Stable,High‐Molecular‐Weight Poly(phthalaldehyde)

Low ceiling temperature, thermodynamically unstable polymers have been troublesome to synthesize and keep stable during storage. In this study, stable poly(phthalaldehyde) has been synthesized with BF₃‐OEt₂ catalyst. The role of BF₃ in the polymerization is described. The interaction of BF₃ with the monomer is described and used to maximize the yield and molecular weight of poly(phthalaldehyde). Various Lewis acids were used to investigate the effect of catalyst acidity on poly(phthalaldehyde) chain growth. In situ nuclear magnetic resonance was used to identify possible interactions formed between BF₃ and phthalaldehyde monomer and polymer. The molecular weight of the polymer tracks with polymerization yield. The ambient temperature stability of poly(phthalaldehyde) was investigated and the storage life of the polymer has been improved. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 55, 1166–1172     

Dendrimer‐Type Peptoid‐Decorated Hexaphenylxylenes and Tetraphenylmethanes: Synthesis and Structure in Solution and in the Gas Phase

Branched organic nanostructures are useful scaffolds that find multiple applications in a variety of fields. Here, we present a novel approach to dendrimer‐like structures. Our design contains a rigid hydrocarbon‐based core (hexaphenylxylylene/tetraethynylphenylmethane) combined with a library of N‐substituted oligoglycines (so‐called peptoids) providing a flexible shell. The use of click chemistry allows rapid assembly of the nanostructures. The possibility of tuning the size and the solubility of this new type of nanostructure will be advantageous for future applications such as heterogeneous catalysis.     

Azaborabutadienes: Synthesis by Metal‐Free Carboboration of Nitriles and Utility as Building Blocks for B,N‐Heterocycles

Metal‐free regioselective carboboration of arylnitriles with L₂PhB: ( 1 : L=oxazol‐2‐ylidene) catalyzed by Et₃B afforded the unprecedented acyclic 2‐aza‐4‐borabutadienes 2 , thus demonstrating a new strategy to construct a B,C,N‐mixed π‐system involving B=C and C=N bonds. Thermal isomerization of 2 gave C‐borylimines ( 3 ), and diverse reactivity of 2 a towards several substrates, such as H⁺, F⁺, O₂, S, Se, and isonitriles, allowed construction of boron‐containing heterocycles with various ring sizes, thus illustrating the utility of 2 as a synthetic building block.     

1H NMR‐Guided Isolation of Formyl‐Phloroglucinol Meroterpenoids from the Leaves of Eucalyptus robusta

Nine formyl‐phloroglucinolmeroterpenoids (FPMs), namely, eucalrobusones A–I ( 1 – 9 ), were isolated from the leaves of Eucalyptus robusta by tracking the phenolic hydroxyl ¹H NMR peaks. The Snatzke helicity rules for the Cotton effects of twisted benzene rings were applied to elucidate the absolute configurations of the FPMs. These findings, along with NMR spectroscopy, the circular dichroism (CD) exciton chirality method, and CD calculations, allowed complete structures for the FPMs to be assigned. Eucalrobusones A–F ( 1 – 6 ) are novel adducts formed between a formyl‐derived carbon atom on the phloroglucinol ring and monoterpene and sesquiterpene components. Eucalrobusones G–I ( 7 – 9 ) are the first examples of FPMs with cubebane part structures connected by an unusual 1‐oxaspiro[5.5]undecane subunit. Among these isolates, eucalrobusone C ( 3 ) showed significant cytotoxicity against HepG2, MCF‐7, and U2OS cancer cell lines, with IC₅₀ values less than 10 μm . Compound 3 significantly blocks cell proliferation in MCF‐7 cells and induces MCF‐7 cell death through apoptosis.     

Metal‐Free Oxidation of Primary Amines to Nitriles through Coupled Catalytic Cycles

Synergism among several intertwined catalytic cycles allows for selective, room temperature oxidation of primary amines to the corresponding nitriles in 85–98 % isolated yield. This metal‐free, scalable, operationally simple method employs a catalytic quantity of 4‐acetamido‐TEMPO (ACT; TEMPO=2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidine N‐oxide) radical and the inexpensive, environmentally benign triple salt oxone as the terminal oxidant under mild conditions. Simple filtration of the reaction mixture through silica gel affords pure nitrile products.     

