Synthesis, luminescence properties, and theoretical insights of N-alkyl- or N,N-dialkyl-pyrene-1-carboxamide

We report the synthesis and photophysical properties of N-alkyl- or N,N-dialkyl-pyrene-1-carboxamide. These derivatives, as well as pyrene, exhibited blue emission. N-Alkyl-type derivatives exhibited strong fluorescence emission (Φ_fl = 0.61 in EtOH) in both nonpolar and polar solvents. On the other hand, N,N-dialkyl-type derivatives showed weak fluorescence emission (Φ_fl <0.01) due to vibrational deactivation. However, in highly viscous solvents such as glycerin, the quantum efficiencies of N-alkyl-type (Φ_fl = 0.91) and N,N-dialkyl-type (Φ_fl = 0.082) derivatives were increased. We also investigated the fluorescence mechanism of these compounds using time-dependent density-functional theory (TD-DFT). From these results, we find that highly fluorescent pyrene-1-carboxamide derivatives can be designed by introducing an appropriate functional group at the nitrogen atom of the amide. Thus, N,N-dialkyl-type pyrene-1-carboxamide has considerable potential for use in applications such as environmental response sensors and probes.     

Intramolecular diamination and alkoxyamination of alkenes with N-sulfonyl ureas employing N-iodosuccinimide

Reaction of N-δ-alkenyl-N′-sulfonyl urea 1 with N-iodosuccinimde (NIS; 2 equiv) and a catalytic amount of AgOTf (20 mol %) at room temperature led to intramolecular alkoxyamination to form bicyclic isourea 2a in 95% isolated yield. In comparison, reaction of 1 with NIS and sodium bicarbonate (1 equiv) at room temperature led to isolation of bicyclic imidazolidin-2-one 2b in 91% yield. These NIS-mediated alkoxyamination and diamination protocols were effective for a range of N-δ-alkenyl-N′-sulfonyl ureas to form the corresponding heterobicyclic compounds in good yield with high chemoselectivity and good to excellent diastereoselectivity.     

Synthesis of B-trisubstituted borazines via the rhodium-catalyzed hydroboration of alkenes with N,N′,N″-trimethyl or N,N′,N″-triethylborazine

Hydroboration of terminal and internal alkenes with N,N′,N″-trimethyl- and N,N′,N″-triethylborazine was carried out at 50 °C in the presence of a rhodium(I) catalyst. Addition of dppb or DPEphos (1 equiv.) to RhH(CO)(PPh₃)₃ gave the best catalyst for hydroboration of ethylene at 50 °C, resulting in a quantitative yield of B,B′,B″-triethyl-N,N′,N″-trimethylborazine. On the other hand, a complex prepared from (t-Bu)₃P (4 equiv.) and [Rh(coe)₂Cl]₂ gave the best yield for hydroboration of terminal or internal alkenes.     

Aerobic oxidation of trimethylbenzenes catalyzed by N,N′,N″-trihydroxyisocyanuric acid (THICA) as a key catalyst

The oxidation of trimethylbenzenes was examined with air or O₂ using N,N′,N″-trihydroxyisocyanuric acid (THICA) as a key catalyst. Thus, 1,2,3-, 1,2,4-, and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzenes under air (20 atm) in the presence of THICA (5 mol %), Co(OAc)₂ (0.5 mol %), Mn(OAc)₂, and ZrO(OAc)₂ at 150 °C were oxidized to the corresponding benzenetricarboxylic acids in good yields (81-97%). In the aerobic oxidation of 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene by the THICA/Co(II)/Mn(II) system, remarkable acceleration was observed by adding a very small amount of ZrO(OAc)₂ to the reaction system to form 1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylic acid in excellent yield (97%). In contrast, no considerable addition effect was observed in the oxidation of 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene. This aerobic oxidation by the present catalytic system provides an economical and environmentally benign direct method to benzenetricarboxylic acids, which are very important polymer materials.     

Nickel-catalysed addition of dialkylzinc reagents to N-phosphinoyl- and N-sulfonylimines

A catalytic amount of a nickel complex (0.1-5.3 mol %) extraordinarily increases the reaction rate of the addition of dialkylzinc reagents to N-(diphenylphosphinoyl)- or N-(benzenesulfonyl)imines. The reaction of imines derived from both aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes with various dialkylzinc reagents in the presence of several nickel complexes gives the expected addition products in most cases in 1 h and in very good yields. In general, the formation of reduction by-products was not an important side reaction. The process represents a great improvement, with regard to the reaction rate and the yield of the addition products, in comparison with the reactions performed in the absence of the nickel catalyst, and reaction times are much shorter than the ones reported so far using other catalysts.     

