Regioselective bond cleavage in the dissociative electron transfer to benzyl thiocyanates: the role of radical/ion pair formation

Important aspects of the electrochemical reduction of a series of substituted benzyl thiocyanates were investigated. A striking change in the reductive cleavage mechanism as a function of the substituent on the aryl ring of the benzyl thiocyanate was observed, and more importantly, a regioselective bond cleavage was encountered. A reductive alpha-cleavage (CH(2)-S bond) was seen for cyano and nitro-substituted benzyl thiocyanates leading to the formation of the corresponding nitro-substituted dibenzyls. With other substituents (CH(3)O, CH(3), H, Cl, and F), both the alpha (CH(2)-S) and the beta (S-CN) bonds could be cleaved as a result of an electrochemical reduction leading to the formation of the corresponding substituted monosulfides, disulfides, and toluenes. These final products are generated through either a protonation or a nucleophilic reaction of the two-electron reduction-produced anion on the parent molecule. The dissociative electron transfer theory and its extension to the formation/dissociation of radical anions, as well as its extension to the case of strong in-cage interactions between the produced fragments ("sticky" dissociative electron transfer (ET)), along with the theoretical calculation results helped rationalize (i) the observed change in the ET mechanism, (ii) the dissociation of the radical anion intermediates formed during the electrochemical reduction of the nitro-substituted benzyl thiocyanates, and more importantly (iii) the regioselective reductive bond cleavage.     

Regioselective bond cleavage in the dissociative electron transfer to benzyl thiocyanates

The electrochemical reduction of benzyl thiocyanate and p-nitrobenzyl thiocyanate was investigated in acetonitrile at an inert electrode. These two compounds reveal a change in the reductive cleavage mechanism, and more interestingly, they show a clear-cut example of a regioselective bond dissociation. Both phenomena may be understood on the basis of the dissociative ET theory and its extension to the formation/dissociation reactions of radical ions. While the effect of the standard oxidation potential of the leaving group seems to be predominant in understanding the change in the ET mechanism by changing the driving force, the regioselective cleavage is dictated by changes in the intrinsic barrier related to the nature of the substituent on the aryl moiety.     

CuI-catalyzed Synthesis of Aryl Thiocyanates from Aryl Iodides

Aryl thiocyanates are important compounds not only for their interesting biological properties, but also because of their use as a versatile starting material for many sulfur- containing aromatic compounds, including sulfonyl cyanides, sulfonic acids, sul…     

The role of nonbonded sulfur-oxygen interaction in the dissociative electron transfer to nitro-substituted arenesulfenyl chlorides

The electrochemical reduction of p-nitrophenyl sulfenyl chloride, o-nitrophenyl sulfenyl chloride as well as bis(4-nitrophenyl) disulfide and bis(2-dinitrophenyl) disulfide was investigated in acetonitrile at an inert electrode. Reduction standard potentials as well standard heterogeneous electron-transfer rate constants have been determined using convolution analysis. An unexpected big difference in the thermodynamics and kinetics of the initial electron-transfer process as well as a striking change in the reductive cleavage mechanism of the S-Cl bond as a function of the nitro group position on the aryl ring of the aryl sulfenyl chloride is observed. A computational study at the B3LYP level shows that this difference in behavior is due to the through-space nonbonded S...O interaction in the o-nitrophenyl sulfenyl chloride.     

Acyl thiocyanates—III: The synthesis of stable Aroyl thiocyanates

Two methods are devised for the synthesis of aroyl thiocyanates. One method is based on the thermal breakdown of 5-aroylthio-1,2,3,4-thiatriazoles to aroyl thiocyanates, nitrogen and sulfur. The other method is based on the reaction between thioacid salts and cyanogen halides. The latter synthesis also gives rise to diacyldisulfides. A hypothesis for the disulfide formation is advanced. These investigations have revealed that 2,4,6-tribromobenzoyl- and 2,4,6-tridobenzoyl thiocyanate are stable compounds which can be kept at room temperature for prolonged periods without decomposition, while 2,6-dimethyl-4-nitrobenzoyl and 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoyl thiocyanate are of intermediate stability. The former thiocyanates are the first examples of stable acyl thiocyanates.     

