Raman Spectroscopy and Ab-Initio Model Calculations on Ionic Liquids

A review of the recent developments in the study and understanding of room temperature ionic liquids are given. An intimate picture of how and why these liquids are not crystals at ambient conditions is attempted, based on evidence from crystallographical results combined with vibrational spectroscopy and ab-initio molecular orbital calculations. A discussion is given, based mainly on some recent FT-Raman spectroscopic results on the model ionic liquid system of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium ([C₄ mim][X]) salts. The rotational isomerism of the [C₄ mim]⁺ cation is described: the presence of anti and gauche conformers that has been elucidated in remarkable papers by Hamaguchi et al. Such presence of a conformational equilibrium seems to be a general feature of the room temperature liquids. Then the “localized structure features” that apparently exist in ionic liquids are described. It is hoped that the structural resolving power of Raman spectroscopy will be appreciated by the reader. It is of remarkable use on crystals of known different conformations and on the corresponding liquids, especially in combination with modern quantum mechanics calculations. It is hoped that these interdisciplinary methods will be applied to many more systems in the future. A few examples will be discussed.     

Ionic Liquid Promoted One-Pot Synthesis of Furo[2,3-<Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>]pyrimidine-2,4(1<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>,3<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>)-diones

Summary. The three-component condensation of aldehyde, N,N′-dimethylbarbituric acid and alkyl or aryl isocyanide afforded the corresponding furo[2,3-d]pyrimidine-2,4(1H,3H)-diones in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide as an ionic liquid in high yields at room temperature within several minutes.     

Heat capacity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">D</Emphasis>- and <Emphasis Type="Italic">DL</Emphasis>-serine in a temperature range of 5.5 to 300 K

Heat capacity of D- and DL-serine was measured using adiabatic calorimetry in a temperature range of 5.5 to 300 K, and then thermodynamic functions were calculated. The difference in heat capacity (C _PD-C _PDL) between two species indicates a small anomaly in D-serine near 15 K and a systematic excess over DL for temperatures > 30 K. This is much larger, than a difference in thermodynamic functions measured so far for the polymorphs of organic molecular crystals. The excess is fitted well to Einstein contribution with characteristic temperature of 185 K which is equivalent to vibrational mode at 129 cm⁻¹.     

Efficient <Emphasis Type="Italic">Baylis-Hillman</Emphasis> Reaction <Emphasis Type="Italic">via</Emphasis> a 1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane-based Ionic Catalyst

Summary. A novel ionic catalyst, 1-butyl-4-aza-1-azoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane chloride based on 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane was synthesized and applied in the Baylis-Hillman reaction, which occurred readily at room temperature to afford the corresponding adducts in good yield. The ionic catalyst could be recycled for seven runs without diminution in its catalytic activity.     

UV/Vis Spectroscopic Properties of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-(2′-Hydroxy-4′-<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-dimethyl-aminobenzylidene)-4-nitroaniline in Various Solvents and Solid Environments

Summary.  N-(2′-Hydroxy-4′-N,N-dimethylaminobenzylidene)-4-nitroaniline [HDBN] has been used as a model for investigating intra- and intermolecular D–A (donor–acceptor) interactions in various environments by means of UV/Vis spectroscopy. UV/Vis spectra of HDBN have been measured in various solvents, ethanolic solutions of different pH, adsorbed on silica, and in the solid state. A bathochromic shift of ν_max is observed with increasing the dipolarity/polarizability and HBD (hydrogen bond donor) capacity of the solvent, which is described by means of a multiple LSE (linear solvation energy) relationship in terms of the empirical Kamlet-Taft solvent polarity parameters. The adsorption of HDBN on Aerosil^? 300-silica particles in non-HBA (hydrogen bond acceptor) solvents is explained in the same sense. Mobile protons and sol–gel entrapping cause a hypsochromic shift due to protonation of the lone electron pair of the 4′-N,N-dimethylamino group. Hydroxide ions attack the 2′-hydroxy group which causes a bathochromic shift. A strong intramolecular hydrogen bond between the 2′-hydroxyl hydrogen and the imine nitrogen atom is present in the solid-state structure causing an unprecedented bathochromic shift. Corresponding author. E-mail: stefan.spange@chemie.tu-chemnitz.de Received July 8, 2002; accepted (revised) September 30, 2002     

Reaction sites of <Emphasis Type="Italic">N,N′</Emphasis>-substituted <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-phenylenediamine antioxidants

