Modulating the propeller-like shape of a tripodal C(CH2PPh2)3 fragment by the size of the substituent at the pivotal carbon atom in macrobicyclic tri-λ-phosphazenes

The chiral macrobicyclic tri-λ⁵-phosphazenes formed by tripod-tripod coupling of tris(3-azidobenzyl)amines and 1,1,1-tris[(diphenylphosphino)methyl]methanes present helical topologies as a result of combining two propeller-shaped tripodal fragments with the same sense of twist. The introduction of a series of R_piv substituents of increasing size at the pivotal carbon of the lower tert-butane fragment R_piv-C(CH₂PPh₂)₃ causes a gradual decrease of the helicity in the lower propeller. This phenomenon is revealed in their CDCl₃ solution NMR spectra, and the activation energies for the racemization process of the tri-λ⁵-phosphazenes were calculated by coalescence VT-NMR experiments.     

Macrobicyclic triphosphazides and tri-λ-phosphazenes derived from PhC(CH2PPh2)3. Two propeller-shaped diastereoisomers in the crystals

New macrobicyclic cage-compounds composed of two tripodal, propeller-shaped fragments linked by phosphazide and phosphazene units have been synthesized by reaction of PhC(CH₂PPh₂)₃ with tris(m-azidobenzyl)amines. Two diastereoisomers of one of these cages have been characterized in the solid state by X-ray crystallography, one presenting two propellers with the same sense of twist P^∗,P^∗ whereas in the second one the helical sense of both propellers is the opposite, P^∗,M^∗. In contrast, only one species is apparent in CDCl₃ solution.     

Center-to-propeller and propeller-to-propeller stereocontrol in a series of macrobicyclic tri-λ-phosphazenes

Center-to-propeller stereocontrol in a family of macrobicyclic, double-propeller shaped tri-λ⁵-triphosphazenes remains constant in the upper tribenzylamine fragment as the size of the pivotal group at the lower tris(phosphane) fragment is gradually increased. In contrast the propeller-to-propeller stereocontrol diminishes as a result of the increasing conformational lability in the lower hemisphere.     

New conformational flexible phosphane and phosphane oxide macrobicycles

The synthesis of two large diastereomeric phosphane oxide macrobicycles 3 and 4 succeeded in comparatively good yield by a tripod-coupling strategy using the tripodal components 1 and 2 as building blocks. ¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P NMR spectra of the two cage compounds are in accordance with a time-averaged D_3h symmetry each, which in the case of 3 can be attributed to a fast interconversion of two degenerate in,out-structures. Kinetic measurements of the reduction of both diastereomeric macrobicycles, and the results of an inversion experiment also support the assumption that the phosphane and phosphane oxide cage molecules described herein are conformational flexible and undergo fast homeomorphic isomerisation. The bisiminophosphorane derivative 8 was prepared and assigned as an out,out-isomer. An alternative tripod-capping reaction between bisphenol 10 and capping reagent 2 did not result in the formation of macrobicyclic products. Instead, three complex structures 11, 12 and 13 with macrocyclic sub-units could be isolated.     

Borane-induced radical reduction of 1-alkenyl- and 1-alkynyl-λ-iodanes with tetrahydrofuran

Exposure of 1-alkenyl(phenyl)- and 1-alkynyl(phenyl)-λ³-iodanes to THF at room temperature in the presence of a catalytic amount of trialkylborane results in smooth reduction to give 1-iodo-1-alkenes and 1-iodo-1-alkynes as major products, respectively. The key step in the reductions probably involves a single-electron transfer from α-tetrahydrofuryl radical to the λ³-iodanes, which generates the labile [9-I-2] iodanyl radicals.     

Crystal and molecular structure of polyunsaturated macrobicyclic carbosilane C24H38Si6

The crystal and molecular structure of the polyunsaturated macrocyclic carbosilane 1,4,4,7,7,10,13, 13,16,16-decamethyl-1,4,7,10,13,16-hexasilabicyclo-[8.8.2]-eucosa-5,14-diene-2,8,11,17-tetrain containing SiC(sp), SiC(sp ²), and SiC(sp ₃) endocyclic bonds was studied by XRD. The two strained 12-membered rings of this molecule have different (trans-zigzag and staggered) conformations. The lengths of the endocyclic bonds SiC(sp) are 1.821–1.852 Å, SiC(sp ²) 1.855–1.874 Å, and SiC(sp ³) 1.847–1.853 Å. The structure of the rings was solved by direct methods and refined by the full-matrix least-squares method. Calculations were carried out with SHELXTL PLUS 5.1 software.     