Synthesis and Characterization of 2‐Mono‐ and 1,2‐Diaminocarba‐closo‐dodecaborates M[1‐R‐2‐H2N‐closo‐CB11H10] (R=H,Ph, H2N,CyHN)

The first primary 2‐aminocarba‐closo‐dodecaborates [1‐R‐2‐H₂N‐closo‐CB₁₁H₁₀]^? (R=H ( 1 ), Ph ( 2 )) have been synthesized by insertion reactions of (Me₃Si)₂NBCl₂ into the trianions [7‐R‐7‐nido‐CB₁₀H₁₀]^3?. The difunctionalized species [1,2‐(H₂N)₂‐closo‐CB₁₁H₁₀] ( 3 ) and 1‐CyHN‐2‐H₃N‐closo‐CB₁₁H₁₀ (H‐ 4 ) have been prepared analogously from (Me₃Si)₂NBCl₂ and 7‐H₃N‐7‐nido‐CB₁₀H₁₂. In addition, the preparation of [Et₄N][1‐H₂N‐2‐Ph‐closo‐CB₁₁H₁₀] ([Et₄N]‐ 5 ) starting from PhBCl₂ and 7‐H₃N‐7‐nido‐CB₁₀H₁₂ is described. Methylation of the [1‐Ph‐2‐H₂N‐closo‐CB₁₁H₁₀]^? ion ( 2 ) to produce 1‐Ph‐2‐Me₃N‐closo‐CB₁₁H₁₀ ( 6 ) is reported. The crystal structures of [Et₄N]‐ 2 , [Et₄N]‐ 5 , and 6 were determined and the geometric parameters were compared to theoretical values derived from DFT and ab initio calculations. All new compounds were studied by NMR, IR, and Raman spectroscopy, MALDI mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. The discussion of the experimental NMR chemical shifts and of selected vibrational band positions is supported by theoretical data. The thermal properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The pK_a values of 2‐H₃N‐closo‐CB₁₁H₁₁ (H‐ 1 ), 1‐H₃N‐closo‐CB₁₁H₁₀ (H‐ 7 ), and 1,2‐(H₃N)₂‐closo‐CB₁₁H₁₀ (H₂‐ 3 ) were determined by potentiometric titration and by NMR studies. The experimental results are compared to theoretical data (DFT and ab initio). The basicities of the aminocarba‐closo‐dodecaborates agree well with the spectroscopic and structural properties.     

Visible‐Light‐Promoted Metal‐Free Aerobic Oxidation of Primary Amines to Acids and Lactones

A unique metal‐free aerobic oxidation of primary amines via visible light photocatalytic double carbon–carbon bonds cleavage and multi carbon–hydrogen bonds oxidation was observed. Aerobic oxidation of primary amines could be controlled to afford acids by using dioxane with 18 W CFL, and lactones by using DMF with 8 W green LEDs, respectively. A plausible mechanism was proposed based on control experiments. This observation showed direct evidences for the fragmentation in the aerobic oxidation of aliphatic primary amines.     

Giant Residual Dipolar 13C–1H Couplings in High‐Spin Organoiron Complexes: Elucidation of Their Structures in Solution by 13C NMR Spectroscopy

High‐spin Fe^II–alkyl complexes with bis(pyridylimino)isoindolato ligands were synthesized and their paramagnetic ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra were analyzed comprehensively. The experimental ¹³C—¹H coupling values are temperature (T^?1)‐ as well as magnetic‐field (B²)‐dependent and deviate considerably from typical scalar ¹J_CH couplings constants. This deviation is attributed to residual dipolar couplings (RDCs), which arise from partial alignment of the complexes in the presence of a strong magnetic field. The analysis of the experimental RDCs allows an unambiguous assignment of all ¹³C NMR resonances and, additionally, a structural refinement of the conformation of the complexes in solution. Moreover the RDCs can be used for the analysis of the alignment tensor and hence the tensor of the anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility.     

HyperBIRD: A Sensitivity‐Enhanced Approach to Collecting Homonuclear‐Decoupled Proton NMR Spectra

Samples prepared following dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) enable the detection of NMR spectra from low‐γ nuclei with outstanding sensitivity, yet have limited use for the enhancement of abundant species like ¹H nuclei. Small‐ and intermediate‐sized molecules, however, show strong heteronuclear cross‐relaxation effects: spontaneous processes with an inherent isotopic selectivity, whereby only the ¹³C‐bonded protons receive a polarization enhancement. These effects are here combined with a recently developed method that delivers homonuclear‐decoupled ¹H spectra in natural abundance samples based on heteronuclear couplings to these same, ¹³C‐bonded nuclei. This results in the HyperBIRD methodology; a single‐shot combination of these two effects that can simultaneously simplify and resolve complex, congested ¹H NMR spectra with many overlapping spin multiplets, while achieving 50–100 times sensitivity enhancements over conventional thermal counterparts.     

