Hard and soft acids and bases: atoms and atomic ions

The structural origin of hard-soft behavior in atomic acids and bases has been explored using a simple orbital model. The Pearson principle of hard and soft acids and bases has been taken to be the defining statement about hard-soft behavior and as a definition of chemical hardness. There are a number of conditions that are imposed on any candidate structure and associated property by the Pearson principle, which have been exploited. The Pearson principle itself has been used to generate a thermodynamically based scale of relative hardness and softness for acids and bases (operational chemical hardness), and a modified Slater model has been used to discern the electronic origin of hard-soft behavior. Whereas chemical hardness is a chemical property of an acid or base and the operational chemical hardness is an experimental measure of it, the absolute hardness is a physical property of an atom or molecule. A critical examination of chemical hardness, which has been based on a more rigorous application of the Pearson principle and the availability of quantitative measures of chemical hardness, suggests that the origin of hard-soft behavior for both acids and bases resides in the relaxation of the electrons not undergoing transfer during the acid-base interaction. Furthermore, the results suggest that the absolute hardness should not be taken as synonymous with chemical hardness but that the relationship is somewhat more complex. Finally, this work provides additional groundwork for a better understanding of chemical hardness that will inform the understanding of hardness in molecules.     

Total synthesis and biological evaluation of halipeptins A and D and analogues

The marine-derived halipeptins A (1a) and D (1d) and their analogues 3a, 3d and 4a, 4d were synthesized starting from building blocks 10, 13, 14a or 14d, 15, and 16. The first strategy for assembling the building blocks, involving a macrolactamization reaction to form the 16-membered ring hydroxy thioamide 52d as a precursor, furnished the epi-isoleucine analogue (4d) of halipeptin D, whereas a second approach involving thiazoline formation prior to macrolactamization led to a mixture of halipeptins A (1a) and D (1d) and their analogues 3a, 3d (epimers at the indicated site) and 4a, 4d (epimers at the indicated site). The same route starting with D-Ala resulted in the exclusive formation of the epimeric halipeptin D analogue 3d. The synthesized halipeptins, together with the previously constructed oxazoline analogues 5d and 6d, were subjected to biological evaluation revealing anti-inflammatory properties for 1a, 1d, and 6d while being noncytotoxic against human colon cancer cells (HCT-116).     

Tetradehydroadamantane-1,3,5,7-di- and tetracations and their helium and hydride inclusion complexes: spherical aromaticity and evidence for a bonding interaction between carbon and helium

The unusual stability of the experimentally known 1,3-dehydro-5,7-adamantyl dication was previously explained by four-center two-electron aromaticity with three-dimensional (tetrahedral) topology. Magnetic criteria (ACID and ring-current analysis) now demonstrate that there is also a very strong contribution from hyperconjugation with all six methylene bridges. The delocalized system of electrons thus includes all valence electrons, and the structure, therefore, should rather be described as a spherically aromatic 50-electron system. The corresponding Td-symmetric tetracation with 48 electrons is antiaromatic and not a minimum structure. With a He atom or a hydride ion at the center of the cage, the tetracation is predicted to form a kinetically stable complex. Magnetic criteria demonstrate that the antiaromaticity is greatly reduced, and a bond analysis hints at bonding interactions between He (and H-) and the carbon atoms of the adamantane cage.     

Combinatorial and noncommutative list-processing and associated graphs

Recently the authors have proposed a list-processing approach to the modeling of algebraic quantum field theory methods in quantum mechanics in which the noncommutative algebra of quantum-mechanical operators is emulated by lists. The processing produces reordered sequences of elements of a ring with a unit commutator and generates dynamic structures which, for some initial arrangements, correspond to partially ordered graphs characterized by recurrence relations and combinatorial identities. Likewise, in another list-processing application to physical problems, a simulation of Feynman diagrams hinged on predominantly combinatorial aspects and demanded explicit generation of certain combinatorial objects. This motivated an investigation into the combinatorial nature of noncommutative list-processing and of recursive algorithms for explicit construction of combinatorial lists, which we now present. The emphasis is also placed on the consideration of associated graphs and the graph-theoretic origin of the appearance of recurrence relations in the reordering theorems of the noncommutative algebra.     

Design and Synthesis of Cyclodextrin-Based Rotaxanes and Polyrotaxanes

Rotaxanes are compounds in which a ring is threaded by a chain having bulky terminal cap groups. In this article, we review the design, synthesis and characterization of rotaxanes and polyrotaxanes of cyclodextrins threaded by an alkyl chain or a poly(ethylene glycol) as well as the synthesis of a light-driven molecular shuttle based on a cyclodextrin-rotaxane.     

