/z 191 (C5H11+ or C14H9N+), which are the most abundant fragment ions for almost all compounds. The presence of substituents in the chromene ring does not change this behavior. Other observed common fragmentation pathways included loss of CH3* (15 Da), loss of CO (28 Da), combined loss of CO and CH3 (43 Da), and loss of the phenyl ring via combined loss of C6H4 and CH3* (-91 Da) and combined loss of C6H6 and CO (-106 Da).     

Cyclopropyl-substituted pyrylium salts

The previously unknown 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyrylium salts 1-4 , carrying cyclopropyl and methyl or phenyl substituents in the same molecule, and 5-8 , substituted with isopropyl groups instead of cyclopropyl, were synthesized as perchlorates. The electronic spectra and the C-13 nmr spectra of the two groups of compounds were compared. A cyclopropyl group has a batochromic effect on the electronic spectrum roughly half that exerted by a phenyl; replacement of an alkyl by a cyclopropyl shifts the highest wavelength absorption band by about 20 nm. Presence of phenyl substituents reduces the batochromic effects of cyclopropyl substituents. The effects of both cyclopropyl and phenyl substituents on the electronic spectra are smaller for pyrylium than for tropylium. The nmr signals for all the ring carbons are shifted upfield upon replacement of isopropyl by cyclopropyl; in particular, the effect of substituents in position 2 upon the chemical shift of C(4) indicates that the electron-releasing effect varies in the series alkyl < phenyl < cyclopropyl, in agreement with the findings for 2,6-disubstituted pyrylium salts. The difference between the chemical shifts for the methine and methylene carbons of the three-membered ring is a function of the electron demand of the cationic heterocycle.     

Characterization of Progesterone Derivatives by LC-DAD-ESI/MSn and Its Application to the Identification of Impurities in Flurogestone Acetate

The fragmentation behaviors of progesterone derivatives were studied by high-performance liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Under tandem MS conditions, most of the fragments were formed by the cleavage of peripheral groups. Analyses of the fragmentation pathways revealed that the presence of substituents of a progesterone derivative could be deduced from characteristic losses. Characteristic cleavages of 28 and 58 Da were observed from ring cleavages with compounds containing two specific double bonds in the progesterone backbone. In addition, UV spectra were acquired to support MS-based analysis. The presence of nine impurities in crude flurogestone acetate samples were characterized, followed by their tentative assignments based on mass spectral fragmentation patterns.     

Electrospray tandem mass spectrometry of aminochromes.

The catecholamines adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, dopa and isoprenaline were oxidized into their respective aminochromes: adrenochrome, noradrenochrome, dopaminochrome, dopachrome and isoprenochrome. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) fragmentation patterns were examined for the five aminochromes in order to establish a general structural assignment of these oxidation products by electrospray mass spectrometry. Although protonated aminochromes undergo similar fragmentation patterns with a characteristic consecutive loss of two carbonyl groups, the presence of different substituents in the parent compounds led to significant changes in the CID spectra. This feature is more evident for isoprenochrome and dopachrome, especially for the latter where the MS/MS spectrum is dominated by the loss of formic acid. A general pattern of fragmentation for aminochromes is proposed, which should provide a suitable basis to aid their characterization in studies in vivo or in vitro.     

Intramolecular thermal transformations of N-phthalimidoaziridines: 1,3-dipolar cyclo-addition and rearrangements*

The intramolecular thermal cycloaddition of N-phthalimidoaziridines at multiple bonds of substituents with the intermediate formation of azomethine ylides leads to condensed pyrrole derivatives, in which the five-membered ring is adjacent to a five-, six-, or seven-membered ring. Rearrangements, which sometimes become the predominant reactions, compete with cycloaddition. Thus, aziridines with aryl substituents readily isomerize to give imines with a 1,2-shift of the phthalimide group to one of the carbon atoms. Aziridines with one electron-withdrawing substituent probably do not open to give 1,3-dipoles but rather undergo a Cope-type rearrangement involving the three-membered ring and C = O bond of the second substituent. Even in intramolecular reactions, very low activity is found for the cyano group triple bond and aromatic ring bonds as dipolarophiles.     

Studies in organic mass spectrometry—V: N-arylsulphonyliminopyridinium betaines

The mass spectral fragmentation of N-arylsulphonyliminopyridinium betaines has been rationalized using high resolution mass spectrometry as well as deuterium labelling. The most characteristic features are a very facile N S bond cleavage and skeletal rearrangements accompanied by the expulsion of SO₂ from the molecular ion and the [M 1] ion to the corresponding ionized N-aryliminopyridinium betaines and azacarbazoles, respectively. The presence of methyl substituents at the α-position of the pyridine ring has a significant effect on the mode of the fragmentation.     

Mass spectral study of differently substituted 2-oxo- and 2-thioxo-1,3,4-benzotriazepines

The mass spectra of seven 2-thioxo- and four 2-oxo-1,3,4-benzotriazepines were recorded under electron ionization, and the fragmentation patterns were elucidated by exact mass measurement and metastable ion analysis. Some variations in the nature and position of the substituents greatly affected the mass spectra, allowing easy differentiation of isomeric compounds. The most characteristic feature of the mass spectral behavior of the compounds was the large number of ring contraction and complicated rearrangement reactions.