Acid-base equilibria of substituted pyridine N-oxides in methanol

Acid dissociation constants in methanol for eight substituted pyridine N-oxides having a wide range of acid-base properties, [quinoline N-oxide (bi-cyclic amine N-oxide) and pyridine (heterocyclic amine)] have been determined using the potentiometric titration method. A linear correlation between ourmethanol data and aqueous pK _a values from the literature has been found. As in polar aprotic solvents cationic homoconjugation phenomenon has been found to be present for sufficiently basic N-oxides. The tendency of substituted pyridine N-oxides towards cationic homoconjugation in methanol is weaker than in polar aprotic solvents and increases with increasing basicity of N-oxides. It has also been found that, in contrast to polar aprotic solvents, the cationic homoconjugation phenomenon in methanol is much more pronounced for heterocyclic amines than their N-oxides.     

Basicity comparison for di-substituted 4-nitropyridine derivatives in polar non-aqueous media

Acid dissociation, as well as cationic homoconjugation equilibria have been studied potentiometrically in systems involving four di-substituted 4-nitropyridines and conjugate cationic acids in the polar non-aqueous solvents - aprotic protophobic acetonitrile (AN) and propylene carbonate (PC), the amphiprotic methanol (MeOH), and in the aprotic protophilic dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The influence of solvent effect on the obtained acidity constants has been discussed. The acidity constants (expressed as pK_a values) were compared with those previously determined in another polar protophobic aprotic solvent - acetone (AC), and obtained for the unsubstituted pyridine (Py). A comparison of the acid dissociation constants determined in all media studied has proved that the strength of the cationic acids increases on going from acetonitrile through propylene carbonate, acetone, and methanol to dimethyl sulfoxide. Furthermore, the values of acidity constants in the non-aqueous media have shown that in all the solvents studied they change according to the substituent effects. It has been also found that substituted 4-nitropyridine derivatives studied exhibit no tendency towards cationic homoconjugation in acetonitrile, propylene carbonate, and methanol and dimethyl sulfoxide. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that the acid dissociation constants determined by potentiometric titration method in all the solutions investigated correlate well with the calculated energy parameters of the protonation reactions in the gaseous phase.     

Base Equilibria of Substituted Pyridines in Nitromethane

In the framework of our studies on acid=nbase equilibria in systems comprisingsubstituted pyridines and nonaqueous solvents, acid dissociation constants havebeen determined potentiometrically for a variety of cationic acids conjugatedwith pyridine and its derivatives in the polar protophobic aprotic solvent nitromethane. The potentiometric method enabled a check as to whether and to whatextent cationic homoconjugation equilibria of the BH⁺/B type, as well as cationicheteroconjugation equilibria in BH⁺/B₁ systems without proton transfer, are setup in nitromethane. The equilibrium constants were compared with thosedetermined in water and two other polar protophobic aprotic solvents, propylenecarbonate and acetonitrile. The pK _a values of acids conjugate to the N-bases innitromethane fall in the pK _a range of 5.84 to 17.67, i.e., 6 to 7 pK _a units, onaverage, higher than in water, 1 to 2 units higher than in propylene carbonate,and less than 1 unit lower than in acetonitrile. This means that the basicity ofthe pyridine derivatives increases on going from propylene carbonate throughnitromethane to acetonitrile. Further, it was found that the sequence of the pK _achanges of the protonated amines was consistent in all three media, thus providingthe basis for establishing linear correlations among these values. In the majorityof the BH⁺/B systems in nitromethane, cationic homoconjugation equilibria havebeen established. The cationic homoconjugation constants, log K _BHB+, arerelatively low, falling in the range 1.60–2.89. A comparison of the homoconjugationconstants in nitromethane with those in propylene carbonate and acetonitrile showsthat nitromethane is a more favorable solvent for the cationic homoconjugationequilibria than the other two solvents. Moreover, results of the potentiometricmeasurements revealed that cationic heteroconjugation equilibria were not presentin the majority of the BH⁺/B₁ systems in nitromethane. The heteroconjugationconstant could be determined in one system only, with logdiK _BHB1 + = 2.56.     