Highly selective flow injection spectrophotometric determination of gold based on its catalytic effect on the oxidation of variamine blue by potassium iodate in aqueous N,N-dimethylformamide medium

A highly selective and simple flow injection method is reported for the determination of Au(III) in jewel samples. The method is based on the catalytic effect of Au(III) on the oxidation of 4-amino-4′-methoxydiphenylamine hydrochloride (Variamine Blue B base, VB) by KIO₃. The colored reaction product was monitored spectrophotometrically at 546 nm. A volume fraction of 40% N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) greatly enhances the selectivity of the method. The chemical (pH and concentrations of reagents) and instrumental variables (sample injection volume, reagents flow rates, reaction coil length) affecting the determination were studied and optimized. Under the selected values, the analyte could be determined in the range of 0.1-12.0 mg L⁻¹ (r = 0.9997), at a sampling rate of 120 h⁻¹. The proposed assay was precise (s_r = 0.8% at 5.0 mg L⁻¹ Au(III), n = 12) and adequately sensitive with a 3σ limit of detection of 0.03 mg L⁻¹. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of jewel samples. The obtained results were favorably compared to flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) used as a reference method.     

Trihaloacetaldehyde N,O-acetals: useful building blocks for dihalomethylene compounds

The reaction of trifluoroacetaldehyde N,O-acetals with more than 2 equiv of alkyllithiums at −78 °C resulted in regiospecific defluorinative alkylation with unusual regioselectivity to give α,α-difluoroketone N,O-acetals in excellent yield. In contrast, under similar conditions, trichloroacetaldehyde N,O-acetals gave simple mono-dechlorinated product without the alkyl transfer reaction from alkyllithiums to the generated intermediates.     

1-Aryltetralin privileged structure-based libraries: parallel synthesis of N-aryl and N-biaryl γ-lactam lignans

The parallel solution-phase synthesis of two libraries of product-like compounds derived from a 1-aryltetralin privileged structure is described. The N-aryl picropodophyllone γ-lactams were synthesized from methyl ester thuriferic acid via InCl₃-tandem aza-Michael addition-cyclization reaction of anilines. Bromo-aryl compounds from this library were subjected to a ligandless palladium Suzuki cross-coupling to give the expected N-biaryl picropodophyllin γ-lactams.     

N,N-polymethylene-bisadenine complexes with d metal ions

The reaction of N⁹,N^9′-(tri or tetramethylene)-bisadenines (Ade₂C_x; x = 3 or 4) in HCl 2 M at 50 °C with MCl₂ · 2H₂O [M = Zn(II), Cd(II)] yields outer sphere compounds like the previously described [(H-Ade)₂C₃][ZnCl₄] · H₂O (3) and [(H-Ade)₂C₃]₂[Cd₂Cl₈(H₂O)₂] · 4H₂O (4) for Ade₂C₃ and the new {[(H-Ade)₂C₄][Cd₂Cl₆(H₂O)₂] · 2H₂O}_n (5) for Ade₂C₄. On the other hand, only in case of Zn(II) complexes by changing [HCl] to 0.1 M, the inner sphere compounds [H-(Ade)₂C₃(ZnCl₃)] (6) and [H-(Ade)₂C₄(ZnCl₃)] · 1.5H₂O (7) are obtained. X-ray diffraction study of compound 6, which represents the first inner sphere complex with a N⁹,N^9′-bisadenine, shows a zwitterionic form with one adenine ring protonated at N(1) while the other ring is coordinated via N(7) to a ZnCl₃ moiety as in other alkyl-adenine derivatives. In addition, with Ade₂C₄, is also possible to obtain another inner sphere complex: [(H-Ade)₂C₄(ZnCl₃)₂] · 3H₂O (8).     

Highly sensitive method for determination of N-nitrosamines using high-performance liquid chromatography with online UV irradiation and luminol chemiluminescence detection

A new method for the measurement of N-nitrosamines in part-per-trillion concentrations from water samples without preconcentration steps has been developed. This method is based on online UV irradiation after high-performance liquid chromatographic separation and subsequent luminol chemiluminescence detection without addition of an oxidant. It was confirmed that N-nitrosamines in basic aqueous solution were transformed to peroxynitrite by UV irradiation. The detection limits for this method were 1.5 ng/L, 2.9 ng/L, 3.0 ng/L, and 2.7 ng/L for N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosomorpholine, N-nitrosomethylethylamine, and N-nitrosopyrrolidine, respectively, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The calibration graphs were linear in the range of 5–1000 ng/L for these N-nitrosamines. This method was used for the determination of N-nitrosamines in tap water, river water, and industrial plant effluent samples. The recoveries of N-nitrosodimethylamine, N-nitrosomorpholine, N-nitrosomethylethylamine, and N-nitrosopyrrolidine present in tap water sample at a concentration of 10 ng/L (mean ± standard deviation, n = 4) were (94.8 ± 2.7)%, (102.0 ± 6.9)%, (99.3 ± 3.9)%, and (102.8 ± 2.5)%, respectively. These results indicate that our proposed method can be applied satisfactorily to the determination of N-nitrosamines in water samples.     

