Optimized synthesis, structural investigations, ligand tuning and synthetic evaluation of silyloxy-based alkyne metathesis catalysts

Nitride- and alkylidyne complexes of molybdenum endowed with triarylsilanolate ligands are excellent (pre)catalysts for alkyne-metathesis reactions of all sorts, since they combine high activity with an outstanding tolerance toward polar and/or sensitive functional groups. Structural and reactivity data suggest that this promising application profile results from a favorable match between the characteristics of the high-valent molybdenum center and the electronic and steric features of the chosen Ar(3) SiO groups. This interplay ensures a well-balanced level of Lewis acidity at the central atom, which is critical for high activity. Moreover, the bulky silanolates, while disfavoring bimolecular decomposition of the operative alkylidyne unit, do not obstruct substrate binding. In addition, Ar(3) SiO groups have the advantage that they are more stable within the coordination sphere of a high-valent molybdenum center than tert-alkoxides, which commonly served as ancillary ligands in previous generations of alkyne metathesis catalysts. From a practical point of view it is important to note that complexes of the general type [(Ar(3) SiO)(3) Mo?X] (X = N, CR; R = aryl, alkyl, Ar = aryl) can be rendered air-stable with the aid of 1,10-phenanthroline, 2,2'-bipyridine or derivatives thereof. Although the resulting adducts are themselves catalytically inert, treatment with Lewis acidic additives such as ZnCl(2) or MnCl(2) removes the stabilizing N-donor ligand and gently releases the catalytically active template into the solution. This procedure gives excellent results in alkyne metathesis starting from air-stable and hence user-friendly precursor complexes. The thermal and hydrolytic stability of representative molybdenum alkylidyne and -nitride complexes of this series was investigated and the structure of several decomposition products elucidated.     

An organoantimony nitrate complex with azastibocine framework as water tolerant Lewis acid catalyst for the synthesis of 1,2-disubstitued benzimidazoles

A novel organoantimony complex of 6-cyclohexyl-6,7-dihydrodibenzo[c,f] [1,5]azastibocin-12(5H)-yl nitrate ( 2 ) was synthesized and systematically characterized by techniques such as NMR spectra, TG-DSC, and X-ray diffraction. It was found that the complex 2 exhibits relatively strong Lewis acidity (3.3 < Ho ≤ 4.8) and could be employed as a water tolerant Lewis acid catalyst for the synthesis of synthetically valuable benzimidazole derivatives starting from aldehydes and arylenediamines. This catalytic system shows excellent tolerance toward a wide variety of functional groups, such as methyl, methoxyl, fluoro, chloro, bromo, nitro, cyan, trifluoromethyl, 1-naphthaldehyde, furfural and n-butyl, together with facile reusability in 5 times scale enlarged synthesis.     

Selectivity of thiolate ligand and preference of substrate in model reactions of dissimilatory nitrate reductase

Complexes analogous to the active site of dissimilatory nitrate reductase from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans are synthesized. The hexacoordinated complexes [PPh 4][Mo (IV)(PPh 3)(SR)(mnt) 2] (R = -CH 2CH 3 ( 1), -CH 2Ph ( 2)) released PPh 3 in solution to generate the active model cofactor, {Mo (IV)(SR)(mnt) 2} (1-), ready with a site for nitrate binding. Kinetics for nitrate reduction by the complexes 1 and 2 followed Michaelis-Menten saturation kinetics with a faster rate in the case of 1 ( V Max = 3.2 x 10 (-2) s (-1), K M = 2.3 x 10 (-4) M) than that reported earlier ( V Max = 4.2 x 10 (-3) s (-1), K M = 4.3 x 10 (-4) M) ( Majumdar, A. ; Pal, K. ; Sarkar, S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 4196- 4197 ). The oxidized molybdenum species may be reduced back by PPh 3 to the starting complex, and a catalytic cycle involving [Bu 4N][NO 3] and PPh 3 as the oxidizing and reducing substrates, respectively, is established with the complexes 1 and 2. Isostructural complexes, [Et 4N][Mo (IV)(PPh 3)(X)(mnt) 2] (X = -Br ( 3), -I ( 4)) did not show any reductive activity toward nitrate. The selectivity of the thiolate ligand for the functional activity and the cessation of such activity in isostructural halo complexes demonstrate the necessity of thiolate coordination. Electrochemical data of all these complexes correlate the ability of the thiolated species for such oxotransfer activity. Compounds 1 and 2 are capable of reducing substrates like TMANO or DMSO, but after the initial 15-20% conversion, the product trimethylamine or dimethylsulfide formed interacts with the active parent complexes 1 and 2 thereby slowing down further oxo-transfer reaction similar to feedback type reactions. From the functional nitrate reduction, the molybdenum species finally reacts with the nitrite formed leading to nitrosylation similar to the NO evolution reaction by periplasmic nitrate reductase from Pseudomonas dentrificans. All these complexes ( 1- 4) are characterized structurally by X-ray, elemental analysis, electrochemistry, electronic, FT-IR, mass and (31)P NMR spectroscopic measurements.     