Studies on acid–base equilibria of 4-R-2,6-dimethylpyridine N-oxide systems in non-aqueous solvents

Acid–base equilibrium constants, i.e. acid dissociation, cationic homoconjugation and cationic heteroconjugation constants in 4-R-2,6-dimethylpyridine N-oxide systems (where R denotes methoxy-, methyl-, chloro- or nitro-group) in polar non-aqueous solvents: protophobic aprotic nitromethane, acetonitrile and acetone, protophilic aprotic N,N-dimethylformamide and amphiprotic methanol have been determined. The acidity constant values of protonated N-oxides in solvents studied have been found to change according to the substituent effect and to the sequence of acidity changes in water. This finding allowed to correlate the pK_a values determined in water with those determined in the solvents studied. Further, it was found that the cationic homo- and heteroconjugation constant values increased with decreasing solvent basicity and with increasing basicity of the N-oxide, and in the case of heteroconjugating systems, with increasing basicity of the the proton acceptor.     

Direct determination of pKa values of cationic acids conjugated to heterocyclic amine N-oxides in polar aprotic and amphiprotic solvents

The applicability of the direct method of pK_a determination in the case of protonated heterocyclic amine N-oxides in a series of polar non-aqueous (aprotic and amphiprotic) solvents has been tested. The method is based on the pH determination of the non-aqueous solution of complex salt (the semiperchlorate in this case) formed by the N-oxides studied. The direct method not only provides for quick (one data point per each pK_a determined), but also relatively accurate estimates of acidic dissociation constants. It has been experimentally shown on the example of substituted pyridine N-oxides that this method is precise enough in all studied non-aqueous solvents when applied to compounds of not too low basicity (the pK_a being of the order of 5 or higher). To prove this, the pK_a values of protonated monocyclic N-oxides obtained by the direct method have been compared with those resulting from the potentiometric titration curve. The agreement between the results found by using both methods is very good in most cases, the differences being within standard deviations. Based upon this observation it can be inferred that the pK_a values of protonated bicyclic N-oxides in solvents studied determined by using the direct method can be also considered reliable, especially in the case of polar aprotic solvents.     

Simple methods for the estimation of ionization constants of substituted pyridine N-oxides in polar aprotic solvents and water

A direct method for the determination of the pK _a values of acids conjugated to substituted pyridine N-oxides has been proposed which is based on the pH measurement of the solution of the basic salt. It has been experimentally shown that the method is reliable when applied to N-oxides of not too low basicity (pK _a >5). Correlation has been performed between the pK _a values in aqueous and aprotic media solutions which shows the great influence of the solvation effect on the acid-base equilibria. The good correlation between the pK _a values in aqueous and non-aqueous solutions enables the pK _a values in water to be estimated with sufficient accuracy, even in the cases when the experimental limitations make the determination impossible which is shown on the basis of selected examples.     

Stabilisation of 2,6‐Diarylpyridinium Cation by Through‐Space Polar–π Interactions

The through‐space polar–π interactions between pyridinium ion and the adjacent aromatic rings in 2,6‐diarylpyridines affect the pK_a values. Hammett analysis illustrates that the basicity of pyridines correlates well with the sigma values of the substituents at the para position of the flanking aryl rings.     