AcOH-catalyzed aza-Michael addition/N-nitrosation: An efficient approach to CF2HCH2-containing N-nitrosoamines

A simple and highly efficient protocol for the AcOH-catalyzed three-component reaction among nitroalkenes, difluoroethylamine and tert-butyl nitrite through cascade aza-Michael addition/N-nitrosation has been developed. A range of CF₂HCH₂-containing N-nitrosoamines were obtained in good to excellent yields. This approach features easily available cheap materials, without using additional organic solvents, simple operation under room temperature, gram scalable preparation and functionally diverse products.     

Capillary electrophoresis-electrochemiluminescent detection of N,N-dimethyl ethanolamine and its application in impurity profiling and stability investigation of meclophenoxate

Numerous drugs are carboxylic acid derivatives containing amino group, and hydrolysis reaction of these agents often generates toxic amines. Thus, the detection of amine impurity is of great importance in drug quality control of these amino group-containing ester and amide. A capillary electrophoresis method coupled with end-column electrochemiluminescent detection based on tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) system was proposed for the analysis of N,N-dimethyl ethanolamine (DMEA, the degradation product of meclophenoxate) in the presence of its precursor. Baseline separation of DMEA and meclophenoxate can be easily achieved under the selected conditions. DMEA can be assayed within 3 min over the concentration range of 5.0 × 10⁻⁸ to 3.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 2.0 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ at the signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The relative standard deviations of the signal intensity and the migration time were less than 5.3 and 2.5% for a standard sample containing 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ DMEA (n = 5), respectively. The presented method has been successfully applied for the profiling of DMEA resulting from the hydrolysis of meclophenoxate in commercial formulations. A primary stability investigation of meclophenoxate in aqueous solution was also carried out at different temperatures, and the results showed that the degradation of meclophenoxate accelerated at the higher temperature.     

Uranyl(VI) complexes of [O,N,O,N′]-type diaminobis(phenolate) ligands: Syntheses,structures and extraction studies

The syntheses and crystal structures of four new uranyl complexes with [O,N,O,N′]-type ligands are described. The reaction between uranyl nitrate hexahydrate and the phenolic ligand [(N,N-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)-N′,N′-dimethylethylenediamine)], H₂L1 in a 1:2 molar ratio (M to L), yields a uranyl complex with the formula [UO₂(HL1)(NO₃)] · CH₃CN (1). In the presence of a base (triethylamine, one mole per ligand mole) with the same molar ratio, the uranyl complex [UO₂(HL1)₂] (2) is formed. The reaction between uranyl nitrate hexahydrate and the ligand [(N,N-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-di-t-butylbenzyl)-N′,N′-dimethylethylenediamine)], H₂L2, yields a uranyl complex with the formula [UO₂(HL2)(NO₃)] · 2CH₃CN (3) and the ligand [N-(2-pyridylmethyl)-N,N-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)amine], H₂L3, in the presence of a base yields a uranyl complex with the formula [UO₂(HL3)₂] · 2CH₃CN (4). The molecular structures of 1–4 were verified by X-ray crystallography. The complexes 1–4 are zwitter ions with a neutral net charge. Compounds 1 and 3 are rare neutral mononuclear [UO₂(HLn)(NO₃)] complexes with the nitrate bonded in η²-fashion to the uranyl ion. Furthermore, the ability of the ligands H₂L1–H₂L4 to extract the uranyl ion from water to dichloromethane, and the selectivity of extraction with ligands H₂L1, H₃L5 (N,N-bis(2-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyl)-3-amino-1-propanol), H₂L6 · HCl (N,N-bis(2-hydroxy-5-tert-butyl-3-methylbenzyl)-1-aminobutane · HCl) and H₃L7 · HCl (N,N-bis(2-hydroxy-5-tert-butyl-3-methylbenzyl)-6-amino-1-hexanol · HCl) under varied chemical conditions were studied. As a result, the most efficient and selective ligand for uranyl ion extraction proved to be H₃L7 · HCl.     

