Developing a new class of axial chiral phosphorus ligands: preparation and characterization of enantiopure atropisomeric phosphinines

Both enantiomers of the first atropisomeric phosphinine (1) have been isolated by using analytical HPLC on a chiral stationary phase. The enrichment of one enantiomer and a subsequent investigation into its racemization kinetics revealed a barrier for internal rotation of DeltaG(298)(double dagger) = (109.5+/-0.5) kJ mol(-1), which is in excellent agreement with the theoretically predicted value of DeltaG(298)(double dagger) =116 kJ mol(-1). Further analysis with UV and circular dichroism spectroscopies and density functional theory calculations led to the determination and assignment of the absolute configurations of both enantiomers. These results are the basis for future investigations into this new class of axially chiral phosphinine-based ligands and their possible applications in asymmetric homogeneous catalysis.     

From model compounds to extended pi-conjugated systems: synthesis and properties of dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]phospholes

To explore their suitability for applications in molecular optoelectronics and as sensory materials, novel dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]phospholes have been synthesized and their reactivity and properties investigated. An efficient two-step synthesis allowed for a modular assembly of differently functionalized compounds. The dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]phosphole system exhibits extraordinary optoelectronic properties with respect to wavelength, intensity, and tunability. Owing to the nucleophilic nature of the central phosphorus atom, its significant electronic influence on the conjugated pi system can be altered selectively by chemically facile modifications such as oxidation or complexation with Lewis acids or transition metals. All the dithienophosphole species presented show very strong blue photoluminescence with excellent quantum yield efficiencies supporting their potential utility as blue-light emitting components in organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Furthermore, depending on the electronic nature of the phosphorus center, the materials exhibit distinctive optoelectronic properties suggesting that the dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]phosphole system may be useful as sensory material. Theoretical calculations, including time-dependent DFT methods, revealed the excellent predictability of the structures and optoelectronic properties of the functionalized dithienophospholes allowing the design of future dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]phosphole-based materials to be "stream-lined". By using tin-functionalized dithienophosphole monomers, a strategy, which involves Stille coupling, towards extended pi-conjugated materials with significantly redshifted optoelectronic properties is also presented.     

Polycyano-anion-based energetic salts

Energetic salts based on polycyano anions and cations with a high nitrogen content tend to have extensive hydrogen bonding and exhibit heats of formation up to DeltaH(f)=1579.1 kJ mol(-1). Based on theoretical calculations, some of the new salts may be considered to be low-energy monopropellants. One of the salts can be used as a precursor to a carbon nitride.     

Lithium 2,3-dihydro-1-benzothiophene-1,1-dioxide: synthesis, characterization, DFT calculations, and reactivity toward aldehydes and azomethines

The sulfonyl carbanion derived from 2,3-dihydro-1-benzothiophene-1,1-dioxide and its lithium salt has been investigated by DFT calculations. NMR and IR spectroscopic analyses showed that the lithium sulfonyl carbanion exists in solution as a monomer in equilibrium with a dimer. The lithium carbanion was treated with aldehydes and azomethynes to give chiral hydroxy and amino derivatives. The stereochemistry of the products and the diastereoselectivity of the reaction were investigated.     

2-Bromophospholide ions: synthesis and theoretical study

DFT calculations at the B3 LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p) level indicate that the 2-bromophospholide ion could be stable toward self-arylation as a result of the lowered nucleophilicity of the in-plane phosphorus lone pair (the corresponding sigma(P) orbital is lowered by 0.7 eV compared with the corresponding orbital of the parent phospholide ion, and the negative charge at P is reduced from -0.435 to -0.369 e). Accordingly, the synthesis of 2-bromo-3,4-dimethylphospholide was successfully carried out by quantitative base-induced dealkylation of 2-bromo-1-(2-ethoxycarbonylethyl)-3,4-dimethylphosphole. This ion reacts with FeCl2 to give the corresponding 2,2'-dibromo-3,3',4,4'-tetramethyl-1,1'-diphosphaferrocene as a poorly stable mixture of meso- and rac-diastereomers in 18% yield.     