Studies and microdetermination of some organic sulfur functions by reduction with titanium(III) sulfate solution

Micromethods are described for the determination of organic sulfoxides and disulfides based on reduction with titanium (III) sulfate solution, the excess of which is titrated with standard ferric alum as usual. The procedures developed depended on the nature of the compound whether aromatic or aliphatic. Quantitative reduction of sulfoxides was achieved in presence of ammonium thiocyanate and sodium acetate but whereas aryl sulfoxides required heating at 70 °C for 30 minutes, the alkyl members demanded heating at 90 °C for one hour. Complete reduction of disulfides was possible in presence of acetate buffer and heating at 50 °C for 15 minutes for aromatic disulfides and at 80 °C for 30 minutes in case of the aliphatic ones. a Calculated by dividing the total titer in a ratio of 2:12. b Calculated using the total titer consumed. Sulfonyl halides, thiocyanates, and isothiocyanates do not react with the titanium(III) solution. The effect of the various sulfur functions on the determination of the nitro group with titanium(III) was also studied and various nitro-substituted sulfur compounds were successfully analyzed.     

Synthesis and characterization of near-infrared absorbing benzannulated aza-BODIPY dyes

A series of novel aza‐diisoindolmethine dyes 9 with six different aryl and heteroaryl groups at the indole moiety have been synthesized by the addition of aryl Grignard compounds to phthalodinitrile and subsequent reaction with formamide. A plausible reaction mechanism, through a Leuckart–Wallach‐type reduction has been confirmed by means of DFT calculations of the related transition and intermediate states. The corresponding boron difluoride complexes ( 10) of 9 were prepared in a subsequent reaction step and the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of 9 and 10 have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The aza‐diisoindolmethines 9 exhibit an absorption maximum in the range from 615 to 720 nm, whereas the complexes 10 show a bathochromically shifted absorption maximum between 681 and 793 nm. Measurements of 9 and 10 by cyclic voltammetry display fully reversible redox waves for the reduction and oxidation with higher potentials for 10 . From the measured redox potentials, the HOMO and LUMO energy levels were calculated for 9 and 10 . The frontier orbital energies, the energies of the absorption bands, as well as the orbitals involved in the absorption process were calculated with DFT and compared to the measured results of 9 and 10 . The absorption maximum can be related to an intense HOMO–LUMO transition and the more‐pronounced stabilization of the LUMO upon complexation is the origin of the bathochromic shift of the absorption. Additionally, single‐crystal structures for two species, 10 d and 10 f , are reported.     

Starburst substituted hexaazatriphenylene compounds: synthesis, photophysical and electrochemical properties

Starburst-substituted hexaazatriphenylene compounds have been designed and synthesized by introducing various peripheral aryl substituents to the central heterocyclic core. The effects of various substituent groups on the photophysical and electrochemical properties of the substituted hexaazatriphenylene have been investigated. Significant red-shifts of the absorption peak (from 413 nm to 530 nm) and emission peak (from 432 nm to 700 nm) were observed when the electron-donating ability of the aryl substituents was increased, corresponding to a decrease in the band gap from 2.90 eV to 2.05 eV. Introducing bulky substituents with weak electron-donating ability enhances the fluorescence quantum yield from 23% to 87%. In contrast, incorporating aryl substituents with strong electron-donating ability decreases the fluorescence quantum yield. Also, due to the extended conjugation between the aryl substituents and the hexaazatriphenylene core, the reduction potentials of the compounds were reduced and the LUMO levels were thus increased.     

Tüpfelreaktionen von rhodanid durch reduktive aufspaltung: Ein beitrag zur chemie der spezifischen,selektiven und empfindlichen reaktionen

In the reduction of thiocyanates in acidic or alkaline solution by Devarda alloy, respectively hydrogen sulfide or a mixture of methylamine and ammonia is formed. The identification of these reaction products in the vapor phase allows a fairly selective test for thiocyanates by means of spot test methods.Limits of identification of 0.12 μg resp. 0.2mg thiocyanate were obtained.     