Polymerization of vinyl monomers with salts of bronsted acids

The polymerization of vinyl monomers (N-phenylmaleimide, acrylamide, acrylonitrile, methyl vinyl ketone, methyl methacrylate, vinyl chloride, and styrene) with sodium salts of Brønsted acids (sodium cyanide, sodium nitrite, sodium hydroxide, etc.) were investigated at 0°C in dimethylformamide. N-Phenylmaleimide, acrylonitrile, and methyl vinyl ketone were found to undergo polymerization with sodium cyanide, however the other monomers were not polymerized with this salt. In the polymerizations of acrylonitrile and N-phenylmaleimide with sodium cyanide, the rates of the polymerizations were found to be proportinal to the initiator concentration and to the square of the monomer concentration. The activation energy of acrylonitrile polymerization was 3.7 kcal/mole, and that of N-phenylmaleimide ws 3.0 kcal/mole. The results of the copolymerization of acrylonitrile with methyl methacrylate at 0°C in dimethyl-formamide with sodium cyanide confirm that these polymerizations proceeded by an anionic mechanism initiated by the Michael addition reaction of the monomers with the salts. In these polymerizations, the monomer reactivity increased with increase in the e values. The initiation ability of sodium salts increased with increasing pK_a of the conjugate acids and with decreasing electronegativity of metal ion in the series of lithium, sodium, and potassium cyanide. The polymerizations took place only in aprotic polar solvents, and did not occur in weak polar solvents and in protonic solvents.     

Quantum-chemical calculations of NMR chemical shifts of organic molecules: VIII. Solvation effects on 15N NMR chemical shifts of nitrogen-containing heterocycles

Effect of solvation on the accuracy of DFT quantum-chemical calculations of ¹⁵N NMR chemical shifts of pyrrole, N-methylpyrrole, and pyridine was studied. The use of continuum model is sufficient to obtain consistent theoretical σ_N values for weakly polar aprotic solvents, whereas solvation effects in strongly polar and protic solvents should be taken into account in the explicit form.     

The influence of the size and position of the alkyl groups in alkylimidazole molecules on their acid‐base properties

Dissociation constants of HL⁺ acids, where L stands for 1‐alkylimidazole, 1‐alkyl‐2‐methylimidazole, 1‐alkyl‐2‐ethylimidazole, 1‐alkyl‐2‐propylimidazole, 1‐alkyl‐4‐methylimidazole and 1‐alkyl‐2‐ethyl‐4‐methylimidazole, were determined potentiometrically. For each of the homologous series of these bases, a relationship has been derived between the pK_a value and the number of carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon group for (CH₂)_n ≤ 13. The basicity of the alkylimidazoles has been found to increase linearly with increasing carbon chain length. The slopes of straight plots of pK_a = f(n_CH2) have been found to increase with increasing basicity of homologous series of the alkylimidazoles.     

The synthesis of 8‐hydroxyquinazoline derivatives and their acid‐base interactions

The reaction of N‐(2‐R¹‐oxyphenyl)benzimidoyl chlorides with cyanamide derivatives in the presence of titanium tetrachloride as a catalyst has yielded some new 4‐amino‐8‐R¹‐oxy‐2‐phenylquinazolines. pK_a values have been determined for these compounds and the influence of substituents at the basicity of the parent system has been discussed. Some investigations on the methyl‐quinazolinyl ether cleavage in different medium have been done yielding the appropriate hydroxyquinazoline derivatives. In those cases when the deprotection of 4‐amino‐8‐methoxy‐2‐phenylquinazoline was carried in aqueous acidic solutions, the formation of the hydrolysis products 3,4‐dihydro‐2‐phenyl‐4‐quinazolone derivatives was observed as well.     

A study of preferential solvation of N-alkyl pyridinium iodides in mixed solvents containing acetonitrile

The charge transfer (CT) band maximum of N-alkyl pyridinium iodide (NAPI) has been studied as a function of the composition of binary mixed dipolar aprotic solvents. The deviation from linearity of the energy maximum (E₁₂) and the mole fraction (of a component solvent) plot is explained as due to a preferential solvation by the more polar cosolvent in the binary mixture. The extent of preferential solvation has been observed to vary with the composition, the maximum being towards the less-polar end. The role of hydrogen bond donating ability of a solvent in preferential solvation is discussed.     