Melting and freezing characteristics and structural properties of supported and unsupported gold nanoclusters

Molecular dynamics simulations in conjunction with MEAM potential models have been used to study the melting and freezing behavior and structural properties of both supported and unsupported Au nanoclusters within a size range of 2 to 5 nm. In contrast to results from previous simulations regarding the melting of free Au nanoclusters, we observed a structural transformation from the initial FCC configuration to an icosahedral structure at elevated temperatures followed by a transition to a quasimolten state in the vicinity of the melting point. During the freezing of Au liquid clusters, the quasimolten state reappeared in the vicinity of the freezing point, playing the role of a transitional region between the liquid and solid phases. In essence, the melting and freezing processes involved the same structural changes which may suggest that the formation of icosahedral structures at high temperatures is intrinsic to the thermodynamics of the clusters, rather than reflecting a kinetic phenomenon. When Au nanoclusters were deposited on a silica surface, they transformed into icosahedral structures at high temperatures, slightly deformed due to stress arising from the Au-silica interface. Unlike free Au nanoclusters, an icosahedral solid-liquid coexistence state was found in the vicinity of the melting point, where the cluster consisted of coexisting solid and liquid fractions but retained an icosahedral shape at all times. These results demonstrated that the structural stability in the structures of small Au nanoclusters can be enhanced through interaction with the substrate. Supported Au nanoclusters demonstrated a structural transformation from decahedral to icosahedral motifs during Au island growth, in contrast to the predictions of the minimum-energy growth sequence: icosahedral structures appear first at very small cluster sizes, followed by decahedral structures, and finally FCC structures recovered at very large cluster sizes. The simulations also showed that island shapes are strongly influenced by the substrate, more specifically, the structural characteristic of a Au island is not only a function of size, but also depends on the contact area with the surface, which is controlled by the wetting of the cluster to the substrate.     

Electronic structures and reactivities of methyl-substituted thienothiazoles and thieno- and furopyridines

The electronic structures of a number of methyl-substituted heterocyclces containing a thiophene or furan ring condensed with a thiazole or pyridine ring and of their quaternary salts and methylene bases were calculated by the Pariser-Parr-Pople method. The features of the electronic structures of the investigated molecules were ascertained. It is shown that methyl-substituted thienothiazoles and thieno- and furopyridines and their quaternary salts are appreciably inferior to the corresponding benzothiazoles and quinoline derivatives used for the synthesis of polymethine dyes with respect to the reactivity of the methyl group.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 9, pp. 1202–1206, September, 1976.     

Copolymerization and interaction of acrylonitrile and indene

The donor–acceptor interaction of acrylonitrile (AN) with indene (In) has been investigated by means of ultraviolet spectroscopy and dielectric polarization measurements. The latter method yielded a value of 0.5 for the association constant of the charge-transfer-complex (CTC) and a 4.02 D for its dipole moment. The copolymerization of the two monomers was characterized by a tendency towards alternation when conducted in the bulk. This might be due to the participation of a weak CTC in the process of copolymerization. However, this tendency disappeared in polar solvents such as DMF.     

Order and composition of methyl-carboxyl and methyl-hydroxyl surface-chemical gradients

A detailed infrared and XPS characterization of surface-chemical gradients of dodecanethiol with 11-mercaptoundecanol or 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid self-assembled on gold, is reported. Gradients were prepared using a simple, two-step process previously reported from our laboratory, which involves a controlled immersion of a polycrystalline gold substrate in a dilute (5 microM) solution of one component and a subsequent back-filling with the other. FTIR measurements show that a single-component gradient of dodecanethiol is composed of disordered, liquidlike alkyl chain conformations. Such a gradient, when back-filled with a complementary thiol, having either a hydroxyl or carboxyl end-group, yields two-component gradients that show similar changes in wettability along their lengths. However, while gradients composed of methyl and hydroxyl end-groups show a well-ordered alkyl chain structure over their entire length, methyl-carboxyl gradients exhibit a greater conformational disordering toward the carboxyl-rich end.     

Supercomputing and supercomputers for science and engineering in general and for chemistry and biosciences in particular

We start by pointing out relationships between production of information, global simulation, and supercomputing, thus placing our research activities in today's society context. Then we detail the evolution in hardware and software for 1CAP, our experimental supercomputer, which we claim to be especially well suited for supercomputing in science and engineering. A preliminary discussion of 1CAP/3090 (our latest experimental effort) is included. Many examples from different disciplines are provided to verify our assertions. We “prove” our point by presenting an example of global supercomputing. Starting with 3 nuclei and 10 electrons, building up to a single water molecule, then to a few hundred, we learn, for example, about Raman, infrared, and neutron scattering; we then move up to a few hundred thousand molecules to analyze particle flow and obstructions; finally we experiment, but only preliminarily, with a few million particles to learn more on nonequilibrium dynamics as in the Rayleigh-Benard systems. In this way, quantum mechanics is overlapped with statistical mechanics and expanded into microdynamics. The entire paper is finally reanalyzed from a different perspective, presenting rather systematically, even if most briefly, our ideas on “modern” computational chemistry, where quantum mechanics is as much needed as fluid dynamics and graphics. In this section the main computational techniques are analyzed in terms of computer programs and their associated flow diagrams to solve the basic equations using parallel supercomputers.     

