Formic acid reduction—XVII : Kinetic studies on the formic acid reduction of N-benzylideneaniline

The formic acid reduction of azomethine which has been reported² to proceed nearly quantitatively by the use of the formate reagent, 5HCO₂H·2NEt₃, was kinetically investigated by the carbon dioxide trapping and UV spectroscopic methods, using N-benzylideneaniline as a representative. Rate data gave the rate equation, v = (k + k′ [NEt₃])[N-benzylideneaniline][HCO₂H], indicating two-path mechanism. By the technique of using deuterated formic acids, it was found that the hydrogen bound to the carbon of formic acid is transferred as hydride to the carbon of the CN double bond in the rate determining step. The reaction is facilitated by the electron-releasing substituents of the two benzene rings of N-benzylideneaniline. On the bases of these results a possible mechanism is proposed.     

NMR study of the composition of aqueous 2-aminoethanol solution used for absorption of carbon dioxide from fuel gases

The compositions of aqueous 2-aminoethanol solutions used in industry for absorption of carbon dioxide resulting from combustion of natural gas have been determined by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The absorption process does not involve generally accepted paths of thermal decomposition of the absorbent in the reaction with carbon dioxide, but the main path is non-oxidative decomposition of 2-aminoethanol into ammonia and ethylene oxide. Splitting of the NMR signals of carbamate anion formed by reaction of 2-aminoethanol with carbon dioxide has been rationalized by specific structure of the anion due to intramolecular hydrogen bonding.     

Synthesis of N-[5-alkoxy-2(5H)-furanonyl] amino acid propargyl esters

Using K₂CO₃ as a base and CH₃CN as solvent, different kinds of N-[5-alkoxy-2(5H)-furanonyl] amino acids were reacted with propargyl bromide via substitution reaction at 40?°C to give 16 N-[5-alkoxy-2(5H)-furanonyl] amino acid propargyl esters with the yields of 44?C85% (mostly over 74%). The structures of all newly synthesized compounds were elucidated and confirmed by FTIR, UV, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. The rapid, efficient, and brief synthesis of the series propargyl esters with multiple bioactive units, will afford not only a basis for the activity test of potential drug molecules, but also an important synthetic strategy for 2(5H)-furanone derivatives with polyfunctional groups.     

An Overview on the Dehydrogenation of Alkylbenzenes with Carbon Dioxide over Supported Vanadium–Antimony Oxide Catalysts

Utilization of carbon dioxide as a soft oxidant for the catalytic dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene (CO₂-EBDH) has been recently attempted to explore a new technology for producing styrene selectively. This article summarizes the results of our recent attempts to develop effective catalyst systems for the CO₂-EBDH on the basis of alumina-supported vanadium oxide catalysts. Its initial activity and on-stream stability were essentially improved by the introduction of antimony oxide as a promoter into the alumina-supported catalyst. Insertion of zirconium oxide into alumina support substantially increased the catalytic activity. Modification of alumina with magnesium oxide yielded an increase of catalyst stability of alumina-supported V–Sb oxide due to the coking suppression. Carbon dioxide has been confirmed to play a beneficial role of selective oxidant in improving the catalytic performance through the oxidative pathway, avoiding excessive reduction and maintaining desirable oxidation state of vanadium ion (V⁵⁺). The positive effect of carbon dioxide in dehydrogenation reactions of several alkylbenzenes such as 4-diethylbenzene, 4-ethyltoluene, and iso- and n-propylbenzenes was also observed. Along with the easier redox cycle between fully oxidized and partially reduced vanadium species, the optimal surface acidity of the catalyst is also responsible for achieving high activity and catalyst stability. It is highlighted that supra-equilibrium EBDH conversions were obtained over alumina-supported V–Sb oxide catalyst in CO₂-EBDH as compared with those in steam-EBDH in the absence of carbon dioxide.     

Chemistry of the 2,3-oxaphosphabicyclo[2.2.2]octene ring system: Extrusion of metaphosphates

The 2,3-oxaphosphabicyclo[2.2.2]octene 3-oxide (or sulfide) ring system is of considerable value because it easily fragments on being heated or irradiated (254 nm) to provide three-coordinate phosphoryl species. The system is synthesized by O-insertion with peracids into a C P bond of 7-phosphanorbornene derivatives with a variety of P-substituents. With rare exception, the insertion has been found to proceed with retention of the configuration at phosphorus, as established by X-ray and NMR techniques. The thermal fragmentation that produces the metaphosphate derivatives EtO PO₂, EtO P(S)O, and Et₂N PO₂ follows first-order kinetics, and is independent of the concentration of a trapping agent for these species. Solvent effects and activation parameters join in defining a retrocycloaddition mechanism that ejects the free metaphosphate. The species Ph PO₂ can also be easily generated either thermally or photochemically. Metaphosphates have been found to attack ethereal oxygen in epoxides and oxetanes, and may undergo anchimeric participation with a properly placed methoxy group on the substituent used in the 2,3-oxaphosphabicyclo[2.2.2]octene precursor.     