Potentiometric and ab initio studies of acid-base interactions of substituted 4-halo(Cl, Br)pyridine N-oxide systems

By using the potentiometric method, acidity constants have been determined in systems of tri- and tetra-substituted pyridine N-oxides. The potentiometric measurements in systems of four 4-chloropyridine N-oxide derivatives containing the chlorine atom at position 4 to the NO₂ group and four bromine counterparts were carried out in polar non-aqueous solvents, viz. amphiprotic methanol (MeOH) and aprotic protophilic dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). It was found that in all the systems studied the pK_a values were readily determinable (as indicated by small standard deviations) in MeOH, whereas in DMSO large standard deviations were obtained making the pK_a values either hardly determinable or indeterminable from potentiometric measurements. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that the acidity constants of protonated N-oxides studied in MeOH changed according to the sequence of their acidity constants in water. It was also found that in the polar solvents studied, i.e. in the amphiprotic methanol and the highly basic aprotic dimethyl sulfoxide, the cationic homo-conjugation equlibrium constants could not be determined using potentiometric method. Also, by using ab initio methods at the RHF and MP2 levels and the PCM model, utilizing the Gaussian 6-31++G^∗∗ basis set, energies and Gibbs free energies of the protonation reactions of the N-oxides have been determined. The energy parameters have been compared with acidity constants of the protonated N-oxides determined by potentiometric titration in methanol to establish a correlation between these approaches.     

Preparation and characterization of aromatic polyamides based on a bis(ether‐carboxylic acid) or a dietheramine extended from 1,1‐bis(4‐hydroxyphenyl)‐1‐phenylethane

Thermoplastic and organic‐soluble aromatic polyamides containing both bulky triphenylethane units and flexible ether linkages were prepared directly from 1,1‐bis[4‐(4‐carboxyphenoxy)phenyl]‐1‐phenylethane ( III ) with various aromatic diamines or from 1,1‐bis[4‐(4‐aminophenoxy)phenyl]‐1‐phenylethane ( V ) with various aromatic dicarboxylic diacids via triphenyl phosphite and pyridine. These polyamides had inherent viscosities ranging from 0.71 to 1.77 dL/g. All the polymers easily were dissolved in aprotic polar solvents such as N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone and N,N‐dimethylacetamide, and some even could be dissolved in less polar solvents such as tetrahydrofuran. The flexible and tough films cast from the polymer solutions possessed tensile strengths of 89 to 104 MPa. The polyamides were thermally stable up to 460°C in air or nitrogen. Glass‐transition temperatures of these polyamides were observed in a range of 179 to 268°C via differential scanning calorimetry or thermomechanical analysis. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 247–260, 2000     

Microwave‐assisted synthesis and characterization of heterocyclic,and optically active poly(amide‐imide)s incorporating L‐amino acids

N,N′‐Pyromelliticdiimido‐di‐L ‐alanine ( 1 ), N,N′‐pyromelliticdiimido‐di‐L ‐phenylalanine ( 2 ), and N,N′‐pyromelliticdiimido‐di‐L ‐leucine ( 3 ) were prepared from the reaction of pyromellitic dianhydride with corresponding L ‐amino acids in a mixture of glacial acetic acid and pyridine solution (3/2 ratio) under refluxing conditions. The microwave‐assisted polycondensation of the corresponding diimide‐diacyl chloride monomers ( 5–7 ) with 4‐phenyl‐2,6‐bis(4‐aminophenyl) pyridine ( 10 ) or 4‐(p‐methylthiophenyl)‐2,6‐bis(4‐aminophenyl) pyridine ( 12 ) were carried out in a laboratory microwave oven. The resulting poly(amide‐imide)s were obtained in quantitative yields, and they showed admirable inherent viscosities (0.12–0.55 dlg^?1), were soluble in polar aprotic solvents, showed good thermal stability and high optical purity. The synthetic compounds were characterized by IR, MS, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and specific rotation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

UV-spectroscopic study of the influence of traces of water on the protolytic equilibria of substituted pyridine N-oxides in aprotic solvents