The geometries of N,N′-diphenylbenzene-1,4-diamine (DPPD), N-phenyl-N′-(1-phenylethyl)benzene-1,4-diamine (SPPD), N-(4-methylpentan-2-yl)-N′-phenylbenzene-1,4-diamine (6PPD), N-propan-2-yl-N′-phenylbenzene-1,4-diamine (IPPD), N-(2-methoxybenzyl)-N′-phenylbenzene-1,4-diamine (MBPPD), and N-phenyl-N′-(2-phenylpropan-2-yl)benzene-1,4-diamine (CPPD) as well as of their dehydrogenation products were optimized by the semiempirical AM1 method. The results support the idea of stable N_B=C_X structures formation during the consecutive dehydrogenation of SPPD, 6PPD, IPPD, and MBPPD antioxidants. The biradicals formed during the second step of dehydrogenation of substituted phenylenediamines might be important for their antioxidant effectiveness. Dedicated to Professor Vladimír Kvasnička, DrSc., in honour of his 65th birthday     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Brønsted</Emphasis> Acids in Ionic Liquids: Fundamentals,Organic Reactions,and Comparisons

Summary. A background for studying acids in various solvents is developed, emphasizing the importance of knowing to what extent a solvent conducts electricity and is therefore ionized, the dissociation equilibria of common molecular solvents and the acidic and basic species generated by solvent leveling. Acidity measurements in the atypical solvent water are discussed and the common method of expressing acidity in other systems – by Hammett values – is introduced. Representative examples of reactions involving Br?nsted acids in ionic liquids are presented and attention paid to the questions of speciation and acidity values. It is found that the gas phase proton affinity of a base is often a better guide to the acidity of its conjugate acid in an ionic liquid than is the dissociation constant of the said acid in water.     

Host–Guest Complexation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-, <Emphasis Type="Italic">γ</Emphasis>-Cyclodextrin with Alkyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromides in Aqueous Solution

As a continuation of our previous investigation, interactions between cyclodextrin (β-CD), γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) and alkyl trimethylammonium bromides in aqueous solutions have been studied with titration calorimetry and ¹H NMR at 298.15 K. The results are discussed in terms of the amphiphilic interaction of CD with surfactants and the iceberg structure formed by water molecules existing around the hydrophobic tail of surfactant molecules. The stoichiometry of the β-CD–surfactant system is 1:1 whereas that of the γ-CD–surfactant system is 1:2. The corresponding formation enthalpy (negative) of the complexes of the two systems decreases with an increase in the number of carbon atoms (n) in hydrophobic chain of surfactant molecule, C _n H_2n+1, whereas the entropy increases with the enlargement of n.     

Synthesis and X-ray diffraction of Cd<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Hg<Subscript>1 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> Te solid solutions

The Cd _x Hg_{1 − x} Te solid solutions were synthesized by combining two methods: immersion of CdTe single crystals in liquid mercury and thermal homogenization in mercury vapors. The samples obtained were studied by X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence analyses. Nonstoichiometric cadmium microinclusions were shown to present in the initial CdTe single crystals and the solid solutions synthesized. The samples annealed in mercury vapors have smaller unit cell volumes than unannealed samples.     

Contribution to the Protonation of a Calix[4]arene: DFT Calculated Structure of Protonated <Emphasis Type="Italic">p-tert</Emphasis>-Butylcalix[4]arenetetrakis(<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>,<Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-diethylacetamide)

Summary. By using DFT calculations, the most probable structure of the p-tert-butylcalix[4]arenetetrakis(N,N-diethylacetamide) · H₃O⁺ complex species was derived. In this complex, the hydroxonium ion H₃O⁺ is predominantly bound by strong hydrogen bonds to three phenoxy oxygens of the ligand and partly to the remaining phenoxy oxygen atom by two somewhat weaker hydrogen bonds. Besides, the H₃O⁺ cation is also bound to two carbonyl oxygens of the mentioned ligand by further two weaker hydrogen bonds.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ab initio</Emphasis> Study of Structural and Conformational Properties of Five- to Nine-Membered Cyclic 1,2,3-Trienes