A magic-angle spinning 31P NMR investigation of crystalline and glassy inorganic phosphates

³¹NMR spectra of several inorganic phosphates have been examined both in the crystalline and the glassy states. The parameter (Z_eff/r)q clearly demarcates ortho-, pyro- and meta-phosphates in terms of the ³¹P chemical shifts. Based on such a diagram, inorganic phosphate glasses are found to consist essentially of metaphosphate units. NMR resonance of the glasses are generally much broader than those of crystalline phosphates.     

Oligomers based on cyanoacrylic acid esters

Ethyl 3-alkoxy-2-cyanopropanoates were prepared by the reaction of ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate with the corresponding linear alkanols C₆–C₁₂ in acidic medium. Their treatment with water as a weak nucleophile resulted in elimination of the alkanol and the formation of oligocyanoacrylate terminated with the alkoxy group. The oligomers were studied by NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy, MALDI-TOF mass-spectrometry and dynamic light scattering.     

Immobilized copper catalyst for atom transfer radical addition and polymerization

A novel multidentate amine grafted on silica gel and magnetic microsphere was prepared. Its chemical structure was confirmed by C¹³ NMR, XPS and FTIR, and the nitrogen content was determined by elemental analysis. It was also used as a ligand for CuCl and successfully catalyzed the atom transfer radical addition of both carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) to methyl methacrylate and methyl trichloroacetate to styrene, repeatedly. The conversion and purity of the product were determined through gas chromatography and ¹H NMR, respectively. The immobilized copper catalyst complex was also used in atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene initiated by 1,1,1,3‐tetrachloro‐3‐phenylpropane and methyl methacrylate initiated by methyl 2‐methyl‐2,4,4,4‐tetrachlorobutyrate, respectively. Although the polymerization took place successfully, it did not proceed in a controlled fashion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Amine catalysis in phosphoryl transfer from 2,4-dinitrophenyl phosphate in aprotic and protic solvents

Reactions of tetra-n-butylammonium 2,4-dinitrophenyl hydrogen phosphate, (ArPH)^?(R₄N)⁺, in aprotic and protic solvents, in the absence and in the presence of alcohols or water, ROH, are compared with analogous reactions of the salt in the presence of hindered and unhindered amines, e.g. diisopropylethyl amine and quinuclidine. Similar studies are performed with the acid, ArPH₂, in the presence of variable amounts of amines. The release of phenol and the fate of the phosphorus compounds are followed by ¹H and ³¹P NMR spectrometry. In the absence of free unhindered amine, reactions of the monoanion are relatively slow, sensitive to steric hindrance in the alcohol, and incapable of producing t-butyl phosphate from t-butanol; reactions of the dianion are relatively fast, insensitive to steric hindrance in the alcohol, and produce t-butyl phosphate. In the presence of free unhindered amine, reactions of the monoanion are relatively fast but still sensitive to steric hindrance in the alcohol, and hence do not produce t-butyl phosphate. The intermediate CH(CH₂CH₂)₃⁺NP(O)(OH)O^? is detected in the presence of quinuclidine. Reactions of the dianion in the presence of unhindered amines are analogous to those observed in the presence of hindered amines. The uncatalyzed and the nucleophilic amine-catalyzed reactions of the monoanion are assumed to proceed via oxyphosphorane, P(5), intermediates. The dianion reactions, which are not susceptible to nucleophilic catalysis, are assumed to proceed via the monomeric metaphosphate ion intermediate, PO₃^?. Significant effects related to solvent properties are observed in these reactions.     