Radical/Ion pair formation in the electrochemical reduction of arene sulfenyl chlorides

Important aspects of the electrochemical reduction of a series of substituted arene sulfenyl chlorides are investigated. A striking change is observed in the reductive cleavage mechanism as a function of the substituent on the aryl ring of the arene sulfenyl chloride. With p-substituted phenyl chlorides a "sticky" dissociative ET mechanism takes place where a concerted ET mechanism leads to the formation of a radical/anion cluster before decomposition. With o-nitropheyl sulfenyl substituted chlorides a stepwise mechanism is observed where through space S...O interactions play an important role stabilizing both the neutral molecules and their reduced forms. Disulfides are generated through a nucleophilic reaction of the two-electron reduction produced anion (arenethiolate) on the parent molecule. The dissociative electron transfer theory, as well as its extension to the case of strong in-cage interactions between the produced fragments, along with the gas phase chemical quantum calculations results helped rationalize both the observed change in the ET mechanism and the occurrence of the "sticky dissociative" ET mechanism. The radical/anion pair interactions have been determined both in solution as well as in gas phase. This study shows that despite the low magnitude of in-cage interactions in acetonitrile as compared to in the gas phase, their existence strongly affects the kinetics of the involved reactions. It also shows that, as expected, these interactions are reinforced by the existence of strong electron-withdrawing substituents.     

Influence of inorganic mobile phase additives on the retention and separation efficiency of selected amino acids in thin-layer chromatography on cellulose layers

Selected amino acid standards are investigated on cellulose layers using organic-aqueous eluent systems modified with neutral and chaotropic salts: chlorides, iodides, nitrates, thiocyanates, perchlorates, and hexafluorophosphates at low concentrations ranging from 10 up to 80mM in whole mobile phase. The effect of salts used as the mobile phase modifier is analyzed by the comparison of densitograms, peak symmetry coefficient, and theoretical plate number. The efficiency of chromatographic systems modified with inorganic salts additives depends primarily on the kind of salt and organic solvent in the mobile phase. The best efficiency is obtained through the addition of ammonium thiocyanate to the mobile phase containing acetonitrile as an organic modifier.     

3,3]-Sigmatropic shifts and retro-ene rearrangements in cyanates, isocyanates, thiocyanates, and isothiocyanates of the form RX-YCN and RX-NCY

Retro-ene type [2π + 2π + 2σ] and [3,3]-sigmatropic shift reactions involving the substituent groups R in heteroatom-substituted cyanates and thiocyanates RX-YCN and the isomeric isocyanates and isothiocyanates of the type RX-NCY (X = CR(2), NR', O, or S; Y = O or S) have been investigated computationally at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) level. Retro-ene reactions of alkyl derivatives of the title compounds afford alkenes, imines, carbonyl and thiocarbonyl compounds together with HNCO (HNCS) or HOCN (HSCN). [3,3]-Sigmatropic shifts (hetero-Cope rearrangements) of the corresponding allyl, propargyl, benzyl, and aryl derivatives causes allylic rearrangements, propargyl-allenyl rearrangement, conversion of benzyl cyanates to o-isocyanatotoluenes, and conversion of N-cyanatoarylamines to o-isocyanatoanilines, etc. The corresponding rearrangements of allyl thiocyanates, arylamino thiocyanates and isothiocyanates, and arylsulfenyl thiocyanates and isothiocyanates are also described.     

A convenient,rapid, and general synthesis of α-oxo thiocyanates using clay supported ammonium thiocyanate

A very rapid, convenient, and general method for the synthesis of α-oxo thiocyanates has been described by using clay supported ammonium thiocyanate. The procedure avoids the use of additional catalyst, solvent, aqueous work-up and the yields are high. Moreover, the method is applicable for a variety of aryl, heteroaryl, alkyl α-halo carbonyls, β-keto tosylates, α-halo β-dicarbonyl, α-tosyl, β-dicarbonyl, alkyl halide, and alkyl tosylates.     

Electrochemical Reduction Characterizations of Aromatic Nitro-Compounds

In this paper, the electrochemical reduction characterizations of the aromatic nitro-compounds including nitrobenzene, α-nitronaphtahlene and l,5-dinitroanthraquinone in the sulfuric acid solution were investigated and the reaction mechanism was proposed as well. The electrochemical measurements such as cyclic voltammetry, quasi-steady-state polarization, fast linear potential sweep and chronoamperometry were carried out by using EG&G 273A electrochemical measurement system. The results showed that three compounds could be reduced electrochemically to the corresponding aminophenol confounds under the suitable reaction conditions on Cu-Hg cathode. The reduction peak potential was all in the range of -0.4 to -0.6 V (vs. SCE) for the above confounds. The corresponding specific surface activity energy tested was 21.5, 16.4 and 21.2 kJ/mol respectively, means the better electrochemical reduction activity on Cu-Hg electrode. Further investigation on the reaction mechanism disclosed that α-nitronaphtahiene and 1,5-dinitroanthraquinone have the similar reaction mechanism to that of nitrobenzene to para-aminophenol, i.e.,Bamberger rearrangement courses. With the increasing of the number of benzene number, the temperature and the concentration of needed for the electrochemical reduction increased correspondingly, i.e.,90℃ for nitrobenzene, 110℃ for α-nitronaphtahlene and 140℃ for l,5-dinitroanthraquinone respectively. The reaction rates are proportional to the concentration of the reactants the corresponding conditions.     