Cubanes: Starting Materials for the Chemistry of the 1990s and the New Century

The study of non-natural products has led to a broad understanding of bonding and reactivity in organic chemistry. Many times, compounds thought impossible have been realized in the course of such studies. Cubane, a landmark in the world of “impossible” compounds, has been found to have a rich chemistry, full of the unexpected. The recent renaissance of cubane chemistry, triggered by potential applications of the system to the production of high-energy fuels and the like, has led to many discoveries including the first methods for systematic substitution on strained, saturated systems and a new process for the metalation of arenes, ortho magnesiation. Reactive intermediates with exceptional bonding parameters have been uncovered and characterized including 1(9)-homocubene, the most twisted olefin; cubene, the most pyramidalized olefin; cubyl cation, once the “least likely” cation; cubylmethyl radical, a saturated radical that rearranges on the picosecond timescale; and many other extraordinary species. There is certainly good reason to believe that future work in the cubane arena will be at least as productive (probably more so), and that it will help develop a deeper understanding of chemistry.     

New organogermanium cations [RGe(OCH2CH2NME2)2]+ with intramolecular N→Ge coordination bonds

New organohalogermanes RGe(OCH₂CH₂NMe₂)₂X (R = Ph, X = I (5); R = Me, X = Cl (6) or I (7)) with an intramolecular N→Ge coordination bond were synthesized. According to the ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopic data, iodides 5 and 7 exist in solution as ionic compounds with the pentacoordinated germanium atom. In solution of compound 4 (R = Ph, X = Cl), there is an equilibrium between the ionic and covalent forms. The equilibrium shifts toward the ionic form with increasing solvent polarity or temperature. In solution, chloride 6 is a covalent compound. The structures and relative stabilities of different isomers of compounds 4–7 were studied by quantum chemical calculations at the density functional level of theory. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 5, pp. 892–900, May, 2007.     

Efficient synthesis of carbonyl compounds: oxidation of azides and alcohols catalyzed by vanadium pentoxide in water using tert-butylhydroperoxide

Catalytic amount of vanadium reagent with tert-butylhydroperoxide as the oxidant was found to be an excellent oxidizing agent in aqueous medium. Vanadium pentoxide with aq tert-butylhydroperoxide readily oxidizes primary benzylic azides to the corresponding acids and secondary benzylic azides to the corresponding ketones in excellent yields. Further, vanadium pentoxide and aq tert-butylhydroperoxide combination turned out to be an effective catalyst for the oxidation of alcohols. Using vanadium pentoxide and aq tert-butylhydroperoxide primary alcohols were oxidized to the corresponding acids, whereas secondary alcohols underwent a smooth transformation to furnish corresponding ketones in excellent yields. All the oxidations are performed in water.     

Solid-state Al and Si NMR characterization of hydrates formed in calcium aluminate-silica fume mixtures

Partially deuterated Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)_y(OH)_12−4y-Al(OH)₃ mixtures, prepared by hydration of Ca₃Al₂O₆ (C₃A), Ca₁₂Al₁₄O₃₃ (C₁₂A₇) and CaAl₂O₄ (CA) phases in the presence of silica fume, have been characterized by ²⁹Si and ²⁷Al magic-angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) spectroscopies. NMR spectroscopy was used to characterize anhydrous and fully hydrated samples. In hydrated compounds, Ca₃Al₂(OH)₁₂ and Al(OH)₃ phases were detected. From the quantitative analysis of ²⁷Al NMR signals, the Al(OH)₃/Ca₃Al₂(OH)₁₂ ratio was deduced. The incorporation of Si into the katoite structure, Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)_3−x(OH)_4x, was followed by ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopies. Si/OH ratios were determined from the quantitative analysis of ²⁷Al MAS-NMR components associated with Al(OH)₆ and Al(OSi)(OH)₅ environments. The ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopy was also used to quantify the unreacted silica and amorphous calcium aluminosilicate hydrates formed, C-S-H and C-A-S-H for short. From ²⁹Si NMR spectra, the amount of Si incorporated into different phases was estimated. Si and Al concentrations, deduced by NMR, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectrometry, and Rietveld analysis of both X-ray and neutron data, indicate that only a part of available Si is incorporated in katoite structures.     

Synthesis, Metal Complexation and Spectroscopic Characterization of Three New Azo Compounds

The synthesis of azo compounds [4-(N'-2-thiazol-2-ylsulfanyl)-4'-hydroxyazo benzene (1), 4-(N'-2-thiazol-2-ylsulfanyl)-2'-hydroxy-5-tert-butylazobenzene (2), 7-[4-(N'-2-thiazol-2-ylsulfanyl)phenylazo-8-hydroxy quinoline (3)] have been carried out by reacting phenol, 4-tert-butyl phenol and 8-hydroxy quinoline with N'-2-thiazol-2-ylsulfanylamide as coupling component. The resulting ligands (2 and 3) were treated with two transition metal salts (e.g., CuCl₂2H₂O andNiCl₂6H₂O). Cu(II) and Ni(II) complexes of the azo derivative ofphenol were obtained and characterised by IR, UV-Vis, ¹H NMR, spectroscopic and elemental analysis techniques. All the complexes have a metal : ligand ratio of 1 : 2 and are square-planar.     

New approach to λ-phosphinines

A novel approach to λ⁵-phosphinines has been discovered. Phosphonium salts bearing an alkyl group and the residue of β-dialkylaminocrotonic acid react with DMADMF affording λ⁵-phosphinines. A plausible mechanism of the reaction is offered.     