Diazadioxa[8]circulenes: Planar Antiaromatic Cyclooctatetraenes

In this paper we describe a new class of antiaromatic planar cyclooctatetraenes: the diazadioxa[8]circulenes. The synthesis was achieved by means of a new acid‐mediated oxidative dimerization of 3,6‐dihydroxycarbazoles to yield the diazadioxa[8]circulenes in high yields. The synthetic protocol appears to be general, and is a one‐pot transformation in which two C? C bonds and two C? O bonds are formed with the loss of two molecules of water. We also present a detailed characterization of the optical and electrochemical properties of this new class of stable planar cyclooctatetraenes. The properties of the diazadioxa[8]circulenes are compared with the properties of isoelectronic tetraoxa[8]circulenes and azatrioxa[8]circulenes. We discuss the antiaromatic nature of the planar central cyclooctatetraene moiety. The antiaromatic nature of the planar cyclooctatetraenes was studied by using computational methods (NICS calculations), and these calculations reveal that the central eight‐membered ring has antiaromatic character.     

Cationic Heteroleptic Cyclometalated Iridium Complexes with 1‐Pyridylimidazo[1,5‐α]pyridine Ligands: Exploitation of an Efficient Intersystem Crossing

Luminescent ligands in Ir^III cyclometalated complexes. The photophysical and photochemical properties of Ir‐cyclometalated complexes containing luminescent ligands are evaluated (see figure). Significant admixture between Ir and ligand orbitals induces an efficient intersystem crossing. Photochemical reactions performed in the presence of oxygen lead to new Ir‐cyclometalated complexes containing N(amido) groups directly bound to Ir.

     

Planarized Intramolecular Charge Transfer: A Concept for Fluorophores with both Large Stokes Shifts and High Fluorescence Quantum Yields

Fluorophores were successfully used in several areas of chemistry and biochemistry. For many purposes, however, it is necessary that the fluorescence compound features a high fluorescence quantum yield as well as a large Stokes shift. The latter is, for example, achieved by the use of a twisted intramolecular charge‐transfer (TICT) compound, which shows a twisted geometry in the excited state. However, the higher the twisting is, the lower becomes in general the fluorescence quantum yield as the resulting emission from the twisted state is forbidden. In order to escape this dilemma, we propose the model of planarized intramolecular charge‐transfer (PLICT) states. These compounds are completely twisted in the ground states and planar in the excited states. By means of quantum chemical calculations (time‐dependent (TD)‐B3LYP and CC2) and experimental studies, we could demonstrate that 1‐aminoindole and its derivatives form photoinduced PLICT states. They show both very large Stokes shifts ( =9000–13 500 cm^?1, i.e., λ=100–150 nm) and high fluorescence quantum yields. These characteristics and their easy availability starting from the corresponding indoles, make them very attractive for the use as optical switches in various fields of chemistry as well as biological probes.     

A novel series of vanadium-sulfite polyoxometalates: synthesis, structural, and physical studies