硫氰酸盐电化学氧化的动力学复杂性

本文利用多种电化学方法研究了多晶电极上硫氰酸盐电化学氧化的动力学和机理,观察到电流和电位振荡。循环伏安测量表明氧化动力学分为二步过程。除了振荡现象,系统也展示双稳态,利用时间电位扰动,氧化反应可在高电位和低电位稳态之间转换,而且强烈吸附的惰性离子也可诱导从振荡转化为稳态。     

Stepwise and concerted pathways in photoinduced and thermal electron-transfer/bond-breaking reactions. experimental illustration of similarities and contrasts.

The electrochemical (cyclic voltammetry) and photoinduced (fluorescence quenching, quantum yields) reductive cleavages of four compounds, 4-cyano-alpha-trifluorotoluene (1), dimethylphenyl sulfonium (2), 4-cyanobenzylmethylphenyl sulfonium (3), and 4-cyanobenzyl chloride (4), are investigated and compared in terms of concerted vs stepwise mechanisms. Bearing in mind that an increase of the thermodynamic driving force shifts the mechanism from concerted to stepwise and that the driving force is larger under photochemical than under electrochemical conditions, 1 and 2 are typical examples where a stepwise mechanism is followed with compatible kinetic characteristics under both regimes. 4 undergoes a concerted electrochemical reductive cleavage, and the same mechanism is followed in the photoinduced reaction with consistent kinetic characteristics. The case of 3 is of particular interest, since a trend of passing from a concerted to a stepwise mechanism when going from the electrochemical to the photochemical conditions indeed appears upon analysis of the experimental results. The change of mechanism is, however, not complete since, in the photoinduced reaction, there is a balanced competition between the two pathways. In the same families of compounds, the unsubstituted benzylmethylphenyl sulfonium cations shows such a borderline behavior during the electrochemical reaction. In the photoinduced reaction, it is the 4-cyano derivative which behaves in a borderline manner, in line with the fact that it gives rise more readily to a concerted mechanism than the unsubstituted compound.     

Donor‐Appended N,C‐Chelate Organoboron Compounds: Influence of Donor Strength on Photochromic Behaviour

Recently, four‐coordinated N,C‐chelate organoboron compounds have been found to show many interesting photochemical transformations depending on the nature of their chelating framework. As such, the effect of substitution on the chelate ligand has been well‐established and understood, but the impact of the aryl groups attached to the boron atom remains less clear. To investigate the effect of enhanced charge‐transfer character, a series of new N,C‐chelate organoboron compounds with donor‐functionalized aryl groups have been synthesized and characterized using NMR, UV/Vis, and electrochemical methods. These compounds were found to possess bright and tunable charge‐transfer luminescence which is dependent on the donor strength of the amino substituent. In addition, some of these compounds undergo photochromic switching, producing dark isomers of various colors. This work establishes that donor‐functionalization of the aryl groups in N,C‐chelate boron compounds is an effective strategy for tuning both the photophysical and photochemical properties of such systems. The new findings also help elucidate the influence of electronic structure on the photoreactivity of N,C‐chelate organoboron compounds which appears to be as important as steric crowding around the boron atom.     

Single-step versus stepwise two-electron reduction of polyarylpyridiniums: insights from the steric switching of redox potential compression