Cycloolefin polymerization initiated by transition metal–π-allylic complexes

A new class of catalysts for polymerization of cycloalkenes was developed, based on the interaction of these hydrocarbons with π-allylic transition metal complexes. The reaction route (decyclization or double-bond opening) and the microstructure of polyalkenamers obtained is determined primarily by the nature of the transition metal and also by the nature and the number of ligands bound to the metal. π-Allylic complexes of zirconium and chromium catalyze the polymerization of cycloalkenes in both directions. For complexes of the group VI metals the substitution of molybdenum or tungsten for chromium results in complete suppression of the double-bond opening. In the presence of Group VIII metal compounds the polymerization of cycloolefins occurs exclusively at the double bond. The introduction of acidic ligands into the internal sphere of the π-allylic compound does not affect the reaction route but results in a significant rise of the yield of polyalkenamers and enriches the content of trans-1,4-units. Lewis acids act as activators for complexes of all the metals, the halides of molybdenum and tungsten affecting favorably the decyclization. It is assumed that the ring-opening polymerization of cycloolefins proceeds via π-allylic complex formation.     

Lewis Acids as Activators in CBS‐Catalysed Diels–Alder Reactions: Distortion Induced Lewis Acidity Enhancement of SnCl4

The effect of several Lewis acids on the CBS catalyst (named after Corey, Bakshi and Shibata) was investigated in this study. While ²H NMR spectroscopic measurements served as gauge for the activation capability of the Lewis acids, in situ FT‐IR spectroscopy was employed to assess the catalytic activity of the Lewis acid oxazaborolidine complexes. A correlation was found between the Δδ(²H) values and rate constants k_DA, which indicates a direct translation of Lewis acidity into reactivity of the Lewis acid–CBS complexes. Unexpectedly, a significant deviation was found for SnCl₄ as Lewis acid. The SnCl₄–CBS adduct was much more reactive than the Δδ(²H) values predicted and gave similar reaction rates to those observed for the prominent AlBr₃–CBS adduct. To rationalize these results, quantum mechanical calculations were performed. The frontier molecular orbital approach was applied and a good correlation between the LUMO energies of the Lewis acid–CBS–naphthoquinone adducts and k_DA could be found. For the SnCl₄–CBS–naphthoquinone adduct an unusual distortion was observed leading to an enhanced Lewis acidity. Energy decomposition analysis with natural orbitals for chemical valence (EDA‐NOCV) calculations revealed the relevant interactions and activation mode of SnCl₄ as Lewis acid in Diels–Alder reactions.     