Reaction of NH4VO3 with sulfur dioxide affords the hexanuclear cluster (NH4)2(Et4N)[(V(IV)O)6(mu4-O)2(mu3-OH)2(mu3-SO3)4(H2O)2]Cl x H2O (1), and the decapentanuclear host-guest compound (Et4N)5{Cl subset [(VO)15(mu3-O)18(mu-O)3]} x 3 H2O (2). Sequential addition of magnesium oxide to an acidic aqueous solution of NH4VO3 (pH approximately 0) followed by (NH4)2SO3 resulted in the formation of either the non-oxo polymeric vanadium(IV) compound trans-(NH4)2[V(IV)(OH)2(mu-SO3)2] (3) or the polymeric oxovanadium(IV) sulfite (NH4)[V(IV)O(SO3)1.5(H2O)] x 2.5 H2O (4) at pH values of 6 and 4, respectively. The decameric vanadium(V) compound {Na4(mu-H2O)8(H2O)6}[Mg(H2O)6][V(V)10(O)8(mu6-O)2(mu3-O)14] x 3 H2O (5) was synthesised by treating an acidic aqueous solution of NH4VO3 with MgO and addition of NaOH to pH approximately 6. All the compounds were characterised by single-crystal X-ray structure analysis. The crystal structure of compound 1 revealed an unprecedented structural motif of a cubane unit [M4(mu4-O)2(mu3-OH)2] connected to two other metal atoms. Compound 3 comprises a rare example of a non-oxo vanadium(IV) species isolated from aqueous solution and in the presence of the reducing agent SO3(2-), while compound 4 represents a rare example of an open-framework species isolated at room temperature (20 degrees C). In addition to the synthesis and crystallographic studies, we report the IR and magnetic properties (for 1, 2 and 3) of these vanadium clusters as well as theoretical studies on compound 3.     

Coarctate versus pericyclic reactivity in naphthalene-fused azo-ene-ynes: synthesis of benzocinnolines and benzoisoindazoles

The cyclization reactions of naphthalene-fused azo-ene-yne compounds are explored both computationally and experimentally. Calculations reveal that naphtho-fusion to an azo-ene-yne scaffold does not significantly alter the transition state energies compared to the benzene-based systems; however, fusing the naphthalene in an angular fashion leads to lower energy intermediates due to the creation of arenes possessing greater aromaticity. Experimentally, the cyclization of the angular systems yields not only the expected monomeric benzocinnolines and benzoisoindazoles, but also several dimeric structures, including one that readily isomerizes in the presence of light and/or trace acid.     

Synthesis,Spectroscopy, Nonlinear Optics,and Theoretical Investigations of Thienylethynyl Octopoles with a Tunable Core

We have synthesized three new molecules that have three thienylethynyl arms substituting a central benzene core and different electron donor/acceptor groups in the three remaining phenyl positions. The absorption, fluorescence, phosphorescence, and transient triplet–triplet spectra are analyzed in the light of the electronic structure of the ground and excited states obtained from quantum‐chemical calculations. From the above, the relevant photophysical data (including quantum yields, lifetimes, and rate constants) could be derived. It was found that the major deactivation pathway is internal conversion, which competes with the fluorescence and intersystem crossing processes. For the three investigated compounds, we provide convincing theoretical support corroborating these findings and further conclusions based on the theoretical information obtained. These molecules are one of the very few cases in which the depolarization ratios, obtained from the NLO optical measurements, clearly reflect the octopolar configuration. Molecular hyperpolarizabilities have been measured and display a typical dependence on the donor–acceptor substitution pattern.     

Vertically π‐Expanded Imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine: The Missing Link of the Puzzle

The dehydrogenative coupling of imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine derivative has been achieved for the first time. In cases in which the most‐electron‐rich position of the electron‐excessive heterocycle was blocked by a naphthalen‐1‐yl substituent, neither oxidative aromatic coupling nor reaction under Scholl conditions enabled the fusion of the rings. The only method that converted the substrate into the corresponding imidazo[5,1,2‐de]naphtho[1,8‐ab]quinolizine was coupling in the presence of potassium in anhydrous toluene. Moreover, we discovered new, excellent conditions for this anion‐radical coupling reaction, which employed dry O₂ from the start in the reaction mixture. This method afforded vertically fused imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine in 63 % yield. Interestingly, whereas the fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_fl) of compound 3 , despite the freedom of rotation, was close to 50 %, the Φ_fl value of flat naphthalene‐imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine was only 5 %. Detailed analysis of this compound by using DFT calculations and a low‐temperature Shpol′skii matrix revealed phosphorescence emission, thus indicating that efficient intersystem‐crossing from the lowest‐excited S₁ level to the triplet manifold was the competing process with fluorescence.     