Summary.  The structures and relative energies of fundamental conformations of cyclopenta-1,2,3-triene, cyclohexa-1,2,3-triene, cylohepta-1,2,3-triene, cycloocta-1,2,3-triene, and cyclonona-1,2,3-triene were calculated by the HF/6-31G^* and MP2/6-31G^*//HF/6-31G^* methods. Only a C _2v symmetric planar conformation is available to cyclopenta-1,2,3-triene and cyclohexa-1,2,3-triene. The calculated energy barrier for ring inversion of the C _S symmetric puckerd conformation of cyclohepta-1,2,3-triene via the planar geometry is 62.2 kJ·mol⁻¹. The C ₂ symmetric twist conformation of cycloocta-1,2,3-triene was calculated to be the most stable one. Conformational racemization of the twist form takes place via the C _S symmetric half-chair geometry, which is by 60.8 kJ·mol⁻¹ less stable than the twist conformer. The C _S symmetric chair and unsymmetrical twist-boat conformations of cyclonona-1,2,3-triene were calculated to have similar energies; their interconversion takes place via an unsymmetrical low-energy (18.4 kJ·mol⁻¹) transition state. The twist (C ₂) and boat (C _S) geometries of cyclonona-1,2,3-triene are higher in energy by 13.2 and 33.9 kJ·mol⁻¹, respectively. Ring inversion in chair and twist-boat conformations takes place via a twist form as intermediate and requires 33.6 kJ·mol⁻¹. Corresponding author. E-mail: isayavar@yahoo.com Received March 25, 2002; accepted April 4, 2002     

One-step Synthesis of 3,4-Dihydrobenzimidazo[2,1-<Emphasis Type="Italic">b</Emphasis>]quinazolin-1(2<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>)-ones in an Ionic Liquid

Summary.  A novel class of 3,4-dihydrobenzimidazo[2,1-b]quinazolin-1(2H)-ones was synthesized in very short reaction times with good yields in the presence of 3-butyl-1-methyl imidazolium bromide as a room temperature ionic liquid at 120°C. The ionic liquid can be recycled for subsequent reactions without any loss of efficiency.     

Structure of the O-polysaccharide of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erwinia carotovora</Emphasis> ssp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">atroseptica</Emphasis> GSPB 9205 containing a new higher branched monosaccharide

An O-polysaccharide was prepared by mild acid hydrolysis of a lipopolysaccharide of Erwinia carotovora ssp. atroseptica GSPB 9205 and was found to contain a new higher branched monosaccharide, viz., 3,6,8-trideoxy-4-C-(R-1-hydroxyethyl)-D-gulo-octose, which we called erwiniose. The structure of the pentasaccharide repeating unit of the O-polysaccharide was established by monosaccharide analysis, including the determination of absolute configurations, methylation analysis, O-deacetylation, Smith degradation, and one- and two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The configuration of erwiniose was determined based on the coupling constants of vicinal protons combined with the nuclear Overhauser effect data and the results of periodate oxidation of the polysaccharide followed by reduction of the resultant 4-keto sugar (the C(1)-C(4)-C(1′)-C(2′) fragment) to give 3,6-dideoxy-D-ribo-hexose(paratose) and oxidation of 3-hydroxybutyraldehyde (the C(5)-C(8) fragment) to give R-3-hydroxybutyric acid. Dedicated to Academician N. K. Kochetkov on the occasion of his 90th birthday. __________ Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 1239–1244, May, 2005.     

Mechanism of OH radical-induced oxidation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-cresol to <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-methylphenoxyl radical

The OH radical-induced oxidation of p-cresol to p-methylphenoxyl radical was studied in aqueous solution in a wide pH range by means of pulse radiolysis combined with optical spectroscopy. OH-adduct cyclohexadienyl type radicals were identified as intermediates of the reaction. In the acidic pH range the first-order rate coefficient of phenoxyl radical formation was found linearly dependent on the H₃O⁺ concentration yielding a bimolecular rate coefficient of 1.8 × 10⁸ mol^–1 dm³ s^–1. In the alkaline range a linear dependence was found on the OH^– concentration with rate coefficient of 4.9 × 10¹⁰ mol^–1 dm³ s^–1. These findings were interpreted in terms of acid-base catalysis of the H₂O elimination from the OH-adduct. With the time resolution applied, 30 ns, the radical cation p-CH₃C₆H₄OH^+. was not observed as intermediate.     

Rare Earth-Rich Indides <Emphasis Type="Italic">RE</Emphasis><Subscript>5</Subscript>Pt<Subscript>2</Subscript>In<Subscript>4</Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">RE</Emphasis> = Sc,Y, La–Nd,Sm, Gd–Tm,Lu)

Summary. The isotypic indides RE ₅Pt₂In₄ (RE = Sc, Y, La–Nd, Sm, Gd–Tm, Lu) were synthesized by arc-melting of the elements and subsequent annealing. They were investigated via X-ray powder diffraction. Small single crystals of Gd₅Pt₂In₄ were grown via slow cooling and the structure was refined from X-ray single crystal diffractometer data: Pbam, a = 1819.2(9), b = 803.2(3), c = 367.6(2) pm, wR ² = 0.089, 893 F ² values and 36 parameters. The structure is an intergrowth variant of distorted trigonal and square prismatic slabs of compositions GdPt and GdIn. Together the platinum and indium atoms build up one-dimensional [Pt₂In₄] networks (292–333 pm Pt–In and 328–368 pm In–In) in an AA stacking sequence along the c axis. The gadolinium atoms fill distorted square and pentagonal prismatic cages between these networks with strong bonding to the platinum atoms.     