Synthetic,magnetic, spectral,antimicrobial and antifertility studies of dioxomolybdenum(VI) unsymmetrical imine complexes having a N ∩ N donor system

Unsymmetrical imine molybdenum(VI) complexes of the type [MoO₂(L¹)(L²)] formed by the interaction of dioxobis(2,4-pentanedionato)molybdenum(VI) in a 1:1:1 molar ratio with different imines derived from the reactions of sulphagunanidine, sulphamethazine, sulphapyridine and sulphadiazine with various aromatic aldehydes and ketones, have been prepared and the products characterized by elemental analysis, molar conductance, magnetic measurements and spectral studies. The complexes have also been tested in vitro. The antifertility screening data indicate the antiandrogenic nature of the complexes. The spectral studies suggest that all the ligands behave in a bidentate fashion, coordinating through the azomethine nitrogen (>C=N–) and other functional group NH as (N N) donors. Studies also reveal that the ligands react with dioxobis(2,4-pentanedionato)molybdenum(VI) to give diamagnetic mononuclear molybdenum(VI) complexes.     

Nature of the Lewis acid sites on molybdenum and ruthenium sulfides: an electrostatic potential study

The energy of formation and the Lewis acid strength of sulfur vacancies or coordinative unsaturated sites on the MoS2 edges were studied using density functional theory for periodic systems and an electrostatic potential-based methodology. The results suggest that the more energetically favorable sites are located on the sulfur edges; however, their Lewis acid strength is considerably smaller than the site acidity at the molybdenum edges. The acid strength for the reported most hydrodesulfurization active site of RuS2 was also determined. In general, the Lewis acid for the site on RuS2 is 100% smaller than the sites on the Mo edges and around 20% larger than the most favorable site on the S edges of MoS2. Binding of the pyridine molecule in the eta1 adsorption configuration on the considered sites has corroborated the trend of Lewis acidity suggested by the electrostatic potential methodology.     

Lewis Acid Directed Regioselective Metalations of Pyridazine

Mono‐ or bidentate boron Lewis acids trigger a regioselective magnesiation or zincation of pyridazine in position C3 (ortho product) or C4 (meta product). The regioselectivity of the metalation was rationalized with the help of calculated pK_a values of both pyridazine and pyridazine/Lewis acid complexes.     

Nicotinic acid complexes with uranyl salts

Summary The potentially bidentate ligand, nicotinic acid, forms 2 : 1 complexes with uranyl chloride, sulphate, nitrate and acetate which have been characterized by i.r. spectral measurements down to 200 cm^–1 in the solid state. These studies indicate conclusively that nicotinic acid coordinates onlyvia its pyridine ring nitrogen in all cases. The uranyl chloride arid sulphate complexes are monomeric hexacoordinated structures, while the nitrate and acetate complexes are octacoordinate around uranium.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Bis(azido)bis(2‐chloropyridine)palladium(II), Bis(azido)bis(3‐chloropyridine)palladium(II), Bis(azido)bis(quinoline)palladium(II), and the Crystal Structure of Bis(azido)bis(quinoline)palladium(II)

Three new monomeric complexes of palladium(II) azide with 2‐chloropyridine ( 1 ), 3‐chloropyridine ( 2 ), and quinoline ( 3 ), have been synthesized by reaction of palladium nitrate and the respective Lewis‐base with sodium azide in a water/acetone mixture. All three compounds were characterized by IR, Raman, and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. The composition of the complexes were confirmed by elemental analysis. The spectroscopic investigations confirm terminal azide ligands in trans position. Complex 3 was also characterized by crystallographic methods. Each palladium atom of 3 is surrounded in a distorted square planar fashion by 4 nitrogen atoms. The terminal azide ligands are in trans position.     

Ruthenium‐Catalyzed trans‐Selective Hydrostannation of Alkynes

In contrast to all other transition‐metal‐catalyzed hydrostannation reactions documented in the literature, the addition of Bu₃SnH across various types of alkynes proceeds with excellent trans selectivity, provided the reaction is catalyzed by [Cp*Ru]‐based complexes. This method is distinguished by a broad substrate scope and a remarkable compatibility with functional groups, including various substituents that would neither survive under the conditions of established Lewis acid mediated trans hydrostannations nor withstand free‐radical reactions. In case of unsymmetrical alkynes, a cooperative effect between the proper catalyst and protic functionality in the substrate allows outstanding levels of regioselectivity to be secured as well.     