Alkali and alkali–lead oxynitride phosphate glasses: a comparative structural study by NMR and XPS

Nitrided phosphate glasses are characterized by tetrahedral units P(O,N)₄ in which nitrogen atoms have substituted for both bridging and non-bridging double bonded oxygen atoms. ³¹P magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) shows that PO₄, PO₃N and PO₂N₂ tetrahedra may coexist within the glass network. The relative proportion of these structural units as a function of the N/P ratio depends on the composition of the oxide base glass, as illustrated in sodium, lithium–sodium and lithium–sodium–lead phosphate glasses. Furthermore, ³¹P double quantum (DQ) MAS NMR shows that the nitrogen/oxygen substitution is not a random process. The modifier cations influence the connections between tetrahedra throughout the overall nitrided glass network, and, therefore, the final structure. N_1s X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) shows that nitrogen atoms may exist in the P(O,N)₄ tetrahedra as doubly coordinated (–N= ) and triply coordinated (–N<) species, bonded to two and three phosphorus atoms, respectively. The relation between both kinds of nitrogen as a function of the N/P ratio depends also on the oxide-base glass composition. In this work, the thermal nitridation in flowing ammonia of alkali and alkali–lead metaphosphate glasses is studied. The results deduced from the NMR and XPS experiments make it possible, in addition to a comparison between the nitridation kinetics, to follow and to compare the structural evolution of oxynitride glasses resulting from a progressive nitrogen incorporation. In particular, the important role of PbO in the nitridation mechanism is revealed, demonstrating in this case that the nitridation is not random, its beginning included.     

Reaction of diphenyl[2-(triethoxysilyl)ethyl]phosphine oxide with boron trifluoride etherate

Diphenyl[2-(trifluorosilyl)ethyl]phosphine oxide was synthesized by the reaction of diphenyl[2-(triethoxysilyl)ethyl]phosphine oxide with boron trifluoride etherate. As shown by the ¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F, ³¹P, ²⁹Si multinuclear NMR spectroscopy data, the silicon atom in the molecule is tetracoordinate. The absence of P=O→Si interaction in diphenyl[2-(trifluorosilyl)ethyl]phosphine oxide, as follows from the comparison of the calculated [GIAO B3LYP/6-311++G(2d,p)] and experimental δ(²⁹Si) and δ(³¹P) values, is due to the formation of complex with BF₃ by the phosphoryl oxygen.     

New perthiophosphonic acid anhydrides and the direct indication of the dimer-monomer equilibrium. NMR and X-Ray Studies

New perthiophosphonic acid anhydrides (R-PS₂)_n with R = 2,4,6-tri-iso-propylphenyl and 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-methylphenyl have been prepared. For the latter case, the isolation of the monomer (n = 1), the 2,4-di-tertbutyl-6-methylphenyl-dithioxophosphorane, and both dimers (n = 2), cis- and trans-2,4-bis(2,4-di-tertbutyl-6-methylphenyl)-2, 4-dithioxo-1, 3, 2, 4-dithiadiphosphetane, has been determined. The new cis and trans dithiadiphosphetanes and dithioxophosphoranes as well as the known compounds (2,4,6-trimethylphenyl-PS₂)₂ and 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenyl-PS₂ are characterized by solution and high resolution solid-state ³¹P and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The existence of a dimer-monomer equilibrium is directly proved by 2D exchange ³¹P NMR spectroscopy. It is shown that the reaction of the monomer with methanol is faster than the reaction of the dimer with methanol.     

Tris-phosphorylated esters of symmetrical and unsymmetrical triols

By reaction of a series of triols and monosaccharides with 5,5-dimethyl-2-chloro-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinane their tris-phosphorylated derivatives were synthesized, and the simplest chemical transformations of the latter were studied. Structures of the obtained P(V) derivatives were confirmed by ¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy and by the MALDI TOF mass spectrometry and X-ray structural analysis.     

The structure of bis(trialkyltin) carbonates: Evidence for two non-equivalent tin sites

Bis(tributyltin) oxide or trimethyltin hydroxide react with carbon dioxide to afford the bis(trialkyltin) carbonates, (R₃SnO)₂CO; ¹¹⁹Sn NMR (in the case of R = Bu) or ^119mSn Mössbauer spectroscopy show that these compounds contain 4- and 5-coordinate tin atom sites.     

Pd(II) complexes of novel phosphine ligands: Synthesis,characterization, and catalytic activities on Heck reaction

Novel phosphine oxides, (((3-methylpyridin-2-yl)amino)methyl)diphenylphosphine oxide (1) and diphenyl((pyrazin-2-ylamino)methyl)phosphine oxide (2), were synthesized and characterized. Phosphines ligands (3 and 4) were obtained by the reduction of 1 and 2 with AlH₃, monitored by ³¹P NMR spectroscopy. Pd(II) complexes of 3 and 4 were synthesized and characterized (5 and 6). The catalytic activity of 5 and 6 was tested on the reaction of styrene with both activated and deactivated aryl bromides in air. The results of the catalytic experiments were discussed through DFT calculations.     