Lamiaceae carbohydrates. II. Water-soluble polysaccharides from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Mentha x piperita</Emphasis>

The composition of water-soluble carbohydrates from the aerial part of Mentha x piperita variety Krasnodar 2 was studied. Fructose, glucose, saccharose, and raffinose were observed in the free carbohydrates. Water-soluble polysaccharides were represented by α-(1→4)-glucans branched at C-6 (MPW_C1, MPW_C4, MPW_H1) and β-(1→4)-galactans (MPW_C2, MPW_C3, MPW_C5, MPW_H2, MPW_H3). The isolated compounds were found to have membrane-stabilizing and antiatherogenic activities. __________ Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 537–539, November–December, 2007.     

Study on Inclusion Complex Formation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis>-Aminobenzoic Acid with Native and Substituted <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-Cyclodextrins

The complex formation of native and substituted β-cyclodextrins with m-aminobenzoic acid in water was characterized by calorimetry, ¹H NMR and UV spectroscopic studies. These studies showed that β-, hydroxypropyl-β- and methyl-β-cyclodextrins form 1:1 inclusion complexes with m-aminobenzoic acid. The thermodynamic properties of complex formation (K,Δ_c G ^o,Δ_c H ^o,Δ_c S ^o) were calculated. It was found that the processes of complexation are mainly favorable entropically. Introduction of hydroxypropyl- and methyl-substituents into the β-CD molecule results in negligible enhancement of stability of the complexes formed. The structure of these substituents has no influence on the stability constant values. The insertion of the carboxylic group of m-aminobenzoic acid into the cyclodextrin cavity was confirmed by ¹H NMR data.     

Glucomannans of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Serissa serissoides</Emphasis> stem

One β-D-glucomannan was isolated from Serissa serissoides (DC.) Druce. The average molecular weight of the polysaccharide was established to be 2.9 × 10³ Da. The structure of the polysaccharide from S. serissoides (SSP) was investigated by using sugar and methylation analysis, infrared spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and NMR spectroscopy. The experiments revealed that SSP consisted of β-D-Glcp and β-D-Manp units in the ratio of approximately 1.1:1 with β-D-(1→4)-Glcp and β-D-(1→2) Manp linkages.     

Protonated Tetramethyl <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">tert</Emphasis>-Butylcalix[4]arene Tetraketone: NMR Evidence and Probable Structures

Summary. Both NMR spectra in nitrobenzene-d ₅ and high-precision quantum mechanical DFT calculations proved that tetramethyl p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene tetraketone binds hydroxonium cation H₃O⁺ quite strongly to form an equimolar complex. Three different structures of the resulting complex species were indicated by the NMR spectra and the DFT calculations.     

Theoretical Study of the Structures,Properties and Spectroscopies on Fullerene Hydrides C<Subscript>26</Subscript>H<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Subscript> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis> = 2, 4, 6, 8)

The structures, stability patterns of C₂₆H _n (n = 2) formed from the initial D _3h C₂₆ fullerene were investigated by use of second-order-Moller–Plesset perturbation theory. The study of the stability patterns of hydrogenation reaction on C₂₆ cage revealed that type (β) carbons were the active site and the analyses of π-orbital axis vector indicated that the reactivity of C₂₆ was the result of the high strain and the hydrogenation reaction on C₂₆ cage was highly exothermic. The calculated ¹³C NMR spectra of C₂₆H _n (n = 2) predicted that the two sp ³ hybridization carbons in C₂₆H _n (n = 2) obviously moved to high field compare with that in D _3h C₂₆. Hence, the C₂₆H₂ should be obtained and detected experimentally. Similarly, the structures and reaction energies of C₂₆H _n (n = 4, 6, 8) were further studied at HF/6-31G*, B3LPY/6-31G* and MP2/6-31G* level. The results suggested the hydrogenation products of C₂₆, C₂₆H _n (n = 4, 6, 8), were more stable than the C₂₆ cage.