Scalar Coupling Constants—Their Analysis and Their Application for the Elucidation of Structures

Since their discovery in the early fifties, scalar/coupling constants have been of great interest to the NMR spectroscopist. Their impact on structure determination by NMR spectroscopy is founded on the fact that the size of the coupling constant is directly related to molecular conformation. Today, for most chemical substances the parameters for the Karplus relationship, which relates the vicinial (3-bond) coupling constant to the dihedral angle, have been determined. In addition to proton–proton distances, the application of coupling constants in modern conformational analysis is indispensable. In the study of larger molecules which are of current interest, more and more involved experiments are necessary in order to overcome signal overlap and increasing line widths. A large number of experimental techniques for the determination of coupling constants has been developed; however, for this reason the choice of the most appropriate experiment to use has become more difficult. This decision must be made carefully to maximize instrument usage and obtain the largest number of couplings with the greatest accuracy possible. Many of the computer programs used in structure calculations can directly apply coupling constant restraints, similar to proton–proton distances developed from NOEs. Therefore, not only is the quality of the structure improved, but the molecular motions (internal dynamics) are better described. In this article, we review the techniques that exist today with particular attention paid to helping the non-expert to choose the appropriate experiment for the problem at hand. In addition, the use of coupling constants in computer simulations are discussed.     

Enhancing NMR Sensitivity of Natural‐Abundance Low‐γ Nuclei by Ultrafast Magic‐Angle‐Spinning Solid‐State NMR Spectroscopy

Although magic‐angle‐spinning (MAS) solid‐state NMR spectroscopy has been able to provide piercing atomic‐level insights into the structure and dynamics of various solids, the poor sensitivity has limited its widespread application, especially when the sample amount is limited. Herein, we demonstrate the feasibility of acquiring high S/N ratio natural‐abundance ¹³C NMR spectrum of a small amount of sample (≈2.0 mg) by using multiple‐contact cross polarization (MCP) under ultrafast MAS. As shown by our data from pharmaceutical compounds, the signal enhancement achieved depends on the number of CP contacts employed within a single scan, which depends on the T_1ρ of protons. The use of MCP for fast 2D ¹H/¹³C heteronuclear correlation experiments is also demonstrated. The significant signal enhancement can be greatly beneficial for the atomic‐resolution characterization of many types of crystalline solids including polymorphic drugs and nanomaterials.     

Proton‐Detected Solid‐State NMR Spectroscopy of Natural‐Abundance Peptide and Protein Pharmaceuticals

The natural way : A sensitive NMR spectroscopic method is developed to obtain well‐resolved two‐dimensional spectra (¹⁵N–¹H and ¹³C–¹H) for natural‐abundance (that is, without the need for isotopic enrichment) large‐molecule samples, such as biopharmaceuticals. This method gives structural insights on two lyophilized aprotinin samples and three insulin samples in lyophilized, microcrystalline suspension formulation (red; see picture) and fibril (green) forms.

     

High‐Pressure Synthesis and Structural Investigation of H3P8O8N9: A New Phosphorus(V) Oxonitride Imide with an Interrupted Framework Structure

The first crystalline phosphorus oxonitride imide H₃P₈O₈N₉ (=P₈O₈N₆(NH)₃) has been synthesized under high‐pressure and high‐temperature conditions. To this end, a new, highly reactive phosphorus oxonitride imide precursor compound was prepared and treated at 12 GPa and 750 °C by using a multianvil assembly. H₃P₈O₈N₉ was obtained as a colorless, microcrystalline solid. The crystal structure of H₃P₈O₈N₉ was solved ab initio by powder X‐ray diffraction analysis, applying the charge‐flipping algorithm, and refined by the Rietveld method (C2/c (no. 15), a=1352.11(7), b=479.83(3), c=1820.42(9) pm, β=96.955(4)°, Z=4). H₃P₈O₈N₉ exhibits a highly condensed (κ=0.47), 3D, but interrupted network that is composed of all‐side vertex‐sharing (Q⁴) and only threefold‐linking (Q³) P(O,N)₄ tetrahedra in a Q⁴/Q³ ratio of 3:1. The structure, which includes 4‐ring assemblies as the smallest ring size, can be subdivided into alternating open‐branched zweier double layers {oB,${2{{2\hfill \atop \infty \hfill}}}$ }[²P₃(O,N)₇] and layers containing pairwise‐linked Q³ tetrahedra parallel (001). Information on the hydrogen atoms in H₃P₈O₈N₉ was obtained by 1D ¹H MAS, 2D homo‐ and heteronuclear (together with ³¹P) correlation NMR spectroscopy, and a ¹H spin‐diffusion experiment with a hard‐pulse sequence designed for selective excitation of a single peak. Two hydrogen sites with a multiplicity ratio of 2:1 were identified and thus the formula of H₃P₈O₈N₉ was unambiguously determined. The protons were assigned to Wyckoff positions 8f and 4e, the latter located within the Q³ tetrahedra layers.