Contrary to 4,4'-dipyridinium (i.e., archetypal methyl viologen), which is reduced by two single-electron transfers (stepwise reduction), the 4,1'-dipyridinium isomer (so-called "head-to-tail" isomer) undergoes two electron transfers at apparently the same potential (single-step reduction). A combined theoretical and experimental study has been undertaken to establish that the latter electrochemical behavior, also observed for other polyarylpyridinium electrophores, is due to potential compression originating in a large structural rearrangement. Three series of branched expanded pyridiniums (EPs) were prepared: N-aryl-2,4,6-triphenylpyridiniums (Ar-TP), N-aryl-2,3,4,5,6-pentaphenylpyridiniums (Ar-XP), and N-aryl-3,5-dimethyl-2,4,6-triphenylpyridinium (Ar-DMTP). The intramolecular steric strain was tuned via N-pyridinio aryl group (Ar) phenyl (Ph), 4-pyridyl (Py), and 4-pyridylium (qPy) and their bulky 3,5-dimethyl counterparts, xylyl (Xy), lutidyl (Lu), and lutidylium (qLu), respectively. Ferrocenyl subunits as internal redox references were covalently appended to representative electrophores in order to count the electrons involved in EP-centered reduction processes. Depending on the steric constraint around the N-pyridinio site, the two-electron reduction is single-step (Ar = Ph, Py, qPy) or stepwise (Ar = Xy, Lu, qLu). This steric switching of the potential compression is accurately accounted for by ab initio modeling (Density Functional Theory, DFT) that proposes a mechanism for pyramidalization of the N(pyridinio) atom coupled with reduction. When the hybridization change of this atom is hindered (Ar = Xy, Lu, qLu), the first reduction is a one-electron process. Theory also reveals that the single-step two-electron reduction involves couples of redox isomers (electromers) displaying both the axial geometry of native EPs and the pyramidalized geometry of doubly reduced EPs. This picture is confirmed by a combined UV-vis-NIR spectroelectrochemical and time-dependent DFT study: comparison of in situ spectroelectrochemical data with the calculated electronic transitions makes it possible to both evidence the distortion and identify the predicted electromers, which play decisive roles in the electron-transfer mechanism. Last, this mechanism is further supported by in-depth analysis of the electronic structures of electrophores in their various reduction states (including electromeric forms).     

Precipitation of some nonionic polymers by octylammonium thiocyanate

The effects of various alkylammonium thiocyanates (ethyl, butyl, hexyl, and octyl) on aqueous solutions of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and poly(vinyl alcohol–acetate) copolymer (PVA-Ac) were studied and compared with the effects caused by the respective chlorides. Whereas the PVP solution was hardly affected by the chlorides, it was precipitated by n-octylammonium thiocyanate (OASCN) at dilute concentrations and dissolved at higher concentrations. On taking the effects of ammonium chloride and thiocyanate on the solubility of PVA-Ac as references, with increasing of alkyl chain length, alkylammonium chlorides raised the polymer solubility steadily; on the contrary, the thiocyanates at dilute concentrations, except for ethylammonium thiocyanate, lowered it, and OASCN at dilute concentrations, except for ethylammonium thiocyanate, lowered it, and OASCN at dilute concentrations was a particularly strong salting-out agent. The amount of binding of OASCN to the polymers in the precipitated systems was measured. The precipitation was attributed to ion-pair binding of OASCN to the polymers, and the mechanism was discussed in terms of the interaction between the water structure-breaking SCN^? and the water structure-making hydrophobic groups.     

Influence of cyanide and sulphide ions on the reduction and reoxidation of cobalt(II) in thiocyanate solution at mercury electrodes

The process of reduction and reoxidation of cobalt(II) in thiocyanate solution at hanging mercury drop electrode has been investigated by cyclic voltammetric, chronoamperometric and anodic stripping methods. In 0.1 M NaSCN and 0.4 M NaClO₄ solution containing 1×10^?3M cobalt(II), the voltammogram on the first cycle at 0.05 V s^?1 gives a cathodic peak at ?1.06 V with hysteresis on reversal, and an anodic wave with a peak potential of ?0.28 V and with two shoulders near ?0.38 and ?0.45 V, respectively. Multicyclic voltammograms under the same conditions give a cathodic peak at ?0.90 V and an anodic peak at ?0.45 V. The reduction and reoxidation of cobalt(II) in thiocyanate solution is accelerated by the reduction products of thiocyanate ion, cyanide and sulphide ions, which are produced during the electroreduction of cobalt(II).A mechanism of reduction and reoxidation of cobalt(II) which involves a chemical reduction of thiocyanate ion by electroreduced metallic cobalt and takes into account cyanide and sulphide ions is proposed. The hysteresis on the cathodic wave is caused by the difference in reduction potentials of cobalt(II)-thiocyanate and-cyanide complexes. Cyclic voltammetric study of cobalt(II) in perchlorate solution containing trace amounts of cyanide and sulphide ions supports these conclusions.