New approach to stereochemical structure determination of bis-selenium-subsituted alkenes

A new approach to determination of the stereochemical structure of bis-selenium-substituted alkenes using experimental ⁷⁷Se NMR studies and B3LYP/6-311G(d) quantum-chemical calculations is developed. Joint analysis of experimental and calculated data allows assignment of signals in the ⁷⁷Se NMR spectrum. The method was evaluated taking the model compounds (PhSe)HC=C(SePh)R (R = COOMe, CH₂NMe₂, CH₂OH, Ph) as examples.     

λ-Iodane-mediated arenol dearomatization. Synthesis of five-membered ring-containing analogues of the aquayamycin ABC tricyclic unit and novel access to the apoptosis inducer menadione

The λ³-iodane [bis(trifluoroacetoxy)]iodobenzene (BTI)-mediated oxidative dearomatization of 2-alkoxyarenols with soft external carbon-based nucleophiles constitutes a rapid access to highly functionalized naphthoid cyclohexa-2,4-dienones. These synthons can serve as valuable intermediates in the construction of the angularly-oxygenated benz[a]naphthalene ABC ring system of aquayamycin- and SS-228Y-type antibiotic angucyclinones, and analogues thereof. This methodology led to the elaboration of five-membered A ring-containing analogues of this ABC tricyclic unit. In addition, the BTI-mediated oxidative activation of 2-methylnaphthol can be exploited to prepare menadione (i.e. vitamin K₃), known to induce apoptosis and autoschizis, a novel type of cancer cell death.     

Electron-donating ability of triarylphosphines and related compounds studied by 31P NMR spectroscopy

The influence of aryl, heterocyclic, amide, alkyl, alkoxyl, thioalkoxyl, and ferrocenyl substituents at the phosphorus atom on its electron-donating ability was studied by the measurement of direct ³¹P—⁷⁷Se spin-spin coupling constants for the corresponding selenides. Series of diphenylorganylphosphines and their selenides were studied.     

New unsymmetrical difluoroaromatic compounds and estimation of their reactivities in nucleophilic substitution

A series of previously unknown unsymmetrical difluoroaromatic compounds, viz., p-fluorobenzoylphenyl(p-fluorophenyl)-substituted imidazoles, pyrazines, and quinoxalines, were synthesized according to multistep procedures with the use of chloral as the key compound. The reactivities of the resulting difluoroaromatic compounds were estimated based on ¹⁹F and ¹³C NMR spectral data and the results of quantum-chemical calculations. The calculated charge densities on the C_ipso atoms correlate linearly with the experimental chemical shifts in the ¹⁹F and ¹³C NMR spectra. Difluoroaromatic compounds, which are characterized by _F > –110 and _C > 163 and by the charge density on the C_ipso atom higher than 0.08 e, are sufficiently activated to be used for the preparation of high-molecular-weight polyethers.     

New synthesis of mullite. Structural evolution study by 17O, 27Al and 29Si MAS NMR spectroscopy

Mullite has been prepared from a new combination of precursors. An aluminum alkoxide, aluminium isopropoxide, and silicon tetrachloride, are hydrolysed in tetrahydrofuran solution by ¹⁷O enriched water. The resulting powder is chemically homogeneous, crystallizing into mullite at 980°C. The structural evolution has been studied by DTA, TGA, XRD and ¹⁷O, ²⁷Al and ²⁹Si MAS NMR spectroscopy.     

Template synthesis and structures of bis-ferrocenylboronate macrobicyclic iron(ii) tris-dioximates

A series of ferrocenylboron-capped tris-dioximate iron(ii) clathrochelates was synthesized by the template condensation of three molecules of dimethylglyoxime (H₂Dm), cyclohexanedione 1,2-dioxime (H₂Nx), or cyclooctanedione 1,2-dioxime (H₂Ox) and two molecules of ferrocenylboronic acid (FcB(OH)₂) on the Fe²⁺ ion matrix. The yields of the clathrochelate derivatives of alicyclic dioximes were substantially higher than that of their acyclic analog, because the molecules of alicyclic H₂Nx and H₂Ox α-dioximes have the s-cis-configuration suitable for complex formation, whereas the H₂Dm molecules in solution have the s-trans-configuration. The synthesized compounds were characterized using elemental analysis, IR and UV-Vis spectroscopies, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, ¹H and ¹³C{¹H} NMR and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopies, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The crystal of FeDm₃(BFc)₂·CHCl₃ contains two types of crystallographically nonequivalent clathrochelate molecules. The intermolecular contacts C-H?Cp formed by the ferrocenyl fragments and cyclooctane carbocycles and the interactions Cp-H?O were observed in the crystal of FeOx₃(BFc)₂. The structural lability of the cyclooctane substituents allows the FeOx₃(BFc)₂ molecules to arrange by the “bump-into-hollow” mode because of attractive H?H interactions between the ribbed substituents of the neighboring molecules. The geometry of the ferrocenylborate iron(ii) clathrochelates is intermediate between a trigonal prism and a trigonal antiprism.