Fluorescence maxima of 10-methylacridone-metal ion salt complexes: a convenient and quantitative measure of lewis acidity of metal ion salts

Aromatic carbonyl compounds such as 10-methylacridone form the Lewis acid complexes including paramagnetic and redox active Lewis acids. The fluorescence energies of the Lewis acid complexes are well correlated with the O2*--Lewis acid complexes derived from the gzz-values of the ESR spectra of the superoxide anion-Lewis acid complexes, thus providing a quantitative measure of the Lewis acidity.     

Quantum-chemical study of interaction of dipyrrolylmethenes with boron trifluoride and other lewis acids

The geometric parameters and energies of the products of donor-acceptor interaction of dipyrrolylmethenes with BF₃ and other inorganic Lewis acids were calculated by quantum-chemical methods. The bond nature and the energies of formation of the donor-acceptor complexes under consideration were analyzed. It was shown that the complexes with p-element fluorides are noticeably stabilized by hydrogen bonds involving the hydrogen atom of the NH group of dipyrrolylmethene and the nearest fluorine atom of a Lewis acid. Hydrogen bonding promotes further elimination of HF in the synthesis of boron fluoride complexes of dipyrrolylmethenes. The energy profile was calculated for the reaction of formation of the boron fluoride complex with dipyrrolylmethene through the intermediate donor-acceptor complex.     

The Affinity of Some Lewis Bases for Hexafluoroisopropanol as a Reference Lewis Acid: An ITC/DFT Study

To figure out the possible role of 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoropropan-2-ol (HFIP) as well as to provide reference thermochemical data in solution, the formation of Lewis acid-base complexes between HFIP (Lewis acid) and a series of 8 different Lewis bases (3 sulfoxides, 3 Nsp² pyridine derivatives, 1 aromatic amine, 1 cyclic aliphatic ether) was examined by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) experiments and static density functional theory augmented with Dispersion (DFT−D) calculations. Measured ITC association enthalpy values (ΔH_a) lie between −9.3 and −14 kcal mol⁻¹. Computations including a PCM implicit solvation model produced similar exothermicity of association of all studied systems compared to the ITC data with ΔH_a values ranging from −8.5 to −12.7 kcal mol⁻¹. An additional set of calculations combining implicit and explicit solvation by chlorobenzene of the reactants, pointed out the relatively low interference of the solvent with the HFIP-base complexation: its main effect is to slightly enhance the Gibbs energy of the HFIP-Lewis base association. It is speculated that the interactions of bulk HFIP with Lewis bases therefore may significantly intervene in catalytic processes not only via the dynamic microstructuring of the medium but also more explicitly by affecting bonds’ polarization at the Lewis bases.     

One‐pot Synthesis of Benzamidonaphtho[2,1‐b]furans and Benzamidobenzo[b]furans as Novel Polycyclic Heteroaromatic Compounds

An operationally simple, green and efficient procedure for one‐pot synthesis of novel polycyclic heteroaromatic compounds such as benzamidonaphtho[2,1‐b]furans and benzamidobenzo[b]furans has been developed from the reaction of arylglyoxals, benzamide, and phenols. The reactions were mediated with low amounts of yttrium nitrate hexahydrate as a suitable Lewis acid catalyst without using solvent.     

Bioinorganic chemistry of molybdenum and tungsten enzymes: A structural–functional modeling approach

Chemical approaches toward the bioinorganic chemistry of molybdenum and tungsten enzymes had been either biomimetic (structural modeling) or bioinspired (functional modeling). Among the dithiolene type of ligands, bdt (1,2-benzene dithiolate) and related aromatic molecules as model ene–dithiolene ligands were used to react with pre-designed molybdenum complexes in organic solvents. Whereas in the alternative approach mnt (maleonitrile dithiolate) is used to mimic the ligand backbone of the central atom in the active sites of these enzymes using molybdate or tungstate as the metal source in water. Structural–functional models are known for some selected enzymes, namely, sulfite oxidase, aldehyde ferredoxin oxidoreductase, tungsten formate dehydrogenase, acetylene hydratase, polysulfide reductase and dissimilatory nitrate reductase. The protocols and methodologies adopted to achieve these model systems compared with various other model systems described in this review give testimony to chemist's ability, through chemical manipulations, to achieve the model systems which may potentially serve as structural–functional mimics of natural enzyme systems.     