1,2,4-triazolium-cation-based energetic salts

3,4,5-Triamino-1,2,4-triazole (guanazine, 1) can be readily methylated with methyl iodide yielding methylguanazinium iodide (2). Salts containing the novel methylguanazinium cation with energetic anions were synthesised by metathesis reactions with silver azide (3), silver nitrate (4), silver perchlorate (5), sodium 5,5'-azotetrazolate (6), silver 5-nitrotetrazolate (7) and silver dinitramide (8), yielding a new family of heterocycle-based salts, which were fully characterised by analytical (mass spectrometry and elemental analysis) and spectroscopic methods (IR, Raman and NMR). In addition, the molecular structures of all compounds were confirmed by X-ray analysis, revealing extensive hydrogen-bonding in the solid state and densities between 1.399 (3) and 1.669 g cm(-3) (5). The hydrogen-bonded ring motifs are discussed in the formalism of graph-set analysis for hydrogen-bond patterns and compared to each other. Preliminary sensitivity testing of the crystalline compounds indicate surprisingly low sensitivities to both friction and impact, the highest friction and shock sensitivity being found for the perchlorate (5, 220 N) and the dinitramide (8, 20 J) salts, respectively. In addition, DSC analysis was used to assess the thermal stabilities of the compounds: 3-6 melt above 200 degrees C with concomitant decomposition, whereas 7 and 8 have clearly defined melting points at 162 and 129 degrees C, respectively, and with decomposition occurring about 30 degrees C above the melting point. Lastly all compounds have positive calculated heats of formation between 336 (4) and 4070 kJ kg(-1) (6) and calculated detonation velocities in the range between 8330 (7) and 8922 m s(-1) (6) making them of interest as new highly energetic materials with low sensitivity.     

Double Friedel-Crafts acylation reactions on the same ring of a metallocene: synthesis of a 2,5-diacetylphospharuthenocene

The synthetic outcome of the Friedel-Crafts acylation of 1',2',3,3',4,4',5'-heptamethylphospharuthenocene reflects the nature of the acylating agent, with alkanoyl anhydride/trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH) reagents giving monosubstitution at the phospholyl ring, whereas alkanoyl chloride/AlCl(3) gives 2,5-disubstitution. DFT calculations indicate that this unusual double acylation can be facilitated by the intervention of the phosphorus atom at an early stage in the reaction trajectory, with the acyl group being delivered from the phosphorus atom into the ring 2- or 2,5-positions.     

White Emitters by Tuning the Excited‐State Intramolecular Proton‐Transfer Fluorescence Emission in 2‐(2′‐Hydroxybenzofuran)benzoxazole Dyes

The synthesis, structural, and photophysical properties of a new series of original dyes based on 2‐(2′‐hydroxybenzofuran)benzoxazole (HBBO) is reported. Upon photoexcitation, these dyes exhibit intense dual fluorescence with contribution from the enol (E*) and the keto (K*) emission, with K* being formed through excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT). We show that the ratio of emission intensity E*/K* can be fine‐tuned by judiciously decorating the molecular core with electron‐donating or ‐attracting substituents. Push–pull dyes 9 and 10 functionalized by a strong donor (nNBu₂) and a strong acceptor group (CF₃ and CN, respectively) exhibit intense dual emission, particularly in apolar solvents such as cyclohexane in which the maximum wavelength of the two bands is the more strongly separated. Moreover, all dyes exhibit strong solid‐state dual emission in a KBr matrix and polymer films with enhanced quantum yields reaching up to 54 %. A wise selection of substituents led to white emission both in solution and in the solid state. Finally, these experimental results were analyzed by time‐dependent density functional theory (TD‐DFT) calculations, which confirm that, on the one hand, only E* and K* emission are present (no rotamer) and, on the other hand, the relative free energies of the two tautomers in the excited state guide the ratio of the E*/K* emission intensities.     

Novel 8-arylidenetetrahydroquinazoline N-oxides: synthesis,photophysical properties and biological evaluation

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