Protonation and alkylation of organophosphorus compounds with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid derivatives

Protonation (alkylation) of triphenylphosphine, triethylphosphite, triphenylphosphine oxide, triethylphosphate, hexamethylphosporamide, and dimethylphosphite with trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, its bisimide, and methyl ester was studied and the corresponding ¹H, ¹³C, ¹⁹F, ³¹P NMR spectra were analyzed.     

Reaction of 2- and 3-furylmethanephosphonates with esters

2- and 3-furylmethanephosphonates are acylated with ethyl formate, diethyl oxalate, and ethyl trifluoroacetate in toluene in the presence of sodium foil to afford five phosphorylated derivatives of furylacetic aldehyde, furylpyruvic acid, and 1,1,1-trifluoro-1-(2-furyl)propan-2-one. In a chloroform solution these compounds exist in the equilibrium with their enolic forms. When treated with sodium ethylate they form sodium salts which were isolated and characterized by ¹H, ¹³C, and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy. It was shown that in DMSO solutions sodium salts of formyl and oxalyl derivatives of 2-furylmethanephosphonate exist as mixtures of the carbanion and enolate forms. In the first case the carbanion form is predominant, while in the second one the enolate forms prevail. Sodium salt of formylated 3-furylmetanephosphonate exists only in the carbanion form, while the salt of 3-furylpyruvate is enolate. The alkylation of these salts with iodomethane proceeds at the carbon atom as well as at the oxygen one. First reaction pathway is often preferred.     

Unusual deactivation in the asymmetric hydrogenation of itaconic acid

The formation of unusual Rh(III) substrate complexes from [Rh(DIPAMP)(MeOH)₂]BF₄ and itaconic acid has been detected which leads to the deactivation of the catalyst. The influence of different parameters on the formation of such complexes, namely substrate concentration, reaction time, temperature, acidic and basic additives, was investigated with different NMR methods. Two different Rh(III) substrate complexes are formed whose ratio is strongly dependent on substrate concentration and reaction time. The pH value of the solution shows a strong influence on the chemical shifts of the ³¹P NMR signals of such complexes. A catalyst-mediated esterification of itaconic acid in methanol was detected. Extended investigations provide detailed ¹H, ¹³C and ³¹P NMR data for the Rh(III) complexes and information about their stability in solution.     

Study of the Phosphoryl‐Transfer Mechanism of Shikimate Kinase by NMR Spectroscopy

The phosphoryl‐transfer mechanism of shikimate kinase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Helicobacter pylori, which is an attractive target for antibiotic drug discovery, has been studied by 1D ¹H and ³¹P NMR spectroscopy. Metaphosphoric acid proved to be a good mimetic of the metaphosphate intermediate and facilitated the ready and rapid evaluation by NMR spectroscopic analysis of a dissociative mechanism. The required closed form of the active site for catalysis was achieved by the use of ADP (product) or two synthetic ADP analogues (AMPNP, AMPCP). Molecular dynamics simulation studies reported here also revealed that the essential arginine (Arg116/Arg117 in H. pylori and M. tuberculosis, respectively), which activates the γ‐phosphate group of ATP for catalysis and triggers the release of the product for turnover, would also be involved in the stabilisation of the metaphosphate intermediate during catalysis. We believe that the studies reported here will be helpful for future structure‐based design of inhibitors of this attractive target. The approach is also expected be useful for studies on the possible dissociative mechanism of other kinase enzymes.     

Sequential photodecomposition of bisacylgermane type photoinitiator: Synthesis of block copolymers by combination of free radical promoted cationic and free radical polymerization mechanisms

A block copolymer of cyclohexene oxide (CHO) and styrene (St) was prepared by using bifunctional visible light photoinitiator dibenzoyldiethylgermane (DBDEG) via a two‐step procedure. The bifunctionality of the photoinitiator pertains to the sequential photodecomposition of DBDEG through acyl germane bonds. In the first step, photoinitiated free radical promoted cationic polymerization of CHO using DBDEG in the presence of diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate (Ph₂I⁺PF) was carried out to yield polymers with photoactive monobenzoyl germane end groups. These poly(cyclohexene oxide) (PCHO) prepolymers were used to induce photoinitiated free radical polymerization of styrene (St) resulting in the formation of poly(cyclohexene oxide‐block‐styrene) (P(CHO‐b‐St)). Successful blocking has been confirmed by a strong change in the molecular weight of the prepolymer and the block copolymer as well as NMR, IR, and DSC spectral measurements. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4793–4799, 2009