One-pot and microwave-assisted synthesis of N-sulfonylaziridines

A novel and efficient microwave-assisted one-step reaction was developed to synthesize chiral N-sulfonylaziridines by the reaction of different chiral amino alcohols and sulfonic chlorides. The newly developed microwave synthetic method has the advantage of reducing the reaction time from 24 to 0.5 h with improved yields (84-93%) and minimizing by-products.     

Synthesis of 5-alkyl-5-aryl-1-pyrroline N-oxides from 1-aryl-substituted nitroalkanes and acrolein via Michael addition and nitro reductive cyclization

A general method for accessing 5-alkyl-5-aryl-1-pyrroline N-oxides (AAPOs) has been established using readily available aryl bromides, nitroalkanes, and acrolein as the starting materials. The palladium-catalyzed arylation of nitroalkanes gave the 1-aryl-substituted nitroalkanes, which underwent the Et₃N-catalyzed Michael addition with acrolein at room temperature to afford the 4-aryl-4-nitroaldehydes. The latter were then subjected to the nitro reductive cyclization using Zn–HOAc in EtOH at 0 °C followed by warming the reaction mixture to room temperature for 24 h, furnishing the 5-alkyl-5-aryl-1-pyrroline N-oxides in good overall yields. Selected examples of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the cyclic nitrones with methyl methacrylate were also described.     

Cyclisation at very high temperature. Thermal transformations of N-alkyl and N,N-dialkyl cinnamic amides into pyrrolidin-2-ones under FVT conditions

Novel cyclisations of N-alkyl and N,N-dialkyl cinnamic amides to the corresponding pyrrolidin-2-ones under the conditions of flash vacuum thermolysis, are described. It was found that this reaction proceeds at 950-1000 °C affording a mixture of isomeric pyrrolidin-2-ones in various yields. Two possible mechanisms are proposed for the process.     

Synthesis and characterization of silver nanowires with zigzag morphology in N,N-dimethylformamide

Zigzag silver nanowires with a uniform diameter of 20±5 nm were prepared by reducing silver nitrate (AgNO₃) with N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) in the presence of tetrabutyl titanate (TBT) and acetylacetone (AcAc) at 373 K for 18 h. X-ray and selected area electron diffraction (XRD and SAED) patterns reveal that the prepared product is made of pure silver with face centered cubic structure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigations suggest that the amount of silver nanowires is enhanced with increase in reaction time, and the end-to-end assemblies of silver nanorods are observed during the reaction process. After 18 h reaction, silver nanowires with zigzag morphology are obtained. In this paper, a possible growth process of silver nanowires with this interesting shape is described. Silver nanoparticles with small sizes were obtained by reducing Ag⁺ ions with DMF, providing seeds for homogeneous growth of silver nanorods. With the extending reaction time, the synthesized silver nanorods were connected in an end-to-end manner, and the interface between the connections of two nanorods gradually disappeared. The final product shows zigzag morphology with various angles. The angles between two connecting straight parts of zigzag nanowires exhibit an alterable range of 74-151°. These silver nanowires show tremendous potential applications in future nanoscale electronic circuits.     

One-pot synthesis of N-protected α-amino aldehyde acetals from three-component reaction of fluoroalkanesulfonyl azide, vinyl ether and alcohol

A facile one-step method has been developed for the synthesis of N-protected α-amino aldehyde acetals in moderate to good yields by three-component reaction of fluoroalkanesulfonyl azides, vinyl ethers and alcohol at 0 °C within 10 min. This practical synthetic method provides a convenient and expeditious access to N-per(poly)fluoroalkanesulfonyl α-amino aldehyde acetals.     

Spiroborate catalyzed reductions with N,N-diethylaniline borane

Reduction of esters, amides, and ketones by N,N-diethylaniline borane is accelerated by catalysts derived from spiroborate complexes. Esters are reduced at ambient temperature in less than 4 h with this amine borane and 5 mol % spiroborate 6. Functional group selectivity shows ketone and tertiary amide reduction is faster than ester or nitrile reduction.     

Mild copper-catalyzed N-arylation of azaheterocycles with aryl halides

A highly efficient copper(I)-catalyzed N-arylation of azaheterocycles with various aryl halides is reported. The N-arylation reaction can be carried out using as low as 0.5 mol % of (Cu(I)OTf)₂·PhH and 1.0 mol % of 4,7-dichloro-1,10-phenanthroline as the ligand. Furthermore, cheap and stable copper precursors like Cu(I)I and Cu(II)(OAc)₂·H₂O and the cheap and mild base K₂CO₃ can be used.