Slow Reactant–Water Exchange and High Catalytic Performance of Water‐Tolerant Lewis Acids

³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic measurement with trimethylphosphine oxide (TMPO) was applied to evaluate the Lewis acid catalysis of various metal triflates in water. The original ³¹P NMR chemical shift and line width of TMPO is changed by the direct interaction of TMPO molecules with the Lewis acid sites of metal triflates. [Sc(OTf)₃] and [In(OTf)₃] had larger changes in ³¹P chemical shift and line width by formation of the Lewis acid–TMPO complex than other metal triflates. It originates from the strong interaction between the Lewis acid and TMPO, which results in higher stability of [Sc(OTf)₃TMPO] and [In(OTf)₃TMPO] complexes than other metal triflate–TMPO complexes. The catalytic activities of [Sc(OTf)₃] and [In(OTf)₃] for Lewis acid‐catalyzed reactions with carbonyl compounds in water were far superior to the other metal triflates, which indicates that the high stability of metal triflate–carbonyl compound complexes cause high catalytic performance for these reactions. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation suggests that low LUMO levels of [Sc(OTf)₃] and [In(OTf)₃] would be responsible for the formation of stable coordination intermediate with nucleophilic reactant in water.     

Octahedral Chiral‐at‐Metal Iridium Catalysts: Versatile Chiral Lewis Acids for Asymmetric Conjugate Additions

Octahedral iridium(III) complexes containing two bidentate cyclometalating 5‐tert‐butyl‐2‐phenylbenzoxazole ( IrO ) or 5‐tert‐butyl‐2‐phenylbenzothiazole ( IrS ) ligands in addition to two labile acetonitrile ligands are demonstrated to constitute a highly versatile class of asymmetric Lewis acid catalysts. These complexes feature the metal center as the exclusive source of chirality and serve as effective asymmetric catalysts (0.5–5.0 mol % catalyst loading) for a variety of reactions with α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds, namely Friedel–Crafts alkylations (94–99 % ee), Michael additions with CH‐acidic compounds (81–97 % ee), and a variety of cycloadditions (92–99 % ee with high d.r.). Mechanistic investigations and crystal structures of an iridium‐coordinated substrates and iridium‐coordinated products are consistent with a mechanistic picture in which the α,β‐unsaturated carbonyl compounds are activated by two‐point binding (bidentate coordination) to the chiral Lewis acid.     

Superelectrophilicity of 1,2‐Azaborine: Formation of Xenon and Carbon Monoxide Adducts

The BN analogue of ortho‐benzyne, 1,2‐azaborine, is shown to bind carbon monoxide and a xenon atom under matrix isolation conditions, demonstrating its strongly Lewis acidic superelectrophilic nature. The Lewis acid–base complexes involving CO and Xe can be cleaved photochemically and reformed by mildly annealing the matrices. The interaction energy of 1,2‐azaborine with Xe is 3 kcal mol^?1 according to quantum chemical computations, and is similar to that of the superelectrophilic carbene difluorovinylidene.     

Hydroxamic Acids and Their Metal Complexes Obtained in situ as Electrode-Active Components in the Membranes of Ion-Selective Electrodes

Metal complexes with a hydroxamic acid, namely, N-phenyl-N-(3-styrylacryloyl)hydroxylamine (PSAHA), are promising reagents for use in the preparation of cation- and anion-selective electrodes. The in situ formation of metal complexes by membrane conditioning in a solution of an appropriate metal salt made it possible to prepare cation-selective electrodes for methyl ester of phenylalanine (UO²⁺ ₂) and anion-selective electrodes for tryptophan, phenylalanine (Sn(IV)), and aspartic acid (Cu(II)). The PSAHA-based membrane is sensitive to nitrate ions in solutions of uranyl nitrate (the metal complex is formed in the membrane even without special conditioning).