Using a UV-spectrophotometric method, an attempt has been made to estimate quantitatively the influence of traces of water in aprotic solvents on the acidic-basic equilibria involving heterocyclic N-oxides. The N-oxides under study were pyridine N-oxide (PyO), 4-methoxy-pyridine N-oxide (4-MeOPyO), and 2-, 3-, and 4-picoline N-oxide (2-, 3-, and 4-PicO). For particular N-oxide the UV-spectra of acetonitrile solutions containing the free base and/or its simple or semiperchlorate have been recorded. To carry out the calculations various equilibrium models which include the protolytic equilibrium with water and basic species present in the solvent have been tested using the program STOICHIO which is based on non-linear regression analysis. It turned out that apart from the acidic-basic dissociation of a protonated N-oxide and cationic homoconjugation (the equilibria which are usually considered in such systems) it is absolutely necessary to take into account the protolytic equilibrium between the cationic acid and water present as impurity. Implications concerning investigations of other equilibrium systems in aprotic solvents and, in particular, the quality of the acidity constants for the calibration agents used in potentiometry are discussed.     

Organic solid photochromism by photoreduction mechanism: Viologen embedded in solid polar aprotic polymer matrix

Reversible photocolor developments of viologens embedded in poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) films, a typical polar aprotic solid matrix, were found to be affected by the kinds of viologen cation as well as the paired anion. The color developments in the corresponding low-molecular-weight solvents are connected closely to the solubility of viologens in these solvents; viologens are highly sensitive in the polar aprotic solvents in which they have poor solubilities, such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and hexamethyl phosphoric triamide. These facts confirm the color-development mechanism consistings of electron transfer to the photoexcited viologen cation from the paired anion in polar aprotic solid matrices such as poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone).     

Borohydrides from Organic Hydrides: Reactions of Hantzsch’s Esters with B(C6F5)3

We report herein that the reaction between a series of Hantzsch’s ester analogues 1 a – d with the Lewis acidic species B(C₆F₅)₃ results in facile transfer of hydride to boron. The main products of this reaction are pyridinium borohydride salts 2 a – d , which are obtained in high to moderate yields. The N‐substituted substrates (N‐Me, N‐Ph) reacted in high yield 90–98 % and the connectivity of the products were confirmed by an X‐ray crystallographic analysis of the N‐Me borohydride salt 2 a . Unsubstituted Hanztsch’s ester 1 a reacted less effectively generating only 60 % of the corresponding borohydride salt, with the balance of the material sequestered as the ester‐bound Lewis acid–base adduct 3 a . Formation of the Lewis acid–base adduct could be minimized by increasing the steric bulk about the ester groups as in 1 d . The connectivity of the carbonyl‐bound adduct was confirmed by an X‐ray crystallographic analysis of 3 e the product of the reaction of methyl ketone 1 e with B(C₆F₅)₃. We also explored the generation of these pyridinium salts by employing frustrated Lewis pair methodology. However, the reaction of mixtures of the corresponding pyridine and B(C₆F₅)₃ with hydrogen gas only resulted in formation of trace amounts of the pyridinium borohydride, along with the Lewis acid–base adduct of the starting material and B(C₆F₅)₃. The 1,2‐dihydropyridine adduct was the final product of this reaction. This was ascribed to the low basicity of the pyridine nitrogen and the complicating formation of an ester bound Lewis acid–base adduct.     

Solvent Effects in Acid‐Catalyzed Biomass Conversion Reactions

Reaction kinetics were studied to quantify the effects of polar aprotic organic solvents on the acid‐catalyzed conversion of xylose into furfural. A solvent of particular importance is γ‐valerolactone (GVL), which leads to significant increases in reaction rates compared to water in addition to increased product selectivity. GVL has similar effects on the kinetics for the dehydration of 1,2‐propanediol to propanal and for the hydrolysis of cellobiose to glucose. Based on results obtained for homogeneous Brønsted acid catalysts that span a range of pK_a values, we suggest that an aprotic organic solvent affects the reaction kinetics by changing the stabilization of the acidic proton relative to the protonated transition state. This same behavior is displayed by strong solid Brønsted acid catalysts, such as H‐mordenite and H‐beta.