Electron and nuclear density matrices and the separation of electronic and nuclear motion

The so-called parametric dependency of the electronic wave function in the Born–Oppenheimer approximation is discussed. Considering a function beyond this approximation, a new set of equations is derived with parametric and nonparametric dependency. Nuclear and electron reduced density matrices are introduced in this derivation. They are used in a formulation of the problem of separation of nuclear and electronic motion.     

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Activity of New Pyridothienopyrimidines and Pyridothienotriazines

5‐Acetyl‐3‐amino‐4‐aryl‐6‐methylthieno[2,3‐b]pyridine‐2‐carboxamides ( 5a,b ) were reacted with triethyl orthoformate or nitrous acid to give the corresponding pyrimidinones 6a,b and triazinones 7a,b . The reaction of 5a,b with acetic anhydride was carried out and its products were identified as a mixture of 8‐acetyl‐9‐aryl‐2,7‐dimethylpyrido[3′,2′:4,5]thieno[3,2‐d]pyrimidine‐4(3H)‐one ( 9a,b ) and related 5‐acetyl‐4‐aryl‐3‐biacetylamino‐6‐methylthieno[2,3‐b]pyridine‐2‐carbonitrile ( 10a,b ). Reaction of 7a with some halocompounds afforded the N‐alkylated triazinones 8a‐c . Chlorination of 6a,b and 9a,b with phosphorus oxychloride produced 4‐chloropyrimidines 11a‐d which were used as precursors for the rest of the target heterocycles. Some of the prepared compounds were tested in vitro for their antimicrobial activities.     

Synthesis and Reactions of Enediynes and Enyne-Allenes

The thermal cycloaromatization reactions of (Z)-3-hexene-1,5-diynes (enediynes) and (Z)-1,2,4-heptatrien-6-ynes (enyne-allenes) provide easy entries to a variety of carbon biradicals. Several new synthetic routes to these highly unsaturated compounds were developed by using multifunctional reagents properly substituted with combinations of boron, silicon, and tin appendages. Condensation of γ-(trialkylsilyl)allenylboranes 1 and 2 with conjugated acetylenic and allenic aldehydes followed by the elimination step of the Peterson olefination reaction furnished enediynes and enyne-allenes with high geometric purity. Convenient procedures for the synthesis of enediynes and enyne-allenes were also developed by using alkenylboronic ester 28 and the trimethyltin-substituted alkenylboranes 34 for cross-coupling reactions. On heating, acyclic enyne-allene 22 underwent a sequence of intramolecular transformations through biradical intermediates to form 26 , providing a new example of a one-step 0 → ABCD ring construction of the tetracyclic-steroidal skeleton.     

Tricalixarenes and pentacalixarenes: synthesis and complexation studies

Tricalix[4]arene 4, tricalix[5]arene 14, and pentacalix[4]arene 10 have been synthesized from O-alkylcalixarene mono- and dialdehydes by a two-step conversion to the corresponding monoethynyl ketones or diethynyl ketones followed by aryne trimerization in refluxing DMF containing a dialkylamine. The tricalixarenes 4 and 14 were converted, in turn, to calixarenes 6 and 16, which carry OH groups on the lower rim and methylenes as the bridging moieties to the benzene ring. Complexation studies with the tricalix[5]arene 16 show that it forms (a) a 1:3 complex with N,N-dimethylethylenediamine in which each calixarene unit contains a molecule of the amine, (b) a 1:1 complex with tris(aminomethyl)amine in which each calixarene unit contains one of the three arms of the guest, and (c) a 1:1 complex with C60 in which the guest presumably resides in the cavity provided by the three calixarene units acting cooperatively.     

Synthesis of thienothiazocinoisoindolediones and thienothiazinoisoindolones from mercaptothiophenes and chloromethylphthalimide

2-Thienylthiomethylphthalimides 3a,b were synthesized by action of Chloromethylphthalimide on 2-or 3-mercaptothiophene. Reduction of 3a,b and Wittig reaction using carbethoxycarbonyltriphenyl-phosphorane gave the corresponding acetic acids 5a,b which cyclized under Friedel and Crafts conditions to lead the thienothiazocinoisoindolediones 6a,b. Thienothiazinoisoindolones 7a,b were obtained from hydroxyisoindolones derivatives 4a,b in acid conditions via an acyliminium ion.     

Gas-phase basicities of histidine and lysine and their selected di- and tripeptides

The gas-phase basicities (GB) of histidine, lysine, and di- and triglycyl peptides containing either one histidine or one lysine residue have been determined. In all, 12 compounds were examined in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer. The GBs of the biomolecules were evaluated by proton transfer reactions employing a range of reference compounds with varying gas-phase basicities. In addition, the GBs were determined by using the kinetic method of collision-induced dissociation on a proton-bound dimer containing the peptide and a reference compound. The GBs of histidine and lysine were both found to be 220.8 kcal/mol via proton transfer reactions. The kinetic method experiments, including dissociation of a proton-bound dimer containing both histidine and lysine, also suggest equivalent GBs for these amino acids. However, the small peptides containing lysine are generally more basic than the corresponding histidine-containing peptides. For the peptides, the data suggest that the protonation site is on the basic side chain functional group of the histidine or lysine residues. The GBs of the di- and tripeptides are dependent upon the location of the basic residue. For example, the GBs of the tripeptides glycylglycyl-l-lysine (GlyGlyLys) and l-lysylglycylglycine (LysGlyGly) were both determined to be 230.7 kcal/mol while a GB of kcal/mol was obtained for glycyl-l-lysylglycine (GlyLysGly). A similar GB trend is seen with the histidine-containing tripeptides. Generally, the GBs obtained by using the kinetic method are slightly higher than those obtained by deprotonation reactions; however, the trends in relative GB values are essentially the same with the two techniques.     

Pentacyclic and Hexacyclic Osmaarynes and Their Derivatives

Although osmabenzyne, osmanaphthalyne, osmaphenanthryne, and osmaanthracyne have been previously reported, the synthesis of polycyclic osmaarynes is still a challenge. Herein, we report the successful synthesis of the first pentacyclic osmaarynes (pyreno[b]osmabenzynes 1 a and 2 a ) and hexacyclic osmaaryne (peryleno[b]osmabenzyne 3 a ). Nucleophilic reaction of osmaarynes was used to obtain the corresponding pyreno[b]osmium complexes ( 1 and 2 ) and peryleno[b] osmium complex ( 3 ), which exhibited near-infrared luminescence and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties. Complexes 2 and 3 are resistant to photodegradation, and complex 2 has better photothermal conversion properties than 3 .     

Synthesis and properties of benzophenone-spiropyran and naphthalene-spiropyran conjugates

We have designed and synthesized four compounds integrating luminescent and photochromic components in their molecular skeletons. Two of them combine a nitrospiropyran photochrome with either one or two naphthalene fluorophores and can be prepared in three synthetic steps. The other two consist of a nitrospiropyran photochrome and a benzophenone phosphore connected by either ether or ester linkages and can be prepared in six or five, respectively, synthetic steps. The luminescent components of these assemblies are expected to transfer energy intramolecularly to the photochromic species upon excitation and encourage their photoisomerization. Consistently, the phosphorescence of the benzophenone units and the fluorescence of the naphthalene components are effectively quenched when these species are connected covalently to a nitrospiropyran. Nonetheless, the photoisomerization of the photochrome becomes significantly less efficient after the covalent attachment to the luminescent partner. The fraction of incident radiations absorbed by either the benzophenone or the naphthalene fragment does not promote the isomerization of the photochromic appendage. Instead, irreversible transformations occur upon irradiation of the luminophore-photochrome assemblies. Thus, the covalent attachment of a benzophenone or a naphthalene to a nitrospiropyran is not a viable strategy to improve the photocoloration efficiency of the photochromic component. Even although the very same luminophores are known to sensitize intermolecularly the isomerization of nitrospiropyrans, the transition to covalent luminophore-photochrome assemblies tends to promote degradation, rather than sensitization, upon irradiation.     

Cellulose and chitin esters,and the reactivity of cellulose and chitin

Summary On comparison of the reactivities of chitin and cellulose in their conversion into ethers and esters it is found that chitin is considerably less reactive than cellulose, which is to be attributed to a difference in the internal active surfaces.Paper read at a General Meeting of the Division of Chemical Sciences, Academy of Sciences, USSR, Moscow, March 10, 1961     

Preparation and evaluation of bipyridyl-tagged reagents and scavengers

The synthesis of three bipyridyl-tagged reagents and one scavenger is described. Of the three reagents, the carbodiimide derivative proved to be effective as a coupling reagent for amide formation and the removal of the coupling side product from the reaction mixture by complexation onto a Cu-derivatised resin has been successfully demonstrated. This purification process was thoroughly optimised using a DOE approach and the procedure subsequently applied to the use of a bipyridyl-tagged amine as an isocyanate scavenger. Preliminary results clearly demonstrate the potential of using chelation tags such as bipyridine units as a means for removing solution phase reagents and scavengers from reaction mixtures providing an attractive alternative to their resin-bound and fluorous-tagged counter-parts.